Chapter 7 – Floor 2. The Sad Ghost’s Request

“This onahole seems unexpectedly difficult to use effectively…”

In battles that began with me being ambushed, like just now, using the onahole to summon a creature was quite disadvantageous.

Of course, I could create distance and buy time to use the item, but turning my back on these monsters in reality was an extremely nerve-wracking act.

Even for additional content from the DunGal Pack, it seemed they hadn’t mindlessly included overpowered features.

‘Still, it is useful.’

In many ways.

“Ugh… what kind of spider is this heavy? This unrealistic game completely ignores the theory that when insects grow too large, their joints would break and they wouldn’t be able to move…”

While complaining about my aching chest from being hit by the Ghost Spider’s charge, I walked into the secret room.

An intricately carved angel statue, unlike the simply stacked corridor, emitted a musty smell as if it had been closed for a long time.

Eight sarcophagi placed near the walls on both sides.

And finally, beneath the angel statue that gazed down at me from the front, there was a sarcophagus twice as large as the other eight.

On top of that sarcophagus lay a pure white flower, as if it had just been placed there.

“Oh, this is a side quest room.”

D.D. has quite a lot of NPCs.

Of course, not to the level of a genuine RPG, but comparatively many within the roguelike genre.

In this genre, sometimes there aren’t even neutral NPCs except for shopkeepers.

Anyway, except for a few encountered while descending floors, NPCs would give players sub-quests in the form of requests.

As rewards, you could obtain text hinting at the story and artifacts that helped with exploration, making them important elements that made the particular section more comfortable if you could find and complete them.

Occasionally, among the secret rooms, there were cases where NPCs giving sub-quests existed, and these were called side quest rooms.

“Nine coffins… it’s the Sad Ghost.”

The object placement in these side quest rooms was almost always identical, whether intentional or not.

That’s why I could infer the NPC’s identity without even meeting them.

‘This room is a tomb dedicated to the 10-person expedition team that sacrificed themselves to block the entrance to the dungeon where demons pour out.’

As far as I knew, there was no threat in this room if I was careful.

Based on this knowledge, I walked unhesitatingly toward the largest sarcophagus beneath the angel statue.

Though opening the other sarcophagi could yield useful grave goods, doing so would make the Sad Ghost hostile, so it was to be avoided.

Wooooo—

As I approached the sarcophagus, a sound like a low vibrating brass instrument began to be heard, and the upper part of the sarcophagus under the angel’s gaze began to glow with a pale light.

Before long, a human-shaped form revealed itself.

A white garment that hung like a curtain, a translucent blue body, an unidentifiable liquid dripping down to the sarcophagus, and a face drenched in sadness with tears flowing.

The Sad Ghost, which during the game era was just a white-blue dot resembling an egg-shaped ghost, now:

“Please grant my corrupted friend eternal rest.”

Had big tits.

“Oh.”

***

The Sad Ghost’s identity was the leader of a 10-person expedition team that once rose up to block the dungeon.

But there are only nine sarcophagi in this room.

The reason could be found in the sub-quest text.

“We stepped into this demon’s mouth, risking death to stop the barbaric group of heretics who indiscriminately harm the innocent. The demon’s mouth we first confirmed was truly a place worthy of its name. Countless demons, painful deaths. But with the great Parent watching over us, we feared nothing.”

The Sad Ghost began speaking the text I already knew.

‘But what would happen if I made her into an onahole?’

The description of Onahole Creation specified its range as “target” rather than “enemy.”

So there was a high probability it would work on the Sad Ghost before me, but the problem was what would happen to the sub-quest.

Would it be rejected, or would it fail?

If I were sitting at a computer, this would be a delightfully intriguing dilemma, but now it was just a delusive worry.

“But beyond those numerous cruel demons, there was something even more fearsome.”

What the Sad Ghost was referring to was a topic of debate in the DunGal community—some believed it meant the final boss on Floor 30, while others thought it was just a MacGuffin, as usual.

My opinion was the latter.

Because if you’d grown enough to descend to Floor 30, that eye monster would be too pathetic.

The canonical theory was that the guardian protecting Floor 29 was the true final boss.

“My friend went mad after witnessing that terrifying end. Please stop my friend, who has become a specter wandering this cursed magic dungeon, harming the innocent.”

[The Sad Ghost has asked you to stop the Specter.]

[Y/N]

“Hmm.”

What the Sad Ghost referred to as her friend was a named enemy called the Specter.

There’s a gimmick in the sewer section where if you stay on one floor for more than 500 turns, a log appears saying “The Specter of the Past has found you,” and it begins to chase you.

With only 1 health but an obscenely high evasion rate and attack power that could kill low-level players with just a touch, it was an element to prevent camping in one place, but it was also an entity you had to encounter to clear the Sad Ghost’s sub-quest.

