"Okay, there is definitely a ghost in here," Chris whispered, quickly raising his fists towards the source of the creaking sound.
"Or a fat-ass rat."
"System, give me a flashbang," Julien whispered.
He wasn't going to take any chances anymore.
The item landed in his hands from the inventory, and he quickly pulled the [Flashbang] out.
"Wait, don't-" Chris started, trying to stop him.
But Julien had already pulled the pin and tossed it upstairs.
BANG.
A blinding white light filled the staircase, instantly followed by a high-pitched sonic sound that tore through the silence of the building.
"MY EYES!" Chris screamed, covering his face with his massive hands.
"GIVE A HEADS-UP NEXT TIME!"
"I did warn you!"
"You warned the ghost! Not me!"
From the top of the stairs, a sound echoed near the door.
It was not a scream like in horror movies, not even a groaning moan of the undead.
It was a fucking sneeze.
"Achoo!"
Julien froze in his tracks.
"Did the ghost just sneeze?"
"Ghosts don't have noses, you idiot," Chris reasoned, blinking tears from his stinging eyes.
"That's obviously a person."
They walked cautiously up the stairs.
The old wood creaked loudly under Chris's heavy weight.
Julien kept his good hand clutching a [Basic Health Potion], ready to throw it all if the need arose.
The second floor turned out to be a living space for the owner.
It was messy, with ancient books scattered everywhere, clothes piled over chairs, and several takeout boxes from "Big Grom's Meat" piled in the corner.
'Do ghosts order takeaways?' Julien wondered.
And in the middle of the room, sitting in a rocking chair, was an eerie figure.
She was covered in a thick, tattered blanket, her body shaking. Long, tangled black hair covered her face completely, looking exactly like the girl from The Ring.
'Yeah, Sadako or maybe Kayako.'
She was rocking back and forth in the chair, muttering unintelligibly to herself.
"That's one scary ghost," Chris mouthed to Julien.
"Do I punch it out?"
"No punching yet," Julien hissed, stopping him.
He stepped forward, clearing his throat.
"Ma'am? Are you the ghost haunting this place?"
The figure stopped rocking immediately.
Slowly, the head turned towards them. The hair parted slightly, revealing a single, bloodshot eye staring back.
"You..." she groaned.
Her voice sounded like a bone stuck in her throat, dry and hoarse.
"You broke my door."
"We... uh... we're fixing it," Julien lied smoothly. "We're contractors sent to see this place so the landlord sent us."
"Landlord?" The woman let out a cackle that quickly turned into a hacking cough.
"There is no landlord. He died six years ago, and I feasted on his body right here."
Chris took a sharp step back. "She ate him. Julien, she's a cannibal ghost."
"I did not eat him literally," the woman snapped, sitting up straighter.
She pulled the blanket down.
She wasn't a ghost, just a young woman, maybe in her early twenties, pale as death, wearing oversized pyjamas with cartoon cats printed on them.
Her face looked less like a monster and more like a college student during finals week who hadn't slept in days.
"I ate his soul," she clarified. "Metaphorically, with my nagging. He had a heart attack and passed away at a young age."
She stood up, revealing her height. She was small, even tiny, to say the least, but the shadow she cast on the wall seemed to be ten feet tall and possessed the horns of a demon.
[Streetwise Analysis]
[Target: Unknown.]
[Class: Necromancer (Rank: ???).]
[Current Status: Sleep Deprived.]
[Threat: High (If woken up).]
"Necromancer," Julien whispered.
"Chris, be nice to her."
"Who are you?" the woman demanded, pointing a finger at them. The tip of her finger glowed with a sickly red light.
"Why are you invading my sanctuary of darkness?"
"We're looking for a base to set up," Julien said honestly.
"The old lady down the street said this place was empty, so we came to look."
"It is empty," she hissed. "I am nobody. I am the emptiness."
'Not this depressing monologue again.'
"You're ordering from Grom's ribs," Chris said, pointing to the takeout box.
"The void likes BBQ?"
The woman paused and looked at the greasy box and then back at Chris.
"They have a combo offer," she muttered defensively.
"It comforts the dark abyss within."
She sighed, the red light fading from her finger as she took her place back in the chair.
"Fine, you found me. Are you Guild enforcement? Did I forget to pay the 'Not Raising the Dead' tax again?"
"We're not from the Guild," Julien said.
"We're... independent contractors. More like freelance hunters."
"Freelancers," she scoffed. "Just what I need, which is more living people trying to rip me off."
Her eyes narrowed on Chris's glowing beard.
"You," she said, pointing at Chris. "Your mana is leaking. It's disgusting, and you smell like eroded soil."
"Thanks?" Chris said, looking confused.
"And you," she pointed at Julien. "You smell... different."
She quickly moved towards them, shuffling across the floor.
"I am Alice," she announced. "I am the tenant of this cursed house, and I am currently behind on rent by six months."
Julien's merchant brain activated instantly.
"So you do have a landlord," Julien smiled.
"He's also a ghost," Alice admitted. "The real one. Not like me. He haunts the basement of this building. He's very strict about due dates."
"Wait," Chris put his hands up. "So there is a ghost? And you're a Necromancer? And you're squatting here?"
"Yes," Alice said. "And unless you have 5,000 credits to pay off the spirit of Old Man Sam in the basement, he's going to flood the building with ectoplasm in..." she checked a grandfather clock that was melting slightly.
"...ten minutes."
Julien looked at Chris. Chris looked at Julien.
"5,000 credits," Julien said.
"We have 8,700," Chris whispered.
Julien started thinking deeply about the shop's worth. It was dusty and creepy. But it had a Necromancer in pyjamas and a landlord ghost in the basement.
This was perfect.
"Alice," Julien said, stepping forward. "How would you like some roommates?"
Alice blinked. "Roommates? You want to live here? With the screaming? And the bone collection?"
"We can handle bones," Julien said, glancing at Chris. "My friend here breaks them for a living."
"I do," Chris nodded enthusiastically.
Alice looked them up and down.
A slow, creepy smile spread across her face, not unlike Maya's, but messier and slightly more unhinged.
"Roommates," she mused. "Do you... Buy food?"
"We know the guy who makes the ribs," Julien said.
Alice's eyes widened. "The Thunder-Boar ribs?"
"Unlimited supply."
Alice extended a pale, trembling hand.
"Welcome to the Eternal Rest," she whispered. "Don't open the closet in the hallway. That's where I keep the spare heads."
Julien shook her hand. It was ice cold.
[System Notification]
[Quest Complete: The First Investment.]
[Reward: Tier 2 Inventory Unlocked.]
[New Party Member: Alice (The Necromancer) - Status: Tenant/Leech.]
"So... When do we start our exorcism?" Chris asked, cracking his knuckles.