Skeleton Knight, in Another World (LN) - Volume 3 - Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

Travel Companions 

Two figures walkedwest along the dark road, the sun barely cresting the horizon behind them, turning the eastern sky an almost imperceptible shade of blue. 

A cool wind blowing through the Calcut mountain range to the north brought with it a dense fog, obscuring their vision of the forests and plains off in the distance, almost as if intentionally trying to send the travelers down the wrong path. 

I was one of these travelers, and the woman to my left, dressed in a charcoal-gray cloak, walked jauntily through the fog. As her cloak billowed, I caught glimpses of the intricately detailed leather corset she wore underneath, providing her with protection without impeding her movement. Despite the rather complete coverage of her armor, her well-rounded figure managed to show through. 

Even the briefest glance at her face made it apparent that she was not human. 

Between her smooth, amethyst-colored skin, her long, snow-white hair tied back in a ponytail, her golden eyes locked straight ahead, and her long, pointy ears, her appearance was rather distinct. 

She was a dark elf, a species unique to this world. She was also my boss. Her name was Ariane Glenys Maple—a resident of the Great Canada Forest and a soldier of the capital city of Maple—and she’d hired me to join her on her journey. 

She wore a long sword at her waist, its hilt adorned with a lion. Her swordsmanship would put even the best-trained mercenary to the test. She was also well versed in spirit magic, a skill often mentioned in ancient tomes, though completely inaccessible to humans. 

As for me, I’d woken up in this strange world, suddenly inhabiting the body of a character I’d been playing in a video game. 

The wind snapped at my cloak—as dark as night, the inside glimmering like stars ripped straight out of the sky—revealing gleaming, silver armor, its intricate patterns ornamented in blue and white. It was the type of armor a knight of legend might wear. On my back I wore a large, elaborately decorated shield and a massive sword—which inspired awe in all who caught sight of it. 

Most noteworthy of all, however, was the fact that inside this armor, I was nothing but a skeleton. 

A bright blue flame—my soul—flickered deep within my skull, where my eyes should have been. Fortunately, I had thus far been able to avoid frightening people by staying in my armor. 

Ariane was the first person I’d revealed myself to who’d accepted me for what I was. Given that I could count the people who’d seen my true form on one hand, I wasn’t in any hurry to take my helmet off in front of just anyone. 

Still, despite the small number of people who knew about my predicament, I felt blessed to have found so many who had accepted me. I’d always had awful luck in games of chance, so I felt quite lucky to have ended up in another world surrounded by such great people. 

Ariane turned to me with a thoughtful expression, breaking my train of thought. 

“Arc, what did you think of the magic we saw that Chiyome girl perform back in the capital?” 

Arc was the name of my character in the game. I continued pretending I was the avatar I’d played as in so many sessions back home. Though, I wasn’t sure “pretend” was the right word anymore. It all felt natural at this point. 

The Chiyome girl Ariane spoke of had recently asked for our help in freeing her enslaved comrades from Rhoden’s capital. She belonged to a species known in this world as mountain people—or, more pejoratively, as “beastmen”—marked by their animal ears and tails. 

About six hundred years ago, someone like myself had also come to this world and brought them together as the Jinshin clan, a group of ninjas who roamed across the northern continent. The mountain people, like Chiyome, and the elves, like Ariane, were commonly hunted and enslaved throughout this continent. 

This alternate world seemed to be mirroring the same conflicts we had back in my own world based on skin color. Being Asian myself, I found all kinds of complexions appealing, but my worldview was probably coming from a more modern place than this world’s. Come to think of it, I used to become tanned easily, though that wasn’t the same as having naturally dark skin of course. 

Realizing my mind had wandered pretty far off track, I tilted my head to the side as I tried recalling whatever important detail I seemed to have forgotten. I knew there was something I was forgetting; it was just a matter of what that something was… 

I shook my head to try to refocus and turned my gaze to Ariane. 

I assumed Ariane was referring to the ninjutsu techniques she had seen Chiyome use during the assault. Here in this world, where magic was commonplace, it made sense to refer to such techniques as magic. 

“Is there something bothering you, Miss Ariane?” 

“That thing she called ninjutsu…it’s really just spirit magic.” 

I let out a gasp of surprise. “I thought only elves were able to use spirit magic. Is that not the case?” 

Ariane shook her head. “Spirit magic isn’t restricted to any one species. Even humans would be able to use it if they entered into a binding compact with a spirit. But, of course, it’s incredibly difficult for humans to communicate with spirits.” 

That all sounded like semantics. It amounted to the same thing in the end. But then I remembered something and hit my fist into my open palm. 

“Now that you mention it, I heard that the mountain people are also able to bond with spirit creatures.” 

“Spirit creature” was a general term referring to any animal that had spirit energy running through it. They were incredibly cautious and usually kept their distance from humans. Apparently, the elves and mountain people were among the few species who were easily able to bond with them. 

“That’s right. However, the mountain people typically have a low affinity for magic, so even when they’re able to communicate with spirit creatures, it’s rare that they’d enter into a compact. Rare, but not unheard of. Still…” 

Ariane looked off into the distance, as if recalling something that had happened back in the capital. 

“It almost seemed like I was watching a spirit creature itself…” 

Her golden eyes locked on Ponta, the foxlike spirit creature perched atop my head. 

Ponta was sixty centimeters long, though its fluffy, almost dandelion-like tail took up over about half its length, which was why it was known as a cottontail fox. A thin membrane stretched between its front and back legs, giving it the appearance of a Japanese flying squirrel. Except for its white stomach, the rest of its body was covered in light green fur. 

Ponta and I had become fast friends when I saved it from a bandit hideout. 

By summoning up magical gusts of wind with its spirit abilities, Ponta could glide freely through the air. It was the kind of animal you’d read about in fantasy books. 

Ponta looked back inquisitively at Ariane. “Kyii?” 

Could it be that Ponta and Chiyome were both spirit creatures? I decided to ask this exact question. 

“What do you mean?” Ariane looked straight ahead again, as if to collect her thoughts before speaking. “Though they may seem similar, there’s a difference between the spirit magic we elves use and that used by spirit creatures. We transfer the mana within ourselves to the spirit, who turns that into magic based on our compact. Spirit creatures, however, have spirit energy within themselves. They’re able to directly convert their own mana into magic.” 

“I’m still not sure I understand. Are you saying that Miss Chiyome didn’t make a compact with any sort of spirit, but is actually a spirit herself?” 

“That’s correct.” 

Ponta let out a deep yawn from atop my helmet. 

Another question sprang to mind. “Can you and other elves see things like that?” 

Ariane nodded firmly in response. “Unlike humans, elves are able to see mana. This allows us to see spirits, and probably makes it easier for us to enter into compacts with them. Do you remember what happened when we entered the Great Canada Forest?” 

I assumed she was referring to when we’d visited the elven village of Lalatoya, her home. I nodded as the image of the massive forest came to mind. 

“We were able to minimize the chance of encountering any sort of powerful monsters by choosing a path where there was relatively little mana. While dark elves might be superior in terms of physical strength, light elves have better sight.” 

It was all starting to come together. When we’d first entered the forest, the women had cut a long, snaking path through the trees rather than heading straight to their destination. I’d thought it was an attempt to confuse me, an outsider. 

“Oooh, so you weren’t just trying to keep me from memorizing the route to your village?” 

Ariane made a face and slumped her shoulders as she realized what I was saying. 

“Arc, you can use teleportation magic. The route wouldn’t matter.” 

She was right. 

I had the ability to teleport both short and long distances. So long as I could see or picture the exact location I wanted to go, the route to get there was meaningless. This power was incredibly useful to me, since I normally couldn’t navigate my way out of a paper bag. 

However, my long-range teleportation spell, Transport Gate, only worked for places I could call to mind, and the short-range teleportation spell, Dimensional Step, only worked for places I could physically see. Here in the forest, both were of little use. 

“So, that’s how elves are able to safely travel through monster-filled forests?” 

“Well, everyone’s abilities are different of course. Legend has it that Evanjulin, the founding elder of Canada, was only faintly able to see mana.” 

From everything I’d heard, the founding elder of Canada—and Maple, its capital—sounded like a person from another world, just like me. He might have looked like an elf, but it sounded like he didn’t have any of their abilities. 

