When Bob heard the voice, he nearly lost his mind and began laughing madly for no apparent reason. Bob thought it was strange to laugh in such a situation, yet it also felt oddly natural to him. Seeing this, Nina fell to the ground in fright.
[Blood Shadow wonders what that crown is]
[Mysterious Wanderer looks at you grimly]
Bob abruptly stopped laughing and pointed to the corner of the clearing, saying, "I need to calm down for a moment. Sit there while I calm down."
Nina, visibly shaken, obeyed and sat on a stone.
'Hahaha, I like your personality, Bob,' the voice in Bob's head said.
Bob gripped the crown tightly, trying to pull it off his head. His face turned red from the effort, but the crown wouldn't budge.
As this bizarre scene unfolded, Nina sat behind him, watching Bob struggle like a madman, her face pale with fear.
'Hahaha, your attempts are futile. Our souls are already connected,' the voice said mockingly.
Bob paused, his back tense as anger boiled within him.
"Who the hell are you?!" Bob demanded in his mind.
[Ruby Ruler wonders why you look upset]
'My owner, I'm a bloody ghost. I don't have a name, but if you want, you can name me something,' the voice replied.
Bob didn't respond immediately, his mind reeling.
'Ah, that's not important now. Give me a suggestion for what to call our family.'
"What family?"
[Ruby Ruler and Mysterious Wanderer wonder what you're thinking]
Bob spoke cautiously in his mind, still adjusting to the fact that he now had a ghost in his head.
'I don't have time to explain it to you. Just say a name. The force compelling me is nearly uncontrollable.'
"Keauzmur," Bob said in his mind, trying to come up with a cool name.
'Hahaha, okay, Bob Keauzmur,' the voice said gleefully.
Suddenly, a strange energy surged through Bob, and he felt as if he had been reborn as Bob Keauzmur.
'You currently have 0 cores,' the voice said in its chilling tone.
"What cores?" Bob asked, confused.
'Cores represent how many beings belong to your family. When you kill someone with blood, I extract it, and a core starts to form. The more cores you have, the more blood is required to form the next core. Stronger creatures provide better-quality blood, but even weak creatures can have high-quality blood if they inherited it from strong ancestors.'
Before Bob could process this information, the ghost continued.
'You can only have one family member from each species. For example, if you make an elf a family member, you cannot add another elf to your family, nor can you add a dark elf, as they are still considered elves with altered genes and abilities.'
"Let me think this through for a moment," Bob thought.
As Bob grasped the concept, he considered telling the ghost that he didn't need family members, but for some inexplicable reason, he wanted them.
"I understand," Bob thought.
'Name me,' the ghost demanded.
"Okay, your name is Remo," Bob said in his mind.
Bob remembered his time in Africa, specifically in Luo, where he had spent eight months tracking an important target. Disguised as a local, Bob couldn't communicate with the people there initially, so he had no choice but to learn their language. In Luo, "remo" meant "blood," and since the ghost had described itself as a bloody ghost, Bob thought the name fitting.
'Hmm, Remo, the ghost of the Keauzmur family. That sounds good,' said the ghost.
"Don't bother explaining anything else. Save it for when I'm in a safe zone," Bob replied.
"Let's go," he said aloud, looking at Nina.
On their way back, Bob didn't encounter any monsters to test the crown's abilities, which annoyed him. However, he was slightly relieved that Remo didn't bother him during the journey.
As Bob passed through the safe zone, he felt envious gazes on him, likely because of the crown.
Suddenly, the skinny man stepped in front of them.
"Looks like you succeeded in your expedition, and Bob even brought back some treasure," he said, pointing at the crown.
"I saw those two from your group cross over to the other side. What happened? Did you have a fight?" he asked with a friendly tone.
"Don't worry. It's none of your business," Bob replied coldly, walking past him.
"Looks like it won't go that way," the man said, his tone turning grim and insidious.