Seeker 373

 Test

Chapter 373. Departure

Having accepted the quest, we set off immediately.

After walking for a while, still within what could be called morning hours, we arrived at Midna Village, the scene of the incident.

First, we went around and briefly spoke with the villagers.

Afterward, we left the village and headed into the western forested area.

This was because we had heard that, a bit further in that direction, there was an abandoned and ruined old castle.

We also knew from previous encounters that vampires tended to favor such structures as their strongholds.

Waiting until night for the vampire to appear again in the village was an option, but I didn’t like giving the enemy any initiative.

I preferred to take whatever steps we could now.

Moreover, considering a vampire's inherent traits, even if we managed to defeat the one that appeared in the village, it likely wouldn’t solve the root issue.

As we strolled through the dense forest, Yuzuki suddenly spoke up.

“Still, vampires are seriously troublesome monsters, huh? Even if you bring their HP to zero, it doesn’t count as a defeat—kinda feels like a cheat.”

“Well, if you’re talking cheats, we’re pretty overpowered ourselves these days, aren’t we?”

I replied with a wry smile.

Kazane chimed in from the side.

“But troublesome is right, just like Hotaru-chan said. You have to find and destroy its special coffin, right?”

“Exactly. If you don’t, no matter how many times you defeat the vampire itself, it’ll just keep coming back.”

“Seriously annoying, right? Monsters should just turn into magic stones and call it a day when their HP hits zero.”

“Kuaa…”

“Ah, I wasn’t talking about you, Gri-chan. You’re our precious friend!”

“Kuaa, kuaa♪”

When Griff (currently back to his original size) let out a sad sound, Yuzuki approached and hugged him tightly, stroking his fur.

My familiar let out a few happy chirps.

Vampires possess a range of unique abilities, one of which is “immortality.”

Even if you bring their HP to zero, they don’t vanish or turn into magic stones.

Instead, they transform into a dark mist and fly off somewhere.

The vampire that was supposedly defeated would reappear before people again, fully restored by the next day.

It’s said that this cycle repeats endlessly.

To make matters worse, they’re already tough enough that you’d need at least three seasoned Level 25 adventurer parties to stand a chance.

Even after you think you’ve defeated them, they revive over and over thanks to their immortality.

In the days when information was scarce, adventurers’ morale would shatter at the sight of such monsters, leading to dire tragedies.

However, methods to counter them are now well-established.

Somewhere, a vampire-specific “coffin” exists, and if it’s found and destroyed, the vampire will finally turn into a magic stone, unable to resurrect.

While no one knows exactly where this coffin is, past examples show that it’s usually near the vampire’s lair or its base of operations.

After defeating a vampire, it will fly off as dark mist, leading to the coffin’s location.

The mist travels incredibly fast, making perfect tracking nearly impossible for the average adventurer, but its direction can offer clues to the coffin’s whereabouts.

“Think you could perfectly track the mist with your speed, Kazane?”

“I’m not sure. I’d have to see it for myself to say.”

“With Kazane-san’s speed now, she might even outrun a car on the highway.”

“I wouldn’t know—I’ve never tried it. Besides, whether to use Quickness is another consideration.”

Chatting like this, we moved further through the forest, noticing a change in the surrounding trees.

Some trees decayed and fell apart, while other plants withered. Eventually, grotesque flowers of a poisonous hue began appearing.

A thin mist started to roll in, gradually obscuring our view.

It wasn’t so thick that nearby objects were invisible, but anything farther off was hidden by a dense white fog.

Terrified, Yuzuki clung to me.

“A-aren’t these 70,000-point monsters getting way too atmospheric? It’s… too much, really.”

“Actually, a 70,000-point monster is pretty significant.”

Common dragons like Aerial, Fire, or Earth Dragons offer 30,000 points for their defeat.

Even that makes them S-Rank monsters, dreaded by regular adventurers.

The Roc we faced recently was worth 50,000 points and was plenty feared as well.

“This is just an intimidation tactic… right, Daichi-kun?”

“Heh, maybe… But how would you handle me if I got ‘charmed’ by a vampire and turned on you two? Like this, Yuzuki!”

“Eeeeek! N-no, Senpai, this isn’t funny! S-stop it…!”

Feigning monstrous behavior, I pretended to bite Yuzuki’s neck.

She barely resisted, trembling under my fake assault—

“…Daichi-kun. You’re overdoing it.”

Kazane’s icy voice sent a chill down my spine.

I released Yuzuki and turned around. Kazane was smiling.

“Let’s focus, Daichi-kun, okay?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“And if you attack Hotaru-chan, make sure you’re equal opportunity and go for me too.”

“…Uh, sure. Wait, what?”

Kazane’s smile held a mysterious edge.

It was unnerving.

Done with our skit, we resumed walking.

But the vampire’s [Charm] ability was no joke.

In previous records, adventurers affected by [Charm] started attacking their comrades.

They didn’t use skills, relying instead on raw physical attacks and grappling.

Based on past experience, the effectiveness of such monster abilities could often be mitigated by high magical defense.

I hoped a monster with a 70,000-point bounty wouldn’t wield such overwhelming influence, but until tested, we wouldn’t know.

If it did happen, we’d need a strategy. Fortunately, it seemed the charm could only target one person at a time, giving us a slim advantage.

Contemplating all this, we continued deeper into the eerie forest—

“…Oh. Daichi-kun, looks like someone’s here to greet us.”

Moments after Kazane said that—

Several large beast-like monsters slowly emerged from the mist ahead.