Chapter 3: Kapua’s Ghost

Sponsored by Ser4, TLC by Enlightened End.

Number of Necromancers players, turned ghost, protecting Kapua village increased.

“Looksssss, likeeeee, weeeee, didddd, allllll, theeeee, workkkkk.”

Otem spoke with a hint of discontent but he didn’t hate it so much because many players looked at them with envy and admiration.

Magicians respect high wisdom and intelligence.

It allowed abundant mana and magic spells that others couldn’t use!

In case of Necromancers, it was directly related to the number and types of Undeads that could be summoned.

Summoning dozens of Dullahans or Death Knights in rank and file seemed much better and awesome compared to an unorderly line of skeletons and zombies.

Number of ghosts that swung skeleton sceptor along with companion golems increased in Kapua village.

Weed promoted again, becoming Untangible Slayer.

An expectation that it will be filled with full of Undead weapons and equipment!

But Weed couldn’t leave the village this easily.

Less than five players chose to become ghost knight so he stood out.

Not only did he battle atop his phantom horse, his mettle and charisma made monsters s.h.i.+ver in fear.

It wasn’t that much when he was a human but now that he was a ghost that spread terror, weak monsters couldn’t even fight back.

The scene of monsters trembling in fear of death when Weed was simply staring at them on top his phantom horse!

Other Necromancers couldn’t help but get curious.

-HUEEEEEEEE

-EEEEEEEEEEEK!

Therefore Weed went to the castle by mixing in with monsters when the battle was about to be finished.

THUMP THUMP THUMP!

Monsters hammered on the castle gate with steel hammers.

Skeleton soldiers in the castle killed the monsters by shooting arrows and pouring boiling oil on them.

The battle wasn’t easy even with the increased number of players and summoned Undeads.

As more supplies head to the castle, more monsters were attracted to it.

‘Oh you lovely experience and items.’

Monsters that managed to reach the castle were fairly high in level.

Green creatures with their heads bulging out like crocodiles, they were either Furgol’s mid-commander or a.s.sault captains.

Every time Weed swung his sword on his horse, these Furgols fell spraying green body fluids

“Iiiiii, Loveeeeee, youuuuuu, ex.x.xx.x.xxx, periiiiiii, enceeeeeeee.”

Weed made a confession and killed them without any hesitation!

As a Warrior and not a Necromancer, his stamina didn’t drop at all.

On his horse, Weed rushed forward with 15 chain strikes.

It was extremely hard to hit with a continous pin point accuracy when riding on top of the phantom horse running full speed and pa.s.sing by the monsters.

It required terrifying focus, momentary judgment, wide vision, and control of breaths.

‘Items, items, items, items, items.’

Weed slashed continuously in a rhythm.

15 chain strike cannot be stopped in the middle. Therefore you need to handle your horse precisely.

His phantom horse wasn’t a legendary horse but it gave absolute obedience to him as a high-rank ghosts and also enjoyed the slaughter.

So it followed Weed’s lead.

Because he was slas.h.i.+ng monsters at while moving at a high speed, most of attacks lead to critical strike with additional increase in attack points.

Spear on the other hand could release a super strong destructive power with a penetrating force but it was not useful for a continuous attacks.

The sword slashed the monsters around in arcs was a truly beautiful sight to behold.

Increasing the mana consumption and energy he slayed any monsters near him, riding in synchronization with his horse.

“Runnnnnn!”

Weed and his horse, united as one, ran towards the steel gate.

He could get fatal damage due to the cras.h.!.+

But Weed and his phantom horse turned into mists and pa.s.sed through the steel gate.

It looked like they were in a defensive formation just in case the gate was penetrated.

Weed pulled the bridle with full force gradually slowing down the phantom horse to a stop.

NEIGH

After riding hard the horse breathed heavily, snorting and clopping the ground with his hooves. The skeleton ghost soldier approached and spoke, raising his broken rusty sword.

“Welllll, comeeeee, toooooo, Kaaaaaa, puuuuu, ahhhh, caaaaaa, stleeeeee.”

__________________________________________________________________

Taking a look around Kapua Castle, Weed was able to see all kinds of ghosts.

From ghosts of n.o.ble and dukes to ghosts knights, soldiers, archers, and villagers.

Even a ghost of a maid was moping a hall.

