32 Gathering Materials

Not far from the gates of Solares, Gerard stood by a stable. A burly man groomed a white steed by the stables' entrance.

"Excuse me, can I buy a horse here?"

"You sure can! We not only store and care for your horse here, but we breed and sell them as well! What are you in need of? Workhorse, show horse, or a riding horse?" The man halted his work.

"One that can take me a long distance and doesn't frighten easily."

"I know just the one. Follow me!"

The man walked him through the stables' interior and guided a horse to its own before closing the gate. They walked past nine horses in pens until they reached a pen with a large black horse, regal and confident. It eyed Gerard carefully, flared its nostrils, and squealed before thrashing around in its pen.

"Uh, I don't know your deal, but if Carson here is afraid of you, you won't find a horse in the capital willing to let you ride it. You best leave while I settle him down." The man pushed him out of the horse's view.

*What was that?*

[Animals are better at sensing monsters than humans are, so maybe it knew with a glance that you're not what you appear to be?]

*It will take a while to reach the swamps, then. I'd like to get a human body, and soon."

[Is being undead so problematic? You have friends and people are very understanding when it comes to your condition.]

*Every passing day, I feel like I am becoming less like myself. Is it worth living if you're not you?*

[I wouldn't know.]

*Well, if I do become a human, I'll need a horse or creature to ride as well because I can't be walking and running everywhere.*

Gerard exited the stables and approached the gates. A familiar scene of people lining up to leave the city. Gerard lined up behind the citizens, and watched the end of the line as the gate guards let people through one at a time.

*The last time we did this, we were hunted...*

[I'm just a voice in your head. You were the one being hunted.]

*You know what I meant.*

[You'll be fine.]

Gerard progressed to the front of the queue, and the guard inspecting those leaving Solares held out his hand.

"Identification."

"Why do I need to show my identification?"

"When we get reports of someone committing a crime in the city, we must check anyone leaving. Allowing a criminal to leave the city without facing punishment would tarnish the order and peace that the Solares City Guard strive to protect."

"Okay, I hope you find the criminal. Here, is this okay?" Gerard handed him the card given to him by Thorkin.

The guard flipped it over, examined it closely, and returned it.

"All seems to be in order. Safe travels."

Gerard allowed his tense body to relax and walked outside of the city.

He waited until he was clear of the lines of people trying to enter the city before speaking.

"So, where to? You know a bit about this world." Gerard looked into the distance in all directions.

[The swamps to the southeast should be filled with various creatures and monsters. And I only know as much as I've been provided to give you.]

"Should be?"

[We've been in this world for a while now, and I don't know if anything changed when the gods reset things, either. The limited information I have might be wrong or outdated.]

"You couldn't have told me that sooner?"

[There was no need to bring it up.]

"So, information that can freely change, like the current state of the world, might differ slightly from what you know. That's okay, don't worry, Sprite, you're still useful."

[Thank you.]

"Well, since the sun couldn't have changed the direction it rises in since the last time I asked, let's head southwest!"

Gerard looked at a lone tree on the plains.

*Shadow Step!*

He disappeared into his own shadow and reappeared beside the tree. He looked back at where he had just stood.

"I can cover the distance a little faster this way."

He continued using his shadow step skill until he saw the grass beneath his feet turn to soil, and dead trees became visible in the distance.

"This feels like cheating..."

[Usually, Shadow Step would deplete your energy quickly, but you can use it without worry because of your immunity to exhaustion.]

"I'll make the most of it for now, then."

Gerard looked at the soggy soil he stood on, then at the dead trees sprouting from sludge in the ground.

*Shadow Step!*

Gerard's feet caught themselves in the sludge, and he tumbled through the swamp.

"Well, I guess I'll have to walk from here. I need to remember that Shadow Step requires solid footing."

Gerard stepped into the swamp and trudged through the thick sludge.

*Field!*

He felt small organisms move around in the water around him. As he continued forward, nothing bigger than his fist appeared in the range of his field spell.

*Where is everything?*

[I don't know.]

*It's like something big has scared away all of the predators here.*

[Be on your guard.]

*I will.*

---

For hours, Gerard wandered around the marshes. Ahead, a thick tree stood alone in the marshes. Large circular lumps covered the tree, and small stray branches sprouted all over. Gerard hesitated in his approach.

[What is it?]

*Something dangerous is nearby.*

Wood creaked in the distance. Gerard felt a swarm of living creatures swim and crawl past him.

*It's coming.*

Several sets of wooden arms broke free from the giant tree, and one after another, the lumps popped open to reveal glowing green eyes.

A visible miasma wafted towards them.

[Immunities to Decay and Disease have activated.]

*That's dangerous. What is it?*

[I don't know. Based on its appearance, I would guess it's a demon of some kind. Duck!]

A branch shot through the air, pierced Gerard's chestplate, and stabbed his heart. The branch lifted him up and flung him away. He gripped his staff tightly as he tumbled through the swamp.

*A demon, huh? They're already causing trouble. Good thing the undead don't need hearts.*

Gerard stuck his staff in the ground, pulled himself to his feet and deactivated shift, allowing his real body to show. He took a couple of steps forward and looked into the numerous eyes of the demon.

*You are made of wood. Bad luck. Fires of Hell!*

A flame roared to life and consumed the demon.

