Reincarnated as a Sword Vol. 2

by Yuu Tanaka

  I sent out an emergency message right into my companions’ minds and they halted their attack. We all gazed curiously at the shivering skeleton.

  “T-take anything you want! Just don’t kill me!” he wailed in a quavering voice.

  “?”

  Fran looked perplexed.

  “Oh! Great Lord of the Underworld, save me!”

  “Um.”

  “Aieee! P-please don’t eat me! I’m all bones! I don’t have any money, either!”

  I felt genuinely bad now.

  Amanda had told us that Necromancy was not evil in and of itself. Even adventurers made no particular effort to avoid Undead Necromancers. Naturally-occurring undead attacked people and therefore were to be exterminated. But the ones who were familiars made for useful pets and support. Even Jet was welcome in Alessa despite being a monster.

  So was this Skeleton a familiar?

  “I-I’m a good Skeleton, I promise.”

  You looked like an evil undead to me, buddy. His statement didn’t trigger Essence of Falsehood, however. I didn’t know if the skill worked on the undead but I was going to defer to its judgment.

  “Good Skeleton?”

  He might be someone’s familiar.

  “Yes. I am a good Skeleton. Who might you be?”

  “I’m Fran.”

  “I am Bernard.”

  His magical strength was much higher than the Skeletons I had run into in the Plains. Despite his lack of vocal cords, he was able to speak through the Vibration Manipulation skill. All this led me to believe that he was a Unique.

  “What on earth happened to you?” Bernard asked.

  We explained to him what had happened to us while remaining ambiguous about our finer circumstances. Especially the fact that I was a talking sword.

  We told him how Fran had ridden Jet to go to the floating island but was blocked off by a Skeleton Knight. The recent encounter had left her jumpy about skeletons, which was why she had been ready to break Bernard into pieces. We laid the blame squarely on the Skeleton Knight’s bony feet.

  “I see. My goodness, that must have been awful.”

  Bernard didn’t seem upset, in any case. We’d had conversations with other adventurers about close calls before, and he dismissed our misfortune with a brief, yet polite statement. He really didn’t think the way humans did.

  “What is this place?”

  “This is my master’s laboratory.”

  Master. So he really was under the charge of a necromancer. He must have been one hell of a necromancer if he managed to summon a skeleton with this much Magic and Intelligence, one that could talk to boot.

  “This place is a laboratory?”

  “Yes.”

  Fran asked the question I was about to ask. Aside from the lack of windows, and the interior which looked like a little farm, the house itself looked perfectly normal from the outside. It didn’t look like the laboratory of a powerful necromancer.

  “Dingy.”

  “My master does not care that you think it is so.”

  “Ha. Ha. Ha. He is correct!”

  “!”

  “Grr…!”

  A voice had come from outside before the door swung open with a bang. The presence barged in without forewarning, which was odd considering we had capped our detection skills. Even Jet didn’t see it coming.

  When did he get here?!

  We hadn’t sensed any presence outside the house, either.

  Hmm.

  Woof.

  They hadn’t felt the presence, either.

  Fran drew me, and she and Jet proceeded to take their battle stances. I charged myself up with mana just in case.

  “Who are you?”

  “Where are your manners, girl? Shouldn’t you introduce yourself first?”

  “I’m Fran… Who are you?”

  “I’m terribly sorry.” Bernard hastened to make introductions. “That is my master.”

  So this was the necromancer we’ve been hearing about!

  We would’ve cut him down where he stood if we ran into him out on the road. The hem of his black robe was ragged from years of being dragged on the ground. Skull ornaments hung from his neck. His skin was a pale, sickly white. His hood covered most of his face, but I could make out slivers of silver hair and a smile which looked like a crescent moon.

  I thought he was a guy, but there was no way of telling for sure.

  One thing was for sure though: he looked suspicious. Like a textbook evil necromancer. If an incident happened in the area, you’d knock on his house first. The necromancer seemed completely oblivious to our suspicion, and he boomed out his introduction.

