CHAPTER 33: FOR MONEY

Deklan decided that he would escape a few seconds ago.

But he changed his mind.

Money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy a life, as Deklan was salivating at the prospect of gaining 200 Spooky Dollars into his bank. It would be suicide to do that, but fortunately, Pumple was here to mitigate his risk.

"System, summon Pumple!"

[Summoning the Red Pumpkin Head...]

As soon as Deklan gave the command, a gathering of red energy appeared beside him.

Pumple manifested with a cheerful roar, announcing its presence.

Clang!

Deklan slammed the backside of the Albino Spear against the ground, creating a loud metallic clang that echoed across the entire area. Mana oozed out of his body like steam as his eyes fixated on the prize ahead, the Cursed Wraith Tree.

"Let’s go, Pumple! I promise to feed you more Ghosts if we win this!"

Wuii!

Swiftly, Deklan changed his grip on the spear’s handle and took a step forward.

Swoosh!

He threw the spear as hard as he could, aiming straight at the Cursed Wraith Tree.

Enhanced with the Breeze Affinity, the spear pierced deep into the tree trunk, and blood seeped out.

In that instant, all of the Gloomy Wraiths woke up and snapped their heads towards Deklan.

Deklan, with an excited smile at the prospect of gaining money—that would make his life easier, lifted Pumple and kicked him hard, sending him into the swarm of Gloomy Wraiths above. Anything that got in its way was knocked away hard.

From the moment he met Pumple, he realized that Pumple is incredibly hard.

Unlike normal pumpkins, his skin was as hard as a rock—perfect to be used like this.

Pumple knocked multiple Gloomy Wraiths away, and when he crashed into a tree, he rebounded with a renewed, explosive force, ricocheting toward the next target. He zipped through the area—like a living pinball, slamming into wrath after wraith before they could even react.

A few notifications appeared, confirming the kills of a few Gloomy Wraiths.

"Keep going, Pumple!"

Deklan put the Albino Spear that was stabbing the Cursed Wraith Tree away and summoned it back.

It was his time to make his move.

Swoosh!

Deklan used a dash that he learned to do, firing him forward to help with his starting momentum.

He ran straight with a spear in hand, eyes scanning the area above him.

Raahh!

Each time a Gloomy Wraith came too close for comfort, he paused—and swung his spear, killing them one by one with precision. His spear-wielding was still sluggish and weak, but against a mindless horde of wraiths, it doesn’t matter.

All of them moved in a frontal straight pattern whenever they wanted to attack.

It was easy to predict their moves.

Clang!

Deklan’s pupils dilated when one Gloomy Wraith stopped his spear mid-swing.

Huh? Did I not put enough strength into it?

Seeing the Gloomy Wraith biting the spear handle and hugging the rest with both arms, Deklan raised a brow as he was quite sure he put the exact same strength as all his previous strikes. For some reason, this one could catch it.

No... Something’s wrong!

Bam!

Blood seeped through his gritted teeth as a Gloomy Wraith managed to slip in an attack.

It landed squarely on his back, leaving behind bloody claw marks.

Deklan couldn’t recover in time as another raked in from in front.

He was barely able to raise his arm, but it didn’t matter as the strike spun his body to the side.

What in the world? They suddenly became stronger?

In that moment, Deklan’s eyes fixated on the Gloomy Wraith that had attacked him a second ago and found its body was sizzling with more aura than the others. His eyes then turned back to the tree, only to realize that it was empowering some of the Gloomy Wraiths.

"You damn sly tree! A tree should stay still and let itself be cut!"

Deklan whipped his spear around in a fierce manner.

He drove the Gloomy Wraiths away and forced open a space between them to breathe.

Once he managed that, he created a small explosion of air underneath his feet as he leaped, allowing him to leap as high as 9 feet into the air. He positioned his grip on the spear better again and threw it at the Cursed Wraith Tree for the second time.

It was bullseye.

And unlike earlier, the bleeding was followed by a violent burst of wind.

All the Gloomy Wraiths empowered by the tree lost their strength—in an instant, their shadowy forms flung backward and crashed to the ground. Deklan smirked at the sudden gust that brushed against his skin; it was the Cursed Wraith Tree’s anguished cry.

Many Gloomy Wraiths screeched and charged at him.

But from the side, Pumple came crashing down, throwing them away.

"Good work, Pumple. Couldn’t do it withoutcha."

Deklan landed on the ground softly, and Pumple too, landing right beside him.

Both of them scanned the battlefield and realized they’d thinned the swarm considerably—nearly half of the Gloomy Wraiths were vanquished, while the rest regrouped—and some scattered into the woods, fearing banishment.

Hmm... I thought they were attached to the tree. Why are they running? I should take them out first.

Each Gloomy Wraith yields 2 Spooky Dollars.

Deklan wouldn’t want them to run away lest he would be suffering a big loss.

However, it seemed there was no need for him to worry about that.

Raahh!

"Oh... Seems like the difference in one star of rarity is a lot."

