Liam walked out of the guild with Alice. It's been a week since the demonic shrine incident and things are finally getting back to normal. Three days ago they held a funeral for the dead, and yesterday Alice finally began to regain her strength.
"We've got a lot of money, what do you say about fixing the house?" Alice looked at Liam. "I hate seeing roaches in the kitchen at night."
"I want to do that, but we don't own the place. I doubt doing any long-lasting fixes would be a wise investment." He looked at her, "How about we try to convince that old lady to sell us the house?"
"Even the city lord couldn't convince her." Alice shook her head, "We might have a better chance looking for another place."
"We should wait until spring." Liam pulled the paper they just got from the guild. "For now, let's take care of this and we might get a nice deal." He waved the paper.
"Jakory's haunted house. Do you really believe there is a ghost there?" Alice stared at him with a worried face.
"Ghosts are real, and the place could even be cursed. Or," He smiled, "We might find a second Alice there. Who knows how fast they spawn."
"I'm not a dungeon monster!" She gasped and smacked Liam on the back.
He giggled, "That stinks, but don't worry, be it a ghost or a curse. We shall deal with it and get back home before dawn."
"Can we even hit ghosts…" She sighed. I can hit and kill them using my skill, but what about him. Weapons won't be of use against them, magic could help, but seeing them is a problem in its own. I have the hawk eyes skill, and by buffing it with [Bugendai Sozo] I should be able to see a haze where ghosts are, but that is the best I can do in my current condition.
Liam walked in the front with a smile on his face. Ghosts are easy to kill, all you need to do is unleash a wave of mana to disturb their nature and they'll get dispersed for a few years. That might not completely solve the problem, but it'll allow us to cash in the reward. We can fight and destroy them, but they'll just return as well after a few years, and they'll be angrier. The best way to deal with ghosts is to take whatever is forcing them to roam the world, or use them to turn a corpse into a zombie then lock it in a box and throw it in the ocean, that'll seal them forever.
"But Liam, why all of those?" Alice pointed at his back. He had a halberd strapped onto his back alongside a spear, and a warbow. On his waist, he had a scimitar, a dagger, and a mace.
"I used to only carry one weapon, but then I found that each could have their own use." Liam looked at her with a smile.
*****
Name: Liam Leonard.
Race: Human.
Soul Record: Black. {Shifted: Grey}
Level: 23
Strength: 35
Speed: 37
Mana: 35
Special ability: [Hakai: Level 19] {Hidden}
[Dodge: Level 24]
[Sharpening: Level 25]
[Halberd Arts: Level 25]
[Scimitar Arts: Level 24]
[Marksmanship: Level 9]
[Mace Arts: Level 11]
[Shapshifting: Level 9]{Hidden}
[Horse Training: Level 13]
[Sneak: Level 17]
[Dagger Arts: Level 21]
[Spear Arts: Level 16]
[Fire Magic: Level 17]
[Wind Magic: Level 18]
[Disaster Infusion: Level 19] {Hidden}
[Martial Arts: Level 31]
[Self-Regeneration: 27]
*****
It wouldn't do to tell her that I can shape-shift my body and use all of them at once. If I let people see my true form I'm certain the news about my return would spread like wildfire, and before I know it, my old generals would be coming here to kill me. I hate to admit it, but in this body, I still can't lift a finger at them. I must at least reach level 100 to deal with their weakest. But such information is almost a thousand years old. I might even need to reach level 500 to hope to beat their weakest now.
He looked at the sky. But could I really cultivate enough power in months or years to defeat what they cultivated in a thousand years? I find it hard to believe even knowing my own talent. That's what the current hero is for, I'll find him or her, whatever they were, and use them to kill the generals, that should give us a fighting chance. The current-day bastards require the current-day's good bastards to be killed, that's right.
"You look so happy about this quest." Alice looked at him. "Aren't you worried about the ghosts? It's a haunted house. We might not make it alive."
"The reward is good after all." Liam looked back at her with a gentle smile.
"Don't come running to me crying when they show up. I'll be hitting the road the moment we find them." Alice puffed her cheek, "Ghosts are dangerous."
"Well then, I'll be counting on you. I run the moment I see you running."
Alice stared at him. He's an idiot, but a good soul. I can defeat those ghosts, but they'll be a pain. Ghosts are the souls of the dead staying in this world, there should be a reason, and that is what we must solve to set them free. The last time I dealt with ghosts in the past, it was due to a serial killer who tortured and slaughtered several women and shoved their corpses into the basement of a house. The souls remained in this world crying until the madman got killed.
When the killer died, the souls of his victims tore his soul apart and used it as a stepping tool to leave the mortal world. Ghosts are rarely evil, and most of the time they are only the victims. I must find the reason for their suffering, and slay it.
****
Name: Alice Ashborn.
Race: Human.
Soul Record: Clear. {Masked: Grey}
Level: 17
Strength: 22
Speed: 28
Mana: 35
Special Ability: [Bugendai Sozo: Level 22]{Masked[Walker: 7]}
[Sword Arts: Level 15]
[Dagger Arts: Level 12]
[Martial Arts: Level 29]
[Hawk Eyes: Level 29]
[Barrier Magic: Level 26]
[Physical Enchantment: Level 28]
[Magic Enchantment: Level 34]
[Self-Regeneration: Level 34]
[Disguise: Level 8]{Masked[Lightning Magic: Level 7]}
****
Alice's [Disguise] is a lesser version of Liam's [Shapeshift]
While Liam's skill allows him to change how skills look, change his appearance, and even make skills disappear completely or add limbs to his body, a true polymorph ability. Alice's skill only allows her to mask things, like changing a skill's name or level or slightly modifying her appearance by changing the tone of her skin, hair, and eye color, it's like wearing makeup.
The difference in the skills they got from the dungeon was due to two main reasons, the boss they defeated, and the way they got the skill. Alice defeated the weaker boss and didn't eat his core, while Liam defeated the stronger one and even ate the core.
All living beings with a special ability have a core inside their bodies. Killing them and eating that core would allow a person to get their special ability. Liam has a core that contains his [Hakai] skill while Alice has one that contains [Bugendai Sozo], of course, neither of them knows about the other, but Liam had his eyes on a woman from the start.
The lord's maid Samara was able to sneak around him and even mask her presence. He had started suspecting she had a special ability that allowed her to sneak around efficiently, most likely [Mienai], [Yurei], or [Obake]. If he ever needed such a skill, she's well on Liam's list.