Ruined Inn
I don't really know how to respond to my face being described as kind of like an adult's.
What does that mean, really? If you look close enough you can barely figure it out?
It's not exactly reassuring is what I'm saying.
The fact that the other girl describes staying with me as 'babysitting' earns her a sharp glare. Urk, I'll find a way to pay her back for that. I might not even know her name yet, but I'm definitely not going to forget that little joke until then.
Glancing at the windows again, I sigh.
There's no point in dawdling anymore. It's clear that something unpleasant is going on here, beyond just the undead outside. Seriously, what's with that scratching down below?
The disturbing possibility of it being the age-old nemesis of any seasoned veteran of a certain game series, the undead dog, fills my mind for a moment before I dismiss it.
Not that it might not be an undead dog, but rather because I don't want to think of this in terms of a game. Sure, plenty of isekai protagonists treat it like that, but I can already feel the air on my skin. I have a full sense of my body, as awkward as that is given my new form.
To put it simply, this isn't a game. Treating it like one is something only an idiot would do.
We've been dumped into a ruin surrounded by undead, so I can't exactly say this feels like the lighthearted game universe isekai that suits that kind of behavior. And even then, when written by better authors, those are the ones that hit the protagonists in the face with the reality of their new world eventually.
That's right, you'd have to be an idiot to treat this like---
I stare blankly at the dragonman for a moment.
Status? Why would you even expect that to work? Why---
Hold it.
"... Status."
It's still hard to get used to my own voice as it is now. Seriously, it's exactly like I imagined Sephily talking.
But it's going to be even more difficult to get used to the screen that just materialized in front of my face.
"Seriously!? This
is one of those kinds of settings?!"
No way, that can't be it, right? Is this something only the reborn people can do? It'd have to be, right? This definitely isn't the sort of start a lighthearted game isekai would take.
Right?!
Right?!
It's all there, including my race(High Elf) and my stats(1s in everything but dex and magic). I even have a level.
I'm only level 1, but still.
What kind of tone is this world anyway?!
I inhale deeply. No, I can't think of it like that. There's no inherent 'tone' to another world.
Even if it sure feels like a bit of a cruel comedy right now.
---What's this?
Star Mirror?
It's a skill. A skill with a description explaining a certain sort of magic that uses the stars.
...
I probably shouldn't be excited in this situation, but I was only making a guess when I picked up the staff, thinking I was going to be a mage.
But this seems like it confirms it?!
Despite everything, I actually have magic!? That'd be a silver lining, no doubt!
Only---
How do I even use it?
Is there incantations? Do I need some sort of ritual?
Urggh, of course there's no instruction manual. There's a status screen but no tutorial.
If this is a game world, it's starting to feel a bit more like that
certain series. Surrounded by undead with no instructions in some ruined hellhole?
Familiar in a concerning way.
"Start a fire?"
The other elf is back, this time asking about fire. The dragonman's managed to conjure up some flames, too.
What, did
he get a tutorial and I didn't? Is this some kind of joke?!
Trying not to show any envy that he figured it out that fast, I take a deep breath.
"Well, it looks like we don't need to know the conventional way," I begin, "But if you're talking about fighting the undead with fire, you can't just light them up and that's that."
Just lighting a corpse on fire isn't the end of things, after all.
"First, if they're not dried out it's going to take a while to burn them until they can't move," I continue, "Which means now you've got an attacker that's trying to kill you while also being on fire. Congratulations, you've just made your situation worse."
I wave my hand, to illustrate the leaping flames that would presumably be coating the undead's body.
"Plus, some of the undead outside clearly have armor, which is going to be a problem. Unless you can make fire hot enough to cook them inside, in which case you can probably burn the unarmored ones fast enough to kill them outright."
Or, well, whatever you want to call permanently disabling a shambling corpse.
"What I'm saying is you can't just say fire's going to solve the issue, okay? If they don't feel pain, all you're doing is making a bigger problem for yourself and everyone else."
Not that fire is the worst idea, but I don't want anyone here thinking it's a perfect solution to our problem.
Our problem being the literal zombies outside.
"That girl with the hammer has a good weapon for taking them on, at least," I add with a sigh, "And we'll need it because there's no way staying here for too long is a good idea."
That dragon guy was able to summon fire just by saying a word, so it has to be incantations, right?
But what do I say to cast a spell?
If I could figure that out, then---
I let out another sigh.
Speaking of my skill, though---
"Oh, right, try saying 'status'. It's ridiculous, but it works, it brings up a screen. There's stats and everything."
No reason not to let anyone else know. In fact, I should let that other girl know. And show her I'm not just being babysat.
"I'm going to let her know, too."
I'll just head after her.
@PKMNB0Y@Aku the Samurai@SilverPaw@RolePlayerRoxas
