"Okay... According to Tiayri, the necromancer resides in a cave with numerous old logs scattered around its entrance."

Gabriel tucked the map back into his pocket as he gazed at the cave before them. True to the description, weathered logs littered the ground near its mouth.

"Do we really have to go in there? This place looks sketchy," Kaizoku remarked with obvious skepticism.

"I mean, we've already been wandering who knows where, searching for underwater passages, fighting all sorts of weird slimes and monster creatures—and now we're walking into more danger?"

Leaning against the moss-covered stone wall, Kaizoku continued, "Besides, why do all these monsters live underground and hide away? Slimes should be up on the surface, not buried beneath it."

Gabriel turned around and shot Kaizoku an irritated look. "Oh, come on, Kai. Stop complaining. We're doing this to remove that strange hand covering your eyes. And second, all of this is because of Ishayaki—you'll understand later."

With a sigh, Gabriel added, "Let's not waste any more time."

Though slightly annoyed, Kaizoku had no choice but to follow Gabriel deeper into the cave in search of the necromancer.

As they ventured further inside, the cave began to resemble an abandoned mine. Kaizoku wondered if this really could be where the necromancer dwelled—it seemed highly unlikely.

Despite his doubts, Kaizoku trusted Gabriel, who was not only more experienced but also served as his training master.

As the darkness deepened within the cave, Gabriel's twin swords suddenly blazed with light, startling Kaizoku from his thoughts.

"Damn... Why don't I have a feature like that..." Kaizoku muttered under his breath while glancing at Destion.

Deeper and deeper they went, encountering more ruins and human skeletal remains scattered across the ground, making Kaizoku slightly nauseated.

While Kaizoku was still grimacing at the scattered skulls, he suddenly bumped into Gabriel, who had abruptly stopped walking.

"Ah... Warn me when you're going to stop!" Kaizoku shouted as he nearly fell.

Looking ahead, Kaizoku saw a skeletal figure sitting in meditation on a rock, surrounded by green flames.

"There's a myth about an incredibly skilled necromancer who hides in a cave beneath the river near Auricomous village. I'm not certain about it, but why don't you check it out? I have the map, wait a moment."

Tiayri had climbed to the second floor, entered his room, and retrieved the map to give to Gabriel, who was waiting below.

Back in the present moment, it seemed the myth was indeed true. However, the necromancer appeared to be dead, with only a human skeleton remaining.

"Are you sure this is the right person? He looks ancient. Why hasn't his long beard even decomposed?" Kaizoku asked while reaching out to touch the long white beard.

But as soon as Kaizoku's fingers made contact with the beard, the skull's jaw suddenly dropped open and spoke, "Tch! Kids these days have no manners."

"AHHH!" Kaizoku yelped in surprise, falling backward hard onto the ground.

"THE SKULL CAN TALK!? ... I mean, I knew it could talk, I was just pretending not to know..."

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Kaizoku stood up, trying to maintain his cool demeanor. Both Gabriel and the skeleton man could only stare at him with bored expressions.

"It seems you're in need of something to have sought out the greatest necromancer in Auricomous village," the skeleton man said in a deep voice.

"That's right... We need help removing this strange bone hand from Kaizoku's eye," Gabriel answered while pushing Kaizoku forward.

Kaizoku shot Gabriel an annoyed look but quickly showed the strange hand covering his left eye to the necromancer closer.

"We try to pull out and cut it in all the ways we can, but the results remain empty." Gabriel said with concern on his face.

"Hmm... This appears to be no ordinary necromancy spell. From what I can tell, this bone hand was formed with the same precise technique used by Lord Gon's skeleton army."

"This might be a bit difficult and complicated... I'll need 2 minotaur horns, 2 vials of genuine holy water from the Auricomous church, and the sharpest knife from the bar."

Kaizoku and Gabriel exchanged confused glances - how were they supposed to find a minotaur? Since arriving in this world, Kaizoku had never seen any strange monsters above ground.

"When you seek the holy water, just mention Old Sage. Yes, that's right, I am Old Sage."

Once again, Kaizoku and Gabriel shared puzzled looks.

"Very well... We'll return once we have everything," Gabriel replied while pulling Kaizoku away from Old Sage.

After asking around, they finally located a minotaur in the wilderness. However, one thing made both Kaizoku and Gabriel hesitate to attack - its height nearly matched the forest trees.

With Kaizoku's eye still covered by the bone hand, he couldn't use Deadeye anymore, forcing Gabriel to take point.

But as Gabriel took one step forward, he accidentally snapped a twig.

The minotaur quickly turned and noticed their presence.

Forced by circumstance, Kaizoku and Gabriel found themselves running from the massive minotaur pursuing them.