  “Mwahahaha! I am the great Jean du Vix! Master of the Undead!”

  I didn’t want anything to do with him if possible. We needed to get out of here as fast as we could and get back on track. The necromancer was as suspicious as he was obnoxious.

  Name: Jean du Vix

  Age: 49

  Race: Magi

  Class: Nether Mage

  Level: 45

  HP: 180; Magic: 616; Strength: 91; Agility: 119

  Skills: Shadow Resistance 6; Speedcast 4; Identify 8; Summon Minion 8; Staff Mastery 4; Ghost Manipulation 8; Necromancy 10; Dagger Mastery 2; Apothecary 7; Poison Resistance 3; Venomology 7; Fire Magic 3; Nether Magic 5; Herbology 4; Dark Magic 5; Total Presence Concealment; Frenzy Ghost; Friend of the Dead; Mana Manipulation; Magic Up (medium)

  Unique Skill: Soul Sight

  Titles: Natural Assassin; Undead Creator; Butcher; Necromancer; Ghost King

  Equipment: Dragonbone Staff; Tattered Robes of the Ghost King; Devil Shoes; Death Bracelet; Bracelet of Sacrifice

  What caught my eye was his Total Presence Concealment. That must be why our detection skills hadn’t worked on him.

  He was strong, though. His physical stats might be low but he was a master at magic. He could give Klimt, our Guild Master, a run for his money with a few extra levels. His Total Presence Concealment synergized perfectly with his Necromancy. He could send his minions after you and you’d never know where he was. I didn’t want to get on his bad side if at all possible.

  And a Magi… It was my first time seeing one. Was he really a non-hostile?

  “Magi?”

  Fran noticed what the necromancer was before I could tell her.

  The robed figure tilted his head and smirked. “Aaah… You know what I am?”

  She didn’t need to Identify him to know that. You could make out the faint shape of a horn poking against his hood, not to mention the claws and the fangs.

  “It’s obvious by looking at you. The horn, the claws, the fangs. And your skin is white.”

  “Hah! You are well learned, little girl. Yes, I am a Magi!”

  “I haven’t seen one of you in a long time.”

  “You don’t find many of our kind on this continent. One would have to travel further east.”

  Fran didn’t seem hostile to the man. Jean himself didn’t sound alarmed when Fran guessed what he was. There must have been no particular enmity between Magi and mankind.

  It was a good thing we didn’t start attacking him earlier.

  “Now, what do you want? To what do I owe the honor of this peculiar visit?” Jean said while casting a glance at the hole in the roof.

  “Sorry about that. Some stuff happened.”

  “Indeed? Very well. Anyway, let us hear your story. Come.”

  “Please, right this way.” Bernard bowed as he gestured for us to follow Jean.

  Jean descended the staircase that was tucked in the corner of the room. I couldn’t say I wasn’t suspicious of his invitation… What should I do?

  As I was contemplating my options, Fran had already followed him downstairs. No helping it then, I would have to be on guard instead.

  Stay on your toes, Jet.

  Woof!

  The room at the bottom of the stairs was disappointingly normal.

  “Ha ha ha! Welcome to my abyssal laborato
ry of darkness and death!”

  God, couldn’t he shut up? So this was his laboratory. It looked normal at first glance, but perhaps there was a switch he could throw that would unveil the most advanced in magical technology…!

  No, probably not.

  The basement was spacious, but that was about it. There was some leftover bread and salad set on the table, and an open book resting atop a chest.

  It looked like an ordinary, lived-in living room.

  “Laboratory?” Fran wondered aloud about the same thing.

  “Indeed! My experiments are known to be dangerous so my real lab is further downstairs; wouldn’t want to wake the neighbors, you know. Would you like to see? I warn you, there is a reason why they say that ‘curiosity killed the dragon’… Heheheh.”

  I could tell that he was telling the truth because I had been getting a weird mana signature from downstairs. I was conflicted about wanting to see it, though. Inconspicuous as the house seemed, it was still a necromancer’s laboratory. I didn’t think it was a good idea for Fran to see something like a slaughterhouse at her tender age.

