[LN]Nozomanu Fushi no Boukensha Vol 1 Chapter 2

Nozomanu Fushi no Boukensha Vol 1 Chapter 2 English Version

CHAPTER 2

Rina The Adventurer

“...Yah!!”

Swinging her weapon at a Skeleton was a young girl, whose voice seemed to ring out with more force than her swing.

The quality of her gear, or lack thereof, was the first thing that jumped out at me. The girl was clad in cheap armor, complimented by an equally cheap one-handed sword. She was definitely a new Iron-class adventurer.

It was perhaps worth noting that I was very familiar with my fellow adventurers, at least those who resided in Maalt. This girl, however, was not a familiar face—hence my assumption.

Although Iron-class adventurers would one day surpass me and were viewed as nothing more than potential rivals, I made sure to remember their faces and get to know them better—if only because that was a way by which I could prevent the endless stream of adventurers eager to make fun of my lack of talent. I made it a point to befriend them then and there, in addition to memorizing their social positions and connections, before going our separate ways.

It was interesting to note that while I had absolutely no talent for adventuring, I was instead blessed with a good memory and street smarts, allowing me to easily outsmart any Iron-class adventurers who were up to one no-good plot or another. As a result, my cunning was known even to higher-ranked adventurers in Maalt, and I was mostly left alone. This was also perhaps due to the fact that Maalt mostly hosted adventurers of good character.

In addition, I also made a point to knock a good sense of morals into ill-natured adventurers from the start of their career. This had long-term effects, eventually snowballing into an overall improvement of character amidst the adventurers of Maalt. This was one of the reasons why I had not been asked by the guild to put down my sword all this time, despite being stuck in one of the lower adventurer ranks for almost a decade.

Put simply, I was adequately scheming—in a good way, of course.

I shifted my attention back to the young adventurer. Not only was she dressed in a complete beginner’s outfit, her prowess also left much to be desired. In fact, she actually seemed a little weaker than I had been in life.

This was perhaps an unfair comparison, however—any Bronze-class adventurer was easily leagues above that of their Iron counterparts. I was, after all, able to defeat a Skeleton without too much trouble. Although I wouldn’t call it easy, I was definitely capable, given the fact that normal townsfolk would be saying their prayers after encountering a Skeleton. Even Iron-class adventurers had to group up in twos or threes to easily defeat one.

As such, my continued solo expeditions should at least paint me as being somewhat capable—although not to an extent that I could be proud of.

It was with those thoughts in mind that I deemed the girl who stood before my eyes to be irredeemably weak. Although she seemed to be putting up a valiant fight against her skeletal foe, all it took was one mistake for her foe to shift the tide, after which she would most definitely lose. That was the extent of her powers.

However, no matter how green, an adventurer was an adventurer. In the event of her slipping up, she could easily escape—and then that would have been that. I was not too worried about her well-being; at least, that was what I thought—

Hey, now.

Upon closer inspection, the situation seemed a lot more dire than I had originally made it out to be. As if not completely thinking about the possibility of defeat, the young girl pressed on, attempting to overpower her foe.

Her efforts, however, were in vain. Obviously lacking the appropriate stamina, the adventurer began to fall back, unable to keep up with her foe’s attacks. This was a potentially fatal situation, given the fact that she was currently in a narrow labyrinth path with no obvious routes of escape.

As the Skeleton continued pushing the girl backward, she suddenly stopped.

“...Huh?!”

The girl’s back was now literally against the wall, and it would appear that she had only just noticed this.

I shook my head. This was the trap that befell adventurers who failed to inspect their surroundings carefully. A swordswoman of her caliber, in turn, would require some space to move and swing her blade. In other words, the adventurer’s fate was sealed the moment she had trapped herself carelessly.

As if noticing this, the Skeleton she had been fighting advanced upon her, eagerly raising its arms and motioning to strike her with its bare hands.

While the Skeleton was not armed, it was, at the end of the day, very much a monster. If that blow connected with an adventurer that did not sport much in the way of defense, they would surely pass out. What’s more, if the blow landed in a critical spot, they might even end up being instantly killed. It went without saying that a normal person could not hope to endure such a blow.

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

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

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

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

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

This was why I did what I did.

“...GAAAAAAH!!!”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“...Amazing... ”

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

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

That was indeed amazing.

Huh.

Was I always this strong?

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

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

With that thought, I was jolted awake—

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

Was she hurt?

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

Then...what should I do?

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

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

◆◇◆◇◆

“S-stay away!!”

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

Again, I could not blame her. There was perhaps not a single person alive who would not be alarmed if a Ghoul approached them in a labyrinth with its arms raised.

Come to think of it, it was also strange for something like a Ghoul to be present in the Labyrinth of the Moon’s Reflection in the first place. This was due to the simple fact that Ghouls were of an even higher class than Skeletons, and they did not simply appear randomly in a place so commonly frequented by lowly ranked adventurers.

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

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

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

Due to the fact that I had trained my body for the past decade, and knew of my movements and weaknesses well, I could easily compensate for and fix any issues that arose from my newfound body.

