I am staying at the village’s small tavern to have my lunch and get some rest before I continue my work. I finish my workload this morning. This include getting water from the well and feeding the farm animals. In the few days I stayed here, I got to know some of the village people, at least the important ones.

The village chief is the middle-aged man, Jushar Winfrey. This tan skinned man has a powerful feel about him. He handles various accommodations on the village. Like the village’s food supply and safety. He is the one who talks to merchants and manages the business in the village.

The owners of the tavern are the old couple, Ehrhard and Nara. Ehrhard Hillshadow handles the eatery business of the tavern. A kind man with an optimistic outlook on life. He is of average height, has a solid build, and has tanned medium-ruddy skin. He has straight silver hair that barely reaches his shoulders.

Nara (Warwater) Hillshadow is the one who manages the inn side of the tavern. In fact, she is the one accommodating where I stay (I should pay my rent now that I remembered).

She is 5' 7" tall, and of average build with fair skin. She has alert, wide brown eyes, a well-formed nose, and a softly shaped jaw. She has long, straight, gray hair that is thinning. Her clothing is simple and plain.

My food was served by Ehrhard.  With my current payment and money, I could only buy pottage. “Eat it while it’s hot. Don’t leave any left overs”. I paid 1 small copper coins to him and said thanks. He took the coins and went back to his counter.

I started eating the thick stew boiled from vegetables. It lacks the flavor of modern soups but it will do to please my hunger. Ehrhard cooking is probably the best in this village. The tavern customers mostly consisted of the people of the village. Though I see some few merchants having their fills.

I saw Nara and Ehrhard talking to the Jushar. Standing 5' 11" tall, he has wide shoulders and long arms, a slender torso with defined muscles, angular hips, and toned legs. He has hip length, straight, black hair and a receding hairline. He has an angular face with a round chin, and his sunken, deep eyes are dark brown. His nose is pointed and he has angled lips.

I know the eavesdropping is bad but the conversation might be interesting. They are talking about…the village problems?

“Recently, the numbers of the undead rising from the burial grounds have increased.” (Jushar)

“Can’t the guards handle them? That is one of their jobs, right?” (Ehrhard)

“Our local guards lack manpower. And many of them are still half-baked trainees. Ruke is trying his best to handle the situation.” (Jushar)

“Tch. His best is not enough. This…undead problem is bad for business. If only adventurers visit more often.” (Nara)

“There is nothing much in our village that could attract adventurers, sadly. I could ask help from the city of Skydusk but they’ll just see our problems as trivial.” (Jushar)

“It is better to try, right? Otherwise, those undead will be banging on our door in the next nights. Could Ruke manage to destroy the mana distortion?” (Ehrhard)

“I don’t think so. He’s past his prime and his trainees are not enough to spearhead to the center.” (Jushar)

“Let the undead come. It will lower the amount of mouths to feed. Our village still suffers from famine.” (Nara)

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“If we don’t handle the mana distortion, it will affect our fields and worsen the famine” (Jushar)

“Bah. Screw you and your mana distortion. Magic only exist to make our lives harder.” (Nara)

With what I heard, I feel bad by being in here. I should be able to help them but I still drag them down with me. It’s still the same when I stayed with my classmates. It is what Nara said, I’m just another mouth to feed.

Even with the amount of work I do for the village, it is still not enough. The village itself is slowly dying. The field was not suited to bear crops. Bandit raids weaken the village’s defenses. Monsters from the forest attack the village randomly.

And the problem of the increasing undead rising from their graves. I don’t know the full explanation about it but I understand a little of it. When the body dies, there are remnants of mana left in the body. When these dead bodies are buried near each other, like in a graveyard, the mana will gather. Due to it not having anyone to control it, it usually becomes unstable. That is a mana distortion.

If the mana distortion is strong enough, it could reanimate a dead body back to life, creating the undead. Due to this problem, most of the graveyards are surrounded by walls and guarded by people. Or they are built underground which have a chance to become a dungeon. This world definitely has a different common sense.

Finishing my pottage, I stand up and walk towards them. “Sorry to disturb your talk, but I can’t seem to ignore the problems of the village. I want to help in destroying the mana distortion. I… don’t want stand idle in here while the guards risk their lives.”

They look at me with wide eyes with their mouths agape. The village chief is the first to regain his composure.

“Are you sure about this? I know that you were once trained with the heroes but you are a villager. I heard that you can’t even properly use a sword, much less to cast magic.” (Jushar)

“With all due respect, you are lacking manpower as you said yourself. Skydusk or any neighboring cities won’t help you. Your guards are lacking experience. Plus, I have the highest stats in the village.” (Iso)

“You might have good stats but do you know how to use them? Your stats are just numbers if you lack control.” (Ehrhard)

“Oh, let the kid have what he wants. Here we are wanting to have some help and this kid serves it on a silver platter, and you two are refusing it?!” (Nara)

“He’s a kid, Nara! I don’t want to be responsible if this kid dies in our land!” (Jushar)

“He’s the only help we got! If he succeeds, then one problem solved, if he dies, less mouths to feed.” (Nara)

Ehrhard looks at me with concerned eyes. He held my shoulders and made me look at him face-to-face. “What you are saying is serious, are you sure you want to do this?” He asks.

I nod my head a little to say yes.

“If you die, it would be your own fault and you are the one responsible for your own safety, do you agree to that?” (Ehrhard)

“I agree” (Iso)

“You heard that Jushar? The blood that might spill will not concern you.” (Ehrhard)

Jushar was deep in thought. The conflict can be seen in his eyes. Finally, he seems to have agreed.

“Fine. You want this kid. Let’s go and meet up with Ruke. He would provide you with spare weapons and armor. Listen to what he says. And kid…. I would prefer if you come back alive.”

I agreed and followed him to the walled edge of the village. We went to one of the few standing turrets near the gate. What I know is that the guards made this turret their makeshift base due to lack of buildings.

We entered only to be greeted by a very well-built man. He is probably in his early 50s with the way his hair has some white strands in it. He wears armor that is a mix of iron and leather and he has a sword strapped at his back.

Behind him are two other people. They are definitely younger than him. One is tall and has slender arms, he is holding a spear in his left hand. The other one is slightly overweight and his armor doesn’t fit him right.

“Iso, what are you doing here so early? It is not your shift yet. Oh, and Village Chief, it is good to see you.”

The one who spoke was the first person. Of course, I know him to be Ruke.

“Yeah, about that, I- we have something to talk about. It’s about the undead business.” I replied with a smile.

The ones at the back turned with an interested look in their eyes. The thin one is Karl and the fat one is Leo. I know them because I went on a shift with them the last few days. The shift I’m talking about is guarding and patrolling the village from monsters and bandits.

I mostly help subjugate some goblin tribes and kill small monsters. The bandit raids are rare and I haven’t experienced those yet. Due to defending the village, I leveled up a little. But the growth I have back then was already gone. The stats I gained were insignificant.

“Nasty business, those undead are. Come inside, we’ll talk there.” (Ruke)