  And god, was he loud!

  “Tea?”

  Bernard set teacups on the table. He had begun wearing an apron at some point. For an undead, he sure seemed human.

  “Thanks…?”

  The tea looked poisonous. There was reddish-purple goo at the bottom of the teacup. Was Fran supposed to drink this?

  Our host, Jean, took the cup into his hand and downed it all in one gulp.

  “Aaah. Such a fragrant aroma and complex flavor. Truly a wonderful cup.”

  Really?

  Sense Danger hadn’t alerted me to anything so I guess it was safe to drink. Besides, Fran had Abnormal Status Resistance in case anything bad happened.

  “Quite the manners you have there.”

  Fran drank her tea, and set the empty cup on the table. She could make anything look delicious. I’d give her some good food to fix her palate later.

  “Bernard, would you mind explaining what happened?”

  “You see—”

  Bernard told Jean about the day’s proceedings.

  “I see. So we lost some of our Necroweed.”

  “Yes, sir. About a third of it.”

  They were talking about the plants we had crashed into earlier.

  “Argh, this is awful news,” Jean said while casting glances in our direction. It didn’t look good for us. It was true that we had broken into his house and destroyed some of his plants in the process.

  “Do you know how much Necroweed you wasted by your crash landing? They are a very valuable type of Spirit Grass.”

  They were valuable enough for the necromancer to cultivate in his own home. There was no way they grew on the side of the road.

  “Are those plants important?”

  “Indeed. Necroweed is a type of Spirit Grass you don’t normally find in the wild. They can be made into Necro Potions which can do a great deal of damage to undead with a mere sprinkle. If you manipulated the variables during its concoction, you can use it as a catalyst for Necromancy. Necromancers would die to get their hands on this potion. Also, the Necroweed I grow is first class.”

  I remembered seeing a Necro Potion in Randell’s store. It was a third class Necro Potion and that already cost 300,000G. I doubted we could pay Jean if he asked us to compensate him for damages.

  A-ask him if he could still use the damaged plants in his potion. We’ll help any way we can!

  “What if you used the damaged herbs to make your potions right now?”

  “Impossible. Once touched by the living, Necroweed becomes tainted with life. One could still make ordinary potions out of it but they wouldn’t suit my purposes.”

  Essence of Falsehood detected no deceit in Jean’s answer. Necroweed was a valuable plant which must not be touched by the living. There was nothing we could give him in exchange but I doubted he would be satisfied with a simple apology.

  “Now, judging by Bernard’s explanation, you falling through my roof was something of an Act of God, so I shall not press charges.”

  “You won’t?”

  I couldn’t tell from looking at him, but this necromancer was generous!

  “Indeed… However!” Jean suddenly raised his voice and grinned. His manner was impossible to predict.

  “Uh.”

  It scared even Fran!

  “I cannot say the same about the ruined Necroweed. You must understand.”

  “Hm…”

  “Act of God that it might be, you still damaged my valuable Spirit Grass. Justice demands an act of recompense. I’m not talking about bowing your head and apologizing, either.”

  Aah, I figured. What was he going to ask us for? Money? Or maybe he wanted to use us for drug and magic experimentation. Either way, we might be in for a fight.

  Fran sat up in her chair and stared at Jean.

  The tension in the living room was palpable.

  “Little girl. Would you mind going on a quest for me? You shall be rewarded, of course. 200,000G. What do you think?”

  That was a lot of money in completion fees. We weren’t going to jump on it immediately, though. The reward was an indication of how difficult the task would be.

  Ask him about the details, Fran.

  “Hm. Depends on what you’re asking.”

  “I won’t force you. You’d be doing more harm than good if you did it reluctantly.”

  “Nothing illegal.”

  “Of course. I am an adventurer myself, you know.”

  Whoa, seriously? He sure didn’t look like one. He looked like a creature who would be waiting for you inside a dungeon than a man who raided dungeons.

  “Really?”

