The Unwanted Undead Adventurer: Volume 2 Read online

  At a glance, an Orc may appear to be nothing more than a fat, walking pig; however, its round shape belied the true nature of its body, namely its intensely honed musculature. If one did not fully commit to the blow, its muscles would simply stop most types of blades, causing the weapon to leave little but a shallow flesh wound. It was not a very damaging attack at all. One could think of it as a natural kind of armor that all Orcs had been blessed with at birth.

  But that alone was not enough for me to concede defeat, however.

  Dodging the Orc’s horizontal swing, I channeled forth my reserves of mana and spirit. If this dragged on, it would surely become a long, pyrrhic skirmish.

  Enchanting myself with the Shield spell in case my plans went awry, I converted my spirit into physical stamina. It was clear to me that I had to land a killing blow with just a single strike.

  A normal Orc such as this did not come equipped with metal armor or shielding of any kind. If I had to say, more than half of the normal Orcs also did not have any reserves of mana or spirit. Even so, this particular Orc sensed my changing aura, raising its club and staring at me with its beady eyes. Before I could finish my enchantments, the Orc pounded the ground with its feet, rushing toward me with its club raised and without a second thought.

  One could almost feel the intimidation; the sight of an Orc running at full speed toward oneself was indeed one to behold, and perhaps one that many would run from. Adventurers that did run from a charging Orc, however, would eventually be overtaken by it, losing their lives in the process.

  The method by which one secured victory over an Orc was astonishingly straightforward: to not be intimidated by its charge, and strike at its weak points with whatever abilities one was blessed with. Simply put, one watched for openings, then exploited them. But for such a strategy to be successful, one needed the appropriate knowledge and experience, in addition to being able to read the flow of battle.

  As for myself, I possessed knowledge. Experience, however, barring the fact that I was currently in combat with an Orc, I had little to none.

  A thin line divided victory and defeat. Compared to when I was alive, I now wielded a sharply-honed sense of combat. Of course, comparing myself as I was now to how I was in life was one thing; it was quite another to compare myself to adventurers who were Silver-class and above. But I was confident that I had enough strength in me to defeat an Orc; on that point I was certain.

  It was neither a declaration of pride nor folly, but simply a fact that I had become aware of.

  Trusting in my own capabilities, I readied my blade, steeling myself to intercept the Orc’s charge.

  A chance will surely reveal itself. Of that, I am certain.

  Yes... Those words resounded in my mind.

  Before long, I could see the whites of its eyes. In that moment, time itself seemed to slow down as I found myself clearly observing the Orc’s actions and movements.

  Charging toward me, the Orc raised its club, intending to ram straight into me while swinging its weapon for good measure. Unfortunately for the Orc, the decision to raise its club while charging created a particularly large opening at its torso.

  With my blade held out behind me, I slammed my foot down on the ground, swinging my blade into the Orc’s exposed chest in a grand, spinning arc.

  In a moment of what seemed to be pure silence, the Orc and I passed each other. Turning around, blade still in hand, I glanced at the Orc that was now silently standing as copious amounts of blood spurted from its body. Slowly, and with its hand still grasping its club, the Orc fell forward face-first into the ground with a resounding thud.

  Observing the scene before me, a single, simple thought crossed my mind:

  It seems I’ve won.

  And that was exactly what had happened.

  ◆◇◆◇◆

  While it was all well and good that I had defeated the Orc, my job was far from over. Even though it would have been easy to dig around the carcass of the Orc and extract its magic crystal from near its heart, the request I had taken on specifically asked for materials to be gathered from the Orc directly.

  More specifically, it was for the delivery of Orcish flesh, not its magic crystal. I suppose the guild’s client intended to use its flesh as a culinary ingredient.

  A variety of meats were consumed across the lands, the most common ones being pork, beef, and chicken. Needless to say, cattle and the like did not possess mana or other abilities, and they were much safer to domesticate and breed. Their meat, in turn, was more affordable as a result. These meats tasted relatively satisfying, and with the appropriate techniques and adequate effort put in by the farmer, products made from said meats could potentially be of exceptional quality. Cattle were useful creatures indeed.

  But there still existed a type of meat that stood above what most people subsisted upon: Orc meat. While there were many reasons as to why this was the case, the easiest and most straightforward reason was the fact that it was well known that Orc meat simply tasted great.

  I should perhaps dispel a common misconception by the masses: many assume that the taste of Orcish flesh could be attributed to its musculature, but they are very much mistaken. The reason for this was, as I am fond of saying, relatively simple: the flesh and muscle of an Orc was reinforced by mana, with said mana dissipating upon the Orc’s untimely death. This would, in turn, cause the flesh of the Orc to return to its original soft state.

  It is said the taste of Orcish flesh is vastly superior to that of the most well-bred pig, so much so that any who tasted it would be loathe to consume other types of meat.

  Perhaps one would find it strange that such a delicious ingredient was not more common, but it was a simple case of supply and demand. To begin with, adventurers that could actively hunt Orcs were few and far between. At the very least, no adventurer to my knowledge was capable of delivering a shipment of Orc meat large enough to sustain an entire town on a regular basis.

