Chapter 6 – Reconnaissance (1)

Fortunately, the battle mage’s pathfinding magic worked in this world too.

For unfamiliar paths, it was a simple spell that only revealed general directions, but without it, dividing search areas would have been difficult for the reconnaissance team.

This was a different world from where I lived.

With no way to know where the sun rose and set, there was no way to determine directions using conventional methods.

We headed east as indicated by the pathfinding magic, as agreed in front of the gate.

“I’m not sure if it’s like this everywhere in this world, but the terrain is extremely flat for a mountain range,” said Hoffman, the mountain soldier leading the way while surveying the landscape.

The party members, including myself, all nodded in agreement with his words.

It was just as he said.

Since arriving here, I noticed that movement through this dense forest was surprisingly easy.

Though we were clearly within a mountain range surrounded by overlapping peaks and ridges,

There were no massive boulders occasionally blocking the path, nor endless cliffs or bottomless pits halting our steps.

There were only small rocks and boulders, with slopes just difficult enough to walk on normally.

Of course, ordinary people would find it hard to climb such mountains, but all the party members, including myself, were individuals who had encountered mana.

Even battle mages who hadn’t physically enhanced themselves didn’t struggle with such paths.

“Indeed. It feels like walking on the hills behind the academy,” Gustav, the battle mage, agreed with Hoffman’s words while patting his waist.

As the elderly mage said, I too felt this place was more like the mountains I used to visit, rather than the treacherous mountains of the continent.

It was like the mountains I climbed in my previous life… ah.

I laughed inwardly at the thought that surfaced again.

Not the mountains around my childhood domain, but feeling like mountains from a previous life.

Even if I missed my previous life, this was bordering on illness.

Seeing these useless thoughts continue, I must have been immersed in war for too long.

Shaking off the unnecessary thoughts, I continued walking west with the party members as directed by the mage Gustav.

After a few hours of crossing several hills, we finally discovered what could be called a trail.

Kneeling on one knee while examining the mountain path, the mountain soldier Hoffman pointed to a cut tree and spoke.

“This is definitely a man-made path.”

As he said, there were traces of sharp objects used to create the path in several places, instead of animal tracks.

“We’re in luck,” said Leopold, the Shiny Knight, nodding with a satisfied expression.

Though he likely didn’t know what he was talking about, I shared his sentiment.

In the great southern forests of the continent, it would have taken dozens of days to find a proper path even with a competent guide.

But to find a path in just a few hours – this mountain range must be smaller than it appeared.

Moreover, unlike the yellowed forest, we hadn’t seen any undead for hours.

Whether it was because the Demon King had crossed over recently, or…

“Of course, they couldn’t be absent.”

Fortunately(?), after getting on the path and crossing a small hill, we saw cursed creatures gathered on the road.

Wounds all over, decaying skin, exposed innards.

These were dead animals corrupted by evil energy.

“They look similar to Habelina…”

As the Shiny Knight pretended to know again, Hoffman shook his head.

“Unlike Habelina, their fur isn’t pointy. But their molars are quite large.”

The evil energy-corrupted animals blocking the road looked closer to wild boars from my previous life than Habelina, even to my eyes.

“Perhaps this world’s version of Habelina. Anyway, they don’t look too dangerous, so let’s quickly deal with them and move on.”

The Shiny Knight ignored Hoffman’s words and stepped forward with his sword drawn.

Although the beasts gathered in the middle of the road were large enough to trample a person, they didn’t seem dangerous as the Shiny Knight said.

Because no mana could be sensed from the undead.

Ordinary animals without mana weren’t a major threat even as undead unless gathered in large numbers.

That should be the same in this world too.

Moreover, the undead weren’t even looking this way, just gathered on the road eating something.

“Let’s do that.”

The elf, the temporary team leader, nodded at the Shiny One’s words and immediately shot the arrow he had nocked.

Whoosh!

A movement so fast that even I almost missed it.

Whatever processing had been done, the arrow was shot silently, piercing through the rump of the undead at the front.

Splat.

Strangely, the arrow penetrated the plump buttocks and burst the undead’s body, leaving only the upper body of the undead boar to crumble.

The remaining undead pigs simultaneously raised their heads to look at us, and the Shiny One clicked his tongue and ran towards the pigs.

At the same time, the middle-aged mage’s staff pointed forward.

“Shield.”

With a small murmur, a faint membrane covered the body of the running Shiny Knight.

It was the battle mage’s support magic, Shield.

“I don’t really need help dealing with these guys though.”

Although it was support befitting an experienced battle mage, the Shiny One didn’t seem too pleased to receive help.

Well, as he said, help didn’t seem necessary.

After reaching where the undead pigs were, he began to sweep them away one-sidedly.

The undead boars had their necks cut off, legs severed, and bodies split in half by the mana-infused sword.

It looked like a waste of mana, but it was still a one-sided battle where the undead couldn’t even touch the shield.

The Shiny One definitely had the skills to be sent on a vanguard.

