Now the next spot should be…

After finishing dealing with one thing, Darius took off his badge the moment he entered the city and rushed towards the airport, normally used by mages and Spirit Wielders as their monetary income is much greater than anyone else’s.

Normally used for transport between the four cities, the defending forces require quick movement between the four cardinal points of the infested area. Even so, the populace can use them for transportation outside of emergency situations. In normal time, if one were to go with a vehicle, it would take about a whole day by going through the danger zone without meeting any obstacles towards the nearest border city. But with choppers and small planes, one could reach there in half a day or even 3 hours of flight, depending on what vehicle they took.

"That would be 2.000 rozoni sir."

However, the price's on par, making Darius grimace as he saw almost half of his remaining money go only for quick transport.

Sadly, I need to move quickly if I wish for my plan to work accordingly.

After landing in the Eastern City, Darius walked right towards a large building that was in the center of the guarded city.

Just like the South City, this one was also only partially used by humans, the rest being completely destroyed or under the monsters’ control.

By the time Darius got off the plane, it was already dark outside, and the city was beautifully lit up. Many shops and buildings were closed at this hour, but Darius still went down the main road and towards a dark alley. Obviously, there were many soldiers patrolling the area, but other than giving him suspicious glances, none minded him as he continued on his way. Nothing was actually that weird about people walking down the street after midnight.

Now down this alley must be… to the left, then right, and 2nd left again until there are some stairs that go underground a building…

After walking deeper into the alley, the area became darker and darker, until he finally saw what he was looking for—some stairs that went down to the underground of a building. Going down those stairs, he went to the door and knocked twice, then once again, ending with trying the door.

"…."

After about half a minute, a little trap opened, and a man’s voice resounded from the other end.

"Yeah? What'cha want?"

"Give me some stable sulfur hexafluoride. 8 tablets."

"So a box, aye? Wait a min’."

The man closed the trap, and Darius waited very closely to the dark wall behind him to hide in the shadows.

This was the dark market found throughout every city, let alone the four protective ones.

Darius knew of this place from the game since it was one of the very best ways to make money in-game. But if used for too much, it would lower the reputation since, although tolerated by the commanders who ruled the cities since it was a great income for such challenging times, if too many people knew of it or if it started doing business too in the open, then the other markets would obviously start rebelling, stopping paying any taxes or requesting rights to sell or buy different products. Because of that, the black market was very secluded, hard to find, and also hard to buy from since a type of code was needed to have them open the door to you. The weird knocking was also a code that showed you wanted to buy something, while if you wanted to sell, then another type of knocking was required, giving whoever wanted to make business with them a huge headache.

Happily, there are some of them wandering around from whom you can get the necessary information after convincing them directly.

Next time he wants to sell something through illegal means so he will not be tracked by any type of power, Darius will need to find the code for selling products since he forgot it. But happily for him, he knew where to go to easily find a member of the black market.

"Here are your tablets. 500 rozoni."

"Good, see ya."

Darius passed the money and grabbed the white box with pills, then left the area.

He continued on outside the dark alley and into the main street, going towards the center of the fortified city.

He fixed his mask and put his hood on, while also taking a pill of sulfur hexafluoride, which would lower the tone of his voice greatly.

The chemical has been stabilized, so the effect of greatly lowering the voice would have a duration of about 1 hour. However, the damage to the lungs will continue for just as long… Damn, what I have to do to right my wrongs... The heavy feeling in my lungs is killing me…

After confirming the change in his voice while trying not to cough from the pain in his chest, Darius went inside a large building that had a huge blue sign at the entrance with three large white letters: DRF. It was one of the main bases of the demon research facilities, and it was also the company that was able to create the purifying badge as a way to pay back for all their sins once they were discovered.

In Darius’ past life, the chairman of the company was influenced by the demonic followers to induce research based on human experiments, kidnapping and sacrificing residents of the four great fortified cities without anyone suspecting that one of the three guilds would actually do such terrifying things. Thanks to that, DRF was also the most corrupt of the three powers when it came to being filled with demonic followers and as a base for one of the four great priests that, based on the game’s main story, would appear later.

"Hello, sir, may I know the reason for your visit?"

