Chapter 70: The Infected Star Knight

“Very good. Rhodes Island reserve operator, codename Platinum. Six years of combat experience, height 1.6 meters…”

You tapped the data into the PRTS terminal, not even bothering to look up from the glowing screen. “You’re actually only 1.6 meters tall? I couldn’t tell at all.”

Platinum’s face twisted with grief and indignation. “A failure is a failure. A warrior can be killed, but not humiliated. Why must you insult me like this!”

Even as a captive Armorless Union assassin, she was still a Platinum—the terrifying, high-ranking Platinum!

You lazily pointed toward the arena stage. “The old man is about to finish his match. What he says to you later will be the real humiliation.” You paused, letting a smirk creep onto your face. “A Platinum who doesn’t even trigger the pity rate on a ten-pull.”

Platinum trembled with rage. This was pushing her past her breaking point. She absolutely had to—

Bear it anyway.

Her codename was Platinum, not Punching Bag.

“Understood, new boss. I will definitely correct my attitude in the future.” Platinum lowered her gaze, forcing a submissive tone as she supposedly reflected on her flaws.

‘…Don’t get angry, don’t get angry. If you pop a blood vessel from sheer rage, no one is going to cover your shifts.'”What, are you hoping for a second growth spurt?”‘…Don’t be angry, don’t be angry.'”With the sheer frequency of your night shifts, that’s a bit of a pipe dream.”‘…Don’t be angry, don’t be—screw not being angry!’

Platinum’s almond-shaped eyes snapped wide open, her equine ears shooting straight up. “Then what exactly do you want from me?!”

Ah, finally getting yelled at. Feels good.

Platinum read the absolute satisfaction plastered across your face, and a wave of nausea washed over her. “No, seriously, are you sick in the head?”

This time, you didn’t press her buttons any further, answering with the utmost good nature. “I’m not sick. But as your boss, I just really enjoy watching your expression as you struggle to deal with your superior’s unreasonable whims. It makes me feel like your 2,000 LMD monthly salary isn’t going to waste.”

Platinum fell completely silent.

‘Can we please stop bringing up the 2,000 LMD? I’d rather just be a prisoner of war; it sounds infinitely more dignified.’

Down in the dueling arena, the match concluded with zero suspense. Patriot simply braced his massive greatshield and gave a casual shove, effortlessly launching his opponent into the air. The poor knight flew straight out of the ring’s boundaries and crashed into the dirt.

Rather than feeling bitter, the defeated opponent looked up at the towering Sarkaz with pure admiration. “As expected of you… Trading blows with you today, I truly felt the absolute gap in our strength! Keep it up, Stone Knight!”

Patriot offered a polite, measured nod in acknowledgment, while the crowd in the stands erupted into thunderous cheers.

Without warning, you grabbed Platinum’s hand, raising your joined hands high into the air to proudly show her off to the old man down below.

A second later, Platinum felt the weight of a terrifying, murderous glare locking onto her. Down in the arena, the towering Sarkaz slammed his shield against the stone floor in a blatant threat.

Platinum wanted to cry, but no tears would come. ‘Even if you’re overprotective of your people, you can’t be this unreasonable! He’s clearly the one who grabbed me!’

The dog-headed announcer screamed passionately into the microphone. “The invincible Delivery Knight has crushed his opponent once again! He will undisputedly secure the only spot in this Infected venue to participate in the Major!”

“Could it be that after all these years, an Infected is finally going to lift the championship trophy again?! I can’t think of a single soul qualified to stop his relentless advance!”

Your eyes flickered as you watched the spectacle. ‘There are. There definitely are.’ In this upcoming Major, the legends would be as numerous as the stars.

The interior of the arena drowned in a sea of carnival-like ecstasy. Outside the venue, someone pressed their face tightly against the cold iron fence, greedily watching the stage through the hazy white mist of their own breath.

Freezing water droplets seeped from the overhead underground pipes, dripping onto Martha’s forehead and making her shudder. She curled her small frame behind the vent of the maintenance passage, the shadows of the iron bars cutting across her ulcerated, Originium-scarred skin. Below, the arena’s sweeping spotlights stung her eyes.

