I cautiously moved toward the hut.
Keeping my distance, I slowly examined the exterior first.
"Do you think he's inside?"
Millen's voice came from behind me.
I gave a slight nod.
"Probably."
One side of the roof had caved in, and part of the wall was completely covered in vines.
The windows had been boarded up, but one of them was shut tight, as if it had been blocked from the inside.
'Is someone in there, or...'
I stopped in front of the door.
The hinges were rusted, and fallen leaves lay piled in layers at my feet.
Strangely, though, only the area right in front of the door had the leaves faintly scattered.
Like traces of someone recently coming and going.
"Carl! Are you in there?"
Millen shouted, but there was no answer from inside the hut.
"...Maybe he's not here."
The doorknob was old, but oddly clean.
The disturbed fallen leaves and the spotless doorknob.
That meant someone was using this place.
And a strange stench was seeping through the crack in the door.
And a strange stench was seeping through the crack in the door.
With an ominous feeling, I gathered mana at my fingertips.
'This smell... I've smelled it somewhere before.'
There were no signs of presence, no wind, no sounds of beasts.
Even so, an inexplicable tension seeped out from beyond the door.
At that moment—thunk.
I heard something fall beyond the door.
Reflexively, I lowered my body and raised my staff.
"There's definitely something inside."
Millen whispered in a low voice.
I nodded and stepped back.
That was when it happened.
The wooden floor inside creaked as something moved.
A scraping sound against the floor, as if something heavy was being dragged.
'...What is it?'
It was definitely deliberate movement.
Someone was approaching while hiding themselves.
I steadied my breathing and drew up my mana.
Preparing to cast Waterflow Barrier, I crouched below the window.
Millen, holding the doorknob, quietly signaled with a nod.
When I nodded back, Millen slowly opened the door.
'It's not locked.'
The moment I thought that, the door flew open violently.
Bang!
"Aaah!"
Crash!
Millen screamed and fell backward.
As soon as the door opened, the trapped stench spread out all at once.
A huge, long-haired man stood in the doorway.
His eyes were bloodshot red, as if he hadn't slept for days, and his hair was matted and disheveled.
Something pitch-black was smeared all around his mouth.
"Um... are you Mr. Carl—"
"This is mine!!!"
With a shriek, the man charged like a madman.
He had something raised in his hand.
Is that... a dagger?
"You crazy bastard!"
Without hesitation, I stepped back and deployed mana through my staff.
[Waterflow Barrier]
In the blink of an eye.
Water flowed out from the crystal orb and spread like ripples.
As the transparent membrane unfolded, the dagger struck it with a clang!
The blade bounced off, and the man screamed.
"It's mine! I said it's mine!!"
"Carl! It's me! What the hell is wrong with you?!"
Millen shouted from behind, but the man's eyes were unfocused.
A madness driven by instinct, like a starving beast.
'Is he on some kind of drug?'
Just the single impact against the barrier made pain shoot all the way to my wrist.
Carl swung the dagger several more times.
His movements were crude, but with his bizarre strength, they were threatening enough.
"Hoo—"
I exhaled as I dodged.
My heart pounded wildly under the insane pressure.
Under the continuous attacks, cracks began to form in the Waterflow Barrier.
I could block him, but simply enduring wouldn't solve anything.
That was when it happened.
Carl clutched his head and screamed.
"Kraaaaaaaaaah!!!"
Crack! Crrrk! Crunch!
The sounds of flesh tearing and bones twisting rang out.
Carl's body contorted as if being warped.
His muscles swelled as if they would burst, and black energy rose from his back.
His skin turned black, and bulging crimson veins protruded.
Carl's form was collapsing.
'...What the hell is this?'
The dagger had already fallen from his hand, and in its place, long, sharp black claws had grown.
From his forearms to his shoulders, grotesque bones jutted out one after another.
He was... no longer human.
"Grrrrrr..."
He—no, it glared at me.
Something that was neither beast nor man.
I felt it instinctively.
This thing was dangerous.
"Carl? What on earth is that?"
I heard Millen swallow her breath.
My own breath caught as well.
"...Run."
Millen was trembling so badly that no matter how I looked at it, she didn't seem like she'd be any help.
And even if we ran together, it was obvious I'd be the one to fall behind.
In that case, it would be better for at least one person to go and call for help.
Millen briefly gave me an apologetic look, then dashed straight down the forest path.
...Damn, she's fast.
In any case, the monster had been staring only at me this whole time, not at Millen.
'Why does it keep glaring only at me?'
One of the bones protruding from the creature's forearm slid back into its body with a shhk.
'...Huh?'
The monster reached its hand toward me.
An ominous feeling flashed through me.
Pew—!
A hole in its hand.
Something shot out of that hole.
Reflexively, I twisted my body.
Something pierced through the Waterflow Barrier, grazed past me, and lodged into a tree behind me with a thud.
"Hah—"
My body was frozen stiff, so I couldn't turn my head; I only rolled my eyes to check.
