Follower Card: Earthbound Spirit

Upon hearing Iver's voice, the receptionist suddenly snapped out of his daze.

Are you... going to stay here overnight?

He looked intently at Iver, then at Sherlock's sour face and the storm outside, and suddenly realized what he meant. He then answered fluently, "A clean room with dinner for two, four Red Coin and three Copper Coin in total. What's your name? Let me register it."

"Your prices are quite stable here?"

"Indeed," the receptionist nodded, "It's been the same price for so many years."

"Sixty years ago, this was the price I paid here. I never imagined that sixty years later, this place would remain exactly the same."

Iver answered calmly.

Upon hearing this, the receptionist paused in his work for a moment.

He then looked up, his face showing a look of utter terror, as if he had seen a ghost.

Iver, however, slapped him on the head without any politeness. "Are you a ghost or am I a ghost? Call your boss out here!"

"The boss isn't here..."

The receptionist said in a low voice.

But Iver interrupted him, "No, your boss is here."

"I need to see Alice. I have an appointment."

As soon as Iver finished speaking, the receptionist's body gradually became transparent.

His expression gradually turned indifferent. He then looked up at Iver, Sherlock, and Liz standing behind them before slowly drifting back into the counter.

The oil lamp flickered once and then went out. The hotel lobby suddenly became dim, with only a faint light from outside shining in.

"What happened?"

Sherlock was a little nervous.

In the darkness, he cautiously approached and whispered, "Why did you just lay it all out?"

"Because I did have an appointment."

Iver, however, was not nervous at all.

He took out the cards and various ritual materials he had prepared beforehand from his pocket. He arranged them neatly at the hotel reception desk and began preparing to Card Making.

"You've made a mistake, Sherlock. You said, ' Alice is no longer the innocent girl she was sixty years ago,' which is both right and wrong."

"What we experienced during the last Promotion Ritual was indeed something that happened sixty years ago. It was also sixty years ago, when Alice had just become Earthbound Spirit... But in fact, the person playing Alice was the real Alice."

"I had a mission at the time, which was to kill Alice, the Earthbound Spirit who was possessed. Perhaps in real history, she possessed someone, but she regretted it... so in the Promotion Ritual, she didn't possess anyone until the very end."

"—In other words, the Alice of that time was Alice transcended the Promotion Ritual."

While busy with his work, Iver said softly, "Why was our ceremony Vacancy Ritual? I've thought about it for a long time, and there might be one reason... Alice, who barged in, took up a spot in the ceremony."

Iver had told Lily before that a long time ago, the Trial Grounds didn't have Apostles presiding over it. Back then, some Phantom Demons would lurk nearby, intruding into the Promotion Ritual and devouring the souls of the extraordinary individuals participating in the ascension.

"But Alice sneaked in without attacking us."

Upon hearing this, Sherlock realized. "She didn't come for our souls, but rather..."

"She was asking us for help."

"Because the pastor said that the Earthbound Spirit here are exceptionally powerful, even the bishop can't handle them. And since this place was sealed off, there haven't been any missing persons... In other words, apart from those desperate fugitives, she hasn't been eating anyone else's soul. The sign that was switched over was obviously changed after that ceremony, because she was worried that we would be scared away by the sign and not come to her."

"Earthbound Spirit are ultimately still spirits of the dead. If they cannot consume souls and replenish themselves with the Twilight Power, they will eventually perish."

"And as a ghost girl who was pressed into the foundation as Human Pillar from the age of just learning to read, turning into Earthbound Spirit... and then there were no more travelers here, living a lonely life for sixty years. I think she was unwilling to just disappear like that."

"So, to put it another way... how was she able to enter the Promotion Ritual right under Merlin's nose? Merlin wasn't unaware of her existence; rather, he tacitly approved of it..."

As he spoke, Iver swept all the dust off the "Death Card".

A skeleton rode atop a pale mare, holding a banner of roses. People fell before him like ears of wheat, powerless to resist.

Everything else was prepared and placed there.

Sherlock, unaware of what ceremony Iver was about to perform, stood there somewhat nervously.

Just then, the candlelight that had been extinguished suddenly came back on and began to flicker intensely.

Each time the lights flickered, a little blonde girl with a bluish-purple face would appear and disappear. And when the lights went out, she would vanish again.

Sherlock took a deep breath, his nerves instantly tense.

Even though Iver said she meant no harm, Sherlock couldn't help but clench his fists. The four elements of magic flowed rapidly within him, ready to be unleashed.

Finally, the flames were extinguished completely once again.

As a bright bolt of lightning flashed, the girl, who had become translucent, quietly appeared before Iver.

She didn't play the ball like she did during the ceremony.

Instead, she quietly placed something black on the table, then glanced at Sherlock. As the lightning dissipated and thunder rumbled, she vanished once more.

Iver reached out and touched it, and an attribute panel appeared before his eyes: [Corrupted Demon Hunter +3]

[Extraordinary Weapon (Purple)]

[Firearms: Revolver, 5-round capacity]

9mm Bullet (0/5)

[Special Feature: Its bullets become cursed bullets, significantly increasing damage to flesh and blood.]

[Corruption Style: This gun has been corrupted and requires repair before it can be used.]

[Module - Vulnerable Focus: Accuracy gradually increases when no damage is taken within five seconds, reaching its maximum after fifteen seconds of no damage taken]

[Module - Elegant Aiming: Significantly increases accuracy]

[Mod - Panic Draw: The accuracy of the first bullet is reduced, but the damage is greatly increased]

"You like this..."

A light, airy voice rang out, tinged with fear, like a child who had suddenly become docile after doing something mischievous, yet with a hint of coquettishness. "I'll give it to you. But it might be broken..."

