The Bard

Bang!

There was a muffled thud.

The old man's body slammed against the wall, his head lolling to one side.

"A perfectly executed head tilt kill."

Caelan snapped his fingers and recalled Iron Head, who was still frozen in a punching pose.

After taking such a punch, the old man might not be completely dead, but he definitely wouldn't be able to stand up for a while.

Caelan could clearly see that the old man was in the process of being converted into an Undead, still retaining some intelligence and attacking living beings.

In a few more years, after the things in his Skull were eaten clean by flies and the like, he would just stand there foolishly, staring blankly, much like when he first saw Skull and the others.

This cave contained a very strong death aether, which usually only appeared in graveyards with a large number of dead bodies… but this concentration was clearly abnormal.

Staying in such a place for a long time made chaotic creatures like demons and monsters very susceptible to being converted into Undead.

It was better to complete the mission and leave as soon as possible.

Stepping out of the room, a large number of half-Undead surged out from other rooms, carrying pickaxes and shovels, approaching Caelan.

It seemed that the strong death aether here must have appeared suddenly, converting the miners into Undead in a short time. He wondered what they had dug up that they shouldn't have.

Ignoring these questions, Caelan summoned a Fire Sprite on one side and released Stone on the other.

"Flame!"

A blazing fireball flew over, exploding on an Undead, and Flame instantly enveloped its entire body.

Stone also took large strides, charging into the pile of Undead, and with one sweep of his tail, sent a large number of Undead into the deep abyss nearby.

The combat power of these Undead might even be less than when they were alive. Their level should be around three or four. As long as he was a little careful, Caelan could easily deal with them even by himself.

Soon after, the last Undead, still burning, was kicked down from the edge of the large pit by Caelan.

Even if these things were broken into pieces with only one hand left, they could still crawl over and scratch. Their combat power was far from what Caelan needed, so there was no need to waste time here.

He didn't know if the person who wrote the request was among these people. If he had to say, that person should still be his employer.

Having dealt with his employer, Caelan was about to continue forward when he suddenly heard some movement from a house.

"Still more?"

He raised his hand, ready to throw a fireball and burn the house down directly, when he heard a voice from inside: "Stop, stop, I'm not with them!"

Caelan's raised hand had not yet fallen; he just stared in the direction of the voice.

Inside that room, there was another clatter and bang, followed by an "Ow!" and the sound of overturning tables and chairs, before the door finally opened.

What emerged from inside was a young man with golden hair, dressed lavishly but disheveled.

Caelan noticed that he had a dark object on his back, but it was too far away to see clearly.

The man was about to say something when his eyes met Stone, who was squatting by the house watching him. He froze instantly, only moving his eyes to cast a pleading look towards Caelan.

"Don't worry, it doesn't eat people."

Caelan comforted him. Just as the man relaxed a little, he thought for a moment and added, "It hasn't eaten anyone yet."

And he tensed up again.

Finally, Caelan made Stone move further away, and only then did the man breathe a sigh of relief.

"Hello, my savior, my hero! I am Violet Andrew, a Bard who sings epic poems!"

The Bard, who called himself Violet, bowed in an unusually exaggerated manner, introducing himself to Caelan.

His voice sounded somewhat like he was performing a musical, with a peculiar rhythm, and he had a unique trill when introducing his name.

Then he turned to Caelan: "May I ask, Hero, what is your esteemed name?"

Caelan was somewhat fed up with this Bard's speaking style. He had a premonition that this person would be trouble.

"Just call me Caelan."

"Alright, Caelan!"

Violet seemed to be naturally familiar with him, and began to lament to himself.

"I am truly unfortunate! My teammates abandoned me, I got lost in the forest, and stumbled into this cave, thinking I could get some help. Who knew these people had all gone mad! I thought today would be the day Violet Andrew met his end!"

"Mhm, mhm, mhm, okay. You should leave now, the exit is over there."

Caelan responded perfunctorily, sizing up the Bard... He didn't seem to have any mutations, so he probably hadn't been there for long.

He wasn't in the mood to chat in such a place, and prepared to walk deeper into the cave.

Violet was still talking when he turned around and realized Caelan was almost gone.

..."C-Caelan? Where are you going?"

"Hey, wait... wait for me! Don't leave me here alone!"