Chapter 313: Preparations

The next day.

I took my time eating breakfast, then I lit a fire to try and perform a memorial service for the undead. It was around that time that Glen-san came back with a horde of undead chasing after him.

“Welcome back. How was it?” [Ryouma]

“I circled the village along the wall as you said. The mansion at the center was indeed the nest. The closer you get, the more undead. I thought there were already a lot, but the number of undead there is on a whole another level.” [Glen]

“There’s that many?” [Ryouma]

“Yep, there’s countless of them. There were humanoid undead hunting outside too.”

Apparently, Glen saw zombies and skeletons setting traps, hunting, and even bringing back prey. The hunted prey was gathered in the square in front of the mansion at the center of the village to be dismantled, distributed, and eaten. The remains of the last dismantled prey were to be carried into the mansion’s gate and immediately turned into undead.

Given the abilities of the monster, I’d expected it might turn out like the Town of Departed Spirits.

“I’ve heard of ghost towns plenty of times, but it’s a first for me to actually visit one. The area around the mansion is the very picture of an undead city. The humanoid undead also feel more alive than the other undead I’ve seen before.” [Glen]

“I can confirm that on my end as well. I tried using magic to attract and purify the undead, but the zombies and skeletons seemed to sense my intention and moved away.” [Ryouma]

Remilia-san had mentioned that some undead retain fragments of their memories from their past lives. Given that the monster not only creates undead but also binds the souls of the deceased, it’s likely that many of them retain strong memories from their previous lives. They weren’t able to retain their humanity though.

“We need to do something about the monster causing this.” [Ryouma]

“Yeah, but that thing is pretty dangerous. Even I can’t do anything about it.” [Glen]

I was hoping for Glen-san not to get involved, but I’m surprised to see he’s going out of his way to beg off. He seemed to sense that and retorted with a somewhat exasperated expression.

“Do I look like I’d punch anyone just because they look strong?” [Glen]

“You do.” [Ryouma]

“W-Well, okay, if the other person is stronger than me, sure, I’ll go pick a fight with them, but first, I make sure that I can actually punch the guy. ‘Strong’ can mean a lot of things. Traps, running away, people who completely avoid fighting, I don’t get along with those. How do I even punch them? I bet the ones over there are like that too.” [Glen]

That monster specializes in creating undead, dark magic, and illusions. Even if you have a magic tool to resist its mental attacks, its illusions are so powerful that it could just get past it anyway. The difference in equipment won’t matter much, and trying to fight it with a bigger party would only risk friendly fire due to the illusions. That’s why the gods said that they needed someone like me who was resistant to mental attacks.

Glen might not have thought that far ahead, but he was probably able to sense the threat the monster posed.

“I wasn’t born strong, you know. There were many times when I lost to humans too, and there were times when I had to avoid dangerous individuals. I don’t plan on stopping you if you’re going, but just know that I won’t be able to help you if things get dangerous.” [Glen]

“I’ll be fine. I’m not planning on dying, and I won’t ask you to accompany me to die together.” [Ryouma]

“So you do know it’s suicidal. What are you going to do then?” [Glen]

“For now, let’s whittle out as much of the undead as possible. Not just the ones outside but also those inside by luring them out. It would be better not to have anyone interfering during the main battle, after all.

The monster residing there can’t come out of the mansion, so odds are it’ll send the undead to defend itself if anyone attacks from the outside.

“In that case, just crush the ones that come out one by one.” [Glen]

“That’s not a bad plan, but I think it’s inefficient to rely only on that, so I’ll be relying on the Grave Slimes too.” [Ryouma]

This is how the plan goes. First, we’ll prepare a massive pitfall with Grave Slimes to trap a large number of undead, then we’ll act as decoys and lure the undead.

“I’ll stay here to prepare the pitfall. So, you run around to gather the undead. If any try to escape, use that hammer to knock them into the pitfall. Just take care not to enter the manor.” [Ryouma]

“Simple enough. Speaking of traps, yesterday, I saw those flowers blooming on the opposite side from here. You know, that valuable dye thing… What was it called again?” [Glen]

“Hoteru Raflesia?” [Ryouma]

“That’s the one. There were so many of them that they filled a part of the outer wall. I was able to get away without any problem, but the flies attacked like a horde of undead. Think we can use them to our advantage?” [Glen]

I’ve never actually seen Gluttony Flies attacking undead, but when you think about it, zombies are just slow-moving masses of rotting flesh. With how many of them there are, it might not be a bad idea to consider Hoteru Raflesia.

The monster is supposed to be able to revive the undead even after they’re defeated, but with how many of them there are, it might not be possible for the Grave Slimes to store them all at once, so trimming them before the traps might be necessary.

