The Unwanted Undead Adventurer: Volume 5 Page 14

  Lorraine pulled out her wand and approached the zombies. She waved her wand around as she drew near. I wondered what she was doing, but then I noticed the wind began to blow from us toward the zombies. She cast a spell with no incantation. It was a low-level spell, but to cast it like it was nothing displayed Lorraine’s skill. I could do the same, but only with the couple of life spells I had used repeatedly over the last decade, so that wasn’t saying much. Those spells didn’t require much restraint. That wasn’t the case for the spell Lorraine used, though. It had to be kept stable to continue blowing wind, so it must have been difficult. The point was to keep the stench or any stray chunks of zombie flesh from flying toward us.

  When Lorraine arrived in front of the zombies, they began to circle around her. Signs of life had drawn them to our camp, but their eyesight seemed poor. They showed no interest in me or anything else around the carriage and instead focused solely on Lorraine. Because there could be more waiting for an ambush, I remained on guard but noticed nothing around me. Zombies weren’t smart enough to sneak up on anyone, either. There was no reason to worry too much. I did sense some more zombies in the distance, but they were steadily decreasing in number for some reason, so they weren’t an issue. Maybe they were killing each other, maybe they were fighting bandits, or maybe they ran into other adventurers. For the time being, I chose to remain cautious, but it was best to turn my attention to Lorraine.

  “Yes, this should be good enough,” Lorraine said once she was surrounded. “Nobody else is nearby? Good. ‘Wind, I command you to blow. Fire, I command you to burn. Become a whirlwind that incinerates my surroundings. Paloom Igni Su Turbo,’” she chanted.

  Flames materialized around Lorraine, followed by a gust of wind. The wind swirled around the flames and created a blazing tornado. The zombies’ rotten brains seemed to still just barely work because they tried to flee from the whirlwind. But it proved too powerful; the red flames burned them to ash.

  Casting fire magic near a forest seemed suicidal, but only for an amateur mage. One of Lorraine’s caliber could control their magic well enough to prevent the fire from spreading. If I tried it, though, we would have a wildfire on our hands. The thought was so frightening I couldn’t work up the will to try.

  After a little while, all the zombies had been incinerated. The spell had fearsome power, but Lorraine was still holding back. Her incantation could have been better, and she even included a line to suppress the strength of the magic. When the blazing tornado shrunk and disappeared, Lorraine stood unharmed where it had once been. She turned toward me.

  “Rentt, come over here,” she said.

  I wondered what she wanted and walked over, finding a pile of ash and magic crystals. They clearly came from the zombies, but I would have thought they were blasted away. The level of control she had over her spells was a thing to behold, but now I saw why Lorraine called me here.

  “I thought burning them to ash would be enough, but after gathering these all together, I guess not. I could use holy water, but conveniently, I have you here. Can you take care of this?” she requested.

  In other words, the ash and the crystals were full of evil energy and miasma. I was supposed to use my power to purge it.

  ◆◇◆◇◆

  Many impure monsters required purification upon defeat, which adventurers handled in a number of ways. The method Lorraine mentioned was to use holy water on the corpses. It worked well enough on all but the most powerful monsters, so this was a relatively common tactic. But most adventurers didn’t bother to do anything. Holy water cost money, and few adventurers carried it around at all times. If they took a request to vanquish impure monsters, any adventurer with common sense would bring some along, but many chose not to because it was too much effort or it would cut into their profits.

  Instead, they left the remains alone. This was a bad move because the corpses of impure monsters would curse the land they died on, eventually making it uninhabitable, like with the Swamp of Tarasque. The miasma from zombies was only strong enough to make the land around their corpses infertile for a few years, but it was still best to do something about them. That was why Lorraine gathered up all the ash in one place. She probably collected the crystals just so we could sell them later, but they required purification as well.

  When monsters were burned to ash, like in this case, purification was sometimes unnecessary. If they had been scattered by the tornado, the evil energy and miasma would be dispersed enough to make it harmless. It might make passers-by a little sick or slow the growth of plants, but nothing more than that. That still wasn’t good, but it was acceptable.

