Undead vol1 pt2

Chapter 4: The Labyrinth of the Moon’s Reflection and Troublesome Restrictions

I stood in a particularly narrow passageway in the Labyrinth of the Moon’s Reflection, facing two clattering Skeletons blocking my way. Leisurely closing the distance between us, the two Skeletons had raised their arms to strike, now merely a single step away from my being.

My sword, however, had other ideas, cleaving into the Skeletons right before their attacks could land. In the next moment, the two Skeletons had been slashed into neat halves, once more scattering into unidentifiable piles of lifeless bone. Bending over, I searched through their remains, looking for magic crystals. The crystals were small, about the size of my little finger. Placing them in my trusty tool belt’s pouch, I once again set off on my journey through the labyrinth.

A day after placing my order at the Three-Pronged Harpoon, I had set off once more. To where, you ask? Why, there was no other place—

I had to chart the unexplored area where I had first laid eyes upon the Dragon. Even if the Dragon’s presence was now long gone, I had to at least inspect the surroundings. A simple report to the guild would not suffice—they might not even believe me. As such, I decided to go in person—such was my assessment of the situation.

As for my weapon, Clope had handed me a loaner sword instead so that I would have something to use while waiting for my custom piece. He wouldn’t even charge me, he said. The sword in question, while capable of channeling magic and the spirit arts, was apparently incompatible with divinity. But taking everything into consideration, it was a sword of acceptable quality. If anything, it was much better than the weapon I had been using up until now. Plus, its compatibility with magic and the spirit arts meant that I could freely use the relevant

techniques without forcing it through the blade. It was a great quality of life improvement.

I was a creature—or perhaps adventurer—of habit, after all. Having placed an order for my new weapon in addition to finishing the rest of my errands, there was only one thing left to do: explore the labyrinth.

With that in mind, I made various preparations, adequately informed Lorraine of my departure, and then duly set off for the Labyrinth of the Moon’s Reflection.

However—

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“Wow, you really saved me there! I had no idea Slimes could move that way... It makes me shiver thinking of what could have happened to me! Ugh!” the person next to me said, walking alongside me as he repeatedly slapped his large hand against my dried, but thankfully robed, shoulder.

He seemed to be a swordsman of some kind, and in his forties. The keyword here being that he seemed to be someone of that nature. The way he moved in his prior battle was problematic at best. I could tell that he didn’t quite have the knack for it, and hardly practiced, either. I had just happened to pass by as he was struggling with defeating a Slime. I couldn’t just leave him to die, now could I?

However, it was standard practice and knowledge amongst adventurers that one was responsible for one’s own self when exploring labyrinths. Other adventurers were not necessarily obligated to help their compatriots, even if said person was in a life-or-death situation. In fact, if an adventurer were to die while exploring a labyrinth, their fate would merely be chalked up as a result of their inherent weakness and lack of strategy—at least, that was public opinion on such affairs.

With that being said, though, adventurers were also human. Just as

there were humans who harbored ill-intent, there were adventurers who desired to do good, and it was not strange for the latter group to rescue individuals in trouble. But such decisions had to be made quickly, as many a life had been lost to a ponderous potential rescuer taking too long to decide if they should come to the unfortunate victim’s rescue...or not.

Adventuring wisdom dictated that one was to focus one’s efforts on self-defense, and to only help others if they could afford to do so. Such was, realistically speaking, the correct choice—adventurers should seek to avoid getting themselves into disadvantageous positions. For instance, if one were to heroically come between a monster and its victim, defending the latter with one’s life, then it would be all too tragic, but common, for the victim to stab their rescuer in the back.

Said victim would then kill both the weakened monster and their wounded rescuer before making off with the equipment and possessions of the latter. It was quite unfortunate that such immoral adventurers existed in these lands.

In addition, evidence was hard to collect in these instances, mainly owing to the fact that labyrinths seemed to be self-cleaning, for some unknown reason or another. Scattered pieces of viscera and other body parts were all but absorbed when the next monster reappeared in its slain counterpart’s place, leaving no trace of the previous one’s grisly fate.

With all that said and done, one could possibly understand why adventurers mostly remained responsible for themselves. If anything, they had to be constantly wary and on guard, as it was by no means a safe job. But I made the choice to step in, all the while being painfully aware of the aforementioned facts.

While I would not have taken on something that was beyond me, I would also not come to the aid of adventurers with evident ill intent. I would, however, intervene in cases where none of those factors were true. Perhaps this was because of my relatively positive alignment in life, and the fact that this was probably the only way I could exhibit my humanity. After all, if I had left someone to die in cold blood in the

form I was currently in, would I be any different from a typical monster?

Not offering aid to a person who might lose their life, living for its own desires, keeping an inhuman existence—these lifeforms were what humans referred to as “monsters.” This was exactly why I could not leave this adventurer to his fate.

But as previously mentioned, I did not see a need to help each and every single adventurer. In cases like this, where I could easily offer my aid and yet not be exposed to much danger, following my positive alignment in life wouldn’t bring about too much trouble—so that’s why I did what I had done.

With that being said, however, I now felt that it would have been acceptable for me to have abandoned him to his fate. This was due to the fact that he had decided to stick by my side instead of returning to the surface where it was safe. Maybe it was because he was in awe of my power—or was it for a different reason? While I could not exactly guess his intentions, I could be sure of one thing: this man was very annoying.

I was currently headed to the uncharted area where I had first encountered the Dragon. If he continued to stay with me, he would surely get in the way, and perhaps even endanger his own life if danger reared its head. Frankly speaking, I should be saying something about this, but instead I found myself somewhat at a loss for words—such was the situation I was currently in.

I was not exactly trying to endear myself to other adventurers with my charity—there was no one else here to witness such an act, after all. To make things worse, if I had simply told him to go away on account of him being a bother, he probably wouldn’t take me seriously. While I had been attempting to dismiss him from quite a while ago, even using a stronger tone of voice, there appeared to have been little effect. I eventually realized that words alone would not get rid of this man.

“Why... Are you. Following me?”

Deciding that I had had enough, I looked at the man, finally posing my blunt question. With that, however, the noisy chatterbox of a man suddenly sank into an uncharacteristic silence.

“...Because you’re strong, yeah?” It was almost as if the words were being forced out of him.

It would seem like I had hit the nail on the head. Not exactly behavior worthy of praise. There was no denying that such a choice was open for adventurers on the weaker side of the spectrum, but I could empathize to some extent.

Most adventurers would choose to leave him behind, though. For starters, this particular labyrinth—the Labyrinth of the Moon’s Reflection—hosted monsters that were mainly oriented towards weaker adventurers. In other words, he did not have to follow me to stay alive, as the situation was nowhere near being that dire. In fact, the relative weakness of this labyrinth meant that adventuring with someone else would result in a decrease of one’s overall profits. It was a strange thing, indeed.

As if sensing my apprehension, the man offered an explanation, albeit in a tone that suggested his hand was forced: “I really need the money, see. I need three gold coins by the end of this week... If not, they’ll take my store and everything in it...!”

Deciding to inquire further, I pressed the man for more details. It would seem that he was the proprietor of a small restaurant, but said restaurant had fallen on hard times as the years went by. Eventually falling into debt by borrowing money at aggressive rates, the man had fallen into decrepit poverty. The restaurant would be repossessed if he didn’t pay an installment of three gold coins, or alternatively, pay off his debt of 50 gold coins by the end of the week. With no ideas on how to quickly earn large amounts of coin, the man had turned to adventuring instead, convinced that it would earn him what he needed.

With so little time, the method was reckless at best. While it was not

impossible to earn said amount in such a short time, it would be very, very difficult indeed. After all, even considerably more skilled adventurers would take about five days to earn 50 gold coins. This man, however, lacked such skills—and he himself was aware of this.

And so, this would be the reason why he’d been sticking with me all this time.

“... If. You want to... Do that. You would be... At the New Moon.

Not... Here. Right?”

There was one other labyrinth near the town of Maalt—a large-scale labyrinth, commonly referred to as the Labyrinth of the New Moon.

Compared to the Moon’s Reflection, many different types of monsters inhabited its halls. A skilled adventurer with a higher rank than me, who was Bronze-class, would probably be able to make such earnings there. If, say, a skilled Silver-class adventurer put in some effort in the New Moon, 50 gold coins was not as unrealistic as it sounded.

It mattered little if I allowed him to follow me, or if he was following me of his own will—both posed notable problems. If we came across a stronger monster, he might lose his life in a split second, owing to the fact that he was not very skilled in the first place.

With that in mind, I came to the conclusion that this man was not exactly making the best decisions since the odds were greatly stacked against him. With some concern, I expressed my observations to the man.

“I said I would do it, you know... Earn all that coin. I can’t believe I’ll have to go back empty-handed...”

It would seem like all the strength and bluster had left his words.

Perhaps that was to be expected. A companion who was unskilled was nothing more than a hindrance in a place as unforgiving as the labyrinth, after all. Even if they were to be tasked with carrying items and equipment, they would at least need to have the ability to escape and return to the surface in the event of any emergencies. As such, this

man, who could not even escape from a Slime, was hardly suited for adventuring.

I, too, made such a judgment of him: he was of no use to me. “... I’m... Sorry. But... I am. Busy. I don’t... Have time. To play

around... With... You.”

Although I would have entertained him if I had the capacity, I already had enough problems of my own currently. While I was much stronger than I was in life, I was probably still only in the upper Bronze-class regions in terms of strength and capability. To expect me to earn 50 gold coins in this state—

Impossible.

While adventurers did receive a considerable sum for their rewards, said sum scaled with their rank, so lower-ranked adventurers did not exactly get paid extravagant amounts. Unless some special circumstance or windfall were to transpire, low-ranked adventurers could not even begin to hope for that amount of coin.

Special circumstances...

Come to think of it, I actually did have something in mind—as a matter of fact, that was why I was here in the first place.

I was not referring to me having become an undead. Maybe one would be paid 50 gold coins for tipping me off to the guild, but that would bring about all sorts of trouble for me. The special circumstance in question was not me becoming an undead, but the place in which I had become one.

Yes—I had discovered a previously uncharted area of the labyrinth.

This was valuable information, and the guild would surely pay a great sum to anyone who provided them with it. But there was no guarantee that this great sum would be 50 gold coins. However, I

suppose having a positive expectation in mind was not exactly a bad thing. Honestly speaking, I would have greatly preferred to report this myself, but that would prove to be quite difficult given my current physical form.

As such, I had to depend on someone else to deliver this information—of course, I originally intended to ask Lorraine for help either way. There probably wouldn’t be much harm in me asking this man for help.

In that case, though, the discovery of the uncharted section would be attributed to this man. If it was revealed that I had known about it earlier but did not report this information to the guild, there would surely be many inconvenient questions I would have to answer. I was already in enough trouble as-is, so somehow attracting more trouble was the last thing I wanted to do. In addition, a normal-looking person providing this information would probably be more readily believed by the guild—I did, after all, look somewhat suspicious.

Perhaps it was not such a bad thing, given that this was for the benefit of adventurers who would eventually chance upon this uncharted sector. Although my being unable to receive a reward was a pity, I would probably earn back 50 gold coins over a reasonable period of time. Of course, that had been impossible for me in life, but in my current form, it did not seem all that impossible anymore.

This is the conclusion I came to.

This was why I found it acceptable to give up on the riches before me—it was for the best.

With that conclusion in mind, I turned to the dejected man, informing him of the good news. “I... Guess. You can... Come along. After all. You... Can. Carry my... Things. Right?”

“Eh...?” The man, considerably surprised, quickly followed behind me.

“H-hey! Wait! Are you sure? I can follow you?” “Y... Yes.”

The man had an expression of disbelief—perhaps he did not think it possible that I would allow such a thing.

While he seemed to be driven to begging out of necessity, it would seem like he was not a bad person at heart. Of course, he could be lying and all of this could be some sort of scheme, but I would cross that bridge when I came to it. But with that being said, I was not exactly doing this out of the kindness of my heart—this was yet another action I was undertaking as proof of my humanity.

As to why that was necessary... Ever since becoming a Ghoul, I had found myself occasionally filled with a deep sense of unease. I was unsure of how to describe it—a strange feeling from time to time, perhaps. This was why I had decided to help as many people as possible. Perhaps then I would not forget about who I really was, when all was said and done.

If I did end up losing my sense of self, everything would end then and there. I could not accept that—I could not accept it at all.

With those thoughts in mind, I set off for the location where I had last met the Dragon. Following closely behind me was my new luggage carrier, a look of apprehension on his face. Did I have a similar expression on mine, as well, in the past?

For one reason or another, those memories now felt far, far away—I could not recall them even if I tried. Come to think of it, not much time had passed, and yet I was forgetting so many things.

But this was a feeling I still knew—that of impending disaster.

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“Hey... That’s a dead end, right?” the man said, checking his map as

he did so.

The map he carried was, of course, a commonly published version sold in the town of Maalt. Maps of labyrinths varied greatly in price, so depending on various factors, a map could cost a small fortune. For example, factors such as the overall difficulty of the labyrinth and the number of floors contained within could easily impact its value. Plus, maps that included information on specific characteristics of a labyrinth, in addition to details of the monsters that lived in certain areas, often came at a premium.

Some maps could go into even deeper detail, with monster repop locations clearly marked, even including tips and other pieces of valuable information from adventurers who had been to those areas. The extreme end of the spectrum would include maps made by dedicated cartographers and other hobbyists, who released increasingly detailed maps to outdo the competition. Past a certain point, though, excessive details become somewhat meaningless. All in all, the more detailed a map was, the higher its price tag. Such a map would be, without a doubt, very useful indeed.

With that being said, the map that the man currently held was a standard, off-the-counter product. While it held details on floors that had already been traversed, it held little, if any, information on other salient points. In other words, it was just a map, and a simple one at that.

Due to that, it would seem like the map he was holding declared my current direction a dead end. Of course, even I knew that, if only because I was holding the same map myself.

There were differences between the two maps, however—more specifically, mine was filled with notes and markings of all kinds. I could even go out on a limb and say that my map had mutated into something else altogether. My past decade of experience was not simply for show, after all. If anything, I probably held the most detailed map of the Moon’s Reflection in the entire town of Maalt. Although I could probably sell the map for a pretty sum of coin, I had

every intent of monopolizing this information—I wasn’t about to up and teach it to just any- and everyone.

It was on this very map that I had marked a new, previously undiscovered passageway mere days ago. Of course, that was the area in which the Dragon had appeared.

“...Just... Get. Over here.”

Although the man did not seem convinced at all, he had no choice but to move as I had instructed him to, giving in to my request in the end.

It had become obvious to me as I walked with him that this man had little in the way of combat prowess. Although he was equipped with an average sword that could no doubt do good work, the man himself did not appear to have the skills to use it. If anything, leaving my side in this situation would be extremely dangerous—but it would seem like the man did not have a good sense of danger, either.

Without saying much else to the man, I turned, continuing to advance down the halls of the Moon’s Reflection.

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“...W-what is this? What? But it’s not on the map!”

Evidently stunned, that was what the man could manage to stammer out as we emerged on the other side of the passageway.

I already knew what the man had to say—I mean, I had felt the same way when I had first discovered the place. In fact, so taken was I by the discovery, I had simply walked straight into the place, unaware of the dangers that lay ahead.

Indeed, it was a very dangerous and foolish thing to do. Under normal circumstances, one would retreat back to Maalt and search for an adequate partner before continuing to explore this unknown area.

Although I was a veteran adventurer, I had an excuse as to why I had acted differently: if one did not chart the area posthaste, there was a chance that some other adventurer could deliver a report before them. This was the very reason why I had panicked and walked deep into the uncharted sector back then.

Thinking back on it, though, I realized that few individuals, if any, would even visit this specific location to begin with since it was marked as a dead end. In reality, I had arrived at this location while cornering and hunting monsters, so maybe it wasn’t too big a stretch to say that no one would visit this location on the map.

Plus, I usually adventured alone.

In other words, I didn’t exactly have anyone to drag along with me to this newfound discovery. Lorraine was an option, of course, but she was first and foremost a scholar. I had taught her the basics (and much more) of adventuring, so that, combined with her proficient skill in magic, made her more than capable as a Silver-class adventurer.

Her actual field experience in adventuring, however, was still relatively low. Perhaps it was fitting for a scholar, as Lorraine commonly left the gathering of ingredients and other tasks to me.

As of late, it would seem like Lorraine’s research had entered a new, intense stage, with her becoming busier and busier. She had become so busy to the point where she hardly asked for my services. The last factor in all this was most likely due to a bad decision made by me—I had, quite assuredly, assumed that it would be impossible for a large monster to exist at the end of a relatively normal-sized passageway.

This was why I had entered alone.

Strong monsters and their ilk commonly gave off a great aura; if one concentrated, one could easily detect it. Although high-class monsters and the like may have skills to conceal their aura, the Moon’s Reflection was not known for stronger monsters to begin with. Even if a special monster of sorts lay in wait for me, I was confident I would have the ability to do something about it. Of course, by that, I did not mean engage with it in combat, but to instead ready a proper plan and

route of escape.

With that being said, I had no idea what to expect. I was simply working with the assumption that the chance of such a powerful monster appearing in the relatively more forgiving Moon’s Reflection was somewhat low. One could hardly be considered an adventurer in good capacity if one remained constantly worried of the unknown. But to be fair, I didn’t exactly give the matter much thought at the time, resulting in my encounter with the Dragon.

Thinking back on it, perhaps there really wasn’t much I could have done. In addition to the Dragon not giving off an aura of any kind, my body had refused to move when I attempted to run. It wasn’t exactly an opponent that could be beaten by numbers or simple strategy— even though I was somewhat careful, I had met with it, and that was the end.

Reflecting on the past did me little good—I simply did not have any good information to work with at the time.

I turned my attention back to the present, and to my current foray of returning to the same spot, but I did not feel that anything was amiss here. I couldn’t feel the Dragon’s presence in any shape or form.

Although it could easily appear suddenly as it had in the past, there was nothing I could do about such a possibility. Part of adventuring was learning how to take risks, after all. If something like that really did happen, I could use the man behind me as bait and escape. It would be extremely immoral, yes, but my hand would be forced in such a situation.

Thinking about it logically, if the Dragon had two targets, one of them could possibly make it out alive. Even though the man in question would receive the money he needed if we were successful in our expedition, he had come all this way without knowing anything of the risks involved. I tried to convince myself that this was acceptable, but ultimately failed to do so. This was a terrible thing to do. But there was nothing much to be done about it now.

“...Let me. Walk... Ahead.”

At the very least, the man had not rushed off on his own. If he stayed behind me, his chances of survival would at least increase somewhat. If a Dragon had appeared before him like it did during my previous exploration of the sector, it would all be over. With me walking ahead, he would probably have some distance to work with.

I advanced along the path, creeping along at an overly cautious and slow pace. The passageway was not very different from the ones that we had been walking along all this time. It appeared to be populated by the likes of Skeletons, Goblins, and Slimes—none of which gave me much trouble.

Though the man had tried to assist me in combat, it was clear that he lacked any sort of skill in that department. I suppose people truly did make impulse decisions out of curiosity or necessity. Maybe he could have trained to become an adequately skilled adventurer in time, but this man’s time was up in a few days. Even I could not train him up in such a short amount of time. The man should give up adventuring— and that would settle it.

However, with his shocking lack of skill, the guild would probably not be so willing to believe that he had discovered and charted an unknown sector. As such, I decided to impart unto him some basic skills, as well as knowledge on escaping from monsters. If he knew that much, the possibility of him reaching this area would not be too far-fetched; it would at least be somewhat possible. This was a relatively lower-leveled labyrinth in the first place.

Continuing to progress down the path, we reached it at last—an open, cavernous space, stretching out from beyond the end of the passageway.

The place where I had met the Dragon, and the very same place in which I had turned into a Skeleton.

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“A dead...end? Seriously?”

Breaking away from my slow but cautious advance, the man left me behind, walking into the middle of the cavern. After looking around at his surroundings from the middle of the chamber, that was apparently all the man had to say.

It was as he said: the cavern really did appear to be a dead end of sorts. A disappointing discovery, if nothing else—to think that, after all this time, this previously undiscovered sector had nothing to show for its mystique other than an empty chamber.

Perhaps it was typical for a human being to feel like there should be something at the end of the tunnel—maybe a treasure of sorts, or even a monster of some kind. In many ways, though, it was safe to assume that whatever had been here at some point in the past was now gone.

Basically, that would be none other than the Dragon I had encountered.

If that were indeed the case, then all that was left here would certainly be nothing more than a large, empty space. It was somewhat...lonely.

The man circled the chamber, as if to check for a forgotten detail or something. As if on cue, his voice soon rang across the chamber.

“...Hey! There’s a gap here!” the man said, with newfound vigor.

Deciding to affirm his discovery, I walked forward, pausing to inspect said gap. Sure enough, a hole was present, in addition to a small but constant breeze steadily streaming out of the dark crevice. It seemed that his discovery was sound, as something appeared to lie beyond this hole in the wall.

With that in mind, I placed my hands on the cold, damp walls, feeling for any suspicious mechanisms. It did not take me long to find something fitting that exact description—a depression of sorts, which I

immediately pressed down upon. With an audible click, part of the wall slowly slid up, exposing a new path.

“A... Hidden. Pass... Passage.”

“Oh... Yeah, seems like it. Really, though? Wow... If you report this uncharted path and hidden passageway to the guild... Wouldn’t you be rewarded pretty generously?”

The possibility was undeniable. Thinking that I had solved the man’s debt problems, as well, I turned to face him, only to find him nervously shaking his head.

“No, no! Of course, I understand that you found it first! I’m just following you, and I can’t fight any monsters, after all. I won’t say anything, not a thing at all, about how we found it together...” Still shaking his head, the man continued his self-deprecating monologue.

I had assumed that the man would at least ask for a small cut of the profits, having come all this way with me. So it was somewhat unexpected for him to say that. Although a large sum of gold would indeed be useful to me, I couldn’t exactly spend it anywhere I wanted, especially given my current appearance. But it wouldn’t be a bad thing if I were to simply earn a large sum here and now, slowly spending it as the days passed.

Perhaps I was being a little too charitable; but then again, it was impossible for me to report my findings to the guild.