What had shot out of its hand was a pure white bone.
The bone stretched out sharply like a spear and had stopped halfway embedded in the tree.
Beyond my eardrums, my heart pounded, thump, thump.
'With that huge body, it's a ranged DPS?'
It had aimed precisely for my neck.
If I'd been even a little late, it would have been over.
[Waterflow Barrier]
I drew out mana again and spread the barrier.
As soon as the barrier formed, the monster charged.
Another bone was rising from its hand.
"My... mine..."
Its voice was low and murky.
A distorted resonance, like a beast imitating speech.
I stepped back and gathered mana again.
[Water Bullet]
Light flashed from the crystal orb, and a blue sphere flew out.
Thwack!
It struck its face dead-on, but not a single wound appeared on its dark, ashen skin.
However, it didn't seem to be without damage, because the monster howled.
"Kraaaaaaaah—!"
At that moment, the air turned over.
Fwoosh—
Black and red energy surged up from behind its back.
An unpleasant energy, completely different from mana.
I didn't know what it was, but it definitely wasn't a good sign.
The bone extending from its fingertips sharpened like an awl.
Its shoulders heaved, and bones rose unevenly beneath its skin.
Its eyes rolled back, its body swelled, and its flesh split open.
A beast wearing the shell of a human.
Nothing more, nothing less.
"A second transformation? Fucking hell..."
While I belatedly spat out my regret—'I shouldn't have hit it'—another bone bullet came flying in.
Thud!
This time, the barrier barely managed to take it.
"Huu..."
My heart hammered from the tense fight, and my breathing grew more and more ragged.
I had about half my mana left.
The Waterflow Barrier swayed precariously, its currents undulating unevenly.
...At this rate, it probably wouldn't hold for many more hits.
The monster slowly approached.
"Damn it... How am I supposed to kill that thing?"
I muttered.
Thwack! Thwack!
As I retreated, I fired several more Water Bullets, but the monster charged in, flicking its tongue as if mocking me.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
It swung its lumpy arms and rushed forward, shoving trees aside as if knocking them away.
Boom!
"Krgh!"
It slammed into the barrier with its entire body, and the surging water splashed in every direction.
The Waterflow Barrier was barely holding its shape.
Pew—!
And then another bone bullet flew in.
Shunk.
"Urgh!"
This time, I couldn't block it.
Through the shattered Waterflow Barrier, one bone bullet stabbed straight into my arm.
I staggered from the impact and rolled across the ground.
Pain spread in pounding waves, as if a heart had formed in my arm.
One side of my vision turned red and slowly blurred.
Tears even pricked at my eyes. ...It seriously fucking hurt.
Beyond the mangled barrier, the creature was watching me.
In its pupil-less eyes, there was unmistakably a sneer.
'You son of a bitch.'
My mana was nearly exhausted, and my breathing had become thin and rough as thread.
Between the creature's rag-like clothes, a red light flashed.
'...What is that?'
Near its heart, a sinisterly pulsing gem glowed faintly beneath the skin.
One single chance.
I couldn't be certain that was the monster's weakness, but right now, it was the last thing worth trying.
If even this failed, there would be no other way.
I raised my trembling hand.
Despite my desperation, the mana wouldn't gather.
'No, please...'
Slosh—
Just then, water slowly rose from the crystal orb and formed a single Water Bullet.
A small, limp sphere. That was all.
I aimed my staff at the creature.
As if it didn't care about my magic at all, it charged without hesitation.
The moment it got right in front of me, I fired the Water Bullet.
Thwack!
It hit the monster's chest, precisely on that red gem.
There was no sound of shattering, but the creature's body stiffened.
"Kraaaaaaaaaaaaaah—!"
A scream erupted, as if it would tear my eardrums apart.
The monster's body convulsed, and black blood surged from its mouth.
Its form warped wildly, and the beast wearing a shell staggered.
"Krrrgh..."
The monster wobbled this way and that like a deflating balloon.
Thud!
In the end, it collapsed.
"Hah... hah..."
Sitting on the ground, breathing roughly, I didn't take my eyes off it.
I watched it for a long while, but it no longer moved.
......It was a miraculous victory.
***
"Ugh..."
Once the tension left me, my head suddenly spun.
Fortunately, I didn't faint this time.
...Thanks to the bone bullet lodged in my arm, which kept me conscious.
The stinging pain felt like proof that I was alive.
In any case, I had succeeded in taking down an unidentified monster alone.
'What the hell is going on?'
Judging by Millen's reaction, this monster really had been "Carl."
But... surely he hadn't always looked like this, right?
The dead monster was even more hideous than when it had been alive.
Its black skin sagged limply, and its body had shriveled up.
Like a dried-out lung from an anti-smoking poster.
Was it because of the "black light" the villagers had talked about?
That ominous energy I'd felt throughout the fight.
I didn't know what it was, but it probably wasn't unrelated to him ending up like this.
A half-broken stone caught my eye.
'That is...?'
It was definitely the spot where I had hit it with the Water Bullet.