  But Lorraine was a sensible adventurer, so she kept holy water on her and would have used it if I wasn’t around. I was, though, so she didn’t need to. Holy water was expensive, so it was best to conserve when possible. In contrast, any divinity I used would eventually recover. It showed how useful divinity users could be.

  “I guess I’ll do that, then,” I said. I held my hands out to the pile of ashes and crystals and began to fill it with divinity. Both purification and healing were something I had an instinctive sense of how to do, which was a nice aspect of divinity. The proper way to do it was probably more efficient, but to learn that, I would have to join some religious organization somewhere. That, or I would have to ask a freelance divinity user. There weren’t many of them, but they did exist.

  I slowly poured more divinity until the wicked aura from the ashes and crystals dissolved into the air. It seemed to be purged, so I let out a sigh of relief. I knew how to do it, but I’d never properly learned, so I was unsure if my method was correct. It didn’t seem to cause any problems this time, at least, but there was one curiosity.

  “The walking fertilizer strikes again. This is what happens when you purify something?” Lorraine murmured as she stared at the purged ashes.

  “Stop calling me that,” I demanded. “Judging by these results, though, I have to admit it’s not inaccurate,” I responded and gazed at the ashes as well. There were sprouts growing from them, and I knew they had grown thanks to my divinity. Plants couldn’t grow on corrupted land, so this proved the purification worked, but this entry on the list of reasons to call me walking fertilizer left me astounded.

  “Oh well, it’s not like this does any harm.” Lorraine concluded. “It’s safe to pick up the magic crystals now, I take it?”

  I looked at the crystals and confirmed there was no miasma or evil energy left. “Yeah. I wouldn’t expect much money for zombie crystals, though.”

  “Probably not, but I can use them to research necromancy. They’ll be perfect for that.”

  Lorraine said it like it was nothing, but necromancy was a forbidden art of sorts. It wasn’t banned by the government, and you wouldn’t be executed for using it, but it was considered immoral. Necromancy itself was said to be a legendary technique that had been lost to time. All that remained was some ominous hearsay. That was probably the reason for Lorraine’s research, but she could very well bring back necromancy if she tried, and that was kind of a scary thought. But I didn’t expect Lorraine to be interested in that.

  “Why research necromancy?” I questioned.

  “It could help to understand the undead. Necromancy has long been forgotten, so researching the undead who continue to exist might be faster, but this could help somehow,” she answered.

  Now I understood. “So you’re doing it for me?” I asked.

  Lorraine looked at me like I was stupid for asking. “Obviously, yes. I’d rather not dabble in the forbidden arts otherwise. Well, it’s not like I’ll be executed for researching it, so it’s not as if it’ll be a serious issue,” she replied.

  It felt like I was putting a weight on her shoulders. “Sorry,” I apologized.

  “That’s not the right word for the situation, Rentt. There’s something else you could say.”

  “Right. Thanks for all your help.”

  “Please, we’re friends. Don’t worry about
it.”

  ◆◇◆◇◆

  Some time passed after that.

  “Oh? Someone else is here. Do we have actual humans this time?” Lorraine said.

  I noticed it too. The zombies I had sensed in the distance were gone, so this must have been what fought against them. Whatever it was that approached us, there was only one. There had been a considerable number of zombies out there, so if this was a human, they were strong enough to take them all down by themselves. This was someone with a great deal of skill. It would be fine if they were an adventurer, but if they happened to be a thief or something, it could get ugly. Lorraine and I stood on guard and prepared for what was coming.

  ◆◇◆◇◆

  “A kid?” Lorraine whispered when something appeared from the forest.

  She couldn’t have been right. “Why would some ordinary kid be in the middle of nowhere?” I argued. Maybe it wasn’t completely impossible, but it was highly unlikely. It did look like a child, though, except for certain traits that stood out.