It's obvious.

This is Agni's weapon from sixty years ago.

Unlike Jacob, he failed to escape. The 0/5 magazine revealed his final fear and despair.

Over the course of those sixty years, Alice, with nowhere else to go, had clearly worn out the gun. Its name, characteristics, style, and modules have all undergone subtle changes, which is proof of that.

Although she discovered during the ceremony that Iver was very interested in the gun... she was no longer able to give the original gun to Iver.

That's why she was a little scared.

Upon seeing this very clear gesture of goodwill, Sherlock immediately realized what was going on.

"I understand... it's Weizhe!"

Those who have died but whose souls remain are stripped of their six realms. Generally speaking, the dead have no intelligence or "personality".

But it's clear... both the Alice in the ritual and the Alice of today possess intelligence. Though not high, it certainly exists.

Wei Zhe does indeed have this hobby—he enjoys making pacts with the undead, bestowing upon them wisdom. The Wild Hunt is such a device, so it's not surprising that it's now being given to Alice.

only...

"If she just wanted to rest in peace," Sherlock wondered, "What difference would it make whether she faded away quietly or was driven away by someone?"

"Leaving aside the difference between watching yourself slowly die and being powerless to do anything about it, and dying a quick and painless death..."

As he spoke, Iver channeled his Dark Attribute Mana into the amber. "Perhaps what she's hoping for is for me to take her away from here."

The originally golden-red amber turned dark at a visible speed, resembling charcoal.

—A full thirty points of Dark Attribute Mana.

The mana sufficient to construct the "Field Card: Shadow Cellar" was poured into it by Iver.

"So you can do it?"

Sherlock countered, "To free the Earthbound Spirit from its 'earthbound' nature and change its very essence?"

"I really can."

Iver spoke calmly.

He placed the charred amber on top of the Death Card, then picked up the "Water of the Yellow Springs"—the name Iver had just given it—from the swamp of Eagle Cape Village.

If you use 30 points of Dark Attribute Mana to seal the Earthbound Spirit, you can turn Alice into your temporary summon.

—— [Follower Card: Earthbound Spirit].

If she wants to rest in peace, then we'll use only twenty mana points to create the [Spell Card: Nightmare's Grip]. That way, once her power is drained, she'll naturally dissipate.

You can leave or live as you please, it's up to you. Anyway, she's not in Iver's construction for the time being.

So, barring any unforeseen circumstances... this should be a test from Weizhe.

Iver has borrowed the power of the Celestials and the Pillar God far too many times. Although the sheep being fleeced may not react, it's normal for the smart sheep watching from the sidelines to become suspicious after seeing a sheep being fleeced.

But it doesn't matter.

The secrets of the Great Sin Scholar can be told to them.

The real secret that Iver couldn't tell... was the Ouroboros Ring Ritual and the fall of the future Pillar God.

The former foreshadows the stripping away of the Celestial Authority's power, while the latter signifies the death of the Pillar God.

Compared to this, everything else is a minor issue. If Grandpa Weizhe wants to see it, then he can.

—Maybe next time we'll have to call your name.

Then Iver's lips curled up slightly, and he recited in a low voice:

"I beseech Amber, the God of the Sacred Number Nine, the God of Supreme Perfection, the Perfect Eternal God— "

With that, Iver poured the "Water of the Yellow Springs" onto it.

But the water didn't soak the Tarot Card. Instead, it froze like ice... As Iver poured it out, the yellowish water flowed over the Tarot Card and spread across the table. The soil from the graves melted into it, solidifying with the water into a thin, murky, yellowish layer of ice.

Alice.

Iver took two steps back and called softly, "It's your turn. Choose for yourself—you'll understand."

Soon, the candlelight flickered and shone again.

The ethereal little girl, now semi-transparent, appeared silently beside Iver.

She stood on tiptoe, her hand resting on the Tarot Card.

The image on the card gradually changed beneath the thin layer of ice.

The skeleton knight who originally rode a white horse gradually transformed into a skeleton king, as black as charcoal and wielding a scythe.

In the lower right corner of the image is a blue scorpion, symbolizing the death of the physical body. To the left of the scorpion is a lily shaped like an "α" and to the right is a lotus flower shaped like an "Ω", signifying that the physical body exists between the beginning and the end.

An eagle sits atop the skull's black crown—a symbol of spiritual death.

On the left side of the image is a snake coiled around a fish. This symbolizes a fatal death.

Beneath the scythe lay a decapitated man. A soul drifted out from within...

This symbolizes the death of the soul, but also the rebirth that follows death.

The Death Card represents the end, death. But it also foreshadows rebirth after death.

Finally, as Alice disappeared, the dark inn became bright again. The storm outside vanished without a trace.

The card floated up automatically and flew into Iver's hand.

The card's attributes automatically appeared in his eyes: [Minion: Earthbound Spirit (Death)]

[Level: 40]

[Path of Twilight, Dark Attribute]

[Required: Dark 3]

[Action, Summon]

[Effect: Designate a hostile target, causing them to fall into an illusion, then summon the Earthbound Spirit "Alice" to fight for you. The Earthbound Spirit is considered a summoned creature and lasts for one minute. The illusion immediately disappears when the Earthbound Spirit is killed or dissipates, and the Earthbound Spirit's duration is refreshed when the hostile target under the illusion is killed.]

Chapter 2 of 3,600 words is here! Ah, you don't need to worry too much about the length. If you're in good health and doing well, of course you can write more. 3.5 million words is just the outline I set before starting the book. An outline isn't fixed; it can be changed, meow.

So we should support cats more! Only when cats are fattened up can we truly enjoy them!