Despite being at the edge, the awful smell still bothered me. I didn't bring any extra cloth- so I had to cut one of my washed shirts and use it as a mask.
I wanted to fashion some for the cats too but they refused…
Anyway-
The sun was sinking- we were properly rested and it was time to head out.
It was time to- confront the demon- the ghost of this place.
And if the rumors were really true- and if my skills and the cat's skill worked- we were just about to make a haul on both Exp and rewards!
After all- our skills were a boon.
It still stunk in here though….
Dark trees, dark ground, even the sky was dark!
Wait, it was almost night- so…
Never mind.
Ahem! "You guys can see better so do help me out."
I could, of course, see pretty well in the dark myself but- the forest was extra dark and it was hard to see.
The smell was a problem and there were bugs everywhere.
But even after traveling for a good ten minutes- we didn't find anything unusual.
At least no moving corpses or floating spirits.
Just plain sound of wind and dead leaves swirling… maybe one or two branch creaking and sometimes some random howls in the distance- nothing major.
Weren't undead really rare, to begin with?
So, me thinking they'd somehow spring up near this border town, was kind of stupid.
Anyway-
We kept on walking. I even lit a torch just to let the bad stuff know I was here- but they sure didn't want to come greet me-
The wind flew like whispers and honestly- I was getting bored.
'At this rate won't we just end up past the forest into the marshes?'
Sigh…
Swish!
Cold air. Or rather- a sudden drop in temp.
Drops of sweat- and oddly the cats were getting more attentive.
"Leave-" A rather eerie voice reverberated along with cold winds-
The torch went out without a warning- leaving a trail of smoke.
Looks like we've struck gold, ladies and gentleman.
***
A voice.
An eerie voice.
And cold air.
But that was about it.
Nothing more- nothing else.
All it did was spew out one word- "Leave."
Disappointed.
Disappointed, I was.
"Sure, but would you mind coming here and telling me that? Isn't it rude to not show yourself and just hurl 'leave'?"
"Leave!"
"Ummm no? I won't leave until I see your pretty face."
"LEAVE!!!"
The voice kind of got a bit triggered by that.
'Wait what if he has a decaying face and-' Gasp!
Oh well.
My MP was mostly full and I could have very well started off with Divinity, purifying this whole place but- but I didn't know the range of the skill and I didn't know to what extent it'd be effective- meaning I had to be careful. So- "Is it possible that you can't understand or perhaps can't comprehend that I want you to come here?"
I had no idea where the words were coming from.
It was almost as though the spirit was one with the wind or something- and no matter where I looked, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary.
"I SAID LEAVE!"
The winds took a violent turn and the black dust from below swirled like a mini storm-
Hard to keep my eyes open with all this dust floating around.
But- again, that was about it.
Childs play- how the hell was this thing deemed a ruby level threat?
"Any idea where its coming from?" I mumbled.
"Mew!" Cat-2 pointed far ahead- towards a rather rundown tree-
Heh.
Sword drawn, I dashed straight for the house.
Could you cut a ghost with a sword?
I didn't know.
But I didn't see one, and that meant- I wasn't going to leave.
"Can't you just leave me alone!" A scream.
Till now the voice sounded awfully neutral and commanding.
But now- now it sounded a bit girly and honestly- it almost sounded like the girl was frightened.
And it for sure was coming from the old tree…
Bingo.
However- whispers- groans and loads of moans.
And- mist?
Mist came from the forest- and gradually started rising up.
Something smelled, and it wasn't just the rot-
"Who's there!" I took a stance and rechecked the surroundings but nothing.
Not a single living thing.
Just a strong wind and- wait- shadows?
Skeletons?
Corpses?
A lot of moving things in the distance- and a lot of things in the mist.
Well- bored no more.
Shit got real fast-
Okay, I might or might not have brought this on myself.
"They weren't kidding about the undead summoning thing-" I mumbled, and the cats got ready.
The tree was a rundown one but looked like a place people would live inside of.
As for the undead- they were headed straight for the tree.
Maybe their master summoned them to that house?
But how come they weren't targeting me first?
After all, living flesh was the most delicious thing known to the undead kind… right?
Right!?
Yet-
"Stay away!" The voice repeated- scared- shaking.
'Is it me or-' Did the voice sound scared…. As in scared by its own summons?
"Use divinity-" I spoke to mother cat.
"ROARRR!!!"
Loud- really loud. She didn't waste a frigging second.
She glowed and the whole place also lit up. Actually, it was almost as though the forest itself lit up- illuminating even the shadows and- and tearing them apart. Turning to dust-
Almost all the undead- just- turned to dust- one with the soil.
The light was gentle- and I could for sure feel my fatigue vanish just like the corpses.
[Exp gained- 1499 X26]
[Lv up!]
[Lv up!]
[Lv up!]
[Cat-2 leveled up X3]
Well- that certainly was effective as hell!
'Damn it was a good idea to come here…' Free stuff was always fun.
As for the house- "What was that?" The voice asked.
Apparently, it hadn't died… somehow.
'Divinity didn't work huh?'
Which meant, this wasn't just a typical undead. It was far- far more capable.
Would my skill work against something like that?
But given the fact, that it didn't kill any adventurers before- it sufficed to say, I had to try it out.
Aka- reason.
"Still don't want to come out? In that case, we'll come get you-" Maybe I was acting a bit cocky, but it was a necessary hazard.
Before I could take a step- another burst of air- more like a calm breeze, brushing past my hair.
And something did come out- something floating- something small- or rather smaller than me- a kid?
The descriptions did say a kid but-
This was clearly a girl.
A kind of bluish soul of a girl- maybe fourteen?
"Hey? What are you doing here? And given the fact you survived, that means you're a good spirit?" I said. I was, of course, trying to start up a conversation and hope things didn't resort to violence…
Were good spirits even a thing?
I had no idea.