Yuda’s body instinctively flinched at the flood of messages appearing before his eyes. But he quickly understood the situation and dismissed them one by one. The first few messages weren’t particularly important, they were just routine notifications that appeared whenever he acquired a fragment.
The fact that nearly all his stats—Strength, Health, Agility, Magic, and Magic Resistance—had increased by 1 was incredibly satisfying. Scanning Altemia’s options, it exceeded his expectations. To think he got such a weapon for just 15 gold!
That makes two, huh?
Considering he needed to collect twenty-four fragments, this was just the first step, but it was a remarkably smooth start.
Like a Russian matryoshka doll, he confirmed a new dagger inside the original dagger.
The partially broken glass blade was still attached, but a light tap sent it falling to the ground.
Flipping the dagger revealed a slightly smaller one inside.
Its blade, blood-red and perfectly straight, looked strikingly pure.
The fragment, lying on the ground in the rain, seemed to hum and tremble lightly, as if tempting him.
“Hah.”
Like Carpe Diem, the fragments seemed to possess a strange power to sway people’s hearts.
He casually tossed aside the glass dagger’s empty handle that was now useless and picked up the 〈Tenth Fragment - Altemia〉
The moment he felt its smooth grip, its usage imprinted itself in his mind.
A sharp pang hit him, but the strange exhilaration made him smile.
“Yuda, are you okay?”
Startled by the wave from the shattered glass dagger, Jeanne asked with concern.
“Yeah, I’m actually feeling great. Why? Do I look strange?”
“It’s nothing, but you suddenly seem brimming with confidence.”
It was a sharp observation.
The moment he acquired the fragment and saw the message about the new save point, his fear of returning to the moment of Ea’s attack vanished.
The thought that death would bring him back to this safe moment fueled his confidence, evident in his demeanor.
Yuda gave a slight smile.
“I’ve got a weapon to deal with wraiths now. Shall we go?”
“…Yes.”
“Oh, you don’t need to arm up fully. Just summon your shield to protect me. If a wraith gets close, infuse the shield with mana and swing.”
“Understood.”
Nodding, Jeanne summoned silver particles in her left hand, forming a rectangular shield.
Yuda shifted the dagger from his right hand to his left.
He could throw with his right, but it felt awkward compared to his left, and he needed the skill’s bonuses.
Standing before the dilapidated house, a chilling sensation crept up his fingers as he grabbed the doorknob.
His hair stood on end.
He let out a hollow laugh.
It felt like the moment he first hunted a black wolf.
Hah. In games or novels, characters fought new monsters or enemies with ease, but this was different.
Watching raindrops drip down his robe, he took a deep breath to steady himself.
Then, with bold resolve, he flung the door open.
The moment the door opened, hanging corpses caught his eye first, with dark shapes beside them grinning.
As if in greeting, the wraiths exerted physical force, moving the corpses’ mouths.
The rotting corpses’ teeth clattered as they moved.
One couldn’t bear its weight, its body detaching from the neck with a thud.
Something rolled out from the fallen body, perhaps from its pocket.
Whether by chance or the wraiths’ doing, the thing that rolled to Yuda’s feet was a bronze adventurer’s badge from the guild.
He recalled the guild receptionist’s words: adventurers sent to find Edron in the village hadn’t been heard from either.
These must be them.
Yuda bent down to pick up the badge.
The wraiths loitered around the fallen corpse, laughing and chattering.
They seemed to be enjoying themselves.
Narrowing his eyes, Yuda stored the badge in his 〈Inventory〉 and pushed back his hood.
“Dead things making such a racket,” he muttered.
He flicked his wrist, throwing Altemia.
No need to infuse it with mana.
The fragment could harm spiritual beings on its own.
The dagger sliced through the air like a bullet, hitting a wraith.
The dark shape flew back as if struck by a cannon, embedding into the wall before being sucked into the dagger with a scream.
───!
The scream was irritating.
The moment they registered the attack, other wraiths charged at Yuda fearlessly.
Activating Shadow Sorcery Form 2 - Demo Eye Open, Yuda quickly assessed the wraiths’ positions and numbers.
“Block the front, Jeanne.”
“Yes!”
She swiftly moved forward, raising her mana-infused white shield.
Meanwhile, Yuda opened his palm.
Red energy gathered, forming an Altemia identical to the one he’d thrown.
Its weight, feel, and sharpness were the same.
With a flick of his wrist, he threw it, piercing the forehead of a wraith approaching from the corner.
No need to draw from his waist allowed for quick throws with minimal movement.
He threw two more daggers before the wraiths could get closer.
Every shot hit its mark.
Not a single dagger missed.
Shaaaa!
Kiaaaa!
Outside, the soothing sound of rain seemed to wash the world away, while inside, horrific screams shook it.
Despite seeing their kin vanish, the wraiths, having already experienced death, approached without hesitation.
Jeanne’s mana-infused shield collided with the charging wraiths, repelling them.
"?"
“?”
