I Became the Commander in a Trash Game Who Copies Skills

Chapter 15. Fallen Saintess (4)

[I activated Soul Absorption.]

I’d been dismantling the Soul Core Traps and scouring the dungeon for about an hour.

The search was over, but there weren’t many big finds.

The two unexplored branches led to the necromancer’s room and a storage space, respectively.

The storage was practically a junkyard.

The necromancer’s room didn’t have much worth money either.

“Well, if I think about it, the skills alone are already a gain.”

Thirteen.

This dungeon expedition netted me a total of thirteen new spells.

Nine Vampire School spells, including the level 4 [Black Thunder Veil].

Four low-tier spells from other schools, like [Fireball] and [Lightning Brand].

“It’s a shame more than half are tricky-to-use Vampire School ones… but hey, it’s still something.”

Having more hidden cards was never a bad thing.

Plus, those low-tier common spells from other schools were exactly what I needed.

Even if I was posing as a wandering mage, sticking to just [Shield] and [Lightning Arrow] had its limits.

This haul would give me some breathing room.

Above all…

“[Soul Absorption].”

An improved version of the vampires’ Blood Ritual.

Tribus' unique spell.

Thanks to it, I could easily dismantle the remaining Soul Core Traps during the search.

Recovering my depleted mana to overflowing was a bonus.

“Nothing else worthwhile in sight.”

“No hidden doors or anything?”

“Doesn’t seem so.”

After finishing the search, Olif and I returned to the cavern.

Excluding the skills, the haul summed up to this:

“A bit of gold scraps. White mask. Kha’ulder’s Staff. Torn robe. Weird statue. Silver coin pouch.”

Plus the pre-corruption version of the Fallen Saintess, who would’ve become a legendary Vampire faction hero.

“Since you defeated the necromancer, all his possessions rightfully belong to you, Noble One.”

And she was a priestess with excellent principles.

That left Olif…

“This robe seems to be made of pansteel.”

“You know fabrics?”

“Not really. I just know because the family mages wore them a lot when I was young.”

Right.

This guy was a bastard from a mage family.

“Pansteel is flexible yet offers excellent magical defense. I’ve heard that in mage battles, having this robe can decide the winner.”

Olif explained.

As he said, pansteel robes were like a symbol of successful mages.

Due to the material’s unique properties.

Clothes made from pansteel fabric absorbed the wearer’s mana upon contact with foreign magic, emitting a precise mana wave to neutralize it.

Essentially, as long as your mana held, it was like having a cooldown-free Shield active at all times.

Of course, since it wasn’t a full magical artifact, it was useless against level 4 or higher spells.

But still, that was something.

“The problem is the price is outrageously high.”

I fiddled with the robe, gauging Olif’s reaction.

By guild rules, the mercenary band leader had priority on loot distribution.

But that didn’t mean the leader could hog all the band’s loot.

When fighting together, distribution had to be fair based on contributions.

In this battle, Olif had tanked and dealt damage reliably.

“Four dollars… no, four gold coins.”

“Pardon?”

“For loot distribution. I’ll pay you four florins to take the robe.”

“You can have all the loot. At my age, I’ve no greed for gold.”

“…?”

Olif, are you a pushover?

The words almost slipped out but I swallowed them.

The man who’d just handed over an amount equal to the band’s monthly budget smiled like a benevolent grandfather.

“What would I do with a pansteel robe meant for mages, when I use aura?”

“…Fair point.”

“My pockets are plenty full, so no worries. I’ve saved up from salaries, and even as a bastard, getting a title changed the family’s attitude.”

From what Olif said, the family had ceded him a small part of their estate.

Even if it wasn’t hereditary, now that he was nobility, it was a gift to forget the past and get along.

Anyway, was this the leisure of the wealthy?

I was starting to feel respect bubbling up when Olif added with a pleased smile.

“You’re doing great work, aren’t you? Such endeavors require funds.”

“Indeed, Noble One, you were sent by God…”

“Haha, Acolyte Alina. I haven’t known the captain long, but whatever you expect, you’ll see more than that.”

“Ooh… Luark…”

“….”

Hey, it’s fine if you’re each misunderstanding, but why are you both acting so intensely?

***

[I activated Fireball.]

I incinerated the corpses and exited the cave.

It was regrettable not to hold funerals, but better than another vampire finding them and turning them into undead.

Even if undiscovered by luck, the same issue.

If the piled-up sacrificial corpses kept rotting, they’d eventually become wandering undead naturally.

Vampire lands were blanketed in faint necromantic mana everywhere.

The land needed a massive purification.

“Captain! No injuries, right?”

“I thought you were dead! What took you so long in that tiny cave?!”

The two lieutenants greeted me enthusiastically upon return.

Looking at the sky, it was already midnight.

When we entered, the sun was high overhead…

The cave must’ve messed with my sense of time.

“Did you eat anything? Oh, our group grew? Hi! I’m Karen!”

“H-Hello…”

“That’s a church priestess robe! Why was a priestess in that cave… Must be those vile vampires! Those bastards deserve to be torn apart!”

“W-Well…”

It was chaotic.

I tuned it out and headed to the bonfire the band had lit.

Since night had fallen, the mercenary band had already set up camp.

Five bonfires burned, with sleeping bags clustered around them.