The DRF was dealing with visitors just like a company, having at the entrance a receptionist that was welcoming guests and employers alike. Since this company was working non-stop, it was nothing unusual to have visitors at 2 a.m.

Because the world was yet to be completely in order, dubious people fully clothed like Darius were a normal occurrence, so nobody was actually minding him hiding his identity, even at such late hours.

Walking near the receptionist’s office, Darius said in a calm but very deep voice,

"I’m looking for Sir Graham. He must be the head researcher of the Miasma Research Institute."

"Err…"

However, his deep voice still surprised her for a moment. She was not expecting such a deep voice from someone with a normal physique, but then calmed down and smiled again.

"Ah, yes. I will call him and tell him you visited. A name?"

"He doesn’t know me, so even if you tell him, he won’t know it. Just tell him that I came for a prayer that might interest him."

"…. O~kay? I will be sure to give him a call."

"Please do."

Darius nodded, but the woman behind the counter couldn’t help having a weird feeling, not sure why anyone would come to a researcher of dark energies to ask for a prayer.

"Yes, hello? Dr Graham? You have a visitor at the- Y-yes, a visitor. Yes, I know; he did say that you wouldn’t know him. But he said he came looking for you to ask for a, ehm… a prayer…. Eh, you’re coming? Y-yes, at the reception- h-hello?...."

The woman placed the phone down and looked with a wry smile at Darius, not sure what just happened.

"He said he’s on his way, so… please make yourself comfortable on one of the chairs here."

"There’s no need. I’m sure he’ll be here quick."

"Huh?"

Just as Darius said that, the lift opened, and an old man in a white coat with tired and dark eyes got out and rushed towards the receptionist.

"I’m here; where is the man?"

"Good day, Sir Graham."

"…"

Not even letting the woman introduce Darius, he greeted Graham himself in a calm manner, making the researcher stare at him for a good few seconds.

"Uhm… sir?"

The receptionist seemed confused by Graham’s reaction, but then the researcher glanced once at her and then back at Darius. He then sighed once and nodded to the woman.

"yes, he’s with me. And you…"

"Daniel."

"Yes. Come this way, Sir Daniel."

He walked forward, and together they entered the elevator, with Darius following closely behind him.

"I understand you don’t wish to be recognized, but was the voice change really needed? What’s with that? That mask doesn’t seem to have a voice-changing system installed, so did you maybe ingest something?"

"Modified sulfur hexafluoride."

"Heh. Your lungs must feel like lead."

"Indeed. That’s why we better be quick. I want to expel this toxin as fast as possible."

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Next time, better just use a gadget for that, geez."

"I was in a hurry; I didn’t get the chance to buy one."

Inside the elevator, Graham pressed the button for the fifth floor below the ground, and in a stern voice, he said,

"I’m not sure what kind of favor you want to ask for, but wouldn’t it be better to go to the meeting bar? There, you can get anything for a hefty sum."

"I’m not here for a personal request; I’m just the messenger."

"…"

Graham glanced back, visibly confused and disturbed by Darius’ tone, but Darius continued nevertheless.

"The Northern Priest was able to create a new device for controlling the miasma, but a group of rebels stole the blueprints and are now traveling toward the nearby great city of Athena inside the contaminated continent."

"A new device…? And how do I know if what you speak of is the truth?"

"I have a copy of the blueprints with me right here. Although not as detailed, it still shows great information about the said project."

As they arrived, Darius wanted to take out the piece of paper from his breast pocket, but Graham stopped him as he gazed deeply into his eyes.

"Better keep it hidden for now... We’ll talk more in my office."

Just as Darius expected, Graham was a very wary individual but very interested in news about the miasma research as well.

In truth, he never actually cared about who he was working for, as long as he was able to advance his research. And if he was able to monopolize the research over the miasma, then even better.

"Dr. Graham, where have you run off to? We need you to-"

"Later, Beatrice. I have a guest I need to chat with, as you can tell. Go back and continue your research."

"Y-yes?"

A woman of about 30 years old who appeared to be very familiar with Graham welcomed him and attempted to drag him back to the laboratory, but Graham stopped her with a hand and sent her away with an uninterested air, surprising her for a brief moment.

