Chapter 43

The surprise attack failed, and the tedious grinding began. Well, since it’s an opponent that can give me experience, it’s better than it being a complete waste.

While I resigned myself to running around and steadily chipping away at the flesh walls, Rich seemed to have gained some composure from hiding and started talking to me. Do undead often talk to people?

"Why is a human in this place? What is your purpose?"

For now, even if it turns into a verbal exchange, it would be embarrassing to lose to someone without a brain. There’s no benefit for me. I’ll ignore him this time. When I almost got talked into it by the General Zombie, I broke out in a cold sweat. I won’t fight with words anymore.

"Are you alone? You’ve mistaken courage for recklessness. You foolishly challenge a battle you cannot win. You will die with regrets. I will make you my servant."

That Rich. He refers to himself as 'I.' Did he say 'I' even when he was alive? Or did he start saying 'I' after becoming a Rich and rising to the top... I’m very curious, but if I start talking, it might turn into an argument before I know it. I’ll endure and ignore him.

"You. Can’t you even answer? You’re so impolite."

Ignoring him, Rich started to get angry. Being lectured on manners by an undead... this is a different world, isn’t it? If you want to follow manners, then rest in peace after you die. That’s common sense before manners. While I mentally pointed this out, I kept chipping away at the flesh walls.

"Ugh. Wearing strange armor and swinging a huge weapon. Are you really human? You are definitely a living being, so why won’t you answer?"

He’s even doubting my race. That’s none of his business.

"Looks good—"

"Kyu kyu kyu"

"Looks bad"

Bell and the others, who rarely get angry, were upset that their masterpiece was criticized. ...Should I get angry too? No, I’ll hold back. I’ve never seen my whole body, and if I get involved in this topic, I might regret it later.

I dodged the magic and arrows flying at me as much as possible, and left the impossible ones to the wind barrier. I smashed any approaching swords or spears along with their weapons. So far, everything is going smoothly.

I ignored all of Rich’s questions and swung my hammer. ...Huh? I can’t hear Rich’s voice anymore.

"Yuta. Take a step back and defend yourself."

I don’t understand, but it’s the first time Sylphie has spoken to me during a battle. I’ll do as she says. I put some distance between myself and the enemy group and held my hammer in front of me as a shield.

"W, w, don’t ignore me—!!"

With Rich’s scream, a huge black flame was created and exploded with a loud noise. The entire fort shook, and the wind barrier broke. Suddenly, a hot wind blew, and broken rock fragments hit my natural armor. Good thing I had the armor on. Bell and the others, I’m sorry for making you dislike it.

When the blast subsided, the floor was gouged out, parts of the walls had collapsed, and there were holes in the ceiling. ...Rich must have lost his cool and used a powerful spell without considering the collapse. ...Do intelligent undead have short tempers?

If this wasn’t the first floor, things would have gotten really bad. When fighting intelligent undead, do I have to consider their mood? That’s troublesome.

(Bell. Can you make a wind barrier again?)

(Okay. Wind barrier—)

The blast seems to have chipped away at the enemy’s flesh walls quite a bit. Should I keep grinding?

"Why are you still alive? It was a direct hit!"

Rich’s noise is good for pinpointing the target. Just a little more. The numbers have decreased significantly, and mages and archers are weak when approached. It’s going to be easy now.

As the numbers decreased, Rich’s figure finally became visible. ...A skeleton in a tattered robe holding a staff. The difference from a skeleton is the blue-white flame in the eye sockets. It feels like a flame of resentment, giving it a powerful presence.

"Damn. I thought it was some hero or hero, but it’s just a scrawny man in strange armor swinging a hammer. I can’t accept this."

"Leave me alone!"

Oops. I talked. If I can see Rich clearly, he can see me clearly too. But I’m not scrawny. I’m average.

"Hmph. So you can talk. Why didn’t you answer? Are you afraid of me?"

"Calling yourself 'I'... that’s not cool. Do you think 'I' sounds cool? How old are you? Saying 'I' is only cool when you’re a kid. Even after dying, saying 'I'... ...haha"

Alright, I’ve said everything I wanted to say. Now it’s just a matter of defeating him. Rich is throwing a lot of magic, but with the high number of shots, the power of each one is weak and the aim is poor.

I dodged the attacks I couldn’t avoid with my hammer and wind barrier and quickly approached Rich. Rich kept shouting that he would kill me and wouldn’t forgive me until I smashed him with my hammer. ...I’m scared of being cursed.

When I was a bit nervous, the remaining knights, mages, and archers attacked me. I tightened my resolve and defeated all the remaining monsters.

