——Shit, I’m gonna die…
That’s what I thought as I realized the enormous monster in front of me, its deep crimson mouth gaping wide, was charging straight at me.
There is a small city, Malt, which is situated on the fringes of the Yaalan Kingdom, a nation itself located on the very edge of the continent.
This was my daily routine, and today, as always, I would return to the city in the evening, then trade the materials to the Adventurer’s Union for enough coin to live on for a few days.
That was my intention.
And yet…
It really came out of nowhere.
As I came here everyday, it wasn’t as though I had gotten lost. Only, for some reason, there had been a side route I’d never seen before, branching off from the main path I always took.
Yeah, bad luck.
Adventurers were people who adventured, and adventuring was known to be a profession where people did not charge forward recklessly, without a plan.
However, in reality, there were more people who charged onward without thinking than not, and I was one of those fools.
After all, the ‘Mångata Labyrinth’ had been discovered quite a long time ago, and was said to have been explored completely; if a new passage or room were found, it would be a huge discovery.
With those foolish thoughts running through my mind, I set out down the path.
As a result, after walking for a while I entered into a wide, open area, and came face-to-face with a gigantic monster.
And if I wasn’t mistaken, it was a Wyvern.
Wyverns, they held the highest position among all monsters, and generally speaking, it was said that even if a party of Mithril-class (a level above the Platinum-class), adventurers attacked, they wouldn’t be able to defeat it.
Seemed, because unless you were particularly lucky, there was almost no chance of surviving such an encounter. It was also almost unheard of that they appeared before people, so the very encounter itself was extremely rare, resulting in only a handful of times throughout history where there had been confirmed sightings.
In other words, for a guy like me who has been a copper-class adventurer for forever, there wasn’t even a chance to twitch my little finger before losing.
If such a thing appeared all of a sudden, anyone would be in shock.
What’s more, no one could think about fighting at their best.
That’s why my thoughts were of running away as fast as I could. If I didn’t run away I’d die, so I began to move my legs.
——But…
The opponent was a monstrous creature after all.
I couldn’t help realizing it.
——My legs, weren’t moving.
No, my whole body; it didn’t matter what I tried to move, it wouldn’t budge.
I’m sure a normal guy would think, “What’s going on?”
When there is a confrontation between two people who are completely unmatched, a situation similar to this can occur. I had learned this personally.
While such a thing was extremely rare, it was still possible.
This was exactly like that.
Unable to withstand the pressure given off by the Wyvern, I had lost control over my body.
When I came to understand this, I thought, from the depths of my heart, gimme a break! Arriving at this conclusion, I knew all was lost.
At that time, all I was able to do was stare at the monster in front of me, and ask it kindly in my heart, please, don’t eat me.
Reality was not so kind.
When it noticed me, the Wyvern had opened its jaws wide, then charged.
——Ahh man, it’s gonna eat me.
On the verdge of such a dangerous, life-threatening situation, my thoughts were rather calm.
After all, my body wasn’t moving.
Ten years had passed since I started out as an adventurer at fifteen.
Earning only small change from lame requests, I still continued to hold onto my dream, continuing to train everyday after I’d finished my work.
All that work was going to end in a place like this.
It was far too soon.
My feelings were a mix of intense frustration, and a sense of freedom at everything ending here——
And with that, my body was inside the Wyvern’s mouth.
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆
A while later, very curiously, I awoke……
Yes, I awoke……
I had been eaten by a Wyvern. In spite of recognizing I had died undeniably, I woke up.
And, I noticed something.
——No no no. This is impossible?
Immediately after waking up, I confirmed my situation, and thought that from the depths of my being.
What was impossible?
It relates to my body.
I looked at my hands.
Doing so, I couldn’t see any flesh.
There was only white, thin bone.
That was all.
And this wasn’t limited to just my hand, no, it was my entire body.
My thighs were the same.
My face……I wasn’t sure about my face, but things being the way they were, I was certain it was the same.
In other words, I, the low level copper-class adventurer, Lent Feynar, somehow underwent a class change from an ‘Adventurer’ to a bony ‘Skeleton’.
——Impossible, right?
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆
Even so, what should be done now?
That was the first thing I needed to decide.
For the time being, accepting that I had been eaten by the Wyvern, it was a stroke of really good luck that I was still alive.
Speaking of skeletons, I’m sure they’re classified as undead, so they’d already be deceased.
The reason they could be so easily exterminated by purification-type magic, was because the skeleton was a creature who’s very existence went against God’s providence, which stated that “One who has died should no longer exist in the world”.
Whether this were true or not was not something I, who wasn’t a priest or bishop, would know. But following this logic, a skeleton would be classified as dead, and that was something I couldn’t change.
I’m…dead.
In a state of death, I still existed in the world.
This is, very, bad.
Because, as I said earlier, existing in the world after death is in direct disregard for the providence of God.
In that case my existence would truly come to an end.
Even being a bunch of bones, I was still alive.
Even if that was as a skeleton, even if it were as an existence classified to be dead, my very consciousness declared I was alive.
That’s why, I couldn’t just go back to town to be killed.
But in that case, what could I do?
That was the problem.
Could I continue to live here?
Only, this was a Labyrinth.
If I just loitered around I’d be eradicated sooner or later.
What could I do……?
Lost in thought, something came to mind.
I was a monster now.
Whether or not I was truly a monster I didn’t know, but by all appearances, I was the same as the Skeleton monster-class.
Existence Evolution.
This is what came to my mind.
Being an adventurer and all, I had done my fair share of reading research material pertaining to monsters, and somewhere I had read an article about the Skeleton’s Existence Evolution being a Ghoul.
They also had flesh, and, well, with a robe and mask to cover myself, I should be able to pass myself off as human.
If I could do that, I could go to town, and have a chance to explain things to people I know.
I knew it was a pretty absurd thought, but it was the only thing I could come up with, given the circumstances.
That’s why I steeled myself for it.
For the time being, I’ll aim for Existence Evolution.
In this labyrinth, I’ll become a Ghoul.
Thank you for reading! This is the Prologue Chapter, up next is Episode 2!
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