  “Methought the zombies fled this way. Mayhap you fellows smote them?” the child said in an incredibly archaic manner. It was a style of speech nobody had used since before my grandparents’ generation. We still understood what she meant, though, so we could at least communicate. There were old folks in my village who spoke like this, and Lorraine came from a world dominated by the elderly.

  “Yes, it was me who took them down. You can see their ashes right there,” Lorraine replied to the supposed child, pointing to the pile of ash.

  The child nodded. “Ash? A mage, are you? I see, you do have incredible mana. Those zombies would be but a trifle to you. Yet ’twas my failure to slay them all that let them get here. Forgive me,” she said modestly.

  That meant these monsters were her target for some reason. “What were these zombies?” I asked out of curiosity.

  “Ah, there was a village hereabouts four decades ago, where once there were villagers. Zombies need no sustenance and hence will remain until they are vanquished. Howbeit, not a soul has tread this land since, and the zombies have thus been in a dormant state all this time.”

  While zombies didn’t require any food, that made them sluggish and inactive. If nobody was around to attack, they ceased to function at all. That was called a dormant state. Something must have awakened them, presumably this child when she entered the ruins of the village.

  I didn’t know what to say about that. That was what it meant to be undead, I supposed. Undying was not the same as living. You continued to exist, but if there was nobody around to remember you, then you might as well have been dead. I thought it was beyond tragic, and my feelings must have crept into the look on my face because the child got the wrong idea.

  “Worry not, I buried them all so they shan’t return. ’Twould be pitiful to leave them as they were,” she said as she approached the ashes. “I happen to be a master of the divine arts, and purging evil is my specialty. Shall I also purify these ashes? Wait, hm?”

  From what she said, I thought this could lead to some trouble, but it was already too late. If she could actually use divinity, then there was no hiding it. And I knew she spoke the truth because I could see her hands were full of divinity. That explained how she could so easily hunt zombies.

  “The evil energy has already been purged? Burning them to ash wouldn’t have this effect. Did you use holy water, perchance?” she asked.

  Lorraine took out a bottle of holy water. “Yes, I carry some around for times like these.”

  The child was convinced. “Hohoh, you are wise compared to the average adventurer nowadays. The undead lurk all about, and they must be cleared away after their defeat to avoid disaster. Long ago, we all kept holy water on hand, but now— Ah, excuse my grousing.”

  “Whatever,” I replied vaguely, thinking about how she was speaking to an undead at that very moment. I wasn’t trying to hide it, but I wasn’t keen on telling a divinity user either, so I waited to see what happened.

  “’Twas all purged without a trace, though. Holy water wouldn’t be so thorough. Wait! Grass? In the ash? And ’tis giving off divinity, no less! Are you hiding something from me?!” she frantically asked.

  We had kept our distance out of caution, but she moved right next to us in an instant. It was no joke, and I didn’t need divinity to see she had remarkable skill. However, if she tried to attack, we did have some room to counterattack, so we were still fine. Either way, I sensed no hostility and saw no reason to draw my weapon.

  At any rate, Lorraine responded to the child. “We’re not trying to, but we’ve hardly had a chance to talk yet. We don’t even know each other’s names,” she said with the utmost honesty.

  We were hiding that I used divinity to purge it, technically, but nothing she told her was a lie.

  The child seemed to agree with her. “Forsooth, I have yet to introduce myself. Is that why you’re so on guard?”

  The child acted innocent, but it was all a sham judging by the deft way she approached us a moment ago. She seemed to think on her feet too.

  “Hrm, I have not seen adventurers with such backbone in some time. Tell me your names. Of course, I will start. I am Alhildis, a meager adventurer. I’m Gold-class! Behold,” the child said and presented her adventurer’s license.

  When adventurers encountered each other, this was the easiest way to establish trust. Her shining gold license appeared to be the real deal.

  We were still wary, but Alhildis kindly tossed us her license. “Check it until you’re satisfied,” she said.

  There was no reason to assume it was a fake now, but some thieves did copy adventurer’s licenses to disguise themselves. After all that had happened with her so far, that seemed implausible in this case, but I looked the license over just to be safe.

