Chapter 39: The Great Etherealization Commotion in the Red-Light District

“I’ll try it on and let you know.”

“Do that. And since it’s an item with unknown side effects. I hope you don’t use it in the labyrinth before figuring out what the side effect is.”

“Of course. There’s no way I’d use an unverified item in the labyrinth.”

While the rat transformation potion had information about changing preferences, this Ring of Etherealization had absolutely no information about its side effects, so I decided to try it outside the labyrinth first.

‘Where should I try it?’

Raphnel said that since the duration of the Ring of Etherealization varies depending on the mana possessed, my current limit would probably be about 1 to 2 minutes.

If my body is inside a wall or floor when the etherealization effect ends…

‘Instant death.’

Etherealization nullifies physical attacks and allows passing through walls and floors.

It’s the best item for escaping or avoiding traps.

But unless your body is harder than steel, even a small mistake can easily lead to fatal injuries.

So when using it, you always need to time when the effect will end.

If you miscalculate even by 1 second, you could get stuck in a wall or floor and die instantly.

‘It’s important to figure out the side effects, but to use this properly, I’ll need practice in the end.’

To use it in actual situations, I needed to get a bodily sense of when the etherealization effect would end.

So I absolutely had to experiment outside the labyrinth first.

“Should I try it here?”

I came to a suitable open space.

It’s an open area that vagrant children in the red-light district use as a playground.

It’s adequately spacious. And there are no structures.

Isn’t this the most suitable place to test the ring’s performance?

If I try experimenting in a room or building and stupidly get stuck in a wall or structure, I’ll die.

An open area or empty space seemed perfect for experimenting with etherealization.

Fortunately, maybe because it’s lunchtime, no one was around.

The timing is just right to experiment with etherealization.

‘Now that I’ve got my hands on such a rare item. I can’t resist.’

An item like the Ring of Etherealization is truly a rare treasure that you can’t get even if you want to.

Raphnel is a strange person for casually making such an amazing thing and tossing it to me to try out.

“Let’s see. Do I activate it like this?”

She told me to experiment with the ring’s performance once and let her know the results later.

If the performance is good, I’ll definitely have to slash the price and buy it as cheaply as possible.

This is how you use the hole-in-the-wall shop.

If I buy at full price, I’ll go bankrupt.

In the first place, what’s wrong with ripping off a rich old elf a little.

She’s going to live for a long time anyway.

No matter how much I struggle, I’ll probably die before living even 100 years.

I believe someone who will live for thousands of years won’t get mad over just a few gold coins.

“Well then.”

I infused mana into the ring and activated etherealization.

For a moment, I felt like my body was floating, and then all the clothes I was wearing came off.

-Wh-what’s this!

Don’t tell me, as my body became ethereal, all the clothes I was wearing passed through my body?

This is crazy!

The etherealization only made my body ethereal.

The clothes I was wearing were outside the effect’s target.

Isn’t this a side effect from the start?

No, having all your clothes come off is quite troublesome.

-Ugh. Why is my voice like this too.

Even my voice became strange.

It became extremely thin and seemed to tremble severely.

It’s like speaking with a vibrating massager against your vocal cords after inhaling a lot of helium gas.

My voice became like an annoying little kid.

-Ugh..

Moreover, in this state, I couldn’t touch anything.

In exchange for nullifying physical attacks, I couldn’t exert any physical influence either.

I can’t put anything into my inventory, and even if I take something out, it’s impossible to grab it.

My body is floating, and with all my clothes off, I can only move around.

‘This seems full of flaws. No, wait. I can’t pick up objects, but I can take them out… Ah!’

If I put my hand into an enemy’s head and take out an object while etherealized….

This is an instant kill move!

If I put my hand in an enemy’s head and take out a dagger from my inventory.. Wouldn’t their brain turn to mush?

‘But the drawbacks are too big.’

It’s not completely invisible, but semi-transparent, so enemies can perceive me.

Moreover, I’m strangely slow, so it seems difficult to approach quickly. Even the wind easily blows my body backward.

‘It’s good I experimented in an open space. To think even strong winds are a weakness. Not affected by physical attacks but affected by wind. Hmm. This part is a bit problematic too.’

