"An experienced and seasoned adventurer? And preferably someone who's rather reclusive and has a peculiar personality?"

  Eliza thought carefully about Edward's question.

  In the Northerory, finding a seasoned adventurer is definitely an easy task.

  Not to mention, just the former teammates from Eliza's adventuring days would perfectly fit the description.

  They have enough experience as adveo write several books about it.

  However, it's a different story if you add the requirement of being reclusive.

  The number of suitable didates decreases signifitly.

  After all, most adventurers work in groups and rarely operate alone.

  In an enviro like this, it's unusual for someoo develop a reclusive personality.

  Therefore, sidering Edward's request, even Eliza, the Guild Master of the Northern Adventurers' Guild, had to ponder for a moment.

  After some thought, she finally said, "I have an idea. If it's him, he would definitely meet your requirements, Director Edward. But... to be ho, it's precisely because he fits your requirements that I'm a bit ed. His personality is quite peculiar."

  "Peculiar?"

  Edward didn't expect Eliza to use such a word, which piqued his i in the person she was referring to.

  Seeing Edward's intrigued expression, and realizing that she couldn't dissuade him, Eliza straightforwardly replied, "I'll give you his taformation and location. You'll uand when you meet him."

  ...

  Around noon, after crossing a field oskirts of Winter City, a small wooden in the middle of the pin came into Edward's view.

  Acc to Eliza, the adventurer who fit the description lived here.

  Frankly, in the Northerory, very few people live outside of towns.

  This area is teeming with monsters, and even rger vilges face the risk of monster invasions.

  A lone in the wilderness seems like a death wish.

  However, Edward, who initially held this thought, ged his mind upon seeing the design around the .

  Clearly, the owner of this house is someone who has extensively studied monsters.

  The traps and arms are desigo alert the moment monsters approach, and there are some hidden traps around the that could ensnare anything from goblins to trolls.

  With a slight smile, realizing he might have found the right pce, Edward, using his mage's keen sight, navigated through the traps to the and knocked on the door.

  The moment, following the sound of orderly footsteps, the door slowly opened...

  "Don't worry, I'm here on Guild Master Eliza's reendation. By the way, I'm Edward Durin, a magi ied in you."

  Fag the dagger that thrust out from the door crack, Edward wasn't afraid but was surprised by the other person's viginbsp;

  The figure behind the door hesitated for a moment after hearing Eliza's hen silently opehe door.

  The interior of the was rather sparse, with very little furniture, almost as if it was designed for quick escape.

  There was a faint fragran the air, which could easily make one mistake this for a young girl's room.

  Aside from these, the most noticeable thing in the room was the figure before Edward.

  For some reason, this person was wearing a cloak and mask, hiding their face from Edward.

  However, based on their physique, Edward could tell it was a young man uhirty.

  "What does a mage want with me?"

  Finally, the young maed in the ter of the living room spoke.

  His slightly hoarse voice firmed Edward's suspis, and he realized there were more than just the young man in the room.

  Indeed, besides him, there were four or five children of varying ages, the you around five or six and the oldest around fifteen or sixteen.

  These boys and girls, some hiding fearfully behind the young man, cautiously peeked at Edward, as if silently asking about his identity.

  Recalling Eliza's advice, Edward quickly said, "You are Saeki, the Silver-ranked adventurer, right?"

  "Yes, what do you want?"

  As he said this, the color seen through the gap in the man's cloak surprised Edward, prompting him to ask, "Are you an undead?"

  Yes, what Edward saw through the cloak was not human skin and pores but visible blood vessels and flesh.

  The adventurer reended by Eliza was, at least in terms of raot human.

  At Edward's astonishment, the man simply and warily replied, "What, you were sent by Eliza and didn't know about my situation?"

  "No, she mentiohat you were unique, but..."

  Momentarily stunned, Edward thought for a moment before taking out the token Eliza had given him.

  He had initially wao test the man himself, but it seemed he would have to let the man expiuation first.

  Quickly examining the token, Saeki nodded and said, "Alright, I believe you. Since you were sent by Guild Master Eliza, I'll tell you my story."

  With that, the man slowly removed his mask, revealing a face that could not be called human, and began to speak, "I'm not human—or rather, I used to be human. But due to a curse from a lich during a past dungeon exploration, my body perished on the spot. Fortunately, my soul, which should have dissipated, attached itself to a nearby zombie. Although I survived, I became this half-living, half-dead being, forced to live as a creature in the wilderness. It was only by ce that Guild Master Eliza, whom I met in the dungeon, trusted me and brought me back to the human world."

  "But even so, I couldn't return to my former home or live in a town. So, after adopting these children who are the offspring of adventurers who explored the dungeon with me, I moved here, far from any town, and have almost pletely withdrawn from adventuring."

  Hearing Saeki's story, Edward showed a look of uanding.

  The man's situation was pletely different from what he had imagined.

  He wasn't undead; he was a living dead!

  While his soul still glimmered with life, his body had lost its warmth first.

  This state, somewhere between life ah, was very simir to a zombie.

  But unlike zombies, which have no rationality, this man still had self-awareness and didn't seem to be influenced by the bloodthirsty nature typionsters.

  "I see. But it seems that your strength hasn't diminished, Saeki. On the trary, it has increased. Even so, you're not tinuing as an adventurer?"

  Saeki, surprised that Edward had seen through his situatioantly replied, "That's right. I've been fortunate enough to trahe limits of my inal, ued body with this zombie form and have even reached the fourth-tier Sword Soul level. But even so, in this form, I 't find reliable teammates. And besides, taking care of these children is more important to me than adventuring again."

  As Saeki spoke, he gently patted the heads of the children behind him.

  Clearly, he now acted like someone who had grown tired of the adventurer's life.

  But to Edward, the worn sword at Saeki's waist, seemingly ready to be drawn at any moment, and the traps outside the based on hunting instincts, all indicated that this adventurer hadn't pletely abahe desires ingrained in an adventurer's DNA.

  So, after thinking for a moment, Edward slowly took a pouch of gold s from his waist and said, "Rex, Adventurer Saeki. I'm here to discuss a deal with you."

  Zaztra_Vandesh