“I... Have no... Interest. In the... Reward. Better... For. You to... Take the. Reward. More... Importantly.”

The path stretched on, leading into the darkness. I found myself more drawn to what lay beyond this hidden door, and I set foot through it, not stopping for a second to hear the man’s response to my statement.

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The hallways beyond the hidden doorway did not differ much from the typical scenery of the Moon’s Reflection.

While the strength of its monstrous inhabitants increased, they were hardly noteworthy, being Slime subspecies and the like. Specifically, they were called Poison Slimes. In addition, some Soldier Skeletons were wandering about, their bony appendages equipped with cheap- looking swords and battered equipment. Although I wasn’t at a level where I could ignore them altogether, they were opponents I could safely fight and defeat, as they were by no means challenging.

This particular passageway quickly proved to be shorter than the previous one, and we soon found ourselves in yet another open space. Somewhat concerned about the Dragon’s reappearance, I advanced slowly and carefully, but apparently my concern didn’t amount to much.

The chamber, while not exactly empty, did not seem to hold anything in its depths—save for one sight. In the middle of the chamber was what appeared to be a magic circle of sorts, made up of various lines and shapes carved into the ground. Yet another rare sighting—but even still, they were common enough for adventurers to know of their existence.

These magic circles commonly functioned as teleportation devices, and they were usually found in the deeper areas of a labyrinth. A party would typically be unable to progress unless they found some way to utilize said magic circle. If anything, there was a possibility that the magic circle here, too, was one such device, but this was the first time I had seen one in person.

The man, stepping into the open space, craned his neck, looking around the chamber once more.

“...Really? There’s nothing here, too. Is there another hidden path somewhere?”

The man seemed to have completely failed at noticing the existence

of the magic circle in the middle of the chamber. “...You...?”

Looking down at the circle to give him a hint, the man only looked at me with a puzzled expression, brushing off my hint. As if not understanding my concern, the man merely shook his head, continuing to stand where he did.

“...Something happen?”

That was, apparently, all he had to say.

Judging from his words, it would seem like the man was incapable of perceiving the circle. I didn’t know how to put it into words—was it a magic circle that only I could see? If this man could not see it, what about other adventurers?

But of course, I had no way of knowing. It would perhaps be too reckless a thing to simply jump into the magic circle without knowing what it did.

Thinking so, I raised my head, only to see the man approach me, as if to discuss some topic or other. Before I could stop him, the man had placed a single foot into the outer rims of the circle, stepping into the very device I had been attempting to caution him about.

“Ah...”

In the next second, the man was enveloped in a bright light, before promptly disappearing into thin air.

I was immediately filled with a deep sense of regret. I probably should have stepped on the circle before he did, or at least warned him of its existence. Alas, there was not much to be done about it now.

I should instead be thinking about the next step—

What should I do?

There was a silver lining, though—with the man’s disappearance, I understood that the magic circle was indeed a teleportation device of sorts. He was probably unharmed, just whisked away to another part of the labyrinth.

Teleportation circles—magic circles that were created for the express purpose of navigating a labyrinth. It was truly a special type of magic. For example, it was not uncommon to find circles on the fifth and tenth floors of a large labyrinth consisting of dozens of floors.

Unfortunately, these circles could not be crafted by the hands of man.

Similar attempts at recreating magic circles were attempted by scholars and the like to little effect—the circles just did not work at all. Research had revealed that the composition and writing used in said circles were completely different than those used by humans, so it was seemingly difficult to gain any sort of useful information from them.

While many researchers had tried their hands at replicating this specific sort of magic circle, they had not succeeded to date—and that was just how it was.

In other words, such magic circles were a special feature of the labyrinth. Due to not being a professional of any kind, I couldn’t exactly conduct research to discover where it would warp me to.

I had but one option: to step in the circle and see where it would take me.

I did have two choices originally, though—I could simply follow after the man, or I give up and return to Maalt. From a cautious point of view, giving up and returning to town would be the more correct option. After all, if the magic circle had warped me away to some faraway place with no means of return, it would be quite the dire situation indeed.

—But I couldn’t just leave him to die.

It was my fault in the first place for not warning him that there was a magic circle there; even if he could not perceive it, I could. Leaving

him to his current fate would leave a bad taste in my mouth. In addition, there wasn’t necessarily no way to return from beyond the magic circle.

Thinking of the information that I had gleaned of such circles, I recalled that they usually came in pairs, mainly to enable two-way warping. My unfortunate companion, however, did not have such knowledge. This was a logical assumption considering that he hardly knew anything about adventuring to begin with.

It would be silly to think that he would somehow know how magic circles worked, or what they even were. On top of that, the circle was invisible to him—with all those factors in mind, I concluded that I couldn’t expect the man to simply step through the other circle and return to me.

“...Damn... It...” The more I thought about it, the more agitated I became.

I had to make up my mind one way or another. I would be unable to sleep at night, knowing I had abandoned him to die deep inside a labyrinth.

Slowly approaching the magic circle, I stared at its softly pulsing lines for a short while before finally stepping into its confines. As expected, a bright light rose from the depths of the circle, enveloping my entire body and robbing me of my vision. Surely, I would now be flown off to some unknown location—such was the impression I had of magic circles in general.

Although I had stepped into the circle by my own free will, I still remained somewhat apprehensive. But now that I was in the circle, I could no longer turn back. If I stepped out of the circle during the process, something terrible could happen, and I was not eager to find out if my body would be ripped in two. This was why I prayed for the circle to drop me in a safe location—

At this point, that was all I could do.

◆◇◆◇◆

It would seem like my expectations and hopes for a safe location were very quickly betrayed. The reason for me saying that was right in front of me—the scenery that lay before my eyes as the wall of light slowly receded.

It was a place with a high stone ceiling, evidently made of hewn stone. It was a large, open space, but still probably a part of the labyrinth. That was my assumption as I looked out at the sight that lay before me. The very walls of the chamber itself seemed to instantly absorb any kind of magic spell thrown at them.

Does the uncharted sector of the Moon’s Reflection continue on even deeper past this point...?

While I would have liked to continue pondering on it, I did not have such an option, for there was a much more pressing matter before my eyes.

Standing before me was what appeared to be a monster of gigantic proportions, tall enough to almost touch the ceiling. At its feet was the crumpled form of a man—to be precise, it was the very same man who had been with me earlier. I could see that much from his hairstyle and equipment.

Although I was somewhat far away, it was likely safe to assume that he had taken an attack from the monster head-on, and was now out cold on the ground. His hands and feet seemed to be slightly moving; he was alive.

I had to help him. However, a large obstacle stood between me and my companion—the monster in question.

It was a large, but somewhat familiar, sight, at least to me. An abomination made of bone, living in an eternal pocket of still time, with an equally eternal life that flaunted the divine laws of the land—

It was none other than a Skeleton. More accurately, it was a Giant Skeleton, one that was leagues ahead of its smaller compatriots in terms of power. Its clattering laughter echoed threateningly throughout the chamber, accompanied by ground tremors as it moved its feet forward. One could hardly think it was made of nothing but bone as it shook the very earth it walked upon.

One would usually escape after seeing such a thing in the labyrinth. A Giant Skeleton wasn’t just a larger variant of the common Skeleton. Despite it being made of bone, it had absorbed the powers of a Giant at some point in its life, and it was at least two to three times stronger than its common brethren. To make matters worse, its physical strength was proportionately increased, and one would surely be sent flying with only a single blow.

Will I have to do battle with...that?

Even if I had become a little stronger than I was in life, to take on a foe of that level would be a fool’s errand.

And yet, with that being said, nothing could change the fact that the collapsed man was still at the Giant Skeleton’s feet. If I did not want to leave the man to die, I had no other choice.

Above all else, however, there was an even bigger problem: there were no visible exits from this cavernous chamber. I was familiar with such a space, colloquially referred to as a “boss chamber.”

The room’s gimmick was simple: all exits were shut off upon entrance. This would remain true until the adventurer in question defeated the master of the chamber. The existence of rooms such as this was a well-known fact amongst most adventurers. But this room was not a commonly encountered phenomenon at all—

For starters, most boss rooms allowed for some form of retreat, and they did not immediately seal their entrances as soon as adventurers stepped into their bounds. If this were not the case, the mortality rate of adventurers would most likely skyrocket, along with an inevitable

decrease in those seeking to be adventurers in the first place. The ability to retreat from a situation was an important ability in and of itself. Adventurers were to slowly hone their abilities, advancing at their own pace, for it benefited no one if they rushed to their deaths.

Self-sealing chambers, however, represented the next tier in the myriad of challenges adventurers had to face. In fact, rumor had it that boss chambers in a labyrinth’s uncharted sectors were all self-sealing by nature. Other rumors also spoke of how such chambers increased in frequency after a labyrinth’s fortieth floor.

Put simply, self-sealing boss chambers like this represented one of the most daring challenges to adventurers. One would have to stand above all their peers, be they beginners, veterans, or expert adventurers, in addition to clearing at least forty floors worth of labyrinths, before hoping to stand a chance in such a chamber.

With all that being said, I became aware of the fact that I was standing in the middle of one such chamber—I had no choice but to do what needed to be done.

Strengthening my resolve and drawing my sword, I slowly advanced upon the Giant Skeleton. Luck seemed to be on my side, as my appearance had apparently drawn the Skeleton’s attention away from its previous victim. The unfortunate man, being nearly unconscious, did not seem to pique the Skeleton’s interest any longer. I had to end this quickly and tend to his wounds—

With that thought in mind, I slammed my foot down upon the ground, rushing toward the giant monster. With a burst of speed I hardly experienced in life, I propelled myself forward, almost immediately reaching the Giant Skeleton’s feet. Raising my sword, I brought its blade down on the monster without a shred of hesitation.

However—

Clonk!

With an unpleasant whine, the blade bounced off the monster, hardly leaving a mark. As if on cue, the Skeleton’s large hands swung downward in a menacing arc.

Panicking, I immediately retreated, dodging the monster’s counterattack—all the while not forgetting to grab the body of my fallen companion, placing some distance between him and the Skeleton. I could not exactly leave him there until the fight ended; if he were stepped on at some point, that would be the end for him.

There was a silver lining to this entire affair, however—while the Giant Skeleton excelled in destructive power, it was no match for my speed. Although I did not know much of its capabilities, owing to the fact that this was the first time I was facing such a monster, I felt a glimmer of hope.

With that hope filling my mind, I left the man in a corner of the room before rushing to face the Giant Skeleton once more.

My speed was sufficient for the task—the main problem I currently faced was actually that of damaging the monster, given the firmness of its bones.

The blow from before, infused with a good chunk of my spirit, was the equivalent of my strongest possible spirit-art attack. The fact that it continued to stand, in addition to not even flinching from my attack, made victory seem like an unlikely prospect.

Under normal circumstances, this would certainly be the end. Even if I were somewhat faster than my opponent, one would automatically lose in a battle of attrition if one had no means of dealing damage to one’s foe. As long as I was unable to even scratch the enemy, it would all end with a single blow once I ran out of stamina.

Monsters of the labyrinth were strange, if not mysterious, existences. It is a known fact that monsters in boss chambers would never run out of stamina. Many explanations were offered to describe this phenomenon, from the monster somehow drawing energy directly

from the labyrinth, to simply having an infinite reserve of power in its body. While it was not known which of these theories were true, the experiences of adventurers across the ages had all but proven its veracity. As such, waiting for a boss chamber monster to run out of stamina was a pointless venture. This was why offensive power was required—one had to be able to pierce the monster’s defenses, or lose one’s life to the labyrinth.

Keeping all that in mind, it would seem like my current situation was utterly hopeless. I, however, was different from the average adventurer, as there was still something else I could do.

Although I was no priest or holy adventurer in service to the church, I had a reserve of divinity in my body. While the Giant Skeleton was indeed a large foe, it was still very much an undead monster, and this made it automatically vulnerable to the cleansing forces of divine purification.

One would wonder why I did not simply utilize my ace in the hole from the start of the engagement; I did have my reasons. For one, I hardly used my divinity in combat, and I did not know of its effectiveness. In addition, the issue was compounded by the nature of my weapon—this loaner sword that I had borrowed from Clope, while expertly crafted, was not made for the channeling of divinity. Due to that, I was unsure of how well the blade would hold up if I forced a good amount of divinity through its edge.

I did not have much choice in the face of this situation, however—if I did not act here and now, both the man’s life and mine would surely be forfeit. As long as something could be done, I owed it to myself to try it; that was what it meant to be an adventurer.

Adventurers fought and never gave up, right until the very end.

Making up my mind, I injected what divinity I could muster into the sword’s blade. The faint golden aura that had enveloped the blade up until a while ago slowly receded, instead replaced by the bright, bluish- white glow of a divine aura.

Upon seeing the sword’s new hue, the Giant Skeleton took a step back, as if fearful of what it had just witnessed. Divine purification was the natural enemy of all undead; with it being a life form that went against the natural laws of life and death, it was perhaps not strange for the Skeleton to show fear in response to my blade’s aura.

While it was a mystery as to why I, a Ghoul, was unharmed by the divinity that dwelled within me, the fact that I had become a Skeleton was equally mysterious and unexplained. Wondering about it now would do me little good—for now, I was simply grateful for the fact that such an ability was available to me.

Readying my sword once more, I charged toward the Skeleton again, my feet pounding against the ground of the labyrinth. Infusing my legs with the power of spirit, I hurled myself forward, closing the large distance between the Giant Skeleton and myself in a matter of seconds.

The Skeleton, for its part, soon tracked me to my new location—but it was far too late. Raising my blade over my head, I brought it down upon the thick, tree trunk-like leg bone of the Skeleton.

It was a clean blow—the Skeleton’s bones seemed to melt as it came into contact with my blade, before cleanly disconnecting from the rest of its body altogether. Losing one of its feet to my attack, the Giant Skeleton fell down on its back, no longer able to balance with only one functional leg. Not willing to let the opportunity slip, I immediately readied my sword and rushed toward the fallen Giant Skeleton’s head.

Tightening my grip, I swung my sword once more, finally bringing its blessed edge down onto the monster’s skeletal head. With a resounding crack, the blade cut through and cleansed corrupted bone, shattering its skull completely.

◆◇◆◇◆

I felt a familiar sense of power course through my body. This power was unmistakably that of the Giant Skeleton, the very same one that I

had defeated moments ago. The rush of energy was more intense than any I had felt up until now, which was proof that it had truly been a formidable foe.

With that being said, however, one had to be at least Silver-class or above to defeat such a foe. Yet even so... I had somehow triumphed.

I looked down upon the Giant Skeleton’s scattered bones, which had lost their undead traits after I had shattered its head. I sighed in relief. Of course, this was only a manner of speech—as I did not, after all, have functional lungs to breathe with. It was more about the mood.

Unlike the earlier, skeletal version of myself, I could feel the existence of such organs in my chest. Unfortunately they weren—t functional unlike those of the living. While I could breathe, I did not feel like I was taking in air. But I could feel myself breathing as I swung my weapon, or when I was executing certain complex movements.

Perhaps it was merely a force of habit—having known the basics of combat breathing in life, little could be done about my tendencies in death. It was said that certain experts could read and predict the movements of a person simply by observing their breathing. If I were to become a Mithril-class adventurer, I could not lose to such an individual.

With that in mind, I resolved to eventually do something about the breathing methods I had learned in life. But at the moment, I was reminded of a more important thing to tend to: the man I had left in the chamber’s corner.

He could have been injured before my encounter with the Giant Skeleton, and could have possibly been wounded this entire time. If I did not administer aid soon, he could very well lose his life. He was still drawing breath then, but what about now? I did take quite some time to defeat the Giant Skeleton.

With that in mind, I approached the man and inspected his wounds.

It would seem that luck was on his side, as his wounds seemed shallow. Upon closer inspection, however, I discovered that this wasn’t the case. His injuries, while not easily visible, were still problematic— namely, a broken part of the rib near his sternum, in addition to some crushed bones in one of his feet. If I had left him here, he would have surely passed on due to the severity of his injuries.

But luckily for him, I was here. While I could not use any directed, curative magics, I had a reserve of divinity within me.

Though magic did need to be studied in earnest, with the user understanding the logic behind it in order to cast spells, such was not the case with divinity. Many individuals instead used divinity simply as it was, almost instinctively. In fact, this was the reason why even someone like me, who was by no means a priest of any kind, was able to purify water immediately after being blessed. The only problem was the lack of a teacher, as I had mostly learned by trial and error.

This man was fortunate indeed; my reserves of divinity had only increased following my transformation into a Ghoul. In addition, I felt more recharged than ever due to the surge of energy flowing into me from the Giant Skeleton I had defeated.

I could feel my body growing stronger—the fonts of mana, spirit, and divinity all seemed to intensify within my being. Each of them were markedly stronger than before due to the Giant Skeleton’s defeat

—at least, it felt that way to me. If my observations were indeed true, I should be able to do much more than just purify water; I might be able to heal this man’s wounds right here and now.

It was perhaps worth noting that healing wounds with one’s divinity was usually in the territory of priests and the like, and were commonly treated as divine miracles. In fact, such a skill was not exactly common even amongst those who worked for the church. It was also said that the amount of divinity and aptitude one had was directly proportionate to one’s faith. Basically, if one was unable to use such techniques, it would simply mean that one was short on faith.

Due to this series of assumptions, members of the church who were capable of curative feats, as well as those wielding great fonts of divinity, were often worshiped as Saints and were greatly revered in the eyes of the public.

From that point of view, though, the fact that I could use divinity in and of itself was a little strange. The reason for this was pretty cut and dry: I was not exactly a man of great faith. For one thing, the reason I had been blessed with divinity in the first place seemed little more than coincidence. Although I was deeply grateful for it, I couldn’t exactly say I religiously worshiped the spirits or faeries responsible for my powers.

This was why I found my continuously increasing font of divinity strange. No matter how hard I thought about it, I could not come up with a reason for it. I supposed that was fine, since it wasn’t exactly a bad thing.

To be clear, the usage of divinity to purify and cleanse undead such as myself was not a good thing for me at all—but my continuous use of divinity did not seem to have hurt me in any way. If there was no problem with it, then that was that. Such was my adventurer’s reasoning at work.

With that out of the way, I supposed I should start treating the man. While I had not done anything remotely similar to this before, I could at least try.

Honestly speaking, though, this amounted to the first time I would attempt anything like this in my life, so I had severe doubts about succeeding. I was operating on gut feeling alone—I felt that it would go smoothly, although I did not have any sort of empirical evidence to back up my claim.

For a while, I stopped and wondered: was it really all right to work on a severely injured man off of gut feeling alone? I did, however, also feel like it wasn’t too different from purifying dirty water. Perhaps they were similar in principle...

Either way, I had to do something about the situation. Placing my hands on the afflicted parts of the man’s body, I concentrated, directing the well of divinity within me into my palms, as if I were enchanting my sword with its aura.

As expected, a blue-white glow enveloped my hands. While it might have been a better idea to remove my gloves, I would be asked many troublesome questions should the man awaken halfway through his treatment. As such, I decided to err on the side of caution, keeping my gloves on. If the gloves were really posing that much of a problem, I would cross that bridge when I came to it.

Fortunately, though, it seemed like my divine aura cared little for my gloves—the bruised reddish-black surface of his skin slowly reverted to a more natural color as the divinity did its work. Slowly but surely, the man’s bones began healing, with previously broken pieces moving back into their rightful positions.

Although I had no idea as to how long it would take to fully heal the man’s injured sternum, I eventually stopped, judging the treatment to be complete. I did, after all, have another injury to tend to; with that in mind, I moved my hands to his crushed foot. Upon activating my divine aura, the man’s skin and bones began to heal at once, much like my previous observations. Finally, the last broken bone seemed to snap back into place, and the man’s foot now looked as good as new.

But is he fully healed?

While I was responsible for his recovery, I did not know for certain if I had done a thorough enough job. At the very least, he looked much better than he had a short while ago. Even if he wasn’t fully recovered, I was sure it wouldn’t be a huge problem. He would most likely recover after some rest.

The contrast was somewhat jarring, though—he had been at death’s door mere moments prior, but now he seemed healthy enough to make it back to Maalt if I just left him alone. All things considered, he did break several bones; it would be bad if complications of some sort

arose should he make any sudden movements.

In the end, I decided to watch over him until he regained consciousness. After all, I should at least check to see if he was hurt anywhere else before returning to Maalt. Keeping that in mind, I sat down and waited.

“...Ugh. Where...am I?”

◆◇◆◇◆

Although I had shaken him gently in many attempts to wake him earlier, my efforts were in vain. Resigning myself to a long wait, I quietly listened for sounds in my surroundings—it was then that I heard the man speak. It would seem like he had finally woken up.

Standing up, I slowly approached the man. “...Are. You... Awake?”

“Yeah...” The man simply nodded. “Where is...this? ...Right, that’s right! That huge Skeleton was—ugh!”

Holding his stomach in pain, the man’s eyes shot wide open. It would seem like my treatment was, indeed, somewhat incomplete. As such, I did what I could in the moment—I had hardly expected him to make a complete recovery from my emergency measures alone. I suppose a trip to the Sanitarium was due. He should, at the very least, get treated by actual healers.

My response to him was equally simple: “...I... Defeated. The monster... This. Is the... Proof.”

With that, I held out my hand, showing him the glistening magic crystal in my gloved palm. I had discovered this crystal amidst the remains of the Giant Skeleton.

The process, however, was by no means short, as I had to dig through a small mountain of debris and bone parts. But then again, I

had plenty of time on my hands, and I eventually managed to locate the crystal after a concentrated effort. Perhaps its large size made it somewhat easier for me to locate...

The man could only stare at the crystal with a dumbfounded expression.

“...From its size alone... That’s a Gold-class magic crystal, isn’t it? I don’t know much about these things, but it’s sure worth a lot of money...”

Though one would easily come to such a conclusion looking at the crystal alone, I had my doubts about the claim. Personally, I hadn’t thought defeating a Gold-class opponent was even possible for one such as myself. If anything, this could have been a stroke of luck, and the crystal would in turn be a relatively rare item from this type of monster.

