Chapter 81

The frenzied movements of the undead suddenly stopped.

Their blue eyes flickered uncertainly.

"...What, why are they doing this?"

While Tesia tilted her head in confusion,

Crack—

Charlotte, who had smashed the skull of one of the undead, turned to look at her.

"What does it matter? Just finish them off—"

Scream—

Roar—

The undead began to scream at that moment, the clattering of bones echoing from all directions.

Crack!

Charlotte, who had momentarily tilted her head, immediately started smashing the heads of the creatures again.

The undead charged forward right after that.

But their movements seemed more chaotic than frenzied.

Of course, Charlotte didn't care, and neither did Tesia.

Crunch! Crack!

The creatures, who were only violent and nothing more, became even clumsier and were no match for the two.

In an instant, over a dozen undead turned back into piles of bones.

Only a few remained.

Crack!

One of them had its head shattered by Charlotte's fist.

Crack!

Another one's skull was crushed by Tesia's hands as she charged forward.

Meanwhile, Charlotte had smashed another one.

Crack—

The last one lowered its head as a dagger pierced through the back of its skull.

Swish—

The blue light evaporated, and the body, now just bones, collapsed.

Charlotte and Tesia were already ignoring the creature, their eyes fixed on the man standing at the entrance of the village, who had thrown the dagger.

"You've worked hard."

Ian, surveying the ruins, said.

Tesia smiled strangely.

"You did the most work, Ian."

Ian's entire body testified to the danger and intensity of the battle.

Mud, mixed with blood, covered his body, his hair was disheveled, blood clung to his mouth, and his leggings were torn, revealing thick undergarments soaked with blood.

"...That's true."

As he limped over, he turned to Charlotte.

"I'm going to rest. Stop Tessa from coming near me. I've lost a lot of blood, so it will be hard to resist."

Charlotte's gaze shifted to the side.

Tesia was already fixated on Ian's thigh.

Her red eyes, still glowing from the aftermath of the battle, were filled with thirst and desire.

Charlotte's fist tightened.

"Understood. I'll do that."

She strode over and slapped Tesia across the face.

Smack!

"Aah!"

Tesia, who had been knocked to the ground, glared at Charlotte like a furious beast.

"What are you doing? Are you crazy?"

"If you look at Ian like that one more time, I'll pull out all your fangs. Every time they grow back, too."

"This is just an uncontrollable reaction. You used too much power because you were lazy! Catch a rat or something!"

Ignoring the two, who were glaring at each other, Ian walked to the campfire and took out a blanket.

"..."

He crawled into the blanket and soon lay still.

"Ian! What that beast did is unforgivable... Ian?"

"…?!"

The vampire and the siren, who had been bickering, finally turned to look at him, their eyes widening.

Realizing he had fainted, relief briefly crossed their faces.

Charlotte, striding over, sat with her back to Ian's blanket and glared at Tesia.

Her eyes said, "Come if you dare."

She brandished the sword in her hand.

"I'm not interested in looking at him, anyway."

Tesia, blowing a raspberry, turned around. Charlotte added,

"Where are you going?"

"To catch a rat. I won't leave you, so just guard the master quietly. Meow."

"..."

Peace finally descended on the ruined village.

Snowflakes gently fell, silently enveloping the village.

***

The remnants of the nightmare quickly dissipated.

Ian opened his eyes, feeling a throbbing headache, a bit of dizziness, and a sense of fatigue.

"..."

The next moment, he jumped up despite the discomfort.

A giant head lay next to the blanket.

A terrifying sight, it looked like skin had been stretched over a skull.

It felt as if his eyes had met the darkness beyond the empty eye sockets.

"Hah..."

Ian, who had stared at the giant's head for a moment, soon let out a hollow laugh.

It was obvious who had brought this here.

He muttered to himself that he would have to put a stop to this kind of behavior and turned his gaze to the side.

There lay the Sword of Judgment.

Somehow, Charlotte or Tesia had found it.

Even a large, half-broken skull was next to it.

It was the remains of the guardian of the gate he had killed yesterday.

'It's like a trophy on display.'

The scene was enough to bring him back to reality.

Ian, with a bitter smile, rubbed his temples.

He had slept for a while, but he still felt completely drained. Headache and dizziness.

His body felt hollow.

It was a symptom of mana exhaustion.

He felt a new sense of guilt towards his former self, who had often drained his mana and fallen into mana exhaustion.

He had only complained about feeling weak, without realizing this.

'...Maybe this is my karma.'

Ian's eyes widened as he looked up.

Beyond the boundary of the campsite, where the roof and the campfire were, the village had turned completely white.

It seemed to have snowed for a while after he fainted.

He couldn't tell if the snow hadn't melted because the sky was still cloudy or if this area had become a snowfield.

It would feel different at night, but for now, the scene made his thoughts disappear.

"Oh, you slept well, Ian?"

Tesia's voice followed.

She, wearing a wolf robe, walked over with branches in both hands.

"How long did I sleep?"

"I'm not sure. About half a day?"

Tesia, answering, entered and dropped the branches next to the campfire.

Ian chuckled as he watched her pick up a few branches, shake off the snow, and break them haphazardly.

"You managed to recover your strength. You didn't even drink my blood."

"I really wanted to, but I held back. Instead, I searched the village and ate a few rats."

"Charlotte must have watched over you well."

"Of course, your loyal meow didn't sleep until sunrise and kept watch. But I would have held back anyway. You might have died if I didn't."

Tesia, placing the branches in the campfire, sat down next to it.

