Virus King [Translation]

[Just Ian: Who am I!? Where am I!?]

[Ruby: @JustIan, what's going on with you? Is he losing it?!]

[I'm Really Not A Sword Fairy: When will Meimei and White Emperor wake up? I'm still waiting for them to help me clear a dungeon...]

[Just Ian: @ImReallyNotASwordFairy, you better stop dreaming. Brother White Emperor probably doesn't have time to help you. You have no idea what I just witnessed!]

[Overlord: @JustIan, can you stop acting like an idiot for once?!]

[Truth Teller: +1!]

[...]

After some responses from the group, Ian finally continued, unable to hold back any longer.

[Just Ian: Brother White Emperor is just too strong. An absurdly powerful NPC kneeled before him, and it looks like he's about to undergo an SSS-level job transfer! The craziest part? White Emperor actually wants 'two' SSS job transfer scrolls! I won't spoil too much, but the implications are huge! You'll get it once you see it for yourself!]

[Whiplash of the Skies: Fuckk! I'm still far from getting even a million gold coins!]

[Anouk: I haven't even laid eyes on a single job transfer scroll! And White Emperor's already gunning for 'two' SSS scrolls?! This is insane!]

[Crow: Forget the scrolls! How many people have even broken through the sixth level yet?! Leveling up has become insanely hard! I miss the good old days of having Meimei and Brother White carry me through dungeons. That was true happiness!]

[Vince: I crunched the numbers. Killing low-level zombies at your same level gives you 1 experience point. But if you're higher than them, you only get one-tenth of that. Two levels higher? You're down to one-hundredth of a point. This grind is brutal!

So yeah, upgrading by killing low-level common zombies is a waste. It's better to hit secret realms and face some tougher creatures.]

[I'm Really Not A Sword Fairy: When will White Emperor come out? I want to get into the dungeon too, feel that sweet rocket-speed leveling…]

Chat group No. 001 was always full of cheerful banter.

However, as the apocalypse deepened, everyone started to grasp the true gravity of the situation.

At that moment, the well-known Novak found himself in a very peculiar place.

In his previous life, Novak had ventured into countless dungeons and secret realms. 

There were all kinds—some focused on clearing enemies and leveling up, others steeped in puzzles and mysteries yet to be solved. 

There were also bizarre Rift dungeons, each more unpredictable than the last.

The strangest of them all was the "Time Hourglass" dungeon he'd encountered once.

That dungeon consisted only of a river.

Novak sat in a small boat, rowing aimlessly for what felt like an eternity. He paddled downstream for ages, achieving nothing, and then turned to row upstream for what felt just as long.

Eventually, the boat morphed into an hourglass of time, and only then did he manage to escape the peculiar secret realm.

Now, standing in this new place, although it wasn't as strange as the time-river dungeon, it gave Novak the same eerie feeling of detachment.

He stood on a hill, overlooking a city.

No, it wasn't just any city—it was 'the' city of this world.

The architecture was medieval Western style, not preserved well at all—crumbling, dilapidated, and worn.

The setting sun hung low in the sky, blood-red and ominous, casting a dark and cruel light across the landscape.

Even though it was midday, every house in this city remained tightly shut, as if the entire place were a ghost town.

The only sign of life was the occasional rat darting through the corners, and people slumped in shadowy alleys, coughing violently—people on the brink of death.

In the midst of their fits of coughing, they spewed blood.

Novak, with his expertise in plagues, fungi, and viruses, immediately recognized the illness.

plague.

A disease caused by the bacillus 'Yersinia pestis'.

Of course, to most people in this world, such scientific names were beyond recognition. 

To put it in more well-known terms, it's also called the "Black Death."

Novak blinked, and at that moment, he realized exactly where he had arrived.

Medieval Europe—the height of the Black Death epidemic!

In just a few months to a few years, tens of millions of people perished.

Squinting, Novak gazed upon the massive city before him, a city that resembled a living purgatory.

In the West during the Middle Ages, the peak of the Black Death was not only a time of overwhelming plague, but also when the authority of the Church plummeted to its lowest point.

Now, Novak began to understand why his chance to obtain the SSS-level job transfer scroll, bestowed by the Plague Bishop, required a life-sacrificing ritual to unlock the history of this era.

At that moment, the voice of the Cosmic Will echoed within Novak's mind.

[Hidden condition achieved: You have triggered the mission "Plague Sect (SSS)," sub-mission: "Black Death (SSS)"]

[Black Death (SSS-level mission)]

[Mission Introduction: In Kepler-22b's history, the Black Death claimed the lives of at least 80 million humans! The plague once devastated this land, and the Plague Sect has both the right and the means to harvest these viral seeds. The sect must thrive within a world bred by plague and despair.]

[Mission Objective: Collect the plague spores from all historical diseases, starting with the Black Death—the more, the better!]

[Mission Reward: All collected plague spores will fuse into the ultimate Plague Job Transfer Scroll!] 

[Note: The grade of the scroll will depend on how well the objective is completed.]

Exactly as expected!

Novak let out a long breath.

In this world, whether there's extraordinary power or not clearly doesn't matter. This secret realm dungeon wasn't one to be conquered by simple brute force and violence.

Novak suddenly leaped down from the hill, feeling a sense of relief as the Blacklight Virus in his system continued functioning.

He approached the entrance to the city. On the walls, several letters were written: FLORENCE.

Florence?!

Novak's thoughts raced. No wonder this city's massive size stretched beyond the horizon—it was the renowned center of Western Art.

However, in this very moment, this famous city of the future stood without even a single guard at its gates.

It was like a vision of hell on Kepler.

No, it was purgatory.

A vagrant sitting in the corner watched as a figure slowly entered through the city gate.

The man coughed, tasting rust and blood in his mouth.

His neck was swollen so severely he could barely breathe.

His fever burned so hot that even the chilling winds of the city couldn't cool him down.

His name was Henry—a common name, one that no one cared for or noticed.

Now, he was standing at the gates of hell.

No, perhaps this 'was' hell.

The man's vision started to dim, but just then, the figure that had entered the city approached him. The stranger extended a hand, and in halting language, asked:

"Poor child, do you wish to live?"

The man's eyes widened in shock as he looked at this figure.

The person wore a dark green robe, styled much like that of a priest of the Holy See, but the mask—a grotesque beak-like mask—stood out.

Was this a servant of death? Or a harbinger of the plague?