I made good pace navigating the sparse forest. As I did, I noted an interesting variety of flora growing on the woodland floor. One plant in particular grabbed my attention, so I bent down to examine it.

"Yep, it's crabgrass."

Not real life crabgrass, of course, which looked completely different. Crabgrass as it was called in SoD was a rare alchemical ingredient and the main component of healing potions. It was a limited resource and was most commonly dropped by enemies, but now it seemed I could get it straight from the source. I picked up every such plant I could find and stuffed it into my bag.

It wasn't the only useful flora I found. Brown mushrooms, used as antidotes for most common poisons, were plentiful. I even acquired an ultra-rare white mushroom, which cured advanced poisons and diseases such as plague. I realized I should find some way to preserve them. Perhaps drying? Or even better, if I could get a mortal and pestle and ground them into potions or powders. In either case, I would require tools which cannot be scrounged up from the forest floor.

"Calvar, how much further is it?"

"You really have no patience. Like I said, there should be an adventurer town a few minutes away from the cave. Well, at least there was one last time I went outside. Unless something terrible happened, it should still be there."

"By the way, how do the inhabitants of Tristaria feel about undead like you?"

"You mean normal humans besides weirdos like you? I think general policy is either 'run away', or 'kill on sight'. That's why we usually stay in caves."

Note taken. I've long been used to undead and other fantasy creatures, but to the average person they must appear horrifying. This means I cannot simply pull Calvar all willy-nilly, and must exercise some tact while in human settlements. I will have to rely more on my own wits instead of his own admittedly half-baked wisdom.

A few minutes later the town came into view. Calling it a town, however, would be hyperbole. The settlement was tiny, containing less than a dozen or so shabby buildings. It seemed entirely specialized for adventurers, as there were no residences, but only service buildings such as shops and an inn. This would be a common sight in a game, if you think about it, but in reality it was somewhat unnerving.

As I entered the town centre the figure of a person stood out -- a warrior dressed in expensive-looking black armor. He was sitting down and looking downtrodden. The armor, although impressive, was worn-out and unkempt. It looked old and not well-taken care of at all. Everything pointed to this being an experienced warrior with wisdom on his hand, which is exactly what I needed.

However, I was never good at conversions. The most I usually did was small-talk with my co-workers at the office, which I utterly despised. It does look like I'll have to dust off that old skill and put it to use, even in this fantasy world.

"Why are you looking so blue? It's such a beautiful day outside," I ask.

"Oh, it's nothing. I've simply gone as far I can."

I was taken aback by female voice that responded. Full body armor like that does hide one's gender very well, but I still didn't expect to hear a woman. At the back of my mind I worried, as I was even worse at conversing with female co-workers.

"Why's that? You look like a mighty and experienced warrior. I doubt there's anything you can't do."

The woman chuckled with a sorrowful tone.

"I'm nothing of the like. I'm simply a failure who does not know what she wants. All I do is sit here, wasting the time away."

She stared at me and pointed to a nearby buildings.

"Young adventurers like you should head to the inn. You'll find more help there than from a failure like me. Enough talking for now."

What a depressing person. She does not seem malevolent, however, and doesn't appear to wish me any harm. I decided to follow advice and enter the nearby inn, perhaps leading to more clues. It made me want to recruit her all the more.

The inside of the inn looked as shabby as everything else in the town. There was a single person there: the aged and balding innkeeper. As he looked at me I noticed his false glass eye.

"Oh, a new adventurer. Welcome to our humble town. We don't get many of you around these days."

I cut straight to the chase.

"Who is that person outside?"

"Oh, I see you've met Arma, our new town greeter," he said laughing to himself, "she doesn't do much. Just sits outside and makes everybody else depressed. She just wondered into town one day until she reached that spot, and then settled down. Seems to be afraid of moving past it for some reason. Might be psychological problems."

How very odd.

"Do you know anything about her?"

"She's not the most talkative person. The adventurers passing by call her the Black Paladin because of her armor, although she never calls herself that. Besides that I've only got hunches. What I'm thinking, is that despite pushing everybody away, she's actually asking for help. Mind you, I've got no clue what kind of help she needs, since she looks like she can take care of itself. That's my take, though."

It's the same as I surmised. Why else would she choose such a conspicuous spot to sulk? Despite pushing people away, she actually wants to be talked to. It's a cry for help from people who can't just ask for it directly. I quickly ran outside and found her in the same spot.

"Arma..."

"So the innkeeper told you my name. What is it? Do you want me to move from this spot? Do you want me to join your party so we can go on some heart-felt journey throughout Tristaria? I can assure you that is impossible, and will not happen. That is something I can vow upon."

"But why?"

"Haha. Why do you care? I'm some old broken down wreck of no use to anyone. Have you fallen for me? Do you think I'm some beautiful girl under this helmet, here to take your heart away? I can vow that is not the case. You have nothing to gain from associating with me."

Maybe it would have been infatuation if I was younger, but that isn't it. Why do I suddenly care about her so much? I swore I would never rely on other people, or help them if there wasn't anything to gain. For me to want otherwise, there must be a reason.

"I do care. Because... you remind me of myself. I know how it's like to feel completely stuck and helpless, not sure what to do. How could I not act when a person is suffering through the same things I went through? Please, let me hear you out."

The woman went silent and looked at her feet.

"Ha, very well. Long ago, I lived peacefully at my home. I had everything I needed to get by, but I was still unsatisfied. I wanted to head out and explore the world just like an adventurer. Leaving my home, however, was not allowed. It was strictly against the rules, and the punishment was death. Still, I disobeyed my masters. I ventured as far as I could, until I reached this town. This is the spot where I became stuck.

"I can't go back home. Doing so means death. On the same token, I can't advance any further. Doing so also means death. The only option left for me is to idle by and wait for the time to pass until I pass away. And so here I am, sitting in this spot, where I have become crestfallen."

"But just sitting idly by...that's not what you want, right?" I ask.

The woman stayed silent.

"I know you're tempted to do nothing and waste the days away, but please don't do that. I can tell what you want, your passion, you want to be an adventurer, right? A life where you can't follow your heart is no life at all. If it's not something within reach, you still need to grab it, and try with all your might. Chase it, never let it down. It might feel like the consequence of failure is death, but if you never try, it's as if you never even lived in the first place! So this is my request. Please head out and follow your dream, so you can truly live."

The woman looked at me with new-found energy. Honestly, I was just as surprised as her with this speech. It's not something typical of me.

"Ah, you're wiser than you look. What is your name?"

I bring out my hand for a handshake.

"It's Eren."

I shook her armored hand, bound with cold hard steel.

"Very well, Eren, you've convinced me. Even if it means death, I will venture forward and follow my dream. Please take care of me."

The armored lady stood up. With everything she had, she gathered her emotions and took a step forward.

"Thank you, Eren. And... goodbye."

As she finished the step, the woman collapsed onto the floor. A blue wisp escaped from her body as it did. I panicked over to the body and searched through it, but found nothing. As in literally nothing. There was no body there. It was an empty set of armor. I took out Calvar from my bag in a state of shock.

"Oh, that was probably a haunted armor. It's type of undead that possesses suits of mail, and if it's covering enough you might even confuse it for a human. Pretty rare to find them outside dungeons, though. Since they are a type of ghost, they can't survive if they venture too far from their haunting grounds. This one must have been pretty stupid."

Yes... indeed very stupid. I solemnly took Arma's remains into my possession. It's the least I could do. If this was still a game, I would leave a note around for all players to see.

"Welcome to Tristaria."