Queue chapter tom btw, don't wait for more tonight.
Volume 3 Chapter 27
The next day.
We ate breakfast, and then we walked through the narrow path of the canyon again.
Shiva-san is leading without looking at a map, but if it was just me, I would definitely end up lost because of all the turns.
From what I heard, it’s because Shiva-san has used this same path plenty of times before as part of the training of fresh recruits. It’s definitely not the most accessible place, but with all the cliffs that could be climbed, it just might be perfect for training.
And speaking of geography, I noticed that the geography here in this area is sometimes weird. It’s probably the effect of Masaharu’s magic, but there are rock cliffs here that are actually perpendicular to the ground.
If it at least had some slope I’d understand, but I don’t think it’s natural for terrain to be that perpendicular. Geological formations are things that form after the accumulation of earth and sand after all. And then there are those places that form from hardened lava.
I’ve also heard that jewels and gold were reported to have been spotted here. It wasn’t a meagre amount either, and people would mine out the veins immediately after finding one, so there were quite a number of people searching for them here. But after most of them failed to find anything, they gave up. And the people who found some couldn’t make enough of a profit to make it worth the effort either.
We talked about things like that as we walked. And then Shiva-san said,
“We’re near the labyrinth. Undead roam in the area near the labyrinth, so get ready.” [Shiva]
“I see, although it doesn’t seem to be a straight line.” [Ryouma]
The road’s being maintained, and yet it has so many turns.
“It’s a precaution against escapees, something to buy time in the one-in-a-million chance that a convict for death row manages to escape. For a similar reason, the road before here isn’t being maintained as it’s not part of the main road, so it’s quite hard to cross.” [Remiri]
I see... that makes sense. But right after Remiri-san finished talking, the smell of rotting flesh wafted to my nose.
“This rotting stench, could it be?” [Ryouma]
“Good timing. I’ll go ahead and teach you how to deal with them.” [Shiva]
20 seconds passed, and a rotting corpse walking towards us entered our vision.
According to what I’ve investigated beforehand, the undead of this world like places with little or no sunlight, so they can usually be found is such places. But that doesn’t mean they can’t function under sunlight.
My impression of my first time seeing a zombie is that they’re disgusting. Their flesh is rotting; they stink… But unexpectedly, they can move quite fast.
I expected them to be disgusting, but I didn’t expect them to move that fast. Oh, but while I say they’re fast, they’re only really faster than my expectations, and are walking around the pace of an adult man. So it’s not like I’m feeling threatened or anything.
It’s just a bit different from the image I had in mind is all. I expected a zombie groaning as it walked one step at a time, very slowly. So it’s a bit unexpected that it’s actually walking normally.
“Well then, before all else, let’s go and confirm the property of the zombies. First––“ [Shiva]
Shiva-san ran to the zombie, and swung his halberd diagonally from his shoulder, cutting the zombie in two halves in one swing. After cutting it two more times, Shiva-san came back.
“Just now, I cut it without using any magic, but my attacks had no effect at all. And the zombie just regenerate, and start walking again.” [Shiva]
Exactly as Shiva-san had said, the cut zombie began to gather its remaining parts, and started putting itself back together.
“It’s not just zombies either. Other undead-type magical beasts can also regenerate. So beating them with only weapons is extremely inefficient. If you really need to beat them with just weapons, then it would be better to use a blunt weapon rather than a sharp one. As that would allow you to crush their bodies thoroughly rather than just cutting them to pieces. Lastly, there are also magical beasts that can’t be beaten with such methods, so it’s imperative to exercise caution.” [Shiva]
Around this time, the zombie finally finished regenerating, and has started walking towards again. Then suddenly, Shiva-san casted ‘Wind Cutter’ and cut off the Zombie from its waist. The zombie started to regenerate again, but it’s far slower this time around.
“You might’ve noticed it, but these magical beasts regenerate at a slower rate when attacked by magic compared to when they are attacked by weapons. This is said to be because of their dark attribute magic power being dispersed by the magic power of a different attribute. And the most effective magic are those under light attribute. Try hitting it with ‘Light Ball’ once it finishes regenerating.” [Shiva]
After some time, the zombie finished regenerating. Just as I was told to, I casted ‘Light Ball’.
“’Light Ball’” [Ryouma]
As we got closer to the labyrinth, more and more undead have been appearing, causing our pace to greatly slow down.
Also, the labyrinth that was once the execution grounds is apparently located at the center of an artificial bowl-shaped geographical formation. Right now, we’re on top of a hill where we can see the entrance to the execution grounds.
We can see a huge, ancient gate from afar that’s connected to a tall wall. The door on the right side of the gate is collapsed, so we can also see what’s inside the gate. There, we could see some iron bar windows and some buildings made out of stone. As well as an uncountable number of undead.
“That many is a little annoying.” [Remiri]
“I could also ask my slimes to help.” [Ryouma]
“Ryouma-sama, you’ll be able to do something like this in no time at all.” [Sebasu]
“That aside, it’s your and your slimes turn next, Ryouma-kun.” [Rheinbach]
Lately, the iron and metal slimes have become even better at transforming. And the iron slimes are now able to transform from their wheel form into something thinner that resembles the blade of a katana almost immediately. Coupled with their weight and rotation, the sharpness of that form can cut its opponent apart.
They probably learned it since I kept turning them into a blade. From the outside, they look like a chakram when transformed. I tried it using against goblins once, and they were able to easily cut their necks and limbs off. It’s quite terrifying honestly.
As for the metal slimes, they rolled, and then they jumped. And having learned how to change even in mid-air, they transformed into a rod-shaped object with a sharp end. Following the force from their previous jump, they thrust themselves into their foes like a throwing spear.
They pierced into the chests of the zombies and the undead, stopping their movements, and leaving them wide open for the scavenger and acid slimes to feast on.
…At first, I thought to watch them quietly from behind, only to interfere when they’re in danger, but… I don’t think either me or my light slime need to make a move. I just realized this, but… These guys are actually peerless when it comes to zombies and skeletons! Well, that’s the way it is, so I guess I’ll just go to the front lines now.
I neared the gate as I ignored the slimes that were trampling all over the undead. There are still a lot of slimes even in this area, so there’s no danger of getting surrounded. At the same time though, there’re also still a number of enemies.
“A’ –“ [Zombie[
“…” [Skeleton]
I continued to kill one undead after another as I thought that to myself. When we finally finished killing everyone, no more undead came to attack us near the gate anymore.