However, there was a marked difference between “faintly able” and “totally unable.” Did that mean he’d at least been able to see mana on some level? Unfortunately, there was no way I could check, since he was long dead. 

The sky continued to brighten at our backs as we marched on, my mind mulling over the meaning of all this. The fog that had rolled down from the valley between the mountains began burning off as the sun rose, the rest of it blown away across the plains by a gentle wind. The grass and trees rustled in the breeze, as if eager for the morning’s warmth. As the air cleared, I could see fields running along the side of the road and a village off in the distance—a short journey by foot. Behind me, the capital city was still a vague outline in the fog. 

“Now that we can see, let’s speed things along before people start coming outside.” 

Ariane gave a quick nod and, in a well-practiced motion, grabbed onto my shoulder. I focused on a location in the distance and summoned my short-range teleportation magic. 

“Dimensional Step.” 

A moment later, we were much farther down the road, the capital behind us a mere shadow. We repeated the process, finding new landmarks and teleporting in short bursts along the road toward Lamburt, our movements somewhat obscured by lingering fog. 

The morning air brought a slight chill to my skin…well, my bones anyway. I didn’t have skin. 

Other than Ariane, me, and Ponta atop my head, there were no signs of life on the road. Actually, calling it a road hardly seemed appropriate. It wasn’t paved with brick or stone, merely a lane of packed earth where no grass grew. 

We continued teleporting until we hit a fork in the road. Given my abysmal sense of direction, I asked Ariane to navigate. 

“Which road leads to Lamburt?” 

But she just looked up at me with half-lidded eyes and offered a curt response. 

“You’re guiding us, Arc. I don’t know anything about human lands, remember?” 

She was right on all counts. I was the one who’d uncovered the information about Lamburt back in the capital. It was the town where we believed we’d find the next group of enslaved elves. 

I’d yet to see any maps of this area for sale, much less maps of the entire kingdom. Asking locals was the only surefire way to get to where you were going. 

The man I’d asked for directions to Lamburt had told me to head west out of the capital then north when I hit the coast. He hadn’t said anything about a giant rock and two roads splitting off. Both roads continued west, but the one on the right seemed to be heading slightly north, while the one on the left angled south. Still, since they were both going west, I figured either road should be fine. 

Unlike in my world, it was uncommon to find truly straight roads here, since they usually followed the lay of the land. They might veer around hills or even take large detours to circumnavigate cliffs, which greatly increased the time it took to travel anywhere in this world. 

I wasn’t sure what the roads were splitting off to avoid, but I figured I could just use my teleportation magic to return us to this spot if we went down the wrong one. 

I glanced around and found a fallen tree branch by the side of the road. That would work perfectly. I picked it up, returned to the fork, and stood the branch upright where the road split. As soon as I let go, the branch toppled to the ground with a crack. It was pointing toward the northwest road. I nodded, pleased with the outcome. 

“Well, I guess we’re going right.” 

The voice behind me, however, sounded less impressed. I turned to find Ariane, her eyes defiant, her cheeks slightly puffed out. 

“You’re really going to choose our path by chance? You told me you’d asked about the route to Lamburt back at the capital!” 

“I did ask, but he didn’t say anything about the road splitting like this.” 

Ariane let out a loud sigh and rubbed her temples. “So you thought it would be a good idea to just randomly pick the direction?” Her eyebrow twitched as she spoke. 

“No, I’m leaving our fate up to god!” 

“Well, I never agreed to that!” 

Ariane knelt beside the branch. She closed her eyes and clasped her hands together, as if in prayer. 

“I beg you, spirits, guide us down the right path…” 

She stood the tree branch on end and let it fall again. Just like before, it hit the ground pointing toward the northwest. 

“Harrumph. Looks like the right path is where we need to go.” 

Ariane didn’t sound entirely convinced, but she grabbed onto my shoulder all the same, evidently willing to leave her fate up to the spirits. 

I decided to try and lighten the mood. 

“What’s the matter? If we go down the wrong road, we can always teleport back here.” 

With that, I turned toward the northwest and cast Dimensional Step, once again making short hops along the empty road as the sun continued its slow journey into the sky. 

*** 

The environment slowly began changing as we traveled down the road. 

Flat, expansive plains gave way to rocky hills the color of umber. The road took on the consistency of fine sand. To our right, a sprawling forest stretched to the base of a mountain range off in the distance. To our left was a desolate wasteland. Without any vegetation to mark where the boundaries of the road were, I worried we’d soon stray from it. 

With no sign of any human settlements, I began wondering if we’d picked the wrong path. 

Suddenly, a heavy wind blew in from the south, enveloping us in red dust and blocking our vision. 

“Kyiii!” 

Ponta clung to the top of my helmet as Ariane’s and my cloaks snapped in the wind, adding to the cacophony. 

As soon as the wind died, I began searching the horizon for a spot we could teleport to, hoping to move us away from whatever had conjured up the wind. I looked to Ariane, but she was frozen, as if listening for something. 

“What is it?” 

She brought a finger to her lips, her eyes scanning our surroundings. Ponta darted its head around rapidly, just as alert. 

I wanted to ask what she thought was out there, but I knew better than to speak again. I glanced about the red earth and the various fang-like stones jutting up from the ground, but nothing stood out as a threat. 

Then I heard the faint sound of flapping wings. 

I turned toward the sound to see over a dozen creatures flying in our direction. They were still a fair distance away, so I couldn’t get a good read on their size, but they looked like large birds. 

“Wyverns?!” 

Ariane glared up at the shadowy beasts. They were close enough that I could count them now. There were twenty-four of the winged creatures—wyverns, as she’d called them—in total, flapping their massive wings and heading straight for us. 

Ponta hopped down from my helmet and wrapped itself around my neck like a scarf, flattening its ears against its head. 

“Huh. So, those are wyverns?” 

As they drew closer, I was finally able to get a good look at them. 

They had a wingspan of around eight meters, with bird-like heads at the end of their long necks, and small, reptilian bodies. A dusky yellow, striped pattern mottled their skin. The wyverns were about three meters from head to tail, the latter slicing deftly through the air as they flew, almost like a rudder. 

These were nothing like the wyverns I’d faced in the game. 

Ariane seemed confused as well. 

“These aren’t anything like the wyverns I know. I’ve never seen anything like them before. Plus, they typically only hunt in the heat of the afternoon. It’s way too early for them to be out like this.” 

Hmm. Maybe she was just unfamiliar with this particular type of wyvern. Or maybe this was a subspecies. Or a species similar to wyverns. It made sense that the characteristics and appearance of a given creature would change depending on their environment. 

But there were more pressing matters than identification at the moment. 

“Are wyverns powerful?” I kept my eyes on the sky as I asked Ariane. 

Compared with other monsters in the game, wyverns weren’t all that strong. They maxed out around Level 100 and didn’t have any special attacks. But even though they were mid-tier enemies in the game, I wasn’t sure if that applied to the ones coming toward us. 

Ariane shot me a glance. 

“One or two on their own? Not really. But numbers like these… I think we’d better just teleport away from there.” 

She had a point. Our short-range weapons wouldn’t be much use against them. 

It was easy to beat down wyverns in the game, even with just a sword, since they hovered about a meter off the ground. These ones, however, were way out of strike range. Running was probably the best plan. 

But I also though this might be a good opportunity to test out my abilities, especially considering future situations I might find myself in. Better to try things out now, when the stakes were low, than to have a spell backfire when it mattered most. Plus, we could still teleport out of danger if need be. 

“I’d like to try something out. Would you step back a bit, Ariane?” 

I stepped forward to face the oncoming wyvern swarm. I could hear Ariane start saying something, but then she decided against it. I swung my bag down from my shoulder and set it to the ground before taking a proper battle stance. 

“Rock Shot!” 

I decided to start out small, with one of the basic spells from the Magus job class. 

Large stones shot from my outstretched palm straight toward the wyverns. However, in the ten meters between them and me, they were easily able to evade my attack. I tried the spell again and again, but I never came close to hitting any of the wyverns. Not only was the attack easy to read, but the wyverns were also quite adept at dodging. 

