Ossan Saikyō Chapter 4 Part 13
Since it would take two days on foot to reach Euron, we left the town of Menage with the plan of staying overnight in the same village as before.
As the sun began to dip and we were just about to catch sight of the village, Freynil suddenly started glancing around restlessly.
“What’s wrong?”
“I feel like I sensed something strange… over there.”
In the direction Freynil pointed, I could see a place where a faint black mist was lingering. It was quite far off the road, but since it was open plains, getting there wouldn’t be a problem.
“Yeah… that does look like a strange spot. Should we go check it out?”
“Yes… I feel like we should.”
There was a sense of certainty in her words. Something about it had clearly caught her intuition.
As we approached, we found a place about the size of a baseball field, surrounded by a decayed fence. Inside, there were crude markers made of stone and wood… gravestones scattered haphazardly.
It looked like a forgotten cemetery.
And if there was a strange presence in a graveyard in this world, it probably meant undead monsters. Normally, I’d want to leave immediately, but as an adventurer, I couldn’t just ignore it.
“Let’s go in. Monsters might appear. Be ready to use «Sacred Ray».”
“Understood. So it might be undead monsters?”
“I hope it’s not.”
From a game perspective, undead were nothing but trouble.
Anyway, using【Presence Detection】, we cautiously approached the cemetery.
We stepped inside, but nothing moved. Judging by the inscriptions on the decayed gravestones, it seemed to be a burial ground for fallen soldiers from long ago.
“Hm?”
My【Presence Detection】reacted, and sure enough, the ground in the distance began to bulge, something rising up from beneath.
Soon, three skeletons, wearing tattered armor and wielding swords and shields, emerged.
“Freynil, prepare your magic.”
“Yes, Soushi-sama.”
I could have charged in, but after what happened yesterday, I hesitated to leave distance between us. As I waited, the skeletons approached with clattering sounds.
“I’m ready to cast!”
“Do it.”
Freynil stepped beside me and unleashed «Sacred Ray». The sweeping beam cut through all three skeletons at once, vaporizing them instantly. I didn’t know how strong skeletons were, but it was clear «Sacred Ray» was highly effective against undead.
The skeletons vanished, but their mana stones and weapons remained. As I picked up the mana stones, the ground around us began to swell again. This time, eight skeletons appeared.
“Getting surrounded would be bad. Stay behind me.”
“Understood!”
I charged at the nearest two and crushed them, shields and all, with my mace.
Breaking through the encirclement, I turned back, keeping Freynil behind me.
The remaining six skeletons advanced, clattering, but none could withstand the blows of my mace.
Their swords occasionally grazed me, but my armor and【Steel Body】skill prevented anything more than shallow cuts.
“That’s the last of them…?”
I scanned the area, but the ground showed no further movement. Still, the black mist lingered faintly. It felt wrong, like something else was coming.
“Freynil, get «Sacred Ray» ready.”
“Y-Yes!”
As I gave the order, the black mist began to gather at a single point in the air, gradually forming a distinct shape.
What appeared was a skeleton wearing a black hooded cloak. It held a long staff in both hands, clearly the type to use magic. And since it was floating, it was likely a high-ranking undead monster.
Freynil was still concentrating. Since it floated, my attacks couldn’t reach it.
As I watched, it raised its staff skyward. Three stone spears formed around the tip.
One by one, they launched toward us. Freynil was behind me, dodging wasn’t an option. There was only one thing I could do.
I swung my mace to intercept them. Using【Dynamic Acuity】,【Reflex】,【Surge】, along with【Composure】and【Thought Acceleration】, I struck down each incoming spear.
Even if it was magic, once it became a physical object like a stone spear, it could be neutralized with overwhelming force.
“I’m casting!”
Freynil fired «Sacred Ray». The beam sliced across the high-ranking skeleton, and while it wasn’t cut in two, it seemed to take damage and fell to the ground.
“Freynil, use your【Divine Magic】!”
“Y-Yes!”
If Holy wasn’t enough, we had to try Divine.
I gave the command and sprinted toward the fallen skeleton. I needed to land hits while it was still within reach.
Just as I got within range, it regained its posture.
I swung my mace sideways. The spiked iron ball struck its ribcage, blasting the skeleton apart.
“Damn, not enough!”
The impact felt weak.
It seemed the skeleton could disperse its body to absorb damage. Though, the bones I hit shattered, the scattered pieces reassembled into its form at a distance.
I charged again. The skeleton raised its staff. This time, it launched a fireball about a meter in diameter.
I couldn’t block that with my mace. Confirming it wouldn’t hit Freynil, I used【Whiplash】to evade at the last moment.
Seeing my movement, the skeleton faltered slightly. It seemed to have intelligence. Well, it had to, to be able to use magic.
“I’m casting!”
Freynil shouted, and suddenly the area around us was bathed in dazzling light.
【Divine Magic】«Divine Glory».
A spell that weakens monsters within its range. I had suspected it would be especially effective against undead and indeed, the skeleton before me collapsed as if all strength had drained from its body.
“HAAH!”
I dashed forward again and brought my mace down in a full overhead strike onto its skull.
Crunch!
The skull shattered, followed by the spine and the rest of the body. Weakened as it was, it couldn’t disperse to escape the blow.
As the upper-tier skeleton was reduced to fragments, the surrounding black mist dissipated. It seemed the undead had stopped appearing.
On the ground remained shattered bones, a palm-sized, irregular mana stone, and the staff the skeleton had used.
I collected the mana stone and staff and returned to Freynir.
“If you hadn’t used that magic, that could’ve been bad. Nice work.”
“Haa… haa… yes, I’m glad I could be of help to you, Soushi-sama.”
Freynil was breathing a bit heavily. It seemed【Divine Magic】consumed a lot of stamina, but the effect was clearly powerful.
“Still, undead appearing out of nowhere like that… Do you have a strong ability to sense things like this?”
“No… I don’t think I did before… but earlier, I clearly felt something was wrong.”
“If that’s the case, maybe you’ve developed some kind of special detection ability.”
“Do you think so? I hope so…”
Maybe she had some kind of sensitivity to undead, just like how I’d gone all-in on brute strength.
“By the way, that staff looks pretty good. Want to try using it?”
“Um… something an undead used?”
Freynil frowned slightly. Well, that was fair; most people wouldn’t even want to touch it.
“Ah, sorry, just a thought. Come to think of it, it might be cursed or something. Probably better to sell it to the guild.”
“Yes… but if it really is good, I’d like to try using it.”
“I see. Either way, let’s ask the guild what it is first.”
“Yes.”
We’d also need to report the sudden appearance of undead. This didn’t seem like something that happened normally.
Still… running into another situation like this. At this point, the existence of a【Bad Luck】skill was practically confirmed.
And if such a rare skill really existed… was it connected somehow to me being brought into this world?
…Or am I thinking too much?
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E/N:
One one hand that mysterious skill pushes Ossan into dangerous situations, on the other hand, he gets in return, rare, useful skills… Fickle Luck would be a better skill name 😂
Stay tuned!
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