Ghost: Seeing Ghosts

Ghost: Seeing Ghosts

"Come on, little girl, eat some more. You've grown so tall and pretty—I really do like the look of you."

"Thank you, Grandma."

Iris smiled sweetly and gladly accepted the warm-hearted offering.

This was an ordinary farming household. The food was hardly delicious and was even somewhat rough, but Iris was no longer the noble young lady she had once been, so she could accept it.

Besides, she did not actually need food to maintain her bodily functions anymore. Linton's magic power was her source of nourishment.

By the time they finished eating, night had fallen.

After thanking the family of five, Linton and Iris happily took their leave.

As they walked, Iris reflected on what had just happened and could not help sighing. "In all my life, this is the first time I've realized that people this simple and honest really exist in the world."

Though that family had an intact roof and patched-up windows, the damp cracks in the walls and their broken furniture constantly reminded her how impoverished their lives were.

Yet even so, they had still accepted the pleas for help from strangers. They had not even doubted the two people dressed so strangely—especially Linton.

If she had not experienced it herself, and someone had told her about a scene that sounded almost like a myth, she would certainly have spared no sarcasm such as "stupid" or "ridiculous."

But now, Iris wanted to pin the word stupid onto her own head. Silently, she prayed for that simple-hearted family, wishing them peace and happiness forever.

After a long while, the girl tilted her head and asked, "You knew they would treat us like that, didn't you?"

"I happened to come here a few times before." Linton smiled. "The first time I encountered people that kind, I was moved too. I suppose anyone polluted by the city would feel as though their heart had been cleansed upon arriving in this mountain village."

"This mountain village? You mean everyone in the village is like them? They're not just an exception?"

"They have no guard against strangers whatsoever. They completely open up everything they have for strangers to see. And if you eat at their home and want to offer payment, they might even get angry." Linton let out a faint sigh. "I once thought it was unusual for one place to have so many people without any wariness. But after investigating repeatedly and finding no clues, I gave up on that idea."

"Meeting sincerity with suspicion isn't something worthy of praise."

"That sounds completely unconvincing coming from you."

Linton shrugged, paying no mind to the girl's barbed remark. He simply said, "We're almost there. Get ready."

At the command, Iris immediately wiped the expression from her face. Not a ripple remained in her eyes, while invisible waves of danger radiated from her entire body.

After turning down a narrow mountain path, the sight before them was finally no longer an endless forest and towering peaks. The view suddenly opened up.

—It was a broad platform covered in strange patterns. They were not some kind of magic array, but looked more like the hopscotch grids children often played on.

Old swings, posts, and piles of straw stood scattered around its other corners. There was not much of an eerie atmosphere; it looked more like a place where children often gathered to play.

But the instant Linton and Iris stepped onto the platform, the light of the bright moon abruptly dimmed, and a murky shadow appeared at the center of the platform.

The shadow spun once, as if it had noticed someone entering its territory. Then its shrill laughter rang out from every direction.

"Are you two here to play with me too?"

Gloomy Shadow (Lv.20)

Linton lowered his eyelids slightly, ignoring the piercing voice that could almost stir one's soul, and calmly called Miss Knight's name.

"Iris."

"Understood!"

Iris's expression turned solemn as she stepped forward, but she did not charge recklessly.

The necromancer had said that this monster's mechanics were quite strange. If she rushed in before completely adapting to them, she could very well fall into danger.

"Hehehehe."

The shadow suddenly began to swell. Ink-black mist gradually spread across the entire area, and in the next second, its form was swallowed by the fog and vanished without a trace, leaving behind only its grating words.

"Let's play hide-and-seek!"

"You'd better hide quickly."

"10, 9, 1!"

"Here I come!"

"Do monsters cheat too?"

Iris could not help complaining, but she did not relax her vigilance.

"Well, maybe it was a naughty child when it was alive." Linton looked quite relaxed. "Left."

"Clang—"

A crisp clash of metal came from Iris's blade striking the incorporeal shadow. Her gaze sharpened as black light flowed around her body.

