The Unwanted Undead Adventurer Vol. 01 Page 5

  Basically, if the skeleton’s attack connected, the girl would die. All I could do was accept that fact as I came to this conclusion.

  I didn’t mean to say that I could simply accept the girl’s death as it was—I simply meant that I had intended to continue my observations, as appearing before her would entail all sorts of risks.

  Although I’d been caught up in the heat of the moment prior to arriving at this spot, I had finally calmed my mind upon seeing a living, breathing human. Even if I were to appear before her now, she would think of me as nothing more than a monster; a conversation was beyond my wildest dreams.

  It was beyond me to simply leave the girl to die, however.

  Although I was now physically a monster, my heart remained that of a human. Unless the person in question was some sort of terrible scoundrel, I would definitely, at the very least, attempt to help them. To me, this was the right course of action: a senior adventurer protecting the life of their junior in the unforgiving harshness of the dungeon.

  This was why I did what I did.

  “...GAAAAAAH!!!”

  To distract the skeleton from its prey, I jumped out from my corner, roaring as ferociously as I could. I wasn’t so sure if my plan would work, as it was a half-gamble to begin with, mainly owing to the fact that I was currently a ghoul.

  Not being an expert in monster behavior, I had no idea just how much attention a monster would give to a loud noise generated by another. The monsters that I had fought up until now did seem to register me as an enemy, though, as they immediately readied themselves for combat upon laying eyes on me. Maybe something about me made me different from other monsters, with the monsters in question noticing this about me, as well. This was why I did as such—if anything, my plan should have a high rate of success.

  It didn’t take long for me to see that my gamble had paid off. Stopping midway through its attack, the skeleton instead turned and faced me before rushing in my general direction.

  The girl’s eyes opened wide at this development. It would seem she had intended to slay the skeleton where it stood, with it having shown its back to her. However, the girl seemed too overcome with shock and merely stood frozen in place.

  There simply was no choice. I drew my sword, running toward the enemy. Although I had originally intended to save it, I began channeling spirit into my sword. I had to end this quickly with a decisive blow.

  After evolving into a ghoul, I became aware of the fact that spirit attacks could now be used quite a few times without me running out of energy—so I supposed one attack now wouldn’t hurt my reserves too much.

  Raising my sword in a well-trained motion, I put my body into the blow, swinging my sword down with considerable force. It was a clean stroke, deeply engraving into my opponent’s bony body. In a split second, the skeleton severed into two neat halves, breaking into numerous fragments as what remained of its body hit the ground.

  “...Amazing... ”

  The female adventurer, stunned, could only continue staring at the remains of what had been the skeleton mere seconds ago.

  I couldn’t blame her. Although skeletons were weak monsters in general, few adventurers in my class could easily split them in two. Anyone would be surprised; yes, even me.

  That was indeed amazing.

  Huh.

  Was I always this strong?

  That was how I felt after slaying the skeleton. I stood silently for a while, pondering about what had just occurred.

  It seemed like I was now even stronger than before. If I kept growing at this rate, my goal of eventually evolving into a vampire seemed within reach. I felt a ray of hope in my heart—although I was perhaps getting ahead of myself a little too much.

  With that thought, I was jolted awake—

  The girl was still where she stood. Surely she was more important than my internal monologues.

  Was she hurt?

  Although I had motioned to speak, it felt like something was caught in my throat, and I was immediately reminded that I was nothing more than a ghoul. If I carelessly approached her, she would certainly run; that would not do.

  Then...what should I do?

  Turning to look at the girl, I found her with her sword raised, staring at me in fear.

  It did not seem like we could come to terms so easily.

  ◆◇◆◇◆

  “S-stay away!!”

  That was the girl’s response as I approached her with an outstretched hand, a stray “Vaaaahh...” escaping my lips as I attempted to speak.

  Again, I couldn’t blame her. There was perhaps not a single person alive who wouldn’t be alarmed if a ghoul approached them in a dungeon with its arms raised.

  Come to think of it, it was also strange for something like a ghoul to be present in the Water Moon Dungeon in the first place. This was due to the simple fact that ghouls were of an even higher class than skeletons, and they did not simply appear randomly in a place so commonly frequented by lowly ranked adventurers.

  If one did appear, it would surely be due to some sort of irregularity at the lower levels, or it would be a unique monster governed by one of the dungeon’s mysterious rules. In those cases, those monsters would be seen as special and were more often than not a lot stronger than their normal counterparts.

  If a beginner were to encounter a monster like this, their death was almost guaranteed—hence the girl’s cautiousness. In fact, it would be strange if she were not on her guard.

  Although it would seem strange for me to do all that despite being aware of how I would look to a normal being, that wasn’t what I intended to do. If anything, I wanted to greet and speak with her casually. However, I was still not used to this body. Though I could somehow fight in it, speaking appeared to be excessively difficult.

  Due to the fact that I had trained my body for the past decade, and knew my movements and weaknesses well, I could easily compensate for and fix any issues that arose from my newfound body. However, talking was another issue altogether. I never really practiced speaking to begin with, and what I had assumed to be a simple task was turning out to be more difficult than I thought. As a result, my words were instead mangled into a series of half-roars, and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it.

