The Refuge.
Sister Rose felt that the original owner of this house certainly wasn't a commoner.
A hall that could accommodate a dozen people, two floors, a side yard, and a bathroom—definitely not something an ordinary person could afford.
But it was a pity.
With twenty or thirty people living here, it was impossible for it to stay clean.
"It stinks..."
Rose's sister, Leah, spoke first. "If real knights like big brother Silas said lived here, they must be filthy knights! It reeks!"
"You can see just by looking; most of them slept on straw. What does that have to do with knights?"
The other sister tugged at the nun's skirt. "Sister, if the people big brother talked about are gone, do we have to move again?"
"..."
Being watched by the innocent eyes of the two sisters, Rose instinctively placed her hands over her chest.
Her gaze drifted to the closed wooden door.
"Alright, let's tidy up."
"Before Mr. Silas returns, let's clean this place until it doesn't smell anymore, okay?"
"..."
The two sisters looked at the mess of straw, unknown filth, and even a wooden bucket someone had used as a urinal. Their eyes instantly lost their light.
"Don't daze out. Let's get to work."
"Don't you want to be praised by your big brother?"
With Rose's urging, the children's eyes brightened again.
"Heh, Elena is going to be the cleanest merchant!"
"Mutual respect! Leah is also going to be the cleanest knight!"
"Is Sister Leah ever going to learn the right words?"
"S-shut up! Big brother Silas said I'm cuter this way!"
"..."
Children's moods sour quickly and recover just as fast.
But what about adults?
On the way here from the convent, she had been terrified countless times.
'Hold the rope. If you can't even do this, you're on your own.'
'What are you looking at me for? Do your job.'
'...'
She could feel his tone was always full of impatience.
But the reason?
One only had to look through the gaps in the carriage window at the wandering dead outside to know.
What's so hard about flicking the reins to drive the carriage?
He did all the dirty, exhausting work. The most terrifying parts—the parts that skirted the line between life and death—were handled by him alone.
'Even if you piss yourself, keep moving. I don't have time for your bullshit.'
'...'
She wanted to speak up countless times.
Not just out of fear, but to ask... if there was anything she could do to help.
But just like the expression on his face when he left this place, he didn't intend to let her do anything. He didn't think she could do anything.
That was the truth.
A person with no abilities, someone being protected—what right did she have to say "don't go"?
"Ah, Sister Rose is slacking off!"
"Eh?"
At her sister's voice, Rose snapped back to reality. She ran to move the most pungent bucket in the corner far away.
She didn't understand her current feelings.
Regardless.
She wanted nothing. She just wanted to see him return safely.
On the other side.
Silas had already found Fiona.
That poor woman was currently disemboweled.
There was no helping it; visibility in the thick mist was seven or eight meters at most. He only found the body because he caught the scent of blood.
"..."
Silas approached, kneeling down to touch the blood.
It was still warm.
Fiona's sword was broken. Her head was intact, her face still frozen in the terror of her final moments.
Should he say his mental stats were too high and he was too strong, or that he was just no longer normal?
Looking at her white intestines spilling out, he felt nothing at all.
Rumble.
He felt the ground vibrate, but he wasn't particularly afraid.
It was getting closer.
Had it caught the scent of a living human and rushed over?
Running was likely too late.
That thing—he could vaguely see a hooked scorpion tail in the mist. The tail alone was larger than a house.
[Skill * Hypnosis Apprentice activated]
[The target lacks autonomous consciousness; cannot be influenced.]
Huh?
He'd prepared himself to test the hypnosis probability this time.
Turns out it doesn't work on brainless things?
What an epic nerf.
Without a second thought, Silas grabbed Fiona's corpse from the ground and threw it.
Splat!
The thing took the bait.
It caught the bloody flesh with its hook.
But it didn't seem to eat it; after stabbing the corpse a few times, it tossed it aside.
Clang!
Silas didn't plan on running.
Finding an opening, he put all his strength into a swing at the tail.
The scaled tail wasn't as hard as he imagined; he could see into the gaps. Being huge isn't always an advantage.
Squelch—
But the bastard didn't play fair.
Silas hadn't heard that this thing had more than one tail. It seemed it had no main body at all—it was just tails.
[You were attacked by the limb of a contaminated locust. You have died.]
[This simulation has ended.]
[You may use a charge to load from the current plot point or restart the simulation.]
[Remaining simulation charges: 2 (Restores 6 daily, or purchase for 1,000 Silver Coins)]
[Currency held: 0 Gold, 0 Silver, 121 Copper]
[Current Task: Try to find more clues to help Sister Rose!]
[Reward: Stamina +2, Spirit +1]
The Stables.
Silas didn't have much of an emotional reaction.
After all, he'd predicted that the mist meant he'd encounter that thing.
Locust limb?
Was he fighting a part of a locust?
Then the repellent might really be useless; it was unknown if the thing even had a sense of smell.
Hypnosis is useless against mindless things.
A limb...
Did he really need to kill it?
Killing it gave no experience.
Right.
the goal wasn't to kill it, but to bypass it. To find a way to make it harmless, just like the walking dead.
I've got it!
He still had two simulation charges. He already knew where Fiona was; if she could be saved, he'd save her. If she was doomed, she was doomed.
He could try one more time.
[You chose to Load Game]
[Through them, you learned that Fiona had already lost several companions, but even as others refused to go further, she stubbornly pressed on ahead.]
[Ignoring the survivors' desperate pleas, you continued forward. The mist was thick enough to impede your vision. It was easy to guess that further ahead, you'd encounter something more troublesome than the walking dead. Perhaps Fiona was still alive, or perhaps she was already dead.]
[You began to wonder if it was worth the risk.]
[You decided...]
[Option 1: Keep going. I have to figure out what happened!]
[Option 2: Go back. Take the female survivors with you and deal with it later.]
[You chose Option 1]
Silas's vision returned to the interior of the house where the survivors were hiding.
"Stay here and don't go out."
Regardless of the women's reactions, he ran straight out.
He sprinted along the route he had already confirmed.
"..."
"What... ugh, what is that thing?"
"Hah... spare me."
He easily heard Fiona's voice, filled with terror and grief.
She was sitting on the ground, her sword broken, covered in shallow cuts and blood. But she hadn't been disemboweled yet.
The misty, blurred limb was at most five or six meters away from her.
Whoosh!
Silas grabbed her arm.
"Mph!"
"..."
Before she could speak, Silas had already covered her mouth. He used his eyes to signal her to stay quiet.
After she nodded frantically.
Silas threw a small stone he'd prepared. Sure enough, the thing immediately rushed toward the sound. He understood now: it had hearing, but no sight.
Now Silas was in the dark, and it was in the light.
Since he'd come this far, it was only natural to try and kill it.
Among the insects drawn to a flame, are there locusts?
Silas didn't major in biology in his past life, but he felt that starting a fire to kill it by chance was far more realistic than hacking it to death with a sword. The small head can charge forward, and the big one can do the same.