However, talking was another issue altogether. I never really practiced speaking to begin with, and what I had assumed to be a simple task was turning out to be more difficult than I thought. As a result, my words were instead mangled into a series of half-roars, and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it.

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

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

Probably.

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

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

“Eek!!”

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

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

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

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

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

Although the option of killing the girl to silence her remained open, I could not bring myself to do it—I was, and still am, human, after all. I truly could not do something like that.

If the girl were a bandit or some sort of criminal, perhaps I could entertain the notion. However, she seemed to be a scared adventurer fighting for her life, and I could not see her as anything else. Even if it were for my own benefit, I could not bring myself to take away her future—not from one as young as herself.

This was why I tried my damnedest to speak.

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

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

“Ah...? It’s...talking...?”

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

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

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

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

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

“Mister Rend?”

“Rentt... Ren...tt! Ren...tt... ”

“Ah, Mister Rentt...”

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

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

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

“No... No. I...died... ”

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

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

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

The reverse also held true—legends speaking of individuals who, through highly advanced magic, managed to reincarnate themselves as undead monsters with their consciousness intact and functional. Sightings of them, however, were few and far

between. Needless to say, I hadn’t encountered such a being myself.

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

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

Other than that, however, I inferred that I was, for all intents and purposes, a regular Ghoul.

But that was not something I could simply tell this girl.

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

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

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

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

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

I responded in kind.

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

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

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

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

“P-phew! That’s a relief! I thought I was a goner there... But... Help? A request...? Well...

You are the person... Um. I mean, monster, who saved my life... So I’ll hear you out! Well... I hope you don’t ask for my blood or flesh or anything...”

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

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

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

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

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

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

Although I was a somewhat lower class of adventurer myself, I did not have many difficulties earning my keep, and still had the gold and equipment I had on me prior to my unfortunate demise.

Some of my equipment remained on my person, though some other items had been scattered around the clearing. I did, of course, retrieve my belongings, and had performed the adequate checks for damage.

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

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

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

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

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

To those words, the girl had this to say:

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

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

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

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

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

Well, even if she did betray me, I suppose I would deal with the fallout then.

If, as a result, a strong adventurer were to be sent after me, I had to at least try and defend myself—I had to become stronger. Or would it be more appropriate to simply hone my hiding skills?

I felt silly at even raising the possibility of such a notion. I suppose it would just come down to becoming physically stronger in the end.

And so I continued hunting other monsters in the Labyrinth of the Moon’s Reflection, all the while keeping those thoughts in mind as I patrolled its halls.

◆◇◆◇◆

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

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

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

After all, there were many skilled adventurers in the capital of Yaaran, most of them proving to be quite strong. Due to this, it was not the most conducive of places for a new adventurer who had yet to make a name for herself. This was why Rina had set out for

Maalt, in search of a place where she could feel more comfortable.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

conclusions regarding her abilities.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“...GAAAAAAH!!!”

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

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

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

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

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

This is bad...

Such was the conclusion that Rina Rupaage had arrived at.

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

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

Rina prepared herself.

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

clothes for it.

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

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

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

◆◇◆◇◆

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

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

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

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

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

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

one had wanted to do. Most of the time staff members usually avoided such an assignment.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In stark contrast, the adventurers in Sheila’s hometown were mostly individuals of

questionable character. Despite there being good-hearted adventurers as well, they were as a whole not liked by the townsfolk, who were either reciprocatively unkind to or afraid of them. While most adventurers there engaged in opportunistic, petty crimes, some of them were outright full-time criminals.

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

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

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

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

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

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

As adventuring and fighting alone were the quickest ways to build one’s strength, Rentt did exactly that. Other adventurers, in turn, avoided partying up with Rentt outside of

emergencies. Maalt’s other adventurers did this out of consideration for Rentt, knowing of his dream. No matter how unlikely it would seem, it was not in their interest to belittle Rentt’s quest for strength—even if the truth was plain for all to see.

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

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

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

Rentt Faina, the lower-Bronze-class adventurer who would enter the same labyrinth at the same time every day, return to the guild at the same time with similar ingredients, sign off his assigned tasks, and then be off to train elsewhere.

Such was the daily life of Rentt. This would happen every single day, without fail, and yet—

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

Rentt...

Rentt Faina—

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

“Um...”

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

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

Sheila recalled her name—Rina Rupaage. With that, she tidied up a sheaf of papers in

her hands, before lending an ear to what Rina had to say.

◆◇◆◇◆

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

It was unbelievable.

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

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

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

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

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

Will I continue being an adventurer after all this time?

Of course, there were many different kinds of adventurers. One became an adventurer if one wanted to, but many adventurers stopped after plateauing at the Bronze level, much like myself. With some special exceptions, anyone could become an adventurer as long as they were at least 15 years of age.

However:

Could a monster be an adventurer?

With that, another question rose up from the depths of my mind. Perhaps it was

possible—such was the answer I had arrived at, as if it were some sort of common sense.