  It was a rare ingredient indeed, commonly found gracing the dinner plates of rich individuals and nobles, or on the tables of slightly pricier restaurants. Such was the nature of its supply; perhaps it goes without saying that it would command a high price due to its scarcity.

  In other words, if one could defeat an Orc and successfully return with its flesh, one would be rewarded handsomely for their efforts.

  Approaching the very same fallen Orc that was to become part of my fortunes, I promptly cut deep into its neck with my blade. Blood once again began spurting forth from the carcass’s new wound. This, combined with the already large cut in its chest, allowed me to quickly drain the body of its fluids.

  During the process, however, I remained silent and deathly alert. There was always the risk of other monsters appearing and attacking me, for Orcish meat was not only favored by humans, after all. Even other monsters lusted after its supposedly heavenly taste.

  As such, it was with much relief that I completed the process without encountering another monster.

  Continuing on with my grisly task, I sliced off what parts of the carcass I needed, wrapping the freshly-harvested meat in large, soft leaves. These leaves were from a plant known as the Maalt-Hoonoki found in the forests around Maalt. It was specifically known for its preservative effects, and it was commonly used to wrap up fresh meat. It was indeed a useful plant.

  I, for one, often carried a good supply of them with me. Much like the fluid-flasks I had used to collect the bodily fluids of a Slime, these leaves were similarly useful tools that every adventurer carried.

  The parts I cut from the carcass were the loin, filet, and brisket, as well as large cuts from its thighs. Although I would have much preferred to toss the entire body into my bag, my pouch could hardly contain it. A pity, really.

  With those oft-used parts removed, I made some cuts for myself, namely its heart, intestines, and trotters. This was as much as I could carry.

  It was a good haul; if nothing else, this amount of meat would fetch a fair s
um. Having properly dissected the carcass, I would be able to sell it to a butcher for good coin. In fact, if I somehow delivered more than what was asked for, I would even be able to eat or sell the rest. Due to the nature of the request, I did not have to deliver a specific part of the Orc as it had only asked for certain cuts from the carcasses. It didn’t exactly hurt to collect more than what the request asked for, since that way, the flesh would not go to waste.

  It was worth noting, however, that the guild did offer dissection services, in addition to having a dedicated dissection room. If possible, I would have liked to transport the carcass wholesale, but I suppose there was little I could do with the physical constraints of my pouch.

  Having finished my harvest, I left the Orc’s body where it lay; it would eventually vanish given some time, as yet another unanswered mystery of the labyrinth. Perhaps it fed the other monsters of the Labyrinth, or was simply absorbed by the structure—either way, one of those two natural means would claim it. So it was not exactly harmful for me to leave the carcass as it was. If anything, it would be put to good use as fertilizer or food for whatever came after.

  With the present possibility of a fresh carcass attracting monsters, that too was merely a fact of life; nothing much could be done about the natural order of things.

  Well, then, I suppose I should move on.

  As I set out on my journey once more, I was reminded of the fact that the request specifically asked for cuts of meat from three Orcs.

  Before I could call it a day, I would have to defeat and collect ingredients from two more Orcs. While I felt repeating two more similar battles would be taxing, I could not help but feel stronger after absorbing the life force of the slain Orc. Indeed, I found myself looking forward to my next battle.

  With those thoughts in mind, I continued my journey, venturing deeper into the Labyrinth of the New Moon in search of such an elusive culinary ingredient.

  ◆◇◆◇◆

  After quite some hard work, I finally gathered the required ingredients. With specific cuts of meat and other organs harvested from the carcasses of three Orcs, I began venturing forth once more, this time headed toward the steps that would take me back to the previous level. While monsters had attacked me on the return leg of my journey, I hadn’t strayed too far from the stairs, fulfilling the details of my request in the general vicinity. In fact, I only crossed paths with Slimes, Goblins, and the like, so I found myself easily progressing without incident.

  If anything, I felt relaxed enough to think of opening the Map of Akasha that I had received from that strange woman.

  Even so, the risk of an Orc suddenly appearing was still ever-present. In light of this, I found myself still somewhat cautious, as I was not exactly confident enough to stand in the middle of a clearing and stare at a self-drawing map. If I had companions keeping an eye on my surroundings, things would have been different, but of course, reality was somewhat different for a solo adventurer such as myself.

  I would really only consult a map if I could be absolutely sure of my safety, or if I was completely and utterly lost. In fact, even if I did have a choice, I would still feel conflicted. What a conundrum.

  I could not help but think of the convenience the map brought to me, however. To think it was capable of charting the paths I had walked along as long as I channeled mana through it!

  And so, it was with the thought of filling out as much of the map as I could that I chose to take a different path as I made my way back to the steps. But the Labyrinth of the New Moon was larger and wider than any other Labyrinth I had set foot in before. Mapping it, in turn, would certainly not be an easy task. At the very least, I would have liked to completely chart one floor of it, if only due to the fact that it would enable me to use the map’s adventurer-tracking function. But on the other hand, this restriction was particularly troublesome for labyrinths with large floors.

