The Unwanted Undead Adventurer Vol. 01 Read online

  Rina, however, did not feel this way. Due to her personal circumstances, she very much preferred to leave the capital as soon as she could; that was how Rina Rupaage found herself immediately applying for an assignment in Maalt upon the staff member’s recommendation.

  It had been a day since Rina had reached the town. Although she had first set foot in Maalt filled with hopes and dreams, she very quickly found her dreams shattered.

  The reason for this was, once again, quite obvious. To a freshly-minted adventurer like Rina, both of Maalt’s supposedly entry-level dungeons posed too much of a challenge. Exploring them herself was far too taxing, and while assembling a party was the best course of action, no one had wanted to group up with her. This was due to Rina’s gender, appearance, and possibly, her history.

  That is to say, Rina was a woman, which automatically placed her a rung under her male counterparts. To make things worse, she looked far too delicate and was equipped with the cheapest items money could buy. In addition, it had hardly been a month since she became an adventurer. It was easy for any seasoned veteran to simply assume that Rina was “adventuring” as a hobby and therefore couldn’t be taken seriously. An unfortunate and discriminatory story.

  In reality, Rina was perhaps a tier above the typical adventurer who came to Maalt. In addition to being familiar with her weapon, she also possessed a sincere and honest personality. To one with an eye for talent, such a combination of strength and will for her experience level was rare—and if anything, Rina could definitely pull her own weight in a party.

  However, it would seem that Rina Rupaage did not have very good luck. All of the individuals she had approached to form a party with had jumped to erroneous conclusions regarding her abilities.

  Under normal circumstances, the local adventurer’s guild would employ several spotters, usually staking out at one watering hole or another in search of new talent. Of important note here, the spotter for Maalt’s guild was none other than Rentt Faina. In his absence, a higher-leveled adventurer would spot in his stead. Unfortunately for Rina, neither were present upon her arrival.

  As a result, Rina, who was unable to find anyone else to adventure with, ended up deciding to explore the Water Moon Dungeon alone. Although the staff members of Maalt’s adventurer’s guild had their misgivings, they had received reports of Rina’s capabilities from the capital and thus determined that the chances of her losing her life in the dungeon were low. This was why the guild had allowed her to undertake a quest on her own, albeit with prior words of warning.

  To Rina, it would only be a matter of time before Rentt or one of the guild’s advertised adventurers came searching for her, so it probably wouldn’t matter much if she went exploring on her own in the meantime. While most of Rina’s assumptions were true, she would have possibly made a different decision had she known more of the outside world.

  Rina was considerably sheltered. While she was capable of a large variety of sword skills, most of these techniques were ceremonial in nature, so they did not serve any purpose in actual combat. To make matters worse, Rina didn’t have much in the way of combat experience at all. This was why she had ended up adventuring on her own in the Water Moon Dungeon, under the recommendations of Maalt’s adventurer’s guild. Although, she eventually ended up in a situation that very nearly claimed her life.

  She had gotten off to a good start and had managed to defeat a few monsters on her own, so she could have simply stopped then and there, collecting what ingredients and magic crystals she could for a tidy sum at the exchange. However, Rina overestimated her abilities and decided to go further.

  If anything, this was a mistake often committed by new adventurers. While Rina was bound by many other rules and often treated as excess baggage in parties, she used to have some fellow adventurers to party with—and veterans, in turn, to offer her words of caution. However, this was not the case in Maalt, and Rina had made a potentially fatal decision because of that.

  As a result of her actions, she had a close call with death at the hands of a skeleton. Had the fight continued, she would have surely lost her life.

  But Rina was lucky; after all, she ended up crossing paths with someone who had decided to help her.

  Just as the skeleton before her raised its arm for the final blow, a savage cry pierced the air.

  “...GAAAAAAH!!!”

  Lifting her head at the sound, Rina could just make out a silhouette at the end of the passageway.

  Just as she wondered who her savior could be, Rina found herself at a loss for words, for what was standing in the passageway was a monster much deadlier than a typical skeleton—a ghoul. It also didn’t appear to be a normal ghoul; a complex-looking series of tattoos were etched on its face, softly emitting a dim, blue glow.

  Although Rina had not encountered many monsters in her short career as an adventurer, even she picked up on the fact that the monster before her was unique. If anything, it was probably a special monster native to this dungeon.

  There were a few different types of special monsters, including “rare named monsters” and “rare monsters.” As their names suggested, they were exceptionally rare indeed and didn’t normally appear in the dungeon at all. They also had unique features. To make things worse, in most cases, such monsters were much stronger than their normal counterparts. If one was not adequately prepared, one’s life could easily be forfeit.

  Consequently, the ghoul that appeared before Rina seemed to possess traits that most special monsters did. While its features were telling, the aura that emanated from its being was an even more obvious indicator.

  This is bad...

  Such was the conclusion that Rina Rupaage had arrived at.

  As if to compound her fears, the ghoul charged toward the skeleton, the very same one that was about to take her life, and easily sliced it in half with a single flash of its blade. So clean were its movements that she momentarily forgot the blade’s wielder was a ghoul.

