The Careless Supporting Character Begins His Journey Through the Changed World (2)
"Karl and Ron, maintain a strict perimeter. Jack and May, if you sense even the slightest danger to Master, throw yourselves in the way to protect him no matter what."
Clack-clack-clack! The skeletons saluted at Lara Tiasia's words and took up positions to guard Joyeon exactly as instructed. Their protection of him grew even more intense as they moved toward the still-rising black smoke.
"This feels excessive."
"Not at all. You are a fragile human, Master. It would be disastrous if you were injured by a sudden beast attack."
"I've got Bone Armor for that."
"That is our last resort."
Clack. 'I can sense the presence of beasts nearby.'
Clack. 'They are not particularly threatening, but we should remain cautious.'
"Yeah, yeah. Do whatever you want."
Assuming there were no other people around, Joyeon let the skeletons do as they pleased until they reached the source of the black smoke. After walking for quite some time under everyone's escort, the destination finally came into view.
"Aah. So this is where the smoke was coming from."
Joyeon spoke as the buildings gradually became visible.
"Do you recognize this place?"
"Yeah. It's the university I mentioned earlier. The land must have shifted and brought it all the way here."
Unlike the high school he attended, this was a university of enormous scale. The main building, engineering college, physical education building, arts college, humanities college, and so on. Over a dozen buildings that took twenty to thirty minutes to walk between, plus more than four athletic fields. What should have been only a thirty-minute distance from his school had become over an hour away.
"It appears to be the higher educational institution that Master attended. The academy I went to was similar in scale."
As they pushed through the undergrowth, a massive black mass emitting smoke and a prison-like structure made of iron bars roughly the same size stood before one of the university buildings that looked taller than twenty stories.
"Ohooo~!"
Joyeon let out an exclamation like a child who had just spotted a toy he wanted.
"Lara stays. Everyone else, return to the grave."
"Master, at least leave Karl or Ron behind..."
"No. They're skeletons. We decided that only Lara would remain when there's a chance of meeting other people, so get inside already."
Clack. 'If I determine the situation is dangerous, I will emerge immediately.'
Clack. 'Young lady, please take care of Master.'
Following Joyeon's command, the four skeletons sank into the ground and vanished. Joyeon stepped into the university building with sparkling eyes. Lara Tiasia followed behind him, silently vowing to protect him with her life if anything happened.
****
As they approached the university building, they could finally make out what the black mass and iron structure actually were.
"Ugh... the smell..."
"It's a pile of meat... and in such a large quantity..."
The black mass, stacked as high as an adult, was an unrecognizable heap of meat and bones mixed with various other things that couldn't be identified. And then—
"P-people?! Those are people, right?!"
The iron structure was, quite literally, a prison. A crude but sturdy-looking cage made of iron bars. Inside were three men and women wearing nothing but rags that barely qualified as clothing. All of them were modern humans.
"What the hell is going on here?"
"At the very least, it is not a good situation, Master."
"R-run away!"
One of the elderly men inside the cage shouted.
"Save me! Please save me!!"
A middle-aged man cried out for help.
"Hic... I'm scared...!"
The remaining woman huddled in the center of the cage, trembling violently.
"Hmm... Should I open it?"
"Are you serious? There is no reason we need to save them."
"True, but ignoring people who are begging for their lives feels wrong too."
"...Understood."
Lara Tiasia set down Joyeon's iron ball and chain and approached the cage.
"S-save us!"
"What are you doing?! I told you to run!"
Conflicting voices came from inside the cage. Lara kept her mouth shut, thinking that speaking would only cause trouble, and examined the structure of the prison.
"D-don't talk nonsense, you old fool! I want to live!"
"Dragging in people who haven't been caught yet! You know we can't escape anyway!"
"...Escape? What did you just say?"
Lara's interest was piqued by the argument between the two men grabbing each other by the collar.
"I-I'll explain later, so just let us out of here!"
At the man's fear-filled cry, Lara began to hesitate.
Death Aura LV1 has been activated.
Joyeon's body released a black energy that spread across the ground like it was seeping into the earth.
"It buffs me and my undead while debuffing enemies, right? Let's see how much weaker they get."
Thud! With a stomp of Joyeon's foot, the aura of death crawled across the ground toward the boars.
Queeek! Realizing that Joyeon was not a threat after all, the boar monsters let out piercing cries and charged at him.
Thudududududu! It was a reckless charge powerful enough to be called a living tank. Strong enough to crush both Joyeon and the cage behind him like toys.
The boars stepped onto the blackened ground without noticing the change in color.
Exposed to Death Aura LV1.
Failed to resist.
Status ailments: Fear, Confusion applied.
Queeek?! Joyeon couldn't stop the boars' charge directly, but he could make them stop on their own.
Thudududuk...! The boars that stepped on the death-infused ground slammed on the brakes and halted their charge. Then they began trembling as they looked at Joyeon, as if they had seen something they shouldn't have.
Physical abilities reduced to less than half.
"Oho~ So this is how effective it is if they don't resist."
To the boars, Joyeon smiling in front of them looked like the grim reaper himself.
'As expected of Master.'
Lara watched in admiration as Joyeon perfectly subdued the boars, contrary to her worries.
"Now, please come out quickly."
In the meantime, Lara easily unlocked the cage door.
"Th-there's a monster right there! Look, there's a monster!"
"They've stopped moving. Stop wasting time and come out."
"No! I don't want to!!"
To ordinary humans, it simply looked like the boars had paused on a whim. Even with the cage door open, the people refused to leave, believing the shabby prison was safer.
To Lara, it was an incomprehensibly foolish decision.
'If it weren't Master's order...'
A frustrating and meaningless standoff. It ended with a massive harpoon flying in from somewhere and piercing one of the boars dead.
BOOM!