NOVEL NEXT chapter 13-power, try using your tongue
power, try using your tongue.
Episode 13
The problem is…
‘Why did I have to use up a lot of spiritual power right now…?’
Just as I decided to create a new skill, this happened. I had set aside emergency funds, but that was the absolute last resort.
‘What if I cause trouble deep in the slums?’
This free economic city… or was it a free trade city? Anyway, the city of Filenia is roughly twice the size of an average city. And it has a correspondingly large slum area.
Usually, slums are neighborhoods where many poor people gather to live, and Filenia is a place with advanced building technology capable of constructing two-story buildings.
Naturally, the slums are overflowing with numerous illegal structures and buildings that have been illegally modified.
In other words, the deeper you go, the more it turns into a maze.
“Philip, can we go deeper from here?”
We can, but it’s dangerous.
“Ordinary humans wouldn’t think we’d be a threat, would they?”
That’s true, but…
What I fear are the cults and monsters; ordinary humans aren’t that scary to me.
To be precise, I don’t fear ordinary humans in terms of ‘power.’ After all, isn’t it strange for a ghost, who can’t be physically harmed, to worry about being hit by an ordinary human?
The cults are scary because they are the ones who physically exorcise ghosts, and among the monsters, there are plenty stronger than me who can physically harm ghosts.
Am I the weakest in this world? It’s so sad. Sob, sob, sob.
But if we go deeper, there won’t be any quality souls either.
“Oh.”
I hadn’t thought of that.
The people who settle deep in the slums are likely to be those who are worn down by poverty. And the souls of such people are usually quite murky.
I’ve said it before: negative thoughts breed negative energy, which taints souls.
This body is a precious one that only handles high-quality spiritual power. Eating something so low-grade would give me a stomachache.
“Mmm… What a dilemma…”
To obtain a relatively clean soul, I shouldn’t go deep into the bustling areas, but doing so increases the risk of being caught by patrolling guards or priests.
Should I just stay quiet tonight?
As I was pondering this, trying to think things through…
– You…
“Ah?!”
I jumped at the sudden voice from behind me.
Quickly turning around, I saw the ghost of a man with one arm twisted behind him and his intestines spilling out from his abdomen, floating there.
Oh, come on! You scared me!
You… are not a living human.
“Well, you can’t say that so casually… You’re a ghost too, you know?”
But the ghost in front of me, who seemed to have activated the ‘Ghost Trait: Ignoring Others,’ slowly began to scan my body.
It felt like a man leering at a woman in a very uncomfortable way.
Hah! No matter how attractive I might be, that’s just unpleasant…
Young lady, that’s a bit…
“Philip, do you want to get demoted?”
No, treating even trash like a man is a bit much. Loyalty, loyalty.
While I was exchanging banter with my loyal servant, the ghost, now with a creepy look, licked his lips.
You… are a ghost like me.
“And so?”
And you have a body.
“What of it?”
Hand it over. A body like yours is too precious for a little brat like you to use.
“……”
The ghost suddenly started exuding a dangerous aura, creating a menacing atmosphere.
It was a cliché scenario, and a sigh escaped me.
“Ugh~ Are you going to cause trouble now? Right here, where the priests of the Sun Cult are all around?”
Hand over your body! Right now!
I tried to have a conversation, but as expected of a ghost consumed by greed, he wasn’t interested in talking.
In my 30 years of experience with numerous spirits, I found that none of them were willing to engage in meaningful dialogue. They just said what they wanted and then attacked. Most of them were focused on fulfilling their desires or taking over a living body.
Even though the body I’m currently using is just a doll, it’s a specially crafted one. It means I have a body that a ghost can possess without side effects.
Looking at the vengeful spirit rushing towards me, I quickly scanned my surroundings.
No one?
“Let’s finish this quickly.”
Hand it over!!!!
Since it had come to this, I needed to end it quickly before the priests showed up. If I delayed here, they would swarm in like cockroaches the moment they caught my scent.
I thrust the miniature mansion I was holding towards the man charging at me.
“Eat this.”
Swoosh!
In an instant, the mansion split open, and from the crack, a ‘little tongue made of red carpet’ shot out, wrapping around the vengeful spirit and pulling him into the mouth of the mansion, which was filled with porcelain and glass teeth.
– Gyaah!!
Crack!
It all happened in less than a second.
The front door of the miniature mansion, which had been gurgling as if chewing something, opened slightly, and a burp escaped.
“Not tasty at all.”
Since it was connected to the mansion, whatever the mansion felt, I felt too. That vengeful spirit wasn’t particularly tasty.
Of course, no vengeful spirit had ever been tasty.
“Sebastian, throw that one into the underground prison.”
understood, young lady.
Leaving behind Sebastian’s calm response, I hurriedly began to run along the roadside.
I used the Stealthy Ghost skill as much as possible and wrapped myself in the novice priest robe I was wearing to cover my entire body. Just as I was hiding behind a nearby parked cart, a paladin and a priest wielding swords and maces burst out of an alley.
“Is this the place?”
“This must be it… but it seems they’ve escaped!”
“Let’s find them immediately, Chief Priest Cecilia.”
“Understood, Crusader.”
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The paladin and priest, exuding divine power, moved away.
Holding my breath, I watched the two fanatics leave and thought to myself.
This world is terrifying.
Can I… get outside?
That ‘being’ opened its eyes.
“……”
The red moon is floating in the sky.
As it gazed at the nearly full red moon, that ‘being’ smiled.
Crack!
Squish!
With the sound of bones twisting, something in the ‘being’s’ hand burst open.
Licking the liquid dripping from its hand, the ‘being’ stood up.
Bathed in the red moonlight, the ‘being,’ covered in a glistening red liquid, slowly… very slowly began to walk.
***
What is fear?
Naturally, different people will have various answers.
However, in my case, I believe that ‘ignorance’ is the root of fear. What do I mean?
Let’s look at most horror movies. If you don’t like horror movies, horror games will suffice.
Most of them start in silence, with the source of fear not revealed, then gradually throw in clues, finally exposing the identity during the highlight to surprise the audience.
Does that not make sense?
If not, let’s make it simpler… just think of a surprise party.
Person A has a birthday. So their friends decide to throw a surprise party.
Unaware of anything, A enters their home, and suddenly the lights turn on, and friends jump out, shouting, “Happy Birthday!”
Naturally, A would be delighted. It’s a given that friends would prepare a surprise party for their birthday.
But… what about the moment before A realized it was a surprise party? When the lights turned on and friends jumped out shouting? Wouldn’t they be extremely startled?
So why was A surprised at that moment? Because they didn’t know that ‘friends had prepared a surprise party.’
Living beings fear the ‘unknown,’ which translates into fear. This is because the ‘unknown’ threatens survival, and living beings have evolved to instinctively fear what they do not know.
No matter how advanced human intelligence becomes, fundamentally, we are still animals that follow instincts.
Therefore, when I design attractions, I focus on this aspect.
The most important part is always to hide the key elements, and when something is revealed, something else must be hidden in equal measure. And the crucial thing is to ensure that the opponent knows that something is hidden.
Keeping all this in mind, with about 30 years of experience accumulated…
Young lady.
– Eek?!
I jumped at the voice of Miria from beside me.
Oh, come on… don’t scare me like that!
Turning my head, I saw Miria standing politely with both hands supporting a doll.