“Ittttt, keepssss, getttt, ingggg, dirttttt, eeeeee. Mayyyyy, beeeee, Iiiiiii, donttttttt, haveeeeee, tooooo, moppppp, ittttt?”

It was annoying to listen to them but Weed strive to converse with the maids and the villagers.

Soldiers kept complaining about monsters invading and the duke was getting all warmed up for battles at the king’s command.

In this context, the king was Balkan Demoph, the King of Undeads.

‘I thought they were all screwed but having ghosts defending the castle, the Undead Army is pretty an amazing force.’

Weed felt sorry for a bit as with several quests he may have been able to take all of this if he came here as Lich s.h.i.+re.

It wasn’t an easy decision to give up a quest that was a.s.signed to only one person, Weed.

But the possibility of s.h.i.+re’s quest being tilted to the evil side was most likely.

Even though he was fighting for the Undead Army he could still stop and quit any time.

The body of Undead could be fixed by benediction at the Freya order.

Regardless, hunting grounds here, flood with monsters, were excellent and Undeads were constantly enhanced due to Balkan’s Death Aura.

For Weed, he was able to wield much stronger power and that was reason he was still continuing with this quests and hunts.

‘It’s definitely not because of the money I have to pay to the Freya order.’

Weed went up the tower.

Seemed like monsters were invading as there was an ongoing battle.

If monsters got through the village, their next objectives would become this castle.

If the castle collapsed completely, the chain quest would failed, and who knows what would happen next?

‘Anyways, I should get back to the village after a quick look.’

There were more opportunities of fighting monsters in the village than inside Kapua castle.

You couldn’t let your guard down just because more players were showing up.

As battle supplies were piling up in the castle, more and more monsters swarmed toward the village.

_________________________________________________

In the village, players hunting the monsters were having a conversation in their party chat room.

Bohram : I haven’t seen the ghost skeleton guy since a while ago.

Harien : He chased the monsters going towards the castle but I guess he hasn’t come back.

Varenna : I don’t know what that guy is thinking not choosing a cla.s.s with Undead summoning skills when he is a Necromancers. But he seemed pretty strong.

Bohram : Still, that’s a wrong decision. It looked like he hasn’t been able to hunt that many monsters.

To be honest, these players didn’t really have a chance to spectate Weed’s hunt.

First of all, they had to make sure that their summoned Undeads don’t act as they please and obstacles blocked their view of Weed.

Also there were many ghosts in the village so they couldn’t keep their eyes specifically on Weed.

If there was a cleric who is supposed to grasps the party members or battle situations, they would have noticed Weed’s sneaky movements but Necromancers just had too many things to do.

Harien : By the way, Jeanne is truly amazing. She is performing more than two of us combined.

Bohram : I just saw her summoning seven additional Death Knights, meaning that her Necromancers skill has reached intermediate level 4.

Gruzed : the golem-related skill level looked high as well.

Since these Necromancers had same occupations, they were more a compet.i.tors rather than co-operators. So they were busy spectating the best Necromancer, Jeanne.

Bohram : Is it just me did the experiences increased a bit?

Harien : I had the same feeling. Even the items, they are more useful items drops now.

________________________________________________________________

Lee Hyun wanted to yell out in joy.

‘Finally it’s over.’

With the last exam taken care of, it was the start of the winter breaks.

The campus was covered with romantic white snow but he was just happy that he didn’t have to come back here until spring.

Other students were chatting in the hallway.

“How was it?”

“Introduction to virtual-society was way too hard. I totally messed it up.”

It was all irrelevant to Lee Hyun.

‘As long as I don’t fail.’

He was pretty optimistic about his grades.

Lee Hyun saw Seo Yoon sitting on a bench as he was trying to head home in a hurry.

Even in her winter outfit, her beautiful looks drew the male students toward her.

Incomparable lineage, outstanding looks, attractively tall and guaranteed future lying ahead.

Lee Hyun didn’t feel at ease hanging around with Seo Yoon.

“Some freshman named Lee Hyun in faculty of Virtual Reality is having a meal with her?”

“He is a freshman but I heard he’s a little too old to be a freshman.”

“Why in the world is she hanging out with guy like him?”

There were so many rumors floating around the campus.

Even the seniors in the faculty of Virtual Reality looked at Lee Hyun with discomfort.

But Lee Hyun wasn’t someone who gave in to these kinds of views about him.

He just hoped this dream of her wouldn’t last so long.