"Ah. It’s over."

"Yuta. I want to say good job, but the fort has become unstable from all the chaos. Let’s take a break later and quickly get the magic stones and escape."

Huh? ...Stones are falling from the ceiling, and the walls are making strange noises. Conclusion: It’s pretty dangerous. I hurriedly collected Rich’s magic stone and the intact staff.

I found the Skeleton General and General Zombie and collected their magic stones. Then I collected the magic stones from the Skeleton Knights, Mages, and Archers that were easy to reach and left the fort.

"Phew. Now I can relax. I was thinking about reusing the fort’s materials, but in this situation, it’s impossible. Tulu, can you bury it?"

"I can."

"Thanks, I’ll leave it to you."

As usual, Tulu used magic to pour earth, but halfway through, a rumbling sound was heard, and the ground caved in. The fort collapsed.

"Tulu. The fort has collapsed, so it’s safe now. Thank you."

Now I can relax. I cast cleaning spells on myself, which smelled, and on the magic stones and staff I collected. I need to clean them to feel good.

"Bell, Rain, Tulu. This armor really helped me. Thank you. Can you take it off now?"

"Okay. Yuta, you looked cool."

"Kyu kyu kyu"

"The armor looks cool too."

When Bell and the others touched the armor, the earth and water were absorbed into the ground, and the wind dissipated. I couldn’t see the outside, but during the explosion, I heard a few things hit my body.

Thanks to the armor, I didn’t even feel the impact, but without the natural armor, I might have been injured. Defense is important. I’ll definitely buy armor when I go to town. But Tulu is still upset about the armor being criticized by Rich. I’ll praise her again later.

"So, Yuta. How’s your level? There were quite a few, so I think it went up a lot."

"I’ll check now."

I defeated Rich, and there were two Generals. There were as many Knights, Mages, and Archers as there were Zombies and Skeletons in other nests. I should have gained a lot of levels.

Name: Yuta Morizono

Level: 45

HP: B

MP: B

Strength: B

Intelligence: B

Dexterity: A

Luck: B

Unique Skills:

Language Understanding

Pioneering Tools

Skills:

Life Magic

Hammer Technique

Night Vision

Wow, I’ve gained nine levels. My MP is now at the B rank I aimed for. Now I don’t have to invade undead nests anymore. From now on, I can live comfortably in town! But I’m a bit concerned that all my stats except Dexterity are B. Do stats usually rise so evenly?

"Sylphie. My level went up, and my MP is now B rank. We can make a contract now!"

"Congratulations, Yuta. You did a great job."

Sylphie smiled happily. I’ve been helped a lot and saved many times... I can’t thank her enough. I need to do something to repay her.

"Thank you. Thanks to Sylphie’s help, I managed to do it."

"Hehe, I had fun too, so don’t worry about it."

"Hmm, but I want to do something to thank you. Is there anything I can do?"

I have no idea what to do to thank a spirit.

"Hmm. Well, how about you try to meet Dine and the others’ conditions? That would be a sufficient thank you for me."

"I was planning to keep working on the land development even after going to town, so it’s not a problem to try hard, but is that enough?"

"Yes, it’s enough."

She seems very happy and sincere, so it’s probably fine. Well, if I feel it’s not enough, I can look for something else to make her happy.

"Is that related to the sanctuary that Nomos mentioned?"

"Yes. Well, we don’t know what will happen next, so I’ll tell you when the decision is made."

Hmm. It’s a secret again. Sanctuary. I’m curious, but at this rate, no one will tell me. I’ll give up and resolve my current doubts.

"Got it. I’m looking forward to it. But I have a question about my stats. All of them except Dexterity are B rank. Do they usually rise so evenly?"

"Let me see."

When I showed Sylphie my stats, she confirmed them with a nod.

"Yuta, all your stats are still growing. When that’s the case, the higher the rank, the wider the range to the next rank, so the stats tend to average out. It’s a good thing as long as they keep growing."

I remember her saying that before. I see, now all my stats except Dexterity are within the B rank range, but if the growth stops, there will be more variation.

"Can you tell when the growth stops?"

"Once you reach B rank, the range is wide, so it’s hard to level up. When that happens, you check your limits and use it as a basis for judgment when you level up."

For example, you check the maximum weight you can lift, and when you level up, you challenge a heavier weight.

"That’s quite troublesome."

"Yes. Most people just do it roughly, so I think Yuta doesn’t need to worry too much. Besides, now that we can make a contract, why don’t we do it here?"

Oh no. I’m getting nervous.

Thank you for reading.