  To make matters worse, there was the issue of my body being that of a corpse. Further exacerbating the issue was the fact that this adventurer in particular was a young girl. Although I was shocked at her defensive posture and words, there was, again, not much I could do about the current state of affairs.

  More than my potentially disgusting appearance, however, was the fact that I was a ghoul—that was probably enough for her to raise her blade against me.

  Probably.

  Be that as it may, I had to establish a form of communication one way or another. This was the reason I stopped at her words and instead stood in place, desperately trying to form my incoherent roars into words.

  “Vaa... VAAAaa... Ge... Gellow... Aagghh... Ahh... Ah am... Ven... Ventt... VENTT!!”

  “Eek!!”

  The sudden increase in volume further perturbed my already incoherent words, causing the poor girl to jump up in fright.

  I was not discouraged, however. If anything, I felt that giving up now would be an incredibly bad idea.

  For example, if I had simply given up and left, the girl would surely escape. She would then report my existence to the guild, which would then classify me as a special monster of sorts, which would then lead to the guild dispatching strong adventurers to dispose of me. That was a turn of events I definitely wanted to avoid.

  Although I had become somewhat stronger from fighting and defeating numerous other monsters, there were many other adventurers out there who were stronger than I was. If someone like that were sent to hunt me, my life would end for a second time.

  That’s why establishing some sort of communication with this girl was of utmost importance. At the very least, I had to convince her that I was not a threat.

&n
bsp; Although the option of killing the girl to silence her remained open, I could not bring myself to do it—I was, and still am, human after all. I truly could not do something like that. If the girl were a bandit or some sort of criminal, perhaps I could entertain the notion. However, she seemed to be a scared adventurer fighting for her life, and I could not see her as anything else. Even if it were for my own benefit, I could not bring myself to take away her future—not from one as young as herself.

  This was why I tried my damnedest to speak.

  “V... Veeassee...! Vis... Visten... Vu me... Ahh... Not... Enevii...”

  I continued repeating my incoherent words. The girl, in turn, surprised at my actions and lack of hostility, seemed to start listening.

  “Ah...? It’s...talking...?”

  “Ves... Vess... Aie amm... Rentt! I... Adv... Venturer...”

  Maybe it was to be expected that things would be a little different with someone to actually speak to. Slowly but surely, my speech became more coherent.

  Clarity gradually crept back into my voice—its once dry and raspy roars now sporting some degree of clarity. At the very least, it was clear enough for her to vaguely understand me.

  “Adven... Adventurer? You? An adventurer?! Um... Were you once an adventurer... Maybe...?”

  “Ves! Ay... Adv...venturer! Nam... Name... Rentt!”

  “Mister Rend?”

  “Rentt... Ren...tt! Ren...tt... ”

  “Ah, Mister Rentt...”

  It would seem that she had gotten more used to me.

  It occurred to me that this girl held a somewhat gutsy disposition. Although she continued to firmly grasp her weapon, she did not seem to mind that she was currently engaged in an otherwise normal conversation with me, a ghoul. A normal adventurer would have simply struck out at me, or looked for an opening to escape.

  “So, Mister Rentt... Your appearance... Is that some sort of disguise?”

  “No... No. I...died... ”

  Although her eyes widened at my statement, her expression slowly transitioned to that of pity as I continued my story.

  “Ah... S-something like that happened, huh... No matter how you put it, you DO look like a ghoul... Hmm. But I have heard stories of people becoming undead monsters after death. Although I’ve never heard of someone keeping their personality and memories...”

  The girl’s observations rang true. While cases of undead monsters preserving some part of their memory after death did exist, it would mainly be memories that influenced the monster’s behavior and mannerisms. They were, as such, not considered to have the same mental clarity and sentience of a normal, living person.

  The reverse also held true—legends speaking of individuals who, through highly advanced magic, managed to reincarnate themselves as undead monsters with their consciousness intact and functional. Sightings of them, however, were few and far between. Needless to say, I hadn’t encountered such a being myself.

  In other words, a ghoul like myself, who was fully capable of coherent speech, logic, and reason, was no longer a rare occurrence, but instead an impossible one.

  I found myself at a loss—I had no way to explain why I had ended up this way. I did have a hunch, however. If I had to guess, the dragon that ate me definitely had something to do with it.

  Other than that, however, I inferred that I was, for all intents and purposes, a regular ghoul. But that was not something I could simply tell this girl.

  More importantly, I needed her to understand that I was very much sentient and capable of reason. After all, securing a source of cooperation and eventual aid was first on my agenda.

  I had to make it back to Maalt at any cost. And for that to happen, I had to enlist this girl to assist me—which was why I said:

  “... That... I... I also... D-don’t...know. But... I... I live!”

  “I-is that right? You... You live? That’s a little strange coming from you... But you’re definitely not a normal monster... And you did save my life. Oh, yes, you did! So, thank you very much!”

  As if realizing this fact midway through her speech, the girl thanked me, still holding her sword as she did so.

  I responded in kind.

  “D... Don’t... Worry. About... It. Advent... Turers. Help... Each other...”

