Village

Before long, once everyone was nearly fully rested, Colin began to move.

A dozen or so people filed out one after another.

[There are some beasts ahead, but they are too far away to be worth your while.]

The prompt up ahead had changed? Colin was surprised. He remembered that yesterday it had said there were some treasures over there.

"That means someone took the treasure. Looks like they had a pretty good haul, too."

Colin shook his head, not feeling too disappointed. Everyone had their own fortunes, after all. He wasn't the protagonist, so he couldn't expect every good thing to fall into his lap.

Even the person at the top of the Leaderboard wouldn't stay there for long, Colin estimated. He just didn't know when he'd be knocked down.

[To the left, there's a river not far away. There are some dangers there, but as long as you don't venture too deep and make it to that patch of woods, things shouldn't be too troublesome. If you're lucky, you might even be able to wait for beasts to come from the river.]

[To the right, there are many abnormal life forms, but there are also some special treasures. You might want to give it a try.]

None of these options sounded good. Colin muttered to himself. The information from the prompt would update after he traveled some distance.

Colin's current guess was that the prompt only gave new information when a place had some benefit or danger.

For example, if there was a treasure chest to the right, the prompt would only point out that location.

Unless he got close to the chest or the monster, the prompt would only direct him there.

But just as Colin was feeling disappointed, the prompt about what lay behind him made him pause.

[Behind you, about an hour away, is the thing you desire most.]

"The thing I desire most?"

Colin looked puzzled.

Given his current situation, the thing he desired most was the treasure hidden beneath the underground palace.

As for anything else, Colin couldn't think of something he wanted that badly.

Even the treasures in the other directions hadn't been described as things he desired.

What exactly was over there?

If he remembered correctly, yesterday that direction had been nothing but barren wasteland. Today, it had changed completely.

"Looks like the prompt's abilities change as a person grows stronger."

About an hour's walk.

After thinking it over, Colin decided to head in that direction.

He was curious about what he would find.

Then Colin handed the "Wristwatch" and "Compass" to Number One. Their functions were of no use to him.

With the prompt guiding him, he could tell the time and direction, so the items would be just right for the second team.

After watching them leave, Colin set off with his own group.

Carrying the Hurricane Lamp, he led his axe-wielding subordinates briskly toward the rear.

The fourteen people moved in a roughly diamond-shaped formation.

In theory, this let Colin respond immediately to anything that happened in any of the four directions, except above and below.

Of course, that was only in theory.

Colin and the others had been walking across the level dirt for nearly twenty minutes through the gray, terrifying fog.

But with some distance still to go, Colin suddenly stopped.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw an abandoned dirt-and-stone road branching in from the right and stretching ahead.

"Stay alert," Colin said in a low voice.

He took another step, but this time he slowed down.

The prompt had only warned him that there was some danger ahead.

That assumed he was cautious. Otherwise, even a single Aberration could cause them serious damage.

Before long, Colin reached the stony road.

As he walked, he looked around. Withered weeds covered the dirt path beneath his feet, and abandoned fields stretched along both sides.

"Why do these weeds look like they only withered recently?" Colin wondered.

A little while later, Colin's heart skipped a beat. Shadowy outlines appeared in the dense fog before him.

"Those look like houses."

As he drew closer and took a better look, he could make out low buildings.

They looked a little like the old rural earthen houses Colin remembered.

[You realize this is a small village with fewer than ten households, and all the villagers have turned into Aberrations.]

Colin wasn't particularly surprised by the prompt.

Where there were fields, there were houses, and where there were houses, there were people.

"Close ranks and get ready to fight!" Colin ordered.

He had no intention of going around. A detour would take nearly two hours.

He needed to replenish his supply of blood.

And if his guess was right, there were only thirty or forty Aberrations in the village. Most people would have no choice but to run from that many.

But for Colin, who had the "Sufferer Hunter" badge, fighting that many was little more than a bout of "vigorous exercise."

Once he dealt with the Aberrations, he'd be able to ease his blood shortage considerably.

Soon, the small village's buildings grew clearer. Withered trees, earthen walls, thatched cottages, and a well came into view one after another.

The stone road through the village was strewn with corpses wrapped in flesh and blood.

Their clothes had yet to rot away completely, and marks left by blades were visible on them.

"They didn't die in the disaster. They were already dead before it happened."

Colin had a suspicion.

But just then, with Colin and the others approaching, some of the nearby Aberrations awoke from their slumber. One after another, they staggered to their feet, starting with the closest.

Their hollow eyes turned toward Colin and the others, eerie and terrifying.

Thwack!

Colin flung an axe with one hand. One Aberration's head exploded on the spot, snapping the servants who had nearly been frightened out of their wits back to their senses.

"Kill!" Number Two shouted.

Dozens of Aberrations charged at them from up ahead.

Aberrations had extremely high attack power, but their bodies were also incredibly fragile—even weaker than an ordinary person's.

Colin took out another axe and stood behind the others. Whenever he saw someone struggling to hold on, he would hurl an axe.

Once they had felled the first Aberration, fear was driven from their hearts, and they fought with ever greater courage.

The Aberrations didn't fear death, but they were no match for the slaughter unleashed by Colin's group.

However, at that moment, a roar suddenly came from the village well. A large stone was shoved out of it and sent flying.

An Aberration over two meters tall burst out, dripping wet and reeking of rot.

Its head seemed to have been smashed down into its chest, making it look like a headless monster.

It rushed forward at terrifying speed, brandishing the white claws that had grown from its hands.

Its target was several ordinary servants on the outside of the group.

Colin narrowed his eyes. If it broke through, it would be like a wolf among sheep.

Without hesitation, Colin activated Hunting Moment!

The next second, Colin shot forward like a cannonball. Gripping an iron axe, he leaped above it and brought the weapon down on its back.

The axe struck, slamming it to the ground and sending a cloud of stone dust into the air.