Expecting recoil, Jeanne was puzzled by its absence.
No sound came when the shield struck.
But she definitely felt something hit.
As the wraiths on the floor rose, one from the side lunged with a gaping mouth and grotesque hand.
As she turned her shield, a red streak flashed through the air, entering the wraith’s mouth and sending it crashing into the wall at the same speed it approached.
“Jeanne, right side!”
Jeanne immediately shifted her gaze.
The risen wraiths were approaching again.
“Got it!”
She swung her shield, knocking the wraiths away like balls.
Perhaps using too much force, one wraith passed through the wall and vanished outside.
Four down. Seven hiding. Including the ones visible… twelve left?
Yuda glanced at the floor.
In the darkness, his red-tinged eyes left heat-like afterimages.
With a presence rivaling the wraiths, Yuda summoned another Altemia in his right hand and struck downward.
A wraith about to emerge let out a tearing scream.
The sensation of cutting or stabbing a wraith was peculiar.
Like slicing wet tissue?
It felt like nothing yet something, hard to describe.
Feeling a chill behind him, he pulled the dagger from the floor and swung it backward.
His instincts were spot-on; the wraith emerging from the wall met the same fate as the one from the floor, absorbed by Altemia.
Whether their essence was vitality itself, a mere graze from Altemia’s red blade dealt near-fatal damage.
Five, six?
Before finishing the thought, he threw the daggers in both hands.
What was thrown with the right hand missed, but perhaps it grazed the target slightly, the wraith flying through the air lost its sense of direction and staggered.
Seven. Eight!
Summoning and throwing another dagger, Yuda felt a slight fatigue.
He recalled that 〈One Yet Ten Altemia>〉skill consumed 1% of his health per use.
No wonder he felt tired despite not being hit.
But his recovery speed seemed to match the consumption.
These guys are fearless.
Despite their chatter suggesting intelligence, they didn’t retreat.
There's only 2 left..
Jeanne had either obliterated them with her shield or battered them into rags.
The screams echoing in the house vanished like a lie.
The Altemia embedded in the walls, ceiling, and floor vaporized into the air, leaving only the one in his hand, which also vanished into his palm.
This is convenient.
Being able to hide the weapon completely and summon it in emergencies was a great advantage.
“Good work, Jeanne. Thanks to you, we took them down easily.”
Her shield technique was exceptional.
Blocking most approaching enemies made the hunt straightforward.
He only needed to watch for those ambushing from walls, floors, or ceilings.
Choosing Jeanne as a companion was indeed a brilliant decision.
Confirming no wraiths remained, she lowered her shield and smiled.
“You worked hard too, Yuda. That dagger is really effective. I might believe it’s a fragment now.”
She didn’t seem to truly believe it was a fragment.
Even if I said, “This is actually a fragment!” she wouldn’t believe me.
Since she couldn’t see item names or abilities like Yuda, it was understandable she’d dismiss it as a lie.
With the wraiths dealt with, all that remained was handling the hanging corpses.
“What do you think about leaving them as is?” Yuda asked.
Having killed and dissected countless black wolves, he was unfazed by corpses, but touching them stirred instinctive revulsion.
Especially since they were rotting and might fall apart like the detached body.
But Jeanne shook her head immediately.
Her resolute demeanor left no room for debate.
“If we were in a rush, maybe, but since we’re sheltered from the rain, we have time, don’t we? I think we should let them rest in peace. Burying them is tough in this weather, but how about gathering them in a corner of the house?”
“…Ugh. No choice, then.”
Sighing and frowning, Yuda approached the hanging corpses.
The horrific sight and foul stench made him hesitate to reach out.
Seeing this, Jeanne realized her mistake.
Yuda’s maturity for his age had made her overlook his discomfort.
Handling corpses might still unsettle him.
She grabbed Yuda’s hand as he reached for the corpses.
“I’ll do it, Yuda. I’ll lay the bodies down; you just search for their adventurer badges.”
She cut the ropes, skillfully laying the bodies in a corner, while Yuda’s only task was to search their pockets for bronze badges.
Feeling it wasn’t right to leave them exposed, Yuda pulled a cloth from his 〈Inventory〉 to cover them.
Afterward, Jeanne dismantled a collapsed wall to shield the bodies with wooden planks.
“By the way, Yuda.”
“Yes?”
“We haven’t eaten since leaving the castle, and I’m hungry. Do you… have any food?”
Chuckling at her request for food, Yuda nodded.
Yeah, the rain would likely continue until the dungeon was cleared.
In a place sheltered from the rain, with time to spare, it was best to eat heartily.
He opened his 〈Inventory〉 and took out the food Tia had packed when they left Serenia Castle.
She told me to eat it alone, but sorry, Tia. I’ll share a bit with Jeanne.
Mentally apologizing to Tia, Yuda portioned the food into an empty bowl.
Though the bodies were covered, eating warm food in a house with corpses in the corner, once inhabited by wraiths, felt… surreal.
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