Chapter 38 – Haunted

"Urgh… bloody disgusting. I hate potions"

"Your magic still won't be full so be remember to be careful Ikarus"

"Petra-sama is right"

(Nathan) "Yeah"

I've never really understood why Petra has taken it on herself to protect me as well, she has no responsibility to do so yet almost seems to be taking charge of operation protect Ikarus, I guess she is a hell of lot more intelligent than the rest of us. I'm not complaining about it though, I'd honestly rather it be her than the other two.

Once we're all ready, we all head into the next room, level thirty-four and find ourselves with the previous red button on a pedestal layout, only this time the floor looks to be made out of something similar to concrete.

"I can feel magic residue this time, it might be different now"

"Yes Petra-sama, I feel it also"

Like last time, me and the knight don't know what they're talking on about. I'm asking about it now though.

"What the hell are you two on about?"

(Petra) "Just making an observation Ikarus, it might mean that the enemy in question might be slightly different and magical in nature this time"

"It's the feel of magic Ikarus-sama, my Lord can also feel it"

I really have no idea what those two can feel but whatever it is, let's just get on with it.

"We ready?"

"Okay Ikarus-sama"

(Nathan) "Yeah"

"…"

We all get our weapons prepared for the upcoming wave of enemies from this level.

I walk up to the pedestal and press the button with my party just behind me. Once it's pressed, the shaking from the previous levels don't return but very quickly, something else happens.

The walls have started to glow with a gloopy substance and from that substance, ghostly humanoid figures start appearing out of the walls very slowly.

"The hell are they?"

(Charlotte) "Are they spectral beings? Me and the Lord have never encountered such a foe"

(Nathan) "Are they see-through?"

Us three have never seen an enemy like this so Petra quickly takes control of the situation, she seems to have experience with these creatures.

"These creatures are ghosts; physical attacks don't work on them so it's magic only. Priestess, your summoned sword should work since it's not considered a physical item. Knight, you are unfortunately useless here so stick behind one of us and Ikarus, be careful"

"Okay Petra-sama"

(Nathan) "Sure"

"Yeah yeah"

Magic only huh, it's a very good thing I took that potion then, I should have enough magic to last this fight, it's roughly around sixty percent full right now I believe.

Just before all the ghostly figures have entered through the walls, Petra needs to say something else quickly.

"Actually knight, stay by priestess's side. If she uses her light magic on your blade, it might confuse the physical only barrier and it could be able to cause damage, don't bet your life on it though"

(Nathan) "Okay Petra"

"Nat, I'll put magic on your sword now"

Just as they finish speaking and the priestess puts some magic on his sword, all the transparent figures start approaching us from all sides in the room.

(Ikarus) "These things are freaking terrifying!"

Both the knight and priestess go off to one side swinging their weapons towards the ghastly creatures while me and blind woman start working on the other side. Before I have the chance to use magic against them, I notice something my partner is doing.

I'm a little unsure why we've automatically started fighting together but that's not really a concern for right now.

"Petra, what's that magic?"

"Later Ikarus"

Using her free hand, a black looking flame starts coating some of the approaching enemies, it rapidly destroys any ghost it dares to touch.

Does she use darkness magic then? My father would probably be very interested in her. Not in a weird way obviously, just on the darkness side of things. Still, it looks like it's burning them though, I don't know if it's actually darkness or just a variation of fire.

Now than I'm done noticing what she's doing, I join her but only using fireballs instead of my preferred magic weapon of choice, this isn't a time for wasted magicka so I've got to preserve it.

'One… two… three'

I fire three low charged magicka fireballs towards the ghosts and every one of them makes contact with the enemies I aimed at; they also cause the deaths of them all. Well, not deaths but they disappear so you know what I mean.

Petra also casts more of her black flame coating the entire area ahead of us in pure fiery darkness. It stays for a little while and once it's burned out, all the ghostly creatures ahead of us are now destroyed, that attack was OP.

(Petra) "Our sides done, let's return"

Both of us quickly rush over to our other party members and find there's only a couple of ghosts remaining that both get taken care of swiftly by the priestess and the knight as we're approaching. Clearly, Petra's trick worked.

(Petra) "Looks like you two didn't need any help"

"I thank the Lord for his blessings"

"I'd rather just thank you Lotte, your magic allowed me to keep fighting there"

Now that everything has died down and this floor is complete, I can't help but ask about the display I just witnessed. Just like the first time I witnessed the priestess's orbital laser ability, that was also brilliant.