This sort of thing happened occasionally, where monsters that had lived for a relatively long time usually housed higher-valued magic crystals within their bodies. The Giant Skeleton I had fought had probably guarded this chamber for a long, long time, hence my discovery of such a crystal from its remains.

In any case, it was definitely a crystal that would sell for a decent amount of money.

The man started speaking once more, his eyes fixated upon the crystal in my hand.

“...If I had a magic crystal like that... Ah, no. Never mind...”

Stopping himself mid-sentence, the man looked away, as if to avert his eyes. It did not take a scholar to understand the meaning behind his words—

This crystal could probably sell for more than 50 gold coins. In other words, it would be the man’s salvation as it would immediately

clear him of all his debts.

The man, however, did not ask for the crystal, or beg for it in any way. I supposed my deductions were not too far off the mark based on that.

This was why I said to the man: “...If. You... Want it. You... Can.

Have it.”

As with all things, however, it would come with a suitable price.

◆◇◆◇◆

“...Are you serious? Really? But you’re the one who defeated that monster... I can’t simply take it from you...” the man said, but the desperation in his eyes was plain for all to see.

Shaking my head, I continued my statement: “...I am... Not. Giving it... Away. For... Free.”

With that, the man seemed somewhat more convinced.

“But... I’ve already told you about my circumstances, no? I don’t think I can do anything for a strong adventurer like you...”

It was just as the man said. If I had to make an honest appraisal about my power, I could say with confidence that I was far stronger than I had been in life. Perhaps this wasn’t an unreasonable assumption coming from someone like him, who wasn’t an adventurer in any shape or form. He would naturally assume that he could not be of any assistance to me.

What he had said did hold true in some aspects; he was debt-ridden, and his skills as an adventurer were almost nonexistent. The man probably assumed that he could not assist me in any way, be it financially, economically, or physically—

However, that was only from the man’s point of view. To me, this man held more value than he gave himself credit for. I was an undead,

after all. I could not simply waltz around the streets of Maalt. It was difficult, if not impossible, for me to visit the shops in Maalt. Even if I were to employ a middle-man of some kind, it would be difficult to find such an individual to begin with.

What I’m getting at here is that this man could very well be the perfect middleman and errand runner I had been looking for all this time.

There was just one problem: even if I described my situation to him in detail, it didn’t seem like my words would be so easily believed. If I just told him that I was an undead, he could simply report me to the authorities whenever he pleased. Even if he didn’t do anything of the sort, he might become apprehensive toward the idea of assisting a non-human.

This was why I decided I would skimp on the details—all I had to do was convince him to assist me.

“It isn’t... Anything. Too... Difficult.” “Well, what is it, then...?”

“As... You can. See... I look. Like... This. I can’t... Really. Go into... Shops or... The. Guild. All you... Have to... Do. Is go... In my. Place.”

Saying so, I took my glove off, showing the man my hand. I had assumed this was a relatively safe gamble, so long as he didn’t see my body or face.

In addition, I didn’t exactly lose my arm—it was merely dried up. This sort of thing occasionally happened to adventurers, especially veterans, who had seen a fair amount of combat in their time.

This particular man, though, was newer than the lowest Iron-class adventurer. Judging by his reaction to my combat ability, he was clearly not familiar with the dangers of adventuring.

The man, however, did not seem to avert his eyes or suspect that I was a monster in the slightest. Instead, he seemed somewhat convinced that my dried-up arm was just an old injury. Relieved that I had easily won the man over, I continued speaking.

“A monster... I fought. A long... Time. Ago. Got me... Good. My...

Voice. Too. Injury... From... That time.”

“...I see. I suppose strong adventurers do face such great risks...”

Apparently the man had become an adventurer without putting much thought into the dangers of the job. It was probably more accurate to say that he did not have the luxury of thinking about such affairs. But the sight of my arm seemed to have awoken him to his folly.

After spending some time quietly in thought, the man finally spoke. “I understand. If it’s just that much, even I can do it, yeah. But...is

that really all right? It’s a little strange for me to say it...but this deal is

heavily in my favor...”

“Those... Are. Your... Circumstances. Aren’t... They? But... Yes. I

see... What you. Mean. How about... This. Then...”

The man, upon seeing that I had another condition to add on to the offer, seemed like he was able to make more sense of the general situation.

Ironically, me making the deal less sweet seemed to put him more at ease. The words I was about to say would truly betray the man’s expectations, however.

“Then... When your... Debts. Are all... Paid off. I want... To be able. To eat... And drink... At. Your shop... For free. For... As long... As I... Live. How’s... That.”

As if not believing what he had just heard, the man put a single

hand to his head, a bitter smile slowly forming on his face. “...Are... Are you serious? Are you...stupid or...something?” “Why... Do you. Ask?”

“I’m saying—! I’m saying something like that can’t even begin to pay off a magic crystal worth more than 50 gold coins! You get it, yeah?!”

“So... Is... That. A bad thing...?”

“I’m not saying it’s bad...! ...Ugh! Eat however much you like... I’ll... I’ll work hard...so my shop doesn’t ever go under again...! I’ll work like I’ve never worked before! Thank you so much... Boss...!”

With that, a smile finally broke out across the man’s face. His eyes, however, were red, with large beads of tears flowing rapidly down his face. Upon seeing his reaction, I couldn’t help but feel like I had done some sort of good deed.

◆◇◆◇◆

With the problems of finding a cooperative human and the man’s debt both being settled by the giant magic crystal, I decided to ask for his opinion on what to do from here on out. With that said, however, I already had a clear-cut answer in mind:

We had to relocate. Specifically, we had to leave the confines of the Moon’s Reflection and head back to Maalt. The man did, after all, get what he came for, and there was no longer any reason to expose him to danger. Even I couldn’t help but feel like it would be troublesome to have him continue exploring the labyrinth with me.

Although the Moon’s Reflection was primarily inhabited by normal monsters such as Goblins, Skeletons, and Slimes, the occasional exception did exist, as demonstrated by previous events. If another Giant Skeleton appeared, I wouldn’t be able to guarantee the man’s safety, let alone his life. This was the reason for my suggestion that we

should return to Maalt. The man, with no reason to disagree, quickly followed after my footsteps.

While there were certainly concerns as to how we would return, I had already solved that problem as the man slept. A magic circle had appeared after the Giant Skeleton was defeated; there was no such thing there before. Although I did not test the circle to see where it went, I felt like it was reasonable to assume that it simply brought us back to the room that had sent us into this chamber. Even if that were not the case, all we had to do was search for another way out—the chamber’s lack of exits meant that we had little choice either way.

Stepping into the circle, we were transported back into the room from whence we came, much to my relief. After that, the way back was relatively uneventful. This was probably because the man was now considerably different, as his strength, courage, and nerves all seemed more tempered.

Perhaps it was due to us having witnessed the Giant Skeleton, or me teaching him the basics of adventuring, but the man now remained calm even if a monster did appear. He also held a more concrete understanding of what he should do in such a situation. Although he could not win against a monster in a one-to-one fight just yet, he had advanced to a stage where he could put some distance between himself and a monster and quickly look for an escape opportunity. If he continued gaining experience at this rate, he would no doubt progress to at least Bronze-class in two years or so. Thankfully, such was not necessary for the man.

I did, however, consider it somewhat necessary for him to at least understand the basics of combat, considering that he would be running errands and turning in assignments at the guild on my behalf from now on. Assignments of a certain difficulty still had to be turned in by Lorraine, though, but nonetheless the man had to at least look like he was capable of exploring the shallower floors of the labyrinth or forest on his own power. It was a reasonable expectation.

◆◇◆◇◆

“...Haa... We’re finally out of there. Seems like forever since I’ve breathed in the outside air... It feels nostalgic, even though I haven’t been away for long,” the man said as he took a deep breath, stepping away from and out of the labyrinth’s entrance.

It was not too difficult to empathize—he had been in a near-death situation, after all, and could finally afford to relax after leaving such a dangerous place behind.

However, even outside the labyrinth, monsters still lurked in its surroundings. Although one was not supposed to let one’s guard down even after exiting the labyrinth’s halls, I decided to let that slip today. But I did tease the man for his carelessness.

“Maybe... I should. Continue... Exploring... Until we are... Back. In Maalt...” With that, I turned and quickly walked away, the man’s alarmed voice trailing behind me.

“Hey, wait up, Boss—I get it, I get it!”

The man’s voice reminded me of how it felt to be an adventurer, and for the first time in a long while, I smiled. More accurately, I attempted to smile, but the dried-up skin on my face could not hope to emulate such a human expression. I wished to one day smile like a human again, but was that even possible?

With that in mind, I headed off for a nearby rest spot, where fiacres heading back to Maalt would often stop.

◆◇◆◇◆

“Here it is, Boss... This is my shop. What do you think? Not too shabby, yeah?”

Upon returning to Maalt, the man promptly led me back to his store. It was located in a strange corner of the city, and to be honest, I had not seen such a shop in my ten years of living in Maalt.

Maalt was pretty large for a rural town. The presence of two labyrinths nearby meant that there were more than enough watering holes for the town’s adventurers—as such, it wasn’t too rare to not know of certain establishments outside of one’s social circles.

It was worth noting, however, that the man’s shop was, per his words, not too shabby at all. It was a somewhat elegant-looking brick building; if anything, its elegant air would seem somewhat intimidating to the average adventurer. It had a unique atmosphere, and perhaps it wouldn’t be a bad thing to visit every now and then— that was what I thought as I looked on.

Maybe the food here is terrible...?

I could not come up with any other reason as to why such a respectable-looking establishment would fall on hard times.

Seemingly satisfied, the man pushed the shop’s doors open, with me following closely behind him.

“...Darling! You’re safe...!”

◆◇◆◇◆

The first thing to greet my eyes was the sight of a beautiful woman flinging herself onto the man, almost shouting as she did so. With her backswept amber-brown hair and slim build, she exuded a reliable, hardworking aura.

In all politeness, she was a beauty and a gem.

From the way she had addressed the man, however, I could more or less understand their relationship.

It was the man’s turn to exclaim loudly next.

“Isabel!! I told you not to worry... See? I’m fine, yeah?”

“But...you went off to the labyrinth... Darling, you can only cook, not

explore a dungeon! I’ve told you so many times not to do something so foolish!”

“Hey, now... I’m a man, yeah? Something like the labyrinth is nothing...... Is what I would have liked to say, but I’m afraid you’re right... To be honest, I was about to get done in by a monster—but I was saved! In fact, the only reason I’m standing here now is because of him! Gotta thank the Boss!”

“Ah...? Oh! Pardon me, I didn’t see that we had a guest... Thank you very much for saving my foolish husband’s life...”

Finally noticing me standing behind her husband, Isabel blushed and lowered her head deeply as she gave her heartfelt thanks.

Beautiful and cute—such was Isabel’s charm that I could hardly understand what she saw in this man. But with that thought, I was not as callous as to simply remark upon something like that out in public.

In response, I slightly nodded at Isabel.

“No... I was... Just. Passing... By. Don’t... Worry. About it.”

Isabel seemed somewhat curious at my odd manner of speech, but the man quickly offered an explanation in my stead.

“See here, Isabel, the Boss is a really strong adventurer, but he’s got plenty of injuries from fighting monsters. He’s not very good at talking, but he’s really a good guy! He helped me out and—oh, that’s right! He gave me this magic crystal, too!”

At that, the man reached into his pocket, holding out the large magic crystal that I had fished from the remains of the Giant Skeleton. Isabel’s eyes opened wide at the magic crystal’s gleam.

“This... This... Eh...? What’s going on? How did you get something like this...”

“The Boss here... Well, I explained our situation to him, see, and he

gave me this to help out...”

While the man wanted to go into an in-depth explanation, Isabel cut him off abruptly, not allowing him to finish.

“No! You can’t accept something as expensive as this, Darling!

You’ve caused enough trouble for this nice passer-by already! He even saved your life! You can’t just take something like this from him...!”

Isabel’s voice rang out through the entire establishment. Though she did seem agitated, it did not seem like it was out of distaste for being in my debt—rather, she seemed genuinely concerned that her husband had inconvenienced me in some way.

I should probably reiterate the fact that the crystal was not given for free. Thinking so, I pointedly stared at the man, hoping that he would continue his explanation.

“Isabel, listen... This isn’t charity, yeah? Well, it is a good deal for me... But I’m going to work for the Boss from now on! In return, he gave me this to help with the situation... I did also promise him that he could eat here for free, so there’s that, too...”

“...Are you going to do something dangerous again?”

“No, no, it’s nothing like that... Right, Boss?” Turning to me for reassurance, I could not help but notice that the man did not seem very confident in his own statement.

I, however, simply nodded.

“See? It’s nothing dangerous, just simple things, yeah? Like going to the guild with materials... Or going to shops...”

“Wouldn’t he be able to do something like that by himself...?” Isabel said, utterly unconvinced.

“...I... Look. Like this... After. All. I don’t... Really. Want to show...

Up. At the... Guild. You... See.”

Saying so, I took off my glove, casually showing her a bit of my arm.

Although I had shown the man my entire forearm, I decided to be a little more conservative with his wife, so as not to startle her.

As expected, Isabel swallowed deeply, apparently terrified of what she had just seen. She did seem more convinced than she was moments ago, though.

Lowering her head once more, Isabel offered an apology: “I am deeply sorry for having said such insensitive words... This foolish husband of mine, the fool he is, often gets tricked by scoundrels and the like... It was out of worry that I stopped him. If it is indeed all right with you... Could we, in this case, accept your kindness?”

She was referring to none other than the magic crystal. Having fully understood the current situation, Isabel seemed more ready to accept the gift. Of course, I had no intentions of denying her what I had already promised, so I slowly nodded.

“That was... What I... Said. From... The start. We... Have. A deal...

Then.”

At my words, Isabel offered her hand, extending it toward me. “Yes, we are in your debt!”

I was somewhat surprised—she would ask for a handshake after what she had just seen? Did it not terrify her?

Looking at her husband, who seemed to be eagerly nodding, I came to the conclusion that this was just the type of person Isabel was.

With that in mind, I slowly offered my hand in return. “You... Are.

Welcome...”

And with that, we shared a firm handshake.

◆◇◆◇◆

“You... Know. Come... To think. Of it. I never... Asked. For your...

Name.”

Even the man himself seemed surprised at my statement as we stood on the road outside his shop.

“You know, now that you mention it... Guess that’s true. Since you didn’t state your name, Boss, I thought you wouldn’t care about mine... I should introduce myself, yeah?

“The name’s Loris—Loris Cariello. I’m the proprietor of this eatery, the Red Wyvern Pavilion. What about you, Boss?”

“Isn’t... It. Better... For you to... Not know. My name...?”

While that was the excuse I had given Loris, I had other reasons for not wishing to reveal my name. Loris, however, was not convinced at all.

“Why not?! You saved me, yeah? I should at least know your name, Boss! Is that such a bad thing to ask for?”

Loris had apparently seen it fit to throw my words right back at me.

I guess I had no other choice.

“I could... Tell. You. But could... You. Promise... Me. One thing?” “What is it?”

“You... Can’t. Tell anyone... Else. My name.”

“I don’t get why it’s such a secret, Boss...but yeah, I get it. I’ll only call you ‘Boss’ from here on out, yeah? Even if someone asks for you by name, I won’t say a thing. That good?”

“Yes... That. Is good. Well... Then. My name... Is. Rentt... Rentt...

Faina.”

Upon hearing those words, Loris slowly nodded, probably thinking it was somewhat pointless to hide such a plain-sounding name. He did immediately reassure me of his promise, though.

“I get it, Boss. Thank you so much for... Well, pretty much everything, yeah? Come by for a meal anytime. You’re always welcome here.” As promised, Loris did not make any mention of my name.

Nodding, I turned around, and once more walked into the busy streets of Maalt.

Chapter 5: Proof of Inhumanity

Honestly speaking, I found it extremely regrettable that Loris had a family. If he had said he had no family, on top of having no debt, then it would mean that he had lied to me. If that were the case, then it would actually have worked out in my favor—at least, that was what I thought.

The reason for this being that the primal instinct within me had intensified as of late, and it was telling me to do one thing:

Eat a human being.

If I really was to do such a thing...wouldn’t a villain of some sort be best? What about a liar? If someone had lied to me, would that be acceptable...?

And yet... Loris was, for all intents and purposes, a good-hearted person. That was why I ultimately couldn’t eat him. After all, if I was going to do so, it would have been best for me to not know his name. It was indeed a pity—I had even steeled myself for the act to a certain extent.

Upon noticing that I was having such thoughts, I quickly shook my head, dismissing them.

This is bad.

I continued to shake my head violently, attempting to get those thoughts out of my mind. But it was difficult to think otherwise. I felt as if a heavy curtain had been draped over my mind.

My next destination was Lorraine’s house.

How does human flesh taste? Is it delicious? Would its taste spread

across the tip of my tongue?

Surely, human blood would be like wine, serving to quench my thirst.

No... No. That’s wrong.

That was...not something I should think of. But I could not control my thoughts any longer.

Yes... Lorraine. Lorraine’s house. Lorraine’s... House...

◆◇◆◇◆

The door...opened. Of course. Lorraine’s house. I could enter...freely. This is my hideout.

Lorraine...had difficulties, at least living in a normal dormitory. This was why she lived in this house, and it was only possible with my help.

She had lived here for about ten years. Although it was from so long ago, the memories were fresh, as if the events just occurred yesterday. We were almost like friends who couldn’t get rid of each other. That was how long we had known each...other.

But more importantly...Lorraine was my friend.

Lorraine is forgetful; she seldom locks her door, and today, as usual, her door was unlocked.

No matter how messy she was...it was still a young woman’s house.

She was too careless. Too careless.

But that’s how she is.

That was how her character was. She was messy, and lived just as

messily.

She did many things in broad strokes, and probably treated the security of her house in a similar fashion. Maybe she only acted like this because she was strong. That could have been a large part of the reason.

No one would simply attack a Silver-class magician out of nowhere, and Lorraine herself was well aware of that. Even if she was faced with the burliest of hooligans, she would not be in too much danger.

Yes... She knew that. That was why she was careless.

I am...not a danger to Lorraine. Not yet. Lorraine is strong—strong.

That’s why... That is why. Yes... Of course.

Of course Lorraine would be fine... Even if a flesh-starved Ghoul

were to enter her house...

◆◇◆◇◆

“...Rentt? Is that you? ...You’re back,” a voice greeted me as I entered the house.

From the sound of rustling clothes, I knew. I knew it was her—her logical, but glamorous voice. Sleepy, but not brusque. A gentle, calm voice...

I answered as I usually would. “...Yes. Yes...”

“I see. You were off exploring in the Moon’s Reflection today, weren’t you? Was the Dragon there?”

“...No. No...”

Barely keeping up with her banter, I slowly approached Lorraine. As I got closer, I could make out her silhouette—she was sitting on the sofa.

Lorraine.

A heavy-looking book was on her lap, but her eyes, her gentle gaze, looked straight at me.

This strange feeling...

I was a Ghoul, after all. I was not human—I was the enemy of humans...

But then... This woman—

“Rentt...? Is something wrong? You don’t seem to have much to say... Are you in shock because the Dragon wasn’t there?”

“...No... Nothing... Like. That. I am... Very... Happy...”

I slowly approached Lorraine, until I was a single step away from her. If I reached out, I could touch her; that was the distance I was at.

I stared at Lorraine’s face blankly.

Her hair was messy...as usual. Her robes and clothing...put on haphazardly. But...there was a hidden charm to her...

Charm...? What charm...? What...was it?

Lorraine innocently asked me a question: “You’re happy? Why, did something good happen—”

Before she could finish her sentence, Lorraine was in my arms.

In...my arms.

◆◇◆◇◆

“R-Rentt...! What are you...? Are you drunk? But wait...the undead can’t get drunk...”

With a somewhat more flustered voice than usual, Lorraine questioned my actions. Somehow, this only served to bring out even more of her charm.

Her skin, flushed with a red hue and slightly glistening with sweat, gave off a familiar scent—one that distinctly wafted through the dusty air. Feeling dizzier by the second, I latched onto Lorraine’s scent—and consequently, Lorraine herself, holding her tight as I spoke.

“Lo... Rraine. I...”

“Y-yes. What is it, Rentt?”

I wanted to say something—something important. Those thoughts, however, vanished, almost as if someone had gone over them with a paintbrush. Broad strokes of red stained my field of vision. I could no longer think—chaos filled my mind. The only thing I could sense was Lorraine’s...scent. Her scent seemed...

...very delicious indeed.

With that thought, I opened my mouth wide, displacing part of her robe with a free hand to expose her shoulder.

I sank my teeth into her white flesh. “...?!”

Lorraine did not scream. Instead, she seemed to swallow deeply, pushing her cry of surprise back down into the depths of her throat. Her body was tense; while she shivered considerably from the pain,

not a sound escaped her lips. If she screamed, someone would surely hear her—and then someone would come along to investigate.

The town of Maalt was, after all, known for its relatively high public safety standards. If anything did happen, the average passerby was sure to intervene. Perhaps it was specifically because of this that Lorraine did as so—

She endured the pain with all her being.

Her resistance, however, only seemed to enhance the scent drifting forth from her flesh. I bit down further into her shoulder—and with that, the fresh taste of blood filled my mouth, flowing down into my throat.

Ah... What a divine taste.

It was a taste that was foreign to me, as I had tasted nothing like it prior to this. The 20-year-old wine that I had once drank in life greatly paled in comparison—mere swill compared to the delightfully sweet taste of blood.

I wanted more.

More, more...

That one thought filled my mind as I sucked on Lorraine’s open wound, drawing sweet blood from her broken veins.

“...Ugh... Ahh... Ren...tt. You...” I heard Lorraine call my name, but I did not feel like stopping.

Another thought crept into my crimson-stained mind:

If blood tasted this good, what would human flesh taste like...?

It would certainly be a divine, otherworldly taste. It had to be.

I bit down hungrily on Lorraine’s shoulder, exerting more force than

ever before.

*Rrrip*

“...Ahh...?!”

I had bitten off a piece of Lorraine’s shoulder. There wasn’t much of it; I had only torn off a small piece, much like the size of one’s little finger. But of course, this taste... It was as I expected.