The creatures were now right above us, circling like vultures. My magical barrage was the only thing keeping them at bay. 

“Let’s see if you can dodge this. Lightning Damper!” 

Judging by the wyverns’ harried response, they must have sensed the sudden change in atmospheric pressure brought on by the spell. 

The next moment, a bright flash tore across the sky, followed by a thunderous, reverberating roar. Tendrils of light shot through the air and down onto the wyverns, almost as if the sky were raining lightning. 

I’d known this kind of mid-tier area-of-effect magic was pretty powerful, but seeing it in action took my breath away. It definitely didn’t disappoint. I watched as, one by one, the wyverns who’d been hit fell into tailspins and dropped to the ground. 

However, more than half of them were still in the air. 

“Hmm. Not exactly the most accurate of attacks…” 

That was an understatement. Despite how impressive it looked, the lightning’s hit rate was abysmal. If it had been modern-day weaponry, it would have been considered broken. Moreover, the spell wasn’t even a fast-hitting attack. It was like taking shots with a single-action revolver. Add on the fact that it hit indiscriminately, and it didn’t seem to be all that useful. 

However, the unexpected lightning did seem to strike fear into the wyverns circling above us. They began scattering. 

Ariane, who’d been watching all this from behind me, finally piped up. 

“Warn me next time before you pull out something powerful like that! That was terrifying!” 

When I looked back, the corners of Ariane’s eyes were damp, and her hands were firmly clamped over her ears. 

It was only natural, I supposed. Anyone would have been shocked to witness such a sudden display of thunder and lightning right in front of them. I quickly offered my apologies. Ponta simply blinked a few times—still wrapped around my neck—and engaged in a bit of self-grooming with its tongue. The lightning didn’t seem to have fazed the cottontail fox, but the static electricity had made its fur stand on end. 

“I have to admit, that was pretty impressive. Is there nothing you can’t do?” Ariane let out a sigh, her expression a mix of awe and exasperation. Several wyverns had crashed to the ground just in front of us. 

A phrase I’d heard somewhere before came to mind. “There are many things I cannot do, but I try my best.” 

I approached one of the dead wyverns. Despite a few scorch marks, it was still in pretty good condition. 

“Can this be used for anything?” I turned the body over, looking back at Ariane. Despite its massive size, the wyvern was lighter than I’d thought it would be. 

“Hmm. I know wyvern hides can be made into leather armor, but again, these looks different from the wyverns I’ve seen. They also don’t taste very good, so that just leaves their rune stones.” 

In the game, the materials you could gather from wyverns were only useful early on. It made sense they’d be about the same here. 

“What leather is your armor made out of, Miss Ariane?” 

If common armor was made from wyvern hides, then I had to imagine her armor was made of something far better. I was quite curious. 

“This armor was made using leather from a grand dragon.” 

I let out a loud gasp. “Whoa!” 

I had no way of knowing if grand dragons here looked anything like they did in the game, but it was clearly a high-grade material regardless. 

Ariane muttered a response under her breath. “It’s still nothing like what you have on.” 

The Belenus Holy ArmorI wore was from the mythical-class line of equipment—the highest attainable. Merely gathering the supplies to make it was a harrowing endeavor. 

I had my doubts such materials even existed in this world. My armor was probably one of a kind. 

While we bantered back and forth, I pulled a dagger from my bag and began cutting open one of the dead wyvern’s bodies. Up close, they almost looked like pterosaurs. 

“Miss Ariane, do you know where the rune stone is located?” 

“If they’re anything like the wyverns I’m familiar with, it should be over here.” 

She pointed to a spot just below the rib cage. I jammed the dagger in and sliced the wyvern’s chest open, revealing a small, glimmering purple stone. After collecting the rune stones from the seven other dead wyverns, I put them and the dagger into my bag. 

“What should we do about their bodies?” 

Ariane seemed entirely uninterested in the topic. “Why not just leave them? If someone wants them, they can cart them off.” 

She had a point. If the hides could be used to make leather armor, then we may as well leave them for whoever wandered past. Even if no one did, at least some scavenger could make a meal of them. There was no harm in leaving them behind. 

“You’re probably right. Shall we get going?” 

I hefted the bag over my shoulder, and we continued down the road using Dimensional Step. 

After some time, we finally caught sight of a stone-walled town atop a hill beside to the road. Beyond the wall, several tall, boxy buildings peaked out from inside. The whole thing had a rather simple, dull appearance—nothing like the highly decorated towns I’d been to thus far. I wasn’t even sure “town” was the right word for it. It looked more like a fort to me. 

The area around the hill was full of lush greenery, in stark contrast to the deep red earth along the road. Fields had been cut into the side of the hill, stacked like a massive staircase. I could see the tiny outlines of people tending to the crops, though there were relatively few compared to the size of the fields. 

“Maybe we should stop and ask for directions.” 

“I agree. The road is starting to turn north anyway.” 

I was surprised to realize she was right. Out here, along a winding path and with no compass, it was a lot harder to keep my bearings. I tried not to show how worried I was by this and instead started walking confidently toward the town. 

Set against the expansive scene that lay before us, the town initially looked rather small. However, the closer we got to it, the larger it seemed to grow. The town’s walls were around five meters tall, the stones perfectly aligned, sporting a walkway along the top where several guards patrolled. 

The massive gate had been left open, with just a single guard standing watch. When he noticed our approach, he jumped to attention. 

I offered up a wave and called out to him. “Excuse me, I’d like to ask for directions. We’re on our way to Lamburt, but I’m not sure if this is the right road.” 

The guard cocked his head to the side, looking me up and down before turning his gaze to Ariane. She kept the hood of her cloak low over her face to conceal her identity. The guard turned back to me. 

“Lamburt? Never heard of it. But I never done left this town before neither, so I only know the villages ’round these parts.” 

The man frowned slightly and scratched his head. 

Unlike in my world, where you could easily travel to another town or even another country, it seemed unlikely we’d be able to find the best route to reach such a faraway town. 

I reached into the leather pouch that served as my wallet. 

“Hm. In that case, maybe we’ll ask around town. How much is the entrance tax?” 

The man just shook his head and moved out of our way, waving us in. 

“We don’t levy taxes on people entering here. Given how few visitors we get as it is, no one would ever bother to stop by the town if we did. We do collect a nominal fee when you leave though.” 

The guard laughed at his own joke before offering a salute and gesturing again for us to go on in. 

“Welcome to Branbayna.” 

I nodded to the man as we walked past him and into the town. 

Despite the early hour, the town was a lot livelier than it appeared from the outside, with many people milling about the streets. The buildings were all built close together, making the narrow alleys feel like a maze. Clothes hung between the buildings to provide some shade from the harsh sun, though this only made it harder to see where we were going the farther we traveled in. 

As we walked through the town, we ran across a sleepy-looking group of men—likely mercenaries, since they were outfitted in a motley assortment of armor and equipment—heading into different buildings where it seemed they were being put up for the day. Almost as if passing off a baton, other men left as the mercenaries entered and made their way toward the fields. 

We traveled against the flow of people and found ourselves at a group of stalls that made up a sort of morning market. Ponta let out a little squeal and started wagging its tail about excitedly. I turned to see what had caught Ponta’s attention and saw a large pile of beans, about the size of lentils. They sat next to a roaster, which filled the air with a delicious aroma. 

We hadn’t eaten anything since leaving the capital, so I could only imagine how hungry Ponta must be. Prompted by the constant mewing from atop my head, the crowd cleared out of my way as I approached the bean stall. The man behind the counter offered us a smile as we approached. 

“Can I interest ya in some beans, kind sir?” 

“I’ll take two scoops of the roasted ones, please.” 

The old man thanked me and poured two scoops of freshly roasted beans into my open leather pouch. Figuring I should make the most of this encounter, I started to ask him if he happened to know the way to Lamburt, but he asked another question before I had a chance to. 

“Are you here to hunt sand wyverns?” 

He must have been talking about the swarm that had attacked us earlier this morning. 

“Not exactly. Are sand wyverns a common occurrence around here?” 

“They used to come in from the desert on occasion, but recently there’s been a large swarm of them lurking about and destroying our crops.” 

I looked around at the other customers in the market, but none of them seemed concerned. In fact, they all looked quite cheerful. 