However, reality was not so kind. I thought about the situation some more. If, for instance, a Ghoul simply turned up at an adventurer’s guild one day, then simply walked up to the receptionist’s counter, extending its half-rotted hand while speaking in its crackled, half-growl of a voice...

“Ay... Adven... Turer. Rev... Revis... Ter... Me!”

It was like something out of a horror story.

The receptionist would definitely refuse. In addition, she would instantly press the panic button under her desk, immediately summoning strong adventurers from the immediate area, or even the guild master himself. And like that, the Ghoul would be disposed of—and that would be the end of it.

With that being said, however... It did not cross my mind, not even once, that I may be unable to continue adventuring—until now, that is.

I supposed I should stop thinking. More importantly, I had to think of how I would continue living from here on out, as I still had a dream to fulfill: to become a Mithril-class adventurer.

After all this, the bottleneck that I had struggled with for the longest time had been removed. I now had the talent and aptitude for adventuring...in exchange for the perils of my current monstrous form.

If this form prevented me from adventuring, however, that would be a big issue. I came to the conclusion that I had to think of a way to continue adventuring, no matter how I looked, or what I became.

Although I had mentioned the generous policies of the guild multiple times, I supposed expecting the guild to accept a monster into their ranks was asking a bit too much.

I had asked Rina to purchase clothes on my behalf, but that did not solve one other significant problem. A robe could hide most of my disheveled body, but it could not hide my face nor my arms. I would, naturally, have to lean in when reading or handing over gold and ingredients—hiding my arms was impossible to say the least.

I looked at my arms in resignation. They were, as I had expected, very much rotted and dry. There was no other way to put it.

In fact, the color of my skin seemed to have gotten worse—while it was just brown not too long ago, it was now streaked with lines of black. I would be amazed if a living human being did not react to how my arms looked. Though, perhaps there might be some

individuals who could look past that and not mind interacting with me...

No. That was just wishful thinking.

I, Rentt Faina, was not exactly famous for my adventuring prowess—but my face was one thing that was widely known, despite my reputation as “The Thousand-year Bronze-class.” I was famous, or perhaps infamous, for not giving up in my endeavors, and was well-known across Maalt as a result.

In other words, more than half of the adventurer’s guild of Maalt knew how I looked in life. If I were to suddenly show up with my arms in this shape, I would surely be asked many questions.

The guild’s staff would continue asking after me out of worry, thinking that I had been afflicted by one terrible monster or other in the labyrinth. In their quest for information, my robe would inevitably be pulled off forcibly—and that would be that. Though I could see myself making one excuse or another if it were only my arms...

For example, let’s say that a monster sucked the life out of my hands; that would be possible. However, it would be over once they saw my face.

Although I was not in possession of a mirror, my face was evidently Ghoulish. I would surely be hunted down and eliminated regardless of my reasons or situation—especially since I had fallen and lost my humanity.

Things did not look very good at all.

The situation did not lend itself to any other interpretations, and once again, I found my will wavering.

But I had already made up my mind.

The only problem here was my appearance. If I could do something about how I looked, a solution would surely reveal itself to me. To do that, I had to calm down, and once again focus on my initial goal—that of achieving Existential Evolution. Until I began to appear at least somewhat human, I should stay away from the adventurer’s guild. It did occur to me, however, that I would no longer have a source of income.

A familiar voice soon jolted me from my many considerations of worries and problems.

“...Rentt! ...Mister Rentt! Are you there? Somewhere?!”

That voice belonged to none other than Rina Rupaage, the girl whom I had sent away to purchase clothes on my behalf.

◆◇◆◇◆

“...Eek!”

Accidentally bumping into me as she continued her search, Rina the adventurer inadvertently let out a squeal of surprise. While one would not typically expect a scream as a reaction when meeting with an acquaintance, I suppose it was unavoidable given my appearance.

Rina, apparently still terrified, began speaking in a still-shaky voice.

“Uh... Um... M-mister Rentt...? Is that you...? Or, um, are you another one of his Ghoul friends...?” questioned Rina, with her sword at the ready.

I could not possibly blame her. Ghouls were, after all, nigh impossible to tell apart. Their bodies and dried flesh were by and large of similar colors, which definitely did not help with the task. At the very least, I was equipped with weapons and armor. Though higher-ranked Ghouls did look similar to me, weapons and all, a beginner like Rina was probably not privy to the fact.

As such, I calmly answered Rina’s question:

“...Y... Yes. I...am. Ren... Rentt.”

While dry, my voice was coherent—I had been practicing ever since my last encounter with Rina. My voice was now clearer and easier to understand—at least, it felt that way. But I could not be sure; I was simply speaking to myself due to a lack of conversational partners, after all, hence my feelings on the matter.

Rina, however, seemed relieved.

“Ah... That’s great! I was wondering what I’d do if it wasn’t you... Hmm? Your speech seems to have gotten a little better...”

It would seem like I was not just imagining things after all.

“I... P-practice. Practiced. To be... Able. To talk... More.”