I chewed down on the piece, relishing it. I could be forever content with this taste. This was all I needed—such was the intensity of its flavor. But there wasn’t enough of it. To think that a small piece could bring me such joy...

My joy was unceremoniously interrupted, however. I was thirsty once more—I had no choice but to feel this way.

I turned to face Lorraine once more. “Rent... Rentt. Are you...still...there?”

Lorraine, however, stared straight at me—into me—even as blood continued flowing from her lacerated shoulder.

Ah...?

Rentt. That was my name.

Was I still here? That was the meaning of her question. But of course I was still here.

I am here.

So... Give me. More of your... Blood.

For a second, I stopped—before lunging at Lorraine once more. Yet Lorraine nodded at my reaction.

“Seems...like, you’re still...in there somewhere. Good. Then...for now, you should... SLEEP!” Suddenly raising her voice, Lorraine lifted her palm, pointing her hand in my direction.

Although I could sense the tendrils of magic gathering in Lorraine’s outstretched hand, it was far too late. A magnificent fireball sprung forth, hurtling straight at me. Its force and power was fitting for a Silver-class magician, as the impact sent me flying for a good distance, before finally slamming me into a wall.

Slowly sliding down onto the floor, I felt my consciousness slip away, drifting far into the distance. I could make out Lorraine’s silhouette as she approached, in a somewhat haphazard and panicked way. She placed a hand on my cheek.

“...Good, you’re alive. You can apologize when you wake up...”

Her tone of voice was markedly different. It was no longer flustered, but instead strict and controlled. I could make out the incantations for a sleeping spell in her words.

My consciousness seemed to slip at an even faster pace. I appeared to hear Lorraine’s words whispered softly into my ear right before I fully slipped away.

“...You probably won’t remember this, and that’s fine. But if you’re going to attack me... At least do it when you are in full possession of your faculties. You can take a bite of me anytime, then...”

Perhaps I was just hearing things—but even with my awareness rapidly fading, I could at least make out that much.

A strange power seemed to course through my body.

◆◇◆◇◆

For one reason or another, my body felt very heavy. It was a strange feeling.

Wait—something was amiss. What had I been doing? I was, after all, in the Moon’s Reflection up until a short while ago. We had left the confines of the labyrinth, and visited Loris’s shop. And then...?

When did I fall asleep?

Seemingly triggering a reaction in my mind, that thought jolted me wide awake. A bright light of sorts seemed to invade my eyelids, prying them open.

“...You’re awake, Rentt.”

◆◇◆◇◆

What greeted me as I opened my eyes was an oddly familiar sight— the ceiling of Lorraine’s abode. Her voice brought back a stream of memories—a flashback, as one would call it. I slowly recalled the chain of events that led me here.

Organizing my thoughts on the situation to a certain extent, I finally opened my mouth to speak.

“Ah... I.... Apologize. My... Head. Does not feel quite... Right.”

“No, it isn’t much to worry about, though I will accept that apology. More important is how you feel right now. Do you feel...dominated by some strange force? Do you feel compelled to do anything...unusual?”

I shook my head at Lorraine’s question. I mean, nothing seemed to be particularly out of place.

There was one thing: the mild scent of blood in the room did pique my appetite, but it was nothing like the crimson-stained state of desire that I had previously been in.

Moving a hand to her shoulder, Lorraine seemed satisfied by my response.

“Is...that right? Then that’s fine... Also, I should say again... Don’t let

what happened bother you. That was merely an unfortunate accident. With that being said, we should still do something about it... How much do you remember?”

Lorraine held out her hand, interrupting my rapidly offered apologies. Had it not been for her gesture, I would probably be stuck apologizing for a considerable amount of time.

Having known Lorraine for this long, she sometimes seemed to understand what I was thinking without me having to put it into words. While slightly bristling at times, I had now found myself grateful for Lorraine’s understanding. After all, I could be myself around Lorraine—and that was why I could accept her words for what they were, and not remain hung up about what had transpired.

Of course, it would be impossible to forget right away, but perhaps it would fade with time. At the very least, I should endeavor to answer Lorraine’s questions for now—specifically, how much I remembered before losing consciousness.

What exactly did she mean?

I had lost control of myself while visiting Lorraine; everything before my eyes faded into a deep crimson, and I had struck out at her. After that... Hmm.

No... It was no good. There were too many strange discrepancies in my memories. It was like a surreal dream—I recalled feeling excitement, as if heavy restraints had been lifted off my being. I did not recall making any logical decisions.

Lorraine nodded as I continued describing what little I could remember.

“Yes, yes. Of course. I thought it would be something like that. You behaved quite differently than you normally would. To begin with, this was perhaps to be expected... It was not too surprising, considering all the factors involved. I had it under control, as well. It is fine.”

Finding myself lying down on Lorraine’s sofa, I asked her for an explanation of the events that had transpired between now and then. Lorraine, who had been seated next to me the whole time, offered a plain response.

“There isn’t much to talk about. When you got home, you suddenly attacked me, and I sent you flying with a spell. I aimed well, you know? Although that probably would not have hit you as you normally were...”

Was that true? Despite her appearances, Lorraine was a skilled individual. Unlike how she was before, she could now easily explore the average labyrinth by her lonesome—I didn’t think dodging her magic would be a trivial feat.

Lorraine continued, as if reading my mind: “Well, maybe that would be the case if I were fully prepared for the situation. I was caught unaware and panicked, you know. Under normal circumstances, I would never approach a monster up close. You know I prefer to attack from afar after observing them from a distance. Since you were that close...even magic was difficult. It was a desperate move to suddenly compress a large amount of magic into a concentrated blow, you see.

And, well...it worked, so I have no complaints.”

Despite her words, Lorraine did seem shaken. Although she appeared calm and analytical about the situation, any normal girl would at least be somewhat unsettled when a close friend suddenly turned on them—violently, at that. But Lorraine hid this as best as she could—perhaps out of concern for my well-being.

“...I thought I would make sure—do you feel all right? Any problems anywhere? I wanted to tune down the spell’s output, but I don’t really have much experience in that field. It was...too sudden. Do you feel any mortal wounds or the like anywhere...?”

If anything, I actually felt somewhat better than usual. Lorraine seemed relieved at my conclusion.

“I see. That’s a relief, then. Even so...you still need your rest. You’ve only just recovered, after all. Take it easy for today. I will...clean up the room—ack!”

Lorraine’s room was indeed more of a tragedy than it usually was, with books, furniture, and the like scattered haphazardly across every nook and cranny. Lorraine, however, did not look in the state for any cleaning. Standing up, she held her shoulder tightly, her face scrunched up in pain. I wasn’t thickheaded enough not to understand why she was behaving in this way:

It was the wound I had inflicted upon her.

I stood up, supporting her body with my arms.

“...Ugh. Nearly fell over there. Sorry for the trouble, Rentt...” Lorraine quickly attempted to step away, as if eager to stand on her own strength.

“Show... Your wound. To me...”

Saying so, I displaced her robe with my hand. A series of bloodstained bandages greeted me, haphazardly and messily applied, with blood soaking through its layers. It was not a pretty sight. It was evident that Lorraine had not done much for herself—this was rudimentary first aid at best. I demanded to know why Lorraine had not been to a Sanitarium or a place of healing.

“If I show them something like this, they would want to know what caused it... Don’t worry about it. I’ll cook up a potion or two later. I do have some in stock, but they are marked for sale to the nearby apothecary...so I’m currently out. Don’t worry... I can make something to take care of a wound like this easily...”

Apparently that was Lorraine’s justification for wanting to clean up her room first—I stopped her, of course.

“Let me... Do it.” I was referring to the question of treating

Lorraine’s wound.

While I did not know of any healing magics, I had enough divinity within me to help. Loris was a prime example of this point. A wound of that size could be easily handled even without a potion.

Lorraine, as usual, spoke like she had already read my thoughts. “But...your body...”

It would seem like Lorraine was more worried about my health than herself. I was fine, however. More importantly, I had to treat Lorraine’s injury. Even if it could be easily healed with a potion of sorts, an injury like that would surely leave a mark.

Though even a cheap potion could heal one’s wounds, the resulting treatment would leave blemishes, scars, and the like on one’s skin. As such, female adventurers commonly used expensive potions, specifically to avoid such a problem. Lorraine, however, was never one to be bothered by such things. In fact, she had only used her own homemade potions for personal healing up until this point. Knowing how she was, she probably would not put much effort into said potions. This would, in turn, leave her with a scar—or, at the very least, the possibility was there.

I would be the one responsible for said scar, and I could not live with that.

With that in mind, I placed a hand on Lorraine’s shoulder, holding her in place. As if resigned to her fate, Lorraine sighed, making a face as she accepted the treatment.

“...It’s the first time I’ve...been healed by divine magic. It’s...very soothing, you know. I feel...so warm.”

Having never attempted to heal my own wounds before, I had no idea how it would feel. But I was grateful for the fact that it did not seem to be a painful process.

Upon closer inspection, there were clear teeth marks on Lorraine’s shoulder, along with rough marks consistent with a laceration wound. As I thought, a normal potion would definitely leave ugly scars. I had to put my all into it. I focused, concentrating a good amount of divinity into my hand. Slowly, the wound began to fade, her skin mending as it gradually reverted to its previous state. Lorraine’s shoulder was now smooth and pale-white, as it used to be.

Visually confirming that her wound was gone, Lorraine pressed down upon her shoulder with a free hand, as if to check for injuries beneath the surface.

“...It doesn’t hurt at all. The usage of divinity for the treatment of wounds, huh... As expected, it really is something else.” After pausing, Lorraine continued, in a softer voice, “...Guess I can’t say I’m damaged goods now, huh.”

Strangely, Lorraine seemed a little disappointed at the notion.

Confused, I looked straight at Lorraine, only to have her shake her head slowly.

“No...it’s...nothin—?”

There seemed to be something amiss with my face. As if finally finding her words, Lorraine spoke once more.

“Hey...Rentt. Your mask... Is it coming off...?” Lorraine said, staring at my face incredulously.

◆◇◆◇◆

“...Wait. There should be a mirror somewhere in here...” Lorraine said, beginning to fish through the scattered objects in the room.

For all her quirks and relatively relaxed personality, it would seem that Lorraine did, after all, own a mirror—as most women did. After some digging, Lorraine finally found what she was looking for.

“There we go. Look here... Well, maybe it isn’t falling off, but at least it seems to have changed the way it sits on your face...”

I, too, was curious, and could not help but stare into the mirror Lorraine held. Reflected therein was my face and my mask, with the latter a little different than usual.

It wasn’t just about the positioning, however. Upon closer inspection, the entire mask had changed its shape. Although it had originally covered most of my face, it now only covered the upper half, exposing the lower part of my face, mouth and all.

But that was not the most surprising thing in my reflection. “...Skin.”

Lorraine nodded at my stunned realization. “Ah, yes. I had forgotten to mention it, in light of everything else that had happened... But yes.

Rentt—you look different now.”

◆◇◆◇◆

With a quick series of checks, I discovered that my appearance had indeed dramatically changed. I did not merely refer to the matter of my mask changing shape—

Deciding to take off my robes just to be sure, I discovered that there were now patches of what appeared to be healthy skin amidst the usual, dried-out bits. Perhaps it was easier to describe my current state as that of an almost-rotten cadaver; bits of me looked like how I was in life, but the other parts were markedly scarred, dried, and otherwise unpleasant. With this, however, it might be possible to pass off said patches of dried skin as monster-inflicted scars.

With that being said, claiming that I had many large scars of this sort might be a little bit of a long stretch. Alternatively, I could simply tell them that I was a Ghoul, not that that was a good idea in any shape or form. My face did not seem to fare much better, with the bottom

half of it, not covered by the mask, in a similar state as my body. In fact, it seemed a little more monstrous than my skin was.

While it did sport some healthy parts, the areas around my mouth were markedly corpse-like and Ghoulish. One could make out the distressed state of my gums—but perhaps that was a more skeletal state, to have one’s teeth exposed in such a manner. I had to hide this somehow... Was there anything I could do?

I concentrated, searching for a solution. “...H-hey!” Lorraine raised her voice.

For some reason or another, the mask had reduced itself into liquid- like material, creeping over my face before solidifying as a full facial mask once more. It was now back to its normal, skull-shaped self.

What was going on...?

“...Rentt. I don’t think that mask is ‘just’ cursed. Is there more to it?” Lorraine asked, her eyes now twinkling with a familiar look of curiosity.

But it was as Lorraine said. A mask capable of such behavior was not any normal cursed sheet of metal. Of course, the fact that it was cursed to begin with meant that it wasn’t very normal in the first place.

Lorraine leaned in, closely inspecting the mask. “...When the shape of your mask changed, were you doing anything different?”

I described to Lorraine my thoughts at the time, namely how I felt that showing my mouth in public was a bad idea.

“Hmm. Did it change its appearance due to what you were thinking?

A sentient tool of sorts, maybe? How very rare...” A sentient tool...

Sentient tools were rare indeed. It was a term commonly associated

with demonic swords and the like. These tools often had a will of their own, and they were said to be able to choose their owners. They were often found in the depths of a labyrinth, and were said to be impossible to reproduce by modern technologies available to man.

One could say that they were rare and famous (or infamous) at the same time.

I raised the notion to Lorraine. Perhaps my mask was a similar artifact. However, there was also the fact that this mask was purchased by Rina for a few bronze coins. No matter how one spun it, it was a little too cheap for a sentient tool.

Lorraine offered a response after some thought. “Do take into account that it is cursed. The owner at the time might have simply set such a price to get rid of it quickly. We should also consider if the mask has the ability to control the wearer’s thoughts to a certain extent...”

A more unsettling response than I was used to.

While I didn’t have much say in taking it off due to its cursed nature, I couldn’t exactly have it controlling my mind—I was already strange enough of an existence as things were. At the very least, I would like my free will to remain intact.

With that being said, it did not feel like I had been controlled at any point in time since my awakening as a Skeleton. While I was overcome with strange impulses at times, I did not know if those were the mask’s doing. I had struck out at Lorraine, after all.

But Lorraine seemed more interested in the mask, and continued to observe it as I remained silently in thought.

“...You know... If it can change its shape by merely thinking about it, doesn’t that mean you are already capable of taking it off?”

Lorraine’s words did make sense. Convinced that it was at least worth a try, I began thinking about taking the mask off. Unfortunately, the mask remained unmoving, and was still very much stuck to my

face.

“Can I try taking it off?” “Go... Ahead...”

As expected, however, the mask was not very receptive to Lorraine’s efforts, seemingly glued to my face. Lorraine wasn’t exactly short on strength, either—although she was probably a little weaker than a soldier or a typical male adventurer, she was an adventurer like them, as well. Lorraine should have had more than enough strength to take my mask off—at least, if it were a normal mask.

In other words, my mask still seemed resolutely stuck to my face, and it was not going anywhere anytime soon.

“No good. Could you maybe think of changing its shape again?”

I nodded, picturing a different shape for the mask in my mind’s eye.

As if on command, the mask changed, once again only covering the upper half of my face.

“Could you try any other shapes?”

While I went on to picture a variety of shapes per Lorraine’s instructions, the mask seemed to only assume three general forms: It either covered my entire face, the top half, or the bottom half.

Though it could take other, more creative shapes, it would end up returning to one of the three prior-mentioned states in less than a minute. It also seemed capable of changing its design and ornamentation.

“...So, you can freely shape it, but you cannot take it off. How very strange... Well, it works in your favor, doesn’t it? Your face is still somewhat close to that of an undead, you know,” Lorraine said, apparently satisfied, nodding as she did so.

As she had stated, my humanity would be called into question if

anyone got a good look at the lower half of my face—not that I was human in the first place. My body was unfortunately in a similar state. If I showed them how I looked, the average townsperson would surely question why I was even able to move, if only due to the fact that the blemishes on my skin were not just wounds—some bones were still visible underneath my dried flesh. There was also the question of blood—or lack thereof. My wounds did not bleed.

Taking all that into consideration, however, I did prefer this form greatly—at least, more than my last one. I was human at a brief, cursory glance. I suppose that was where I currently stood on the scale.

That wasn’t the only thing that changed, however. “...Is. My voice strange?”

“Oh, yes. It seems a lot smoother now, to the point where I cannot help but see it as a little strange. Maybe I just have to get used to it?”

“I don’t know... But it does feel easier to speak.” I was very grateful for this.

The bigger question that filled my mind, however, was what brought about this change in the first place.

“Did I... Do it? Existential... Evolution?”

Lorraine nodded in response to my question while I continued to examine myself. “It would seem to be the case. Is it because you have been defeating monsters in the labyrinth?”

I did mention to Lorraine that I was headed to the Labyrinth of the Moon’s Reflection, hence her assumption. But I shook my head.

“I don’t... Know about that. It is true that I did... Fight some monsters. But when I... Had evolved into a Ghoul, I evolved immediately after I... Defeated them.”

“...Comparatively, you only evolved this time after you got home. If we were to pinpoint the differences... Did you evolve after defeating me or...something else along those lines?”

“You jest. There was no defeating done by me.”

Although I had attacked Lorraine, she did send me flying into a wall with a well-placed fireball; that seemed to be a definite loss.

“I suppose. More accurately, it was I who defeated you... But more importantly—oh, yes... You ate my flesh and drank my blood. Perhaps that was the reason?”

Lorraine’s statement was shocking, to say the least. I widened my eyes in response, but Lorraine simply continued her explanation.

“Think about it. It’s not as outlandish as it seems. If I had to say... Judging by your current appearances, you seem more of a Vampire’s Thrall than a simple Ghoul to me. At the very least, you would be some sort of monster under the command of a Vampire... Consequently, that ranks you somewhat lower than a Lesser Vampire in the monster hierarchy.”

“A Thrall, huh...”

◆◇◆◇◆

While vampiric Thralls were somewhat powerful monsters, I had never seen one before in life. According to Lorraine’s explanation, Thralls were a sort of underling created by a Vampire, and as such could not exist without the latter creating them. It was known that Thralls did not seem to reappear in labyrinths. The Lesser Vampires that created them, however, did reappear again some time after being slain. Due to this, one could even say that Thralls were a somewhat rare type of monster.

With that being said, however, they were not exactly legendary creatures, as there have been enough confirmed sightings of them in

areas where Vampires were known to live. But the Thralls in those cases were once human, having been turned when bitten by a Vampire. As far as my knowledge went, one did not simply become a Thrall without the direct actions of a vampiric parent.

“Yes... The resemblance is there. I have taken a Thrall-slaying request before, you see. You look somewhat similar to the ones I saw then—well, you seem to have a little more holes in you than the average Thrall... But I’m content to classify that as an individual difference.”

Lorraine was ultimately a scholar well-versed in the characteristics of monsters. If Lorraine said I was a Thrall of some sort, and had previously seen similar creatures in person, I had no reason to doubt her claims.

However, I had not been bitten by a Vampire at all, so it was difficult to understand the reasons for my evolution. For one, a Ghoul evolving into a Thrall was unheard of—

Thinking so, I raised my concerns to Lorraine.

“... Can one... Become a Thrall just by... Existential Evolution?”

Lorraine did not readily have an answer for me, slowly shaking her head instead.

“As I have mentioned before, few records exist on the topic of Existential Evolution. It is still being researched across the lands as we speak, so there is no adequate gauge for what is normal and what isn’t. Yours is a special case—at least, I think it’s a special case. There are no precedents available... I cannot give you an easy answer.”

It was as Lorraine said—even a monster scholar like herself had no answer for me. It was probably impossible to so easily understand, and it was very much a troubling thing to think about, indeed.

I held my head, attempting in vain to make sense of the situation.

Sensing my despair, Lorraine offered some words of consolation:

“Well... I wasn’t exactly playing around while you went exploring in the labyrinth. I was thinking about quite a few things myself—if you would like my observations up until this point, I could give them to you. How about it?”

Such was Lorraine’s casual offer—of course, I had no reason to refuse. I, of all people, understood that even a mere hypothesis from Lorraine could be a vastly useful piece of information.

I wasted no time in communicating my interest to Lorraine.

“All right, then, I’ll tell you about it. Even if you had refused, I would have simply kept talking either way,” Lorraine said, a smile creeping onto her features.

“Now... Where should I start? Perhaps it would be easier to understand if I went over all the events that have occurred, starting from the beginning of your evolution. While I was not present to witness it... Rentt—you were a Skeleton at first, yes?”

“Yes... I wanted to show you, but there was no way I could... Return in that form. But no matter... How you put it. I was a... Skeleton. It was... Quite surreal. Looking at my own... White bones.”

Lorraine, momentarily stunned at my recollection of my time as a Skeleton, quickly regained her composure.

“And...from there, you evolved into a Ghoul?

“Yes. You have seen... Me. As a Ghoul... So you know.”

“Yes, of course... It was quite a strange feeling, to see you like that. Very...interesting. Well, that’s enough of that. More importantly... My observations on your evolution. Don’t you think that you evolving from a Skeleton to a Ghoul in and of itself is a strange thing?”

“Hmm...?” I could only cock my head at Lorraine’s sudden question.

Understanding that I did not comprehend the deeper meaning of her question, Lorraine continued her explanation.

“That is to say... Existential Evolution is the process whereby a monster becomes a stronger version of itself. One could describe it that way—loosely, at least. Perhaps the truth is vastly different, but for now we shall work with this. Are you still with me?”

“Yes.”

“Well, then... Think about it. Are Ghouls stronger versions of Skeletons?”

“Hmm...” I could not help but notice the discrepancy now that Lorraine had pointed it out.

The books I had read in Lorraine’s abode all mentioned that Skeletons evolved into Ghouls, and I had accepted that as truth. Up until this point, I had not put much thought into it. Skeletons, however, had quite a few variations, many of them stronger than their basic, unarmed form. In fact, the Giant Skeleton that I had fought prior to this was a good example. Other notable models included Skeleton Knights, or the weaker Skeleton Soldiers.

It that was the case, if a Skeleton really were to undergo Existential Evolution, would it not evolve into a Soldier or Knight? That, at least, seemed to be the most natural path. But of course: one could not be sure if monster evolution was a natural thing in the first place, but I suppose that was a thought experiment for another day.

