Oh crap...
I'm going to die...
Give me a break...
I...
I need to become a Mithril Adventurer!
Huh?
Wait, no way...
This can't be real...
T-this can't...
This can't be real!
Even if they don't match your ideals
Chase your ambitions in your own way
Even if they don't match your ideals
Chase your ambitions in your own way
As I was recklessly chasing After the self I want to be
Before I know it I already turned into an adult
"Things will go your way"
"Dreams will be realized When you work hard"
No, this isn't such a nice, soft story
Even if you do your best To aim for the top
Knowing the result means everything
Means nothing
Keep on walking today Believing one day someone will witness it
The scenery from when you're disheartened And about to give up
What lies beyond despair and suffering
A thing that exist beyond the endless path
I will grasp it with my own hand No matter how far it is
The shape of the dream May not be ideal
But as I kept on Through the arduous chase
I will simply keep moving forward
I will take it to my hand now
We change the game from our own side
Live on freely in a world yet unseen
Even if they don't match your ideals
Chase your ambitions in your own way
Even if they don't match your ideals
Chase your ambitions in your own way
(Episode 01: Unwanted Undead)
Adventurers start their day early.
It might sound like a good saying,
but pretty much every poor people has to start their day early.
The only people who get to sleep till noon are nobles, rich merchants,
or scholars with irregular sleep schedules.
That might sound prejudiced,
but a scholar that I know won't sleep for days
once she gets hyper-focused on her research.
Maybe I should check up on her sometime soon.
Well, that said,
all that means nothing to me, Rentt Faina, a lower bronze adventurer
who was born in a village that isn't written on the map.
All right.
Adventurers wake up early for one reason.
To be able to get good quests.
Adventurers Guild offers quests based on the adventurer's rank and abilities.
The contents vary from monster exterminations, escorts,
gathering herbs or ingredients, down to cleaning the town's ditch.
Hey there, Rentt.
Good morning.
Going to the Labyrinth of Moon's Reflection as usual?
If I can't find any good quest, then yeah.
I'm surprised you can keep this up every single day.
All right, we'll be going first.
Yeah, good luck out there.
- You too. - Later.
Guess I'll go to the Labyrinth of Moon's Reflection.
Most adventurers work with a party, but I generally work solo.
There are many reasons for it,
but for the most part, it's just because I'm not that good.
I've been an adventurer for ten years,
yet I'm still just a bronze rank, the second rank from the bottom.
As long as I can hunt monsters and sell magic crystals and materials to the guild,
that would be enough to make a living.
Thank you for your patronage.
If anything, I'd say I'm pretty stable for an adventurer.
I made sure to have some savings in case of emergencies.
But at that time,
I didn't have the cautious mind that is vital for an adventurer.
Because in this Labyrinth of Moon's Reflection
that has been exhaustively explored and left empty with no one around,
I found something that should have been impossible.
No way...
A hidden passage?!
This is a major discovery!
There's no mistaking it...
An unexplored area!
I might even find a valuable magic tool or weapon.
No, just delivering this information to the guild
would be enough to fetch me a fortune!
Normally, I would've avoided this place,
but here I am, alone in this mysterious and dangerous place.
Because of my foolishness...
...I ended up going face-to-face with a dragon.
A true dragon, ranking at the top amongst monsters.
According to legends, they have many forms,
and some even differ a lot from the normal dragons.
Even so, I still immediately realized that thing is a dragon.
I know, even though I only saw it for the first time.
It pressured me into not being able to move just from its presence.
That already explains that it's a dragon.
Against a being that stands at the apex,
a forever bronze adventurer like me has absolutely no chance.
I'm still alive even after I got eaten by a dragon?!
Huh?
Does this count as being "alive"?
I'm totally a skeleton, no matter how you look at it.
An Undead...
Despite being part of the undying monsters,
even a bishop or priest can vanquish a skeleton with their purifying magic.
In other words, I'm a being that violates the divine logic of the gods
of "The dead cannot exist in this world."
Going by that logic, that means I really did die, didn't I?
Wait, no, I still have my memories and consciousness.
I should return to the town first, then...
Ah.
Okay, maybe not. I don't want to die yet.
Wait, I'm already dead, so it's more like I don't want to disappear?
No good! I'm losing my mind!
An adventurer has to keep calm no matter what!
I won't be able to find an answer no matter how hard I think right now.
I don't feel the dragon's presence anymore...
In any case, I should get away from here first.
Many researchers have tried to solve
the mysteries of labyrinths that exist throughout the continent,
yet their origin and workings are still yet to be fully understood.
There are many labyrinths of varying sizes,
but in them, you can find magical tools and treasures,
as well as monsters that spawn from somewhere within.
Even the monsters are full of mysteries themselves.
Everyone must be going to the Labyrinth of the New Moon that has better loot.
If I waited for a couple of days,
another solo adventurer would probably come.
Maybe I can ask them for help.
Wait,
I need to be able to talk with them before that!
Huh?
My body feels heavy...
Maybe it's because I don't have any muscle,
but I feel my physical ability is a lot worse now.
I'm probably weaker than a regular commoner.
Of course I am. I'm the same as that skeleton.
I could easily beat it when I'm still a human, but now...
Let's just be caref... whoa!
I can't even swing a sword?!
Oh no!
Guess I can't exactly apply swordsmanship when I'm all bony like this.
What about my other abilities?
The life force of all living things...
Spirit!
It activated?!
Right now, I'm the same as you. We have the same strength.
However, since I have my equipment, I have the advantage!
I can enhance my body with Spirit and strengthen my attacks!
Is it still alive?
The Spirit that I used are being replenished?
Could this be...?
Monsters have quite a mysterious element to them.
By stacking their age and experience,
they can evolve into a higher being.