  After calming down, Rina immediately realized that she was in a dire strait. It was now clear to her that she could not possibly defeat this ghoul, and that her life as an adventurer would now end.

  Rina prepared herself.

  However, it seemed her encounter with the ghoul was a good thing. For one reason or another, the monster that appeared before her began to speak, eventually asking for her assistance. To be more specific, the ghoul had requested that she purchase clothes for it.

  Quickly agreeing, Rina hurriedly ran off in the direction of Maalt. She’d been speaking with a monster after all. As an adventurer, it would be common sense not to trust a monster, and to simply report what she had seen to the guild. At least, that was how common sense worked.

  Rina, however, understood that the ghoul had saved her life. As a result, she felt like she had to repay the favor in some way.

  While she was an adventurer now, Rina was once the daughter of a proud family of knights.

  ◆◇◆◇◆

  Rentt Faina did not return. Sheila Ibarss, staff member of Maalt’s adventurer’s guild, felt that this was highly irregular.

  Although Sheila had only worked at the guild for five years and was a junior compared to her colleagues, she had known Rentt for a much longer period of time. He was the first adventurer she had met when she first started working at the guild. While Rentt was younger then, an adventurer 20 years of age, he had already been adventuring for five years prior; even so, he was still a lower-Bronze-class adventurer. It was plain to see that he wasn’t exactly cut out for the job.

  Most adventurers who did not make the cut were content to quit adventuring after a few years. They would return to their hometowns or seek other means of employment upon realizing that they were lacking in any adventuring talent or aptitude. Though it may sound as such, it wasn’t exactly a shameful thing, and a fair amount of adventurers made such a choice.

  Although there were fools who would accuse those who retired as merely not working hard enough or unwillin
g to risk their lives, those who knew better understood that adventuring was not a job to be taken lightly. In response, those who were unable to understand this were seen as fools themselves—such was the common sentiment amongst most adventurers with good sense.

  In other words, Rentt was already close to a suitable age for retirement, and it fell upon Sheila Ibarss, who had been assigned as his supervisor, to inform him of the news.

  Sheila, however, resented becoming Rentt’s supervisor at the time. The reason wasn’t due to a personal dislike of Rentt. Staff members of the adventurer’s guild had a duty to guide and assist adventurers until their last days. Looking at Rentt’s age and history, it was evident that he should soon retire as an adventurer—and it was also her job to unfortunately tell him as such. It was a job that someone had to do but also one that no one wanted to do. Most of the time staff members usually avoided such an assignment.

  Sheila found herself somewhat depressed that her first job was to dismiss an adventurer. But it would seem that Sheila worried for nothing in the end.

  To the adventurer’s guild of Maalt, Rentt was apparently exempt from such considerations. Although his years of experience and his simply being an adventurer (without much significant progress) did make him a good target for retirement recommendations, he was seen as too valuable an asset to lose. This was due to the fact that his activities in and out of the guild had undeniably positive effects for Maalt’s populace. As such, it was determined that Rentt would not be promoted but simply remain as he was for the time being.

  In fact, the adventurer’s guildmaster of Maalt would scout Rentt himself into the guild as a staff member should he ever retire from adventuring—such was Rentt’s value to the guild.

  For starters, Rentt served multiple purposes, and he fulfilled numerous roles in the guild. Not only was he a good judge of aptitude in new adventurers, he also introduced them to party members who would be a good fit. He also educated newcomers on the rules, common sense, and field knowledge required to properly explore a dungeon. To complete the picture, Rentt also frequently foiled the plots of adventurers who were up to no good.

  This was, by and large, basic knowledge that anyone could impart. But due to a shortage of personnel actually willing to perform such tasks, Rentt’s existence was a blessing to many newcomers to dungeon exploration.

  Under normal circumstances, much of this work would fall to representatives of the guild. Rentt, however, performed most of these tasks free of charge. Although the guild occasionally contracted him to perform these tasks, such occurrences were rare. Even so, he went about his tasks happily and without complaint.

  In addition, as a direct result of his endeavors, the death rate of new adventurers in the surrounding dungeons of Maalt fell greatly compared to that of other areas. The greater propensity for local adventurers educated by Rentt to follow laws and rules also translated to a better coexistence between local adventurers and townsfolk. It was perhaps obvious to say that he was a rarity.

  Sheila, on the other hand, was not a native of Maalt, instead journeying to the capital to take the guild’s entrance exam. After passing the test, she was dispatched to Maalt, which was quite different from the hometown she had left behind.

  In stark contrast, the adventurers in Sheila’s hometown were mostly individuals of questionable character. While most of the ones there engaged in opportunistic, petty crimes, some of them were outright criminals. As a whole, they were not liked by the townsfolk, who were in turn either unkind to them or afraid of them, despite there being good-hearted ones as well.

  Maalt, on the other hand, was radically different. Adventurers in Maalt were trusted, and if any in their number were to perpetrate crimes, they would be speedily brought in by the hands of their fellow adventurers. Sheila, being Rentt’s supervisor, fully understood that Rentt Faina’s existence was the very thing that was responsible for the positive morals of Maalt’s adventurers.