"Petra, your black fire, is that fire magic or darkness? It was freaking epic!"

She gives a little chuckle and smile to my curious self, I don't why she laughed though.

"Heh, it's fire magic, the black effect is from something else. Darkness doesn't have anything related to burning, at least from what I'm aware"

I guess that answers it, turns out, I'm not the only fire user in this party. I wonder why she prefers to use her sword though when she can use magic as well, maybe it suits her cultivation system more than magic?

Normally, I would moan about someone else being a kill steal, that situation wasn't something to moan at since my magic is limited and besides, that display she did was cool as well. Fire, even black fire is just as cool as my fire.

I still have more questions about what just happened though.

"I'm slightly confused about something else though. How can they attack us if they don't have a physical body and don't use magic? They didn't use any spells or anything that looked like it could harm us"

"I'm curious on that as well Petra-sama"

(Nathan) "Yeah?"

Now Petra has three people questioning her for information, she's more than happy to provide it though.

"Touch. When ghosts or wraiths lay hands upon you, it slowly begins to drain your life force, or in me and Ikarus's case, HP"

"Is that similar to my curse?"

"No, it's a little different. Unlike your curse, health lost by ghostly creatures' regenerates, had a close encounter with these types of things a while ago"

At least that clears it up I guess, it's slightly pointless information but it might help our upcoming fights against them.

"Well… what should we do now then? We obviously need to continue but should we take another break beforehand?"

That last battle kinda unnerved me a bit. Not the difficulty level mind you, everyone handled that really well. The problem is I really, really don't like ghosts. I can hide it pretty well especially when I'm able to burn them but the entire paranormal thing sends shivers down my spine. I need a second before continuing on.

Petra swiftly gives me a response to my questioning.

"This is now going to take a while to complete, these creatures are impossible to deal with without magicka. That means we're going to have to take this slow and keep refilling our magic every level, sorry Ikarus"

"Why are you apologizing to me?"

"I know you don't like to take things slow. Unfortunately, these creatures have no other counter"

"Yeah, this might be a little difficult for you Ikarus"

"We'll try and get you through it Ikarus-sama"

Damn it, she knows me to well, both my party members have to join in as well. I would call it bullying but in all honesty, they're completely right. I hate being patient.

"Fine… do you at least know anyway of increasing the recharge rate of our MP?"

The other two aren't going to understand MP but at the very least, they understand the whole magic recover thing since that works the same, a least for the priestess since she can use light magic.

(Petra) "Sorry, I don't"

Sighhhhh, at least this is a chance to start my personal growth and start learning how to deal with impatience, we're probably going to have wait hours for every completed room now, this dungeon is going to take ages.

The undead dungeon. It's now confirmed, these dungeons are purposely designed to be irritating, thank fuck I've got more than enough food for all of us to survive down here with as well.

At least the difficulty spike has now kicked in. If normal people were to come in here, these upcoming floors would end them. Whether it's from starvation or not being able to use magic, this place has now gotten difficult, just for different reasons than expected.

It's still better than the last two dungeons though.

__________

"*Huff, huff* damn"

(Nathan) "You okay Ikarus?"

"*Huff* I'm fine, I'm fine. Just give me a sec"

Two weeks, it's taken us two weeks to get to floor sixty-five, everyday has literally been, complete a level or two, take a break or sleep then carry on. Unlike the previous zombie and skeleton part of the dungeon, these enemies don't get quicker or more intelligent, they just add more and more to the fight, this dungeon has become a war of attrition now, not sure if I'm using that right though.

Around the fifty-level mark, some new type of ghostly creatures started appearing as well, banshees and phantoms. I came up with the name and based them of the old legends since Petra wasn't completely sure on the name, she just calls them ghosts as well but they do have a slight difference though.

They look very similar to the ghosts but have a much more sinister vibe to them and are absolutely terrifying to look at, I felt like I was having a panic attack the first time I laid eyes on one. Still, after fighting them for the last fifteen floors, I reckon I've gotten a lot better with any slight fear of the paranormal, it's a bit hard to be afraid of something that you've been destroying nonstop for days.

I did also take a slight bit of damage from one them as well, that was a really weird experience. Not painful mind you, the closest feeling thing I can compare it to is when that woman groped me in the bathhouse. Yeah, I know it's a stupid comparison but it's that type of uncomfortableness that comes with it, feel a little grossed out just thinking back on it.

