Ossan Boukensha no Jimichi na Isekai Tabi - CH 31

Undead Annihilation I

I purchased two bottles of holy water and left the church.

And I checked my status just to make sure. Then I grinned when I saw the Title section.

(Thank you, Lord Memrikia and Lord Ibitrayme.)

The title ‘Visitor From Another World’ had turned into ‘One Who Walks The Earth.’ Perhaps I had been accepted as a resident in this world. However, it seemed like there was still no effect for the title.

After that, I went to the market and found Gifton from Massu Village. I showed him the request sheet and he promised to let me ride with him the following morning.

I then bought some potions at a pharmacist, and on the following day, headed to the village in the now empty wagon. On the road, we encountered some kobolds once, but they ran away without a fight after a few arrows were unleashed in their direction.

By the time the sun was about to set, we arrived at Massu Village.

I visited the chief’s house and showed the request sheet and my Adventurers plate.

“You came alone? Are you sure about this?”

The chief asked me with a suspicious expression.

“I intend to act very carefully. So it might take a few days.”

“May I ask how you will go about it?”

“Tomorrow, I will go and inspect the forest and surrounding area during the day. And then I will probably go hunt them at night after dinner. Will I be able to go through the gate at night?”

“We have guards posted at both the north and south gates. And while the north gate is closed at night, the south one will be opened if you ask them. As long as there is nothing dangerous close by.”

“And I would like permission to camp somewhere in the village.”

“There is a shed that you can use. I will have someone take you there and bring food in the evening.”

“Oh! I am very grateful. By the way, I saw some kobolds on the road. How are things surrounding the village?”

“We do not keep cows or sheep in this village, so we don’t see them much.”

“I see.”

I was then led to the shed. While it was small, it had everything that I needed. Besides, I liked that everything was in arm’s reach. I wanted a house like this one day.

I accepted their food and then prepared and did maintenance on my equipment. While the undead mainly appeared at night, they could also appear during the day, so I had to be ready.

I woke up late the next morning, and then started my investigation of the area surrounding the village.

I sensed something as soon as I entered the forest.

“Grrr…”

It was a growling kobold. I would appreciate more accurate reports next time, Chief.

The bipedal dog rushed at me with its club. It was a similar size to goblins. Maybe a little smaller. And since I wasn’t carrying a shield today, I held my sword in front of me.

“Heh.”

Just before it was within striking distance, the kobold raised its club in order to swing, and then I lunged forward and thrust.

“Gyaau!”

The blade sunk into its neck, and then I did a wide back-step and pulled the sword out. This was a rapier’s movement. Was this like fencing?

The second one attacked then, and I swung in an attempt to deflect it, but ended up cutting both the club and head.

While they were faster than goblins, they were weak. And though not as fast as forest wolves, they used weapons. That’s how I would describe them.

I took the right hands, which was the proof, and tossed the magic stones into a bag.

It was dark and so I had to look at the terrain carefully as I moved around. And occasionally, I would encounter other kobolds. Also, there were a lot of medicinal herbs here. It was obvious that people didn’t come to this forest often.

Maybe I should gather them after I had gone around once.

However, I kept meeting more kobolds, and the sun was quite low by the time I had finished my journey around the forest.

I had seen twelve in all. That was a lot for a forest that was so close to a village. I would have to tell the chief.

I ate an early dinner, prepared for a nocturnal battle, and then headed to the gate before it closed.

“I’m going to enter the forest now. But I’ll come back if something happens.”

“I understand. Be careful.”

I spoke to the guard and then headed to the forest. I held a magic lantern in my left hand. and I had holy water in my sheath.

I had attached a hood to the magic lantern so that it only illuminated the area in front of me.

After some time had passed since entering the forest, I heard a clicking sound. Here they were.

The things that then gleamed in the night forest were skeletons who wielded swords.

I had been expecting them, but this was worse for my heart than I had realized.

Clang.

I blocked the first skeleton’s swing. It was light. I swung again immediately and the skeleton crumbled to pieces.

