Chapter 15 (1/2)

I watched Blobsy hop off after the bandits.

…my request was just a spur-of-the-moment thing. Would she be fine? Too late for takebacks now, anyway. I floated off after the merchant's carriage.

I didn't think I could lose track of them, considering we were all on the same road, but I had to wonder how fast a human running – my top speed – could be comparing to a horse carriage. With the existence of railway technology, I feared carriages might have gotten some measure of improvements, too.

If they could manage to get inside a village – it didn't even need to be a town – before I caught up, I'd lose. The strange barrier would hold me off. There was likely no way for me to get in.

I wasn't so delusional as to believe that I was doing this for justice, that this was fitting judgement for the kind of person who treated their slaves' lives as a game and then vented his anger on the deceased after he lost.

I just wanted to avenge them. To at least lessen their regrets.

Luck was with me. A few minutes later, I found the carriage parked by the wayside. The irritated merchant and his driver was checking their losses.

”Come on, boss, it's good enough we got out of it safe and sound. It's just some food and slaves we bought from the village, isn't it?”

”And the horse and carriage! Those weren't just slaves, fool, they're expensive ones! d.a.m.n demihumans got a lot sneakier these days, you can't legally buy any new ones on the official markets! Scamming b.a.s.t.a.r.d f.u.c.king lied to me. They weren't 'combat-capable', they were wastes of air, that's what!”

I was… pretty sure the merchant was an exception, not the rule to this world's humanity… right?

The inspection seemed to be over. The merchant urged the driver to hurry, and the two set off. The trader was sitting next to his driver, instead of his usual spot inside the carriage.

”Boss, you should get back in. It's dangerous here.”

”Shut your trap. It's your fault you didn't notice the bandits early enough. I can't trust your eyes.”

The driver didn't bother hiding his distaste at the insult.

Right. How do I want to do this?

Originally, my plan of only aiming for the outlaws was to avoid having soldiers and beta testers sent after me. In that case… would an accident work?

I took off the cloak, released my humanoid form, dispersed just enough to blend into the scenery, then moved in front of the wagon.

The two still hadn't noticed anything wrong. But the horse did sense my attention, and fear began to permeate into its steps. The wagon started to swerve left and right.

”H-Hey, what's wrong? Calm down!” The driver was nearly panicking.

”Do something already!” The merchant screamed, desperately holding onto his seat.

Walking and playing with Blobsy weren't the only things I did these last few days. I'd been experimenting with [Reroll] too, and I now had confirmation of the skill's success rate when used on others.

It had a high possibility of failing if the target was focused. Which also meant that if they were surprised or agitated, it'd work most of the time.

That first time with the beta tester, I could chalk it up to chance. The second time I succeeded against the slave hunters, even I started to think it was too convenient.

And after a few tests, I'd determined that my chances would go up if the target saw me. My supposition was that using the skill was easier on targets under the effect of the [Fear] demon racial skill.

Well, those tests were with weak monsters, though. This would be the first time I tried it on humans.

[Reroll]

Despite the horse's fear and the swerving, the carriage was still somehow avoiding the rocks littering the road, but the horse didn't notice the Identification Crystal I dropped. The wagon lurched.

The nearly obese trader lost his balance. He scrabbled, trying to grab onto the edge of his seat. I used the skill while throwing my presence at him.

[Reroll]

Terror flashed on his face for a moment, and his hand grasped only air. He fell gracelessly on his head.

”Boss!?” The driver noticed, but too late. The moment his scream rang out, the merchant's neck was already broken.

[Shedy] [Race: White Ghast] [Low Demon (High-Rank)] [Magic Points: 256/335] 5↑ [Total Combat Power: 289/368] 5↑

My, that was a very unlucky fall. Also, apparently the more difficult the check, the lower the consumed magic cost.

And it turned out I still receive experience from an accidental death… I was a bit too far away, though. I got his lifeforce, but couldn't recover any magic. I'd have to write the crystal off as a loss, too. Well, it only had three uses left anyway.

I felt Blobsy stop moving. She must have found the bandits' lair. I hurried to her, the merchant and his driver no longer in my thoughts.

My mind was whirring with thoughts even as I flew.

That scene back then, when I used [Reroll]… I'd seen something like it before.

Ever since I was a little kid, the people who bullied me, with deeds or with words, had always met with constant misfortune. Mysteriously.

One had a broken arm just from tripping. One slipped on the stairs. One cut her fingers multiple times with the kitchen knife. Were those all my fault?

Strangely, [Reroll] always felt like the most natural thing in the world to me, even from the very first time I used it. Was it because I had always had it, ever since I was born?

When I arrived, it was already dark. Blobsy bounced out of the field of tall gra.s.s and cuddled up to me. Cuuuute…

Oh, whoops, I forgot the cloak…ah well. I commanded her to lie down – since she no longer has the safehouse that was my cloak's pocket – and she splatted into a disc, completely hiding herself inside the gra.s.s… whoa. She's a very skillful blob.

I didn't need her to show me where they were. Some distance away was a hole leading into what looked like an exploratory mine. A man wearing grungy clothes was on watch, looking bored.

I was going to attack their base. That thought sent s.h.i.+vers through me.

Not the kind of s.h.i.+vers a.s.sociated with that Disconnect with reality. If anything, it felt like excitement. As if I only just came to myself, my true self, in that moment. I moved, my body feeling more natural than ever.

I approached as mist. For a moment, the watchman frowned at seeing a white mist under the moonlit, cloudless night. His expression quickly turned to [Fear] at the sight of me.

He was about to scream. I immediately rushed into his mouth before he could, then apply a bit of [Humanoid Form] to fill up his lungs and stifle his voice.

…it actually worked. I thought it might, yet I still surprised myself.

He went blue in scant seconds, his face set in a rictus. Once his lifeforce was drained, I wafted through the cracks in the worn-out, rickety-looking door.

I saw light leaking out from my side just after entering the abandoned mine. I peeked through the hole and saw two men, looking like the quintessential bandits, gambling over a card game. Probably the other lookout personnel waiting for their s.h.i.+ft.

[Bandit x2] [Magic Points: 20/20] [Hit Points: 60/60] [Total Combat Power: 48]

Weaksauce. But, well, if they had the strength of mind to train themselves, they wouldn't be serving as bandit underlings like this.

The only light source I could see was a single candle-looking thing. I shot out two copper coins I'd been storing inside me.

[Reroll] [Reroll]

One coin missed even with the skill, but the other hit. It snuffed out only the fire, leaving the candle perfectly intact.

”Huh, what happened to the light?”

”Did you drop a coin? I heard something like it.”

The men were startled, but not alarmed. They started to fumble around in the dark for matches. I snuck up to them and choke them out the same way. Their lifeforce was taken without trouble.

This was so much easier than doing combat absorption. Well, the idea might seem ingenious – even I almost thought so, at first – but in hindsight, if I could invade their mouths like this, I might as well stab them in the neck. Simpler that way.

[Shedy] [Race: White Ghast] [Low Demon (High-Rank)] [Magic Points: 245/353] 18↑ [Total Combat Power: 280/388] 20↑

A quick magical ping revealed around twenty other signals inside the mine. Some of them must be the slaves. I wonder how many were bandits? Around six of of the signals were immobile, so I headed there first.

In the darkness, I saw a large wooden cage. The bars were logs, around as big as a human adult arm. Inside were beastman slaves, lifelessly sitting on the ground. Two of them were kids.