Humans also do that, right?
We grow stronger if we train ourselves.
This is on a different level than that.
Right, a skeleton would still be a skeleton no matter what they do.
But in some rare cases, they would evolve into a ghoul.
That is called...
...Existential Evolution.
Existential Evolution...
Indeed. That is one of the things I'm currently researching.
Existential Evolution, huh?
A ghoul is also an Undead,
but they have flesh and are much more human-like.
That way, I might be able to return to town
if I disguise myself with a robe and a mask.
All right, I'll aim to achieve Existential Evolution for now.
I will slay monsters in this dungeon and evolve into a ghoul!
He's not coming today either, does he?
Oh well.
Guess I'll have to make dinner myself.
This is the fifth one!
I'm getting better at moving my body.
And it seems like this light has a recovery effect.
Thanks to that, I can keep using Spirit in every fight.
I should try challenging stronger monsters soon.
Slimes are often grouped with skeletons as representative of weak monsters,
but they must never be underestimated.
Monster with an amorphous, gelatinous body resists physical attacks by nature.
It's easy to defeat it with magic,
but unfortunately I'm not talented enough to use offensive magic.
At best, I can only use fire cantrip for daily life.
So my only choice is to defeat it with physical attacks.
There are two methods I can use.
Either I pierce its core,
or break up its gelatinous body to the point that it can't regenerate.
Since I don't have the power nor ability to do that,
the slimes are pretty much my arch nemesis since I need to use
a special Spirit art that I can only use once a day.
Huh?
It seems like my sword luckily hit the core by accident...
First I need to collect its magic crystal.
While a slime can use their Acid Blitz ability to shoot acidic projectiles,
their corpses are not acidic.
If anything, putting your hand into it would make your skin smooth.
Clear slime fluids are often used as ingredients for cosmetics for women.
But do they really need to make cosmetics from monsters?
Women sure know no limit when it comes to the pursuit of beauty.
With all these, I can pay for several days of rent.
Good!
Take care, then.
- Sheila. - Oh, yes!
Have you found a party for that new adventurer from the other day?
Based on the letter, she's inexperienced,
but seems pretty good with a sword.
There wasn't any recruiting party that fit her,
so I was planning to ask Rentt to help.
But he hasn't returned since yesterday...
Huh, how unusual.
He didn't take any long-term quest, did he?
No, there wasn't any quest that needed him to go outside Maalt.
I told the new adventurer that I could introduce her
to a good senior if she could wait for a few days.
But she seemed to be in need of some money,
so I told her to go to the Labyrinth of Moon's Reflection.
That sounds good.
If she's capable with a sword,
even a beginner should be able to handle that.
Yes. Of course, I did tell her not to push herself too far.
I don't get sleepy at all, and I don't have any appetite.
I guess that's a given since I'm an undead.
Even if I eat, it'll just fall through my body.
I tried fighting through the whole night because of it,
but I guess Existential Evolution doesn't happen that easily, huh?
My physical abilities got a lot worse when I just turned into a skeleton,
but after slaying all those monsters,
it's pretty much back to how it was before.
My Spirit works just like before.
I can also use my Mana.
I can also use Divinity? Even though I'm an Undead?
It would be a waste, so let's use it for the bread.
Divinity isn't only used for injuries and illnesses.
It can also be used to purify water and prevent food from spoiling,
so it's pretty convenient.
All right, it should be good for another three days.
I hope my body can consume bread in three days...
No point in thinking about that.
Let's just focus on getting Existential Evolution.
For now, I should slay monsters little by little while keeping precautions.
I can win against one or two of them.
Three would probably be a tough fight.
If I see four at the same time, I'll run.
As for five and beyond...
Well, the chances of encountering a huge pack like that here is low,
but if I actually did encounter that, then that would be the end of me.
Man, I'm so weak...
It's been ten years since I've become an adventurer.
If I include the training as well, that would be 20 years.
And while I may be able to use Spirit, Mana, and Divinity
which is rare for even high-ranking adventurers to be able to use all three,
I'm not exactly strong in any of them either...
I know that I'm not fit to become an adventurer.
Normally, people like me would quit being an adventurer after a few years,
and either work the fields back in their village
or look for another job.
But I'm sure things will find a way as long as I'm alive.
I never stopped training each day,
and I asked for a friend's help to study monsters and magic.
I took all kinds of quests, no matter how small.
I kept doing all that for ten years all for my dream.
To become a mithril-rank adventurer.
A rank higher than gold and platinum.
A level not even naturally gifted people can easily achieve.
The highest rank reserved for adventurers capable of saving a whole kingdom.
I will definitely become mithril!
That is what I live for!
I won't give up just because I turned into a skeleton!
Did I get even stronger from when I was still human?
It really is. It wasn't just an accident.
I'm getting stronger.
Oh, right, I should collect these because they can be sold.
I'm lucky I could get another clear slime fluid.
Had the slime been consuming something, it would be gross and unsellable.
What is this?!
I turned into a ghoul...
I have flesh now, even if it's disgusting and dried out!
That's a great progress!
If I keep going at it, I might even turn into an Undead of higher rank!
That's right, if I can become a vampire, then I would look just like a human!
Oh right, I have flesh in my body now.
Good, I can talk!
Hevvo...
Vood movning...
I'm going to need some practice...
H-hevv oo...!
Hevvo...!
Hym... Rendd...!
Even in days overflowing with emptiness
Goodnight, goodnight Goodnight, do not forget
Everything that has been Piled up will grow
Tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight
Deep within you, always
Baby, keep your fire burning
The days built up will never disappear They will be your strength
Even if it won't be as glorious As someone else's
You can definitely fly with that speed
Keep the fire burning
(The Beginner and the Veteran)