CHAPTER 32: CURSED TREE

It was early in the morning.

Even though the sun was already shining in the sky, the inside of the forest was barely lit up.

Shrouded in tall trees with roots that reached to the other trees near them, the canopy was incredibly dense, allowing barely any light to seep through. It was no wonder that Ghosts populated the forest with this perfect atmosphere for them.

Deklan stabbed the ground with his spear, creating a hole as big as an oversized mole.

He wiped the sweat on his forehead and looked at the dimly lit forest exasperatedly.

"Fuck," He cursed under his breath. "I made a mistake by coming here."

For about ten minutes straight, Deklan had been venturing deeper into the forest in search of Ghosts he could hunt down. He thought finding a group of them would be easy, but he was mistaken, as he did not see a single Ghost.

Not to mention, he also came to realize something—he might get lost.

He didn’t have a map, the trees were the same everywhere he looked, and the place was dimly lit.

It would be extremely easy for him to get lost.

Because of that, he had been marking where he came from so that whenever he wanted to go back, he would know the way. But even so, the Ghosts in this forest might be intelligent enough to erase all the marks he left behind.

Deklan was sure that everyone who ventured into the forest would mark their paths.

And Ghosts with intelligence would easily pick that behavior up and use it against humans.

"Even the Pale Night Lady has some shred of intelligence," Deklan clicked his tongue, looking over his shoulder to check whether there was anyone following him. "It’s morning too... Both my physique and senses are weaker."

Deklan glanced at the tree beside him and slashed his spear, marking it with a big gash.

He placed the mark near the overgrowth at the bottom of the tree so that Ghosts wouldn’t find it easily.

"I’ll go deeper," Deklan spat to the side and continued to venture deeper. "I’m not going to be the person who stopped right before diamonds. The forest is known to be full of Ghosts—for a reason. I’m sure as long as I persist, I’ll stumble into one."

Oblivious to Deklan, shadows moved at the forest’s canopy, seemingly following him.

Based on the Pale Night Lady, the strong Alpha Ghosts are located at the central part of the forest—one in the east, while the other is at the north. From the people of the hamlet he passed earlier, the hamlet was stationed at the southern outskirts.

As long as Deklan stayed on the outskirts and headed left, he should be relatively fine.

Another ten minutes passed.

Deklan still has no luck with finding Ghosts, as if the Ghosts were deliberately avoiding him.

He stopped and stabbed the spear beside him to fold his arms and contemplate.

"Exploring the forest would eventually lead me to Ghosts, but it would be too time-consuming. I might not even meet one today at this rate," Deklan thought aloud—deciding to think of a method that might help him. "In horror movies, the main character usually felt a chill on their nape—that would tell them where the Ghosts were. Let me try that."

Deklan closed his eyes and focused on his senses.

Going around aimlessly might not be the best idea, so he’d at least try this out first.

He could feel the wind clearer now, brushing against his skin.

The scent of nature.

And then the silent whispers of the forest.

Slowly, he opened his eyes again and looked in a direction, "There... Alright, let’s go."

Deklan picked up his pace, following his gut that the direction he was going towards was the right one, but he didn’t only gamble on that. "Other than feelings, Ghosts are usually attracted to symbolic items. Let’s keep an eye out for something oddly misplaced."

For about five minutes, Deklan kept an eye out for misplaced things and finally found something.

Not a Ghost, but a misplaced tree that was, for some reason, shorter than the rest.

And attached to its thickest branch was a swing, an ominous swing.

"Jackpot..." He muttered and hurriedly sneaked closer to the trees. "I bet there are Ghosts around."

Moments later.

Rah!

Bang!

"For fuck’s sake! I asked for a group of Ghosts, but not this many!" Deklan cursed aloud as he looked above him, where a swarm of wraiths could be seen—circling him. "I was thinking of meeting four or five, not fifty of them!"

A minute ago, Deklan was investigating the area and searching for the Ghosts.

Since he couldn’t find any, he furiously rode the swing, rocking it back and forth to offend the Ghosts that might reside within the tree. But he was startled when a rush of wraiths emerged from this odd, tiny tree, and immediately attacked him.

Each one was a half-bodied apparition, an astral skeleton whose upper body drifted in and out of reality.

Deklan had seen their kind in movies before, but seeing them first-hand was something else.

Not to mention the stench; it was not pleasant at all!

Bang!

[Gloomy Wraith killed: 2 Spooky Dollars obtained!]

Currently, Deklan put down the spear, which was an additional burden in this battle, and focused on his Ghost Conqueror skill. All of these Gloomy Wraiths were flying around and attacking randomly, so using the spear is not ideal.

Instead, he turned to the epitome of humanity’s advancement—Glock 19.

Rah!

Bang!