*No experience?*

The thick waters of the swamp swirled into the air and left the ground dry around the demon and Gerard. The water shot towards the demon, putting out the fire.

The demon grew double in size and bellowed deeply. All around the demon, piles of countless bones lay in pieces, thoroughly picked clean.

*I guess that's where all the wildlife and monsters went. Any ideas?*

[Run.]

*My thoughts exactly. We can't handle this yet.*

Another branch shot out, but Gerard knocked it away. Using that moment, Gerard used every ounce of strength and dexterity that his undead body would allow and retreated.

He looked behind, and the giant tree stood perfectly still, its eyes closed, the sludge from the swamp dripped back onto the ground, and its many arms folded back into its body.

"It's territorial?"

[Luckily for us, that seems to be the case.]

"What the fuck is with that? I can fight wyverns, but that is too much by itself!"

[All I know is that the demon lord created the demons, creatures that can evolve rapidly by absorbing mana.]

"Oh, great, so it's going to become even stronger. Should we kill it before it becomes a bigger threat?"

[Do you think you can?]

"Maybe in melee combat, but this body isn't suited for it."

Gerard ran his hand over the hole in his chest armour.

"Let's tell Leonhard when we get back. Maybe the researchers can do something about it."

Gerard shook off a feeling pulsing from the demon's location like it painted a target on his back.

---

Gerard wandered the streets around the market district of Solares. Peddlers on mats and behind stalls called out to the mass of people walking by.

After a short time, he found a tailor's shop and entered. A bell rang as the door opened.

"Welcome, and what can I-" A man in a suit stopped dead in his tracks.

"You're not walking that filth into my store. Get out."

"Oh, I forgot," Gerard chuckled uneasily.

*Cleanse.*

The sludge from the swamp and the dirt from his travels disappeared without a trace.

*I wish I knew where all of that went each time.*

[Yet another mystery you want to uncover.]

"Hmm. It'll have to do." The man circled Gerard and promptly removed his armour.

"What are you-"

"Leave it to me. It's the tailor's job to know what the client needs at a glance, and you, sir, need a lot." The tailor brought out a measuring tape and took several measurements.

He pointed to some seating by the wall and hurried off.

The tailor came back with an assortment of clothes. Much to Gerard's dismay, the tailor dressed and undressed him in a private room until satisfied.

Ultimately, the tailor chose a long, blue vested waistcoat, a black shirt beneath, and black pants. A set of clothes were set aside for adventuring as well.

"Isn't this too much?"

"Well, you are a little rugged, but a trip to a barber would complete your look."

"Thanks? How much?"

"You're welcome. Three gold pieces."

"For the attentive service, I'll give you five."

"Thank you very much. I'll prepare a basket for you to carry your old clothes and the other set in."

The tailor rushed off, returned with an elegant basket one might have a fancy picnic in, and placed Gerard's clothes inside, along with two different pairs of shoes, free of charge.

"The shoemaker sends us some of his shoes when they aren't purchased. They should fit."

"Thank you." Gerard handed him five gold coins and left the building with the basket.

He stepped back onto the busy market streets and roamed around. Occasionally, Gerard would stop by a peddler and purchase an item.

---

When he returned to the institute, he held two bags of miscellaneous items made from various materials. If not for his increased strength, he'd find it challenging to cart all of his new belongings around.

*I've got nothing left, now..*

[I thought you had one gold coin left?]

*I need that coin for the experiment.*

[Gold? Human bodies have gold inside them?]

*Trace amounts, yes. But seeing as though I don't know what is vital for the human body to have or not, I'm going to include all of the ingredients without missing anything.*

[You think this will work, then?]

*If it doesn't, we'll just have to try something else.*

[We have a lot of time left until those demons start attacking.]

*I hope so.*

Gerard found an empty room for research, dumped the bags of items on the ground, and some of the objects shattered.

"Now to tell Leonhard."

Gerard left the room and quickly approached Leonhard's office before knocking. The doors swung open, and an angry researcher stomped out.

"Gerard, sorry about that. Do you need something?"

"Actually..."

Gerard recounted his experience in the swamps down to the last detail.

"A demon? Are you sure? It wasn't a monster that you don't know?"

"I'm sure."

"If what you say is true, this is bad news. There haven't been any sightings of demons for over fifty years, not since the last hero destroyed the demon lord."

"What is a demon lord?"

"All I know is that a demon lord is a being of immense magical power. One who can create an army of beings we call demons."

"And sightings of demons means what?"

"Either that the demon lord wasn't destroyed or that a new demon lord has managed to take its place."

"Well, I'll leave that with you. I was no match for a single demon, so I have to get a move on with my experiments if I'm to stand a chance against them in the future."

"I'll consult with a few people about this. I hope for the sake of the three races that you're mistaken."

"So do I."

Gerard got up from his chair, left the office, and returned to the experiment chamber.

He emptied the bags onto the slab in the chamber's centre and extended his arms.

"It seems like there's no time to waste."

*Dematerialisation!*

Every object he bought from the market broke into granules.

He pictured all the grains on the table and thought about solid carbon.

*Transference!*

At an empty space on the slab, a pile of graphene grains appeared.

"Okay, it works. So long as I can do this with every ingredient, I can do this."

[Good luck.]