“Let’s do both then. I’ll start preparing Grave Slimes and the traps, so you go lure the undead to the territory of Gluttony Flies.” [Ryouma]

“Alright! In that case, give me that barrier from yesterday. I hate it when they hit my face.” [Glen]

I did as he requested and cast a Barrier of Lightning on him, then Glen-san bolted off.

“Whether it goes well or not, I’ll be back by noon! Be sure to have lunch ready by then!” [Glen]

…Demanding lunch, huh. Well, he is fuel expensive, and he’s doing his best, so why not. I was originally planning on doing this alone too, so any help I can get it something to be grateful about.

“Anyway, I better do my best over here.” [Ryouma]

First, I need to choose a location for the trap. It’s a pitfall, and we’re going to be bringing the undead ourselves, so there’s no need to be too picky about the location. Still, it would be better to be closer to the source.

“Cutter Tornado!” [Ryouma]

I got the Grave Slimes to combine and enlarge before leading them out of the safe zone to the center of the village. I’ve already grown accustomed to the humanoid undead, but the beast variants, especially the smaller ones, are difficult to see when hidden by the undergrowth.

So, I used wind magic to cut and blow away the weeds. It’s technically an attack spell, but it feels like it’s the first time I’ve actually used it in an attack. Until now, I’ve only really used it for mowing down lawns. I mean, even now I’m still technically using it to get rid of the weed. Well, it’s a convenient spell, so whatever.

“But enough of that. Is that the place?” [Ryouma]

Beyond the small tornado that cut through the bushes was a distant, old, and massive mansion. In front were remnants of buildings that might have been village houses and the remains of defensive fences. However, the mansion stood out head and shoulders above them. Additionally, there were many collapsed parts in the buildings in front, which proved helpful in observing the mansion.

The mansion, or rather, the structure, was probably originally meant to be a base in the Great Forest, as it had towers for surveillance in every direction, connected by sturdy-looking walls. With how few and small its windows were, it resembled an old fortress or prison rather than a mansion.

However, a metal fence just like those of foreign mansions could be seen around it, secured with bricks and decorated too.

Above all, inside the fence could be seen the well-maintained grounds of the mansion that created a strong sense of incongruity with the crumbling buildings around. Upon closer inspection, even the weeds seemed to have been cleanly pulled out. After a while, zombies could be seen coming out of the mansion to clean.

“So, the undead servants are still managing the mansion even now…” [Ryouma]

Since it appears that the undead here have indeed retained a significant amount of memories from their past lives, I decided to retrace my steps for a moment. The location I’d chosen for the trap was somewhere between the mansion and my grandparents’ house.

Once the location was decided, all that was left was to start the work. So, I got the Soil Slime, Spider Slime, Emperor Scavenger Slime, Huge Rock Slime, and the collective entity of Weed Slimes called “Huge Bush Slime.”

Roles and tasks were divided as follows:

– Huge Bush Slime: Clearing weeds before digging the pit and providing camouflage after completion.

– Soil + Me: Using slime magic to dig the pit while removing weeds, tree roots, stones, etc.

– Huge Rock: Eating the extracted stones, cleaning up, and reinforcing the pit with the separated body.

– Emperor Scavenger: Assisting other slimes + guarding during work.

– Spider Slime: Assisting in camouflage after completion.

Once the work began, the giant slimes worked like heavy machinery.

For example, the Huge Bush Slime, by spreading its body to the limit, was able to cover an area of about 20 meters square. Given its huge Emperor-class body being turned into a level surface, it wasn’t surprising that it would be able to cover that much area. What’s more was that it could even move while in that state.

While not particularly fast, watching the large slimes mow down the weeds over such a wide area was very satisfying to watch. It was just like watching a large agricultural machine clear grass. Slime magic with my Soil Slime also made short work of digging a pit, removing weeds, tree roots, and stones. With Huge Rock eating the stones and reinforcing the pit with its separated body, walls and pillars could be created without the need for concrete. Soon, a square pit with a side length of 15 meters and a height of about 4 meters was completed in less than an hour.

“…I know I was the one who made it, but this is basically an underground cellar, isn’t it?” [Ryouma]

The power of the large slimes was incredible. Rinehart-san had mentioned wanting to build roads and villages. If these slimes were to be used, the construction time could be significantly reduced. Shortening it too much could be problematic though, but if they ask for help, I might consider it.

