Ch.208NPC and Spirit Keeper (5)

[King Ghoul: Level 390]

[HP: 88,591]

Miho and Chikuyo’s offensive showed remarkable prowess, severing the creature’s limbs and cutting its HP in half in less than five minutes.

If this had been a Giant of the Archipelago, it would have died the moment Miho tore its nape.

I hadn’t expected the two to lose or be defeated, but they were dominating so overwhelmingly that it was almost disconcerting. Salt Non, who was watching alongside me, couldn’t utter a word from the beginning to the end of the battle, alternating between looking at me and the fight with undisguised amazement. I understood his feelings as I focused on the battle myself. But something seemed off.

-KUUUNG!!! PIPIPIT!! CHWAK!! PUEOK!!

The limbless ghoul thrashed wildly with its remaining arm and leg. Miho dodged its attacks, Chikuyo pursued, and Miho followed up with additional strikes to tear into the uncut parts. If this were a game, I’d praise their flawless positioning and combo execution, but…

‘…King Ghoul is a [Field Boss], so why isn’t it using any skills?’

The [Ultra Acidic Slime] had constantly used skills like its passive 60% physical damage reduction and acid spraying.

While passives trigger automatically, it had properly used attack skills like Hydro Pump, an acid-spewing ability distinct from the acid that splashes when attacked with magic. But watching the [King Ghoul], an ep.2 field boss, seemingly unable—or unwilling—to use skills I knew it had, something felt suspiciously off.

The creature possesses skills befitting its “king” title.

When its HP drops to a certain level, it should let out a terrible scream and summon numerous ghouls around itself. Of course, each ghoul’s strength and HP would be extremely weak, so the summons wouldn’t pose much threat. But still.

“Kyao!!!”

-PUEOK!!!

“Guooooo….”

Miho, who had learned the “non-game” skill of partial beast transformation, struck the ghoul’s remaining leg forcefully and tore it off, leaving only its left arm. Just as my plan to destroy its limbs and crush its head was about to be realized by the two sisters…

“Miho! I’ll finish it!!”

“Greung!!”

Letting out a moan that was far too pleasing to male ears, Chikuyo plucked a bunch of her tail fur again, and Miho immediately ran toward Chikuyo and jumped slightly low.

Then, as if anticipating this, Chikuyo jumped a bit higher than Miho, who caught her with her arms.

-PAT!!!

Miho pushed Chikuyo forcefully, launching her into the sky beyond the ghoul’s reach. From above, Chikuyo scattered her plucked tail fur around the ghoul. Fox Spirit Phantom Blade.

In the game, it’s a skill learned at level 300. The description stated that fox beastkin who reached a certain level of understanding in their swordsmanship could learn this skill, which sends slashes that target even behind the enemy, not just in the direction of attack.

In the game, it had a long cooldown because its damage output against a single target was too high, but in reality, it became an overpowered skill that she could use freely whenever she wanted by sacrificing some tail fur. No wonder Ray was pushed down to tier 1.5.

As if preparing for the finale, Chikuyo struck all the scattered blades with her [Spirit Blade], embedding them like candles into the ghoul’s head, shoulder, remaining arm, and body, then began descending with a seductive smile.

The ghoul tried to aim its remaining arm at Chikuyo, but Miho below wouldn’t stay idle. Due to Miho’s interference, the ghoul couldn’t even counterattack against the woman falling from the sky…

“Guo… Geira. Now…”

-KWANG!!!

“Ugh?!!”

“Kyaat?!!”

“Jack?!!”

Closing its eyeless sockets, the ghoul’s final utterance prompted my immediate reaction. I jumped with all my might toward Chikuyo, who was about to swing her sword, embraced her, and landed on the opposite side.

“Shit. I knew something was off. You. Are you acquainted with Elder Perna?”

“……”

“Eh?”

“P-princess carry? Heung…”

As the ghoul turned its head toward me as if it understood my words, I felt our gazes meet despite its missing eyes, and I stopped the battle there…

-THUD!!

“……”

The battle with the ghoul momentarily paused as its last arm fell off.

*

“Just now, both Miho and Chikuyo heard it, right?”

“…Yes. It seemed to speak.”

“Did it say ‘Geira’?”

“……”

“…More importantly, don’t you have something to tell me?”

After the battle stopped, with the ghoul’s limbs separated and only its head and body remaining, I asked about the voice I heard earlier. The sisters nodded in affirmation, while Salt Non, who had hit his head against the wall due to the aftershock of my powerful jump, expressed his irritation.

Um, sorry about that?

“…Haah. So, what does this ghoul have to do with Elder Perna? It said ‘Geira’ at the end. Is that the name of someone Elder Perna knows?”

“Miho, Chikuyo, do you know the names of Elder Perna’s parents or grandfather or someone like that?”

“Um… I don’t know? Sister?”

“The Elder never talked about her family, so I don’t know either. Her husband’s name… she always just called him ‘that horny bear bastard,’ so I don’t know much about that either.”