When they managed to hide above the tree, Kaizoku and Gabriel leaped onto the minotaur's head when he was off guard.

Gabriel tossed one of his swords to Kaizoku, and they both worked with all their might to cut off the horns as quickly as possible.

After successfully removing both horns, Kaizoku accidentally fell from the minotaur's head. Gabriel was forced to unfurl his wings, catch Kaizoku, and flee from the creature.

Next was the holy water from Auricomous village's original church. Gabriel approached the white wooden church door.

He knocked, and soon a beautiful red-haired nun answered, "How may I help you?"

"Um... We need two bottles of genuine holy water... Uh... For Old Sage," Gabriel answered awkwardly.

"Oh!? For Master Sage!? J-Just a moment!" after saying this, the nun closed the door and rushed to fetch the holy water.

Meanwhile, Kaizoku headed to the bar to obtain the two sharpest knives in Auricomous, which were believed to be there.

As luck would have it, Tiayri was cleaning the bartop when Kaizoku approached.

"Uh... Tiayri, do you have the two sharpest knives in Auricomous village? I need them," Kaizoku asked while sitting on the chair.

"Of course! I have the two sharpest knives in Auricomous! Give me a moment!" Tiayri went to the back to retrieve them.

Upon returning, Tiayri placed the two sharp knives on the bartop.

"Wow... Thank you," Kaizoku and Gabriel said simultaneously after obtaining their needed items.

When they returned to the cave, they immediately placed the large minotaur horns before Old Sage.

"Huh... Why did you get such large horns... One would have been enough at this size," Old Sage remarked upon seeing them.

Kaizoku and Gabriel could only sigh in exhaustion - nothing they could do about it now.

Old Sage stood up from his meditation. "You two, make holes in the bottom of the horns. And don't forget to turn them upside down first."

Kaizoku and Gabriel nodded, using all their strength to flip the massive horn. With the sharp ends now pointing downward, they only needed to make the hole.

Using Auricomous's sharpest knives, they easily created hole in the horn.

"Now... Pour all the holy water into those deep hole."

Following Old Sage's instructions, Kaizoku and Gabriel poured the holy water into the holes.

After they finished pouring all the holy water, Old Sage placed his bone finger into the pooled water and began reciting magical incantations.

"Spirits of the minotaurs... Lend your power to remove this evil magic..."

Old Sage quickly gathered some water in his hand and splashed it onto the bone hand covering Kaizoku's eye.

Startled, Kaizoku tried to wipe his face but was stopped by Old Sage's hand grabbing the one covering his eye.

Slowly, Old Sage pulled at the hand stuck to Kaizoku's eye. Gradually, it began to lift away from Kaizoku's left eye.

With a final pull, Old Sage yanked the hand away with all his might until it separated from Kaizoku's eye.

After it was removed, Kaizoku fell backward, "Ouch... Finally that hand is gone from my eye."

"Hehehe... Finally, Lord Gon's soldier's hand... Er, I mean, finally you're free. I'm glad too."

Gabriel looked at Kaizoku's eye, slightly surprised since Kaizoku had never mentioned why it was white.

"Huh? Since when has your left eye been white? Was it because of that hand!?" Gabriel asked, somewhat panicked.

"Oh!? No, no... It's a long story, I'll tell you later..." Kaizoku answered hesitantly.

To change the subject, Kaizoku asked about payment, "Old Sage, how much do we owe you?"

Old Sage, who had been focused on examining the hand, was slightly startled, "No need... This hand is payment enough for me, just pay the church for the holy water."

"Alright... Thank you again, Old Sage. Come on, Gabriel." Kaizoku started walking out of the cave, followed by Gabriel after he too thanked Old Sage.

Emerging from the cave and returning to the surface, they agreed to head back to the inn for rest.

Before returning to the inn, Kaizoku returned the sharp knives to Tiayri.

Meanwhile, Gabriel donated some of his remaining money to the church where he had requested the holy water.

Meeting again in the village center, Kaizoku finally felt relieved to be free of the bone hand, "At last... I'm no longer bothered by that strange hand stuck to my eye."

"Yup... Finally done with that hand problem... Now we can continue our journey to save Eve. But first, I want to rest."

"Hey! Wait for me! I want to rest too!" Kaizoku called out, not wanting to be left behind as Gabriel walked toward the inn.

Entering the inn, they both went to their respective rooms. Kaizoku immediately jumped onto his bed and placed his hat on the nearby table.

"Hmm... I hope Hizo is doing okay, I wish he would join us aga-" before Kaizoku could finish speaking, suddenly there was a knock at his door.

Sighing, Kaizoku reluctantly stood up and walked to the door. Opening it, he was shocked by who stood before him.

"How are you, Kai? I've gotten permission from my father and grandfather to join you all..."