The mage who was about to cast an attack spell stopped his hand, and the soldier who was taking a stance straightened his back with an embarrassed face.

The elf who had nocked another arrow also lowered his bow,

And I too stepped back instead of lending a hand.

But my reason for stepping back was different from my teammates.

It was because of the slight chill rising on the nape of my neck and the pressure felt from all directions.

My specialty that had kept me alive in the war against the now-dead Demon King was kicking in.

“Are we surrounded…?”

I turned around and scanned both sides.

Grrrr.

The sound of deflated beasts’ breathing could be heard from the left and right of the narrow mountain path.

The sounds of dead beasts I had heard several times while facing the Demon King.

“There were more?”

“For this many to gather without being detected by sensing magic… Is it because they’re beasts from another world?”

Rather, it was because they were beasts without any mana at all.

The mage’s sensing magic was a spell that detected the mana of living beings.

It would be difficult to identify the strangely mana-deficient beasts of this world.

I wouldn’t have noticed in advance either if it weren’t for my specialty.

But it wouldn’t be a problem.

After all, the opponents were just beasts that couldn’t use mana at all.

“I’ll take care of the rest.”

I spoke to my teammates and leapt into the forest.

Passing through the tall grass, I saw several blood-covered beasts.

Beasts different from those I had seen on the continent.

Deer-like creatures without antlers, large rats, and other fanged pigs.

They were all dead beasts from another world, but strangely, they didn’t feel unfamiliar.

I couldn’t help but question the déjà vu that kept recurring since crossing over here, but now wasn’t the time to solve that mystery.

I infused mana into my sword and jumped in among the beasts.

Thanks to causing a commotion as I rushed in, all the undead beasts forming the encirclement charged at me.

Over a dozen undead beasts that wouldn’t die easily rushed in, but I was also a knight who had survived years of war.

Avoiding the open mouth of a pig, cutting off the legs of a black-blooded deer,

Slicing through a membrane-covered rat pouncing at my face, I was able to kill all the undead that came at me.

Whoosh.

I shook off the black blood stuck to my blade and looked around.

There was no more danger felt in the surroundings.

The nape of my neck wasn’t tingling, and the pressure I called killing intent wasn’t felt either.

This seemed to be the end of the undead in the area.

It seemed something had just drawn aggro, not a trap.

After confirming safety, I returned to where my teammates were.

My teammates didn’t seem worried about me at all. They were gathered where the Shiny One had butchered the pigs.

Apparently, there was something different there.

As I approached them, the soldier Hoffman, who was keeping watch behind the group, greeted me cheerfully.

“To handle it so quickly, as expected of the Skeleton Slayer.”

It had been a while since I heard that nickname.

Any knight who survived years of war against the Demon King was bound to have some kind of nickname.

In my case, I kept smashing skeletons all the time, so I got the nickname Skeleton Slayer.

There were other nicknames too, but this one was the most famous.

But I didn’t know this mountain soldier I was meeting for the first time would know my nickname.

“How do you know my nickname?”

Hoffman made a puzzled expression at my question.

“Who in the allied forces doesn’t know Sir Jansen, the Skeleton Slayer?”

At Hoffman’s words, I looked around at my teammates.

They all must have heard his words, but no one said anything.

Of course, they all seemed preoccupied with looking at where the pig corpses were, but even the Shiny Knight and the elf who came from the rear seemed to know my nickname.

Did they inform the party members in advance from above?

Or maybe my nickname was more famous than I thought.

Could it be that I ended up in this vanguard because of that nickname?

I thought I had been wrongly selected for something, but to come because of unnecessary fame.

I couldn’t help but sigh.

“So what is everyone looking at?”

“Ah, there’s a corpse where those Habelina were gathered. It seems they were blocking the road because they were eating the corpse.”

At Hoffman’s words, I turned my gaze and caught a glimpse of a severed human hand among the pig carcasses.

A hand with five fingers like mine.

As expected from the hero’s words, it was the first discovery of a human corpse from this world.

I also approached the group.

Going behind the mage who was crouching down with his face almost buried in the ground, I saw a human corpse above him.

A human corpse with its head, waist, and many parts eaten away.

It had been dead for a long time, its appearance hard to recognize, damaged beyond the point of resurrection.

It was a sight that would shock ordinary people, but there was no one here who would be shocked by seeing a corpse.

“It seems to be a middle-aged man… But too much has been eaten to make out anything. The clothes he’s wearing are close to rags too.”

The mage was rather examining the corpse thoroughly, and the other team members were looking over the corpse with interested eyes.

I also stopped in place and stared at the corpse.

It wasn’t because I found the corpse interesting like the others. Nor was I examining the corpse like the mage.

I was simply shocked by the corpse.

No, it wasn’t because of the corpse that I was shocked.

It was because of the pattern drawn on the front of the T-shirt the corpse was wearing.

No, what pattern?

I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly.

That wasn’t a pattern.

It was text.

Text that those around me couldn’t recognize.

‘Gangwon Hometown Association’

The ragged clothes had Koreanl written on them.