Isendra

Having successfully claimed the First Kill, Yinsen was not overly excited. His mind was exceptionally clear, and he knew the danger had not been completely eliminated. Another zombie stood right in front of him, ready to make him its meal for the day.

He yanked out the shortsword with force, then, just to be safe, casually gave it another slash, cutting off the zombie's head beneath him.

The rotten body made things easier. Even its hard bones had become extremely brittle. Yinsen did not even need to use much strength to sever the zombie's head, only then standing up to face the remaining enemy.

"We can't fight head-on."

Zombies had stiff bodies and slow movements. Correspondingly, they were incredibly strong, far stronger than Yinsen.

Yinsen's body was better than in his previous life, and he was at the prime age of youthful energy and stamina, but strength was not his strong suit.

"Use agility to keep it occupied. Attack from behind whenever possible."

The side was the next best choice. He absolutely had to avoid confronting a zombie from the front.

With his plan set, Yinsen tensed up, raised his shortsword, and charged again. Then, halfway there, he suddenly changed direction and circled to the zombie's side while making a motion as if he were rushing in to swing his sword.

The zombie's movements were stiff, but its reactions were not slow. Its outstretched hands suddenly swept sideways, and the howling wind they kicked up proved just how powerful the blow was. If it hit him, he might instantly lose his ability to resist.

But Yinsen had been prepared. His charging posture had only been a feint, intended to guard against the zombie's response. Seeing the zombie indeed swing its arm toward him, he immediately halted his forward momentum, then used his excellent agility to dart past from a direction the zombie could not reach, successfully rushing to its side.

Before the zombie could respond again, he fiercely smashed the Round Shield in his hand toward its neck.

That earlier strike had made him notice that the zombie's neck was unusually fragile. Perhaps he could break its neck with the Round Shield alone.

Things went just as Yinsen expected. The zombie's neck was remarkably fragile. Although his shield strike did not break it outright, it still dealt a heavy blow, twisting its neck at a strange angle and affecting its control over its body, leaving it stiff for an instant.

"An opening!"

Yinsen, whose focus was at its peak, immediately seized that fleeting opportunity. The shortsword in his hand followed right after, driving straight toward the zombie's head once more.

Pfft!

The fragile skull was pierced through by Yinsen's sword. Again, just to be safe, as he pulled out the shortsword, he followed up with another shield strike, smashing the head clean off before finally stopping.

He quickly retreated several steps and looked around for a while. Only after confirming that both zombies were thoroughly dead did he relax slightly.

"First battle, two zombies killed without a scratch. Perfect."

He quietly gave himself full marks for the battle, using it to ease the emotions stirred up by his heightened excitement.

At the same time, he carefully recalled the details of the fight, summarizing what he had learned to improve himself.

"When I was completely focused just now, it felt like every detail was incredibly clear?"

He was not sure whether that was a benefit brought by increased Mental Power. If it was, then even if his strength was still somewhat lacking, he was not entirely without the means to protect himself.

Whether that was really the case, he could test it several more times over the coming days while continuing to hone his combat skills.

"Stay calm, and strike decisively!"

Yinsen sheathed the shortsword at his waist, then carefully examined the two zombie corpses. He wanted to see whether these "monsters" had "dropped" any equipment for him.

"This isn't a game world, after all. There's no such mechanic as equipment drops..."

He shook his head regretfully. If equipment could drop, he could hunt lone zombies around here, making it much easier to achieve his goal of acquiring good gear. But it seemed that this was a more realistic world, one vastly different from the game.

No longer looking at the two zombies, Yinsen began gathering herbs. This was his main task for the trip; honing his combat skills was only incidental.

After collecting and storing the herbs, Yinsen continued searching the surrounding area. He carefully controlled his distance from Rogue Encampment. Whenever it disappeared from sight, he would head back a little, then move in an arc while keeping Rogue Encampment visible before appropriately exploring farther out.

When he found herbs, he gathered them. When he encountered lone zombies, he killed them. Then he retreated, continued walking in arcs centered on the camp, and after covering a certain distance, explored farther outward again.

Repeating this over and over, he collected several herbs over half a day while also killing more than a dozen lone zombies.

Fortunately, he did not encounter the Quill Rats and Fallen that he was extremely wary of.

