Trapped in a Game That Flopped

Chapter 26

Episode 26

Since I'd gotten Adam's permission, going out was easy.

I headed straight for the Temple.

Of course, I wasn't going to check the character relationship chart just because Jinu had gotten one over on me.

"Welcome, pitiful priest. The gods are always open to all who seek help."

1. Check area map.

2. Check area quests.

3. Check monsters appearing in the area.

4. Check area character relationship chart.

5. Report malicious users and bugs.

As the system window popped up over the NPC, I chose number three without hesitation.

This area was still low-level, so there weren't many types of monsters appearing.

I quickly flipped through the pages with my hand, scanning the monsters, and found what I wanted near the last page.

"Found it."

To use that 'secret weapon' Sera had made, there was something I absolutely had to catch.

My eyes gleaming, I checked the spawn location and immediately used a Teleport Scroll to go there.

And.

"Annihilate. Annihilate. Annihilate."

Lv.999 Annihilate skill has been activated.

100 Lv.2 Mud Sludges have been defeated.

100 Lv.2 Mud Sludges have been defeated.

100 Lv.2 Mud Sludges have been defeated.

"Brrrrrr!"

"Buuuu..."

"Bbu-reuk... Gwaaaargh!"

With sounds like hocking up phlegm, the mud-clump monsters spewed a brown, slimy liquid as they died.

"Ah, damn!"

I tried to dodge quickly, but there were so many dying monsters that I had no choice but to be covered in the horrible liquid.

The disgusting smell, like passing a garbage dump in the middle of a hot summer, made me scowl.

I know it's a 4D game, but why do I have to smell such a disgusting odor?

'You could just make it so I only smell nice things!'

I angrily shook off the liquid dripping from my hood and looked around.

It was then.

Bwoooong.

'Them' floated up from among the remains of the dead mud monsters.

I quickly moved and caught them directly with a collection net.

Tak! I closed the net's opening, checked inside, and fell into deep despair.

'The spawn rate is truly awful...'

The thing I was looking for was set to live inside the mud, and only one spawned per 100 Mud Sludges.

I couldn't even use a skill.

I had to catch it alive and take it to the estate, but my attack power was too high.

Honestly, catching it wasn't that hard.

The problem was just my appearance, which was becoming a total mess from the disgusting liquid the Mud Sludges vomited as they died.

"Brrrrrr."

In the meantime, respawned mud clumps crawled out from somewhere again.

"Annihilate."

Lv.999 Annihilate skill has been activated.

100 Lv.2 Mud Sludges have been defeated.

Time was of the essence, so I continued killing the Mud Sludges without delay.

'I'm doing this right, aren't I?'

The plan was proceeding without a hitch.

The monster I vaguely remembered thankfully existed, and I was hunting it easily without much effort, but...

"Brrrrrr... Gwaaaargh!"

"Argh! Cut it out!"

But why do I feel more and more miserable?

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

"Ugh!"

"What's that smell!"

"Uwegh!"

When I used a Teleport Scroll to return to the front of the estate, the soldiers guarding the gate all pinched their noses.

You are emitting a severe stench.

Be careful, as you may become disliked by those around you.

'Dammit.'

I glared at the warning window that had been popping up constantly and staggered inside the gate.

Everywhere I walked, clumps of mud and some unknown, disgusting liquid dripped.

The hunt was a success. In less than two hours, I'd quickly captured all the prey, alive...

And yet, I wasn't happy at all.

You are emitting a severe stench.

Be careful, as you may become disliked by those around you.

'I'm going to wash right now, you damn game!'

I raged internally, huffing at the system window that popped up again.

Just as bathing was one of the few healing therapies, this game unfortunately had no auto-wash function.

Such a uselessly realistic feature.

I was just stepping into the estate's entrance hall, trying to ignore the horrified people.

"Uuuk! What is that smell... You!"

I ran into an old man who was just walking out from the inner hallway.

Butler Frank Hamston

It was the man I saw at the servants' dining hall yesterday.

"You, what is the meaning of this state!"

"There were... some circumstances..."

I made an excuse with an awkward smile.

At the same time, I observed the Butler with sharp eyes.

I'd only seen him briefly yesterday, so I couldn't confirm if he was a host or not.

But it was hard to tell from his appearance alone, due to the wrinkles around his eyes.

In the meantime, the Butler, pinching his nose with a scowl, pointed at me.

"How dare you try to enter the Count's estate in such a vulgar, smelly, and filthy state!"

I wanted to wash up quickly too, so I didn't appreciate him blocking my way.

"B-Be careful, Count!"

And remembering how the Butler, along with the Adjutant, had protected Adam yesterday, treating me like a monster, a petty mischievousness welled up.

"Well, I have to come inside to wash, don't I, old man?"