Darius could remember a bit from his past life about some woman who assisted Graham in everything he was doing, until he revealed his alliance with the demonic followers.

I remember there was some woman who took great care of Graham, as he forgot to eat most of the time. But in the end, he easily betrayed everyone, poisoning them with miasma and turning them into demons to slow down the Dark Fortress’ forces that were on his tail to capture him. In the end, he ends up killed by the heroes as a boss later in-game. This woman’s fate is an ugly one, as she will get turned into a demonic being along with the others. Poor idiot.

Seeing her worry so much for an old man who doesn’t even care about her, Darius smirked somewhat mockingly and couldn’t help seeing her as a huge moron with a diploma.

The woman then looked at Darius somewhat curious as to whom he could be to have Graham’s full attention, but in response, he simply snorted disinterestedly and turned his gaze away from her.

I will try to reduce the casualties from the humans’ side to the maximum, but if some morons die because of their own poor choices, then suit themselves. I couldn’t care less.

"Huh?"

The woman observed Darius’ behavior toward her and couldn’t help frowning, wondering if she did something wrong to make him behave so coldly with her.

After walking further down the corridor, a small yet obese man with an arrogant look in his eyes walked closer to them, a cynical smile on his face.

"Well, well, look who’s outside his rathole. Dr Graham. I thought I’d see you come out of your laboratory only after death took you for good."

Huh? Jacob?

Darius seemed surprised to see an obese middle-aged man with a balding spot atop his head and a short moustache under his nose. He's an antagonist and future early-story boss of the game, here talking with Graham.

If I’m not wrong, Jacob was a researcher of the… demons, was it? What is he doing here?

"Dr. Jacob? What are you doing at the Miasma Research Institution? You’re a researcher for the laboratories that work with demons. Did you get so bored monkeying around there that you decided to amuse my researchers? Roll back to your hole. I need my people to focus on their own work. Go; I won’t see you out."

… Damn.

Darius was surprised by how ruthless Graham’s words were. He was already kind of used to his crude character from back when he was playing the game in his first life, but seeing it first-hand, it’s quite the experience.

"G-Graham, you…"

Jacob was red in the face, but Graham gave him no mind as he walked past him. Enraged, Jacob turned and shouted from the top of his lungs,

"Remember this, Graham! I will overcome you! Don’t you dare think that you’re better than me! You’re nothing more than an old fool!"

After that, he quickly left in a fury as steam seemed to evade from atop his head, his rage making him literally smoke.

"Sigh~ what a stupid kid. Rather than focusing on his work, he focuses on others. How laughable. A complete waste of the knowledge he possesses."

Chuckling amused by his words, Darius continued on to follow Graham until they arrived inside his office, which he hadn’t visited in a while, as a thick layer of dust covered the whole room.

"…..When was the last time you entered here?"

"Hm, I guess when I first got it from the DRF company."

"And that was?"

"About when the apocalypse happen? But anyway that."

That was 50 years ago…

He sat on top of his table and stared deeply at Darius, making him aware that now he wanted to hear the details of the mission he spoke off.

Understanding everything from his silence alone, Darius stepped forward and passed him the blueprints.

"As I said before, the great priest sent me to inform you of a new device that might be able to purify the miasma from inside a semi-corrupted living being."

"… Semi-corrupted? So not fully corrupted?"

"A corrupt living organism will function in this world like a cancer cell. It will create miasma in itself and possibly even spread it to other living beings. To purify the miasma from inside such a being would only make room for more miasma to accumulate inside on its own. As you already know, when a cell turns cancerous, the only answer is to kill it or separate it."

"Yet here we are with an invention that might turn those seemingly cancerous cells back to normal ones."

"Wrong. It would just help the ones around to not get corrupted by the cancerous one and fight back against the corrupted one. In our case, as a mage, let’s say, it might help an individual to use the powers of miasma for a short duration of time without falling into madness."

"And this, in the end, might help create within the human system immunity against miasma and force it to create a way to absorb it and function together with it."

"I… don’t think looking so far in the future would help us with anything right now."

Darius was surprised by the conclusion Graham reached after only describing a bit about this device, but Graham only smirked at Darius’ words, this being probably the first time he smiled since a few tens of years by now.

"Knowing the goal, it’s already half the work done, kid. Now you just need to walk the path towards it."