Once again, I offered my thoughts on the matter to Lorraine, who promptly nodded.

“Yes, it is as you say. While it is true that many research tomes and the like speak of Skeletons evolving into Ghouls, that is not an absolute truth—in fact, someone has probably witnessed this happening at some point in time. However, one could not be sure if that was indeed a sort of Existential Evolution or not—much less if it was an exception

of some kind.”

“What... Do you mean?”

“...I mean to say that, in truth, we know very little—if anything—on the topic.”

I felt that Lorraine’s opinion was a little harsh, but Lorraine simply continued on.

“...However. Seeing how you did evolve into a Ghoul from your previously skeletal state, I suppose this proves my hypothesis correct.”

“So... What does that... Mean?”

“Put simply: I propose that a monster’s Existential Evolution propels it in the direction of what it wants to become.”

Maybe there was some truth in Lorraine’s words. To begin with, I had fixated myself upon evolving into a Ghoul the moment I realized I had been reborn as a Skeleton. The same was true when I was a Ghoul: I had wanted to evolve into a Vampire so as to achieve a more human- like form. Perhaps Lorraine’s hypothesis was right.

Although, some questions did remain in my mind.

“...Why did I... Evolve into a Thrall... From a Ghoul? I could have...

Become a Vampire instead.”

That was my goal to begin with, after all. If what Lorraine said was indeed true, I would have become a Vampire by now. But Lorraine seemed prepared for my question, and readily offered a response:

“Think of it as the Adventurer Ranks of the guild. Even if you are skilled as an adventurer, you don’t suddenly advance to Gold-class from the bottom, do you? In addition, you would not even be able to advance if you did not have the capability to do so.”

I understood the gist of Lorraine’s words. “...So I have to evolve...

Step by... Step?”

“That would be the most logical conclusion if we were to look at your current appearance. It is, again, just a hypothesis; the sample size is far too small. If I had to quote some sort of supporting evidence or material... My recent research on the evolutionary tendencies of Puchi Suri would suffice.”

Puchi Suri were small, mouse-like monsters that could be found just about anywhere, and were just as easily captured. Elemental subspecies and evolutionary versions could be easily found as well, commonly corresponding to the location they lived in. It would seem like Lorraine had carried out some sort of research in this field.

Lorraine continued her explanation. “It is a simple experiment—one captures some Puchi Suris, then places a few of them in cages at various locales. A volcanic area, near the water, in a forest, a cave, and so on. The results are interesting, to say the least.”

According to Lorraine’s explanation, each of the Puchi Suris had taken on the element of their surroundings, with the one placed at the volcano becoming a fire-element subspecies—the same had occurred with each of the specimens at their locales. In addition, there was only one Puchi Suri left in each of the cages by the end of the experiment. I was, of course, familiar with the reason for this being the case—if I had to take a guess, it was probably due to the Puchi Suris fighting each other, with a final winner absorbing all its compatriot’s power.

The result of this was Existential Evolution.

“Of course, this alone does not prove my assumptions. One could claim that the Puchi Suri was simply responding to changes in its environment—but what if this was not a passive, but directed evolution? What if the monster itself wanted to evolve into a certain form? Perhaps I am getting ahead of myself... But I would not rule that out after observing a case such as yours. After all, claiming that you evolved into a Ghoul in response to environmental stimuli in the Labyrinth of the Moon’s Reflection would be a bit of a stretch. There

were plenty of other forms you could have taken.

“In your case...the latter explanation is more convincing: that you took this form because you wanted to. You yourself told me that you had consciously wished to evolve into Ghoul. So you see, there is some weight behind this hypothesis; though I would not call it a concrete theory just yet.”

◆◇◆◇◆

“...So... Does it mean that for... Me to become a Vampire... I just have to keep... Thinking? Working hard...?” I posed my question to Lorraine.

If Lorraine’s explanation did indeed hold true, that would mean that me thinking of becoming a Vampire while absorbing the life energies of other monsters would be enough to trigger the evolutionary process.

Lorraine, however, shook her head—not the reaction I was expecting.

“I did say earlier that it was not a concrete theory... In some aspects, your assumptions are sound; but I suspect that thought alone is insufficient.”

“...What do you, mean...?”

“Here is the problematic point of this entire series of assumptions. If you could simply trigger Existential Evolution by slaying monsters, would you not have evolved in the Labyrinth?”

Lorraine had a point. If Existential Evolution was simply triggered by absorbing the life energies of fallen monsters, I would have been pushed over the evolutionary threshold the moment I had defeated the Giant Skeleton. Such was the amount of energy it had granted me.

Though, I could not deny that perhaps I was still lacking in energy after that battle. In any case, I did return to Maalt without incident.

On the way back, however, I defeated several monsters—if I was lacking in energy alone, surely that would have taken care of things. In reality, nothing happened until my scuffle with Lorraine, where apparently I had evolved while unconscious. From these observations alone, even I could understand that simply defeating monsters was insufficient for me to evolve.

In other words, what Lorraine said earlier made a fair amount of sense.

“Maybe, then... Me eating your... Flesh and blood was... The reason.”

“Indeed. I did come to that conclusion after some thought—there were no other variables in the equation. While the finer details of the process are lost to me, I can confidently say that certain instances of Existential Evolution are triggered by specific conditions. Empirical evidence in this case suggests that you cannot evolve by only defeating monsters—and this has been observed to be the case thus far.”

Apparently this was the reason why I could not evolve into a Vampire—at least, not just by defeating monsters alone. The thought of me evolving due to the consumption of Lorraine’s flesh and blood, however...

I raised my doubts to Lorraine.

“That is the difficult part—difficult to verify, that is. Thralls are technically Vampires of sorts... Low-ranked Vampires, but still Vampires nonetheless. It is said that Vampires absorb their opponent’s mana and spirit by drinking their blood. While a Vampire would not die if it does not drink, it would be significantly weakened. Thralls are similar in that aspect. Basically... They gain strength from drinking the blood of humans.”

“What about... Flesh?”

“That would be more of a Ghoul’s impulse. You had lost control of

yourself by then—it was through the strength of that desire that you went and did as such. Did you not feel anything like that while you were a Ghoul? A primal desire of sorts, perhaps?”

I did recall casually thinking about eating human flesh several times during my Ghoulish tenure. But I would consciously remind myself that such a thing was forbidden, so the desire itself was easily suppressed at first. The desire did eventually grow, however, intensifying while I defeated numerous other monsters.

Now that I mention it, by the time I had encountered Loris the restauranteur, my Ghoulish desire was at its peak. Such was the strength of this desire that I had trouble suppressing it after my battle with the Giant Skeleton.

Lorraine nodded at my explanation. “Monsters do require some sort of sustenance—a means of absorbing energy, if you will. If a monster does not eat, its base desires probably become stronger in response to its hunger. This was why you bit off a piece of me when you got here: your desires had amplified and peaked to an irreversible point, and the resultant fulfillment of said desire triggered your evolution. It just so happened that eating human flesh coincidentally caused you to evolve. While I have no way of knowing if all monsters have desires that fuel their evolution, I suppose I could make some broad strokes and assume that is the case.

“As such, you should not just be defeating monsters. Instead, you should be thinking hard about what possibly triggers your evolution, and then acting on it—at least, that is what I think.”

Such was Lorraine’s answer. But Lorraine’s instructions were vague at best.

“...There isn’t much we can do about things as they are, you know. There are things even I do not know; what we discussed just now is nothing more than a series of assumptions—and depending on who you ask, delirious ravings. Ah... If only I had more samples. If that were the case, we would have much a better means of gathering

data...”

To wish for more beings such as myself—I did not have the heart to tell Lorraine that such a day would perhaps never come.

Even if they were mere ravings, Lorraine’s observations had given me more than enough food for thought. I would not have reached such conclusions myself; or, more accurately, I had never thought about things that deeply to begin with. Without her advice, I would have simply continued defeating monsters. She was truly a friend worth having—a wise scholar who I had the privilege of knowing for a long time.

“Well, with all that said, perhaps the only choice you have is to trudge forward. You may very well be the first in the history of all humanity to be walking such a path. Of course, I will do what I can to support you.”

Now, more than ever, I felt thankful for Lorraine’s presence. “...Thank you, Lorraine.”

“Don’t worry about it... Well, then. Now is as a good time as ever— come over here so I can inspect you thoroughly.”

“Eh?”

I could not help but feel that Lorraine’s sudden comment was unfitting for the solemn atmosphere that was present mere moments ago. But Lorraine did not seem aware of this.

“Well? What are you doing? Take off your clothes, quickly now. I just happen to have a Recording Crystal here... We should take a picture of how you appear now for archival purposes. —Oh, right. Are you capable of eating now? Well, you did eat a bit of me as a Ghoul, so I suppose you do have a stomach of some sort. But you should try eating normal food, as well. Oh, and you would do well to give me a piece of your body. I will apply some anesthetic to numb the pain.

Actually... Do numbing medicines work on you? I should remember to make some research notes on that. Also...”

Lorraine continued listing a series of possible experiments—she apparently intended to perform each and every one of them on me.

I, however, was not exactly listening to Lorraine’s ramblings. While Lorraine was normally calm and level-headed, she had a bad habit of diving into her research once she decided that something was of interest to her. As a result, she would commonly work late into the night, forgetting to eat or rest, and would eventually collapse at some point or another.

However, I was there to take care of her every time something like this happened. Even if I were to guide her to her bed and tell her to rest, Lorraine would only grudgingly agree, all the while being visibly irritated that her work had been disrupted. Her bad habits were responsible for her current behavior.

Upon listening to Lorraine’s suggestions, however, it would seem like the experiments she described were all crucial to understanding my condition, hence my eventual cooperation. For instance, her experiments with medicine allowed me to understand if medicines even worked on me—handy when exploring a labyrinth. Similarly, Lorraine’s request for me to eat normal food was not too outlandish either—if I could eat, I probably should. If I were to collapse suddenly due to hunger or not having sufficient nutrients, it would not benefit anyone—as such, I should eat and rest if able.

There was also the consideration that someone could attack me out of nowhere, so it was good to be prepared.

With that being said, I did enjoy eating in life. If possible, I would like to continue eating. While I did take a bite of Lorraine after evolving from a Skeleton to a Ghoul, I had not eaten anything else in the meantime. I had no idea if abstaining from meals would have any ill-effects. If anything, I was somewhat doubtful about my ability to digest food. I supposed it was at least worth a try.

“Well, then, Rentt. No point sitting around. Let us begin the experiment right away... At least, that is what I would have liked to say, but I suppose that is a bit too much for today. You should rest, and we can continue tomorrow... What is it? There’s a strange look on your face.”

I could not believe that Lorraine, with that level of eagerness, would allow for her experiments to be postponed to the next day.

“...No... I simply thought you would... Begin right away.”

“What do you take me for? Even I occasionally have some modicum of sense.”

It was something that I had never expected from Lorraine. Her being that concerned was occasional indeed—I thought about pointing it out, but ultimately decided against it for today.

The next day—

◆◇◆◇◆

Upon confirming that I had regained some degree of normalcy, Lorraine decided to continue her experiments. She began with an external inspection, during which she occasionally went into great detail. Some of Lorraine’s experiments made no sense to me, but seemed important for one reason or another. I suppose most scholars were like this, being mostly restless until they could fully investigate something.

With that being said, I did not view all of Lorraine’s experiments as frivolous. In fact, the results of some of these experiments cleared up various questions I had about myself up until this point, and for that, I was grateful.

The salient points of the investigative experiments were as follows: I could apparently eat normal food, and curative potions, for some reason, also worked on an undead like me. In addition, certain points

were completely nullified by the unique nature of my body. The biggest takeaway from Lorraine’s experiments, however, was the fact that I could eat normal food, as opposed to being restricted to human flesh and blood.

Honestly speaking, though, the desire to consume such things still haunted me even after I had evolved into a Thrall. I suppose the desire for flesh was a Ghoulish impulse after all. My desire for blood was now far stronger, and I found myself desiring it more than ever. More accurately speaking, I seemed to be able to smell blood in the veins of humans around me. From the smell alone, I could discern the general direction, age, gender, and state of health of human beings around me.

Perhaps this was to be expected, with the unexpected part being the fact that it smelled so delicious to me. In particular, I found myself lusting after the blood of healthy young women.

I couldn’t help but think of the negative implications of this development. It would be problematic if I felt this lust all the time—as such, we ended up conducting experiments on how to reduce its intensity. The results were somewhat promising, as consuming regular food seemed to reduce its hold over me.

In addition to that, Lorraine was generous enough to provide small amounts of her blood—and that usually had a profound effect on my craving, dispelling it for some period of time. The contrast between the two sources was surprising, however—I had to eat at least three times as much as an average grown man to sate my hunger. A single drop of Lorraine’s blood, in comparison, immediately made me feel full and revitalized. Although it would be more cost-efficient to drink Lorraine’s blood in this scenario, I could not bring myself to ask her for a constant supply. Lorraine, however, interrupted my thoughts with a few statements of her own.

“...Looking at the results of the experiment, it would make more sense if you drank fixed amounts of my blood at regular intervals. For now, I will leave you with a bottle’s worth of it. The bottle has preservation magic woven into it—in any case, if you run out, just let

me know,” Lorraine said, casually handing over the bottle to me.

I felt that a whole bottle’s worth of blood was a bit much; but as Lorraine said, I only required a single drop at a time.

Thinking about it logically, this bottle would last me for at least a month if properly rationed. The problem, however, lay in the effectiveness of the preservation spell. According to Lorraine, it would only last a week, whereupon I would have to ask her to refresh it once more.

Taking into account that preservation magics were not absolute in what they did, Lorraine’s provided supply could not exactly be kept fresh forever. It is perhaps serendipitous, then, that the average preservation period of foodstuffs and the like were about a month in length—just the right amount in this case.

But with that said, there was another problem in regards to this arrangement: it was unhealthy for Lorraine to provide this amount of blood on a regular basis. I made a mental note to be cautious about rationing my blood supply.

On that note, however, it was undeniably strange for one to be thinking of drinking another’s blood, let alone drinking it cautiously. At the very least, it was not something the average human being would do, and my head hurt as I thought about the implications of such an act for my already thinning sense of humanity. I suppose it was important to ensure that my fading sense of humanity did not deteriorate any further—eating regular meals helped in that regard, at least.

Lorraine’s experiments also explored my resistances to poison, with her administering increasingly more venomous poisons into me.

Interestingly, I did not seem affected by any of her concoctions. We progressed in a somewhat haphazard way, armed only with the knowledge of Lorraine’s poison cleansing spells should something go wrong. As a last resort, I could even use my divinity to nullify any detrimental effects. Thankfully, however, we managed to finish our

experiments without having to resort to either of those means.

With that, Lorraine declared I was probably immune to most types of poisons.

“...Perhaps poisons just don’t work on dead bodies very well?”

Lorraine’s guess was as good as mine; if she had no idea, I wouldn’t know any better. But if that really were the case, curative potions of any kind shouldn’t work either since my body was dead.

Regardless, I suppose it was fine to go along with Lorraine’s deductions regarding my resistance to poisons. After all, reports of certain humans being resistant to poisons were not exactly unheard of. In that regard, I, too, was not as abnormal as I seemed to be. Given the nature of the rest of my body, however, that declaration might be a bit of a stretch.

Lorraine turned to me, all her experiments finally finished. “Well, then. I’m going to take some time to process all the data we have retrieved from our experiments. As for you... Well. I guess I don’t have to tell you what to do.”

Indeed, it was as Lorraine said. I had already decided upon what I had to do next—namely, to somehow attempt an evolution into a form that looked vaguely human.

If possible, I would like to become human again. If Existential Evolution did indeed steer an individual towards its desired form, would this not be possible for my case?

I did not hold the answers I sought. Lorraine, for her part, did not have a concrete answer for me, either.

“There is no way I could know for certain, but of course that would be the case. I can not discount the possibility of it, however. Why not simply set that as a mental goal for now?”

A fine answer indeed—as expected of Lorraine. I supposed I should follow her advice and do exactly that.

I decided upon a new mental goal; it would be a good interim goal, at least. In order for me to fulfill that goal, more labyrinth exploration was necessary.

“...Do you think... This sword can still... Be used?” Saying so, I pulled the sword Clope had loaned to me from its sheath.

“That’s quite some wear you’ve got on the sword’s blade... You should know better than I do that it would not serve you well, if at all, in its current state. Repairs would definitely be required.”

“I... Thought as much...”

The sword’s condition had apparently deteriorated dramatically at some point in time during my previous adventure, despite having just been loaned to me. Clope would, without a doubt, be very upset.

Either way, I could not continue using it as was. It would be too dangerous to fight with a damaged weapon.

Steeling myself for a scolding of sorts, I made my way to the Three- Pronged Harpoon.

◆◇◆◇◆

“...Hey, now... What the hell is this?”

Clope, my trusted blacksmith, did not bother hiding the distaste on his face. His expression was now twisted into that of an uncomfortable grimace.

“...The... Sword. You loaned me.” I offered Clope my straight answer.

Clope’s response was equally simple, albeit accompanied by a sizable sigh. “I can see that by looking at it... You know that ain’t what

I’m asking, right?”

I suppose it would be pointless to continue hiding the truth from Clope, and hence I decided to honestly tell him what had transpired.

“My apologies... I... Infused the blade... With divinity...”

“Huh? Now why would you go and do something like—well, I guess I can accept that. But you’ve only been to the Moon’s Reflection, right?

There shouldn’t be any monsters there that require a divine blade to defeat!”

Clope had most likely made this statement due to his knowledge of me being able to use both spirit and magic. In other words, Clope knew full well that most, if not all, monsters in the Moon’s Reflection could be defeated by either of those two abilities.

Of course, Clope was not wrong in his observations. Reality, however, was a little different.

“...I ran into a... Giant... Skeleton. That was why... I did so. I had...

No choice.”

Clope opened his eyes wide at my statement. “You pulling my leg? Giant Skeletons don’t appear in the Moon’s Reflection, no? But...you wouldn’t lie to me, huh. Where did you even find something like that...?”

“I found... A previously uncharted... Part of the Labyrinth...” “What?! You— Oi. You’re...serious?”

Although visibly surprised, Clope made sure to lower the volume of his voice. It would seem like he understood the weight of the information he was just made privy to.

“...You really...saw something like that?” I nodded silently.

“...Well. Makes a bit of sense as to why you came here dressed up all strange like that... So something like that happened, huh. I can buy that, I suppose. Explains why the sword’s all messed up like this...

Well, that’s fine—I get it. Are you done with your exploration yet?”

Choosing not to respond to most of Clope’s statement, I instead answered the question he had posed to me.

“No... Not yet. That is why... I was hoping. That my sword would...

Be ready soon.”

“Yeah... I get that. But see here: there’s no way I can get your sword done that quickly. It’s an order-made piece, you know. Instead, I’ll hand over another loaner—one that’s a little better, this time.”

I had made this trip hoping that Clope had somehow already finished my order, but I supposed he needed a little more time.

Nodding, I gratefully received the sword Luka, Clope’s wife, had chosen and handed to me. It was apparently capable of handling fair amounts of spirit and magic, just like its unfortunate predecessor.

Satisfied, I exited the store.

◆◇◆◇◆

Thump!

Upon leaving the shop’s doors behind, I felt a blunt impact square on my head. More precisely, the impact was absorbed by my mask; regardless, it would seem like I had bumped into something.

But of course, something like this was not enough to dislodge or even damage my mask. It was sturdy to the point of annoyance, being impossible to take off to begin with. Taking a good look at the space before me, I realized that I had bumped into a man. Specifically, he was a man clad in silver-white armor; one would almost instinctively say that he was a knight of sorts.

While I did not hold any grudges against the knight in question, his appearances suggested a somewhat rigid, if not righteous, upbringing. If anything, he looked intimidating in his own way, so I decided to depart from the area as soon as possible. As such, I lowered my head, not saying a word as I continued on my way.

“Ah, my apologies. Are you injured?”

Now that the knight had spoken to me, I had no choice but to respond.

“...Ahh, no. I am fine. What about... You?”

“Oh, don’t worry, I’m quite all right. On another note...from your appearances, good sir, would you happen to be an adventurer of some sort?”

I once again had no choice but to answer the knight due to his sudden changing of subjects. I nodded as I offered my response.

Upon hearing that I was an adventurer, the knight looked at me with a serious expression.

“Well, then...I would like to ask—I am looking for an adventurer in this town: a young girl, with blonde hair and eyes of sapphire... She goes by the name of Rina. Have you perhaps heard of her?”

◆◇◆◇◆

Of course I remembered that name. Rina was none other than the adventurer who had originally helped me when I was stuck in the Moon’s Reflection.

I couldn’t help but wonder what Rina was up to now. Ever since then, I had taken great care to not stand out while I was walking around the streets of Maalt, and I had not run into Rina up to this point. As such, I had no information on her current whereabouts, either. Did she find other adventurers to party up with in the end? Or

was she still going at it alone somewhere? With her level of skill, the guild would have no problems recommending her to one party or another... At least, that was what I thought.

That aside... There was the issue of this armored, knightly man before me. His blond hair, blue eyes, and polished appearance all came together to form the ideal image of a knight from a fairy tale.

“...Well... To start. Who are you...?”

I had to ascertain the nature of this person before giving him any information, and the first thing I needed was a name. The knight, seeming surprised for a moment, quickly offered it politely.

“Oh, of course. I beg your pardon. My name is Idoles Rogue, a knight of the First Knightly Order of the Kingdom of Yaaran.”

The First Knightly Order was said to be comprised of only the strongest and most elite of knights in the kingdom. The fact that he was from such an Order told me many things: members of the First either hailed from privileged families of power or were talented swordsmen. In any case, members of the First were all important personages in one way or another, as normal people would never be allowed into their ranks.

And yet, someone like this was searching for Rina? Why was this the case?

Summarily, I asked after his intent.

“Why would someone... As important as yourself... Be searching for a young girl...?”

The man answered my question swiftly and honestly—he did not seem to hide anything behind his words.

“Well... It is most embarrassing indeed, as Rina, the young girl in question, is my little sister. I shall skip the small and embarrassing details, but to summarize, she simply made off and disappeared one day, apparently desiring to become an adventurer for one reason or another. I have arrived in Maalt after receiving eyewitness reports of someone who somewhat resembles her—hence my question.”

