Chapter 185: Encounter: A Sentient Skeleton

As time went by, darkness crept in. along with it came intense throbbing of the heart.  We couldn't find a safe place to rest. We had torches in our hands but, it wasn't enough in a forest where undead were everywhere.

So far, everything was as it should have been. There were undead but nothing was special about them. Some had flesh, some didn't. Some had armor, some didn't. That was basically it. 

And yet… I couldn't help but feel a little spooked. It wasn't like this was my first time in a forest like this, so why? Why was I having such an ominous feeling about this?

If we could find a small area then maybe… what about an angel? 

"Hey, Jori, you said you could sense aura right? Think you can sense it from long distances?" I said.

We were in a fairly open area. Trees were far spaced and there wasn't any grass. But that also meant there were plenty of undead beauties just waiting to attack us.

"Yes, I think I can manage about fifty times your length." His signs referred to fifty times my height. 

"Fair enough. Why don't you give it a try?"                               

Upon my signal, everyone stopped. 

"And what am I supposed to look for?"

"Holy aura."

He smirked. Maybe he thought I was just joking. But I didn't see him rebuking me either. "Fine. I'll give it a shot." 

He held both of his hands above his head and focused. I saw faint traces of mana enveloping his head. 

Can it be? Is he imbuing his mind! Is that even possible?

It didn't matter whether it was possible or not. But one thing was for certain, I had to find out more about this power. And maybe then I'd be able to use imbuition on my body freely too.

And I guess the answers lied with the Alves.

He opened his eyes and they glowed in a purple light. I could hear his breaths. "Scope!" and with a sudden outburst, the pale light dispersed evenly around us. "I don't think I found anything." I'd say it went as far as a hundred meters. Not that effective for the time and effort he just wasted.

The way the light dispersed and made a return, it almost functioned like sonar but how was it possible with light instead?

With that little range, I didn't have too much hope. But it wasn't totally useless either. "Anyway, let's keep moving a little. Maybe we'll be lucky enough to find a good place on the way."

"Hmm?" Servesta looked around. He had sweat over his forehead. The fire in his hands displayed it perfectly.  "Something's there." He pointed. 

Jori used his magic again and turned to me, face paler than paper. "Som-Something's there." His teeth clattered. If I recalled correctly this guy was a fine swordsman from the guild and yet he was shaking. Even Servesta sweated. I had to take this seriously.

"Yes we already established that much. We should take the opposite path and secure our exit. If we can avoid it, then there's no need to fight," Dick for the first time ever thought things rationally. 

"I think we should fight it," Lianne whispered. Her eyes flashed before mine. They were crimson and darker than usual. "I have to know."

I gulped. I finally knew why she brought me to this forest. She had her own goals.

So much for being a tour guide. 

She was just using us, using me. I smirked. It seemed elves really couldn't be trusted. 

"Besides, don't you want to know how to use a bow? I promised you last time remember?" She winked.

What? 

Her usual smile was back on. She didn't seem the least concerned. Maybe she had a plan?

Honestly, I didn't understand this elf. 

"I don't know what you are gossiping about but, would you mind if I tried some things. I've been sitting around doing nothing lately, that I might have gotten a little rusty." Dick punched his chest. "All in favor of fighting raise your hands…" 

Weren't you the one who said we should run?

And what was he, a kid?

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I raised mine. I knew there wouldn't be a way to persuade these two morons. Both of them had their own goals. One wanted to show off while the other wanted something which I didn't know. Retreat was not an option. After all, the monster was already here, coming through the darkness.

Servest and Jori just grinned nervously as we waited for the monster to show up right before us.

"I'm gonna be blunt. I've seen worse," I said.

The monster in front of us was nothing but skeletons. However, it wore a robe. This robe was rather fancy and there was not a single scratch or even stain on it. It looked almost brand-new. The embroidery was ominous and I couldn't help but take this seriously. The monster itself was no different. It was definitely an undead but something about it felt odd. Unlike typical undead it didn't attack us right away, rather it was locked in a staring contest with us. But no matter how I looked at it, apart from its calm demeanor nothing seemed out of place.

"Would it be alright if I tried to talk to it?" Lianne pulled on my sleeve. 

Huh? Talk to an undead?

I'd talked to monsters before. But undead were different. That Siren from the island talked to me only after it was purified. But before that, it didn't have free will.

"Can I at least ask about the reason?" I still thought Lianne might have a reason. 

I guess she did have one. "I told you about a grand mage-" She sighed and glared seriously. "I've been searching for him for my entire life. Back then, I was searching too and that's when I saw you getting almost killed by the goblins. I used-"

Basically, she used my name to get out of her group and keep on searching. But as a result, I got to live. 

Fate really was weird.

I had a lot of mixed feelings on the matter. But for the time being, I just focused on the part that I got to live because she saved me. The part that she tricked me and used me still bothered me though. "Roger. Leave it to me." I knew what she wanted to do. But I didn't just agree on her sake either. I had my own reasons. If it was someone important who could tell me more about my being in this world then it was an option I couldn't skip.

She looked at me with bewildered eyes. A smile ran down her face. "Thanks."

Lianne walked to the front. 

"Are you sure about this," Dick whispered.

"If things look bad cover with a rock or something and tell the big guy to cast his magic as well. Only if things go bad that is," I whispered back.

"Gotcha."

"I am Lianne Renaine, a princess of the Renaine lineage. I wish to talk to you, Grand mage Borosia."

The expression of the monster didn't change. It looked at us with its cold crimson eyes. But its gaze was more focused on me than Lianne. I had something like a holy sword of sorts so probably that was the cause, it could have been my holy attribute too, or maybe the dead couldn't understand the living? I tried to give it a shot. "You there. We want to talk to you. Got time?"

My gift with language allowed me to converse with things people could never dream of talking to. 

I got stares from around me. Maybe my companions didn't like my cool approach. I thought it was cool though. I was already freezing so….

A grin surfaced on its face. There weren't any teeth attached so it didn't look as pleasing as in the horror movies. It was definitely scarier.

It looked at me with intent and broke into laughter. The laugh was more ominous than even Servesta's. The skeleton monster brought out a black stick from its robe and leveled it at me. It's or rather his eyes seemed to say, 'If you want to talk show me what you've got.'

I got the feeling this undead actually was sentient. And the mere fact that he was a grand mage, gave me all the more reason to get my answers.

And from what I could understand he was quite old, meaning the possibility of him knowing certain things was definitely not dismissible. 

I smiled. "Lianne, get back." My grin widened. "You guys, stay out of this." Biteria jumped out of my shoulder to Lianne and stayed. 

Looks like my rabbit understands me.

"Now who's showing off?" Dick mumbled. 

I ignored him.

He was right. Perhaps this was just a showoff. 

The monster in front of me didn't have bloodlust. And it was said to be a grandmage. Of course, I wouldn't have wanted to fight like this if this guy wasn't this sane. He was clearly dead but he could comprehend my words and he showed intelligence. Meaning if he knew about the things I wanted to know, this was my only shot. 

I didn't know how much he knew but I was willing to take this risk.. Besides, I had companions who'd have my back if something goes wrong anyway.

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