He chuckled dryly as it had been a while since he last laughed, and while looking through the blueprints, he asked detachedly,

"So? Why show me this and make me aware of such incredible possibilities? Whoever came up with this ingenious idea wouldn’t actually need my help, would they?"

"I wouldn’t mind getting some help from you. But don’t even think of stealing my idea, old man."

"You?"

Graham’s eyes opened wide in shock, but then Darius waved his hand and explained,

"I might give you some hints, Dr. Graham. But I first need you to mobilize your forces to get rid of some rebels of the cult. Some bastards stole my more complex blueprints and wish to escape towards-"

"Athena, yes. You told me. And you said they possess a more complete blueprint than this?"

"The rebels are from the Southern City, and I didn’t dare ask someone else from there, afraid that they might be rebels as well. Not wishing to alarm the army’s forces about our existence, I decided to take a more discreet approach."

"And so you decided to come to the DRF Company, which is known to have huge martial might for assisting the researchers and gathering materials, am I right? You wish to use the excuse of gathering materials as a way to send squads over to Athena and eliminate the traitors."

"Glad to see you so cooperative."

"I didn’t say I would help you just yet."

"What?"

Darius froze, and Graham smiled mischievously, holding the blueprints in front of Darius.

"If my soldiers go and eliminate the rebels, then I want the blueprints they possess to be mine."

"… Then you mean you want my work."

"If you don’t want my help, then do as you wish."

"It was the Priest of the North’s command-"

"Be it from The Lords or from the Demon Lord himself. If it doesn’t help with my research, then I don’t care, and you can go search for someone else trustworthy enough to help with your mission."

"…"

Darius closed his mouth and thought for a bit. Graham, on the other hand, smirked amused as he planned everything carefully.

Are you telling me to waste human resources just because some idiot asked me to? If I don’t get anything of a higher value in exchange, then don’t even think about it. Although I already got my hands on this blueprint that shows some interesting information here and there about his invention, it should be nothing in comparison to the one stolen by the rebels. He can also refuse my request, but this would only put him under more pressure and risk failing his mission. Whatever he chooses, he will lose, while I only get to gain from it.

Graham’s smile became only wider and wider when Darius suddenly raised his finger and said with a sharp glare,

"Alright, I will accept your terms."

"Then-"

"But on one condition."

"…"

Graham’s smile faded, and Darius continued just as confidently as before.

"Ugh… What is it?"

"I want my own laboratory, built after my own desires."

"… What?"

"You heard me well. After those morons stole my blueprints, they broke everything, and nobody bothered repairing my stuff. Now, what will you do? Also, I want it built here in the Eastern City, at the edge of the port."

"…"

Graham thought for a bit, and although he didn’t like that another term had been added, the fact that it was only something that could be resolved with some money didn’t bother him as much as he thought, accepting Darius’ mission without a second thought.

"Alright then, but don’t expect your devices and tools to be the most expensive on the market, you hear me? You should be thankful for some second-hand equipment."

"I wasn’t even expecting that from your greedy bones, old man. But remember, if their quality is sub-par, then don't think I wouldn't ask for better stuff."

"Hmph."

They both shook hands, and after telling Graham more details and information about the rebel that ran towards Athena, they separated as Graham didn’t even bother to walk him towards the exit, a triumphant smile on his face.

I have a new invention on my hands, which is most certainly another step forward in my research on miasma. Fufufu~ is just like stealing candy from a child. How easy.

On the other hand, Darius walked outside the DRF company with a similar smirk, taking out a copy of the blueprint he offered Set and setting it aflame with a lighter while walking down a deserted, narrow road between more buildings.

Darius first thought of giving Graham the exact copy of what Set got, but on his way, he made the decision to create another one with fewer details just to bait Graham into taking the mission himself. Obviously, be it this one or the less detailed one, Darius didn't give the correct information on the blueprints since the last thing he wished was to give a futuristic weapon to a mad researcher like Graham.

As if I’d give anyone the real blueprints, you moron. Everything that needs to be done is already stored in my head.

Darius breathed out more intensely to expel the toxin that made his voice deep and walked down the narrow and dark path with a wide smirk, pleased with the results of his little visit.