"Old... old man?! Th-Th...!"

When I feigned ignorance and hit him with his age, the Butler grabbed the back of his neck and flew into a rage.

"You classless, disrespectful, vulgar bastard! Go outside and wash at the well in the stables...!"

"Why should I go to the stables when I have a perfectly good room the Count gave me?"

"Shut your mouth! As long as I'm alive and kicking, you will never set your filthy foot inside this estate!"

I groaned and clutched my head at the sight of the old man spreading his arms to block me.

The Butler was acting like a wicked mother-in-law.

But I wasn't sure if he was a Centipede yet, so it was awkward to just use the Potion Containing Sunlight.

'Just hit him with Stun?'

As I was pondering this.

"B-Butler!"

The Head Maid popped out from somewhere and stood between me and the Butler.

"Why are you blocking the apothecary's entry?"

"Ahem, Head Maid! Are you in your right mind, trying to let someone in this state into the estate? There's a limit to disgracing the Count!"

"This person is just returning from an outing on the Count's orders. Please let it go, yes?"

"Hmph, hem! If it's the Count's orders, it can't be helped..."

Thanks to the Head Maid defending me, the Butler, who had been blocking me with a flushed face, stepped aside with a slightly softened expression.

But he didn't stop snapping at me in a displeased tone.

"Avoid touching the estate floor as much as possible and go straight to your room!"

"Humans can't levitate, old man."

"Hmph, this bastard...!"

Fzzzt!

Sparks flew between me and the Butler.

I had no intention of sucking up to anyone but the main characters, so I wasn't intimidated by this hazing at all.

Rather, I glared right back at him, and the Head Maid, unable to watch, stepped in to mediate.

"I-I'll talk to him and send him up, so please go on, Butler. Don't you have work the Count assigned you?"

"Hmph! A lowly bastard who knows neither manners nor his place..."

Even as he reluctantly left at the Head Maid's urging, the Butler left a final parting sneer.

'Argh. You think I'll go easy on you 'cause you're old?!'

I raised a fist at his back, then quickly feigned ignorance when I felt someone's cool gaze.

The Head Maid sighed briefly at my behavior and spoke.

"He's normally a sensitive person, so please try to understand."

"That old geezer... I mean, is the Butler always like that?"

"He's always been like that about the estate's cleanliness. It seems to have gotten worse overall recently... Maybe it's menopause."

The last part was more to herself.

But it showed me how much she'd been tormented by the Butler.

Her words just made me more confused.

'Menopause, that's... ambiguous.'

Just from the Head Maid's words, it was hard to tell if he was a Centipede or not.

It would be more satisfying to just ask the developers directly.

"Anyway, with the Butler like this, and the Adjutant... the atmosphere in the estate is very tense lately, so you be careful not to cause a commotion either."

At the Head Maid's mention of the leader, I didn't miss it and asked with interest.

"Why the Adjutant?"

"He wasn't like this before, but he started interfering in every little thing in the estate, and he's clashing with the Butler every time. It's no wonder the Butler's on edge."

This was new information. I carefully mulled over the Head Maid's words.

'Interfering... Is he after the estate?'

The Darkness-Eating Centipede's leader usually possesses someone with strong desires, but the source of that desire was different for every host.

'Come to think of it, I don't know much about the Adjutant as a host.'

The Adjutant becoming the host was a fairly common occurrence.

So the fact that I didn't remember wasn't a variable, it was entirely because I hadn't paid attention.

The only time a villain got popular was when a hot, young guy in the knight order darkened and oozed decadent charm.

Not a short, balding guy like the Adjutant...

"Did you finish the task the Count gave you?"

"Yes. I actually had a favor to ask you, Head Maid, so this is perfect."

I took the collection net, which I'd gone through hell to get, out of my pocket and handed it to her.

And I whispered lowly.

"Take this, and before midnight..."

The outside of the net was also covered in filth, so I was a bit embarrassed to hand it over.

The Head Maid, having heard my request, thankfully took it without any reaction.

With the parasitic Centipede dead and her original role of loyalty to the estate restored, she was quite trustworthy.

"I'll be counting on you, then."

I finished speaking and bowed my head once as a sign of my request.

In that moment. Drip, splat!

A clump of mud fell onto the spotless marble floor.

"You really are a sight..."

The Head Maid sighed, her face troubled.

"No. Hurry up and go wash. Your room has been cleaned up again."

Still, she didn't openly scowl and pinch her nose, so the Head Maid was a good person.

And she'd cleaned up the chaotic room so quickly...

Just as I was bowing my head once more in a sudden rush of gratitude, trying to be polite.

"Ah, yes. I saw earlier. Thank you for your..."

"No! I don't need your thanks, so don't bow your head! It just makes more to clean up!"

At that, she hurriedly shouted.

Sob, so mean.