‘She doesn’t deserve a guy like me.’

Someday, an awesome guy that would be perfect for her will appear.

All he had to do was making sure she talks and protect her until she did not fear human interaction anymore.

Seo Yoon spotted Lee Hyun and stood up.

She walked toward him with rosy cheek perhaps caused by cold weather.

“Were you waiting for me?”

Seo Yoon nodded at his question and then spoke.

“Because of the winter trip.”

Her words were becoming more natural.

Lee Hyun didn’t mind it so much but to her he was the very person who grabbed her hand and pulled open her heart to the world.

Every time Seo Yoon spoke to him, she embraced the expectation and romance.

“Yeah, trip, huh.”

Lee Hyun clearly remembered what he said before.

Seo Yoon said she want to go on a trip with him.

It was a simple trip heading to seash.o.r.e but he told her it would cost a million Won, which was complete nonsensical excuse to avoid the trip.

“Well, promises exist to be kept.”

Seo Yoon nodded in agreement.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“I wanted to take a trip anyway. Plus I’m on a break now with plenty of time.”

She smiled in a happy, yet awkward way.

Of course Lee Hyun was planning to devote all of his time in Royal Road.

The hunting speed in Kapua Village was super fast compared to any other hunting grounds.

With plenty of quests, it was the best place to raise experience.

Lee Hyun continued softly.

“A promise is a promise. I’m just as sad as you are but I guess I’m going have to give you a rain check.”

Lee Hyun was trying to delay this trip indefinitely.

Suddenly, Seo Yoon opened her bag and grabbed out money.

“I earned expenses for the trip.”

It was at least 6 million Won.

To think that she earned this much in just little bit more than one month!

“Did you sell your items?”

He didn’t think of it when he made his promises but if Seo Yoon sold her equipment in Royal Road, it would be a piece of cake to earn that much.

“I earned by selling packed lunches.”

Seo Yoon earned this money purely with labour.

On her hand where she was showing the money, he could see blisters.

And some scars from getting cut and burning herself while cooking.

A woman who never had a hard time got hurt and exhausted for money.

“Will you go with me?”

With mixed feelings Lee Hyun couldn’t possibly reject her.

____________________________________________________

Lee Hyun decided to go on the trip after 4 days.

Now that he was really going, there were so many things to pack.

“A frying pan, a pot, a burner… It would be nice to make Kimbap and boiled eggs in advance. And sikhye in a plastic bottle just in case we become thirsty.”

If he was on a trip alone, he could just bilk a restaurant. He didn’t want a way-too-luxury trip.

She earned the money in a hard way. He couldn’t possibly have the luxury of wasting it.

Sesame oil, kimchi, seaweed, fresh vegetables and a fis.h.i.+ng rod should be enough.

If he catches some fish on the spot, then meal was ready.

“I should prepare some more just in case I think of something.”

Even in a deserted island, it was more than enough to survive!

Leaving your house was suffering, it also costs money.

He couldn’t possibly understand why she would want to take a trip but to save as much as he can, 4 days later was just ok.

“Monday should be less expensive avoiding the weekend peak prices.”

After he arranged everything, he went into the capsule.

It was time for Royal Road.

_____________________________________________________

Weed spotted scibbles while wandering in Kapua castle.

.I saw something s.h.i.+ny.

.Why are there… so many things that humans enjoy, dumped?

.There is a path next to the bookshelf…

It was an enigmatic scibble about hidden treasures in the castle.

If you can solved the mystery then you could find the treasures!

‘I guess it’s worth coming here first.’

Before other players came, Weed scouted the castle.

Collecting information from maids and servants, finding treasures in chimneys, sewer, and stable.

These relics were as old as it can possibly get so you can call it antiques if you wanted to!

Treasures worth hundreds, thousands of gold gave great satisfaction to Weed.

‘Ghost’s body is just perfect for a scavenger hunt.’

As long as you knew the exact location, it was easy to find it since he could just go through any obstacles.

He found items in between bricks and behind a staircase using ghost’s specialty.

.The girl I saw at dawn, what did she lose that she cried so sadly?.

With this quote in mind, he met a female ghost child running down the hallway fast.

And by finding her lost doll, he got an enchanted necklace in return.

Items that benefits Necromancers were very rare.

That was why Necromancers often equip magician’s equipment but Weed just obtained an item that increase Undead summoning skill.