Quill Rats liked to hide in grass and shadows, blending into their surroundings and making them very difficult to spot. They also launched ranged sneak attacks. With Yinsen's current strength, he could easily be Instant Killed by a Quill Rat if he was caught unaware.

Fallen, on the other hand, moved in groups and were led by Fallen Shamans capable of casting fireballs and resurrection spells. They were extremely troublesome—dying, reviving, dying, reviving. They also refused to fight you head-on, always darting about everywhere, making them very hard to kill. They ran especially fast too. If you tried to shake them off, they would chase you down again and keep pestering you, making even escape impossible.

With Yinsen's current strength, if he encountered Fallen... even the smallest group of five would leave him dead without question.

So, when Yinsen had not gone far during one of his outward explorations and spotted several red-skinned Fallen gathered around a campfire in the distance, noisily shouting and carrying on, he decisively began to back away.

"I really am... pathetically weak."

He helplessly shook his head. Back in the game, even a level 1 character could kill those weaklings whenever he wanted. Yet now, he did not even qualify to fight them face-to-face. The thought was genuinely depressing.

"If Akara really asks me to clear out the Den of Evil, it looks like I'll have to meekly refuse."

Carefully retreating, Yinsen controlled his movements to avoid drawing the Fallen's attention while constantly observing that tiny camp.

"I should tell Kashya when I get back. She ought to send Rogues to clear out those Fallen... At such close range, it'll be a huge problem if the Fallen grow stronger..."

Just as he was thinking this, a figure seemed to appear in the distance. Before Yinsen could even wonder whether his eyes were playing tricks on him, the figure suddenly flickered. Then a flash of light appeared outside the Fallen camp, and the figure that had been far away abruptly stood before the Fallen.

Then the figure raised a long staff and swung it at the Fallen. A massive fireball howled toward them, exploding thunderously when it reached their midst. The violently erupting flames instantly swallowed several Fallen, and the dazzling firelight brightened the originally dim sky.

Once everything settled, those Fallen had completely vanished. Only the woman holding the long staff remained in the camp—yes, Yinsen had clearly seen that she was a woman, and she had seen him as well.

Yinsen straightened up. Before he could react, a flash of light suddenly passed before him, and the woman who had been standing in the distant camp abruptly appeared right in front of him.

"Hello!"

Yinsen understood that sentence.

"My name is Isendra."

Yinsen understood that sentence too.

"I am a sorceress from the East. Is there a town nearby where I can find lodging and food?"

Yinsen did not understand that sentence.

So his response was simple. "Hello, my name is Yinsen."

"..."

The atmosphere instantly became extremely awkward. Isendra had not expected her question to receive no answer. Why would this young man named Yinsen not answer her? Was it such a difficult question to answer? Or was he wary of her?

"I mean no harm. I only want to find somewhere to rest and buy some food."

She still did not receive an answer from Yinsen, but her words finally got some response. The young man before her pointed in a direction ahead of them. Was he showing her the way?

In truth, if the word "food" had not let Yinsen guess Isendra's general meaning, he would not have been able to point out the location of Rogue Encampment to her.

As for why he had so easily revealed the camp's location to a stranger, it was because he had already recognized the identity of the woman before him.

One of the original five playable characters in Diablo 2, a female sorceress who wielded the Elemental Power of fire, ice, and lightning.

Yinsen had not known the background lore back then, nor had he even known the sorceress's real name, but her outfit was easy to recognize.

Slightly dark skin; a green top resembling Leather Armor but exposing much of her waist and abdomen; a black skirt-like lower garment; brown leather boots; golden trim filled with mysterious energy, along with all manner of golden accessories.

The long staff in her hand looked utterly ordinary, but now that she was standing beside him, Yinsen could sense surging magical fluctuations from it. Without a doubt, it was a staff, and one of considerable quality.

For an instant, he even wanted to reach out and claim that staff for himself. Yinsen abruptly came to his senses. This state was not a good sign, so he immediately used the Mental Power cultivation method taught to him by The Ancient One to calm his inexplicably restless emotions.

Naturally, Isendra saw all of this.

"Oh? So you're a Sorcerer's Apprentice... Though a little weak, your will is fairly resolute." She glanced at the herbs Yinsen carried on his back. "Are you gathering herbs? It seems your teacher is skilled at making Magic Potions. Take me to meet your teacher. I can also ask why the Dark Energy around here is so dense."