“Then... Does this Rina call herself... ‘Rina Rogue’...?”

“I would suppose that to be the case. Would you happen to know of

anyone by that name? I asked around prior to arriving here, but the guild cited laws on information privacy and wouldn’t tell me a thing. A knight asking around in a tavern would be a strange sight indeed, hence...”

It would seem like the knight in question, in search of Rina, had visited smithies and other locations that adventurers frequent— eventually even asking the customers in said establishments. Even the adventurer’s guild would not be able to deny a request from the kingdom itself. This man, however, apparently did not invoke such rights, and had simply nodded and left after being denied the relevant information.

If one were asking in a personal capacity, though, the adventurer’s guild would certainly not hand over private information so easily anyway. This was somewhat natural considering the fact that many members of the guild had one thing or another to hide. By extension, there was no shortage of adventurers who wanted to keep their pasts hidden—

Taking all those factors into consideration, I casually delivered my answer.

“I have not heard of... Anyone by the name of... ‘Rina Rogue.’” “...Is that so. That is most regrettable. If, by any chance, you do

come across her in the future, I would be much obliged if you could

contact me. I will, due to some other arrangements, be staying in this town for a certain amount of time—I have even taken some time off from my duties at the First Knights. But with that being said, it is not a long period of absence. I hope I can meet and speak with her at least once before I return.”

With that, the knight gave me the address of the guesthouse he was currently checked into before walking through the doors of the Three- Pronged Harpoon. Perhaps he had similar questions for Clope as well.

Idoles gave off a somewhat sad aura, his being seemingly enveloped

by a blanket of solitude and loneliness. Be that as it may, I could not simply give away Rina’s personal information without her consent.

Taking everything into consideration, the Rina that I had run into was unmistakably the person Idoles was searching for. I could say this with confidence, having spent most of my life in Maalt. In all my time, I had not known another female adventurer by the name of Rina.

The description Idoles had provided was pretty much spot-on, as well; although the combination of blonde hair and blue eyes was somewhat rare to begin with. Folklore claims that only nobility, or at least those of high social stature and the like, are born with such a combination of traits. Needless to say, those specific traits were typically not observed in a town as rural as Maalt.

While a new adventurer by that exact name and appearance could have shown up during my period of absence from the guild, the possibility of that was, logically speaking, somewhat low.

Strictly speaking, though, the name Rina provided me was different than the one Idoles had used—but of course, Rina Rupaage was probably a false name. Due to the relative simplicity of the guild’s registration process and the absence of background checks of any kind, Rina could have registered with any name she wished. The guild mostly operated on an honor system, after all.

Even if it was made clear that a registrant had used a false name, they wouldn’t exactly be punished for it. All the guild cared about was the ability of the adventurer to complete the assignments and quests they had taken on—and that was that.

Exceptions to this rule did exist: for instance, if a fugitive or criminal were to register in hopes of escaping justice, they could be easily handed over to the authorities—assuming there was sufficient evidence present. With that being said, however, a fair amount of criminals continued to hide from the authorities under the guise of adventurers—that was just how things were.

If the guild’s staff could not identify an individual as a criminal at a glance, they would probably slip through the system. From the viewpoint of a criminal on the run, the adventurer’s guild was quite a convenient thing. This was the reason for most townsfolk to view adventurers with a suspicious eye.

I was not exactly claiming that Rina was anything close to a criminal; however, the fact that she hid her real name suggested that she did not want to be found.

This was why I responded to Idoles in the way that I had—my statement, while not exactly being a lie, was not entirely true, either. For even if I had not heard of Rina Rogue, Rina Rupaage’s appearance perfectly matched his provided description. My resulting assumptions were probably not too far off the mark—but that was all there was to it.

I had tasks that needed doing, as well. If Rina ever did get herself into a dangerous situation, all I had to do was lend her my aid then.

The existence of a knight in this town was enough to make him stand out like a sore thumb—Idoles, of course, did not seem to realize this.

Shelving my thoughts on the matter, I slowly began making my way back. For now, I supposed I should return to Lorraine’s abode.

◆◇◆◇◆

Taking a look at the current situation, I could say that I now looked sufficiently human. If I were smart about it, I could easily purchase new armor and the like. Thanks to my newfound appearance, I could probably even show up to the guild in person, as well—at the very least, the possibility of me being persecuted on the spot had significantly decreased.

It was worth noting that I would have to challenge stronger monsters from here on out for the sake of Existential Evolution. For me to do that, however, I had to start adventuring in the Labyrinth of

the New Moon, as I could not remain only in the Moon’s Reflection if I wished to advance.

But before I set off for the New Moon, there was something I needed to do.

“So... That’s why you want to go to the guild? I do think it is still too soon...” said Lorraine, the owner of the house I currently stood in.

Having prepared a meal for Lorraine, we both sat at the dining table, her savoring my cooking as I licked up a miniscule amount of her blood. It was during this surreal scene that I had brought up my list of daily tasks.

To be specific, I was graduating from the Labyrinth of the Moon’s Reflection, a minor labyrinth for beginners, to the Labyrinth of the New Moon, a major labyrinth that was popular amongst most adventurers—from fresh-faced beginners to Silver-class veterans. Due to this, I had decided to pick up a long-term request of sorts from the guild, lest my trip go completely to waste.

The part that Lorraine objected to was specifically the bit about me accepting a quest from the guild in person. Her reasoning was simple: although I was a little more human in appearance, I still looked extremely suspicious.

Unsatisfied, Lorraine continued her explanation: “They would most certainly ask for Rentt Faina’s adventurer’s permit. Your appearance would then lead to all sorts of questions—questions strange enough to pique the guild master’s interest. There is also the problem of other veteran adventurers. They may be gathered in the guild hall, as they usually are—”

“But then... They wouldn’t... Kick up such a fuss. Not over a...

Bronze-class adventurer.”

Frankly speaking, I was never really much of an adventurer to begin with, so I personally did not think that me showing up after a period of

absence, albeit in strange garb, would be a huge issue.

Lorraine, however, did not share my views.

“...Perhaps you would say that from a perspective of strength alone, since it is true that you were weak. That was why you remained Bronze-class for many years, so I agree with you on those points.

“But while I agree... To the guild, you are a most valued existence.

Although the many little tasks and assignments you carried out for the guild were individually not too remarkable, no one else in Maalt could carry out said tasks with the degree of perfection and precision as you did. The guild has always held you in high praise, to the point where they have long been ready to hire you on as guild staff should you ever stop adventuring.”

“...Eh? Is... That so? You must be... Joking.”

I was, honestly speaking, surprised at Lorraine’s words. While it was true that I had run many errands and such for the guild, I did not think my actions to be significant enough that the guild would want to hire me as a staff member. I could not, after all, simply live so complacently, thinking that my future was secure.

Before I would even think of such things, however, I once again stated that I had no intentions of giving up my life as an adventurer—it was unthinkable.

“I tell the truth, you know? Hmph. That’s fine, then... Either way, as long as you remain who you are as of now, going to the guild would be most—” Lorraine paused halfway through her sentence, shaking her head this way and that, before starting to mumble to herself. “As long as I... Remained? Who I was? If Rentt was Rentt... If Rentt was not Rentt. Then maybe... Maybe there is a way through this...”

Such was the nature of Lorraine’s mumblings.

She looked up, finally done with her monologue. What she said

next, however, was not what I expected—and was incredibly surprising, to say the least.

“...Rentt. If you absolutely must accept assignments and quests from the adventurer’s guild, against all odds, then... Register again. With the guild, I mean.

“Change your name. Register not as ‘Rentt Faina’... Well, it isn’t easy to tell people apart by their first names. You just have to change your family name to something else, and register under that new name.”

Unable to understand Lorraine’s sudden proclamation, I sat as Lorraine began offering a slower, more detailed explanation, listening patiently as she did so.

“...Oh...”

◆◇◆◇◆

How nostalgic it was to once again walk the halls of the adventurer’s guild—and yet, little had changed since the last time I was here.

Realistically speaking, not much time had passed since my last visit. I had, however, thought that I would never see Maalt, let alone the guild, ever again. Hence, I somehow felt moved to a certain extent as I set foot in the familiar building—to the point where I could start shedding tears.

Whether Thralls had functional tear glands was another question entirely; one that I did not currently have the answer to. To find out, I stood still, opening my eyes for a solid thirty seconds without blinking. My eyes, however, did not feel any different, or any more moist. They were, after all, dry from the beginning—perhaps it was to be expected that no tears fell from my eyes.

“...?”

Passing adventurers glanced at me; they must have thought it strange that someone would stand still at the guild’s entrance for an

entire minute. Panicking, I quickly moved out of the way, making a beeline for the receptionist’s counter as I mentally reminded myself to accomplish the task I came to do.

“Excuse... Me.”

“Yes? How may I help you today?”

I came face-to-face with yet another sight for sore eyes as the receptionist looked up from her counter. Her face provoked a deep sense of nostalgia in my being.

Sheila Ibarss—she had worked at the adventurer’s guild for about half a decade now, and was a seasoned member of staff who had become familiar with all the inner workings of the guild. To think that she was only a new trainee when I first met her—

I thought back to how she had been assigned to me as my supervisor back in the day by the guild master. Nostalgic, indeed. Although it felt like I would start crying once more, this dried-up body of mine simply did not have any tears to offer. Reminding myself once more of my current condition, I stated my business to Sheila.

“I would like... To register as... An adventurer.”

“Oh, yes. Registration. ...Please fill out these forms right here. You may leave certain parts blank if you cannot fill them in for any reason.”

With that, Sheila handed me a sheaf of rough-looking papers. These papers hailed from a certain country specializing in the export of magical scrolls and the like. The guild could apparently obtain said paper at a cheaper rate. Smoother, more high-quality paper was used for important documents issued by governmental organizations. As a result, the higher cost of higher-quality paper made it a rare sight. I did, however, recall seeing some pieces of it scattered carelessly around Lorraine’s abode...

As instructed, I began filling out the form in question. It had been

ten years since I had filled out a form like this. Back then, I didn’t really have anything significant to write, and all I ended up writing was my name, age, and that I had some skill with the sword.

Now that I think about it, I could certainly have written down more of my skills. Maybe I just didn’t know that they were useful skills worth writing down at the time. For example, I had some knowledge about herbology and the like, as well as experience in dissection and simple surgery.

Although I was a beginner in either discipline, those were rare skills for an individual to possess. I had learned said skills from a herbologist and hunter back in my home village, and eventually picked up enough field knowledge myself.

If one were to question why I went out of the way to learn such skills, the answer was simple: I wanted to become an adventurer, and was convinced that these skills would be of use.

My goal from then still remained unchanged: that I would one day become a Mithril-class adventurer. That was all there was to it.

To that end, I would gladly give up my Bronze-class achievement, even if I had to start from the ground up all over again. It did not matter to me if “Rentt Faina” became a Mithril-class adventurer—as long as I, in whatever name or form, became one, that was enough.

With that being said, however...becoming a Bronze-class adventurer wasn’t exactly a huge task or feat. Perhaps it would seem that way to a normal person, but Bronze was somewhat low amongst the sea of adventurers present in the world. As such, starting over anew wasn’t exactly difficult to do.

In addition, if I ever did end up evolving into a state where I looked like my old self again, all I had to do was work my way up once more.

Although the adventurer’s guild rules stated that a single adventurer could not register under two identities, I had little choice in the

matter. Even if I were somehow found out, there were no rules stating that I would be punished for it.

The reason for this was simple, as there just wasn’t much point in an individual registering twice. It would, after all, be somewhat meaningless for one to split their efforts in two, effectively halving their progression rate.

While I did still have my previous permit on me, simply holding it did not exactly grant me immunity from the rules, or from being questioned about my appearance. As such, Lorraine’s suggestion was a way around this problem—a somewhat unorthodox, but in my case, effective method.

Basically, if “Rentt Faina” were to show up in such a state, dressed in such a strange manner, I was sure to be questioned. However, if I showed up as someone else, the chances of my appearance being inquired after became extremely low.

Frankly speaking, though, there was no denying that I looked strange. But this strangeness was somewhat native to adventurers in general—and while a robed and masked adventurer would be thought of as weird, most people would end up staring at me for only a few seconds more before returning to their own affairs.

Those were the thoughts in my mind as I continued flipping through the registration papers, finally reaching the last page. The last, and yet the first—a beginning, if you will.

The last page was where one wrote their name. I supposed I could still use my first name, but what would I use for my family name?

...Nothing came to mind.

No matter; I could fill it in with anything I wanted. It would merely be a false name, after all.

With that thought in mind, I wrote my name on the paper in

question, finally handing the documents back to Sheila. “...Ah, thank you very much. Let’s see... Rentt Vivie, yes...?”

◆◇◆◇◆

A somewhat sorrowful expression crossed Sheila’s features as she read my name out loud. Thinking it strange, I inquired after her.

“...Is something... Wrong?”

“No... It’s just... A few days ago, another adventurer named Rentt went missing...”

That would have been none other than me. I, however, answered as if I knew nothing of the matter.

“...I have heard... That adventurers must be prepared... For occasions like that.”

It was a well-known risk of adventuring, as it wasn’t exactly rare for an adventurer to suddenly disappear.

Death, of course, was only one of the many possibilities—the adventurer in question might have simply moved on to another area or town. Other reasons included the adventurer in question no longer wishing to brave the labyrinths, instead taking on some other occupation, or they might have been a fugitive on the run all along.

While there were countless possibilities responsible for an adventurer’s sudden disappearance, Sheila seemed to be fully convinced that I had lost my life in the labyrinth’s depths. I couldn’t blame her, as there were no other logical reasons for my disappearance.

Sheila continued: “But yes, it is as you say. When it actually happens in reality, though... It’s a saddening thing. He was the first adventurer I supervised... So I was just a little surprised that your first names were...the same.”

“I see... Well, if I may ask... Is that adventurer... Rentt Faina?” I phrased my question in a way that would not rouse Sheila’s suspicion.

It was strange to be asking about myself, and Sheila herself seemed somewhat surprised.

“Well, yes...it is. You know of him?”

I had purposely wanted to draw this question out of Sheila; it would seem like I was successful in my endeavor.

I offered Sheila a simple response: “Yes... I have heard of him...

From Lorraine.”

Sheila’s eyes widened at my mention of Lorraine’s name, as if finally realizing something.

“Ahh... So that was it! Vivie... Are you a relative of Lorraine’s?” Sheila asked, not suspecting a thing.

If I had introduced myself as a relative of Lorraine’s, it would only be natural that we shared the same family name. After all, it would only be a matter of time before the guild caught wind of the fact that I was living at Lorraine’s abode, so it was best to erase any potential causes for concern as early as possible.

While it did not really affect me much, Lorraine was an unmarried woman. It would be unbecoming of me to cause Lorraine any further trouble—and as such, I had already prepared all the relevant excuses and explanations to go along with my proposed scenario: if I presented myself as a relative who had traveled to Maalt from a faraway land, there would be fewer questions to deal with; not a bad excuse indeed.

It was also perhaps worth noting that “Rentt” was the name of a saint of sorts from ages long past. It was by no means an uncommon name across the lands. No matter the country, a sizable amount of its denizens were sure to have identical rare names, so another Rentt showing up in Maalt was no cause for alarm.

“Yes, I am... I will be living at her abode... When I am in town.”

“I see. I have heard rumors of a strange person entering and leaving Lorraine’s residence as of late... Although I suppose Lorraine herself isn’t exactly normal.”

As expected, rumors of me had already spread.

I responded to Sheila’s statement with a simple nod.

“I suppose that... Would be me. Well... I would not call myself strange. I am merely a relative that... Has been living with that girl... Since I entered the country...”

While I had no idea how the situation would unfold, I decided to go with what I thought to be a reasonable lie. More specifically, I had written the scenario with myself starring as Lorraine’s grandfather, who was known for suddenly visiting his grandchildren on a whim.

Sheila, for her part, seemed convinced.

“I see... That must be hard, traveling so much! So, the one seen at Lorraine’s residence was you... The thought had crossed my mind, that there were rumors about some strange man becoming involved with Lorraine; but I suppose that wasn’t the case after all... Right, here is your adventurer’s permit. It’s all done. Here you go.”

Ending the conversation with the casual dismissal of what seemed to be a crass rumor, Sheila arranged the sheaf of papers in her hands. It seemed that she was done with my registration process.

In her hands now was a dull-colored metal card. The symbol of an absolute beginner of an adventurer: the dull metallic gleam of an Iron- class adventurer’s permit. Every individual who signed up as an adventurer started their journey with this in hand. Even I was no exception, although it had been ages since I had held a card of this color.

It was a nostalgic feeling. I held it up against the light for one reason or another, staring at it with mixed feelings. Sheila, apparently familiar with the sight before her, smiled gently.

“Should I explain the rules of the Adventurer’s Guild, and other details...?”

While I was appreciative of Sheila’s offer, I was already a veteran adventurer.

Although I was not all that strong in life, I did have many years of service under my belt. It probably goes without saying that I was—and still am—excessively familiar with the rules in question. In life, I had even used those very rules to gain the upper hand against adventurers of ill intent. I did not have much in the way of combat strength, after all. Back then, that was all I could do to stay ahead of the pack.

This was why I responded to Sheila as such:

“No... That will not be necessary. The rules and... Details. Are written in that... Right?” I said, pointing to a small leather-bound book on the receptionist’s counter.

“Oh! You know of this?” Sheila asked, visibly surprised.

I couldn’t blame her; few budding adventurers would be interested in that booklet, let alone know what was in it. The booklet in question contained various regulations and details regarding those rules, and guild staff would often recommend adventurers to read through it should they have questions.

As for me, I had long memorized the contents of the booklet itself, having read through it many times in my lengthy career.

By pointing the booklet out to Sheila, I had merely communicated the fact that I would use that very same time-tested method to answer any questions I might have about adventuring.

“I heard about it... From Lorraine. About the basics... Of adventuring, too.”

“I see. You do live together after all. Then I suppose that’s all fine and good! Well, then, Mister Rentt—please work hard as an adventurer. Do value your life above all else, though!”

I nodded in response to Sheila’s words, and stepped away from the receptionist’s counter as my registration drew to a close.

◆◇◆◇◆

Lining the walls of the adventurer’s guild were a myriad of notice boards, each with written quests and assignments of all sorts pinned to them. The assignments in question, by and large, were sorted by color, and were coded as such for adventurers to quickly identify the type of task listed.

Of course, there were many different jobs available, from odd errands anyone could run to jobs requiring a certain degree of strength and combat ability. The most dominant color, however, was that of “general help”—running errands, assisting with mundane tasks, and the like. As such, even adventurers who had little in the way of combat skill could easily make a living—but at the same time, this was also the reason why runaway criminals could easily blend into the sea of readily-available adventurers.

Thinking back on it, while I had slain weaker monsters and collected labyrinth materials in life, I had also performed quite a few odd jobs.

Due to my history, I was more than used to odd jobs of any kind, but while I could easily accept those very same requests now, my current appearance did not exactly lend itself to such tasks. If anything, those odd errands I used to do were now significantly more difficult for me to take on.

I was by no means intimidating or awe-inspiring in life; I was known for my seemingly harmless and childlike face. As such, I was able to blend in at various locations with ease, as I was by no means

disliked or discriminated against. But with my current appearance, I would surely be viewed as a stranger in a robe and a skull-faced mask

—hardly the kind of person one would want running their odd jobs and errands.

While the clients in question probably couldn’t afford to be too picky about who did their jobs for them, slaying monsters and trading in their materials was now much more efficient means of earning gold for me. In addition, it also did not have much in the way of social interaction—either way, it worked out well for me.

Perhaps it was silly to think I could not endure the judgment of others while running errands. Though I could definitely tolerate it, to take on such requests while being able to slay monsters for greater rewards was equally foolish.

Weighing the two options, I found myself quickly settling for the dark hallways of the labyrinth instead.

With all those thoughts in mind, I stepped up to the request board, retrieving a written task that seemed well within my current capabilities. Giving it a quick read, I nodded, then walked toward Sheila’s counter with the request in hand.

“Ah, Mister Rentt.

“Have you already decided on a request to work on?”

I handed the sheet of paper over to Sheila in response, but Sheila was quick to voice her disapproval after a fleeting glance.

“...A request to slay and collect materials from Orcs, all of a sudden?

With all due respect, Mister Rentt...perhaps you might consider looking at collecting the magic crystals of Goblins, instead? You have only just started adventuring, after all...”

Orcs were, no doubt, somewhat strong monsters. Roughly put, they would be an even match for upper, or at least average, Bronze-class

adventurers. While Sheila’s concerns were valid, I could easily defeat Orcs and their ilk with my current degree of power.

But with that said, however, becoming surrounded would still prove to be a problem. All I had to do, then, was simply avoid such a scenario in the first place.

“...I have slain... Orcs, where I used to live... Before. While I am indeed... A new adventurer... I have quite some confidence... In my abilities.”

Swordsmen and the like hailing from foreign lands becoming adventurers were not exactly rare, so my reasoning was perfectly believable.

My words did little to reassure Sheila, though, who was still evidently worried.

However, she did not attempt to stop me, instead simply continuing on with the appropriate procedures, as if she had given up on convincing me to do otherwise.

“...Just don’t do anything risky. We all only live one life, after all. If it looks bad, please retreat to a safe location, all right?”

More than anyone else, I understood the importance of Sheila’s advice—after all, I had already died once before. If anything, I had always been the type to hastily retreat if I sensed the slightest bit of danger, so Sheila’s worries, while good-natured, were misplaced.

But offering words of caution to adventurers was just part of her job.

I responded with a simple acknowledgment of “I understand,” and that was all I had to say.

◆◇◆◇◆

With my adventurer’s registration out of the way, I had no intention to suddenly head toward the Labyrinth of the New Moon. Of course,

there was the issue of me having accepted the Orc materials request, but there was plenty of time left for me to fulfill that at a later date.

I had to head to somewhere else first—more precisely, to the uncharted sector of the Moon’s Reflection. Simply put, I was headed to the location where I had last fought the Giant Skeleton.

