"Hey! You with the axe!"
Chris's sudden shout, coming just after he'd finished relieving himself, made the two students jump. They had been maintaining a respectful ten-meter distance.
After witnessing the absolute slaughter of the Red Arremer, the "one eared" student and his friend were no longer just impressed, they were terrified.
This wasn't like the mindless zombie killing from earlier. The sheer, cold blooded efficiency and brutality Chris had displayed while dismantling the demon had led them to a very natural conclusion: back on Earth, Chris was probably not a "good guy."
What kind of sane person turns a demon into a "nugget" and smiles about it?
But the thought of leaving him and striking out on their own was even more terrifying. They'd likely be dead before they reached the next tree.
Some lessons are taught by words, and others by experience. Having felt the lethality of the Demon Realm firsthand, they had long since abandoned any dreams of being heroes. Now, they were just looking for a thigh to cling to.
Since Chris wasn't moving, they'd decided to rest ten meters away and wait for his lead.
"Yes, Boss! What do you need?!"
The one eared student practically snapped to attention, recognizing the massive gap in their relative standing.
"Found any food?"
"We'll find some!"
Before the one eared student could even process the request, the "duck guy", now covered in a layer of dried blood and scabs, grabbed his roommate's arm and volunteered them both.
This time, the "duck guy's" head was clearer than it had ever been.
He understood that his roommate, the one eared student, at least had a weapon and could provide some support. He, on the other hand, was just a dead weight. Chris had zero reason to keep him around.
If he wanted to survive, he had to prove his value in other ways: running errands, carrying supplies, handling the mundane tasks that "the Boss" shouldn't have to worry about.
Chris's request was the perfect opportunity.
They didn't have food on them, but "duck guy" remembered seeing several bags and briefcases near the corpses of players who hadn't made it. The chances of finding food and water there were high.
An hour in the Demon Realm had completely rewritten his moral compass. Scavenging from the dead was a small price to pay for survival.
And if they couldn't find anything there, they'd check the gravestones for offerings. Who knew if a medieval style Demon Realm valued tomb side snacks?
"Hold on."
Just as they were about to head back, Chris called out to them. A baseball bat sailed through the air in a perfect arc, landing at "duck guy's" feet.
"Take it. You'll need something to defend yourselves."
"Thank you, Boss! We're on it!" "Duck guy" looked like he'd just won the lottery.
The one-eared student patted his friend on the shoulder, and the two of them hurried back toward the start of the graveyard.
Fighting zombies and looting corpses were two very different experiences, and both students were still struggling to maintain their composure.
Fortunately, the bags they found, mostly from the office workers and students who'd died in the initial panic, were full. One girl's purse yielded a treasure trove of high calorie snacks: fruit gummies, dried fruit, and a variety of nuts.
Meanwhile, Chris, who was now comfortably treating the two as his personal assistants, opened the Bronze Treasure Box he'd been using as a chair.
Luckily, it wasn't a "Vampire Magician" mimic, just a standard chest.
[Obtained: 1500 Heaven's Selection Coins.]
[Obtained: Red Arremer Wing (Green/Excellent, Crafting Material).]
[Obtained: 1 Free Skill Point.]
Coins were the universal currency of the Space, though Chris had no idea what their actual purchasing power was yet. He tucked the demonic wing into an empty slot in his inventory.
The real prize was the skill point.
Outside of achieving a high rank on a main mission, skill points were rare. They were usually only awarded for killing high tier monsters, completing hidden side quests, or finding special treasures.
Chris chose to be cautious with the point. His only upgradeable skill at the moment didn't seem like it would benefit significantly from a single point.
Save where you can, spend where you must. He'd already used his attribute points and skill stones; he'd keep the skill point in reserve for when a clear need arose.
As the students searched for food, Chris scouted the path ahead.
Not far from the cemetery exit, a river blocked the primary path toward the Demon King's castle. The river was wide, but a series of floating islands in the middle broke the current into several narrower channels.
Floating above the water were moving platforms, blocks of stone or ice held aloft by some magical force, patrolling in a fixed cycle.
The water was clear and the current wasn't particularly fast, but it was deep. Deep enough to completely submerge a man.
Chris took one look at the water and immediately uninstalled the "Vampire Hunter" template.
The reason was a specific passive skill built into the template: [Soluble in Water].
[Soluble in Water: Template Skill (Negative Passive). If your entire body is submerged in a body of water deeper than your height, you are instantly judged as Dead.]
Because Chris's template was the "Original Form" of Simon Belmont, he inherited the character's greatest flaws along with his strengths.
'With a body like this, I could see why some people would think Simon was a vampire...'
The "Hit Evasion" leap was annoying and dangerous on certain terrain, but it was at least nominally a "benefit." [Soluble in Water] was a pure, unadulterated disadvantage.
'A wise man doesn't stand under a crumbling wall.' Chris wasn't about to bet his life that he could cross those moving platforms with 100% precision. One slip, and he'd have to use his final seconds of life to scream every insult he'd ever learned at the Heaven's Selection Space.
He could always reload the template in fifteen minutes. For now, he'd stay safe in his boxers and flip flops.
When the students returned, they found Chris using his knight's helmet to haul clear water from the river.
Despite being parched, he didn't drink. Instead, he gathered dry branches and grass from beneath the withered trees. He used the embers from a Red Arremer's lingering fireball to ignite the grass, starting a small, crackling bonfire.
Next, he used a few shattered gravestones to build a makeshift stove and set his helmet over the flames.
Bear Grylls and Ed Stafford had taught him many things, and the most important was: always boil your water in the wild.
Drinking raw water was a fast track to dehydration, sickness, and... well, having to relieve oneself more often than a knight should.
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]