Volume 3 Chapter 25 This Is Not The World You Live In.
When the 6 of them stepped into the old school building, they were surrounded by a strange, thick air. It felt cool and a bit heavy, even though it should have been warmer than the outside air in autumn.
"Wow. This feels like a dungeon."
As Randy looked around, Cory told him that this place is actually used for dungeon practice.
In sword fighting and martial arts classes, students can practice in real dungeons. Cecilia had mentioned this before, and sometimes the old school building is used for training before those dungeon exercises.
It's meant to help them get used to the dungeon atmosphere, especially to learn how to deal with undead creatures.
"Undead, especially spirits, are really hard to handle."
Annabelle said, but it didn't sound very convincing. After all, she was the one who came here alone to catch ghosts. Still, undead creatures are indeed tricky.
Physical attacks don't work on them, and you can only use special weapons with magical power, holy water, and magic. There are weapons made to fight undead that are powered by dragon blood, but dragon blood is super rare and hard to find.
"Inside the school, it's simple to navigate, and the teachers can keep an eye on us... I see. This is a perfect place for practice."
Luke nodded. Suddenly, a ghost appeared next to him, but Luke quickly used his magic, and the ghost vanished.
"Mr. Luke can use magic."
Liz said, standing closer to Randy than usual. "Yeah. I'm kind of a jack-of-all-trades," Luke replied with a perfect smile.
"What do you mean by jack-of-all-trades?"
Randy snorted and said, "This guy would be just like a hero in a story." He gave Liz a mischievous look. Randy was right; Luke could do a bit of everything.
Catherine even called him a 'weaker version of Edgar,' but honestly, Luke is more like an 'upgraded version of Edgar' in this world. Having a monster like Randy around pushed him to keep improving himself.
He can't win in strength, so he trained hard in magic and sword skills to catch up with Randy. That's who Luke, or Lucas Highland, is.
"I've polished my magic and sword skills, but I still can't reach you."
Luke said, holding his sword. "Of course not," Randy said, pulling out a greatsword from his magic bag.
"I've been working hard with just my body. There's no way I'm losing to a player like you."
In front of Randy's mischievous grin, the space twisted, and multiple ghosts appeared.
"Who are you calling a player? W-wait, my lady, that was──."
"Now's not the time! They're coming!"
Ignoring Luke's panic, Randy swung his greatsword.
The ghost in front of him was sliced apart without even a scream and vanished.
"That sword of yours..."
"Yeah. I mixed in a little something special."
Randy grinned as he cut through another ghost. He was talking about the special sword he got from the underground church that's effective against undead. The sword he brought back in his magic bag has become even better thanks to Randy's skills. It's not as strong as it originally was, but it still does damage to spirits, which is a win for Randy.
The ghosts that attacked were gone in an instant, but...
"Um, Senior Randolph... if you defeat them all, doesn't that defeat the purpose?"
As Annabelle pointed out, defeating them all didn't help at all.
"Well, I thought it would be better to find stronger ones, like wraiths."
He meant that Annabelle had tried several experiments before, but the ghosts couldn't handle the pressure. The details of those experiments were lost, which is why they kept failing.
There's only one container, so it's better to try to find a strong one that can hold different things.
Annabelle agreed with this and said, "If it's a wraith──" and told them that a more powerful one might show up deeper inside.
As Annabelle pointed down the dim hallway, Liz pulled on Randy's sleeve with a serious look and said, "Please don't leave anyone behind," while the 6 of them moved forward.
After passing through the main entrance hall, they entered the old training building, where they were greeted by a lot of ghosts. When Liz suddenly covered her face at the sight of the wandering ghosts, the atmosphere changed.
"Geez... what a pain."
That was definitely Ellie whispering. She stepped up to take Liz's place, who couldn't handle the ghost crowd.
"We don't have time; let's hurry."
With that, she snapped her fingers. A flash of lightning shot through the space, making all the ghosts disappear in an instant, and everything went quiet.
Of course, Annabelle and Cory had no idea that Liz (who was really Ellie) had wiped them out with magic, and they were showering Luke with compliments like, "Sir Luke, that was amazing!" and "I'm so surprised! You're really good at magic, Knight!"
"Uh, well──."
Luke could only give a hesitant reply because even he couldn't use magic with that kind of speed and precision. But he couldn't say it was Elizabeth either...
Every time a ghost appeared, Luke received more praise.
"An ancient great magician... that's incredible."
"Teach me about magic theory sometime. I don't get it at all, but you probably can."
"Really? That would be awesome. Make sure to put in a good word for me."
Meanwhile, Randy and Luke were quietly chatting. They usually joked around, but when it came to their shared wish to "get stronger," they were being honest. And in response, Ellie unleashed more magic.