“No one seems particularly bothered.” 

The stall owner laughed. “Sand wyverns don’t travel much during the day. So long as you’re in town by nightfall, you won’t have any problems.” 

“You seem pretty knowledgeable about monsters.” 

I was making an observation, but the man laughed again and deflected the compliment with a wave of his hand. 

“Not at all. There’s a researcher living in town who studies them. It’s thanks to him that we’ve managed to keep casualties as low as we have. Anyway, that’ll be three suk.” 

He seamlessly transitioned back to business. 

I dug around in the coin pouch at my waist. “A researcher, you say? Hmm. Ah, I only have silver…” 

I handed the man a silver coin and received seven coppers in change. He leaned in close as he dropped them into my hand. 

“And that researcher is an elf, y’know. Pretty rare to see ’round these parts.” 

Ariane perked up at this. “There’s an elf living here? In a human town?” 

As soon as she’d said it, she clapped a hand over her mouth and tugged her hood farther down. 

“That’s right. The lord of this town even arranged a place for him to live. That must’ve been about, hmm, ten years ago?” 

I decided to ask what I suspected Ariane was thinking. “Could you tell us where we might find this elf researcher’s house?” 

“Well, I hear he’s living with the lord in his estate. I doubt you’d be able to meet with him without a good reason.” 

“I was simply curious. Anyway, do you happen to know the way to Lamburt?” 

I decided to allay the old man’s suspicions by asking him my original question. 

He tilted his head to the side and called out to a nearby stall. 

“Hey, old man! You said you used to be a merchant in your younger days, yeah? Do you know the way to Lamburt?” 

An unshaven, elderly man sitting in the stall took a puff from the pipe hanging out of his mouth and looked lazily in our direction. He spoke in a slow voice as smoke curled up in front of his face. 

“If you want to get to Lamburt, you’ll need to head south through the Hibbot wastelands and make your way west. It’s on the other side of the Riebing mountain range.” 

If what he said were true, then we’d gone in the completely wrong direction. We probably should have taken the southern route at the fork in the road. 

I thanked the two men and turned from the stalls, offering a handful of roasted beans to Ponta as we walked away. The spirit creature eagerly shoved them into its cheeks. 

I looked back over my shoulder, locking eyes with Ariane. 

“What would you like to do?” 

She hesitated for only a moment before tilting her head up to look straight at me. I knew exactly what she was going to say. 

“I want to try and meet this elf researcher.” 

If the bean seller had been telling the truth, then there was an elf living here—in lands where they were usually hunted and taken as slaves—under the protection of a local noble. That must have been hard for Ariane to believe. But the old man hadn’t made it sound like the researcher was being held as a slave. 

I tried asking around—nonchalantly of course—to see if anyone knew the way to the noble’s estate…and if there really was an elf researcher living there. To my surprise, almost everyone I asked knew of his existence. 

Apparently, the elf was sometimes seen walking around town with a contingent of guards, likely provided by the noble in order to protect him from anyone with ill intentions. 

There were also a few stories of him taking down a drunk and rowdy mercenary with ease, implying that he was also an experienced fighter. 

Through the gaps between the buildings, I caught sight of a series of boxy towers, connected by a large wall, in the center of town. On the other side of the wall stood a building shaped like a massive cube. This was the noble’s estate, where the researcher was supposedly living. The entrance was a large gate that could be dropped down at the first sign of trouble. Four guards stood watch in front of it. 

It seemed unlikely that we’d just be allowed to waltz on in, but I was hesitant to sneak in as we’d done at other, similar estates. Things were a little different this time. I decided there was no harm in asking, even if it led nowhere. 

The men were on edge the instant they noticed us. They clutched their spears—some of them with shaking hands—and spread out, forming a half circle around us and blocking our path forward. I had to admit, we must have struck a pretty bizarre sight: a two-meter tall knight with a green fox atop his head and a woman wrapped in a dark cloak. 

“Apologies for the sudden intrusion. We would like to meet the elf researcher who lives here.” 

Tension washed across the men’s faces. 

“No one meets Carcy without an appointment. You best move along.” 

The guard’s response was rather curt, but it was no less than I’d expected. I looked back at Ariane, unsure of how to proceed. 

Ariane pulled back her charcoal-gray hood and approached the guards. 

“I am a messenger from the Great Canada Forest. I request an audience with this Carcy.” 

Ariane’s smooth, amethyst-colored skin shone in the sunlight, and her pointed, elven ears poked out of the snow-white hair that fluttered loosely from the hood. Her green-flecked, golden eyes, set beneath her long eyelashes, stared straight through the men, leaving them frozen in place and gaping as they searched for words. 

An older man, dressed in more regal attire than the guards, appeared from inside the gate and started yelling at them. 

“You idiots! Go report to Carcy and the lord at once!” 

This got the guards moving. Two of them turned toward the estate, stumbling over each other as they dashed inside. 

“Please wait over here.” The man, apparently the captain of the guards, gestured toward a bench near the entrance. 

Ariane and I sat down, and I poured a handful of roasted lentils into my palm for Ponta to munch on while we waited. 

Soon, one of the messengers came running back. He saluted the captain before breathlessly offering his report. 

“Carcy is willing to grant them an audience!” 

The captain nodded and the guard saluted again before returning to his post. 

So, we’d be meeting the elusive elf researcher after all. 

However, I doubted we’d only be meeting with the researcher. My shoulders slumped as I realized that the noble housing him would likely also be in attendance. I worried that encountering influential people in this world would cause problems for me down the road. Come to think of it, I’d already done that with Ariane’s father, Dillan, in the elven realm. What would the repercussions of that be? 

“Please, follow me.” 

The captain’s voice gave me a brief reprieve from my thoughts as Ariane and I turned to follow him. 

*** 

At the center of the estate was a square garden surrounded by a covered walkway and several buildings, each of which was connected to the next by the walkway. 

We were led from the guardhouse to a two-story stone building with the same boxy design as the rest. It was rather short compared to the other buildings towering over it, though it was larger than the typical residence. 

The wooden door was adorned with a beautifully engraved symbol and a relatively simple knocker. The captain gave a loud rap, and a man inside answered. 

“It’s open!” 

The voice was surprisingly cheerful given how nervous I—and Ariane, too, I assumed—felt. But the captain didn’t seem to notice. He simply pushed open the door. 

“Greetings!” 

The captain stepped through the door and moved off to the side, allowing Ariane and me to enter. We stopped at the threshold and looked around the room. 

It was large and open, taking up much of the first floor of the building. Thick wooden pillars lined the walls, and in the center of the room sat a long table with benches on either side and tall chairs with elaborate armrests at the ends. Though it appeared to be for dining, the room looked mostly unused, the unadorned stone floor giving it a rather dreary air. 

The captain made his way toward a room on the far side of the dining table, waving us along as he went. 

The next room was in complete disarray. 

Though there was another table in this room—that appeared to be for receiving guests—its entire surface was covered with books, parchment, and scrolls. The walls were lined with bookshelves, but they, too, were filled to the brim. On the floor was a beautiful carpet adorned with an intricate design, though it was covered in rocks and what appeared to be various animal claws and fangs, leaving us few options for where we could stand. 

On the far side of the room was a large glass window, in front of which sat a drafting table, and a man in a chair. 

“I’ve brought the messenger from Canada.” 

“Ah, yes, thank you.” 

The captain saluted the man before turning on his heel and leaving the room. 

The man stood from his chair. 

“To think someone would come all the way from Canada just for me. Welcome, welcome.” 

The man’s long elf ears stuck out through his haphazardly trimmed, green-tinged, blond hair. His green eyes peered out at us from behind a pair of round glasses. Rather than the traditional elven attire I’d seen thus far, he was wearing the same clothes as those of the human town folk, though it was several sizes too big and hung loosely on his body. 

“Greetings. My name is Ariane Glenys Maple. I take it you’re the one named Carcy?” 

Carcy looked surprised when he heard Ariane’s name. “A soldier from Maple? Well, I’ll be. I’m Carcy Held, but you can call me Carcy. And this knight here… Ohh! Is that a ventu-vulpis?” 