For now, it seems I need to get used to the etherealized state to use it properly.

Maybe movement speed will increase a bit once I get used to it?

‘If only the clothes didn’t come off, it might be usable.’

The fact that I have to move around naked was a bit concerning.

It means I have to show my naked body to everyone around.

Moreover, I have to repeat the act of taking off and putting on clothes every time I activate etherealization.

It seems to lack convenience.

‘If used well, it could be an instant kill move, but. For now, it seems the drawbacks need to be compensated for.’

Anyway, it’s about time for the effect to end.

I should quickly put on my clothes and go back to Raphnel’s shop to tell her it needs some more work.

“Huh? What’s that?”

“Ah! Ahhh!!! Gh-ghost!”

“What! It really is a ghost!”

“Kyaaaaa!”

-Uwaaa…!!!

This is crazy.

The owners of the open space came back before the ring’s effect ended.

‘Damn vagrant kids!’

The kids started throwing rocks at me and causing a commotion.

I tried to explain that I’m not a ghost, but no one listens to me.

No, rather than not listening, it seems they can’t understand well because my voice in the ethereal state trembles too severely.

Moreover, the kids were terrified.

They were in a panic and didn’t try to talk with me.

“Disappear!”

“Don’t take our playground!”

“Kill it! Kill the ghost!”

“Brother! I’m scared!”

“Those under 7 years old, get back! It’s a monster! A monster crawled out of the underground tomb!”

Ah, those kids are seeing me as a monster.

Well, they are children of the labyrinth city after all.

It’s understandable they’d think an evil spirit escaped from the underground tomb.

Yes, that wasn’t the terrified reaction of modern people seeing a ghost, but fear felt towards a monster that crawled out of the labyrinth.

It was different from pure terror.

It was ingrained fear towards monsters.

“What’s going on?”

“Huh? That’s…!”

As the vagrant children of the red-light district started shouting that I was a ghost and began fighting, soon the women of the red-light district who were sleeping during the day in preparation for night work started peeking at the open space.

“Oh my, my, my! A b-big ghost!?”

“Kyaaa…! It’s big..”

“Hmm. Looks like a young man ghost.”

“Sisters, I’ll call the guards for now.”

The adults pulled the children back and called for guards.

I need to run away.

But I can’t run away.

‘The etherealization effect will end soon.’

The area is completely blocked off by the gathered people.

To escape, I’d need to pass through a wall or fence.

But what if the etherealization wears off then?

I’d be stuck in the wall and die instantly.

“What is that!”

“It really is a ghost!”

Shit.

The guards have come.

-It’s not a ghost!!! It’s because of the etherealization effect! Ack!

The etherealization wore off while I was explaining.

“Wait, it was a person!?”

“Who are you! What were you trying to do in the red-light district!”

“That’s not it! This is because of the side effect of this accessory! Ack!”

“Catch him! Illegal use of supernatural abilities and public indecency! And causing unrest in the labyrinth city! Arrest him!”

I was caught by the guards.

In an instant, I was pinned to the ground and handcuffs were put on both arms.

I could have resisted if I wanted to, but the moment I picked a fight with the guards here, it would become a challenge to the public authority of the labyrinth city.

It would only make the situation worse. A problem that could end with a fine might escalate to actual prison time.

Above all, I didn’t want to have a life-or-death battle with a gold badge adventurer, so I decided to just let myself be arrested quietly.

Clang!

“Ugh.. shit.”

I was thrown into an iron cell.

The stone floor is disgustingly cold.

“W-wait! I want to call a guarantor!”

“You want to call a guarantor? You criminal!”

“No, really. Look at this!”

When I took out an item from my spatial pocket and showed it, the guard’s eyes widened.

“I’m a spatial pocket owner. I was at the forefront of the labyrinth conquest team after the great change. You’ve heard the rumors, right?”

“I’ve heard, but..”

“There’s a misunderstanding here. I absolutely wasn’t naked in the children’s playground trying to do anything bad. I want to call a guarantor. Here, take this first.”

I handed 2 gold coins to the guard.

When unfair things happen, you can’t leave out bribes.

This is a medieval labyrinth city with no laws against improper solicitation.

Bribes can be considered the most important factor in escaping unfair situations.

