Chapter 55: Plague (2)

One didn't need to enter the village to know that a plague had struck. The gloomy atmosphere and the people covering their mouths with makeshift cloths spoke volumes.

As soon as I saw this, I enveloped my party in a wind barrier, drawing air from above.

I then pulled the scarf hanging around my neck up to my nose.

Despite the many people still moving about and not appearing sick, it seemed the plague was still in its early stages.

“…Should we just go?”

Toby, who was clearly repulsed, tugged at his chin as he spoke. Vasco seemed to share the same sentiment.

Tun was silent, only staring at the village with sharp eyes.

I quickly recalled my memories.

Even after rechecking, there was no information about a plague spreading in the southwestern region during this period.

‘Plague… If it had spread widely, I would have heard about it in the game.’

It might not have been highly contagious, or it might not have spread outside the village in its early stages.

The proper course of action would be to leave now.

However, I felt strangely uneasy. It wasn't just because of the vulture I had encountered.

Something was off.

‘What is it?’

I needed to find the reason for this feeling. The first thing that came to mind was the location.

Bendochi was at the southernmost part of the northwest, and it was also near the Melain River.

If the plague had spread from the north, we would have seen it on our way here.

It was also hard to imagine it coming from the southwest, as the natives didn't live near the Melain River.

Of course, this could be the origin of the plague.

“Let's step back for now. We'll observe from a distance….”

As I said this, a young girl ran out of the village entrance, followed closely by two men.

They were western natives. The girl, judging by her skin color, seemed to be of mixed heritage, and the men were her guards.

Behind them, villagers with clubs rushed out, clearly chasing them.

There was only one reason for this in a plague-stricken village: they were suspected of being the source of the plague.

With a clear view, I could see the girl and her guards.

They also had cloths covering their noses, but they didn't show any signs of illness.

“Kalin.”

Tun urged me to make a decision, implying that we should turn back.

The distance was closing, and they had already seen us.

A quick decision was needed. My head throbbed slightly from the rapid thinking.

I couldn't shake off the uneasy feeling.

“Ten steps behind me. Stand by.”

I prefer to coordinate before a mission, but in any situation, the head's orders are absolute.

Tun, Toby, and Vasco stepped back without a word.

Under normal circumstances, I would have put Tun forward due to his age, but the situation called for it.

“Seize the witch!”

The girl running at the front was a shaman. In the western native communities, she was the one who read the omens.

Or, considering her age, she might be a shaman candidate.

That's why, despite having sufficient strength, the guards couldn't carry the girl and run.

Why had the shaman candidate come here? It was hard to judge the situation right now.

The girl's speed was causing the villagers to close in.

The guards, looking back, gritted their teeth.

“Don't kill her! Just to that point!”

The girl shouted, having picked up on the situation. She was quick-witted.

What was strange was that her eyes were fixed on me. "That point" meant us.

It didn't seem like she was simply seeking protection from outsiders.

I stood still and waited. Soon, the girl stopped in front of me, panting heavily.

The two guards turned to face the villagers, standing protectively.

“Surround them so they can't escape!”

The villagers surrounded us. Their eyes were strange, filled with madness.

One of the mad-eyed villagers shouted.

“Hand over the witch and get out!”

“Witch?”

“That woman brought the plague to the village!”

The crowd's anger seemed ready to explode.

In contrast, the girl, having caught her breath, looked at me calmly.

“Please help me.”

“……”

The girl took a step forward. I could feel Tun moving to act through the wind.

I raised my hand to stop him. The girl's gaze was strange, different from the villagers.

“Why aren't you backing off! If you get too close, you'll catch the plague!”

I turned to the man shouting. Staring at him with genuine intent, he shut his mouth.

The girl's eyes, a light green, were shining. She whispered.

“I've been waiting for you.”

“……”

“Wind in the darkness.”

* * *

Kalin tried to hide his confusion.

He never believed in shamans, even in the game. He hadn't approached them closely a few times, but...

It was because they only made negative predictions about the continent being overrun.

As a gamer, it was frustrating that they kept spreading doom without offering help.

However, the girl in front of him was different. While the "darkness" part was understandable, the "wind" was specific.

It was too subtle to be a coincidence, especially considering the ominous events starting with the vulture.

Kalin made a decision. He needed to talk to her.

“Let's hear the details later.”

Kalin stepped in front of the villagers, passing the girl.

“What's going on?”

“What do you mean! That witch brought the plague!”

“Do you have any evidence?”

“Since the witch came, the plague has spread, and only those guys are fine. How can you not see it?”

The villagers, now free to speak, started shouting.

Each time someone spoke, it seemed to give the crowd more courage, making their shouts louder.

“It's too late! That kid will catch the plague too!”

“We need to burn the witch quickly!”

“Hand her over! Only then will the plague end!”

A few men, their emotions heightened, raised their clubs.

At that moment, Kalin saw blue spots on the villagers' hands. It was the plague he knew.