  “Indeed. B-Rank, at that!”

  He took out a silver guild card out of his robe and showed it to us. It said B-Rank Adventurer on it. He was our great senior!

  “Before we move on…”

  “Hm?”

  Jean smiled in a way I could only describe as sinister. Was he finally going to show his true colors to us? I was getting worried, despite Danger Sense not triggering.

  “Would you mind introducing yourself?”

  What was he talking about?

  As I puzzled over Jean’s redundant question, he pointed his finger toward Fran.

  “I’m talking about you, Sword.”

  Rather, he pointed his finger at me.

  Did he want to get his hands on an enchanted sword?

  “You’ve been so quiet, I do wish you’d start talking to me.”

  “!”

  “Heheheh. I’ve known all along about the fact that a soul inhabits that blade of yours! How you’ve been communicating with Telepathy! Now, reveal yourself! Bahahaha!!!”

  He saw through my Telepathy? How?!

  Fran, don’t say a word.

  Hm.

  “…”

  “…”

  “You’re giving me the silent treatment now? You will not fool me with such petty methods. For I possess the great skill of SOUL SIGHT! I can see souls wherever they are! Even your Identity Protection is no use against it, a mere vanity of vanities!” He cackled, obviously smug at catching me off-guard.

  What?! So his method of identification could pierce through Identity Protection?! The same thing had happened with Garrus. These Mystic Eye people were a pain!

  Dammit! What now? Do I keep my mouth shut? No, stay calm!

  As I became metaphorically drenched in cold sweat, Jean merely rested his chin on his hand and nodded carelessly.

  “My, but what a rare sight this is! You are an Intelligent Weapon, are you not?”

  He knew. There was no point in keeping quiet now.

  “I can see that you are quite strong and capable. With your powers combined, you might just be able to carry out my request!”

  Request?

  “Aah, so you’ve finally decided to talk to me. It’s not every day I get to converse with a sword! Brilliant, brilliant!�
��

  I was beginning to get tired of Jean’s boisterous speech.

  “Now, allow me to explain the thing I want you to do for me.”

  Hmm? He didn’t seem interested in having me for himself. In fact, it looked like was only curious to see whether I could talk.

  You know I’m an Intelligent Weapon. Is there anything else you’d like to add to that?

  “What do you mean?”

  You don’t want me for yourself?

  “If I did, would you give yourself to me?”

  No.

  “And that settles that argument. I’m not the least interested in you, anyway.”

  “You really don’t want him?” Fran asked.

  “Not in particular, no.”

  I used Essence of Falsehood but again couldn’t find any untruth in Jean’s words. He wasn’t the slightest bit interested in me. I was disappointed, but relieved at the same time.

  “Are you satisfied? May I move on to the details of my quest?” he chortled.

  All right, let’s see what impossible errand you have in store for us.

  Disturbing words like Live Experimentation and Assassination danced across my mind.

  “You are to help me explore!”

  That was… absolutely pedestrian.

  “Explore what?”

  “Yes. It pleases me that you seem eager to assist. Our destination is not far from here. With my help, we can get there in a little under thirty minutes.”

  This dungeon must’ve been pretty close to Jean’s house. I hadn’t seen any on the way here, though, and I didn’t remember any mention of dungeons in this area during my research in Alessa. What Jean said next confounded all my expectations.

  “We are going to the dungeon called Undead Lair.”

  What?

  If a dungeon was nearby, there was no way we wouldn’t have heard about it back in Alessa. What was he talking about?

  Fran voiced my thoughts. “We didn’t hear anything about it in Alessa.”

  “Of course not.” Jean’s answer was nonchalant. “I am the only one who knows anything about it.”

  Considering how big dungeons were, I was confused as to how anyone could miss it.

  So you’ve kept information about this dungeon to yourself?

  “That’s right. We are under no obligation to inform any party about any dungeon we might find on our travels. We are urged to inform the authorities since doing so would help prevent future calamities, but keeping quiet about it is not a crime in itself. Not in this country, anyway.”