Until a moment ago, it had looked like a gem glowing red, but now it was nothing more than a black pebble.
I picked it up, but I couldn't feel any energy from it.
'Was this the cause?'
Considering the creature only collapsed after I destroyed this, that probably wasn't a wrong guess.
...This is pissing me off.
A crazy world where monsters like this run wild.
The more time passes, the more fucked-up this world feels.
Besides, if this had been a game, at least one item would've dropped.
But reality had none of that, and all I got was a pure white piercing in my forearm.
Ah, experience points... Maybe I got some of those.
Rustle, rustle.
I heard the sound of someone pushing through the bushes from somewhere.
"Sir Liv!"
It was Millen's voice.
At this rate... she was faster than I expected?
The village men followed behind her.
They had dazed looks on their faces and were holding farming tools like sickles and pitchforks.
Among them was the innkeeper I'd seen earlier.
Without saying anything, I raised my hand to signal that I was all right.
I struggled to my feet and took one step away from the monster's corpse.
"W-what on earth is this..."
Millen's eyes widened.
The village men also froze as they stared at the corpse.
Its torso had shriveled, and its skin was warped like burnt rubber.
It still had a human shape, but, well... it would be hard to call it human.
"Is that... really Carl?"
One of the men asked cautiously.
I stayed silent for a moment, then pressed down on the wound in my forearm and said,
"...Not anymore."
At those words, no one said anything further.
And so, with the villagers supporting me, I slowly returned to the village.
The monster I had defeated was loaded onto a cart and brought along with us.
Even though it was dead, an unsettling stench still wafted from the corpse.
No one wanted to go near it.
***
The inn room.
My arm had already been bandaged.
The village herbalist had come personally and given me first aid.
The bitter smell of medicine clung to my skin, along with the chill of crushed herbs.
The bleeding had stopped, but the throbbing pain remained.
I’m not going to get infected with some weird disease, am I?
Honestly, it was hard to trust the medical knowledge of this world.
I leaned back against the bed.
I was so tired I couldn’t even think about moving.
After letting out one long breath, I stared up at the ceiling.
‘So this is… another world.’
Truthfully, there hadn’t been a single moment since I first fell into this place that hadn’t been dangerous.
Fighting, running, then fighting again.
I had nearly died more than once or twice.
Absentmindedly, I placed a hand over the bandage wrapped around my arm.
It still felt as if the bone bullet that bastard had fired was lodged there.
That black pebble.
If it hadn’t existed, would I have won?
No, was it only because that stone had broken that I barely managed to win?
More importantly… what if that stone hadn’t been its weakness?
The moment my thoughts reached that point,
a careful knock sounded from beyond the door.
“Lord Liv, are you awake?”
It was the village chief’s voice.
I wanted nothing more than to rest quietly right now, but it seemed even that small luxury had disappeared.
I slowly sat up.
For a moment, I rested my hand on the bandage and fell into thought, but in the end, I decided to open the door.
“Come in.”
The door opened, and the village chief entered.
Millen was with him as well.
“How are you feeling?”
It was a question I had been hearing for days.
I answered while remaining seated on the bed.
“I’m fine. My arm hurts a little, but it’s manageable.”
Millen approached and examined me, then nodded silently.
“That’s a relief.”
“What brings you here?”
“It’s about the stone you gave us, Lord Liv…”
The stone that had come out after we dealt with the monster.
I had handed it over to the village chief so it could be investigated.
“…The stone?”
When I asked back, he nodded and continued.
“In truth, rumors have been spreading in other villages as well that people are turning into monsters. After seeing what happened yesterday, we can no longer dismiss them as mere hearsay.”
“So it’s not just this village.”
“That is correct.”
Even other villages. This wasn’t a simple accident.
Could someone be spreading it deliberately?
Millen nodded and continued.
“We still can’t know for certain… but I suspect that the stone you gave us may be the root cause.”
The village chief spoke in a grave voice.
“That’s right. So we intend to contact the nearest religious order.”
A religious order?
“Do you mean the Sereon Order?”
“Yes. We thought this might have something to do with demons.”
Demons, huh. This world even has things like that?
What a complete mess.
“We plan to submit an official report along with the stone.”
“But… why are you telling me?”
They could handle it themselves, so why come all the way to me when I was this exhausted?
“We cannot leave out your account, Lord Liv, so we came to ask for your permission.”
“My permission?”
“Yes. Would it be all right if we wrote about your contributions in the report?”
Hmm… I was a wanted man, but this was a different territory, so maybe it’d be fine.
And it wasn’t as if they really wouldn’t write it if I told them not to.
If anything, telling them not to would look even more suspicious.
“Yes, well. I don’t mind.”
“Th-thank you!”
“If you have no further business, please leave.”
At my dismissal, the two quietly bowed their heads and left.
Days of constant fighting, mana wrung out to its limit, wounds still lingering here and there.
My body and my mind. Both were nearly at rock bottom now.
…I’m so tired I could die.