"Anyway, I completed your request excellently. Ian."

She raised her arms proudly.

Ian then looked at the carriage behind her.

The horses, which seemed to have been found somewhere, looked very calm.

"Good job."

Tesia's eyes widened.

She then smiled broadly.

"I didn't expect you to say that. But, of course, right?"

In the daylight, she looked more like an elf than a vampire.

She must have been trying hard.

Ian, chuckling, added,

"Where's Charlotte?"

"She said she'd catch something. I don't know, she'll come back on her own. She's your meow, after all."

"...I see."

Going hunting, perhaps? I hope she doesn't bring back another monster.

Thinking this, Ian took out a water flask and some jerky from the side bag.

It was a good leather flask, one of the rewards from Niglos.

Tesia, looking lazy, leaned against the side bag.

Ian, rinsing his mouth with water and tearing off a piece of jerky, started chewing silently.

He had to eat to recover his strength and mana, even if he had no appetite.

Memories of last night involuntarily flashed through his mind.

'It's getting a bit tougher.'

Ian felt the chronic weakness he had had since his gaming days.

The absence of a decisive, overwhelming move.

The result of learning all sorts of skills and distributing his stats in a strange way.

In the early stages, with the experience of having done it once, and with the addition of allies and resources that he didn't have back then, he had managed to do well so far.

But in the end, he was still a gimp. A good one, but still a gimp.

The number of spells he had poured into killing the guardian of the gate. He had often poured more mana to increase his firepower.

Of course, he wasn't out of options.

After all, the guardian of the gate was a formidable opponent. Compared to the game, he had taken it down much more easily.

Considering the level difference, he had barely managed to kill it after several attempts and near-deaths.

Besides, he still had some points left.

'Should I just use them all without saving any?'

After a moment of hesitation, Ian shook his head.

Just like leaving some money in the bank, he always needed to keep some stats and skill points in reserve.

He needed to be prepared for situations where he had to quickly increase his stats to survive, like being sucked into the void or encountering an unexpected strong enemy like Charlotte.

He didn't want to increase his stats other than intelligence and willpower, but if an unexpected crisis came, he would have to.

The same went for skills. He never knew when an enemy with resistance or combat power beyond his current abilities would appear.

He had to carefully expand his skill tree.

Especially since he had decided to learn multiple attribute skills.

For now, he was using red for offense, blue for defense, gray for support, and white for versatility.

But there might be times when he needed gray for offense or blue for support, or even the almost neglected brown.

'This wouldn't be a problem if I had stuck to one path.'

But it was too late to change now.

Ian, clicking his tongue, swallowed the piece of jerky he was chewing.

Of course, he couldn't give up swordsmanship.

Surprisingly, he felt his skills improving.

Even when facing Asculd, he had felt it.

When he started fighting the guardian of the gate, he had thought he might be able to deflect its greatsword.

Although he didn't try it.

In any case, close combat was a field he couldn't give up.

He had invested too many resources.

Unlike other classes, physical attack-related skills were almost non-existent, except for common skills, so he would have to continue improving through practice.

To the point where it would still be effective against named enemies and even bosses.

'There's a lot to worry about, which is a good thing.'

He sarcastically thought to himself as he picked up the jerky again.

At that moment, footsteps approached.

"You're awake, Ian."

It was Charlotte, carrying a doe on her shoulder.

"You really went hunting."

Ian, putting down the jerky, said.

Charlotte, dropping the deer with its neck broken on the snow, shrugged indifferently.

"You lost a lot of blood. Fresh meat helps recovery."

Ian's expression became strange.

"I'm surprised. I didn't expect you both to take such good care of me."

"It's only natural. You killed the strongest monster. I saw the traces of your battle. I couldn't even tell how you fought."

"So, Charlotte, what about me?"

Tesia interjected. Charlotte, frowning, threw something hanging from her waist.

"Cute rabbit."

Tesia, catching it lightly, smiled. Ian glanced at it and saw that the rabbit was still alive.

It looked like it was barely breathing.

"Keep it alive until night."

"Of course. It's more edible when it's still alive. After it dies and some time passes, it's honestly disgusting."

Tesia stroked the rabbit gently.

Meanwhile, Charlotte, drawing her dagger, began to butcher the deer.

It seemed she had done this many times before, as the process of skinning, separating the organs, and cutting the meat along the joints and muscles was very quick and smooth.

"I won't drain the blood. It will be better for your recovery."

"That's the hunter's choice. You're good at butchering, even if your cooking is terrible."

"It's a skill I learned from my tribe. Sirens teach their children hunting first. And how to handle the prey."

Nodding, Ian stood up and gathered a few branches, tying them together.

A makeshift rack for the meat was quickly made.

Charlotte, using her dagger, cut a large piece of thigh meat and placed it on the branches. She also cut out the liver.

"The best for recovery."

Soon, the meat sizzled over the fire.

Charlotte, sitting opposite, chewed on the heart and raw meat.

I thought she only ate cooked food, but it seemed she didn't mind.

"There might be parasites."

"They will all be digested in my body."

"...I doubt it."

Ian cooked the meat and organs thoroughly.

The liver was tough and had a strong smell, but it was still edible. He had a container of salt from the reward, but he didn't bother to get it out.

Compared to preserved food, even this smell was a luxury.

"There's a lot of meat left. Should we load it onto the carriage?"

"Good idea. It won't spoil quickly in this weather, so load it up."

"Understood. Are we resting for another day before leaving?"

"No. Let's prepare and leave immediately. We can rest while moving."