The ghost crowd vanished in an instant.
Admiration and surprise.
Jealousy and determination.
As this went on, the 6 of them quickly reached the stairs and decided to head up to the third floor of the training building.
"I've heard that mostly wraiths appear on the third floor. And there's one of the 7 wonders in the back on the west side."
Annabelle gulped nervously, saying it would be impossible to come this far alone. She usually hunted ghosts near the entrance on the first floor. The deeper you go on the first and second floors, the more likely you are to encounter wraiths, and if that happens, you probably can't escape.
So, the third floor, which is completely wraith territory, was an unknown area for Annabelle.
"Why do the beasts get stronger the higher we go?"
Luke frowned, and Cecilia tilted her head, saying, "That's true. I can understand it if it's underground."
(Ah, it's probably just how the game works.)
Randy thought this but didn't say it out loud. It's a common game thing that enemies get stronger the deeper you go. It's probably happening here too. Of course, if you want to make sense of it...
"Maybe it's influenced by the guy causing the 7 wonders?"
...meaning the existence of the 7 wonders is like a boss, and its influence gets stronger on the upper floors. Everyone agreed with Randy's guess, and finally, the long-awaited wraith appeared.
If ghosts are like transparent, single-colored spirits, then wraiths are colored ghosts. They're easier to see than ghosts, probably because they're less transparent or because they have color.
Staring at them was a wraith that looked like it was wearing a school uniform.
"Well, it's good that it showed up..."
"But how do we weaken it?"
As Randy and Luke got their weapons ready, they realized they had fought wraiths many times but had never weakened one.
"Let's just try hitting it first."
Nodding at Luke's words, Randy said, "Hold this for a sec," and handed his greatsword to Luke.
"Okay, here goes, just a light hit."
Randy's figure vanished as he swung his right arm.
Leaving the sound of him kicking the floor behind, he appeared in front of the wraith in an instant.
His right fist struck the side of the wraith's face.
Randy's fist sunk in.
The wraith's face twisted.
With Randy's punch hitting the side of its face, the wraith burst apart like an explosion of mist.
"Tch..."
Randy clicked his tongue, feeling like he messed up since the wraith completely disappeared.
"What's with the 'tch'? You need to hold back."
Luke sighed, looking annoyed.
"I did hold back."
"Right, I forgot. You're that kind of guy. You forest gorilla."
"Who are you calling a gorilla?"
As Luke and Randy glared at each other, another wraith appeared silently beside them.
"Alright, this time──."
"No way. We found out you can't handle delicate moves, being raised in the forest."
Luke pushed Randy aside and turned to face the wraith, putting his sword back in its sheath.
"This kind of thing is for someone skilled like me──."
Just like Randy, Luke quickly closed the distance to the wraith.
Luke's left fist slammed into the wraith's stomach.
The wraith staggered back silently, its form becoming a bit blurry.
The wraith looked weaker after being hit. Its colors flickered between solid and colorful. Luke pumped his fist in victory.
(So, even though it's a magical being, getting hit makes it weaker... is that okay for a spirit?)
Randy looked annoyed, but he was also punching the wraith like it was nothing. Still, he was starting to piece together the mystery of wraiths and ghosts from what he was seeing.
While trying to capture the weakened wraith using her vacuum, Annabelle caught Randy's attention as Luke approached with a smug look.
"How about that? Did you see my delicate moves, Randy?"
"Pfft. You're just weak."
Randy snorted, and Luke playfully slapped his shoulder.
"Don't be jealous. A wild kid like you can't handle city life."
Luke grinned and patted Randy's shoulder again, saying, "Go back to the forest."
"Being delicate has nothing to do with city life."
Randy smiled, but his temples were twitching. Luke just laughed and said, "Oh yes, it does."
While those 2 were bickering, it seemed Annabelle's wraith capture mission was wrapping up with Cory's help.
"Everyone! We caught the wraith!"
Annabelle jumped up happily, showing none of her usual nervousness.
"Anna... what now? We achieved our goal, but...?"
Cory pointed at the captured wraith, and Annabelle looked around, thinking.
"Well, we did achieve our goal, but if everyone's okay with it, I'd still like to see the Seven Wonders..."
Annabelle bowed her head apologetically, and Randy and the others exchanged glances. Liz had already hidden inside Ellie, so no one was against it.
"Since we're here, let's at least take a look!"
Randy nodded, and Annabelle's face lit up with joy.
"Then let's go!"
Following Annabelle as she led the way, the 5 of them walked deeper into the area. Ahead of them was a hallway glowing eerily in the setting sun.
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