‘The reward for completing it was that the Sad Ghost would become another merchant.’

Originally, every third floor would have a Suspicious Merchant opening a stall where you could spend GOLD, but if you fulfilled the Sad Ghost’s request, you could buy items from her on every floor, albeit with a smaller selection.

Considering the true identity of the Suspicious Merchant, it was a semi-essential reward for seeing the true ending.

“Alright. For those big, luscious melons, I’ll stop your friend’s atrocities.”

Admiring her beautiful, voluptuous breasts that seemed almost visible if I concentrated—despite being dead—I felt I could forgive even a Specter Grandmother if she came.

[You have accepted the Sad Ghost’s request.]

“Melons…? I’m not sure what that means, but if you stop those atrocities, I’ll follow you and sell items that might help the hero.”

‘Fuck. She understands?’

I felt cold sweat trickling down my back.

It seemed that as reality had set in, NPCs didn’t just accept/reject, but actually understood and processed what I was saying.

Fortunate that the Sad Ghost didn’t know what “melons” meant—if I had asked if I could stick it in her, I would have been totally screwed.

[The Specter of the Past has found you.]

“Ah! This viscous despair… my friend is coming here now, hero!”

“I know.”

The Specter appears as soon as you accept the Sad Ghost’s quest.

That’s why, if you’re not a magician or don’t have a magic scroll, there’s a high chance you’ll die right after the quest starts.

“All of that is futile—!”

RRRRRRRRIP—

A high-pitched voice like a tearing scream resonated throughout the room as black mist appeared, passing through the wall.

Gradually, the mist gathered to form a single figure.

『Specter of the Past』Level: 10☆
Health: 1/1 ■■■■■■■■■■
【A destructive entity created by binding a dead soul with deep negative emotions toward the living. Its spiritual substance makes it very difficult to grasp.】

[You have learned about the Specter of the Past.]

The spiritual substance that constituted the Specter—ectoplasm—dripped to the floor and evaporated, creating black vapor.

“Oh, you were female too? I wish these sprites were more intelligible. I didn’t even know the Criminals were male.”

“Even a hero with the most noble spirit could not maintain sanity for a moment when seeing that figure, yet how can you not give up—!”

RUMBLE—

At that scream-mixed cry, the lids of the eight heavy coffins, excluding the Sad Ghost’s sarcophagus, vibrated and opened.

Clatter—

『Resurrected Expedition』Level: 7
Health: 40/40 ■■■■■■■■■■
【Remnants of the past that could not find eternal rest even in death. It means their struggle held no meaning at all.】

[You have learned about the Resurrected Expedition.]

Definitively, the Sad Ghost quest that appears on Floor 2 consists of three phases.

You must defeat the Specter, who appears with the Resurrected Expedition, on Floors 2, 3, and 4.

Dealing with the Specter isn’t that difficult, but there are many minions, and if you make a mistake and get surrounded, you’ll be beaten up and ejected back to the starting village.

‘But if I turn the Specter into an onahole, couldn’t I skip all of this?’

The Specter that appears after 500 turns doesn’t show a defeat log when defeated, it just disappears temporarily and reappears.

And the Specter that appears with the Resurrected Expedition just retreats temporarily with a log saying “the Specter has retreated for now,” only to appear again on the next floor.

But if Onahole Creation doesn’t destroy the target but turns it into an item that you can carry around, doesn’t that mean you could skip everything since there would be no Specter to appear?

Plus, despite there being no wind, the flowing robe clearly showed the Specter’s curves.

Not as impressive as the Sad Ghost, but she had considerable breast volume and hips that looked like they would wrap around deliciously if slapped.

“That should be possible.”

Onahole Creation is magic. If it’s not physical, it should be effective on spiritual beings.

The evidence was sufficient. All that remained was to act.

The time it took to make this judgment was just over 2 seconds.

Before the Resurrected Expedition could even rise from their sarcophagi, I kicked off the ground and charged toward the Specter.

“I’ll make you birth as many as you’ve killed, ghost sow! ONAHOLE CREATIOOOOOON!!!”

My outstretched hand and the instantaneous sensation of MP draining.

The feeling of touching ectoplasmic smoke that was both intangible yet definitely real.

[You used Onahole Creation on the Specter of the Past.]

[The Specter of the Past has full health.]

[The Specter of the Past has minimum health.]

[The Specter of the Past became an onahole.]

[You have defeated the Specter of the Past.]

KYAAAAAAAAAAAA───

[You have obtained Wraith Onahole.]

“Sweet.”

Clatter clatter.

The expedition members, who had just begun to move as skeletons, lay back down in their sarcophagi.

It was truly a corpse-friendly measure.