The Labyrinth of the Moon’s Reflection was, as usual, quite quiet. While I did pass by the occasional Iron-class adventurer, they did not seem to notice me as I walked by, being too engrossed in their own battles with some monster or another.

In addition to giving them a wide berth, I did what I could to suppress my magic and spiritual presence, stealthily walking through the Labyrinth’s halls. In the past, all I had to do to sneak past human and monster alike was to be a little more silent; but so weak were my powers that neither would have noticed me anyway.

I wasn’t sure if I should be so happy that I had to do something like this now to advance unnoticed, since it was a little troublesome; even so, I supposed issues like these were worries that only the strong faced. I decided to shelve those thoughts for now, given that they were not significant problems to begin with. If anything, I viewed it as practice; hiding my mana and spirit at will would surely improve my control over said abilities as time went by.

Arriving at a familiar entrance, I stepped into the hidden pathway, eventually reaching and confidently stepping into the magic circle on the ground.

Having used it once, the circle no longer felt as intimidating or dangerous. Although I had heard stories of magic circles that transport users to different locations each time, I had difficulties believing that such an ill-intentioned mechanism was present in this labyrinth.

Perhaps it would be a given to encounter those circles in labyrinths of a higher difficulty, but the Moon’s Reflection did not seem like such a location.

With that being said, however, there was no other way to verify my suspicions. Thankfully, the magic circle proved to be benign, transporting me to the very same chamber where I had first fought the Giant Skeleton. Readying my sword, I slowly stepped out of the circle

—

While I had defeated it before, the Giant Skeleton could have simply reappeared during my absence. This was, for all intents and purposes, a boss chamber, so the Skeleton in question might endlessly reappear in a cycle, or it might have been a one-off. Not knowing which of the two this chamber was, I advanced carefully, mentally prepared for the possibility of combat. This was the least I could do, as it paid well to be cautious in the labyrinth.

However, no matter how long I waited after exiting the circle, the Giant Skeleton did not reappear—in fact, I could not feel its presence at all. Maybe it needed more time, or was a monster that only appeared once; either way, I lowered my sword, somewhat more relieved than I previously was. With that, though, I had no intentions of sheathing my blade.

Looking around, I once again found myself in a large, empty chamber. One would question why I ended up at such a location after accepting a request that was to be fulfilled in another labyrinth—but of course, I had my reasons.

This very magic circle that I had just stepped out of only appeared after I had defeated the Giant Skeleton—it had been invisible prior to that. I had discovered this newly-formed circle during a search of the chamber while Loris, the owner of the Red Wyvern Pavilion, was unconscious.

However, that was not all I had found. In reality, there was one more circle, positioned on the ground not far from the one I had stepped into to enter the Giant Skeleton’s chamber. If I had to guess, that circle was probably connected to another location. The Labyrinth of the Moon’s Reflection seemed to continue on past this magic circle.

Slowly, I stepped into the circle on the ground. While I did not understand the language used to inscribe it, nor the principles behind the strange magics used to power it, I could at least see that this circle was drawn a little differently from the one that led to the boss chamber. Surely, it would bring me to a different location.

Perhaps this was all a trap of sorts—two circles in a room, with the more unfortunate intruders ending up in a sealed room with a Giant Skeleton. I supposed such things happened from time to time.

Well, then...what would it be this time? Snakes? Demons? A Dragon, perhaps?

Of course, there was no other way of finding out. As the magic circle began giving off a bright light, I readied my sword once again, waiting for the eventual change in my surroundings.

◆◇◆◇◆

As the light slowly began to fade, I quickly turned to look at my surroundings, prepared for an attack from any direction. I could not discount the possibility that this circle, too, was a trap of some kind, with monsters or the like lying in wait. However...

As far as I could see, there were no monsters here, let alone any sort of traps. Instead, I found myself in a messy, cluttered room. All sorts of objects lay about, some rotting on the ground. All signs pointed to this place having been inhabited at some point in time—if anything, it did not look like it belonged in the labyrinth at all.

Several shelves lined the wall—even a table and bed were present.

What appeared to be a soft toy lay on the ground near me. As I reached out to touch it, however, the toy crumbled into dust, leaving no trace of its previous form. I could only assume that this place had been untouched for years, perhaps even centuries.

The thing that caught my attention, however, was the bed at the end of the room—or, to be precise, what was sleeping on that bed.

Someone had slept their last night here many, many years ago, and even now continued their eternal slumber.

A set of white bones lay, somewhat serenely, on the bed. There was no light in the skull’s sunken sockets; what remained of its eyes looked straight up at the ceiling, and its skeletal hands clasped on its chest. At a glance, the individual in question seemed to have died peacefully in their sleep.

A bouquet of dried flowers was placed by their pillow. I reached out to touch them, only to be greeted by the sight of said flowers turning into dust before my very eyes.

What...is this place?

Someone once lived here—I could see that much—but I’d never heard of a human being living so deep in a labyrinth of any kind.

For starters, was something like that even possible...?

I had no idea. However, the very existence of this room proved one thing: if this room existed, its owner must have also existed and lived here at some point in time.

Even so... I had not seen anything resembling treasure around me.

What deeper meaning did this place hold?

With that in mind, I searched the room, looking through the debris and ruins like any good adventurer would. But nothing noteworthy was to be found. After I had come all this way, too... I supposed there were some old books on those shelves?

Glancing at the shelves, many of the books in question seemed to be reference tomes that were most likely undecipherable, except by the most skilled specialists. Strangely, amidst these volumes were what seemed to be thin picture books. Did a child live here?

These were, of course, all very old books. If I took some of them with

me, I am sure they would fetch a fair amount of coin.

Nodding, I reached out for the ancient books—

“...You there. What exactly do you think you’re doing?” a voice rang out from behind me.

Behind me...? This was abnormal; impossible, even. I had constantly been on guard after all, not knowing what lay in the depths of this room.

I had little choice but to turn around. The owner of the voice could have suddenly attacked me—but instead, they called out to me, as if they had expected and were waiting for me to turn around.

Slowly, I turned to face the direction of the voice. It was a woman: at a glance, she didn’t look too special. Soft, white hair; blue eyes; and a gentle, soothing smile—such was the woman that stood before me in this small room. She was wearing a black robe; a magician of sorts, perhaps.

The woman spoke to me once more:

“I will ask you again: What exactly are you doing in this place?”

It was a calm voice, gentle and soothing, almost like the voice of an adult questioning a child for a slight of some kind.

I, however, stopped breathing. For a moment, I was gripped by an intense feeling of nervousness, of tension...

If I had to put it simply: this woman was bad news.

I trusted the gut feeling that I had relied on for most of my life, so I could easily say that much without any hesitation. But the woman stood in front of the magic circle, effectively sealing off my only means of escape.

I had no idea what I should do. I suppose the only choice I had was

to answer her question; this was the conclusion I had arrived at after much frantic thought.

I offered the woman my answer:

“...I was just... Looking around for... Anything of value... I am an adventurer, so...”

“Haha. Value, value... Anything of value... I see. So, you are a thief?

Well, then, I do hope you are prepared to die here?” “What...?”

“You seem troubled. But yes, of course. I understand. I understand but...there are some things I simply cannot forgive. I do not wish to defile this place... But to that end, I suppose I would just have to erase you—there is no other way.”

With that, the woman lightly raised her hand, pointing it my way. I had no idea what she was doing when just then, almost instantaneously, I noticed the fearsome amount of magic condensing into the palm of her hand. Instinctively, I put all of my abilities into defensive magics and skills. With a Shield of magic, the strengthening of my body with spirit, and the infusion of my blade with divinity, surely I would be able to ward off any attack.

Of course, I had fully intended to dodge the whole attack, if possible. The woman’s assault, however, was much faster, much more accurate.

Intense flames shot forth from her palm, smashing into my being. It was like the breath of a Dragon, as the force sunk into me like a cannonball—such was the force of its impact. It was much more heavy, more powerful, than the blow of a mere Giant Skeleton.

I was sent flying, smashing clean into a nearby wall. I felt a spike of pain flash up my back. While I was glad that I had blocked a single attack, the battle was far from over. I could immediately feel the same type of magic being gathered into the woman’s palm once more—death

itself was being condensed into a fireball a short distance before me.

As I struggled to get up, the woman slowly approached, her palm raised with murderous intent. There was no way I could defend against the next blow.

Even so, I couldn’t give up, and I started the preparations for another layer of magic shielding. I probably wouldn’t make it in time... But then I noticed the gaze of the woman, leveled squarely on me.

What happened next was unexpected, as the woman’s movements stopped where she stood.

“...You... Your...body...?” It would seem like she had a question for me.

My body? What of it?

While it was protected by a wave of magic and spirit, my robes had been set aflame by the previous fireball. Most of my garments were now burnt to a crisp, revealing the rotten, corpse-like bits of my Thrall body. No matter how one looked at it, I hardly seemed human with bits of rotting, and occasional dried, pieces of flesh on my body. The woman seemed surprised at this.

But of course she would be; only monsters would look like this. “...What... Of it. Even I... Did not choose to... Become like this. Do

you think... I like... Looking like this?”

I had no illusions regarding the situation. There was just no way I could escape from this woman. I was doomed to die in this room, so I might as well say what I wanted to say. This might very well be the last time I would get to say it.

The woman, however, did not seem angered at my words. Instead, she lowered her hand, the traces of magic fading from her palm.

“...But yes. Of course... I see. It would seem that I was mistaken—a

misunderstanding. I do apologize.” Was the woman...apologizing to me?

“Oh... I see that your robes have unfortunately caught fire. I do not have any replacements on hand... Perhaps I could offer you this instead. It is well-made, and I do believe it would be of service to you.”

Saying so, the woman took off her black robes, folding them up and handing them to me.

“Ah, one more thing to note: This is a room of great importance to me. I suppose even you would understand that this place is special. Could I please request that you not make mention of this room to anyone else?” the woman said, looking at me with a serene expression.

The woman surely knew that I would agree; after all, she had let me live in exchange for keeping this room’s location a secret. What I did not understand was how the woman knew of this room, and why I was not allowed to report it to anyone. To begin with, even if one was not an adventurer, discovering an uncharted sector in a labyrinth was a big find—one could end up with enough wealth to last a lifetime, so it was a given that the average person would report this information to the guild.

“You... Don’t want me to... Tell the guild...?”

“Yes, I suppose that would be for the best. More accurately, if you were not present, there would be no means of entering this room. You arrived here via that magic circle, yes? That circle would only activate if you stepped into it.”

That was what the woman had to say, in addition to the many other things she went on to mention that I had no way of understanding.

Such was the gap in power between us; even Lorraine, who was a Silver-class mage, would not be able to compare to her strength. If I had given her an answer she did not appreciate, death would surely be her response—I could see that much.

However, advancing in adventurer rank was also my dream.

Originally, I had intended for Loris to report the uncharted sector, in turn returning the gold I had loaned him via the Giant Skeleton’s magic crystal. Now, with my somewhat human-like appearance, I had thought it possible to report this information to the guild at a time when it was less crowded. This would surely increase my rank and influence with the guild, bringing me a step closer to the goal of becoming a Mithril-class adventurer.

At least, that was what I thought. This woman, however, did not want me to do anything of the sort...

As if understanding how I felt about the situation, the woman had started speaking once more:

“...With that being said, I suppose you would not like to return empty-handed. I understand. Adventurers are always seeking some form of tangible result or achievement, you see. Perhaps this would not amount to much of a replacement, but it will still surely be of use to you. What do you think?”

“This is...”

The object offered to me appeared to be some sort of ancient parchment—it was also remarkably blank. At a glance, I could deduce that it was probably an ancient literary artifact of some kind.

Unfortunately, it did not look like it was worth much of a fortune at all.

But the woman continued her explanation:

“This is an artifact that automatically maps labyrinth sectors that its owner has set foot into—a magic tool known as the Map of Akasha. As of now, nothing is written on it, but that is only due to the fact that the previous owner had erased the archived maps on it. It would surely be useful to an adventurer such as yourself... What do you think?”

If what the woman said was true, this was a useful tool indeed. In fact, it was surprising that such an item could exist—if I were to

consider selling it, setting a fair price for it alone would pose quite a bit of a challenge.

But of course, this was assuming what the woman had said was true.

Could such a fantastical tool even exist in our world?

“Would you at least consider my request if I were to prove to you the validity of my claims?”

I nodded at the woman’s question. If the map worked as the woman claimed it did, owning it would definitely make my labyrinth exploration much easier. I suppose there was some worth in listening to her requests, even if I remained skeptical of the entire affair.

“Well, then, please channel your magic through the parchment...” I did as I was told, and—

“...Amazing...”

I could only hold my figurative breath as lines dashed across the surface of the previously blank parchment, eventually forming a detailed map of the Moon’s Reflection. Even the little details and notes that I had written on my own battered map had appeared, neatly surfacing themselves on the parchment.

“I suppose we have an agreement?” “...Yes. I suppose we do.”

While I still felt an intense urge to report this uncharted sector to the guild, there was a high possibility that this woman would come for my life if I did so. She had, after all, been unmistakably attempting to kill me mere minutes ago—I could not go against her words even if I wanted to.

“I see. That is most pleasing. Well, then, I should see you off—to the entrance, at least.”

“Eh?”

Before I could say anything else, the woman activated some sort of translocation magic. Immediately, I found my vision distorting before me. Smiling gently as she waved, her expression seemed markedly

different from the murderous face she had worn earlier in our encounter.

“...Well, then. Do take care... Perhaps it is a little silly to say that to one such as yourself, though.”

With those parting words, she was gone, and I soon found myself standing at the entrance of the Moon’s Reflection.

Was this just a dream?

I looked down: my robes were indeed different, and I held an ancient-looking piece of parchment in my hand.

...What was that all about?

I could not stop thinking about the events that had just transpired. I no longer had any intentions of exploring today, and with apprehensive thoughts of these recent affairs filling my mind, I slowly made my way back to the town of Maalt.

◆◇◆◇◆

“...It is almost as if you have been cursed, Rentt. Why do these strange things keep happening to you as of late?”

That was apparently what Lorraine had to say as I described the details of my latest adventure to her. She looked at me with an expression of mild disbelief and exasperation.

It is not like... I would like to have... Strange things happen to me all... The time.

Although I would have wanted to deliver such a rebuke to Lorraine, I was the one who had returned to the place where I met the Dragon, merrily advancing deep into the unknown of the labyrinth. Even if I could not feel the Dragon’s presence anymore, sticking my head into such a place was not exactly smart—as such, I swallowed my words.

For all intents and purposes, Lorraine was right.

“Well... Adventurers are known to get into all sorts of strange situations—occupational hazards and all that. A little too late to complain, I would say... Right, well, this magic tool of yours. Seems like it works relatively well,” Lorraine said, staring at the Map of Akasha that I had obtained from the white-haired woman.

While the automatic mapping of a labyrinth was convenient indeed, I had come across one too many cursed objects. As such, I felt like there could never be too much caution when it came to appraising items gifted to me, and decided to have Lorraine perform an inspection to reveal any potential traps or misgivings.

While I did have my fair share of divinity and could detect curses easily, special items that were beyond my reach did exist—my mask, for example, was one such case. The most I could do with my divinity was get a rough feeling if there was anything unsavory lying in wait for me within the object, as detailed examinations were beyond my ability.

Lorraine, however, had her share of scholarly knowledge, in addition to her skills at magic and alchemy. With her experience, she would possibly be able to gain some insight on the map—hence my decision. Apparently she also possessed the qualifications to officially appraise items for the guild, so she would have no trouble finding jobs with the qualifications she held. In addition, Lorraine only performed item appraisal on an odd-job basis—I could not help but be envious of her capabilities.

“...Have you found out... Anything about how to use... This map in detail?”

While the woman had simply handed the map over to me and told me to infuse my magic into it, I knew little else about how this map worked, or if it could be used in any other way.

“I did try investigating it, yes, but it seems like I cannot use this map on my own. You were told that running magic through this map causes it to draw itself, correct? But it seems like your magic is specifically required as mine alone does not work. Here, you try.”

With that, Lorraine casually handed the map to me—sure enough, familiar lines detailing the passageways and floors of the Moon’s Reflection started appearing on its surface.

“Hmm... Quite something else indeed. This... What is this dot here?”

Upon closer inspection, a black dot was visible on the map’s surface, perpetually in motion. Overcome by curiosity, I touched the dot with a finger, and upon doing so caused what appeared to be a name to materialize beneath the dot.

“This is...”

“It would seem so, yes. This is the name of an individual who is currently exploring the labyrinth. To think that the map is capable of even this—truly terrifying indeed. What capability! This is undoubtedly an item on par with a kingdom’s national treasures,” Lorraine said, seemingly moved by the map’s abilities.

In truth, I knew that I had struck a good deal even without knowing about this map’s additional functions—but in exchange, I had almost lost my life to that woman’s magic. Taking these factors into account, I suppose the trade was somewhat even.

Lorraine and I continued conducting various tests and experiments on the map, eventually discovering that the area illustrated by said map could change as long as I willed it to do so—so long as I was channeling magic into it. For example, I could easily instruct the map to illustrate another area, changing its display from the halls of the Moon’s Reflection to another location of my choice.

In addition, the ability of the map to show the names of other adventurers only worked if the wielder had fully explored the labyrinth in question. Although I had completed the mapping of the Moon’s Reflection over my long career, I had hardly explored the Labyrinth of the New Moon.

Upon attempting to have the map switch its focus to the latter labyrinth, I realized that only the areas I had been to previously were mapped. In addition, the adventurer-tracking function was inactive. This was proven to be the case as Lorraine and I stared at the map together for a considerable amount of time—yet nary a dot appeared

on its surface. If I had to guess, I had simply not mapped this labyrinth enough for said function to activate.

Strictly speaking, it was more than a guess, as the tracking function had worked on the first floor of the New Moon, which I had finished mapping some time ago. Taking this fact into account, it was plain to see that the other floors needed a similar amount of work before the tracking function in question would start working.

While the Map of Akasha was certainly a convenient tool, it still had its own limitations.

There was one more thing I had to ask Lorraine, however: “What about... Curses and the like...?”

“It seems safe from what I see so far. You will probably be able to use it without much cause for worry. This is quite the artifact you have found...”

“Is... That so?”

Lorraine’s appraisal of the map’s worth seemed somewhat sudden. “But of course. It is highly resistant against magic of all sorts, and

cannot easily be cut with sharp objects. Though I have no idea how well it would hold up against a skilled swordsman or a well-crafted sword, it seems to have more defensive capabilities than normal armor; yes, that would be a good analogy for it.”

Lorraine’s analogy was somewhat astounding, for if it were true, this map would be quite the artifact indeed. Although I had found myself utterly disappointed that I could no longer report the discovery of a previously uncharted sector to the adventurer’s guild, the fact that I had obtained such a convenient magical tool and makeshift defense item impressed me. Perhaps I actually gained much more from this trade than I had initially assumed.

Besides, even if I reported said uncharted sector, the Labyrinth of the Moon’s Reflection was only a beginner-level labyrinth frequented by adventurers up to the Bronze-class level. While I could have expected a reasonably-sized award, the recognition I would have gained from such a discovery would not be that significant in the greater scheme of things.

With that in mind, I suppose I could call this trade a definite plus.

After all, the magic crystals I had harvested from monsters in the sector (with the exception of the Giant Skeleton’s crystal) were sold for a tidy sum by Lorraine, so I was now financially stable, if not comfortable.

Although I had handed Clope half my fortune as a deposit for my order-made weapon, I was now no longer in danger of going into the red.

“...Well. Lastly, there is the issue of the woman that you met in that place... I have no information on her, unfortunately. Personally, I am more interested in the ability and techniques required to create some sort of abode in a labyrinth, of all places...”

It would seem like Lorraine and I were in agreement on that point.

The woman had suddenly appeared and quickly sent me on my way without providing much of an explanation. Due to our relatively short interaction, I had no way of observing her in detail, and as a result, no way of deducing who she could have been.

Although I was certain of her strength, the fact that she could reprimand and intimidate me in such a fashion meant that she was a rarity in and of herself.

In my current state, I could probably take on a lower Silver-class adventurer. Even if I could not win, I would at least be able to escape. If faced with a Gold-class or above adventurer, however, I would surely be defeated in an instant. That would be a fair assessment of my current strength.

But of course, I had no intentions of stagnating here—I wanted to climb to greater heights. To achieve that, I needed a body that could grow, and this was something I now possessed.

With that said, however, there was still the possibility that no matter how much I evolved, I would still remain a monster of sorts.

“Actually... I was about to head off... To that uncharted sector again...”

“Even though you were chased out the last time? How very brave of you.”

“The woman told me... To not ‘report’ that place... To the guild. She said nothing... About ‘not going back’ there.”

“...I suppose that much is true, at least from what you’ve told me. It is, however, a technicality, as she obviously does not wish for you to step foot in that place again.”

Lorraine’s words rang true, but many things about that encounter still bothered me. I would at least like to speak with her one more time, and ask her certain questions—such were my hopes.

If it could not be done, then so be it, but I had to at least try. From how our last interaction ended, I could somewhat assume that she would no longer immediately make an attempt on my life.

Lorraine, in turn, had a few words of caution for me:

“...You would do well to be careful. That woman is by no means normal—I can say that much just by listening to your account. There is no telling what would draw forth her ire.”

“I know.”

Lorraine nodded. Perhaps it was obvious, but having faced her in person and nearly dying from the experience, I understood that point better than anyone else.

Lorraine was right: I had to be careful above all else, lest I find myself staring death in the face without warning once more.

◆◇◆◇◆

It would unfortunately turn out that all my effort was wasted, as I would find out the very next day.

The reason for this was simple: what was previously the entrance to the uncharted sector of the Moon’s Reflection had apparently disappeared without a trace. No matter how I looked at it, the dead end in question was now a perfect wall—and that was all that currently stood there.

Unconvinced, I walked up to the wall, touching it here and there with my hands. All that greeted my fingers, however, was a cold, smooth surface—and that was that. With this, all means of retrieving clues, or any kind of answers from the woman, were gone.

Just who was she...?

I stood still, thinking about the question for a period of time. The answers, however, eluded me; no one would simply walk up to me with all the answers to my questions, after all.

