Chapter 25
The Old Abandoned Road
Translator : PolterGlast
"We've come to a
pretty incredible place, haven't we...!"
"The monster
we're after is just ahead on this road. How's your stamina, Ginia?"
"The monsters
have gotten stronger as we've gone on, so to be honest, I might be nearing my
limit. But I want to see that monster!"
"In that case,
should I take over the fighting from here and we just go to see the
monster?"
"Yes! Let's go
see it! I wonder what kind of monster it is."
"It seems to be
an undead monster, but we won't know for sure until we see it."
The monsters on the
old abandoned road probably won't attack us, and going any further is
completely pointless, but... Ginia wants to see it, so I guess we'll go.
Besides, I'm a little
curious what kind of monster it is, too.
I took the lead from
Ginia, and from here on, I hunted monsters by sending slashes flying, just like
usual.
The monsters that
appeared after we entered the old abandoned road—Shadow Knights, Ghost
Fighters, Dead Knights, and Wraith Nobles—were a rank stronger than the
monsters that had appeared on the previous road.
I can hunt monsters of
this level easily by just sending slashes flying, but they would have been a
bit tough for Ginia to handle, so I think it was a good thing I took over.
With that in mind, I
cut down the increasing number of undead one after another as we advanced.
Once I took the
vanguard, our travel speed increased dramatically, and we reached the location
of the monster I had sensed on the old abandoned road in no time.
The monsters themselves
weren't a big deal, and the presence of the one that's made its lair here isn't
that strong either, so let's just take it out quickly and head back to
Biodasdal.
"I-it's...
suddenly gotten chilly down my spine! Graham-san, there's something nearby!"
"Yeah. The
monster I've been sensing all this time is close. It's in the center of that
garbage pile."
At the end of the old
abandoned road was an open area, and in it was a pile of trash that looked like
it had been illegally dumped for many years.
It seems no one has
even come close to this place recently, as I can tell all the trash that's been
thrown away is old.
And in the very middle
of that garbage dump is the monster we've been tracking.
I can't see it right
now, but I know it's there from its presence and the magic power it's leaking.
"The center? You
mean right where we're looking now? I can't see anything..."
"It's just hiding
its form. It's probably using a low-level spell that just refracts light to
make itself invisible."
"I've never even
heard of a spell that can make you invisible, but a low-level spell can do a
trick like that!?"
"I can do it too,
if I wanted to. I don't, because it's pointless."
Making yourself
invisible with magic is, in itself, a pointless act.
If you don't hide your
presence, the fact that I've been aware of its existence since the moment we
entered the abandoned road is proof that it's meaningless. And even if it did
hide its presence, if it uses magic, its location can be easily pinpointed by
the magic power.
In that respect, the
Black Caps, a different species of goblin, were extremely troublesome.
They could make
themselves difficult to see with a skill, and their stealth abilities were
outstanding.
As I nostalgically
recalled the Black Caps, who gave me a surprisingly hard time, I gave a warning
to the monster that thought it was hidden.
"You may think
you're hiding, but it's a completely meaningless act. ...Well, I guess it's no
use saying that to an opponent who can't understand words."
I spoke casually to
the monster, then drew my katana and took a battle stance.
I wanted to see what
it looked like, but... if it wants to stay hidden, that's fine too.
I resigned myself to
that, and just as I was about to strike—
A voice came from the
center of the garbage pile.
"Ho ho ho, so it
wasn't a bluff. You really can see me."
Appearing along with
that voice was a monster clad in a high-quality black robe and
expensive-looking accessories—a Dead Priest.
Its form was very
similar to the Corpse Shouts and Living Dead we had just subjugated, but the
Dead Priest's most prominent feature is that it's equipped like a mage and can
actually use magic.
"G-Graham-san!
This monster, it spoke!"
"A monster that
can talk. So it's a surprisingly high-ranking monster."
Even among the Demon
Lord's army, there were occasionally monsters that could speak human language.
The leaders of the
units could usually talk, so I'm not surprised that an intelligent monster can
speak, but I didn't expect a monster with a presence of this level to be able
to talk.
"You were not
aware of me? Well, I suppose if you knew, you wouldn't have approached so
carelessly. I am a monster of the Dead Priest species, the highest-ranking
species of the undead. And—I have been put in charge of this entire area."
"That differs
from my knowledge. I have no memory of a mere Dead Priest being a high-ranking
species of the undead."
"Ho ho ho, your
bravado is quite amusing. It is quite a stretch to claim you 'know' of me while
preparing to attack with a sword. It seems my presence will not be
necessary."
A Dead Priest was
nothing more than one of the grunts in the undead army that charged in at the
vanguard.
I can't help but
wonder why a monster of that level is acting so high and mighty... but well,
I'm going to kill it soon anyway, so it doesn't matter.
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