9 - Episode VII The Zombie and the Skeleton

Full of energy after a good meal. We're going to raise the bar. I go outside the house and call out to them.

"Sylphie. A young genie. I've finished my meal and I want to go level up.

I can't help it if I can't name her, but every time I say the word "genie," I check around me. I don't like myself for being so scared, even though I'm not a Lolita and I'm not thinking of doing anything bad.

"That pasta looks delicious. What kind of food is it?"

"Looks delicious!"

You ask a question about food from the moment it comes out. I mean, I was watching what you ate. Good job I didn't lick the shovel.

Carbonara. I know how to make that kind of thing, so I'll treat you when I get the ingredients in town.

"Hmmm, that's nice. "Hmmm, good. I'm really looking forward to it."

Well, I have one more bag left, so I could serve it to you right away, but under the circumstances, I'm sure you won't mind. If I can't get the ingredients when I go to town, I'll serve carbonara if there's any left. If we can get enough other food, they will eat it. I'm indebted to you, I hope you'll be pleased.

"Count on it. So, I'd like to go up a level, okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine. But I have to warn you about something, so listen to me for a minute."

"Precautions?"

"Yes. At night there will be zombies, skeletons, and all sorts of demons that feed on them.

"Are the various demons okay?"

What's the point of going to level up at night if you don't want to meet Death Lizard or something?

"Yes, as long as you follow me in the direction I'm going, you won't have any problems. But if Yuta gets separated and meets a demon he can't beat, we can't help him, so you have to escape at all costs."

"Running away from ...... a demon that can never be beaten. Is there such a thing?"

Isn't it bad?　I'm getting sick of going out to level up.

"Yeah. Ghosts and wraiths are immune to physical attacks. They're your worst enemy right now."

Come to think of it, the only means of attack is physical. If you try hard enough, you can't ...... with a seed fire of life magic. If I raise a light ball, can't I use holy light to repel it?　If you can beat it with the magic of life, you can't say it's a natural enemy.

"In case you're wondering, doesn't the magic hammer work even though it has magic in its name?"

"Yes, it doesn't work. It's called magic, but Yuta's magic hammer attack didn't have any magic power in it, so it definitely won't work."

Impossible. I checked the other items of the pioneering tool, but there is no description that says anything about magic power. It seems that pioneering tools are specialized in physics even if they have high power. They are tools for pioneering, not for fighting.

"Is it possible to learn magic to defeat ghosts and wraiths?

"The magic itself may come with time, but I don't know when. If you follow us, you won't encounter any ghosts, so it's better to quickly raise your level and make a contract with this girl.

"Keizoku-"

A young genie makes a joyful noise. Is the young genie positive about the contract?　It seems likely that you don't know what you're doing.

"If I sign a contract, can I beat the ghosts and wraiths?"

"Yes. Even a lowly spirit like her can win easily. Spirit magic is very strong.

Sylphy is full of confidence, but I feel uneasy when I see the young genie who is perhaps tired of talking. She was so excited just a moment ago, but she is getting tired of it so fast. After looking at the young genie, he looks at Sylphy again.

"...... spirit magic is very strong!

He said it again. Sylphy, you're making me even more nervous. Don't look away from me. I want you to look at me.

"Does the spirit magic mean I can use it if I make a contract with you?

"Not exactly. It's like you ask a contracted spirit to do a magic for you and the contracted spirit does the magic. The higher the spirit, the more power it can use. If the contractor is in danger the contracted spirit can prevent it. Isn't that amazing?

"So, if I make a contract with this girl and ask her to defeat a ghost, she will defeat it with her magic?　What happens if this girl goes off somewhere to play?"

"Yes. Yes. Even if the contracted spirit is not with you, you will be able to summon and repatriate him if you make a contract with him. But if they are not nearby, they cannot respond to the contractor's crisis, so it is better to stay with them as much as possible if the place is dangerous.

I'm a little nervous about it, but I can see how it could be quite useful. I understand it, but when I look at the young genie, I'm not sure if I can handle her or not, combined with the shameful feeling of being saved by a young genie, it's not so subtle.

"I understand. Thank you. I'll try my best to stay close to Sylphy this time.

"Yes, we'll be fine if we don't get separated. Let's go."

"Let's go."

The dazed young genie suddenly becomes energetic. Suddenly she's turned on. I set up the stowed stairs and go outside.