His surprise only increased as he caught sight of Ponta sitting atop my head. He shoved several boxes out of the way to get closer to us, excitement evident in his voice. 

“My name is Arc, and I am here serving as Miss Ariane’s travel companion. This cottontail fox is Ponta.” 

“Kyiiii!” 

Ponta scooted to the back of my helmet, seemingly put off by Carcy’s enthusiasm. 

“Travel companion? I’ve never seen an elf wear armor like that. I suppose that means you’re a human?” 

I simply nodded. 

Carcy started to look me over, as if taking in every detail from head to toe, and somehow managed to look even more surprised than before. 

“I’m hardly one to speak, but you make quite the unique pair. And a spirit creature bonding with a human? Practically unheard of.” 

Carcy grinned as he slowly reached out toward Ponta. The fox hopped down and wrapped itself around my neck to escape. Carcy frowned slightly at this, but his expression quickly changed to a dejected smile. 

Carcy let out a short sigh. “Spirit creatures never did like me much. Ah, well. Sit down, sit down.” 

He removed a few boxes from atop a chair, throwing them into a corner, and gestured to it. I offered the chair to Ariane and stood behind her. 

“Is it true that the village sent a messenger all the way here for me?” 

Carcy slumped into his own chair and pushed his glasses up with a finger, just before they slipped off the tip of his nose. He regarded us with keen interest. Judging by the way he spoke and acted, he seemed to have a pretty good grasp of the situation. 

“No, I’m actually on a quest to save some of our fellow elves who have been kidnapped by humans. We only happened to end up in this town on our way to Lamburt.” 

Carcy smiled and nodded, seemingly satisfied with this answer. 

“I see, I see. And then you heard that there was a strange elven man here and decided to check it out. You do know that you’re quite a ways from Lamburt, don’t you?” 

I knew what he was hinting at. 

Ariane fixed her gaze on the bespectacled man and deftly changed the subject. “I’m quite impressed you’ve been able to live here in this human town without any problems, Carcy.” 

Carcy slowly looked around the room before responding in a low voice. “I came here around, well, it must have been ten years ago or so. I left my village forty years ago, travelling from place to place, keeping my identity a secret. Compared to other countries, this is one of the better ones.” 

He offered us a tired smile. 

“Ten years is quite a long time to be living here.” 

“Considering our lifespans, it’s little more than what a year or two would be to you humans. But you’re right, it has been a while. With the Hibbot wastelands to the west and the Calcut Mountains to the east, it’s the perfect place to investigate and research all manner of monsters.” Carcy gave a wry smile and adjusted his glasses again. “But alas, it’s not such a nice place to live.” 

Ariane finally cut straight to the question that had been on her mind this whole time. 

“What brought you here to this human town?” 

Considering the job we were currently tasked with, Ariane had a healthy distrust of humans. We’d both been surprised to learn that the elf in front of us was living openly in a human town, and under their protection no less. 

Ariane’s golden eyes were fixed on Carcy. 

“When I first arrived here, I kept my identity a secret. However, the lord of this town heard about a man researching the various monsters in the area and took an interest in me. He invited me to his estate and, after learning I was an elf, offered me this place to stay. Now I’m living here, carrying out my studies, publishing books on my findings… It’s pretty much what I was doing back home.” 

I took another look around the room and saw that much of the parchment scattered about contained intricate drawings of monsters, with notes written haphazardly in the margins. As far as I could tell, all the books crammed onto the shelves were also about monsters. Carcy was the real deal. 

Ariane, however, didn’t seem entirely convinced. She stared at him intently, as if searching for something. 

“I notice you didn’t include your village in your name. Does this mean you’ve cut ties with it?” 

Carcy hit his fist into his hand, as if he hadn’t even realized what he’d done. “Aaah, no, that’s simply because I’ve adjusted to the human way of referring to myself. I don’t use it in any of the books I publish either. I’m from the village of Landfrea.” 

“The trading town…” 

Ariane seemed familiar with the name. She looked satisfied with his response. 

“Right now, I’m studying the sand worms that live out in the Hibbot wastelands, but they spend most of their time underground so I rarely see them, much less observe how they live. They’re incredibly strong, too, making it all the harder to get my hands on a specimen.” 

Carcy scowled, then his eyes widened, as if he’d suddenly realized. 

“That’s it! I’ve been trying to figure out a way to get my hands on a sand worm, but maybe you can help! It should be a trivial matter for a Maple soldier such as yourself, and with your companion here…” 

“I’m sorry, but we’re in the middle of another mission.” 

Ariane delicately deflected Carcy’s request. I thought she would have at least entertained the idea, since it came from a fellow elf. I was rather surprised at her quick response. 

Her golden eyes were still fixed straight on Carcy. “Elven soldiers don’t only train with blades and spells. They also spend a great deal of time reading bestiaries to learn about monsters and how they live. If you write books on these subjects for humans, then they’ll also be able to fight monsters.” 

I finally understood what she was getting at. Why was Carcy, an elf, helping humans? 

Carcy returned her intense gaze with a rueful laugh. 

“Those bestiaries you read? They were probably written by me, back when I lived in Landfrea.” 

“That’s all the more reason not to do it!” 

“Sooner or later, elf or human, someone’s going to get around to studying these monsters. And it’s important to me, as an elf, to be that someone.” 

The two locked eyes as Ariane struggled to come up with a response. 

I could understand where he was coming from. Every life he saved in this town, thanks to his research, would only improve the elves’ image. If humans began to see elves as their allies, they might start protecting them, rather than enslaving them. 

However, judging by the fact that Carcy had to live in the noble’s estate, hidden by walls, protected by guards, there was still a long way to go before most humans accepted elves as their equals. 

“As I mentioned earlier, this country is far better than the rest. The lord of this town has taken good care of me. But, of course, if it came to Canada and Rhoden either going to war or achieving peace, I’d much prefer the latter.” 

Carcy pushed his glasses back up his nose, and his expression softened. 

“Besides, humans aren’t all bad. The man behind you is one, isn’t he?” 

Ariane stiffened, her face a mix of emotions. 

He was technically right; I was a human. But with the curse on my body, I looked more like one of the undead. 

I felt like I was forgetting something incredibly important…but before I could try to figure out what it was, I sensed someone looking in my direction. Ariane’s beautiful golden eyes had turned to me, an unspoken question in her gaze. 

She seemed to be debating whether or not we should honor Carcy’s request. 

Whether this meeting was one of chance or fate, I let her make the decision. Personally, however, I wanted to take this opportunity to try and improve how humans viewed elves. 

“We could very well have been called here by the spirits. But I will leave the decision up to Ariane.” 

My horrible sense of direction had played a large part in us coming here in the first place, but it was Ariane who’d prayed to the spirits to direct our path. 

“Of course, I’d be happy to reward you for your assistance. I don’t have a lot in the way of money, but maybe I could offer you a monster bestiary? It’s a two-volume collection of all the monsters I’ve researched since leaving my village. It couldn’t hurt to learn more about the world around you.” 

Carcy pulled out two thick books and set them down in front of us. They were leather-bound, with the image of some dragon-like creature seared onto their covers. On the spines, the name “Carcy Held” appeared prominently. 

I paged quickly through one of the books, its interior filled with detailed illustrations of various monsters and all manner of information about their habits, habitats, and special characteristics. I’d loved looking at encyclopedias like this as a kid, and that same excitement came back to me now. 

Carcy reached up to one of the shelves and pulled out another volume. 

“This book contains information that I’ve thus far kept from the humans, information about all the spirit creatures I’ve encountered. Of course, the entries aren’t nearly as detailed as those on monsters. For some reason, I just can’t get close to spirit creatures, which makes it rather difficult to study them in depth.” 

He ran a hand through his hair, a wry smile on his face as he looked up toward Ponta. The fox scooted away again, as if trying to get out of his line of sight. Carcy’s shoulders slumped, dejected. 

I turned my attention to the spirit creature encyclopedia. It was only one volume, not nearly as thick as the monster bestiary, and the binding had been done in a haphazard manner. Evidently, Carcy wasn’t exactly eager to share his findings on spirit creatures with the humans, since the information might only encourage people like the ones who’d captured Ponta. 

Ariane returned her gaze to Carcy and spoke in a slow, deliberate tone. “We’ll help you, but we can’t devote a lot of time to it.” 

