Chapter 9

After a delicious meal, I feel full of energy. I need to focus and level up. I step outside my dwelling and call out.

"Sylph. Young female spirit. I’ve finished eating and I want to go level up. Can you please come with me?"

Since I can’t give her a name, I have no choice but to call her a young female spirit, which makes me check my surroundings every time I say it. It’s not like I’m into lolis or anything, and I’m not thinking of anything bad, but I hate how jumpy I get.

"That pasta looked delicious. What kind of dish was it?"

"Looks yummy."

She starts asking about the food the moment she appears. Was she watching what I ate? Good thing I didn’t lick my shovel.

"It’s carbonara. I know how to make it, so if we can get the ingredients in town, I’ll treat you."

"Hehe, that sounds nice. I’m looking forward to it, exotic cuisine."

Well, I do have another bag of it, so I could treat her right away, but I think she’d be hesitant given the current situation. If we can’t get the ingredients in town, I’ll treat her with the carbonara I have left. If we can get enough other food, she’ll probably eat it. I’m taking care of her, so I hope she enjoys it.

"Looking forward to it. So, I want to go level up. Is it okay?"

"Yes, it’s fine. But there are some things to be careful about, so listen for a moment."

"Things to be careful about?"

"Yes. At night, zombies, skeletons, and various other monsters that feed on them come out."

"Various other monsters? Is that safe?"

I don’t want to run into death lizards or anything, so going out at night to level up doesn’t make sense.

"Yes, if you follow the direction I go, there’s no problem. But if Yuta gets separated and encounters a monster you can’t beat, we can’t help you, so you must escape at all costs."

"Escape... there are monsters you can’t beat?"

Isn’t that dangerous? I’m starting to not want to go out to level up.

"Yes. Ghosts and wraiths are immune to physical attacks. They’re your natural enemies right now."

I only have physical attacks. I could try to use a spark from living magic... but that’s impossible. Would a light ball work to repel them with holy light? If I could defeat them with living magic, they wouldn’t be called natural enemies.

"Does the magic hammer, which has ‘magic’ in its name, not work?"

"Yes, it doesn’t work. Even though it has ‘magic’ in its name, your magic hammer attack doesn’t have any magical power, so it’s definitely useless."

That’s a bummer. Checking the other tools, none of them have any magical properties. They seem to be high-powered but physically focused. They’re tools for development, not for combat.

"Can I learn magic to defeat ghosts and wraiths?"

"Maybe you can learn it with time, but it’s uncertain when. If you follow us, you won’t encounter ghosts, so it’s better to level up quickly and make a contract with this child."

"Contract..."

The young female spirit seems excited. Is she positive about the contract? I doubt she fully understands it.

"Will I be able to beat ghosts and wraiths if I make a contract?"

"Yes. Even this low-level spirit can easily beat them. Spirit magic is very powerful."

Sylph is very confident, but seeing the young female spirit, who seems to be dozing off, makes me uneasy. She was so energetic a moment ago, but she gets bored quickly. After looking at the young female spirit, I look back at Sylph.

"...Spirit magic is very powerful."

She says it again. Sylph, you’re making me more nervous. I wish you’d look at me properly.

"Will I be able to use spirit magic if I make a contract?"

"It’s a bit different. You’ll ask the contract spirit to use magic. The more powerful the spirit, the greater the power they can use. If you’re in danger, the contract spirit can also act to protect you. Isn’t that amazing?"

"So, if I make a contract with this child and ask her to defeat a ghost, she’ll use magic to do it? What if she’s off playing somewhere?"

"Yes, that’s right. Even if the contract spirit isn’t nearby, you can summon and return them once you make a contract. However, if they’re not nearby, they can’t protect you in dangerous situations, so it’s best to stay close in dangerous areas."

It’s a bit unsettling, but I can see how convenient it is. I can see it, but looking at the young female spirit, I wonder if she’s up to the task. The thought of relying on her makes me feel a bit embarrassed.

"Got it. Thanks. I’ll be careful not to get separated from Sylph and do my best."

"Yes, if you don’t get separated, you’ll be fine. Let’s go."

"Okay."

The young female spirit, who was dozing off, suddenly perks up. She’s like a switch was flipped. I set up the stairs I had stored and step outside.

