99 Growing Up (1/2)

The Dark Stalker's ability, ”Hidden Shadow,” dyes the body black and hides all signs of life.

The presence of the undead is more subdued than that of the living, but when I use this ability, I find myself surprisingly thin.

Hiding in Plain Sight is a very fuel-efficient ability. It may even be less fuel-efficient than the spell-fire I stole from the cannibals.

Even though I am a very powerful vampire, I can only activate it for a short time, and it is doubtful that I will be able to activate it all the time in the future.

However, if I put an excessive amount of blood power into that fuel-inefficient ability, I can become a complete shadow.

The amount of power required is probably too great for the Dark Prowler to ever be able to meet. But this ability is very much suited to assassination.

Even I, a vampire with senses far beyond those of humans, would probably not be able to recognize an attacker with this ability.

It is no wonder that the True Vampire, who inherited her abilities before the mutation, is feared.

The undead that Senri had detected were huddled in a castle built on top of a steep cliff - just below it.

They were dressed in black, and their presence was so faint that it seemed as if they had become one with the darkness, but my eyes could not deceive me.

Approaching from downwind. Senri, who is following behind me, seems to be using some kind of ability, but there is little sign of him. By nature, the undead are sensitive to the presence of the living, but in this case, I don't think they'll notice me.

The group made little noise, but I felt a negative force that I couldn't hide.

It's--it's sympathy. I know my kind. Maybe I'm sensing the same thing the demise knights are using to find the undead.

Perhaps it's a skeleton. But I remained calm. There were many of them, but they were no threat to me, considering the amount of power I could feel.

My first opponent, Lord and the Knights of the End, had a power I couldn't control. It was only luck that they were able to defeat the next one, Arbatos, and Lynel was a threat worthy of being called the Demon King.

Compared to that, that group is far lower. It's hard to even compare them. Maybe even lower than the riffraff I fought in Ryner's army.

When I was under the Lord, I couldn't take on more than a few skeletons at a time, but I don't know how long the gap has grown.

Of course, it wasn't his fault that his opponent was weak. I turned around and held my index finger in front of my mouth in front of Senri.

If I can sense their negative power, it means they can sense mine.

Right now, they are unaware of my presence because I am controlling my blood power and suppressing my presence, but they will know who I am when they see me.

The undead are hostile to the living, but I may be able to communicate with them. Of course, they must be able to understand language, but it would not be difficult to kill them, so it is worth a try.

Senri frowned and stepped back, as if he sensed what I was trying to say. It's heart to heart.

I dared to make a sound, and stepped in front of the skeletons, releasing their presence.

A group of them, disguised in black cloaks, raised their heads. As expected, the group was skeletons.

The hard sound of bones rubbing against each other. An eerie red glow lit up the back of their comatose eye sockets.

The most common type of naturally occurring undead is the carrion man (zombie), followed by the wraith. It is said that the hurdle to spontaneous generation of bone-men is unexpectedly high, as they need to have a certain amount of bone remaining.

All groups of bone people had black leather armor protecting their bodies. They are clearly not a naturally occurring species, as evidenced by their ability to act in groups.

Now, how can I communicate with them? I've had some experience interacting with bone people at Lord's place, but there I was completely ignored. When I think about it, I'm not a very good communicator.

Anyway, I didn't know what to say, so I fiddled with my sunglasses and raised my right hand.

”Well, well, well. It's a beautiful night. Skeleton. What are you doing?

”............

The bones didn't attack me. They just looked at each other and gnashed their teeth.

Bonesmen are undead too. They envy the living. They don't attack me because they know I'm one of them. So it's safe to say I was right.

I observe it with a smile on my face. There are ten skeletons in total, each carrying a weapon and a leader.

They are all made of black bone. They are the Kuro Bones, the result of mutation of the Bonesmen rank.

According to my knowledge of the undead, the lack of skin in bonemen prevents them from accumulating negative power. Since they are mutated, they are expected to be strong enemies.

Check the weapons of the bone men in your hand. Most of the bone men were carrying rugged, dull swords.

The blades were large, but not made of silver, so they were not a serious obstacle. Only the leader has a long sword, but it's not silver either.

The fact that there are mutated species means that they must have some intelligence.

”Since we're both dead, why don't you let me join you?

The first boneman nodded and made way for me. It looks like he's going to let me join him.

I've always been shunned by the living, except for Senri and my father, but apparently the dead are kind to me. Lord's bone-man (whom I had named Jack, by the way) was unsociable, but it was possible that he had taken after the sorcerer.

I entered the bone-man's enclosure with great enthusiasm. I felt an indescribable familiarity in their dark sockets.

--And then I spun around to catch the sword swinging down from behind.