  “Um... Is what you’re saying really true? So, I can leave? You’re...not going to kill me or anything like that?”

  I found myself more flustered than I should have been at the girl’s question.

  “I... I... Will not kill... Kill you. But... I would... Would like some... Help.”

  “P-phew! That’s a relief! I thought I was a goner there... But... Help? A request...? Well... You are the person... Um. I mean, monster, who saved my life... So I’ll hear you out! Well... I hope you don’t ask for my blood or flesh or anything...”

  “Of... Course. About my... Request. I need... C... Clothes... To wear.”

  “...Clothes? To wear? Hmm. Ahh... Ahh. Right. I see.”

  Saying so, the girl stared at me as if she were closely inspecting a biological specimen of sorts. Eventually, she nodded as she understood my predicament.

  “If you continued as you were...other adventurers might simply mistake you for a monster and attack you... Hmm. Well, then, would a robe or something to hide your body suffice?”

  “Y... Yes. That... Sounds g-good... Thank... You. Here... Some m-gold... Gold.”

  The girl was probably an Iron-class adventurer who did not have much in the way of income. Such was evident from her equipment alone.

  Although I was a somewhat lower class of adventurer myself, I didn’t have many difficulties earning my keep, and I still had the gold and equipment I had on me prior to my unfortunate demise. Some of my equipment remained on my person, but some other items had been scattered around the clearing. I did, of course, retrieve my belongings and perform the adequate checks for damage.

  Detaching my coin-filled purse from my belt, I placed it on the ground, retreating a few steps backward as I instructed the girl to pick it up. The girl, for her part, advanced slowly and cautiously before finally bending over and picking up the bag, checking its contents.

  “T-this is... Wow! You’ve made quite the fortune! I suppose you were quite a famous adventurer in life?” asked the girl, surprised.

  In truth, my wealth had been amassed by steadily saving across the years, as opposed to me suddenly earning a large sum. The girl now held my entire fortune in her hands.

  On that point, however, I remained silent. I didn’t want to start explaining my affairs—if I did, it would surely lead back to the dragon, one way or another. Instead, I decided to redirect the conversation by once again bringing up the subject at hand.

  “C-clothes... Once you... Have them. You can... Use. The rest for... Yourself. P-please.”

  To those words, the girl had this to say:

  “I... I understand. I guess you have been through a lot... But you don’t seem like a bad monster to me. You know, if it weren’t for you, I would already be dead... I, Rina Rupaage, daughter of knights, will most certainly repay this favor in full. Please wait for me, Mister Rentt...”

  With that, the girl continued to back away, still holding her sword. Soon after, she was gone.

  It would seem she was still somewhat afraid of me. But of course that would be the case. If anything, that was the correct course of action that should be taken as an adventurer. Adventurers who were careless or too trusting were bound to end up dead somewhere, and sooner rather than later.

  I felt that she would one day become a skilled adventurer.

  The problem now was straightforward: would she actually keep her promise, or would she simply abscond with my money? Equipped with my decade of experience with regards to assessing the character of new adventurers, however, I felt that Rina would not betray me. She seemed a bit too serious and morally upright to do something like that.

  Well, even if she did betray me, I suppose I would deal with the fallout then.
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  If, as a result, a strong adventurer were to be sent after me, I had to at least try and defend myself—I had to become stronger. Or would it be more appropriate to simply hone my hiding skills? I felt silly at even raising the possibility of such a notion. I suppose it would just come down to becoming physically stronger in the end.

  And so I continued hunting other monsters in the Water Moon Dungeon, all the while keeping those thoughts in mind as I patrolled its halls.

  ◆◇◆◇◆

  Rina Rupaage was a new adventurer and a young girl at 17 years of age. Her armor and weapons were visibly cheap—as were most of the other items on her being. One could almost say that she looked impoverished.

  Upon closer inspection, however, certain points caused her to stand out. Her beautiful blonde hair, which was well-cared for, paired well with her bright blue eyes that held a hope-filled gaze. If anything, a dress and a more delicate manner of clothing suited her much more than an adventurer’s outfit.

  Her reason for coming to Maalt, a town on the fringes of Yaaran’s borders, was clear: she had received information that two beginner-level dungeons existed near that town—at least, that was what she had heard in the capital.

  After all, there were many skilled adventurers in the capital of Yaaran, most of them proving to be quite strong. Due to this, it wasn’t the most conducive of places for a new adventurer who had yet to make a name for herself. This was why Rina had set out for Maalt, in search of a place where she could feel more comfortable.

  She had also been advised by a staff member of the capital’s adventurer’s guild that new adventurers were in demand at border towns. This introduced her to the various towns available—towns where she could train while saving up some money. Rina, completely taken in by the staff member’s description of said towns, eventually made her way to Maalt.

  Normally, adventurers based in the capital of Yaaran would not relocate to a fringe town regardless of the amount of competition. To the greater half of adventurers, the capital was the place to be, primarily due to the higher-paying quests available. As such, most would not want to leave the capital at all, and called those who had been assigned to fringe towns “capital dropouts”—such were the general sentiments of Yaaran’s adventurers.