“They’re weak.”

They had decent speed, but no power or weight behind their attacks. And more than anything, they were brittle. I took out the magic stone from the pile of bones and dropped it in my bag.

I wasn’t sure from what age the sword was from. And while it looked very old, it would not do to leave it here so that a kobold could pick it up. I would gather them in one spot and take them away later.

After walking through the forest a little further, I saw a human figure up ahead. When I shone the light at it, I saw tattered clothes, a head with rotting flesh and hollowed out eyes. A zombie? It stumbled back as if hating the light. And so I stepped forward and swung at it. It crumbled to the ground.

“They are almost too weak!?”

I continued to defeat the zombies after that. And after the fourth one, I encountered a zombie that would not fall even after I cut it.

“Ha!”

It finally stopped moving once I cut off its head. But it still didn’t collapse like the others. Not until I took out the magic stone, anyway.

Rustle.

I heard the sounds coming from behind me. It was easy to tell, as they did not erase their presence.

When I turned around, it was a zombie, but… It was faster than any of the others! However, since it just charged at me in a straight line, I met it with a diagonal slash from the shoulder.

“Ga…ga…”

The torso slid off, but it was still moving. The mouth had fangs, and it tried to bite me. But it finally stopped when I pinned it to the ground with my sword. I guess this was a ghoul.

It was faster than zombies, but weak. Ghouls had paralysis venom in their mouth and claws, which meant that they could eat their prey alive if paralyzed. While they were also F-rank, it was clear that ghouls were more dangerous. Even if they were easy to defeat.

It felt like their numbers were increasing as the night went on. And when I scanned the sky above, I saw a white shadow. A ghost!

I returned my sword to its sheath so that it could soak in the holy water. Then I pulled it out again.

“Hooooo!”

With this meaningless cry, it flew around me. Its movements were quick and unpredictable. If I tried to move along with it, I would likely create an opening for it to attack… So I had to wait until it got close and… Now!

“Hiiiiii…”

I cut through it with my sword. It then let out an indescribable sound as it dispersed into mist. Then a magic stone dropped.

“Huh!? What?”

Now I had to search for a magic stone on the ground. How annoying.

Thankfully, I found it quickly, and returned to being alert. A ghoul appeared soon after.

“Ha!”

I cut it. It fell with one blow. Huh?

“Ah! Could it be because of the holy water!”

Now that is impressive! However, I had a limited amount of holy water. And it was necessary to fight ghosts. So it would be better to not use it if I didn’t have to.

That’s what I thought, but as the night went on, the number of ghosts started to increase.

When a ghost appeared, I used holy water. If I use holy water, I could defeat the undead easily. In this environment, the hunting turned into a simple task.

Though, it was still hard. As individuals, they were not strong. However, it was the simpleness that was a trap. Because a single failure could be deadly, and yet it was hard to stay nervous.

Also, there were too many of them. I didn’t know how many I had killed, and the end was nowhere in sight. I should retreat for now.

It was as I made this decision that a ghost appeared.

“Hooooo…”

I would return to the village after this one.

And so I took out my sword from my sheath and swung.

“Huheee…”

The blade went through the ghost, and then the ghost went through me. At the same time, a chill ran through my body, and I fell weakly to my knees.

“Wh-what… Ah! Did I run out of holy water!?”

The ghost turned around and started to come back. There was no time to check.

I let go of my sword and took out a bottle of holy water from my bag… The ghost was so close now.

By the time I opened the cap, poured it into my mouth and spat, the ghost was right in front of me.

“Hiiiii…”

Upon being drenched in holy water, the ghost disappeared. I checked my status and saw that my MP was 31/40. I had also used some everyday magic, so I didn’t know what the exact damage was, but since you had less MP than HP, the damage must have been big.

I sheathed my sword and then pulled it out again. It did not feel wet. So I had run out after all.

I poured what remained of the holy water into the sheath. And then I started walking back to the village.