“Oh, is that so? That’s great, too! Then entering town shouldn’t be a problem... Oh! Right—here you go, the things you asked me to get! And here’s your change!”

With that, Rina held out a bag. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a bundle of objects, including the robe that I had asked her to buy for me.

With some excitement, I eagerly advanced toward Rina. She, however, involuntarily retreated, a look of apprehension on her face.

The shock made me stop dead in my tracks. Rina hastily offered an explanation.

“I... I’m sorry. Um. You’re still a little scary... Could you give me a while to g-get used to you...?”

It was as Rina said. I suppose this was how things really were. There was nothing much I could do about how I looked—if anything, I was grateful for the fact that Rina willingly communicated with me, given that I looked like a monster to begin with.

I offered my response:

“...N... No. I don’t... Mind at... All. More importantly... Can I look... At the bag?”

Rina’s reply was, at least, a little more cheerful than before.

“Yes! Please do! I bought some other things along with the robe you wanted; you should have a look at them!”

With her approval, I slowly walked up to the bag, peering at the contents within.

◆◇◆◇◆

Reaching into the bag after confirming its contents, I grasped onto the robe with my hands, pulling out the garment and inspecting it closely. It was relatively spacious and billowing, in addition to being pitch-black. It also came with a hood, which I found convenient for my needs in particular. Robes like these were largely worn by mages and the like, and I would have never thought to wear one in life.

If anything, it was a hindrance to swordsmen. As I was now, however, the ability to hide myself in its depths was a godsend, as the robe covered me neatly from head to toe; it even sported long sleeves to hide my arms. With this, paying for items at shops would be a breeze.

I applauded Rina’s fashion sense—she had accurately understood what I’d wanted despite my simple instructions. With that being said, clapping was impossible for my dried-out hands.

Shelving that thought, I decided to try on the garment. My arms fit cleanly into the robe’s sleeves, and the material was quite pleasant to the touch. Having that sense of touch while being in a body of nothing but dried flesh was somewhat surprising; not to mention my newfound ability to move in such an agile manner. Thinking about it calmly, though, I was still a monster—surely that was the reason for these irregularities.

One must also consider if a piece of equipment presents any issues with movement while in combat, in addition to being comfortable. Quickly raising the robe’s hood, I

decided to find out, and was pleasantly surprised by the results. While my field of view was somewhat constricted by the hood, I had no issues with seeing straight ahead; I could even safely peek at my surroundings to a certain extent. If I were to be surrounded, however, I would have no choice but to lower it—but that wouldn’t be necessary should I be engaged in combat with only one or two monsters.

“...How is it? Is it to your liking?”

“...O-oh. Y... You. Surprised me there.”

Rina had apparently seen fit to approach me as I was trying on the hood. She was now a lot closer to me than she had ever been, despite the fact that she had been visibly terrified of me mere minutes ago.

Although she was still holding her sword, the “business” end of its blade was no longer pointed at me.

Is she already getting used to me?

I wondered if she had a habit of becoming comfortable with new things so suddenly.

“...C... Clothes. Good fit. Mo... More importantly. Are you... Not scared? Scared... Of me?”

“No, not at all! I mean, you’ve hidden most of your non-human parts, so... It’s not too hard for me to stand at this distance,” Rina said, about three steps away from me.

—A little shorter than the reach of her blade, if I had to put it that way.

It would seem that she was at a clear enough distance to respond appropriately should anything go wrong. Contrary to the initial expression I had of her, it would seem that Rina was relatively cautious. Even so, I saw this as a great improvement—that was what I thought at least as I continued inspecting Rina’s movements.

While one could say that the entire chain of events, starting with me being eaten by a Dragon and being reborn as an undead Skeleton, was somewhat unlucky, meeting Rina was probably the most fortuitous thing that had happened to me thus far.

Although it was true that I did save her life, there wouldn’t normally be humans that could unflinchingly speak with monsters. And even if I did not know what the future held, the fact that Rina continued to cooperate with me was something I was extremely grateful for.

“Oh, yes... That’s right. I bought some other things, too... Here, see? Shoes, and gloves, and even a belt. It’d be bad if you were seen in the streets with those hands and feet,

right?”

Saying so, Rina reached into the bag, withdrawing the aforementioned items before setting them down gently on the ground of the labyrinth.

Both the shoes and gloves were made of quality leather; color-wise, however, both items were subdued, presumably chosen so that they would not stand out.

I found this greatly pleasing. To begin with, I hadn’t asked Rina for such things—in my situation, I could only think of asking for a robe. And yet Rina had unexpectedly read between the lines, thinking in great detail about the items I would need to make it back to Maalt safely. I could not help but wonder if there was another world out there where young girls chose suitable articles of clothing for monsters.

Having met the first person who treated me kindly since I had turned into a monster, I felt like I could cry—but alas, such was not possible with this body.

In any case, I decided to put on both the shoes and gloves. Due to the nature of my dried flesh, I was not quite sure if either article would be useful for me, but for now, I settled with at least wearing them.