  Both Lorraine and I felt we’d suspected Alhildis too much when we otherwise wouldn’t have if not for her appearance. We analyzed the license until we determined it was legitimate and then threw it back to her.

  “Sorry we doubted you,” Lorraine said. “But you have to understand how we feel. We never see elves around these parts.”

  Yes, elves like Alhildis were extremely rare in this region. She had beautiful pointed ears and sky blue eyes. Her golden hair was cut in a medium-length bob. She had the stature of a girl around ten years old but came across like an old woman. It was impossible to not be suspicious.

  ◆◇◆◇◆

  “Yea, of course. I, too, was wary because I sensed powerful magick. You’re not alone,” Alhildis said with a smile. She felt so innocent and lackadaisical that this admission came as a bit of a surprise. But only a bit of one, given elves were known for being crafty.

  Despite looking like a ten-year-old human, she could have mentally been decades, even centuries old. At that age, she was a creature beyond our comprehension. But in all honesty, so was I from their perspective. Lorraine, Alhildis, and I were all different beings from each other. That was kind of interesting, but I couldn’t bring myself to mention it.

  “That’s good to hear,” Lorraine said. “Oh, I should introduce myself too. I’m Lorraine Vivie, a scholar, adventurer, and mage. And this is—”

  “Rentt,” I interrupted. “I’m also an adventurer. My main weapon is a sword.”

  Talking about your fighting style was a standard part of introductions between adventurers. We knew how Alhildis presented herself when she showed us her license. It said she was a mage, but based on her use of divinity, that seemed to be a front. These descriptions didn’t mean much, and it wasn’t like Lorraine and I used magic or swords exclusively either.

  We showed her our licenses too, though they didn’t tell her a lot. They were good for proving your identity, but little more than that.

  “Hm, Lorraine and Rentt? I’ll try to remember. As for myself, mayhap Alhildis is too long a name. I ask you call me Hilde or Hildi,” Alhildis said.

  Lorraine and I looked at each other. “Hilde, then. Should we treat you as
an elder, or...?” Lorraine trailed off.

  Hilde was an elf and likely far older than us. From what she said about adventurers back in the day, this was obvious. Nobody has walked around with holy water since at least my grandparents’ generation. If she was our senior, it was hard to know exactly how to speak to her.

  “Talk to me as you have been,” Hilde said. “I’m treated as a beldam all too often. As you can see, I look young for my age.”

  She looked more than a little young. I had no idea how old elves were supposed to look at any given age, though, so I looked to Lorraine to see if she knew. Her eyes told me it was beyond her. But Hilde said she was young, so we could go with that, I decided.

  Lorraine nodded and chose not to ask about her age any further. “Then how about we just treat each other like adventurers? So, Hilde, why are you here?” she asked.

  Depending on Hilde’s answer, we could end up in a fight, but after the cordial conversation, I hoped it wouldn’t come to that. Besides which, while she seemed to be messing around, she had to be powerful. These kinds of people were always insanely strong when it came to adventurers. She was Gold-class, meaning she rivaled Nive, if not surpassed her. Elves also lived long enough lives to learn a plethora of skills, and they had spirit magic particular to their race. I didn’t want to get on her bad side. Lorraine asked about her objective in the hope of ensuring we were safe, and I felt the same way. I didn’t know if Hilde guessed our intentions or not, but she replied in a sincere tone.

  “Oh, right. ’Tis a long story, but in short, I am an adventurer who hails from the capital. I took a job to restore the village of Toraka by smiting the undead who dwell here. The deed was done just moments ago when I defeated their boss, but the zombies were so great in number a few managed to flee this way. I do apologize,” she said.

  Toraka was the name of the village that was destroyed in this region many years back. I had heard about it from the adults in my hometown. Lorraine seemed to infer the same from our conversation. Hilde mentioned it fell to ruin four decades ago, a number specific enough I assumed she spoke the truth. There was nothing else around, so I couldn’t imagine why else she would be here.