*** 

Carcy led us along the path through the center of the castle’s walled courtyard, bowing to various servants and guards as we passed. From time to time, someone would stop to gawk at Ariane, probably due to how rare dark elves were in human lands, though none seemed to display any sort of malice. 

In fact, I received far worse looks. 

Carcy brought us to a building in the middle of the courtyard, by far the largest in the whole estate. I guessed it was the home of the noble who lived here. After taking us up a few steps, Carcy greeted the two guards standing at the entrance. They silently opened the massive door to allow us inside. Carcy thanked the men and stepped casually into the entry hall. Just as we were about to follow him, one of the guards rushed forward. 

“I’m sorry, sir, but we have to ask that you leave your weapons here with us.” 

I figured they were referring to the dual-handed Holy Thunder Sword of Caladbolg strapped to my back and the Sword of the King of Lions hanging from Ariane’s waist. It made sense that they wouldn’t allow anyone to enter the lord’s residence armed. I worried a little about leaving my weapon behind, but I didn’t have much of a choice. I nodded at the guard’s request and handed my sword over, sheath and all. 

The moment I set the blade in his hand, however, the guard lost his balance, stumbling about. 

“Nng, this is heavy!” 

He locked his legs in a desperate attempt to keep from dropping it. 

“Is he going to be okay?” 

“I’m really sorry about that!” 

The blade didn’t feel all that heavy when I hefted it, but I realized it must have been rather unwieldly to a normal person. At the very least, this made me feel more comfortable about leaving the sword behind. No matter how powerful it was, if no one else could even lift it, then it wasn’t much of a threat. 

Ariane handed over her own sword. 

Now, with the guard’s permission, we passed through the door. In front of us, a female servant stood in the entry hall, calling out to Carcy. 

“Ah, Master Carcy. May I ask what brings you here today?” 

“I take it Skitts is in his usual room? I can find my own way there.” 

He quickly climbed the stairs to the second floor. Ariane and I hurried after him, before we could be left behind. The servant looked on in wide-eyed surprise. 

“B-but…Master Carcy, we need prior notice if you’re going to be bringing any guests with you!” 

The flustered woman chased Carcy up the stairs but lost her balance in her haste. Ariane was instantly at the woman’s side, gently catching her before she hit the floor. 

“Are you all right?” 

“Ah, um, yes, I am. Apologies for bothering you, ma’am.” 

The woman’s cheeks flushed a deep crimson as she gazed up into Ariane’s golden eyes. Then she quickly stood and bowed her head. 

“Master Carcy, please wait!” 

She yelled at the researcher again, possibly to hide her own embarrassment, before once again chasing after him. 

“There’s no need for such formalities, Brita.” 

“Well, I’m the one who’s going to get yelled at!” 

“Has Skitts ever gotten upset about something like this?” 

“The head chambermaid certainly will!” 

After reaching the top of the stairs, the servant, Brita, continued shouting at Carcy’s back as he walked away from her. The guards in the hallway couldn’t help but laugh under their breath as the two moved past. Evidently, this was a common routine. Ariane made a strange face at the whole affair. 

“Hey, Skitts, I’m here.” 

Carcy reached an intricately decorated door at the end of the hall, opened it without so much as a knock, and called to the person inside. 

Brita, hard on his heels, was now holding her head. She let out a meek apology for the intrusion before stepping inside. 

Carcy beckoned us into the room. Ariane and I exchanged a glance, then joined the two of them inside. 

“I heard that you were entertaining an elf. I was planning on visiting you as soon as I finished this task.” 

This new room contained a long table covered with decorative furnishings and was bordered by a small bookshelf on either end. Two large windows took up most of the wall at the far end of the room, illuminating the ornate ebony desk that sat between them. 

The older gentleman sitting at the desk looked up from his paperwork to address his unexpected visitors. There was a soft lilt in his voice as he stroked his unshaven chin. I guessed he was the man Carcy referred to as Skitts. He looked to be around forty and wore his dark brown hair cut close to his head. Even masked by his elaborate clothing, it was evident that the man was quite muscular, making him look more like some sort of military commander than a member of the noble class. 

Carcy casually cut to the chase. “I was thinking of collecting some sand worm specimens, like we discussed earlier.” 

The surprise was plain on Skitts’s face. 

“You’re still hanging on to that? I’ve already told you, I can’t devote any soldiers to collecting sand worms. I’m thankful for your help in expanding our farmable land, but we don’t have enough people to work and patrol the fields as it is, let alone if we were to expand beyond what we have now.” 

Skitts let out a sigh, a deep crease appearing between his brows. 

“I suppose I could offer up three, maybe four men…but that’s the best I can do.” 

Carcy smiled brightly and waved Ariane and me over. 

“Perfect! These two will be helping me. This is Ariane, a messenger from an elven village, and her companion in the armor is…umm…” 

Ariane interjected before Carcy could continue. “He’s my bodyguard, Arc.” 

I offered a curt nod in greeting. 

This was probably an effort on Ariane’s part to avoid anyone asking questions about why I was still wearing a helmet. If I was a bodyguard, then the humans would probably let it slide. I had no idea if the concept of diplomatic immunity existed in this world, but I decided it was best not to say anything at all. 

Besides, Skitts didn’t seem particularly interested in me. 

“And you plan on conscripting this messenger to do your dirty work?” 

Skitts leaned back in his chair and sighed dramatically, looking up at the ceiling, an expression of barely concealed incredulity on his face. 

Carcy smiled broadly. 

“I’m planning nothing of the sort. We negotiated for it.” 

Behind him, Brita bowed deeply in apology. 

“Now, if you would be so kind as to lend me the men you mentioned—and bait—Skitts, I’d be ever so grateful.” 

The noble gave Carcy a stern look. “I suppose we have those rotting goblins in storage… Fine, they’re yours. I’ve been receiving complaints for five days that they’re stinking up the place.” 

Skitts turned his attention back to Ariane. “Greetings, Miss Ariane. I am Viscount Skitts du Branbayna, the lord of this town. However, you may call me Skitts. It’s rare for us to entertain guests in this out-of-the-way town of ours, so please forgive our lack of manners.” 

“My name is Ariane Glenys Maple. Please, don’t worry on my account.” 

Skitts extended his right hand, and Ariane promptly gave it a firm shake. 

“Ah, well, in that case, I would like to invite you to a feast this evening.” 

Ariane quickly turned down Skitts’s offer. “That won’t be possible. We don’t have much time, so we’ll be leaving as soon as we’re done assisting Carcy with his work.” 

Time aside, I also wasn’t enthusiastic about the idea of taking my helmet off in front of people, so I kept my mouth shut. 

“Is that so? If you’re just being polite, there’s no need for it. But I suppose a messenger like yourself must be quite busy. All the same, please keep a close eye on Carcy.” 

Skitts’s cheerful expression changed to one of puzzlement as he looked in Carcy’s direction. 

“Hm? Where’d he go?” 

We all glanced around the room, but Carcy was nowhere to be found. 

Brita spoke up. “He left a moment ago. He looked rather cheerful.” 

Skitts sighed and turned his attention back to Ariane. “Same old Carcy…” 

Ariane stared at the man, is if taking everything in before voicing her next question. 

“If I may ask, why are you sheltering an elf?” 

Skitts looked confused for a moment, as if unsure whether there was another question behind her question, but then he grinned. 

“He’s truly a talented researcher. Around ten years ago, we were plagued by constant monster attacks. Our population dwindled rapidly as people fled to safer towns. When Carcy arrived, he provided my soldiers with information about the monsters’ behavior and how to repel them. He gave us the opportunity to completely rebuild the town, better than it was before. I… We are forever grateful to him.” 

Judging by the interaction we’d just witnessed, it seemed like Carcy was constantly giving Skitts headaches. But the trust between them was also readily apparent. Ariane nodded in understanding. 

As we left the room, Skitts saw us off with a smile, telling Ariane she was more than welcome to visit anytime. 

Though the town wasn’t all that large, Skitts had given me the impression of a charming mayor type rather than a local noble. 

While we retrieved our weapons back at the entrance, we asked the guards if they knew where Carcy had gone. They directed us to one of the storehouses. 