Deklan snapped his head around and shot at a Gloomy Wraith coming from behind.

It was bullseye—the mana-made bullet drilled through the Gloomy Wraith’s forehead and banished it.

...

[Gloomy Wraith]

Rank: 3-star Iron

Potential: E

Rarity: ★★

...

Compared to the Pale Draggles, these Gloomy Wraiths were a bit stronger, but Deklan doesn’t have any trouble taking them out. He had fought against a bronze rank Ghost, so these things are nothing to him, easily killed with a single bullet.

His Ghost Conqueror skill is stronger during the day thanks to his elevated intelligence stat.

So, one bullet is enough to kill one Gloomy Wraith—and his mana reserve was also enough.

Roughly, he has about twenty bullets before running out of mana.

And though his mana was more abundant than during the night, the number of these Gloomy Wraiths is a bit troubling. Not to mention, his physique was weaker, so it’s easier for him to gas out, and one successful hit might be a problem.

"Hmm?!"

Deklan fired at another Gloomy Wraith diving towards him, but another appeared behind.

He couldn’t react in time and got hacked by its claws.

"Heurghk!"

Surprised by the force behind the attack, Deklan was hurled to the side and slid across the ground until he slammed into a tree. He fell flat on the ground, but quickly sat up—shooting at the Gloomy Wraiths that were aiming to land the finishing blow.

All of them were looking at Deklan with murderous intent.

"Fucking hell, I only disturbed your little tree for a bit, and you guys wanted to kill me this much?!"

Bang!

"Once I’m done, I’ll cut it down and uproot it! I’ll take my axe and cut it down, you hear me?!"

Bang!

Bang!

Deklan gritted his teeth as he pointed the Glock 19 above.

Fortunately, his back was against the tree trunk, so he didn’t need to worry about being attacked from behind.

His gaze was fixed on the sight of a Gloomy Wraith latching onto the tree across from him.

Its body was shaking and sizzling with blue mana.

Even though the tree was far from him, at least about twenty feet, for some reason, he couldn’t take his eyes off that particular Gloomy Wraith. And he was right to do that, as in the next second, that thing shot towards him with increased speed.

Crack!

Deklan tilted his head on time as the claws struck past him, stabbing through the tree.

"I kept my eyes on you!"

In one swift motion, he summoned the Albino Spear from his inventory and stabbed it upward, piercing the Gloomy Wraiths through the chin. A shrill, astral screech tore from its hollow chest before its form unraveled into wisps of mana, vanishing without a trace.

It didn’t even leave behind a carcass.

Deklan took out a Minor Mana Potion from the inventory.

He drank it with one hand and pointed the Glock 19 at the Gloomy Wraiths with the other.

"Eughh..." Deklan threw the vial away and wiped his mouth of the wetness from the potion—and also blood, feeling recharged a bit. "I’ve killed at the very least a dozen of them, but these wraiths didn’t seem to be reduced at all. Most of them aren’t fully awake either, that’s why I could still survive."

Even though it’s hard to see them properly, Deklan finally realized a portion of them were asleep.

All of them were moving in a swirl, but almost half of them were still asleep.

Soon, they would probably wake up, and Deklan would be in trouble.

Bang!

"Shit, I should retreat," He gritted his teeth as he needed to prepare more. "I think I’m faster than them."

Deklan fired two more and stood up, changing weapons from the Glock 19 to the Albino Spear.

Since he wanted to pave the way out, the spear would be better.

Just as he stood up and turned to leave, a panel appeared in the distance, right beside the tiny tree.

...

[Cursed Wraith Tree]

Value Points: 66

Rewards: 200 Spooky Dollars and Special Gloomy Wraith.

...

"200?!" Deklan stopped dead in his tracks, eyes opened wide in shock.

Finding a cursed tree like this, he was wondering why the System didn’t give him a sudden quest, but it turns out the tree itself was a reward. System, what does that mean? How do I obtain the reward? Tell me!

[As someone who could tame Ghosts, the host can also identify cursed objects and capitalize on them.]

[Destroying the cursed objects would grant the host its associated rewards.]

"200 Spooky Dollars is a lot of damn money," Deklan’s eyes sparkled at the sight of the tree, gulping harshly at the prospect. "I can buy a TV—and an air conditioner with it, and perhaps even increase the Ward’s level to 10. I want it..."

Even though he badly wanted it, he didn’t know if he was up to the task.

He hadn’t tried approaching the tree again, but he could tell that if he did—he would be swarmed.

"Fuck, is there no other way?"

[Notice: Pumple has finished devouring the Pale Night Lady!]

[Pumple is requesting the host to exit Prison and be a Ghost Resident again.]

[Does the host give permission to exit?]

"Nah..." Deklan smirked when he realized another function he had just learned. "Keep him there."