“Hmm. You want to call the guild master as your guarantor? A spatial pocket owner, and 2 gold coins. For now, stay locked up there. I’ll relay the message to the guild.”

“Thank you.”

With this, I bought some time.

The guards of the labyrinth city have a strangely honest aspect.

Once they receive a bribe, they provide as much convenience as possible.

They can’t ignore me after I offered 2 gold coins.

Anyway, the stone floor is too cold.

I took out spare clothes from my inventory, put them on, and leaned against the wall.

To think I’d end up in a cell just for experimenting with the etherealization ring.

Moreover, this side effect is pretty shitty.

‘Damn it.’

The side effect of the etherealization ring.

It’s…

-Hey, can you hear us?

-Hehe. Looks like he can hear and see us?

-Hey. Kid. Can you see us? You can, right? You can see us, right? Hm?

-Look at this~ It’s a pussy! Hehehehehe!

-Oh my, what composure this little boy has.

-This brat is really trying hard to pretend he can’t see us, huh?

-How cute. Little Eastern boy. Look at the pussy. Come on. Hurry.

-A guy with just a big dick has a lot of pride, huh?

-Kehehehehehe. Look at how red his ears are. So cute.

What are these crazy evil spirits?

As soon as the etherealization wore off, these prostitute ghosts started appearing.

Three evil spirits.

One had bandages wrapped around her eyes, another had her hair hanging down to cover her eyes, and the last one had pitch-black eyeballs.

I couldn’t tell if they were wearing clothes or not.

They keep circling around me as if trying to seduce me, talking to me since earlier.

Could this be an effect of using etherealization in the red-light district?

It seems like crazy prostitute ghosts have latched onto me.

‘I absolutely can’t respond or show that I’ve noticed them.’

This was Raphnel’s warning.

A warning not to give attention to low-level spirits.

She said it becomes troublesome if low-level spirits latch on.

It was strange from the start that things I couldn’t see before suddenly became visible.

Could it be a result of the etherealization ring’s side effect combined with my spirit eye?

But of all things, to think lustful spirits would latch on.

If I make a wrong move, I might die from having my energy sucked dry while being passed around by these three.

-Tch. Sis. This kid is no fun. He’s not answering.

-Could it be someone told him about us?

-Did that bitch Raphnel tip him off? That rotten woman.

What?

They know Raphnel?

They might not just be low-level spirits.

What the hell is this? I don’t understand. It’s scary.

-Hey, kid. If you’re going to ignore us, it’s better to ignore us completely.

-Kehehehehehe. Cute little Eastern boy. You’re so scared!

-Hey, just answer once. Hm? I’ll show you my pussy. Hm?

-Sis. That won’t work. This guy is determined to ignore us.

-Kehe. I wonder how long he can keep ignoring us?

-Yeah. Keep ignoring us. We’ll torment you 7 times worse later when you slip up.

-Little Eastern boy. Look forward to tonight?

-Kehehehehehe!!!

Soon the three evil spirits disappeared.

Has the effect of the side effect ended?

“Shit.. I think I messed with the wrong thing.”

I’m anxious.

What would happen if I answered their calls?

They were all ghosts with big breasts, but still, I’m scared.

There are too many hidden elements in this labyrinth city, so I’m terrified I might die if I make one wrong move.

“Hey, porter. As you said, the guild master herself has come.”

“Ah..!”

As I was worrying about the three evil spirits that had just disappeared, the guild master herself came as my guarantor.

All the guards were extremely intimidated.

The Adventurers’ Guild in the labyrinth city has a meaning beyond just a simple association.

Especially Moira, the guild master, is a big shot among big shots that even the nobles in the labyrinth city don’t mess with carelessly.

“Guild Master..! I-I’m sorry. Because of me…”

“Sigh. Listen, Sion. What on earth were you doing? Why were you doing a nude show in the children’s playground?”

“W-well…”

Yuria was also standing behind Moira.

Yuria looking at me with a grin, as if teasing me.

“Come out of the cell first. We’ll talk later.”

Moira probably won’t let this incident slide.

She’s likely to assign me some kind of request.

It’s all fine.

It’s all fine, but I’m so embarrassed I want to die.