After sunrise, Weed turned into human and came back to Morata with Yurin’s help.

After making sure Kapua castle was safe, he used Picture Teleportation in a small room to move about.

But as he gained more Power of Undead, he stayed as Undead longer even after sunrise.

“Power of Undead increase a lot with the quests and battles.”

Weed didn’t consider Power of Undead to be a burden except when he was making sculpture it was a minor discomfort.

But in fact, it was truly dangerous stat that made the Necromancers special.

He learned exactly what the Power of Undead did in a conversation between Necromancer players.

“My Power of Undead increased again.”

“Already at maximum? At first I thought it was an awesome stat…”

“The dizziness made me fail Undead summoning spells.”

Not only does Power of Undead enhance Undeads, it strengthens the power of dark magic.

Dark magic was much stronger and complicated compared to normal magic.

That is why Warlocks are treated with more respect among magicians.

In case of Weed, it enhanced his strength and agility when he was hunting as Undead.

Superior stat that grows on its own with quests and battles!

Necromancers had Powe of Undead and Warlocks living in their own world had authority of darkness. That made them much stronger than normal magicians.

But both Power of Undead and Authority of Darkness causes serious curses and illness if it exceed one’s faith and willpower.

In worst scenario, one became wicked, raised up Undeads without being able to control their own spells and body and hurt those around them.

In case of Dark Mages, devils could steal their bodies!

When one reaches that point of ruin, not only did they loses substantial amount of mana, they suffer from all kinds of curses that were hard to cure.

That was why you need to raises stats such as health, strength, willpower for overall balance.

If you didn’t raise enough faith and willpower thinking it was a waste of points, it would seem fine at first but as time goes, side effects will be critical.

Necromancers and Warlocks become stronger quicker than normal occupations but they are moving back and forth on a dangerous border.

Weed felt it was a waste to invest stats into faith or willpower so he collected floral and gra.s.s leaves and built a sculpture.

Petals weren’t a fit material for a sculpture.

It was too tender and it withers fast. But if Nature Sculpting was used, materials’ freshness stays unchanged for a very long time and it challenge Weed with a new kind of work.

“Looking at just the materials, this sculpture is harder than any of my previous works.”

During night, he hunted and in the morning he sculpted.

The completed work created with such an effort was a real-sized chariot led by eight horses.

Even horses and horseman were decorated with pretty petals. It expressed a beauty that only existed in a fairytale.

Inside the chariot, he sculpted his little sister when she was a little lady.

The finished sculpture was truly romantic and beautiful.

It will be unforgettable birthday present when she rides this chariot in Morata.

Of course production cost of this sculpture made of petals and leaves was zero!

“Correct”

Weed’s sculpting skill level finally reached advanced level 8.

“That was really hard.”

With every skill level the requirement for the next level of proficiency increased exponentially, the master piece he created now only increased his proficiency by 3.7%. Even then there was still 2 level left until Sculpture Mastery.

“Once I sculpt Helium, I won’t be too far!”

If your reputation hits high by sculpting, you can easily receive sculpting quests from n.o.bles and kings.

By gettint these quest they gave best materials to work with and will be easy to increase his workmans.h.i.+p.

“Also, I will be able to increase with Disaster Sculpting or Elemental Creation.”

He will soon be mastering sculpting skill, hardest skill to increase among arts-related skills.

“I couldn’t have done it if I tried to get this far if it was all for arts.”

To make the pieces, he collected complicated materials through many adventures and quests.

He devoted a long time on sculpting his work, suffering for creativity.

It was all thanks to money that he got this far.

____________________________________________________

“Finally… our hard works will come into fruition.”

“This moment will be broadcasted on gaming media for at least one month.”

“Thousands, no millions will see this.”

Villagers and players of Morata stopped working and came out to streets, square and roofs.

They were holding hats and flower petals.

Players with wood and stone plates on their back came from outside the city.

With sweats pouring down, they moved step by step.

Last materials need for the Grand Cathedral and Library. Just a few steps away from the finish line.

“Cheer up.”

“Just a little bit more.”

Cheering each other, they head to the Square of Light and Bingryong Square.

Construction materials were stacked up and where villagers and players have been working together, there was the sight of the Grand Cathedral and the Great Library.

The Grand Cathedral was magnificent, with colorful beauty and the Great Library had solemnity and grandness.

These great architectures in huge scale had been built by the village’s own people and players.