Knight Sword Skill: Variable Slash - Modified

In almost an instant, three sword flashes at slightly differing speeds flickered in succession before plunging into the black mist and disappearing.

Iris withdrew her stance, her expression growing slightly grave.

She had not felt herself hit anything.

"Don't worry. You did deal it considerable damage." Linton watched the health bar that flashed briefly and spoke flatly.

Of the three incredibly fast slashes, only the final and strongest strike had missed. Even so, Gloomy Shadow's health had dropped by nearly a tenth.

Linton could not help sighing. No matter how many times he saw it, Miss Puppet's true-damage skill set still seemed absurdly overpowered.

Logically speaking, soul-type creatures possessed substantial resistance to physical damage, but Iris did not care about such logic.

—Whatever my intelligence is, whatever the multiplier is, whatever result it calculates—you're losing exactly that much health!

"Right!"

Iris easily blocked the shadow's attack again, but this time she did not counterattack.

Her stamina could not support consecutive high-intensity slashes. Once she overexerted herself, she would be forced to draw magic power from Linton to replenish it, leaving her briefly stiff and unable to move.

She would not make a mistake that could nearly cost both of them their lives.

"Ah! You're cheating!!"

The shadow seemed to realize how familiar the necromancer was with its abilities. Its voice immediately filled with furious indignation, and the surrounding black mist rippled in wave after wave.

Iris said disdainfully, "You used the countdown to trick me and launch a sneak attack, and I didn't say anything. If you can't afford to lose, then just admit it—don't act like a whore while demanding a monument to your virtue."

"Damn it! Bad people! You're all bad people!"

The shadow abruptly contracted, gathering into a black ball roughly the size of a basketball. The next second, it shot upward and fled into the void.

Linton looked up at the sky and suddenly asked, "Iris, do you know what a golf ball is?"

Iris wondered why he was suddenly asking that, but she remained alert as she answered, "I do. A boring game nobles play."

"Have you played it before?"

"Once."

"You know how to tee off, right?"

"More or less?"

"That's enough."

Linton grinned, his white teeth glinting faintly beneath the moonlight and concealing the fleeting shadow in his eyes.

Skill: The Silent Watcher's Requiem

"Whoosh—"

The black streak stopped less than a fist's distance from Linton's face. The gust it carried blew back his hood, revealing his exquisite, flawless face, yet it did not make him blink in the slightest.

Looking at the black ball before him, the man moved his lips and murmured softly.

"Home run."

"Bang—"

The knight's sword sent the black ball flying away with a heavy sweep, returning it right where it had come from.

Iris raised a hand over her brow and looked up at the sky, unable to stop herself from complaining. "A home run has absolutely nothing to do with golf!"

"I don't know, whatever. I've never played golf."

"Honestly, I give up. By the way, did I kill it just now?"

"No."

"Then when will it come back down?"

"That depends on how much force you used."

"...Full force."

"Then it'll probably be a while. Didn't it want to play? Then we'll keep it company a little longer." The corner of Linton's mouth curved up. "Iris, remember how long it flies this time. Let's see whether it can beat this record next time."

Iris immediately looked at Linton as though he were a monster.

"You won't even pass up a chance to toy with a monster? Does it have some grudge against you?"

Linton nodded solemnly.

Though he was dealing with Gloomy Shadow easily this time, back when he had been a novice, he did not know how many times this monster had sent him back to the respawn point.

Gloomy Shadow's mechanics were special, but not extraordinarily so. Once one understood them, this creature with its thin health bar was easy to handle. But during the early exploration period, who had so many guides? Because it could neither be seen nor touched, even someone as clever as Linton could only stand there and take the hits back then. Its special mechanics had been nothing but pure annoyance in people's eyes, so almost every player came to use it for target practice after reaching a higher level.

A ghost?

Go see a ghost, then!!

While Linton and Iris casually toyed with the poor little shadow, they did not notice the blue-robed priest from the Truth Society in the forest behind them, nor the enormous turmoil their actions had stirred within his heart.