We arrived at a small, bland building, its walls unadorned save for the occasional, small window. As soon as I opened the doors, we were greeted with a horrendous stench. 

I leaned in for a better look, and the smell hit me even harder. Ariane wrinkled her nose and scowled. Ponta, however, didn’t seem to mind at all and simply wagged its tail. 

A cart sat in the middle of the nearly empty storehouse. There were around ten stocky, little green bodies piled up inside it, reeking of decay. Carcy peaked over the side of the cart when he noticed our arrival. 

“Wyverns chased these goblins to the outer limits of town. Now that they’ve fermented—quite nicely—I can use them as bait to lure out sand worms.” 

Since Ariane was pinching her nose and trying to hold back tears, I decided to ask the obvious question. 

“When do you plan to go hunting for sand worms, Carcy?” 

“They’re active at night, so I figured we could head out after lunch. Have you eaten yet? I know a delicious orc restaurant.” 

I glanced at Ariane, but she shook her head in response, her fingers still firmly pinched over her nose. 

Carcy looked slightly disappointed but turned to me inquiringly. 

“I think I’ll pass as well.” Not only did I not want to eat in front of anyone in the first place, but after seeing a bunch of decaying goblins, I had no appetite for trying out orc dishes. 

“Really? Well, that’s a shame. It’s quite good, you know.” 

Carcy pouted as he eyed the rotting goblins. However, this only lasted for a moment. 

“Well then, could you come back here a little later in the afternoon? You can wander around the estate or town if you’d like.” 

We left Carcy with the corpses and made our way back to town. 

*** 

No matter where we went in town, it seemed like all eyes were on us. Ariane had her hood down for now, allowing everyone to catch a glimpse of her face. There were plenty of reasons for people to look too. From her golden eyes to her amethyst skin to the curves of her body, she was a sight to behold. 

“It just seems so strange to me that an elf would live among humans of his own will.” 

She glowered at the townsfolk before finally pulling her hood back over her head, putting an end to all the attention she was getting. 

“Perhaps we should make arrangements for an inn tonight.” 

Ariane looked back at me, puzzled. “Why? Aren’t we heading straight for Lamburt after we capture the sand worms?” 

“If we don’t start looking for them until the afternoon, the hunt could run well into the evening. At the very least, we’ll be spending tonight here, no?” 

“You’re right. Sorry, I was only thinking about myself.” 

“I am but a hired hand. I’ll go along with whatever you decide. Besides, half the joy of traveling is sleeping on a bed of grass under the stars.” I tried to make light of the situation. To be honest, I quite enjoyed being able to see so many different places in this mysterious world. “But I also want to make sure you aren’t neglecting your own health. Even elves need a proper bed once in a while.” 

“Thank you, Arc.” 

Ariane averted her gaze and picked up the pace as we made our way toward a street with several inns. I increased my stride in order to keep up. 

The largest inn was full of mercenaries and the like, so we ended up having to book two rooms in one of the smaller buildings. According to the innkeeper, there was little traffic along the road bordering this town, and they rarely had any visitors other than mercenaries looking to harvest supplies from monsters. 

After securing our lodgings, Ariane and I wandered around town until the sun started its downward journey across the sky—the signal that it was time for us to make our way back to the noble’s estate. 

This time, Ariane merely had to pull down her hood and the guards let us through the gate without any words exchanged. 

Carcy was waiting for us on the other side, waving eagerly in our direction. 

Behind him was a large cart drawn by four horses, along with a driver and three other men in light armor who appeared to be guards. Everyone—other than Carcy—had cloths covering their mouths, making them look like bandits in an old western. 

A layer of dried grass had been piled over the rotting goblins in the cart, which served to mask the awful sight and slightly disguise the stench of death. But the smell was still enough to make the guards, townsfolk, and anyone else who got too close scowl. 

Carcy, however, was cheerful as ever. 

“Let’s get going, shall we?” 

With that, he led the way, greeting the guards at the gate on the way out of town and heading down the hill toward the road. From there, we turned north. After traveling a short distance, we left the road and made our way west into the desert. 

Along the way, Carcy told us what he knew about sand worms: They burrowed deep into the earth during the day and only came out to feed at night. They also usually fed on the dead, which was why we were using corpses as bait. 

Sand worms were apparently weak against fire, though they could withstand a certain amount of heat thanks to their outer skins. However, their bodies would quickly begin to burn once they exceeded a certain temperature, so we wouldn’t be allowed to use any fire attacks during this excursion. 

“Can’t you just sever their heads? I know that works with soil worms.” 

“No, the soil worms you’ve seen back in the forest are around three meters long, but that’s nothing compared to sand worms. They’re around twenty meters long, and as thick as a person is wide. What’s more, their skin is highly elastic, making it difficult to pierce with a blade. Not only are they incredibly strong, but they dart back underground at the first sign of danger. It’s quite a challenge to kill one.” 

I tried picturing the sand worms based on Carcy’s description. They sounded a lot like the massive, burrowing, man-eating worms I remembered seeing in an old movie once. What was it called again? Tremblers? 

At twenty meters long, they must have been absolutely massive. But if they truly were only as wide around as a human’s torso, then it should be no problem to chop off their heads with my trusty Holy Thunder Sword of Caladbolg. 

All we had to do now was find one of them. 

*** 

We continued on until we reached a place where the dirt was soft and we could no longer proceed with the cart. Carcy turned around to address us. 

“Well, this looks as good a place as any! Go ahead and put the bait out, then we’ll take the cart and hide behind that rock over there while we wait for the sun to set.” 

The spot he pointed to seemed like a rather unremarkable patch of dark red desert. Beyond that, a large rock protruded from the earth, looking almost like a horn. There was no way anyone—or anything—would be able to see us once we were on the other side. 

The three guards did as they were told, grabbing their spears from the cart, piercing the goblins, and carrying the corpses over to the designated spot, disgust etched on their faces. 

After the bait was placed, we hid behind the rocky outcropping and chatted among ourselves. Ponta curled up into a ball and slept contentedly on Ariane’s lap. 

The guards took turns looking out from behind the rock to see if anything was happening on the other side. Carcy spent the time looking at the nearby plant life and making sketches on a scrap of parchment. 

As the sun finally began setting, the grass and shrubs that somehow eked out a life in this patch of dark red earth began taking on a reddish hue of their own. The shadow of the rock grew long, stretching across the desert floor. As the temperature dropped, Carcy’s excitement grew. He poked his head around the rock over and over, unable to contain himself. The guards chuckled to themselves as they watched him. 

With dusk, came monsters. Unfortunately, these weren’t the monsters we were looking for, but they were a familiar sight all the same. As soon as the sound of flapping wings filled the air, Ponta darted up from Ariane’s lap to wrap itself around her neck. Ariane, for her part, looked rather pleased with this. 

Carcy mumbled to himself as these newcomers approached the bait. “Well, well, sand wyverns. How interesting. They don’t usually scavenge dead bodies.” 

Two sand wyverns landed next to one of the dead goblins and began pecking at it. One of them, seemingly on edge, kept poking its head up to look around. A moment later, with no warning, it rocketed off into the sky. Its companion, however, preoccupied with its meal, let out a shriek as something erupted from the ground and swallowed it whole. 

As if on cue, massive worms began springing up from the earth, one after another. 

Their bodies were a dusty yellow color mottled with green, their mouths opening like four-petal flowers spreading to catch the morning sun. Inside these gaping maws, row upon row of tiny teeth moved about, as if searching for their next meal. Behind their mouths, they had gills, like fish, which I presumed were used to expel dirt. Along the sides of their bodies wriggled hundreds of tiny legs, reminding me of centipedes. 

Even with only their heads sticking out of the ground, they were still an impressive five meters tall. They twisted about, moving their heads toward the rotting bait. I counted five in total. 

Carcy looked slightly dejected. “I didn’t imagine we’d attract so many. It’d be suicide to face off against all of them at once.” 

But the sight we’d just seen had given me an idea. 

“Do sand worms not just eat the dead? That one ate a wyvern.” 

His eyes never left the sand worms. 

“They prefer to scavenge, but they’ll eat living creatures as well.” 

That meant we were just as likely to become a meal. 