But it is surprisingly bright even though there are no streetlights. Looking up at the sky, I see a big moon and lots of stars. It's another world. It's obviously bigger than the moon we see in Japan. It looks twice as big. By the way, I don't feel any discomfort in my body at all, but I wonder if the gravity is the same as on the earth.　I don't know how it feels. Another world is full of wonders.

"Yuta. This way. You shouldn't just stand there.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I was warned, but I was distracted by the size of the moon. Lives are at stake, so let's get serious.

Under the moonlight, I carry the hammer and follow Sylphy carefully so as not to deviate from her. The land of death in the night ...... is scary.

"Yuta. Look ahead. Can you see it's moving slowly?"

I strained my eyes and looked ahead, and could see something stirring in the thin air.

"...... There seems to be more than one of them. Am I wrong?"

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

"Suddenly there's more than one?　Do you think they'll be okay?"

"Zombies are slow, so it'll be easy. Oh, do you want to get the zombie's magic stone?　I don't mind skeletons, but it seems like a lot of people don't like zombie magic stones."

Zombie magic stone...... extracting magic stone from the heart part...... should earn money since I don't have any money in this world, but I'd rather not if I can help it.

"Oh, I don't want to take magic stones from zombies either. I'll try my best with other demons."

"There's no need to be unreasonable. Then let's just get it over with and move on to the next one.

"Oh, oh, if a zombie bites me, will I turn into a zombie too?"

"Heh?　If a zombie kills you and your corpse rots and becomes a demon, you could become a zombie or a skeleton, but what's wrong with that?"

"No, it's nothing. I'm going."

It's not like in a zombie movie where if you get bit you turn into a zombie. That's a relief.

Good luck.

"Good luck."

I approach the zombie with trepidation. It's nighttime, even with the moonlight. It helps that the zombie is hard to see.

"Oh my god. It stinks."

As you approach the zombie, the smell of rotting flesh wafts through the air. The zombie has spotted us.

"Vaah!"

The zombie approaches with a groan that I don't understand. Every time I move, I can hear a sickening slurping sound. The longer I wait, the worse I feel. Let's get this over with.

Set your hammer to maximum size, hold your breath, and run at once and swing the hammer down. The zombie is flattened with a smashing sound. The other two zombies are going to go. Gucha, nucha... I swing the hammer down twice, crushing each zombie and leaving.

"Phew! Huh, huh."

"What happened to gasping for breath?　I thought it would be easy, but was it hard?"

"No. It was easy to take down because all I had to do was swing the hammer down. I was just out of breath because I was holding my breath because the smell was so bad."

"I see. I don't think it's good to be out of breath, but what can I do?　Well, if you can afford it, good. Let's move on."

"Yes, sir."

I walk through the land of the dead with Sylphy following close behind. If there is a sudden change of direction, it is probably because I have an enemy against me or the target has moved. I have a mixed feeling about whether or not I want to see the wraiths ...... on the ghosts.

Yuta, over there.

I checked the direction Sylphy pointed and found ...... six human bones wandering about aimlessly. Some of them are holding swords or spears, which is scary.

"Those are skeletons, right?　There are so many of them and they have weapons, but are they okay?"

"I'm fine. They move faster than zombies, but Yuta's hammer is like a piece of paper. Smash them with your weapon. If you want to get the magic stone, you can crush it from the head to the waist.

You're going to smash the whole weapon. Your fighting style is straight up brainy. I don't have any muscles. .......

"I'll give it a try if I can afford it."

When you approach the skeleton, it turns and charges at you. Oh, no!　Ha!　Even though my eyes have become accustomed to the darkness, the skeleton comes running toward me, rattling its bones in my poor visibility.

Impatiently, I swing my hammer as hard as I can. With a clatter, three skeletons are caught by the hammer and blown away, shattered into pieces. ...... That's a home run.

The other three skeletons are also blown away by the wind pressure of the hammer and are rolling around. I approach carefully and crush the skeleton's upper body so as not to break the magic stone.

...... hmm, this is the magic stone, right?　It's a black, round ball about an inch across. It's shiny and jewel-like.

"Good work. You beat them easily."

"Yeah, it moved faster than I expected at first, but I managed. Sylphy, is this the magic stone?

Yes, it is. They're skeletons, so they're small, but they should bring in some money. Stronger demons produce bigger stones, and the bigger the stone, the more valuable it is.

"I see. I'll have to collect them for when I go to town."

I take out the magic stones from the other two and store them. The metal is rusty, but it's metal. It's not too bad that it's just bones.

"Zombies and skeletons should be easy. If you're okay with it, we'll go for it.

"I'll be right back."

...... more skeletons please.