With that in mind, I stuffed my feet into the shoes, while adjusting the oddly spacious gloves with my free hand. It was difficult to hold my weapon through these gloves, and while the implications were worrying, I accepted this as part of a necessary sacrifice in order to return to Maalt.

“Wow... That’s quite the intimidating aura. You look like... What do they call those things again? Wights...? Yeah, you look like a Wight! Oh, right, I have a mirror here, too. How’s this?”

Sounding more and more like a shopkeeper of sorts with each passing second, Rina showered me with praise...if being called a Wight could be considered praise. Withdrawing a mirror from the seemingly bottomless bag, Rina once again set it down upon the ground.

While Rina’s refusal to directly hand the mirror to me was a little saddening, I suppose there was little discussion on the matter.

Rina’s thoughtfulness in bringing me the mirror alone was definitely a helpful gesture. After all, I had been unable to see how I looked like ever since becoming a Skeleton, and the question had been floating in my head all this time. Of course, I was not expecting to look like how I used to—I had had a somewhat youthful face that seemingly did not change between the ages of 15 and 25. Just for the record, my appearance was by no means stunning or breathtaking in life.

If anything, a fearsome face was not too much of a bad thing either. It was good to have an intimidating expression; at least, it was for an adventurer.

With those thoughts in mind, I picked up the mirror, its surface apparently some sort of polished metal. Peering into it, I was hardly prepared for what I saw.

“...Th... This... Is...”

That’s not to say that I hadn’t anticipated this, however, to see the dried-up face of a corpse. It was also very dead, with eye sockets sinking deep into my skull. In fact, one of my eyeballs was missing—that was one thing I did not anticipate. While it was a mystery as to why I could still see out of both eyes, that was not the problem I currently saw reflected—

No matter how I looked at it, this was the face of a corpse.

The one thing that did stand out, though, was a series of complicated, glowing tattoos on my face, pulsing in a soft, blue hue. Although they were actually somewhat pretty to look at, the tattoos also gave off a mysterious, almost incomprehensible aura. I deduced that these tattoos had something to do with my transformation into a member of the walking dead.

But putting that all aside, it was undeniable that the situation was dire, and my efforts at disguise were all but ruined by these glowing tattoos. If anything, they made me stand out like a sore thumb.

The tattoos themselves would have been fine, but the fact that they were glowing made matters so much worse. After all, they could clearly be seen even if I had my hood raised. Determined to see if I could remedy the situation, I raised my hood several times and tried out different resting positions, but my efforts proved fruitless. Light steadily streamed out from inside my hood—no matter how anyone looked at it, this was not a very human thing to occur.

In the end, I would have to live my life as a Wight; one with a fearsome and terrible glowing blue hood.

...No. No!

That would be bad!

What should I do?!

I held my head in despair.

“Ah, that’s right. You didn’t ask me to buy this, but it was cheap, and I figured you’d like

to have something like this... What do you think?” Rina asked, once again retrieving something from her bottomless bag.

The item that Rina held out was not something I recalled seeing upon my first inspection of its contents. Was it truly a magical bag of some sort?

For the time being, I was forced to put aside that thought.

More importantly here, the object that Rina had taken out of it was none other than a mask. It was a large, full-sized face mask, made of what appeared to be bone. As its size suggested, it was large enough to completely hide my face, tattoos and all.

“...What... Is that...?”

I had meant to ask her why she’d purchased this to begin with, as opposed to the nature of the item. Rina, however, quickly offered a cheerful response.

“Mister Rentt... You do want to go back to Maalt, right? You’d have to hide your face to do so, and I don’t think you’d be let in with a glowing face, you know?”

Again, it was as Rina said.

This girl... She really was something else. While I felt my facial regions heat up, there were regrettably no tears of gratitude to be found. I tried my damnedest to cry, but Rina likely did not notice any changes in my demeanor.

Approaching the mask that Rina had set on the ground, I picked it up, inspecting it closely. It appeared to have adequately-sized holes for one’s eyes and mouth, so it did not seem like I would have many issues seeing or breathing. Whether I could even breathe as I currently was, however, was another issue altogether.

With that in mind, I held the mask up with both hands, and tied it on. Without warning, the mask suddenly adhered itself to my face, almost plastering itself into my dry, dead skin.

“...Ugah!” That strange sound escaped my lips.

Before I knew it, the mask was firmly fitted over my entire face.

“Wow... It fits you, you know?” said Rina, once again showcasing her unique sense of praise. At her words, I looked up into the mirror—

Reflected there was what appeared to be a suspicious-looking swordsman of the dark magic persuasion, who also conveniently had a skull-shaped mask covering his entire face.

Indeed, it seemed to fit me well. I had, after all, been a Skeleton mere days ago; as such, a skeletal mask would definitely fit me.

—At least, that was my logic.

However... This mask felt very tight, almost like a second skin. Would it even come off?

Suddenly filled with a sense of unease, I attempted to remove the mask, positioning my fingers to pry it from my face. It was then that I realized—

“...Stu... Stuck. Won’t... Come off.”