Deklan watched intently as the remaining Gloomy Wraiths began to drift together, their bodies pulled by an unseen force. One by one, they collided—fusing into each other like melted energy. What started as a slow, sluggish convergence quickly became a frenzy.

Even the air grew heavier with the sound of crackling mana and distorted wails.

Each translucent form writhed and folded upon itself as it merged into something immense.

Massive and, in Deklan’s opinion, disgusting.

It was a horrific scene, but Deklan didn’t flinch as he uncorked another Minor Mana Potion and took a quick gulp to recover his mana. The sweet liquid burned down his throat, but his eyes stayed fixed on the sight before him.

Some of the Gloomy Wraiths tried to resist the pull, flailing and fleeing into the woods.

But the mass drew them back in, dragging them screaming across the dirt.

One could tell that the relentless process was painful for these wraiths, like a magnetic storm.

Pumple faltered at the sight, his eyes widened—as the aura of the growing creature thickened, pressing hard against the trees and everything around. Deklan, however, simply rolled his sleeves, tossing the empty vial aside.

He has never seen this before, but he’s not surprised.

And then, with one final echoing smirk, the fusion of these Gloomy Wraiths solidified.

It stood tall and ghastly.

What had once been dozens of lesser wraiths now loomed as one monstrous silhouette, a towering being at least fifteen feet high—the Wraith Titan had taken shape.

...

[Wraith Titan]

Rank: 5-star Iron

Potential: E

Rarity: ★★

...

Pumple turned to look at Deklan, waiting for his order.

But he was surprised to see Deklan already using his Ghost Conqueror skill to manifest a weapon that he had never seen before. In fact, this weapon looked like a miniature cannon, but it rested on the shoulder and was held by two hands.

A rocket launcher.

"You know what they say," Deklan smirked as he took a knee and aimed. "The bigger they are, the harder they fall."

Swoosh!

Deklan pulled the trigger, and the rocket flew straight towards the Wraith Titan.

For a second, the area turned silent as all eyes were fixed on the rocket.

And upon touching the Wraith Titan, it exploded.

Boom!!

Pumple was stunned at a massive mana explosion that knocked the Wraith Titan down, burning its skin as it squealed in pain. Even though it has gotten two minor rank stronger, becoming a threat right under the bronze rank, it still couldn’t sustain the explosion.

[Wraith Titan killed: 52 Spooky Dollars obtained!]

"Fifty bucks? Nice," Deklan put away the rocket launcher and panted heavily. "It’s worth it."

His face lost its color, and his mind began to painfully throb.

[Host, you’re suffering from Mana Deprivation.]

"Euugh..." Deklan rubbed his forehead. "No worries, I can buy more Minor Mana Potions."

[No, you can’t. Since you reached a state of Mana Deprivation, you can’t recover using potions.]

"Huh? I didn’t know that," Deklan clicked his tongue in displeasure and sat down to catch his breath. "Give me a heads-up next time—or it’s going to be bad for me. We’re in this together, are we not? Help a little."

[Haha... No.]

"Bitch."

He could now afford to sit down, now that the Gloomy Wraiths were eradicated.

Beside him, Pumple was staring at him absent-mindedly.

It was creepy and annoying to look at.

"At least pretend that you’re concerned about me, damn pumpkin," Deklan glared at Pumple, but then remembered that Pumple couldn’t. "Oh, right... You were stripped of your personality in this state, huh? Fine, you can go back."

Deklan waved his hand, sending Pumple away.

Once he caught his breath enough, he turned to look at the bleeding Cursed Wraith Tree.

Even though it looked the same as the other trees, it was sizzling with a subtle aura that made it look magical. Deklan only needed to cut it down, or even stab it a couple of times to kill it, and gained all the rewards.

But before that, he wanted to do something.

Deklan opened the Shop and smiled at the sight of one item.

[Purchasing a Handphone will cost 25 Spooky Dollars. Do you want to continue?]

"Yes!"

Since he’d be meeting cooler and cooler cursed things in the future, or even Ghosts, Deklan has been planning to buy a handphone. He was planning to buy a camera, but he thought— Why not buy a handphone?

Granted, it doesn’t have internet or apps, but it’s easy to hold.

He wanted to wait until he purchased a TV and an AC, but he couldn’t miss this chance.

Just as he was about to take out the handphone, a cold wind brushed against his nape.

Deklan snapped his head to look behind him, only to be greeted by a Gloomy Wraith that came out of the ground.

"Shit, I’m going to get hit!"

He tried to react, but it was too close.

Even its claws were already a few inches away from raking his face.

Swish!

At the last second, Deklan’s eyes widened when he saw something strike the Gloomy Wraith from the side. It impaled the wraith as it struggled to break free. He blinked and realized that it was a pitchfork, a rusty pitchfork.

Deklan turned to the person who wields it and smiled acutely.

"M-Marsha...?" He muttered.

It was good that Marsha was here to save him, but her face... she looked angry.