I'm Not Old Enough For That

"Relax, they're just Drowned Souls. And they're a higher level than Crassia was, probably Lvl. 7." I grin. This is better than I expected. Whatever is happening in that settlement, it probably isn't peaceful to have spawned such strong undead nearby. Good thing, I decided to help Yin grow stronger before entering town. "I'm here, but it's your responsibility to fight."

"You want me to fight two?! Look at me! How can you make a girl fight!" Yin howls in disgust at me. However, the Drowned Souls are already advancing on her. "Is this even normal?"

"Not really, most people would start in a party, fighting weak zombies. But I told you, this is a shortcut. You won't even need to split the experience with me. Isn't that great?" A ruthless smile crosses my lips. Though it wasn't Yin's fault, technically she is a little bit responsible for getting me killed in my past life. Time a little payback. Besides, it's good for her…

"I…LIN HELP!" She scrambles backwards as one of the Drowned Souls steps forward. Due to the length of its limbs, when it pounces it covers an extraordinary amount of distance. The long-limbed white ghoul drips water which evaporates without leaving a mark on the ground as it reaches for Yin. I call out instructions from behind.

"No! Listen to me, low level zombies can only infect you with their bites! Getting hit by their claws is not as dangerous!" Perhaps trying to teach in life combat was not the best idea, but like I said, I'm not the best teacher. My grin stretches wider. Also, ever since dying horrifically twice, I feel like I've changed. My emotions are hollow, I care less about what people think, even cute girls like Yin. "Remember, you must sever the head to completely disable them, but you can also remove limbs to cripple them first!"

"Easy for you to say!" Yin dodges a swipe as the second Drowned Soul jumps up onto the river shore with her as well. "I'm going to die if you don't do anything! There���s two of them for crying out loud!"

"You're not going to die with me here. I promise you." Something about my words causes Yin to look back at me. When she sees my smile, her face stills and she grows quiet. Unfortunately, she also stops moving. I swear and dash forwards. With my speed as a Lvl. 1 Hunter I'm not much faster than an ordinary human. My leg comes back and I spin around to deliver a vicious roundhouse to the Drowned Soul about to rip her head off. "Pay attention!"

"I am! You just…weren't teaching me well!" Yin growls. I pin the downed zombie down with my foot on its head. Pointing at it while watching the other one, I sigh.

"Kill it!"

"Fine!" The cute girl runs up and lifts my cleaver up on high. This time, she does not miss, and though the Drowned Soul is freakishly large, its body is completely waterlogged. Dirty river water and zombie blood splurt out as Yin hacks its head off with one blow. Spinning off the corpse, I dance in front of the other one and sway under its claws. The Drowned Soul hisses and I wince as its spit lands on my face. "Lin!"

"Never get distracted by a teammate!" I leap straight up to get my foot level with the thing's head. Then I twist around and smash my kick into its face. Even a zombie will temporarily lose focus if you rock its brain hard enough. The thing totters backwards and I hold out my arms. "There, now it's all yours. You can get scratched but if you get bitten you're dead, understand?" My protégé doesn't respond as she quickly walks up to the Drowned Soul. I nod approvingly. She's not hesitating anymore. Perhaps it took a bit to make her understand, but now that she gets that this is life or death, she's just as good as any of the others in our party.

"Hah!" Yin let's out a cute grunt as she swings for the Drowned Soul's face. With its limited intelligence, it doesn't know how to block and simply attempts to tackle her. I'm a little afraid that Yin won't expect it, but she already knows to dodge backwards and try again. This would be impossible if the Drowned Soul was in perfect health, but it's already been disoriented from my perfectly placed kick. When it misses, it overbalances and then the cleaver is there to meet its neck.

*Thunk*

For a while, we don't speak. The decapitated bodies dribble blood gently onto the shoreline as the lonely wind blows. This time, it is better for Yin. Her hands are shaking, that won't change. But she's still standing. Still ready to fight if more enemies come. That's what I want to see. Someone ready to take on the world. In a few days, the real Calamity will begin. I need to get her strong enough with this time. Watching her chest heave and the little jumping vein on her neck, I wait for her to regain her senses.

"Did you level up?" I ask. She nods, holding my cleaver as if it's dirty. Gently, I go over and take it from her and wash it in the river. "Don't worry, their blood is not infectious, it's only the bites, for now."

"I see. You know so much." Her gaze turns suspicious briefly, but I avoid it, pretending that I'm still washing the cleaver. "How did you know they would be in there?" She nudges the dead bodies with a toe. Her disgust and fear of the undead has begun to go away with experience. It's impressive really. Not too many people would be capable of adapting this quickly.

"Drowned Souls are simply those with heavy resentments that die in the water." I look out at the lights of the settlement. "We're close-by to a town, so I suspected someone might have died in this river. Remember, if you're ever planning on swimming somewhere from now on, it's a good idea to check if there's anything inside first. They're easily aggravated so throwing a stone should be enough usually." My explanation is detailed. Drowned Souls are not something most newbies fought too much, but I learned early on that they were excellent experience.

"Ah, thank you…teacher." She replies, clasping her hands. This time, it's my turn to feel weird. Teacher? I'm not old enough for that!