Chapter 4
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Cemetery Ghouls
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It was late evening, just as the sun was beginning to set, when Luon arrived near the cemetery. As Median had mentioned, a long palisade of stakes and planks surrounded the main road leading to the cemetery. In front of it, armored soldiers stood guard.
It was meant to prevent the ghouls that had appeared in the cemetery from descending into the residential areas. Naturally, it also served to prohibit entry to civilians.
Surveying his surroundings, Luon spotted a tree that offered a clear view of the road and quickly climbed it. After settling on a sturdy branch, he watched two soldiers chatting quietly in front of the palisade.
*Anything useful to be gleaned?*
Luon slowly closed his eyes.
Unlike in a typical game, this world had no concept of a status window. It might have existed back when it was just a game, but for Luon, who had become his character the moment of creation, such a hypothesis was meaningless.
That wasn't to say there was nothing at all. If there were, he would have been dead long ago.
There was no intuitive status window, but a wealth of schematized information resided within Luon’s mind. Experience points, stats, and skills—he couldn't see them, but he could feel them.
It was a sense, a concept, granted only to Luon. And only he could utilize it. Just like now, as he closed his eyes and heightened his concentration.
[Elven Hearing]
An ability he could feel, as if it were written, slowly rose to the surface of his consciousness. It was a skill that could be used both passively and actively, acquired when his perception stat surpassed a certain threshold.
His enhanced hearing began to pick up sounds from a realm beyond what ordinary humans could perceive. When he could hear the footsteps of insects crawling on the ground, the soldiers' idle chatter became as clear as if he were standing right next to them.
“The more I think about it, the more this sucks. Why did these ghoul bastards have to show up and keep us from getting any rest? I should be on leave right now, buried in Essian’s soft skin.”
“Bullshit. Forget Essian’s skin. The subjugation is about to start, and we might not even make it out alive. You’re still thinking about women at a time like this?”
“Of course. Booze and women are the only reasons I put up with this grind.”
“You crazy bastard.”
The soldier who had chuckled at the bold reply soon shook his head.
“Cut it out. Now’s really not the time. Didn’t you hear? Yan, who was on watch last night, got attacked by a ghoul. A chunk of his chest was torn off, and they say the wound started to rot in just half a day. He’s not going to die peacefully, that’s for sure.”
“Hey, speaking of which, what’s this I hear about Yan spouting nonsense?”
“That? I guess he doesn’t have long. Even in his delirious state, he keeps rambling on about how the ghoul that attacked him looked exactly like his friend who died a few weeks ago.”
“Fuck. That’s creepy.”
“So if you don’t want to end up like Yan, you better stay sharp. Put Essian’s skin out of your mind for a bit.”
“I get it, so stop nagging. You’re not my mother…”
The rest of their conversation was just trivial banter, so Luon deactivated Elven Hearing. It was called enhanced hearing, but maintaining such a hyper-sensitive state consumed a great deal of mental energy.
*Something’s definitely going on.* To the soldiers, who were unaware of the full story, it was just idle talk. But to Luon, who knew this was related to a witch’s curse, it was not something to be dismissed lightly.
*The murdered mistress, the witch, the curse, the cemetery, the ghouls, a ghoul with the face of a friend.*
Recalling these fragments of information, Luon gently bit his lip. Something was certainly afoot, but he couldn't know for sure until he faced it himself.
*Might as well go and see.*
Having made up his mind, Luon moved through the trees with light footsteps. Not even a single leaf fell, so the soldiers never thought to look up, even as Luon passed right over their heads.
After leaping from tree to tree for a while, Luon dropped to the ground when he ran out of suitable branches to cross. As his view opened up, he saw tombstones planted at regular intervals in the distance. *There it is.*
Luon adjusted his stance as he walked down the path, which was shrouded in an eerie silence. He had night vision that could pierce the darkness, but it never hurt to be cautious.
Just then, a gust of wind blew from ahead. The foul stench it carried made Luon draw his sword without hesitation.
“They’re here.”
As if in answer to his murmur, a gurgling sound erupted from the darkness.
“Gyaarrrrk.”
“Krrrrrrk.”
“Krrk-krrk-krrk.”
At the same time, several four-legged beasts, drooling incessantly, revealed themselves.
Sharp fangs for tearing flesh from corpses, and twisted, repulsive bodies. They were ghouls.
“Kraaaargh!”
The ghouls roared savagely and charged. Despite the vicious malice directed at the living, Luon didn't back down and surged forward to meet them.
Maintaining his speed, Luon rolled forward to dodge a ghoul’s claws and, before the others could focus their attacks, swiftly swung his sword up in a diagonal slash. The creature, having lost half its face along with a foreleg, let out a horrific scream and writhed.
“Kieeeeek!”
Luon kicked the head of the thrashing creature, dodged a hand swiping for his entrails from the side, and sliced its neck. Nauseating black blood spurted from the gash.
“Nice try.”
Evading a surprise attempt to bite his ankle by simply lifting his leg, Luon brought his foot down hard. With a sickening crunch, the ghoul’s face exploded.
In that instant, two ghouls that had gotten behind him charged simultaneously. His defenseless back was about to be torn apart! With incredible agility, Luon spun around, swinging his sword and tearing the creatures' heads from their bodies.
A barrage of attacks continued to rain down on Luon, but he blocked or dodged every one with perfect timing, delivering devastating counterattacks to his foes. None of the ghouls that were hit managed to get back up.
Having dealt with nearly ten ghouls, Luon felt a surging sense of exhilaration and smiled faintly. As expected, the experience points from these exceptionally ferocious monsters did not disappoint. Just then, he saw another pack of ghouls approaching from the distance. With a strange certainty that it would be a long night, Luon tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword. *Yeah, bring it on, you sacks of experience points.*