He would never forget it.

Kalin understood the situation roughly.

‘Were they experimenting here?’

The plague in front of him was the one spread by the demon followers in the game.

The cure was platinum grass.

Its price skyrocketed, so experienced players would stock up in advance.

Kalin had also planned to mention this to the duke.

The reason the girl and her guards weren't affected was simple.

Platinum grass grew in the southwestern plains and was the daily tea leaves of the western natives.

‘This is the perfect place.’

The northwest was in chaos due to Prince Rohalak's usurpation of the throne.

The area below the Melain River was out of sight.

It was the perfect environment for demon followers to run rampant.

Kalin expanded his wind to find the demon followers outside the village.

At the maximum distance, he sensed someone hiding in a dug-out area.

One was too few. They wouldn't be far away. This meant one thing.

They were also inside the village.

‘When did they start?’

They couldn't just be travelers. To avoid suspicion, they must have joined the community.

Anyone who tried to leave and report would have been dealt with by the demon followers outside.

The reason the plague hadn't spread further was likely because they had killed everyone in the village at the end of their experiment.

Kalin was sure they weren't easy opponents. They had come from the north, indicating their strength.

‘Hmm.’

He quickly scanned the crowd but didn't sense any strong presence. They were hiding their power.

Given the situation, they wouldn't let them leave the village unscathed.

Even if they had tried to escape with the girl, the demon followers would have pursued them.

Kalin decided on his next move in a short time and turned around.

“I can cure this plague. However, to avoid catching it, please stay inside until I come out and block the outsiders.”

Tun, though puzzled, nodded, understanding that he was speaking for the others to hear.

There was a strange sense of expectation.

Kalin's expression was confident. He wondered how he would surprise them this time.

Turning back, Kalin approached the villagers.

“It seems there's a big misunderstanding.”

“What misunderstanding!”

Kalin raised one hand to stop the villagers from getting noisy again.

It was because he had said he could cure the plague.

“I am a disciple of the famous physician Zikang, and this girl is not a witch. I can cure the plague you are suffering from.”

“What?”

Facts are unimportant in the face of madness. Hope is what calms it. Kalin maintained a confident expression.

He quickly scanned the crowd. One of them was a demon follower.

Zikang was a famous physician in the west, so the villagers started murmuring.

“Is he really a disciple of Zikang at such a young age?”

It was more of a muttered thought than a question. Kalin smiled kindly.

“He must have the talent to be Zikang's disciple. The people behind me are also my patients and protectors.”

“Right! He cured me even when other doctors said it was incurable!”

Tun, Vasco, and Toby, having grasped the situation, nodded enthusiastically.

With the madness slightly subsiding, Kalin held up two fingers.

“Two days. If there's no improvement in two days, you can kill me or take the girl.”

The effect of platinum grass appears in one day, but he set it to two days because of the demon followers.

There might be a bag of platinum grass in the village, but the demon followers might have removed it.

One day was needed to procure the platinum grass.

“Exactly how do you plan to cure it?”

The tone of the villagers changed when they heard it was curable. Kalin inwardly sneered.

“Do you have any platinum grass?”

“We might have a little at home….”

“I have a bag on my ship!”

Kalin was slightly surprised. He thought all the platinum grass would be gone.

Did the demon followers leave some for their own cure?

Suddenly, he thought they might not have found the cure yet.

It was still in the experimental stage.

‘Or…’

Kalin recalled the people shouting, “The demon cured the incurable disease!”

They might have used the platinum grass to turn these people into demon followers.

“Good. Let's go.”

After speaking to the villagers, Kalin quickly whispered to the girl's guards.

“There might be someone targeting us. Stay alert.”

The guards, clearly hearing the warning, didn't move. They were well-trained.

The humiliation they endured was for the girl, not because they were weak. In fact, the girl was remarkable.

‘If the guards had drawn their swords, they would have been killed by the demon followers immediately.’

Using the wind, he sensed a few reactions. In the surprised atmosphere, a few exchanged glances.

There were three definite ones, and one more was suspicious.

There might be more in the village, but Kalin judged that there weren't many.

It was a small village, and more would be overkill.

Still, he decided to observe the situation. As he entered the village with the people, he moved the wind.

From a distance, a piece of paper and a pen came out of Tun's bag and started writing Kalin's message.

Tun, who was on guard, read the paper with a serious expression. His eyes widened.

The message didn't mention the demon followers but confirmed that there was a force behind the plague.

The situation was more dangerous than Tun had thought, and he was even more surprised.

‘How did he figure it out so quickly?’

If Kalin was sure, he was sure. He had never been wrong.

He had clearly used the bait of being a physician's disciple to catch a big fish. It was hard for Tun to believe.

He had seen the mad-eyed villagers but hadn't sensed anything strange.

Kalin was truly remarkable.

Tun was once again convinced. Kalin was more brilliant than any mind he had ever seen.