“Ah...”

At my words, Rina’s cheerful praises quickly died down.

◆◇◆◇◆

“...Is it really stuck on that bad?” Rina inquired, sympathy evident in her voice as I continued wrestling with my mask.

While I had valiantly fought to remove it after putting it on, my efforts were in vain. As if it were plastered to my face, or perhaps fused to it, the mask remained resolutely in place.

“N... No... Good. It’s no good...”

Rina offered an apology, a remorseful expression on her face.

“...Oh, no... I’m sorry, it’s all my fault... Actually, now that I think about it, the person who sold me this mask was kind of weird... He had this stall on the street, and all of his products were surprisingly cheap...” Rina said, seemingly unaware of the gravity of her words.

Rina’s description of the merchant fit the bill, with the exception of his incredibly low prices. I came to the conclusion that the merchant in question was probably a fraudster, although some merchants were swindlers to some degree to begin with.

“By... The way. How... Much? How much... Did it cost...?”

“Three copper coins. It was made of metal and looked pretty solid... I guess it was too cheap...? I mean, it looked kind of cool, and I really liked it, so...”

She liked it.

I suppose there was no choice... But this was not something I could easily accept, of

course. Also, it was three copper coins.

It was perhaps worth noting that masked adventurers were not all that rare, nor were the existence of masks catered to such a clientele. This was due to the fact that many adventurers often accumulated scars and injuries over their careers, with many of the scars not able to be removed or healed with simple first aid or healing magics. Severe injuries to the limbs and body were often only treatable by church-sanctioned priestess-saints, and those seeking such treatment were often expected to pay an exorbitant price for the church’s services. As such, those unable to afford healing were, quite often, resigned to living with their injuries or prosthetic limbs.

Wounds to the face, such as burns or severe scarring, were in turn commonly hidden by masks. After all, even a low-tier Slime’s Acid Blitz attack contained enough power to melt one’s features. To make matters worse, such monsters were not exactly rare.

This was why masks were quite a common adventurer’s accessory, with most adventurers wishing they would be able to live a full life without ever having to use one.

With that being said, I should mention that the metallic mask currently stuck to my face did not feel cheap at all. If anything, one would at least have to pay one silver coin for it, as purchasing an item like this with bronze coins was almost unheard of, unless the merchant in question was in the business of accruing losses. In other words, the scrap value of the mask itself was definitely worth more than three bronze coins—and yet, that was exactly the price Rina had purchased it for.

She should’ve had some reservations about such a cheap item, but she purchased it anyway, probably unable to resist its value at that price.

“...” I stared at Rina intently, despite the fact that I was missing one of my eyeballs.

As I did so, Rina frantically waved her hands in front of her face, as if to deny all responsibility.

“Ah, um, no, see, it’s all right, isn’t it! It didn’t feel like it was cursed or anything... See, look—I held it with my bare hands and I’m fine! Although I did think there was a reason for it being so cheap... And I did hope it wasn’t cursed...”

It would seem it was as Rina said. She did, for her part, also take out the mask without much fanfare, and had placed it upon the ground without incident.

So... Was the mask not cursed after all?

—No. Focusing my attention on the mask that was currently stuck to my face, I felt a trace of evil: the unmistakable stench of dark energy. This was, without a doubt, some sort of lingering curse.

As for why Rina had not been affected... Well, it was simple: the girl naturally did not attempt to try the mask on in the first place. Even I myself did not feel anything amiss when handling the mask with my hands. To be precise, it was a curse that only took effect once the mask was placed on a potential victim’s face.

How terribly unlucky—and that was perhaps an understatement.

A curse... If it really were such a thing, I had several ideas of my own.

With a deep breath, I focused my thoughts, activating my inner reserves of divinity. Responding to my summons, a faint, blue glow spilled forth from my body, enveloping the mask in a silent aura.

“W-What is...this? Don’t tell me... Is this divinity...?” Rina said, surprise plainly written across her face.

Once again, I could not possibly blame her. Divinity, and the aptitude to utilize it, was a very rare ability indeed. Although one could observe it being used by priests or other such divine peoples during festivals, watching it actually being used up close was not exactly an everyday experience.

The reason for me using this ability now was self-explanatory, as divinity had the ability to cleanse that which was most foul and unnatural. It could also, of course, lift curses and the like, and this was often a skill monopolized by the aforementioned priests and their ilk. Even I had no precise knowledge on how to lift curses. Instead, I simply worked with the assumption that a burst of divinity, even without the acute understanding of how curse-lifting worked, would at least serve to weaken the curse imbued in the mask.

This would have been impossible for me in life. The most I could do back then was purify water so that it was safe to drink—and that was that. I would have been unable to lift curses even if I had tried.

But I was different now; I had undergone Existential Evolution and defeated numerous monsters. Thus, I put my mind to the task.

Honestly speaking, there were some results. While the mask had remained stubbornly stuck up until a while ago, it suddenly began rattling in response to the aura generated by my divinity.

Will... Will it come off?

I certainly hoped it would.