  Under normal circumstances, it mattered little to me if I could discern where my fellow adventurers were, but this only held true under said circumstances. If anything, I would only be depending on this function if I were searching for someone, and I suppose that was not the case for now.

  My ponderous trek was soon interrupted by the faint, but definitive sounds of battle.

  In situations such as these, there was no singularly adequate response, with adventurers typically having varied viewpoints. While some adventurers felt it was a courtesy to not pass by and potentially distract a fellow adventurer in combat, others felt it was better to observe silently, offering aid should the situation prove dire.

  Many things could be said about both viewpoints and courses of action, but it was indeed difficult, if not impossible, to say that one was more correct over the other.

  As for my case, I belonged to the latter group. Much like how I had behaved during my first encounter with Rina, I slowly approached the source of the sound. Keeping adequately silent, I slowly walked in the general direction of the commotion, eventually coming to a quick stop.

  Peeking out behind some cover, I spied two adventurers putting up quite the good fight with a few Goblins and Slimes. From their movements and techniques, I suppose they were Iron- or perhaps lower-Bronze-class adventurers of roughly 15 to 16 years of age.

  With that being said, however, they displayed considerable skill despite their youth. The boy was a swordsman of sorts, and the girl, probably a practitioner of the healing arts.

  It was a simple but effective formation: the boy held the front line, and the girl supported him with magic from the rear. Frankly speaking, this formation was a little risky for just two people. While they did a good job of holding out against the Goblins, the Slimes seemed to pose a bit of a problem.

  Just as that thought flitted across my mind, the girl launched a fireball at the Slimes. Such magic was one of many lower-class attack spells, and those with the talent for spellcasting were often quick on the uptake.

  Unfortunately for me, I possessed no such talent or affinity with spells. The only thing I could do was reinforce my body with shielding magic. While I could not cast spells, that girl was throwing fireballs with quite an impressive velocity; I suppose she had studied and practiced quite enough on her part.

  These Slimes were, as usual, weak to attacks of a magical nature, and they were immediately felled by the girl’s blasts. The Slimes, catching fire and dissolving, eventually left only their magic crystals upon the grassy ground. At the same time, the Goblins that the boy had been fighting fell, slain by his blade.

  I supposed these two were fine on their own.

  Satisfied, I turned around and walked away, once again heading for the steps.

  “...Oh, do excuse me.”

  While I had run into some other adventurers on the way back, they had not so much as looked at me, nor had they very much to say at all. For some reason, this filled me with a sort of joy, and I soon found myself out of the labyrinth, with a good day’s worth of hunting now behind me.

  ◆◇◆◇◆

  “...Gaahh! Y-You...” was the sound that greeted me as I entered Lorraine’s abode. Lorraine, who had been drinking some tea before my entrance, was apparently startled enough to spit it all out, with the tea now hanging in the air like a fine mist. Upon closer inspection, she seemed hunched over some documents—documents which bore my registered name with the guild. Specifically, that of a certain “Rentt Vivie.”

  “Are you... All right?” I asked, getting down on all fours with a rag to clean up the small puddle of tea-colored fluid on the ground. Lorraine, however, did not seem to be doing too well, as she was holding her head with both hands, looking positively exasperated.

  “...In some ways I would say, no, I am definitely not all right. Which brings me to the point... Why did you register with such a name? Did you not think for a moment that using my family name would be strange, given our history together?”

  It was as Lorraine said. While what she said had merit, there were other problems to me being here i
n general, problems that had been a long time coming since my untimely arrival and subsequent entrances into Lorraine’s abode. Me stubbornly using the name of “Rentt” did indeed make things a little worse; I could have used another name, no doubt, but things were not that simple.

  If I had used another name, I would perhaps not appear as suspicious in this context. However, rumors of a strange man visiting Lorraine’s home on a regular basis would soon spread, and I did not wish for that to happen. Lorraine was a woman of age, after all. Such a thing would be most undesirable for her reputation. This was specifically why I had chosen to use her family name and pass myself off as a distant relative instead.

  With all that in mind, and the history of my first name being that of a Saint’s and all, combining both that and Lorraine’s family name did not seem too strange. In fact, I had gotten used to it relatively quickly, and I was now using it on a regular basis.

  Concluding my explanation, Lorraine’s expression slowly lightened up. Her previously incredulous stare soon faded, eventually being replaced with one of understanding.

  “...A relative... A relative, you say... Hmm... I suppose that would be somewhat believable, yes...”

  “You see?”

  “...Well, even so. You did not have to go out of your way to consider my circumstances, yes? I really do not mind.

  “To begin with, the fact that I am a woman and a scholar in these rural parts already gifts me with a questionable reputation; at the very least, I am surely regarded as strange.”

  Just as Lorraine said, a female scholar in the faraway, rural frontier town of Maalt was a strange thing indeed in the Kingdom of Yaaran.

  There were, however, no laws prohibiting Lorraine from doing what she had been doing all this time. While there were some contrary opinions and the like, the protests did not center around her gender or profession, but more on the physically taxing nature of operating out of a border town. After all, many monsters walked these lands, so it was almost an occupational hazard for a scholar to cross paths with more monsters than most other professions.