They placed decorative trees on empty spots in the garden and placed refined block of stones.

At last, with last materials finding its own places, the Great library and Grand Cathedral have been completed.

The completion date has been deliberately managed to finish the buildings jointly to make it a commemorative day.

Not only Morata players have been waiting for this moment, but many tourists as well who came from northern and other area.

• DING!

“From now on let’s party all night!”

There was no need to mention the greater convenience thanks to the completion of Northern Cathedral and the Great Library.

A message popped up for players who partic.i.p.ated.

They were rewarded fairly for partic.i.p.ating in the construction of great buildings.

And a message popped up only visible to the lord.

It was impossible to build the Grand Cathedral and the Great Library as planned with the a.s.signed budget.

Weed a.s.signed a very wide area for it to be built on and suggested high quality materials. So it was impossible not to have gone over budget even with astronomical budget of 900,000 gold and 700,000 golds for the respective buildings.

“It would have been ok to take out some steel frames and unnoticeable pillars…”

Weed desperately wanted poor constructions.

However, Morata’s architects tried to build st.u.r.dy buildings that could last hundreds of years.

Because so many people were partic.i.p.ated, workers made frequent mistakes.

Rain leaking through the roofs was nothing.

Often, pillars would tilt and stone plates would collapse.

Every time this happened, construction cost increased and even if they did fund raising in the city, the projecct always lacked money.

Morata’s three months worth of taxes had to be put into the construction budget.

“It’s ok. It’s at least completed now.”

Weed looked at the buildings and let go of any lingering attachment.

It was a grand building built by a decent architect Parvo along with noob sculptors and painters and a lot of novice players’ efforts.

Because of the leakage in the roof, the artwork on the ceiling was partially blurry and engraved corner parts on the walls were shattered.

There would be hundreds of things to find fault with but the Great Library and Grand Cathedral looked awesome and majestic overall.

“Not bad. In fact, it will be a building with history and tradition after a long time.”

Weed grinned with delight.

It’s because these great buildings will bring a lot of money in.

His Power of Undead grew and his t.i.tle became much higher in the Undead Army.

Death Knight!

It was a high rank in combat ranks it would be similar to a commander.

“Hehe, I guess I’ll be getting more tax income.”

Weed, the Death Knight, cackled evilly in his castle while looking at the Grand Cathedral.

_______________________________________________________

“Let’s begin the recital.”

“Light the bonfire!”

A bonfire was lit in the square and bards performed on their instruments as celebration of completion of Grand Cathedral and the Great Library began.

As it got darker, the lights and music made the city Morata even more beautiful!

There were several festivals in Morata.

But players from Central Continent considered a festival in a city to be weird.

There isn’t a single place in the continent where villagers’ loyalty and moral toward the lords are so highly maintained.

In the Square of Light and Bingryong Square where the Grand Cathedral and the Great Library stood, people continuously gathered.

“Here comes the wild boar and deer.”

They roasted them on bonfire, seasoning them with salt, and shared it with the onlookers.

“Those who partic.i.p.ated in the transportation of wood, please come here.”

“Gra.s.s porridge! Gra.s.s porridge!

“We Gra.s.s porridge religion is leaving for a group hunt in two hours. No level or cla.s.s restrictions. Those who want to join, come to the east gate after two hours.”

While players were having fun, merchants were devastated.

“I should have bought it early…”

“If I built a building this side, it would have been a jack-pot.”

“This area will continuously increase in population.”

As more players and villagers increased in Morata, there is no doubt it will lead to greater commercial supremacy in the region.

It was nice for merchants but the only lingering attachment they had was on the lands near the cathedral and the library.

Priests and paladins would visit the Grand Cathedral often and people preparing for adventures and quests will visit the Great Library frequently.

It was obvious that people will come to the Great Library for information about quests, maps and monsters.

“They said these lands are already owned by someone. Who in the world has the owners.h.i.+p of these lands?”

“The land is just way too good…”

While merchants were dispirited, buildings popped up suddenly from the empty lands next to Grand Cathedral.

Rapid construction in Domestic Affairs Mode was something only the lord could perform!

The Original Northern Cathedral Priests Shop

Original Paladin Store

Cathedral Souvenir Shop

Also, buildings popped up next to the Great Library

Pre-adventurers Closest General Store

Dungeon Exploration Shop

The landowner was Weed who was waiting for the right moment for to strike.