The next day.
We ate breakfast, and then we walked through the narrow path of the canyon again.
Shiva-san is leading without looking at a map, but if it was just me, I would definitely end up lost because of all the turns.
From what I heard, it’s because Shiva-san has used this same path plenty of times before as part of the training of fresh recruits. It’s definitely not the most accessible place, but with all the cliffs that could be climbed, it just might be perfect for training.
And speaking of geography, I noticed that the geography here in this area is sometimes weird. It’s probably the effect of Masaharu’s magic, but there are rock cliffs here that are actually perpendicular to the ground.
If it at least had some slope I’d understand, but I don’t think it’s natural for terrain to be that perpendicular. Geological formations are things that form after the accumulation of earth and sand after all. And then there are those places that form from hardened lava.
I’ve also heard that jewels and gold were reported to have been spotted here. It wasn’t a meagre amount either, and people would mine out the veins immediately after finding one, so there were quite a number of people searching for them here. But after most of them failed to find anything, they gave up. And the people who found some couldn’t make enough of a profit to make it worth the effort either.
We talked about things like that as we walked. And then Shiva-san said,
“We’re near the labyrinth. Undead roam in the area near the labyrinth, so get ready.” [Shiva]
“Understood.” [Ryouma]
As I said that, we walked. The path was at most just big enough for three people to walk side-by-side. There were plenty of places before where the road was wider, but this area we’re in right now feels eerily artificial.
“Well we’ve made it this far, I guess we can take a rest for a bit. This path’s connected to the execution grounds that became a labyrinth, so it’s being maintained.” [Remiri]
“I see, although it doesn’t seem to be a straight line.” [Ryouma]
The road’s being maintained, and yet it has so many turns.
“It’s a precaution against escapees, something to buy time in the one-in-a-million chance that a convict for death row manages to escape. For a similar reason, the road before here isn’t being maintained as it’s not part of the main road, so it’s quite hard to cross.” [Remiri]
I see... that makes sense. But right after Remiri-san finished talking, the smell of rotting flesh wafted to my nose.
“This rotting stench, could it be?” [Ryouma]
“Yep, it’s the undead. Most likely a zombie.” [Rheinbach]
“Good timing. I’ll go ahead and teach you how to deal with them.” [Shiva]
20 seconds passed, and a rotting corpse walking towards us entered our vision.
According to what I’ve investigated beforehand, the undead of this world like places with little or no sunlight, so they can usually be found is such places. But that doesn’t mean they can’t function under sunlight.
My impression of my first time seeing a zombie is that they’re disgusting. Their flesh is rotting; they stink… But unexpectedly, they can move quite fast.
I expected them to be disgusting, but I didn’t expect them to move that fast. Oh, but while I say they’re fast, they’re only really faster than my expectations, and are walking around the pace of an adult man. So it’s not like I’m feeling threatened or anything.
It’s just a bit different from the image I had in mind is all. I expected a zombie groaning as it walked one step at a time, very slowly. So it’s a bit unexpected that it’s actually walking normally.
“Well then, before all else, let’s go and confirm the property of the zombies. First––“ [Shiva]
Shiva-san ran to the zombie, and swung his halberd diagonally from his shoulder, cutting the zombie in two halves in one swing. After cutting it two more times, Shiva-san came back.
“Just now, I cut it without using any magic, but my attacks had no effect at all. And the zombie just regenerate, and start walking again.” [Shiva]
Exactly as Shiva-san had said, the cut zombie began to gather its remaining parts, and started putting itself back together.
“It’s not just zombies either. Other undead-type magical beasts can also regenerate. So beating them with only weapons is extremely inefficient. If you really need to beat them with just weapons, then it would be better to use a blunt weapon rather than a sharp one. As that would allow you to crush their bodies thoroughly rather than just cutting them to pieces. Lastly, there are also magical beasts that can’t be beaten with such methods, so it’s imperative to exercise caution.” [Shiva]
Around this time, the zombie finally finished regenerating, and has started walking towards again. Then suddenly, Shiva-san casted ‘Wind Cutter’ and cut off the Zombie from its waist. The zombie started to regenerate again, but it’s far slower this time around.
“You might’ve noticed it, but these magical beasts regenerate at a slower rate when attacked by magic compared to when they are attacked by weapons. This is said to be because of their dark attribute magic power being dispersed by the magic power of a different attribute. And the most effective magic are those under light attribute. Try hitting it with ‘Light Ball’ once it finishes regenerating.” [Shiva]
After some time, the zombie finished regenerating. Just as I was told to, I casted ‘Light Ball’.
“’Light Ball’” [Ryouma]
“a’ ,aa’ !” [Zombie]
A ball of light appeared on my chest, and in the next moment, it flew towards the zombie in a straight line, piercing through its chest. The zombie groaned in pain as a giant hole could be visibly seen on its chest. The flesh and the bones near the affected area were thoroughly extinguished.
“As can be observed, light magic is extremely effective against the undead. Even the elementary magic, ‘Light Ball’, can pierce through its body, extinguish it, and greatly weaken it. However, a single shot from ‘Light Ball’ isn’t sufficient. If you wish to kill it in one hit with only ‘Light Ball’, then you’ll have to target its head or chest. Any other place will require two or three shots.” [Shiva]
“I understand. I’m surprised to know though that ‘Light Ball’ could extinguish an undead’s body… I’ve heard that people who die become undead. If by chance I do die, my body won’t disappear when hit by ‘Light Ball’ will it?” [Ryouma]
“Right, your corpse won’t disappear from being hit by ‘Light Ball’. Only, it’s said that a change occurs once a body changes into an undead, but it’s not fully understood. Moreover, not all undead come from corpses. There are also those that just naturally appear.” [Shiva]
As I received that explanation, another zombie came. As I was about to fire another shot of magic at it, Remiri-san stopped me.
“This time I’ll show you how it’s done with intermediate magic.” [Remiri]
As she said that, she aimed her wand at the zombie, and chanted.
“ ‘Exorcism’ !” [Remiri]
A ball of light as big as a basketball appeared in front of her staff, and hit the zombie. But that ball didn’t pierce the zombie. Instead it wrapped it in its light. It was as if it was extinguishing the zombie.
“With this magic, it won’t matter where you hit. You’ll be able to kill them in one hit no matter what. It costs around 1,500 points of magic power though, so it’s a waste to use this kind of magic against zombies. If it’s just zombies, ‘Light Ball’ will do. Just use this when you really have to, or alternatively, you could use fire magic instead of light magic as that’s also effective.” [Remiri]
Like this I was able to study how to fight undead-types. And I was also able to practice by shooting at the zombies and skeletons that were roaming on the road.
As a result, I’ve learned ‘Exorcism’, and am now even able to clad my blade in ‘exorcism’, which was quite effective as the undead could be extinguished with a slash.
It’s a waste though, as although I’m able to kill three zombies with one cast, a single elementary magic, ‘Light Ball’, could kill a zombie in one hit… Ah, come to think of it, I wonder what would happen if I just used light attribute magic power instead of an actual magic?
As I thought that, I clad my sword in light attribute magic power, and slashed at an undead. Oh, hey, it worked. It’s not the same as ‘Exorcism’, but I think I can work with this.
After I finished my experiment, Shiva-san and Remiri-san were shocked and went, “What just happened!?” as they hurried over.