If I used my magic, I could probably take down the whole group, but I wasn’t sure it’d be a good idea to draw so much attention. 

It soon became clear that the goblins we’d brought weren’t enough to feed all five sand worms. They began fighting among themselves for the tasty morsels, and one of them was forced away entirely. The excluded sand worm began looking around. When it turned in our direction, it seemed to sense our presence. It drove its head back underground and started rushing toward us, a mound of dirt piling up as it sped along. 

“Waaaaugh!” 

One of the men, shocked at this monster’s speed, let out a shriek of fear and made a break for the road, leaving the relative safety of the rock behind. The mound of dirt followed the guard as he ran. 

“No! Stop!” 

I jumped out from behind the rock and chased after the guard, quickly catching up to him. Just as I did, the sand worm’s head exploded from the ground, splitting open and exposing hundreds of teeth as it lunged toward us. 

There was no time to draw my sword, so I simply threw my body against the sand worm. I grabbed it by the gills, yanking with all my might, trying to hold it back. Up close, its numerous, gyrating teeth made it look like some sort of bizarre alien baby. My ears rang with their unsettling grinding as the massive beast tried tearing itself from my grasp, but I doubled down, putting all my strength into keeping it in place. 

“Gyaaaaaagh!” 

The guard’s legs had given out in fear, and he was now crawling backward, away from the worm, leaving a damp trail in his wake. The crotch of his pants was damp as well. I wondered if sand worms were particularly sensitive to smells. 

With most of its body still firmly under ground, the sand worm started twisting around to try and throw me off of it. It was incredibly strong—as you’d expect from anything that was twenty meters long—and I had to crouch down and lower my center of gravity in order to keep myself from being tossed away. 

“Nnnnng!!!” 

I knew I wouldn’t be able to properly fight the sand worm with so much of its body buried. I needed to find a way to get it out of the ground. However, given how much of a fight it was putting up, our struggle had rapidly descended into a game of tug-of-war. I slowly started pulling back, dragging the sand worm out of its hole, until it was fully exposed, thrashing about on the ground. Its mouth opened and closed, snapping uselessly as I held it against my chest. 

It was like a real-life horror movie unfolding in front of me as I watched its body writhe about and heard its bone-chilling cry. I wrapped my arms around its gills, in my best attempt at a chokehold. 

“Arc!!!” 

Ariane came running up, sword in hand, looking for her opening to strike. But the sand worm seemed to realize what was going on and continued twisting and writhing about, keeping her from getting close. 

“It’s fine, Ariane! Just stay back!” 

I tightened my grip on the sand worm even further, trying to keep it still so we could stab it. The harder I squeezed, the more it struggled to get away. At this point, our battle was down to sheer, brute strength. 

Finally, the worm slumped weakly to the ground. When its body stopped spasming, I let up on my chokehold. The worm lay limp on the desert floor, a much darker shade than it had been mere minutes ago. There was a dark impression on its skin right where I’d been squeezing. 

“Never in all my years have I imagined that someone could take down a sand worm with their bare hands…” 

The awe was apparent in Carcy’s voice as he came running to my side. After thoroughly examining the massive worm, he turned his gaze to me, eyes peering out suspiciously from behind his glasses, as if he were trying to see through my helmet. 

The two remaining guards were close behind him. As soon as they arrived, they surrounded me, their faces filled with astonishment. 

I was starting to wish I’d used one of my spells rather than expose my superhuman strength like this. It was too late now, of course, but I wondered if the latter would have made less of a scene. 

I stood and brushed the dirt from my cape and armor, trying to pretend like nothing out of the ordinary had taken place. 

For his part, Carcy chose to say nothing and instead refocused his attention on the sand worm. 

I looked toward the area where we’d left the goblins as bait, but it was now completely clear; no corpses or sand worms in sight, just an empty expanse of desert. 

“I take it we can consider the sand worm hunt a success?” I turned back to the sand worm to find Carcy busy touching and pulling at its massive body. 

“More than a success! I never imagined we’d secure a specimen in such excellent condition!” 

The researcher was ecstatic, excitement evident in his every movement. 

“Master Carcy, it will be fully dark any moment now. If we don’t load up the sand worm immediately, the wyverns will almost certainly return.” The guard who’d been crawling away just a few moments ago urged Carcy to hurry. 

The sky was a deep purple now, the sun hidden behind the mountains to the west. 

“I suppose you’re right. I originally anticipated spending the night out here, but we finished much faster than I anticipated.” 

Carcy directed the men to take the sand worm back to the cart and coil its long, snaking body tight enough to fit it inside. Once they had, we turned the cart around for the trip home. 

As we headed back to Branbayna, Carcy made an offhanded comment to the other guards. 

“There’ve been a lot of sand wyvern sightings in the area lately.” 

“We also ran into a swarm of them on our way to Branbayna. We killed a few, but we left their bodies in the desert.” 

“Is that so? I don’t suppose you’d mind if I had Skitts send some men to pick them up, would you?” 

Ariane and I had no particular use for them, so we readily agreed. 

The hill on which Branbayna sat came into view, like a beacon in the dark, and the tension among the guards eased noticeably. The town’s gates were already shut for the night, but after Carcy explained the situation to the watchmen, they let us inside. 

As we passed through the town square, making our way to Skitts’s estate, I called out to Carcy. 

“I believe we’ll be leaving you here.” 

Carcy hit his fist into his hand as if remembering something and rushed back to the cart, pulling out a cloth-wrapped object. 

“This was an incredibly productive day. As promised, here are the books I offered you as payment. I hope they may be of some help to the homeland and, if I’m lucky, maybe they’ll inspire others like myself to take an interest in life beyond the villages.” 

Carcy’s eyes locked on Ariane’s as he handed her the books with his left hand and offered her his right. 

After a moment’s hesitation, Ariane gave his hand a firm shake. Carcy smiled. 

“Thank you again. Oh, and one last thing. You may want to be careful who you allow to read these books.” 

Ariane returned the smile, and Carcy made his exit, waving back at us as he walked alongside the cart toward the estate. 

“Shall we make our way to the inn?” 

“Yes, let’s.” 

Carcy disappeared into the darkness as we started down the deserted street. 

*** 

Ariane and I left Branbayna early the next morning. As soon as we were out of sight of any townsfolk, we used Transport Gate to return to the fork in the road where we’d wandered astray the day before. 

Ponta pranced excitedly around the large rock where the road split, chasing a butterfly as it lazily fluttered past. Ariane sat on the rock and took a swig from her water skin, letting out a deep sigh. I sat beside her and pulled a fuzzy plant out of the ground. It resembled a cat’s tail, and I waved it in front of Ponta to try and get the fox’s attention. But Ponta ignored me and, with a dismissive flick of its tail, pointedly looked in the other direction. 

Feeling a bit lonely, I turned my attention to the gently rolling hills that spread out ahead of us. Far off to the west, I could just barely make out the fuzzy rise and fall of a line of mountains stretching from the north to the south. I figured this must be the Riebing mountain range. Lamburt, our destination, was on the other side. 

According to what we’d been told back in Branbayna, the road snaked around the southern end of the Riebing Mountains and continued from there. Given how clear the air was, I figured we’d be able to cover a good portion of distance by teleporting. Though, while there were certainly fewer monsters along this path, there would be far more villages, fields, and travelers, increasing the chances we might get spotted. I sighed as I looked around, realizing the journey might take a lot longer than I’d originally anticipated. 

“I guess we should probably get going.” 

“Probably.” Ariane stood, catching the attention of Ponta, who’d been lazing about in the sun. It summoned a magical gust of wind and glided toward my head, just barely missing the mark and landing on my face. I pushed the fox up onto its perch, hefted my bag over my shoulder, and began making my way down the southwest road. 

Whenever I was sure no one was looking, I used Dimensional Step, sometimes teleporting us off the road in order to avoid people seeing us. In what seemed like no time at all, the sun started to set above us. 

Even though we’d been traveling all day, the landscape alongside the road remained an unending series of tree-covered hills, though the Riebing Mountains now appeared much more massive. We were practically at their base. 

Tonight, we’d stay at an inn in the small town at the edge of the forest. Tomorrow, we’d tackle those mountains.