“Now for the finishing touches. First, the camouflage, then the Grave Slimes need to be installed, and finally, let’s have the Huge Rock serve as a pillar at the center with its face jutting out above ground.” [Ryouma]

With the Spider Slimes supporting the nest they built with the edges and the central pillar, the Weed Slime covering the hole, the Emperor Scavenger Slime providing fertilizer, my wood magic assisting in completing the camouflage, and the Soil Slime lightly covering it with itself, even I couldn’t distinguish it anymore from the rest of the ground despite having created it myself.

“It’s well done, but I ought to be careful lest I fall into it myself. Yeah, just to be safe, I’ll create a separate safe zone.” [Ryouma]

I got the slimes to stretch threads between the heat-emitting trees, and by using the roots of trees extracted during digging, we were able to create a scaffold. Spider silk is said to have five times the strength of steel, and Spider Slime’s silk also has considerable strength. By reinforcing the scaffold with the roots of trees, adding a roof, and further reinforcing it with the vines provided by the Weed Slime, we were able to build ourselves an impromptu tree house.

“The threads contracted a bit perhaps due to the humidity, but it should still be plenty strong.” [Ryouma]

Undead of a certain size and weight will naturally fall in on their own, while the smaller ones can be dropped by the Huge Bush Slime. All that’s left now is to bring the undead here. Oh, right, perhaps that one might also be useful here.

“Come, Mimic Slime!” [Ryouma]

Excited, I summoned the Mimic Slime from the Dimension Home on a whim. The body emerging from the white hole was considerably larger than when we made the contract. It seemed that feeding it various things last night, along with finding out its food, had been beneficial.

“I did cut it in half, so I’m glad it returned to normal.” [Ryouma]

By the way, Mimic Slime is an omnivore and can eat both meat and vegetables, but it prefers meat. Throughout this journey, I’ve been feeding it mainly Raptor meat that I’ve hunted extensively. It doesn’t seem to have a particular preference for the type of meat, whether it’s from a crocodile or a small animal. However, it refuses to eat rotten meat and excludes undead-type monsters like Beast Zombies.

This is probably related to the Mimic Slime’s shapeshifting ability. Upon investigation, the Mimic Slime’s transformation seems to be an ability to “mimic the appearance of the eaten target.” By eating a part of the opponent’s body (not limited to meat), it can transform into an identical appearance by reproducing bones and internal organs.

It gives the impression of transforming its own body using the genetic information of the target, more like a clone than a simple shapeshift, but I lack the specialties in that regard, so I can’t say for sure. It’s unfortunate.

“Well, there’s no use wishing for something I don’t have. More importantly, I want you to transform into a Take Ostrich.” [Ryouma]

With communication seemingly not a problem, the Mimic Slime was able to transform into a monster resembling an ostrich. I don’t know if the condition to be able to transform lies in the amount ingested, and I also don’t know how long it can maintain the transformation, but I do know that once it memorizes the appearance of a target, it can change into it without eating again.

“Can you give me a ride on your back?” [Ryouma]

The Mimic Slime, now transformed into a Take Ostrich, folded its knees to make it easier for me to ride. I hopped on it. Its back was warm, and the texture felt just like actual feathers. If you didn’t know in advance, you wouldn’t think it was a slime.

“Try walking slowly first.” [Ryouma]

It started to walk slowly, one step, two steps, then three steps… It seemed like it could move while I was on its back. We’re inside the Treehouse, though, so it’s a bit cramped. It might not be able to run, though, because I’m not that familiar with riding myself. There were no stirrups or saddle like you would find on a horse too, but maybe it will do just fine if it’s just walking.

“Welp, no other way but to find out.” [Ryouma]

I teleported us outside, and the Take-Ostritch-transformed-Mimic-Slime started running with me on its back. I just wanted to perform a simple test, a quick trip to my grandparents’ house and then back, but…

“Whoaaa!?” [Ryouma]

It’s too fast!

Though I might have just been a child, I was surprised to see the Mimic Slime rocket as soon as I signaled it to start. I think we just went back the way we came over a dozen times faster, but I couldn’t tell for sure. The scenery passing by from side to side was just like what I would see when sharing vision with the Rimel Bird. Yes, just like the view from the Shinkansen. The difference was that my body was moving at that speed too.

Although the feathers were soft, and the vibration wasn’t as bad as I thought, the force of the gravity bearing down on me made it feel more like a roller coaster. Without any safety measures, if I were to fall, wouldn’t I die? By this point, it was more like I was holding on for dear life than riding it.

We rocketed through the dense jungle with me full of anxiety. The distance from the trap to my grandparents’ house would normally take about 10 minutes on foot, yet despite it taking much less time than normal, it actually felt longer.

The Mimic Slime is certainly an excellent means of transportation.

However, at the same time, I decided not to ride it while gathering the undead.

It was just too dangerous.

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