  The reason for Sheila being introduced to Rentt, however, was not simply to let her build experience on a hapless adventurer. If anything, it was the opposite. Sheila, being new, would learn greatly from working with Rentt, whose experience in odd jobs and other thankless tasks made him a good candidate for imparting important knowledge—such was the decision of the guild. Over time, Sheila learned much from Rentt about the guild and about the desired traits in guild staff, and she was now a highly-valued member of the adventurer’s guild of Maalt.

  The extent of Rentt’s guidance was by no means narrow. In fact, a quick look around the various corners of Maalt revealed many new adventurers, most of whom had been guided by Rentt’s hand. It would not be strange if one of these new adventurers eventually rose to Mithril-class, as he himself often watched over his juniors, ensuring they got the guidance they needed.

  While Rentt dreamed of becoming a Mithril-class adventurer himself one day, he did also put in the work, engaging in a strict daily training regimen—unbeknownst to Sheila or other adventurers. However, Rentt was more aware than any other individual when it came to accepting that he had little talent for adventuring. If he’d a sliver or shred of talent in his body, his efforts would surely have paid off. Unfortunately, reality was not as kind. There was not much to be done about the matter.

  While Rentt could have simply teamed up with other strong adventurers and found fame as a united party, many local adventurers of Maalt knew of his goal—his dream of becoming a Mithril-class adventurer.

  But Rentt did not seek to become such an individual because of fame. No, he wanted to become a Mithril adventurer on his own power and capability. As such, depending on another individual, or a party of adventurers, defeated that purpose. In order to fulfill his dream, Rentt had no choice but to press on, as unlikely as he was to succeed. After all, that was the only path available to him.

  As adventuring and fighting alone were the quickest ways to build one’s strength, Rentt did exactly that. Other adventurers, in turn, avoided partying up with him outside of emergencies. Maalt’s other adventurers did this out of consideration for him, knowing of his dream. No matter how unlikely it would seem, it was not in their interest to belittle his quest for strength—even if the truth was plain for all to see.

  Rentt was, for lack of a better word, weak. As such, other local adventurers knew that death would knock on his door sooner or later. But Sheila and the other adventurers thought that this possibility was relatively low. Yet in the end, they let Rentt do as he pleased, not saying a word as he continued his lonesome quest.

  While Rentt was a Bronze-class adventurer and had the strength of one, his knowledge and experience of adventuring was more than enough to rival that of seasoned veterans. Even if he were somehow faced with a dangerous foe, he would surely remain calm and make the right decisions—at least, that was what the other adventurers of Maalt thought of Rentt.

  With all that said, however, one fact remained true: Rentt Faina did not return.

  Rentt Faina, the lower-Bronze-class adventurer who would enter the same dungeon at the same time every day, return to the guild at the same time with similar ingredients, sign off his assigned tasks, and then be off to train elsewhere. Such was the daily life of Rentt. This would happen every single day, without fail, and yet—

  No one knew where he had disappeared to. Sheila was merely one of many who were concerned about his absence.

  Rentt...

  Rentt Faina—

  Please, be safe—such were the unheard prayers of Sheila as she continued her daily tasks at the guild.

  “Um...”

  The voice of a young girl shook Sheila out of her thoughts. Raising her head, she found that the owner of the voice was, indeed, a young girl—and a familiar one at that.

  The girl was a new adventurer who had been assigned to Maalt from the capital mere days before. Due to her arriving at a somewhat unfortunate time, neither Rentt nor any other senior adventurers were present. And as such, she had eventually wandered off to adventure alone.


  Sheila recalled her name—Rina Rupaage. With that, she tidied up a sheaf of papers in her hands before lending an ear to what Rina had to say.

  ◆◇◆◇◆

  With a swing of my sword, I sliced through the skeletons before me. I no longer knew how many I’d defeated, as I stopped counting long ago. While I had to put in considerable effort to defeat a skeleton in life, those memories seemed to be lies. I maneuvered to the back of my skeletal foe effortlessly, bringing down my blade and once again slicing my opponent’s white bones into two clean halves.

  It was unbelievable.

  The changes were not exactly brought on by an improvement in technique, but instead, I had simply become stronger—physically, that is. My reserves of mana, spirit, and divinity, too, seemed to increase with each monster I defeated. Utilizing these three aspects, I was now capable of reinforcing my body in various ways; I was finally moving as I had always wanted to.

  These speeds were unthinkable for me in life—and yet, my body moved smoothly and quickly. I had suffered from blood blisters, many of them, as I continued my training. But no matter how hard I trained, I did not get any faster or stronger.

  The reality now, however, was different. My body moved as I instructed it to; there were no mistakes in my movements. I could also see my enemy’s movements clearly—my senses were sharper than they had ever been. Adventurers who had surpassed me surely saw the world this way, as well.

  I remembered how I was in life, how I’d been unable to see anything at all. If possible, I would have wanted to reach this degree of power while I still drew breath; although I supposed that was now impossible. But perhaps I should be grateful for the fact that I was still fully in control of my faculties, even in death. With this, I might even be able to reach my dream of becoming a Mithril-class adventurer...

  It was with this thought that a question rose up in my mind: