Dark Fantasy’s Extra Chapter 50

It took me a full day to finally reach Vinears.

Though it wasn’t even lunchtime yet, dark clouds filled the sky giving everything a gloomy, dreary feeling.

Vinears was a bit small to be called a city, but it was an enormous village incomparable to ordinary pioneer settlements.

In Blue Paper Moon, Vinears’ size was average, but with many hidden rooms and passages, it felt complex and expansive.

I climbed up onto the wooden palisade that encircled the village.

Though the logs making up the palisade were quite thick, being abandoned for hundreds of years had left them soft and unstable.

From the high vantage point, I could see hundreds of abandoned houses spread out before me.

The building walls were mostly intact, but the thatched roofs had either rotted away or been blown off somewhere.

Here and there I could see church buildings with Decra Orthodox Church crosses, including a chapel.

While the village’s total size and number of houses were far greater than what I saw in the game, fortunately all the church-related buildings were exactly the same as in Blue Paper Moon.

I can use those as landmarks to find my way.

Undead Beasts could be seen wandering the village streets.

Whether because it wasn’t night yet or because there were no living humans around, their movements were extremely sluggish.

But when actually confronted, they would surely move more nimbly than that.

And the most noticeable thing was the large river at the edge of the village.

It wasn’t just a stream or well common to mountain villages, but large enough for boats to float on.

There were actually several ferries there, though they didn’t look in great condition.

In Blue Paper Moon, Little Mermaid Rusalka and Charmol apparently made contact through that place, and seeing it in person, it seemed entirely possible.

While this is certainly one of Charmol’s territories, fortunately it’s now an abandoned place.

From the start, what Charmol wanted from this village wasn’t territory but humans, and he already got what he wanted.

However, what I want is still in this village.

“Time to get going.”

I pulled my mask up higher to muffle even my breathing and entered the village.

My destination is the chapel at the center of Vinears.

What I’m looking for is a weapon left behind by a hunter from the Order who visited here 300 years ago.

It’s not quite an artifact, but a shotgun used by mid-ranked hunters – in the game it was just an item you’d throw in storage after getting it.

Though called a shotgun, it’s half like a flamethrower – when loaded with incendiary rounds, it deals an additional 10% max HP as fire damage to Beasts except bosses.

That fire damage isn’t dealt all at once but slowly as damage over time, but the problem was it couldn’t stack.

The DoT duration would extend, but for non-boss enemies it was better to just hit them once with a melee weapon.

Plus, probably for balance reasons, the additional fire damage didn’t work on bosses so the DPS was greatly reduced.

Even using silver rounds instead of incendiary ones meant no additional damage.

However, it’s definitely better than mass-produced regular shotguns, making it quite a luxurious weapon for me right now.

What I felt from the city invasion was that I really need to become stronger myself.

But I know my talent limitations all too well.

I can’t even become a mid-ranked hunter.

So what I need is better equipment.

Really good items are hard to get and I’ll have to give many to Hilde, so I decided to claim the ambiguous items that weren’t particularly necessary by Blue Paper Moon standards.

Now that I can move alone without Hilde one week each month, I’ll use that time to search for hidden items one by one.

“Hmm…”

I gripped the Raven Dagger tightly.

Most enemies here are undead.

The Raven Dagger with its bonus damage to undead is the most useful item right now.

Above all, unlike guns it doesn’t make noise.

“Urgh…”

Hidden at a corner, I ambushed a passing undead Beast by precisely stabbing the Raven Dagger into its head.

The Beast let out a deflating sound before immediately losing its false life and collapsing.

Normally I should pour holy oil and finish it properly after this, but I don’t have that luxury here.

Actions must be as stealthy as possible.

Undead are sensitive to sound.

And though this place may be one Charmol doesn’t pay attention to, it’s still clearly his territory.

Yorick must have already reported my information to him so there’s no reason to cause a commotion.

I left the Beast’s corpse behind and walked toward the village center.

What I encountered along the way were mostly undead Beasts, or creatures and insects affected by such things.

“Woof! Woof!”

A strange dog’s howl was heard from somewhere.

Worried that perhaps a Beast-transformed dog had discovered me, I searched the surroundings but sensed nothing approaching.

But I couldn’t just ignore it so I headed toward where the sound came from.

Three dogs the size of wolves with pale, ragged skin revealing bones underneath were surrounding some abandoned house.

One was scratching at the door with its front paws, seemingly trying to get inside.

“…?”

This scene looks familiar somehow?

Anyway, I couldn’t just pass by like this.

Though those dogs’ howling wasn’t that loud, it was enough to draw attention from the surroundings.

I quietly ran toward them.

They noticed me too and came running from the house toward me.

Their speed was much faster than normal undead Beasts.

But perhaps due to their skeletal joints showing through, their running looked unstable.

The one approaching in front leaped at me.

More than a jump it was like throwing its whole body, but its wide-open maw was precisely aimed at me.

When I slightly twisted my body to dodge, the dog lost its balance mid-flight and tumbled to the ground.

Meanwhile the other undead dogs split to either side as if trying to surround me.

I threw my silver dagger at the one on the right.

The dagger hit its chest precisely and it collapsed right there.

The remaining one trying to surround me came running for my back but I kicked it down and slashed its belly with the Raven Dagger.

Its innards spilled out, but most had rotted away long ago, making them hard to identify and small in size.

Finally, the one that had thrown itself and tumbled earlier got up and came running at me again.

When I threw the Raven Dagger to precisely lodge between its eyes, it fell forward and never got up again.

While I was retrieving my dagger, the door of that abandoned house opened and someone walked out.

I took up my stance again but put my weapon away when I saw who emerged.

“Long time no see, Mr. Hunter.”

Golden armor that had lost its luster, and a dirty black hooded robe.

“I received your help again.”

It was Sancho, who I’d met at the giant temple in the sacred mountain.

Only then did I realize why it felt familiar.

It was exactly like the event when meeting Sancho in Vinears.

What incredible timing that it would happen right when I’m here.

An amazing coincidence.

“What are you doing in a place like this?”

“I told you before. I’m an adventurer.”

“This isn’t a good place for adventuring.”

“That’s not true. After that time, I kept investigating treasures and this place started seeming suspicious. There must be some clues here.”

“Still chasing after treasure that can save people?”

“Of course! That’s truly the greatest treasure. Sure, glittering gold and fragrant wine are nice, but true treasure isn’t like that. You would understand.”

“I would?”

“Yes. I get that feeling. That you’re someone who has lost something too, like me. I couldn’t say it last time because of that lady’s presence. Perhaps a lover?”

“A comrade.”

“Ah it’s fine. I don’t dislike love stories that transcend social status. You can be honest. That lady…”

“What are you trying to say?”

Sancho’s demeanor was very different from when I first met him.

He wasn’t like this in the game either – did something happen?

Or perhaps this is his true nature?

“I’ve received your help twice now, so I wanted to repay you somehow. Somehow I felt like you’d understand.”

“Repay?”

At least Sancho acting this way isn’t in any story I know.

Just what is he thinking?

“Won’t you join me in searching for that treasure? If we find it and can split it, I’ll definitely share it with you.”

“…”

Sancho’s demeanor was serious.

Though his current behavior is unknown to me, at least he didn’t lie in the game.

“Even so, that doesn’t make sense. Even if I helped you, you’d share such a treasure with me?”

“Hehe, you’re not denying the treasure exists? So it really does exist? When I asked about the treasure back then, you definitely had the air of someone who knew something.”

What?

“I have pretty good instincts you see. There must be some helpful information. Something others don’t know.”

I felt chills down my spine.

This is the first time someone has even indirectly caught on that I have memories and knowledge from my past life.

Damn, is this sudden change in Sancho because of that too?

“I don’t particularly care about your obsession with chasing treasure, but don’t drag uninvolved people in. I don’t know anything.”

“Then why did you come here? Weren’t you tracking that treasure’s whereabouts like me?”

“What I’m looking for is something else.”

“Hmm… Then how about this? I’ll help you find it. Would you then consider my proposal more seriously?”

“What?”

“Despite appearances, secretly finding things is my specialty. Ah, I’m not saying you have to accept the proposal unconditionally. I’d just like you to think about it more seriously.”

He clearly hasn’t let go of the thought that I know something.

To notice just from the atmosphere without me saying anything…

“…I refuse. It’s a proposal I can’t accept from the start. I can’t cooperate in finding something I don’t know about. I’m not an adventurer but a hunter.”

“Is that so… How disappointing.”

Sancho pondered briefly before shaking his head and shrugging.

His serious demeanor dissolved.

“Well, can’t be helped if it won’t work. Then this time too I just received help one-sidedly.”

“A hunter killing Beasts is only natural.”

“True enough. But I still feel indebted. I can’t just keep accumulating debts one-sidedly. Today didn’t work out, but next time we meet somewhere else, I’ll try to repay that debt somehow.”

“…Do as you like.”

“Well then, let’s meet again alive next time.”

Sancho gave a noble’s formal thanks before heading off somewhere.

I pondered how to deal with him in the future but soon shook my head.

Now is the time to focus on my task.

I walked toward the chapel again.