Overall, it looked solid.

The spacing between bonfires. The sleeping bag arrangements by squad. The sentry positions. The formation guarding both the cave entrance and outside.

“The training paid off.”

I’d specially trained the lieutenants for scenarios like this, and it had worked wonders.

Above the bonfires, leftover stew bubbled for the sentries’ snacks.

I grabbed a bite with Olif and Alina.

Alina’s sudden addition posed a sleeping issue… but luckily, we had a spare sleeping bag.

I asked Karen to show her a spot, then sat back by the fire.

“Sir Olif, you should rest too.”

“Yes.”

I sent Olif, who kept trying to guard me, to bed.

Soon, silence blanketed the area like a quilt.

In silence, small sounds grew louder.

The crackle of the bonfire. The snores of the mercenaries. The murmurs of the sentries. The wind.

Grass rustled in the wind. Even on this corrupted land where corpses rose, grass and trees grew.

Looking up, my eyes met the stars gazing down.

I poked the fire with a branch and bit into a sausage.

“I need to revise the plan.”

World Scenario 4.0 update.

[‘Warlord Conquest’ update complete.]

[World Scenario 4.0 updated.]

The notification I saw at Burken Fortress' execution grounds implied a lot.

New factions added.

New heroes and units for existing factions.

Massive updates to traits and skills.

And finally…

“…End content expansion. And a massive addition of early-to-mid game events creating inflection points linked to it.”

I’d anticipated it.

The update would add various turning points.

But the timing was sooner than expected.

“The tutorial just ended, so I was underprepared. If Tribus had gathered even a few more unique items… it could’ve been really dangerous.”

Several things came to mind.

Kashutal’s Amulet. The Duke’s Black Crown. The Undead King’s Armor.

If even one had been added, the dungeon battle would’ve been a guaranteed loss.

“Avoiding them if possible would be good…”

But that was impossible.

This luck-based garbage game’s probability wheels weren’t forgiving.

Still, I didn’t have to think negatively.

The rewards from resolving this were substantial, weren’t they?

“Above all, I eliminated the vampires’ chance to rise again. That’s the most important.”

Tribus, who’d already developed Soul Absorption and Soul Core Traps.

He was the most threatening figure in the Vampire Archduchy’s late-game revival.

By grafting magitech concepts onto the Vampire School, he’d skyrocketed the difficulty of Empire or Duchy late-game plays.

But he was dead.

Now, the Vampire Archduchy had no second chance.

“As a human starting in the Empire, I need to help this country hold out as long as possible.”

To do that, I had to prepare well for the variables from the 4.0 update.

No, beyond preparing—I had to exploit them.

Even in the infamously unfair Warlord Conquest, digging into the system revealed surprising loopholes.

More precisely, not loopholes, but intended strategies by the devs.

Anyway, playing it safe ended today.

That decided what I had to do.

“Gather information. And strengthen my own power.”

Use the mercenary guild to collect as much intel as possible, reading the precursors of probability events.

Strengthen myself and the band to handle any situation.

I also needed to quickly build solid networks with existing powers, including nobles.

Plus, dig deeper into [Warrior’s Insight] and [Warrior’s Binding].

“…Time to sleep.”

First, complete the reconnaissance mission successfully, get the rewards and achievements.

To do that, I needed sleep.

Sleep was the best medicine.

***

[I activated Warrior’s Binding.]

[Bound defeated enemies.]

[Zombies (1), Skeleton Swordsmen (1), Skeleton Spearmen (2), Skeleton Archers (2)]

***

The reconnaissance and mop-up mission continued without issue.

We patrolled the borderlands for the remaining two days, engaging in five battles.

All five against wandering undead groups.

We won easily and collected proof of undead elimination, like rotten thumbs or jawbone fragments.

Had the first day’s ordeal been a jinx-breaker?

No unexpected incidents occurred.

On the evening of the third day,

the mercenary band returned to Burken Fortress with the undead elimination proofs and the hostage rescued from the necromancer.

“Alina! Alinaaa!”

And the unexpected happened the moment we crossed the gate.

“G-Grandfather?”

“Alina! You’re safe! Alina—!!”

A white-haired noble with disheveled hair came running barefoot, crying out the acolyte’s name.

“Protect the viscount!”

“Block the gate! No outsiders in or out!”

The problem was the dozens of soldiers and knights he brought.

In protecting the viscount, they blocked the gate entirely, trapping dozens of people trying to enter or exit the fortress.

“Please calm down, Viscount!”

“Alina! My granddaughter!”

“Grandfather! Just a moment…!”

An aide-looking man was trying hard to restrain him…

But it didn’t seem to register.

“Uh, Captain. What happens to us now…?”

“What do you mean? We can’t enter until that guy comes out.”

No one had the guts to tell a viscount to move.

That old man’s appearance was a mess, but his face looked familiar…

“It’s Viscount Pewin. Acolyte Alina’s gentle nature must be inherited from her grandfather.”

Olif said, observing the chaos.

The Fallen Saintess was from a noble family in the lore…

But that family was the Pewin Viscounty?

One of the top ten pro-Emperor houses?

“Y-You. Are you the one who saved my granddaughter! Sob! You—!”

The disheveled old man suddenly turned and rushed at me.

…Looks like I got tangled with a big shot.