“...Eh... Oh? Mister Rentt... That white-blue aura of yours... Is it getting dimmer, or is it

just me?” Rina spoke in a worried voice, continuing to observe me.

Like she said, my aura had definitely begun to dim. My inner reserves were running dry, to be more precise. Although the amount of divinity I had at my disposal had certainly increased, it was not an overwhelmingly huge difference. Up until now, the force within the mask seemed almost threatened by my divinity. Now, however, the tides had turned, and it almost felt like my divinity was being pushed back. I supposed this would be too much for me to handle—for now, at least.

Giving up, I slowly halted my aura release. Similarly, the mask stopped rattling a short while later. Immediately after it stopped, the mask once again glued itself onto my face— it did not feel like I had any chance of removing it as of now.

As I suspected, I was still not strong enough to lift its curse quite yet.

“...So... I suppose it was no good...”

“Yeah... No... Good. No good.”

Tired out by my exertions and initial shock of the unmoving mask, I sat down upon the labyrinth’s ground.

“I’m so sorry... I didn’t mean to buy a cursed thing like that...” Rina promptly apologized.

Did she interpret my actions and behavior as disappointment, perhaps? Rina, with her eyes half-filled with tears, seemed incredibly remorseful about this unfortunate turn of events.

It was unexpected, to say the least. While true that the mask could not be removed, I had no reason to blame Rina for what she did. She had merely found me a mask out of the goodness of her heart.

I offered some words of comfort to Rina:

“Don’t... Mind. It’s... Fine. I... Must hide... Face. Anyway. I will be... Fine. Like this... For

a   while.”

“But—”

“It felt like, it would come off... Just now. I... Become stronger, it may... Come off. Also could... Get a priest... A priest. Lift... Curses.”

I tried to comfort Rina to the best of my ability. I held out my hand to pat her on the shoulder, but stopped myself in time. My hand awkwardly remained suspended in the air.

How could I forget? I was a Ghoul now, and Rina was not yet used to me—I shouldn’t traumatize her any further.

However, as if to accept my gesture, Rina reached out, holding my outstretched glove with her hands.

“Wh... What... Are you...” I was shocked.

“I... I get it. You’re not a bad person... Or, um, monster? Mister Rentt—you’re not scary... Not...scary at all...”

Despite her words, Rina’s hands shivered, albeit slightly.

I understood. Contrary to her claims, Rina was still afraid. Even so, she had thought of reassuring me—that much I understood.

This was why I said to Rina, “Thank... You. But... Until the day... When you really... Are not... Scared. No need... To force... Yourself.”

Saying so, I let go of her hand gently, taking care not to injure her. Rina, however, was adamant.

“I’ll get used to it quickly! Really quickly! Really!” She smiled, without a shred of evidence to back up her declaration.

An almost childlike view, as if this were a normal situation one could observe anywhere. It was at that point, however, that I felt like I was truly alive. I was filled with happiness at being able to hold a proper, human-like conversation with another human being.

◆◇◆◇◆

“Um... So, this may be sudden, but do you just...want to go back to Maalt now?”

Such was the question posed to me as soon as I finished equipping the rest of Rina’s provided clothing. I found myself at a momentary loss at those words, if only because I remained unsure if such a feat was even possible.

Although I had set out to achieve Existential Evolution just to return to town, the prospect of it actually being possible now was somewhat baffling to me. To actually carry out the task, I thought, was deeply unsettling.

“Do you think... It will go... Well?”

—That was why I asked Rina such a question.

To an average human, I was robed, gloved, slouched over, and equipped with a sword at the waist. I wondered if this would be sufficient enough for me to walk around town. I had no one but Rina to provide a human opinion, after all.

“Hmm... You do look a little strange, but then, many people are like that. Even if someone demands that you show your face, that mask is cursed, for better or worse. It simply won’t come off, right? Then you should just tell the guards at the gate that. Hey, maybe they can even try pulling it off for themselves. That way they’ll know it really won’t come off.”

Rina’s response was surprisingly detailed.

“But... If I do... That. My... Skin...”

“You’re supposed to bluff your way through that...! Say a monster got you good and sucked the life out of your face or something like that. If they knew the truth, they’d probably identify you as an undead monster, but common sense would tell them that speaking with an undead is impossible. Even though you still have some trouble speaking, they won’t immediately jump to the conclusion that you’re an undead. If anything, they’ll think that you’re some veteran adventurer who has scars all over from combat. If they could see your face, that would certainly be a long shot—but now they can’t! It’ll work!”

Rina’s words gave me great courage. If I thought about it calmly, most of what Rina said was right. Only extremely high-tier undead monsters would be capable of communication and logic in the first place. While one would feel the strength of its aura should one approach such a being, I currently did not give off that impression. For starters, if I really did have such powers, I would not trouble myself over something as simple as finding a way back into Maalt.

I would bluff if the guards became suspicious, and then it would work out. I felt like I could do at least that much. The rest was up to my own personal performance.

“All right, then... Let’s... Give it... A shot.”

“Yes! Let’s go!”

