Chapter 15 Ghost Village?

[System Notification: You have slain a Level 1 Ground Hound! Rewards: 3 EXP | 6 Omnipoints]

The notification sounded, and after traveling for a while, he finally arrived at the outskirts of the forest. Far away, he saw the village.

Placing his hands over his eyes like a telescope, he could see that the place was very dark. There were no lamps or fires to light it up.

With that, he walked to the road and began his journey toward the place. When he arrived just outside the village, he saw that the fences were in ruins.

"Isn't this place populated according to the reports? Why is there no one at all?" Alexander thought as he went inside.

The village houses were tightly shut, just like a ghost town. This made him a bit uneasy, wondering if he had gotten lost and ended up in a haunted village.

"I'm not really lost, am I?" Alexander grumbled to himself.

As he went deeper into the village, he decided to enter one of the houses. He then approached the closest house to his right.

Stepping onto the elevated wooden platform, it made a creaking sound, and as he opened the door, it produced an even louder creaking noise that echoed throughout the house.

In the house across from him, the quilt in the window moved slightly, and an eye peeked through the gap. However, Alexander, who had already stepped inside, did not notice this.

As he wandered his gaze inside, there was nothing particularly special. However, what made him suspicious was that the place was spotless—so clean that it felt as though it was meticulously maintained.

Even the chairs, the table, and the kitchen were immaculate. When he checked the bathroom, he found it filled with clean water.

There were no cobwebs or even dust inside. "Is this place really a ghost village? Or is this actually the real village?" Alexander wondered if he was truly in the right place.

Looking at the stairs leading up, he began climbing them as they creaked softly with each step. He was focused on looking ahead, unaware that behind him, someone was tiptoeing toward him.

When he was about to climb further up the stairs to check, a piece of hardwood suddenly came crashing against the back of his head, creating a loud crunching sound, as if something had broken.

However, it was not Alexander's back that had broken; rather, it was the hardwood itself that shattered as it struck its target.

Bonk!

A sound echoed as Alexander's head bent slightly lower. He was stunned, having been caught off guard by the surprise attack.

The person who had attacked him stood frozen in shock, with his mouth agape.

Due to the darkness inside, his face was not visible. Alexander, was greatly angered by the sudden blow, as he turned around and saw a human figure stepping back.

He could see it trembling and could even hear its haggard breathing.

"Damn, that hurts, you know!" Alexander grumbled in annoyance.

If it had been a real sword, especially an axe, he would have been seriously injured since the blow landed directly on his head.

His ability to detect danger was clearly lacking, it had been a close call. Thankfully, it was only a piece of wood, or he might have died.

He glared at the figure in front of him, whose back was pressed against the wooden door leading outside.

Alexander walked calmly, though his eyes showed he meant business.

"You have to do better than that if you want to kill me," he said to the trembling figure.

When he had taken about four steps, the figure, shaking with fear, suddenly shouted, "Don't come closer, or I—I, I will bite you!" It was a soft voice, but it carried a tone of threat.

Alexander paused, his actions coming to a halt as he stood dumbfounded. The window was brushed open by the wind, allowing a sliver of moonlight to stream inside, illuminating her face.

He saw that it was actually a girl, seemingly around 14 or 15 years old.

Hearing her peculiar threat, he couldn't help but chuckle in a low voice. This was something new—he had never encountered such a line, not even in the movies he had seen.

Alexander simply stood there, unmoving. The girl, seeing the mysterious figure halt his advance, kept her wary eyes fixed on him.

Behind her back, hidden in her hands, was a knife. She had initially chosen to strike the man with the hardwood to knock him out, as she was afraid of killing someone.

However, if the situation took a turn for the worse, she was prepared to use the knife to end the thief life.

"Alright then. Let's talk like civilized people. Why did you hit me just now? I'm a good person who follows the law. Getting hit with my back turned isn't right, correct?" Alexander asked.

Only his mouth was visible, as he was covering himself with the quilt he had brought along.

The girl, hearing this, snorted in disdain as she replied, "If you're a good person, why would you just barge into our home? Also, if you're really not a criminal, why are you hiding your face? Hmph! I'm not dumb, you beast!" she exclaimed, pointing at him with her finger.

Alexander, hearing her reasoning, was suddenly enlightened—it was true that he had clearly barged into someone else's house without permission. However, the girl wasn't done yet.

"You still have the gall to call yourself a good person? That's exactly what a bad person would say! Hmph, just because my breasts are small doesn't mean my brain is small as well," the girl huffed indignantly.

Alexander was left utterly speechless. She's got a point, he thought to himself.

'Barging into someone's home and then claiming to be a good person does seem incredibly suspicious... even to me.'

Hearing her simultaneously criticize and compliment herself, Alexander was at a loss for what kind of expression to make.

He glanced at her chest, which was as flat as an airport runway, and nodded in agreement with her words.

"She's right; it's not small—it's flat. Dang, it's even flatter than a blackboard," he muttered to himself.

This time, his voice was neither low nor loud, but just audible enough for the girl to hear it.