Deafening cheers traveled up the metal pipes, pounding against her temples like hammers. Yet, rising above the clamor, one sound remained terrifyingly clear—the heavy, rhythmic footsteps of the Stone Knight. He slowly descended from the dueling stage, every step ringing out like solid Originium clashing against the earth.

Martha squeezed her face deeper into the gaps of the fence.

The Stone Knight passed directly beneath her pipe, his massive figure bathed in a pure white halo from the lights, his armor gleaming brilliantly.

“Stone Knight! Stone Knight!” the entire arena roared.

In that fleeting moment, she completely forgot the dull, throbbing ache of her Infected lesions. A deep sense of pride swelled in her chest. What bloomed in her heart was no longer the dark, bitter jealousy of the marginalized, but a stinging, radiant warmth—as if she herself had been illuminated.

She looked down at her frail hands. Jagged fragments of Originium crystals were embedded in the crevices of her fingernails, and the black, hardened lumps beneath her skin had worn right through her ragged clothes. In the past, these marks only brought her endless humiliation.

But right now, looking at the towering champion below, she was genuinely proud of her fellow Infected.

She turned around and crawled back into the pitch-black pipes without a single backward glance. The arena’s spotlights were too dazzling, too expensive for someone like her; one look was enough. It was enough for her to chew over and savor in the countless cold days and nights to come.

Under normal circumstances, she—like every other low-level Infected—would bury her desperate longing for the knight competitions deep in her heart for a lifetime. They would only ever speak of it at the very end of their lives, muttering things like:

“When I was young, I saw an Infected called the Radiant Knight. She was so amazing. Just standing there, she seemed to be shining.”

“What, does she know me? How is that possible? We didn’t have the money to buy tickets. We all just watched secretly from the corners of the walls, inside the pipes, places like that.”

Deep in the Great Knight Territory’s sewers, Nearl—disguised in the drab, worn clothes of an ordinary Infected—paused her movements. She was in the middle of planting the Doctor’s secret little surveillance components, but an indescribable weight suddenly settled in her chest.

“Then why did you go to see her matches back then?”

“Because she’s the most amazing Infected in my heart. Most people of our generation support her silently, from the shadows. Unfortunately, if we were to say it out loud, it would be too embarrassing for her.”

“She should always remain glamorous, standing upright and honorable in the arena. She shouldn’t have her reputation dragged through the mud by lower-class trash like us.”

The lame old man speaking was not yet fifty, but his hair had already turned a withered gray. His only remaining eye clouded over with distant memories.

“See this eye? When I was young and didn’t know any better, I got into an argument with some upper-class snobs about who the greatest knight was. A fight broke out. I couldn’t afford to pay the medical bills, so those big shots had my eye poked blind as compensation.”

“But at the time, it was three of them against just me, and I still made those bastards howl in pain!”

Nearl silently set down the small, complex machine of unknown purpose and quietly listened to the old man reminisce.

Perhaps because of his age, he had a lot bottled up. Having finally found someone willing to listen, he simply couldn’t stop talking. “I heard she’s competing in other countries now, doing really well for herself. I have an old friend who runs a smuggling business; every time he comes back, he tells us a bit about the Radiant Knight’s adventures abroad, usually tricking us out of a couple of leaf-rolled cigarettes in the process.”

The old man smiled, a touch of genuine pride wrinkling his weathered face. “In all of Kazimierz, it’s probably only a few of us old fogies who actually know where she’s competing these days. Come on, come on, give me two pieces of bread, and I’ll tell you all about it in detail.”

Nearl completely abandoned her task. She reached into her bag and pulled out a few pieces of high-grade compressed biscuits, handing them over.

She did this even though she knew the truth—that outside the borders of Kazimierz, other countries didn’t have knight competitions at all.

[Rhodes’s Note: The “2,000 LMD” salary is a long-standing community meme referencing the extremely low base pay operators supposedly receive in Rhodes Island lore, contrasting sharply with the massive amounts of LMD players spend to upgrade them.]

[Rhodes’s Note:

Enjoying the operation so far, Doctor?

(This daily grind literally pays the landship’s rent! 🙇‍♂️):

Massive thanks for reading and supporting the operation!]