Surprisingly, it’s quite bright even without streetlights. Looking up, I see a large moon and many stars. This is a different world. The moon is clearly much larger than the one in Japan, maybe twice as big. I don’t feel any physical discomfort, so maybe the gravity is the same as Earth’s. This world is full of mysteries.

"Yuta, this way. Don’t space out."

"Got it."

I can’t believe I got distracted by the size of the moon. This is a matter of life and death, so I need to focus.

Under the moonlight, I carry my hammer and follow Sylph carefully, making sure not to get separated. The land of death at night... it’s scary.

"Yuta, look ahead. Can you see something moving slowly?"

Straining my eyes, I can see something moving faintly.

"...It looks like there are multiple. Am I wrong?"

"You’re not wrong. There are three zombies."

"Three right away? Is that okay?"

"Zombies move slowly, so it’s easy. Oh, do you want to take the zombie’s magic stone? Most people don’t like taking zombie magic stones, even though skeletons are fine."

Zombie magic stones... I have to extract a magic stone from the heart area... I don’t have any money in this world, so I should earn some, but I’d rather not.

"Ah, I don’t want to take magic stones from zombies. I’ll try with other monsters."

"There’s no need to push yourself. Let’s quickly take them down and move on."

"Ah, if I get bitten by a zombie, will I turn into one?"

"Huh? If a zombie kills you and your body rots, you might turn into a zombie or skeleton, but what’s the matter?"

"Nothing, never mind. I’ll go then."

It seems I won’t turn into a zombie if I get bitten, like in zombie movies. That’s a relief.

"Good luck."

"Thanks."

I cautiously approach the zombies. Even with the moonlight, it’s night, so it’s a bit hard to see, which is a relief.

"Whoa, it stinks."

As I get closer to the zombies, the smell of rotting flesh wafts over. The zombies notice me.

"Ugh."

They let out incomprehensible groans and start moving toward me. Every step they take makes a disgusting squelching sound. The longer it takes, the worse I feel. I need to finish this quickly.

I enlarge my hammer to its maximum size, hold my breath, and run up to the first zombie, bringing the hammer down with a squelch. The zombie is flattened. I do the same to the remaining two. Squelch, squelch. I crush each zombie and step back.

"Phew. Pant, pant."

"Out of breath? I thought it would be easy, but was it hard?"

"No, it was easy to take them down with the hammer. I held my breath because of the smell, so I’m just out of breath."

"I see. Holding your breath isn’t good, but it’s understandable. If you’re still comfortable, that’s fine. Let’s move on."

"Got it."

I follow Sylph through the land of death. When we make sudden turns, it’s probably because there’s an enemy I can’t handle or the target has moved. I’m conflicted about seeing ghosts and wraiths.

"Yuta, over there."

I look in the direction Sylph points... six skeletons are wandering around. Some of them are holding swords or spears, which is scary.

"Those are skeletons, right? There are a lot, and they have weapons. Is it okay?"

"It’s fine. They move faster than zombies, but your hammer can crush them like paper. If you want to take the magic stones, aim for the head and torso to crush them. If you have the chance, go for it."

Crush them with the weapons. The combat method is straightforward. I don’t have much muscle, but...

"I’ll give it a try if I have the chance."

As I approach the skeletons, they turn toward me and charge. Scary! Fast! Even though my eyes are adjusted to the dark, it’s hard to see the skeletons running toward me, rattling their bones.

In a panic, I swing my hammer horizontally with all my might. Clank, clank, clank. Three skeletons are caught in the hammer, shattered, and blown away... it’s like a home run.

The remaining three skeletons are blown away by the wind from the hammer and are rolling on the ground. I cautiously approach and crush the upper bodies of the skeletons to avoid breaking the magic stones.

...Hmm, these are the magic stones, right? They’re small, black, and round, about a centimeter in size. They sparkle like gems.

"Good job. You took them down easily."

"Yeah, I panicked at first because they moved faster than I thought, but I managed. Sylph, are these the magic stones?"

"Yes, that’s right. They’re small because they’re from skeletons, but they should be worth some money. Larger magic stones from stronger monsters are more valuable."

"Is that so? I’ll collect them for when we go to town."

I take the magic stones from the remaining two skeletons and store them. The spears are rusty, but they’re metal, so I’ll collect them just in case. It’s a relief that bones alone aren’t too gross.

"Zombies and skeletons are easy, right? If there’s no problem, let’s keep going."

"Okay."

...More skeletons, please.

Thank you for reading.