[King Ghoul: Level 390]

[HP: 4,691]

We’re conversing in front of the ghoul, which has taken enough damage to be considered near death, but it neither tries to attack us nor uses any [Skills]. Moreover, it’s been keeping its mouth shut and eyes closed the whole time. It’s not even making those “guooo” sounds anymore.

From the first encounter, something about the [King Ghoul] designation had bothered me slightly. I already knew from the status window that Elder Perna was half monster, [King Ghoul], and half human or beastkin.

I was just planning to kill it as a monster of the same species, unless it spoke like a person, since we didn’t have much time, but…

‘When I didn’t cross the signpost earlier, it stopped attacking. Plus it’s not using skills. And finally, it uttered someone’s name. This is obvious.’

“Hey. We’re short on time here. Tell us what you know about Elder Perna, the hybrid of beastkin and monster.”

“…Hybrid of monster? Wait, could it be…”

“E-Elder was a monster beastkin?!”

“…My goodness. There are people born from monsters?”

The three people who didn’t know Elder Perna was a monster hybrid were startled and raised their voices at me, but that’s not what’s important right now. We have less than 10 minutes left, and this [King Ghoul] won’t open its mouth.

“J-Jack, setting aside how you knew that, why a ghoul of all things? Even if the Elder is a monster half-breed, a ghoul is…”

“…Later, I’ll explain everything. Can’t talk now.”

“Sister, what’s important now is that we’re running out of time. Let’s ask Jack about it later.”

“I want to hear about it too, but we probably have less than 10 minutes left of our 20-minute time limit. But this ghoul doesn’t seem willing to open its mouth?”

We’ve won the battle and it’s our time to ask questions one-sidedly, but we don’t have much time left. Even Salt Non can see that it seems resigned to die like this, and here…

“Haah. You opened your mouth before dying. Is that it? So, should I assume you know nothing about Elder Perna?”

“……”

“Fine. I’ll ask one last time. If there’s no answer, I’ll take that as a yes and smash your head. Do you know Elder Perna or not?”

The creature didn’t answer my question, so I nodded and loosened my shoulders.

Alright, if that’s the answer.

-TAT.

-KUUUNG⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯!!!!

“!!”

“Kyak?!”

“Ugak?!”

“J-Jack?!!”

After lightly kicking off the ground, I ignored the creature and punched the massive door behind it, causing a bell-like sound to reverberate throughout the green space.

Look at that bastard. The way it turned its eyes toward me as soon as I knocked on the door. Oh, it doesn’t have eyes.

“If you don’t want to talk, then don’t.”

-KUUUNG⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯!!!!

“!!!”

“Jack!! What are you doing all of a sudden?!”

“A-Are you trying to break down the door?!”

“Damn it! Please talk before doing something…!!”

Miho, Chikuyo, and Salt Non’s voices questioned my actions, but Chikuyo is right. I’m planning to smash this door.

“Hrup!!”

-KUUUNG⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯!!!!

As I continued to throw full-force punches at the massive door, the entire space resonated as if it might burst. Everyone in the party started covering their ears as if in pain. Oops, that’s a bit unfortunate.

“Everyone, please bear with it for a moment!!!”

-KUUUNG⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯!!!!!

-CRACK.

“!!!!”

Oh, as I thought. Following my attacks, the wall to which the door was attached began to crack, not the door itself.

Right, this world isn’t a game. There’s no such thing as indestructible objects. Even the thousand-year-old wooden door in Avalitia that was supposedly expensive (it wasn’t) became toothpicks with one punch from me, so a space created by someone’s magic or spirit arts couldn’t possibly be indestructible.

Actually, I’d been thinking about this from the beginning, but if the spirit master wanted us to complete the tasks to enter, I was willing to comply. There was no reason to be hostile. But.

“‘You’ scratched me first. I’m not playing along anymore.”

The space shook with each of my punches, and strangely, I could hear something like Chikuyo’s moans(?) from behind, but I continued punching without pause.

Wait, what is this door made of? The wall is crumbling, but the door doesn’t even have a scr…

“Stop!!!”

-Pause.

“Finally decided to open your mouth?”

“…I spoke.”

“This can’t be. A monster with intelligence capable of actual conversation?”

“Uwu, a person who can break a space created by a spirit master. That’s too fatal for a female beastkin in heat like me. I’ll collapse if I keep whimpering…”

Everyone except one person looked at the creature, and the ghoul directed its gaze(?) at me as if glaring through its withered eye sockets. I gestured with my chin for it to speak.

“This space was created by a spirit master, a space to test qualifications. If the wall collapses, you’ll all be ejected into some unknown space.”

“Oh.”

I nodded at the words of the dismembered ghoul that finally opened its mouth. The other three also nodded as if thinking they had narrowly avoided disaster.

“I see. But that’s not what I asked, you fish-faced bastard.”

-KUUUNG⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯!!!!!!

-CRAAAAAACK!!!

Instead of demanding a straight answer, I struck the door once more.