Would I perhaps meet her again someday?

I had no idea. But one thing did remain clear in my mind: I would continue climbing the ranks toward my goal, eventually becoming a Mithril-class adventurer. I would definitely meet her again, someday. At the very least, I felt that way.

In life, I had trained hard, day after day for an entire decade, without the slightest thing to show for it.

But things were now very different. A meeting with a Dragon, discovering an uncharted area of a labyrinth... And of course, I was now an undead.

Perhaps a normal person would say that I was unfortunate. I, however, did not feel that way.

I would fight many monsters, encounter many mysteries, and above all, become stronger. All this, too, would contribute to my goal of eventually becoming a Mithril-class adventurer.

That is the sort of adventure that I am currently undertaking—come to think of it, the various misfortunes that have visited me recently could also be seen as invaluable, precious experiences. I would definitely grasp that Mithril dream with my hands.

With those thoughts in mind, I steeled my resolve. My dream was difficult, and to fulfill it, I would surely have to meet with the Dragon and that woman again. I would have to be at least able to stand toe-to- toe with them when that time inevitably came.

If there is a will, there is a way... I would not have it by any other means.

Side Story: The Day When Rentt Snapped

~Adventurer Lorraine’s Sixth Year~

“...Oh, if it isn’t Lorraine. How rare. Are you alone?”

It was during my sixth year of adventuring that such a voice called out to me, just as I sat down in the tavern of Maalt, barely having the opportunity to work on my drink. The one who had called out to me was none other than Zarid, a veteran swordsman of the adventurer’s guild.

Although he was a veteran of sorts, he was only an adventurer of upper-Bronze-class rank. On a whole, one could not say Zarid was exceedingly capable, but his long years of service and efforts in defending Maalt against monster hordes meant that he was an adventurer worth his salt.

Due to the fact that most adventurers lost their lives, or commonly a limb or two, Zarid only sported facial scars—the fact that his limbs were still intact was a clear indicator of his capabilities.

To some, however, Zarid’s caution came across as cowardice, and they mocked his lack of “adventures” and the like. But such individuals were not exactly wise in their assessment. Courage, after all, was not a blind rampage and a series of unplanned gambles. The only ones who thought of it as such were surely bigger fools than Zarid ever could be.

Zarid, of course, was no fool to begin with; he was merely frank, that much was true. Compared to Rentt, who was often said to have no talent, and my own reputation of being unmotivated, Zarid was a relatively good, if not honest and outspoken, adventurer. This was why I did not mind teaming up with him in a party at times, for I knew him well enough.

“Even I am not coupled with Rentt every single time. To begin with, we probably spend more time apart from each other than together.”

A somewhat annoying smile flitted across Zarid’s face as he heard my answer.

“Is that right? You know, that bet between me and my mates is still going... That one about if you’ll ever get married to Rentt.”

Zarid, however, did not seem to be exclusively making fun of me; to be precise, he seemed at least half-concerned, with the other half being his idea of a joke. I was, after all, 20 years old now. Perhaps it was because of this that Zarid said as much, with the notions of a woman being of age to “put down roots” or the like.

Now that I thought about it, communications between my colleagues and myself since moving away from the capital all seemed to include offers to introduce me to someone. With that being said, it was not like I had never thought of marriage...but I was not exactly hoping to be taken care of by someone, nor did I wish for it.

My views on marriage were plain: if the time was right and the person in question was suitable, then that would be it. My married female friends, however, did not think much of my views. All they had to say was, “If you keep saying that, you’re never going to get married, you know!” But this was just a matter of policy; on that alone I was not willing to cede to their demands and complaints.

To clarify, I would not simply settle for any random individual on the streets of Maalt, or anywhere else, for that matter. At the very least, all those letters and correspondence offering to introduce me to said individuals would never see their purpose fulfilled.

“Do you people not tire of your bets? I personally would have gotten bored with it years ago. Could you just not watch over us? Surely you can do that much for an old friend.”

“Ha! If watching alone made things happen, even I’d get married!”

Zarid’s swift rebuttal reminded me of the fact that he was still single.

This was perhaps a given, as such a lifestyle would be difficult to support, given his current adventurer rank. For an upper-Bronze-class adventurer, adventuring itself definitely brought in more coin than the average job in Maalt. If anything, they did not exactly need to work themselves to death to stay alive. The bigger question was if they could still live to see tomorrow.

Dating, perhaps, would not be too much of an issue, but marriage was another matter altogether. If the adventurer’s partner in question was not an adventurer, as well, said partner would have to steel themselves for the fact that the person they love may not come home every time they set foot outside Maalt’s gates.

“I suppose I said something unnecessary. I apologize.”

“Oh, no. I don’t mind. I say plenty of unnecessary things myself... That aside, though. If you’re here on your own, care to have a drink with me?”

“What, now you’re turning your charms on me?”

“Don’t be daft, Lorraine. I’m not the sort of individual who would be interested in a kid a few decades younger than myself,” Zarid said, an exasperated expression on his face. As if taking my words for an affirmation, he pulled up a chair from a nearby table, docking it against mine.

In a well-trained motion, he flagged down a nearby waiter, placing an order for a large mug of ale, albeit on his tab. The establishment, being older than Zarid himself, was probably used to our antics at this point.

If memory served, the current master of the tavern was the previous guildmaster of the adventurer’s guild. According to the rumors, he was a fearsome individual when he had served, with a single glance capable of silencing even the loudest crying child. It was a far cry from the jolly old man he had now become.

If the gossip amongst my fellow adventurers was to be believed, he had recently become a grandfather, his grandson having been born a while ago. As such, the developments in question were probably not that strange if one took that into account.

“Are you not starved for love then? You were, after all, just complaining about being unable to get married a short while ago,” I said, posing the question to Zarid as I placed my own order.

“I wouldn’t really want to say this to you, you being a woman and all, but certain establishments exist for that sort of thing, you know? Also... Getting married, especially for an adventurer, comes with all sorts of potential problems. For now, just someone to play around with is good enough. While Bronze-class adventurers earn enough to keep themselves afloat, many of them end up broke after their payday, anyway.”

“So, I suppose you are of the latter? Have you gotten all your fortunes wrung out of you by one woman or another?”

“Yeah, right down to the hairs on my behind. But then again... Ugh.

The conversation has gotten kinda sad, hasn’t it?”

“I don’t know about that. From the way you describe it, it almost seems like a personal tale of heroic achievement.”

“That right? Heroic achievement, huh... Hmm?”

Zarid’s commentary was unceremoniously interrupted by a commotion. A group of three adventurers had apparently made quite the loud entry into the tavern.

From the looks of it, they did not seem older than twenty. They were built impressively, and looked like the epitome of adventuring, but that only extended as far as their appearances. To my eye, their capabilities left much to be desired.

“Hmph. Looks like we’ve got a few show-offs here. Sure they look

strong, but that’s about it, isn’t it?” Zarid said in a relatively subdued voice, snorting with amusement.

While one would think it was unbecoming of Zarid to be judgmental about the strength of others, such was not the case here. He was merely displeased with the way those adventurers had entered the establishment, perhaps rightfully so.

After all, it was not difficult for me to understand how he felt about the matter—everything from the way they had opened the tavern’s doors, to how they presented themselves, seemed to be for the sole purpose of intimidating other customers.

In addition, they had presented themselves in this fashion while knowing full well that this tavern was mainly frequented by other adventurers. It was not difficult to understand why Zarid had taken issue with their behavior.

“Verily so. I would say that you are at least ten times as strong, Zarid.”

“Come now, wouldn’t that be at least a hundred times?”

“But alas, lying would be unbecoming of me, Zarid. Even if we are dealing with ruffians who know nothing of manners... Hmm?”

As those words left my lips, the trio that had just barged into the tavern looked in our direction, rapidly approaching me as they did so. Before long, they stood before me, with the one who seemed to be their leader addressing me in a markedly uncouth manner.

“...Hey there, little lady. Aren’t you quite a pretty thing? Why don’t you come have some fun with us over there?”

They were basically soliciting me for sexual services, perhaps implying that I was a prostitute of sorts. I had been in many situations similar to this before. Rentt had instructed me on how to escape from such situations, most likely out of concern for my safety.

Still, I understood what they meant, and had more than enough means at my disposal to handle such an event.

“Unfortunately, I am already occupied. As you can see, I am busy drinking with this gentleman here—perhaps you should try someone else.”

The ruffian adventurer in question, however, pounded the table with his fist in response.

“Just who the hell do you think we are, woman? You a fool? You should be tending to us, not this worthless sack of a man!” he said, evidently roused by my commentary.

In this situation, the common woman being harassed would have cried out in fear, calling for help from one good Samaritan or another. Unfortunately, I was by no means common, or normal.

While thoughts of becoming normal did cross my mind on occasion, the fonts of mana churning within me had other ideas about my future.

Taking care to hide my intent, I began condensing the mana in me, weaving it slowly into a spell. While the delinquents did not suspect a thing, Zarid had already noticed, panicking as he raised a hand.

“H-hey... You three...” I suppose Zarid was merciful. A warning was more than these individuals deserved.

At that moment, however, a new guest entered the tavern. At the sight of them—

“...Oh?”

The mana within me welled up...and then stopped. I shelved the thought of launching a spell at the men—for now.

Had I forgiven them? Of course not; that was beyond consideration.

The reason for doing so was that I simply thought I no longer had a

part in this show, mainly owing to the fact that a deadly aura was permeating from the guest who had just entered this tavern.

I, too, was curious as to whom this aura belonged to. Craning my neck, I was surprised to see that the person in question was all too familiar.

“...Rentt?”

Yes, in the flesh—standing in the doorway of the tavern was my good friend, Rentt Faina. But Rentt was different from his usual jovial self; it almost seemed like he could kill someone. The contrast itself was stark enough for me to know how dangerous the current situation was.

What exactly had happened...?

As if to answer my question, Zarid spoke, a tinge of fear evident in his voice.

“...This is bad. That guy... He’s completely snapped.” “Rentt... Snap...? Him? Really?”

Zarid’s response to my question was slow and elaborate.

“...Yeah. I suppose you wouldn’t know. Right... This was before your time. The last time was...when you were out on an errand, and the time before that was before you arrived in Maalt. Yes... That’s right.”

“...What happened, then?”

“Well...”

“What exactly—huh? The men just now... Where did they go?”

Before I knew it, the men who had been harassing me were gone, as if they were never here in the first place. This was strange, considering how much they were boasting about having fun with me. Now, they

were gone, like smoke.

“Oh... Those fellows? They ran out the back door after seeing Rentt.

Like spooked rabbits, you know. They run pretty fast, don’t they?”

“...Hmm. How very strange. I thought they would have some measure of courage...”

Although the men in question had clearly mixed up the definition of courage and being boorish, I did not think that they were the type to simply up and run with their tails between their legs.

“Well, Rentt probably did something to them before they got here, no?”

“Hmm... I would not know. Is that true?”

“An assumption, Lorraine. That’s all. You could certainly ask the man himself. Now, Rentt—what’s all this about?” Zarid said, gesturing pointedly. Turning my head in response, I came face to face with Rentt, who had apparently walked over to our table at some point.

With a sour expression on his face, Rentt placed an order for an ale before sitting down at the table with us.

The aura that had radiated from him was now gone; not a single trace of it remained.

“What’s this all about? Ugh, where do I even begin...? Those three are really hopeless. I suppose I’ll have to beat their bad behavior out of them. Seems like anything short of that wouldn’t work,” Rentt said, downing the ale he had just ordered in a single gulp.

Seeing him this riled up was rare. With Rentt himself not providing much of an explanation, I turned to Zarid for answers. He, with an equally evident expression of displeasure on his face, answered my inquiry.

“...Those fools were purposefully pulling monsters to new

adventurers in the labyrinth.” Zarid, who was usually unshaken by most things, furrowed his brow.

“...I see. So, they are scum. Were they doing it on purpose?” “Pulling” was a common adventurer slang term—it referred to the

action of leading monsters to other adventurers, then immediately escaping as the monster’s attention shifted. Although many adventurers did this without malice when they were running from monsters they couldn’t handle, certain unsavory types often did so with ill intent.

This was why I had asked Zarid if they were doing it on purpose since they were not exactly strong.

Rentt, however, immediately shook his head.

“No, that wasn’t the case. As you two have seen, that trio don’t have much in the way of actual skill. Although they were hunting monsters in the Labyrinth of the New Moon, they ended up drawing the attention of about a dozen Goblins, eventually pulling them to adventurers who were slowly hunting in the relatively safer parts of the New Moon.”

“And what of those adventurers?”

“They’re safe. They followed my instructions and were all led to safety—somehow.”

While I had thought of defeating them, I suppose a dozen Goblins was indeed too much for Rentt. In addition, there were new adventurers he had to protect—in that regard, he made the right choice.

New adventurers were not very good at escaping, after all. The lack of such a skill would only serve to herald one’s death in the labyrinths. Rentt, however, was particularly good at escaping from monsters and the like.

“Was that all they did? Why are you so angry, then? Would you normally not have them reflect on their actions?”

“...The thing is, this isn’t the first time it’s happened. I did some investigating and found out that this was the fifth time... Given the chance, they would definitely do it again to some unwitting new adventurer—but of course, a veteran would immediately escape when a band of fools like that comes near them.”

“...I suppose there really is no saving people like that.”

“That’s exactly right. Also, the ones I had saved were Yuris and his group...”

If memory served, Yuris was of the new adventurers that had attended one of Rentt’s educational sessions at the guild. In fact, I had even spoken with him once as he passed us by on the street after I had finished having a meal with Rentt. In this case, I suppose Rentt was referring to Yuris’s party.

Rentt continued his explanation:

“Yuris noticed the group enter the labyrinth before his group today, and had thought that they would do the same thing again. So he told me about it. This was why I went with them, just to be sure. While it did all work out in the end, this cannot be allowed to continue. They did, after all, pull a dozen Goblins to Yuris’s party today, and who knows, they might do it again tomorrow, to some other adventurers I don’t know. Eventually, someone will lose their life. I have to stop them before something like that happens.”

Zarid nodded at Rentt’s words.

“All right. I get it. All we have to do is bring the hammer down on ’em, right? Shake ’em so hard they wouldn’t ever think of doing something like this again? Guess the three of us can give ’em a piece of our minds—beat it into ’em, even!”

Zarid’s proposal was easy to understand. If a show of power was all that was needed, I could even do it by myself—in this case, with both Rentt and Zarid present, it would be all too easy.

Rentt, however, shook his head.

“...No. Could you two leave this to me?” “Hmm?”

“While we could literally beat it out of them, it would leave a bad taste in their mouths. They might even think of revenge, or something worse. We’ll leave that option for last—but of course, if my plan fails, we can go with that.”

From his words, it would seem like Rentt’s plan was already in motion; a plan that apparently did not involve violence.

Zarid, however, immediately nodded.

“Aye. I don’t mind. But Rentt... Do go easy on ’em, all right?”

“Go easy? What do you mean? I’m not exactly strong, for one thing, so there’s no need for that. Well, I really should get going. I still have to look for them and all that, yes?”

With that, Rentt reached into his pocket, pulling out some coin with the intent of paying for his drink; Zarid stopped him.

“No need for that, Rentt. My treat.”

“Really? All right then, I’ll take you up on that. See you around, Zarid.”

And with that, Rentt was gone. Once again, I found myself alone with Zarid.

“What exactly would ‘going easy’ entail?”

I could not help but notice this fact since Rentt was, as he himself had said, not very strong. While those three didn’t exactly stand much of a chance against Rentt, he could very well be in danger if he tried to show them any mercy.

Zarid, too, should know this, which was why his words confused me.

But Zarid glanced at me momentarily, before taking yet another big swig from his tankard.

“...You’ll see. Actually, you’ll understand better when you hear of the results. Oh, and Lorraine... Today’s my treat, too.”

“Why so?”

“If I had chased those goons away the moment they approached you, you wouldn’t have had to do all that. Consider it an apology for not being enough of a gentleman.”

“I don’t really mind... Well. I suppose I shall accept, on account of having had to swallow my pride on this occasion.”

“My bad. Then I should get going for today. This whole thing has left a bad taste in my mouth. I don’t really feel like drinking anymore. Oh, and...do ask after Rentt about the outcome for me. Don’t forget, now!”

“Of course.”

And with that, we parted ways for the day.

◆◇◆◇◆

A few days later— “...What exactly is that?”

Zarid’s voice rang out from behind me: “The three idiots who tried to pick you up for some ‘fun,’ no?”

I turned around, and as expected, there stood Zarid.

“I can see that, but what is it exactly they are doing...?”

With that, I turned to look at the three fools once more. This was, after all, the entrance to the Labyrinth of the New Moon. The three of them, however, were on their knees at the entrance, apologizing to every adventurer who entered.

According to Zarid’s explanation, they were apologizing for their behavior of pulling monsters toward other adventurers—and yet, something seemed off.

“I must say, though, I have never seen anyone repent with such vigor and enthusiasm.”

“What, you haven’t heard about it from Rentt?” Zarid asked, cocking his head to one side.

I had, of course, little choice but to ask for clarification.

“So... After that incident at the tavern last time, Rentt apparently found them without too much trouble. He confirmed where they were staying and all that, and asked the owner of the boarding house there to give him their personal information: name, birthplace, all ’o that.

Then he left.”

“...So in the end, Rentt didn’t meet with them in person right away?” “Seems like it. Everything else happened after that, though... The

very next day, those fools were chased out of their rooms.”

“...All thanks to Rentt, I suppose. He must have informed the landlord of their behavior.”

“More or less. But wait, there’s more! Apparently, they tried to stop by other boarding houses, but they all got turned down.

“But it gets better: the fools try to buy food, but none of the shops will serve ’em. Even the smithies rejected servicing their weapons; and of course, everyone on the street has been giving them cold stares.

That’s what they were dealing with these past three days.” “Rentt sure seems to have many...connections.”

“And when they finally thought they could buy food, the establishment in question demanded a whole gold coin for it! The townsfolk would pour water on ’em, and for some reason even birds saw fit to crap on ’em. Bad things would just happen to them over and over again as they walked the streets of Maalt—well, you get the picture.”

“Was it not obvious that they were being intentionally harassed...?” “I suppose it was—it did go on for a while, after all. So, they go to the

guards to complain... Only to be told by those very same city guards that they were guilty of doing the same thing. In fact, everyone they spoke to took issue with their bad deeds—and this went on for the last few days. They’re pretty close to breaking, I’d reckon.

“Of course, they aren’t literally that dumb—it was evident to them from the start who was pulling the strings. To be precise, Rentt purposely let them know he was the one responsible—and this was how they ended up going to Rentt, apologizing for their misdeeds and all that.”

“And...this, is the result? Their repentance, I suppose?”

“Well, everyone they had caused trouble for did forgive them in the end—pretty nice ending to the story, huh?”

“Verily so. To be honest, I think it strange there were no fatalities from this incident. But with this, the issue was settled without anyone pining for revenge or some such—I suppose it is indeed a clean end to things.”

“Exactly. Rentt isn’t a person to be messed with, and I pity the fools who don’t know this...” Zarid said, his voice almost subdued as he did so.

To clarify, I was not referring to adventurers who could have ended up dead from the trio’s bad behavior. I referred to the seemingly fatal end that awaited those three individuals—after all, the ire of an adventurer was quite a nasty thing. If they had taken one wrong step or turn, it would not have been strange for the three of them to have been brutally murdered under the cover of night.

This, among other reasons, was why adventurers were encouraged to observe basic labyrinth manners during their explorations. These three clowns in question lacked that understanding, and by ending up on the wrong side of Rentt, incurred his wrath. Perhaps it would be more accurate to call this a life lesson.

In the end, however, the trio sincerely apologized for their actions, and no one was hurt, all thanks to Rent’s efforts.

Although this was by no means a situation that one could laugh at, everyone had ended up laughing at the somewhat uneventful outcome. I, of all people, knew that it was not exactly easy to orchestrate an outcome like this—and that was why I said as such:

“Rentt Faina... Truly a man to fear.”

I subdued my voice as an homage to Zarid’s lengthy explanation. Maybe I would treat him to an ale or something of the sort today— after all, we could both use a good drink.

Afterword

For those of you who are first-time readers, it is nice to meet you. For the long-time readers, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? Thank you for everything thus far.

I’m the author, Yu Okano. I often find myself troubled as to what goes into the afterword, but each one mostly ends up being similar, though. As always, thank you very much for purchasing my books.

I extend my humble thanks to readers who are new to my work, and loyal readers who are familiar with my other works. Thank you very much for your patronage. If possible, I would love to continue receiving all your support. I’ll work hard for as long as I live—that’s how I feel about it, anyway.

In other news, I’ve recently been receiving quite a bit of spam mail on my phone. While it has only been a little under a year since I changed my phone, I’ve been getting tons of spam as of late—why this is the case, I have no idea at all.

Personally, I don’t remember writing my phone mail address down anywhere, nor did I give away my address to that many new friends. Either way, the issue is resolved by simply blocking the sender; even so, come to think of it, I haven’t seen so many spam mails before, not even from back when I was a student. It’s quite a lot of effort to block them all.

In the past, spam mails were predictable—they were just some dangerous URLs that you shouldn’t click on. Nowadays, however, they look like legitimate messages sent by anyone from anywhere, with their addresses disguised and all that. There’s usually some long- winded story, concluding with a clickbait link at the end of the message. Looking at them, I couldn’t help but feel that competition is intense in any industry—even that of spam mail scammers.

Publishing books is quite the competition, too—I am really grateful for the fact that I can continue publishing books at this relatively consistent pace. I feel that if I am to keep writing, I’m going to have to keep improving in a variety of places and points—just like how those spam mails keep evolving. If one has talent, that is another story; that said, I of all people know that I’m not one of those individuals. I’ve found niche after niche, opportunity after opportunity, and here I am today.

As such, I conclude the afterword of my first book—quite the dark afterword, wasn’t it? Do forgive me for the relatively dark contents of the first book, as well. In closing, I hope that you will continue enjoying my work The Unwanted Undead Adventurer with me. Thank you very much for your patronage.

Well then, dear readers, if possible, let us meet again in the next book.