Chapter 359: Surprise Encounter in the Tavern

Walking through the forest, William recalled the terrible creatures that had attacked the monastery.

Were similar creatures lurking in the shadows right now, watching him, tracking his every movement? The chances were high. That was undeniable.

Heading out at night made everything even more tense. William followed a stone road leading away from the monastery.

Before leaving, he’d studied the map the priest gave him, so he knew there was a tavern somewhere along that road.

That would be his first stop. William didn’t plan to spend the night there, but having a place to eat and think through his next moves seemed appealing.

It took about an hour to reach his destination. Not because he was moving slowly, but because the monastery was isolated in the mountains. There was practically nothing in that region except the monastery itself.

The tavern sat near the road leading up the mountain. Built from wood—the same type as the trees in the region.

Outside, a small porch with a short staircase, and a lantern swaying in the wind, giving the place a certain charm.

“Looks empty,” he thought.

Just from the outside, it was obvious the place wasn’t getting many customers.

As soon as William pushed open the tavern doors and took in the scene inside, he froze.

The place was well-lit, with plenty of tables and chairs where people could stop to eat. A counter stood in the corner with a woman serving customers.

All standard for a tavern. That wasn’t what had left William tense, nearly paralyzed.

“Undead!”

A group of undead sat inside the tavern, gathered around a table. They were more than just skeletons. They looked like mummies, dressed in heavy armor, and one of them wore robes with a staff strapped to his back.

These were certainly the undead the priest had mentioned. The chance of them being something else existed, sure, but the coincidence was too strong.

All of them turned to stare at William the moment he entered. He tried his best not to look tense as he walked to the counter to speak with the server.

“Good evening,” he said. “I’d like something to eat. You have anything available?”

The woman looked at him and frowned. She leaned closer to his face to whisper, “You’re the guy who was taken to the monastery?”

The tavern sat on the main road leading to the monastery, and it was the only tavern in the region.

Every time carriages headed to the monastery passed through, they would’ve seen him.

Because of that, William wasn’t surprised she knew who he was. However, with the undead right there, this wasn’t the right place to be discussing such things.

As soon as she whispered that, one of the undead—a plated armor one—rose from the table and walked toward William.

Each step he took made the wooden floorboards tremble. He stopped beside William.

The creature was massive, standing roughly three meters tall. William had to look up to face the undead.

“What was that I just heard?” the undead asked.

The undead had definitely heard exactly what the woman said. There was no point trying to hide it or pretend otherwise.

William lowered his head in respect and said, “I live in the area, and I was having trouble with some magical beasts. I went there a while back to ask for help.”

“You live in this region? What do you do?” the undead asked. “This area is dangerous—not just anyone can survive living here. Especially someone with only one arm.”

The tavern only existed in that region because it received constant patrols from the monastery’s holy guards, and it also had a magical barrier created by the priest.

Without that, it would be difficult to maintain any presence in the region. That’s why it was strange for someone to choose to live there.

“Just a retired adventurer looking for some peace,” William said. “At least by staying here, I can help thin out the magical beast population. Help the locals, right?”

The undead, despite seeming like he wanted to detain William right then and there, didn’t do it. There was no proof William was doing anything wrong.

Besides, the Lich wanted to ensure the kingdom’s people remained comfortable with the undead ruling everything. A revolution was already starting to take shape, and the undead didn’t want to add fuel to the fire.

“Of course, of course. Helping the people is always the right thing to do,” the undead said in that raspy voice. “Keep it up.”

He returned to the table and made a hand gesture. All the undead got up and left, continuing on their way.

William stood there, and when the server was finally certain the undead had gone, she said, “Why did you lie to them? I saw you being carried in on a stretcher, all beaten up.”

“I had to,” he replied. “The monastery has a limit on how many people it can shelter, and I ended up exceeding that limit…”

The woman finally understood. She went quiet for a few moments, then poured a drink for William.

“Then you did the right thing. The monastery is the only thing keeping us safe out here. If the undead decided to wipe it out… well, that wouldn’t be ideal.”

William accepted the drink the woman had poured for him. He sat down on the wooden stool in front of the bar and took a long sip.

“I’ll make you something to eat. You planning on sleeping here tonight?” she asked.

The original plan wasn’t to stay the night precisely because William wanted to avoid running into undead on the main road. But now that he’d already encountered them, there was no reason to rush off.

“I think so. If you could set aside a room for me, that would be great.”

“Of course,” the server said with a warm smile.

After finishing the drink she’d given him, William moved to one of the tables and sat down, waiting for his dinner.

The woman returned with a plate of food. It had everything William wanted most at that moment: meat.

Beef.

“The price might be a bit higher because transporting meat is complicated,” the woman explained. “We’re a little isolated from the world out here.”

There were some farms in the region with cows, but the tavern’s isolated location made it harder for the farmers to transport the meat.

William already knew it would be like this. He wasn’t bothered by it. With the money he already had, plus what the priest had given him, he was in a comfortable position.

He savored every bite of his meal. Afterward, he headed to his room, which the woman had already prepared.

It was on the first floor—taverns usually had rooms on the second. That just confirmed this place was a bit simpler than usual.

But the room’s interior wasn’t bad at all.

“Make yourself at home. We’ll settle the bill tomorrow,” the woman said before leaving, giving William some privacy.

The room was lit by an oil lamp. Its warm yellow glow made the space feel comfortable.

William pulled out the map he’d received from the priest and studied his next moves.

He had two objectives: get stronger, and find information about his class.

Which meant heading straight to the revolutionary camps didn’t make sense right now. He needed to achieve those two goals first.

So the best place for him to go was a big city. And his choice fell on a place known as the kingdom’s capital of knowledge.

It was home to the largest concentration of researchers in the realm, with more libraries and books on various subjects than anywhere else.

If there was anywhere William would find information about his class, that would be the place.

To reach that place, William would have to cross through various parts of the kingdom. It would take quite a while, and it could also be dangerous with all the undead roaming every corner of the realm.

But there was a way for him to get there much faster: use his demonic powers to take control of a flying magical beast’s mind.

That was something he did quite often. It was far better than spending money on flying magical beasts that had already been tamed.

Actually, William didn’t know this, but now that the Lich had taken control of the kingdom, purchasing that kind of domesticated beast had become much more difficult. The Lich enforced certain restrictions that hadn’t existed before his rule.

Either way, William set the map aside, closed the curtain, and decided to sleep. As he pulled the curtain shut, he caught sight of something in the dark forest outside. The undead he’d seen in the tavern earlier were standing in the darkness of the night, watching him through the window.

They had no idea he could see them. Humans couldn’t see in the dark, but William wasn’t exactly human.

“Shit,” he thought. “Looks like I’m going to have trouble. Just hope they attack me tomorrow morning, not tonight… Tonight I just want to sleep.”

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