I tilted my head to one side at Rina’s statement.

“What... Do you mean?”

“Eh? Aren’t we going together...?”

Rina’s response to my question was swift. If anything, she seemed confused as to why I was even asking.

I was terribly surprised; of all things, I did not expect Rina to go with me, given that I was currently an undead monster. She was undertaking a great risk, facilitating the entry of a monster such as myself into town. If we were somehow found out, she would be treated as an abnormality who had allied herself with a monster, and would be readily persecuted.

Was she not thinking of the consequences? I had to ask her at least that much.

“...If... You went... With me. You would be... In danger... Rina.”

“Ah... That’s probably the case... But there’s an even greater chance of success if you come with me! If someone were with you and spoke of you as a human, why would a guard at the gate have any reason to think of you as a monster?”

“That... Is true. But is this... Fine? If... If anything hap... Happens...”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it! ...Mister Rentt, if it hadn’t been for you, I would already be dead. I feel like it would be all right for me to risk my life at least once for you, no?” Rina spoke these words as if it were the most obvious thing to do.

With that, though, it suddenly occurred to me that Rina was a very considerate person —maybe too much so. Either way, I was thankful for Rina’s kindness.

Thinking about it from the angle of Rina’s welfare, I should have definitely refused her help; even so, I had to return to Maalt. In addition, it was like Rina had said: if there was a human being vouching for me, my chances of success dramatically increased.

It also only took one safe entrance into Maalt for me to pass without relative alarm in the future. If the guards became familiar with me, their inspections would surely become much more relaxed.

And so, I decided to entrust my future to Rina.

“Well... Then. I’m... Counting... On you. But don’t... Risk your... Life. If anything... Happens. Say... Say I tricked... You.” Even if I were to be found out, Rina would probably be all right if she played that card.

While I had my doubts about the whole thing, it was true that talking undead were, in general, not very common at all. In fact, claiming that I was an adventurer with hideous injuries because of my battles was far more believable.

Nodding at my words, Rina responded in kind.

“It’d be great if we didn’t have to do something like that... If it really comes down to it, I’ll definitely think of something,” she said, a soft smile on her face.

◆◇◆◇◆

“...Next!” The strict voice of a gate guard echoed through the grounds of Maalt’s western gates.

Upon hearing that, Rina prodded me, encouraging me to move.

“...It’s our turn, Mister Rentt...” Saying so, she walked up to the guard with her chest out, as if nothing were out of the ordinary.

This girl is really something else...

Thinking so, I quickly followed after Rina.

“One woman and...a man? I think? ...Permits, please.” Although he had hesitated somewhat, it would seem like the soldier identified me as a man.

On top of that, he was a soldier I had never seen before. It would seem like choosing a gate I had seldom ever used was a good idea after all. If the guard had been one who was familiar with me in life, it would only lead to all kinds of inconvenient questions. On the other hand, it could have worked out in my favor... It was a complicated subject, no matter what.

Regardless, Rina handed the guard her permit, which was a somewhat dull-colored card. Withdrawing my own permit from my tool belt, I did the same.

“...Rina Rupaage and...Rentt...Faina. Both of you seem to have acceptable permits; there seem to be no issues here—huh. You there.”

I had thought that we would be able to breeze through the inspection easily, and enter Maalt before we knew it—it would seem like that was no longer the case.

Damn. Stopped after all—but I had to do something about it without panicking.

“...Yes. What... Is... It?”

“...You speak quite strangely, you know that? Could you please remove your mask...?”

At the soldier’s words, Rina interjected.

“I’m sorry... His mask is cursed, you see. We tried removing it, but it just won’t come off. The reason he speaks like that is... Ah, a monster got his throat... Well, not just his throat—his entire face...”

Such was Rina’s explanation.

The soldier listened on, a mixture of suspicion and surprise on his face.

“...You could... Give it a shot... Too. It won’t... Come... Off.”

Saying so, I leaned forward. The soldier, in turn, attempted to pull the mask off with all his might.

“...Ughh... Huh. It really doesn’t come off... Is it actually cursed?”

“We wouldn’t lie about something like that... He bought a mask to hide the scars all those monsters gave him, but accidentally got one that was cursed instead... He truly has some bad luck... Apparently the curse doesn’t activate by simply touching the mask with your hands... It has to be put on first, and it’s been stuck to his face ever since...”

“Ahh... Yes, I’ve heard rumors of items that work that way. Could you maybe ask a priest to remove it?”

“It seems like a strong curse, and I think a normal priest would have some trouble with it... We’d have to ask a skilled individual and... Well, you know...”

“The payment, huh? Yeah, it’d be difficult for Iron- or Bronze-class adventurers. So, that’s why he still has the scars, huh... I see...”

Rina’s explanation did not show the slightest hint of hesitation. Due to this, the soldier no longer appeared apprehensive.

“Okay, I get it. You’re good to go!”

And that was all the soldier needed to say.

Upon hearing that, Rina slightly narrowed her eyes, a soft smile once again lighting up her features.