Chapter 12
Momo and I head for the convenience store nearby.
The road, which had been perfectly fine until yesterday, has been reduced to rubble.
At least there are no monsters nearby, but something else begins to catch my eye.
Corpses.
Goblins—or orcs?
Corpses that had been attacked, wounded, and battered beyond recognition were scattered here and there.
"Whoa... This is seriously gruesome..."
Without my 'Stress Resistance,' I would have vomited.
The sight is horrific, but the smell is even worse.
The stench of flesh and blood. It feels like my nose is about to stop working.
Flies are gathering, drawn by the stench of decay.
The bodies of women were especially bad.
They were probably assaulted right up until just before they died.
"Uuuh..."
Momo seems to be having a pretty rough time of it, too.
A dog's sense of smell is far keener than a human's, so this must be much worse for Momo than for me.
"Momo, are you all right? You can go back and wait there if you want."
When I say this, Momo gently shakes its head and rubs against me.
It seems to be saying, Don't worry, I'm fine.
"All right, then. Let's keep going."
"Woof."
We set off walking again.
We must be about halfway to the convenience store.
We're taking quite a while because we're moving quietly and keeping our presence hidden.
'Hostility Detection' reacts.
I sense a monster ahead, around the corner.
"Momo, stop."
At my voice, Momo comes to a dead stop.
I slowly edge toward the wall to see what's there.
"...Is that a zombie?"
There is a zombie.
The sort of zombie familiar from pandemic movies is roaming the town.
But it doesn't seem to be a town resident who turned into a zombie.
Its clothes are tattered, and the exposed skin is rotten and ulcerated.
Even if it had turned into a zombie after being bitten, it couldn't have become like that in just a day or two.
That means it must be a monster, too.
What would happen if I were bitten?
Would I become a zombie, too?
More importantly, do physical attacks even work on zombies?
In movies, the head is often their weak point, but...
I stare intently at the zombie.
Its movements are sluggish.
If I dropped a washing machine on its head, I could probably crush it for sure.
But unlike with the goblins, using a washing machine here would definitely draw attention.
Quietly crushing only its head would be best.
If we don't get through here, we'll have to take a considerable detour.
Fortunately, there are no other monsters around.
Let's crush it.
"Should I use this...?"
I take out a 'Dumbbell (10 kg).'
It isn't mine; it was something a resident of my apartment building left behind.
As blunt weapons go, it should be as lethal as they come.
With my current stats, I can lift it with ease.
I'll sneak up without being noticed and finish it off in one blow.
The moment the zombie turns its back on us, I dash forward.
It's all right. Thanks to 'Stealth' and 'Sneak,' it hasn't noticed my movements.
I close in and raise the iron dumbbell to strike.
At that moment, the zombie suddenly turns toward me.
"Aaaah...?"
It was probably just a coincidence.
It had merely turned around by chance.
But in that instant, the shock locks my body up.
Crap—I'm going to be bitten!
But, astonishingly, the zombie stops moving.
As if something has restrained it.
"Huh...?"
And that was exactly what had happened.
A 'black something' had bound the zombie's body and impeded its movement.
Perhaps because my 'Observation' Skill had leveled up, I can identify it even in this situation.
A shadow.
My shadow has stretched out unnaturally and is restraining the zombie.
What's going on?
I don't have a Skill like this.
Then who does?
"Woof!"
Momo's voice.
Could it be—you?
I have no proof.
But somehow, I feel like that's what it is.
Momo runs over to me.
And as the distance between Momo and me shrinks, the power of the shadow restraining the zombie grows stronger.
The zombie is completely immobilized, to the point that it can barely move its mouth.
―――If I'm going to do it, now's my only chance!
I raise the iron dumbbell again!
There is a dull thud.
The zombie collapses where it stands.
≪You gained experience.≫
An announcement echoes inside my head.
So its head really was its weak point.
The zombie's corpse—well, calling it a corpse is strange since it was dead to begin with—disappears.
A tiny red magic stone rolls across the ground.
So zombie magic stones are red.
I quickly retrieve it and store it in the Item Box.
It reads, "Zombie Magic Stone (Tiny) ×1."
I take it back out and show it to Momo.
"Here, Momo. Want to eat it?"
"Woof!"
Momo happily eats the magic stone I hand over.
After Momo finishes eating, I ask a question.
"Hey, Momo. Was it you who saved me just now?"
"Woof!"
Momo nods, wagging its tail back and forth.
Cute.
But I guess that really was it.
A 'Shadow Manipulation' Skill.
I don't know its name, but Momo probably has a Skill like that.
The most likely explanation is the magic stone I gave Momo.
It was the Shadow Wolf Magic Stone. Given that 'Shadow' is part of its name, it wouldn't be strange if that dog had possessed a Skill related to shadows.
Could eating the magic stone have bestowed that Skill on Momo?
Who knows? As theories go, it seems plausible enough.
I might as well ask.
"Momo, did you acquire that Skill because I gave you the magic stone?"
"Woof."
Momo rubs against me as if to say, That's right!
It seems to be saying, Praise me! I worked hard, so praise me!
Of course, I praise Momo. I pet Momo. Cute.
Hmm. Does eating a magic stone grant a Skill?
But I couldn't eat one.
Is it only Momo?
Or does the same apply to other animals... or even monsters?
But if this hypothesis is correct, that would mean monsters have Skills and Levels, too...
"Momo, can you do that thing from before one more time?"
"Woof!"
At my request, Momo makes my shadow change shape and move as before.
Its movements clearly ignore the laws of physics and common sense.
After testing various things, I find that Momo can control only its own shadow or mine.
The effective range is about ten meters.
The closer the shadow is to Momo, the stronger the 'Shadow' becomes.
It doesn't move three-dimensionally; it can only move along the surfaces of objects, as if crawling over them.
And the restraint imposed by the 'Shadow' can be broken with enough force.
When I resist with all my strength using my current stats, I can break free of the shadow's restraint. So it isn't completely all-powerful.
Still, it's incredibly useful.
The 'Shadow Manipulation' Skill.
It works incredibly well with my 'Stealth.'
Approach with 'Stealth,' immobilize them with 'Shadow,' and crush them with an appliance.
It's a wonderful combo.
After that, Momo and I have a quick strategy meeting and resume moving.
We encounter zombies and goblins about three times, but thanks to Momo's 'Shadow' doing an excellent job, we defeat them without any trouble.
However, I don't level up.
As I thought, the amount of experience gained must vary depending on the type of monster.
Besides, the experience needed to level up probably increases as your Level rises.
Then, about twenty minutes after leaving the apartment...
"Phew... We finally made it..."
"Wuff..."
At long last, we arrive at the convenience store.