6 CHAPTER V: MUTATION OF PLACE (1/2)

He used his long arms to cut down the small ape beast that had leapt from the trees with his familiar machete.

The fragrant scent of blood splashed through the air and the forest fell silent.

The monkeys that had been watching us from high up in the trees must have realized that they were in the wrong, because they let out a strange cry and disappeared into the depths of the forest with tremendous agility.

Their bodies move freely. The feeling of life disappearing through the machete. And a strong sense of contentment that fills my soul.

When I first came back, I thought I was feeling it as a reaction to being unable to move in life, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

The Lord, who was standing with his arms folded proudly behind him, looked at the monkey carcass once and then quickly turned around.

”End, are you ...... getting stronger?

”......

I stood there in silence. I stood there in silence, because I hadn't been ordered to answer.

A few months have passed since I became a carnivore. I've become accustomed to my body moving freely, and thanks to hunting demons in the forest every day, I've become able to read their movements to some extent.

In the beginning, I used to exert so much power that I would break my own body in reaction, but now I can hunt the beasts with 'restraint'. The Lord also heals me less often.

I'm trying my best not to make people feel uncomfortable from the very first battle, but I'm sure that the battle has actually become easier, and if nothing changes, I don't know what Lord will do, so it's difficult to adjust.

It's fun to be able to move freely. It's fun to run, to jump, to learn. Most of all - it's fun to live.

I'm not completely free yet, and it's a tricky situation, but I've been enjoying this situation for a few months now, as I've gotten used to working as an undead, and I've been able to relax.

I've been enjoying this situation for a few months now. I've already collected quite a bit of death. It would not be surprising if he turned into a ghoul. ......

I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do this, but I'm sure I'll be able to do it. I took his touch with a blank expression.

A few months after getting the material. I'd learned more about the undead than I had in my lifetime.

Lord's library was a great place to learn. I brought a few books from there to the morgue, hid them in a drawer on a shelf that no one would open, and read them little by little.

Most of the books were written in a language I couldn't read, so I didn't understand much, but I was able to gain some basic knowledge.

Unlike living creatures, the undead do not grow over time, but by collecting the negative energy generated by the death of a living creature, their existence is strengthened and they mutate. This means that even those who have already died are not living in a frozen time.

This is called ”rank mutation” in the books.

As written in the first book I found, the undead are the result of a curse placed by necromancers.

I am now a corpse whose nature has been altered by the curse of necromancy.

And the curse has an evolutionary system built into it.

When a corpse is resurrected by the evil curse of a necromancer, the corpse acquires a new ego and becomes a more powerful undead by collecting negative energy according to the Lord's command. The carrion man is just the start.

Lord, who is so absorbed in his research that he never leaves his room, not even to eat, takes me hunting with him every night without fail in order to accumulate my negative power and make me a more powerful undead.

Apparently, I had a predecessor. The predecessor, who also accumulated death at the hands of the Lord, changed from a carnivore to a werewolf, went hunting without the Lord, and was eaten to death by a magical beast in the forest. That's why the Lord always follows me around.

Dark and glowing eyes. When he looks up at me with eyes as dark as the undead's, he tilts his head.

I'm not sure if my ego is behind ......, but that's okay. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

That's right. No problem. They don't know.

We can still fake this for a little while longer.

The Lord is a powerful mage, but he wasn't experienced enough with the undead to see through my act.

It's not surprising, since carrion people don't seem to have an ego, but he doesn't question my actions at all.

Hunting with the Lord is very convenient for me. It's a safe way to increase my power.

If he finds out that I've developed an ego, he'll change his orders. At least he'd give orders that wouldn't hurt him.

All I needed was timing. It's the Lord's curse I'm working under.

But the curse of the undead, once cast, will not be broken by the death of the wielder.

”End, bring me that monkey carcass.

The usual order. He grabbed up the arm of the carcass, which was still dripping blood, and followed the road.

The strong smell of blood and beast. The fragrant scent of corpses. Kuro blood dripping from a deep, split wound.

I felt something hot stirring in my body.

§

I've been hungry lately.

Appetite. The desire I hadn't had in a long time was unbearable, scorching me like a flame.

As usual, after following orders and being returned to the morgue, I started to act.

It had been over a month since I had gotten that desire. The moment I got that feeling, I knew that my existence had changed.

Appetite. Desire to sleep. s*xual desire. The three major human needs were irrelevant to the carnivore, but not to the higher undead.

Since he had already gained some knowledge of the undead by then, he knew immediately that these desires were caused by the mutation of the hierarchy.

Evolution through the taking of many lives. From a flesh man to a ghoul.

The appetite I've developed is proof that I myself have been transformed into a higher species. Unlike carcasses, corpses have a certain degree of self-awareness and the intelligence of a human infant.