It barely did any damage but then again, I did destroy it instantly after it tried to grope me. If it was to keep hold of me for a minute or so and there was multiple of them at once, that might deal a load of damage. That thought is scary though, let's go back to why I'm out of breath.

I'm huffing and puffing because of the last battle we just had, that last fight in particular took a lot out of me, haven't checked my stamina but it definitely feels low, stress also reduces it quickly so it makes sense.

(Petra) "Time to take a break again"

"Good idea, Ikarus-sama is still out of breath"

(Nathan) "Yeah, good choice"

While those lot sort out some stuff, I'm going for a quick nap. They'll wake me up when needed, I do have a tendency of sleeping like a rock once I'm out. I'll just sleep here; the floor looks comfortable enough.

__________

"Ikarus…"

"…"

"Time to wake…"

" Wha- *Achoo*… what… are you doing?"

I wake up lying flat down on the ground to see Petra crouching down smiling above me, she's holding an orange feather in her hand and must have been tickling it against my nose in order to wake me up.

"Where did you get that feather?"

"From you, it's been stuck to your boot since we came in"

So, she's not plucking feathers from me like a creepy stalker then. To be honest, I'd definitely feel it if she did so she's probably telling the truth.

"Couldn't you have just woken me like a normal person? Just kick me or something, why wake me in such a weird way?"

"Would you be preferred to be kicked next time?"

I just sit up and just ignore her, I'm not awake enough yet to put up with her teasing or whatever it is she does.

"Are you lot already to go?"

I notice both priestess and the knight both already have their weapons out, were they sparring while I was sleeping again?

"Kind of Ikarus-sama"

"We didn't want to wake you"

I must have been out for a while then; it wasn't time for us to sleep so I guess I might've been holding everyone up. I don't care though since trying to fight while tired is a really bad idea. Also, if my prediction is right, the next level might be another boss, it should be seeing that the next room is different.

We've already taken a look at the next room and it's similar but different to this one. The only differences are that the red button and pedestal are gone and it is slightly bigger, we reckon it'll be another sub-boss but we obviously have no idea what it could be yet.

"Give me a second then, need to get the sleep out of my eyes"

(Petra) "There's no rush Ikarus, those two were just having a sparring session"

Then, my sly nature thought of something funny that Petra is unaware of right now.

"A sparring session you say? Did Charlotte bind Nathan up again?"

As I say that, both their faces go embarrassed and I can't help but smile.

"Bind? I didn't realize they had such a relationship"

(Charlotte) "We don't! Honest!"

(Nathan) "Did you have to say that Ikarus?"

Both of them are getting really defensive about this, all I'm doing is giving a recap on previous events.

"It's not like I'm lying... You've already kissed and you've even bound each other as well, that's only from what I'm aware of"

(Petra) "They've kissed as well?"

(Charlotte) "We had too! The dungeon made us!"

(Nathan) "Must you Ikarus?"

I can't help but start giggling, it's not like I'm lying or even trying to tease them right now, I'm just telling straight facts. I think Petra can tell what I'm doing though.

(Petra) "Even if it's just down to circumstances, there's no need to get shy and flustered about it"

"Yeah, just get together already and everything will be cool"

It's clear that not the point Petra was making but I can't help myself right now. Thing is, I think Nathan might be getting a little annoyed with my teasing.

"Ikarus, you know you and Petra are closer than me and Lotte, right?"

"What do you mean we're closer?"

"I've never seen two people so friendly together who aren't husband and wife"

Wait a second, is the knight actually giving me a taste of my own medicine? I know I deserve it but still, I didn't expect him to respond like that.

"He is right Ikarus, we do spend more time together then those two"

Petra agrees with him? I haven't even noticed it and why is she smiling about it as well? Of course, we're going to spend more time together, we both aren't boring and have a similar sense of humour.

I really don't think we're that close though.

"Ah forget it, it's clear I've crossed a line here so I'm sorry"

"Ikarus-sama, we know you're only playing about"

"You didn't cross a line Ikarus, I'm just saying you two seem closer. Sorry if I came across a little nasty"

That conversation is something I can't help but start thinking about now, am I closer to Petra then those two lovebirds? I mean, I like Petra but it's not like we're a thing. Sure, I do spend more time talking with her than anyone else but that's just because she's interesting and not boring like those two.

Wait, I like? Where the hell did that come from, it's not like I dislike her but to go that far? Damn it, this stupid knight has gotten me thinking about pointless things now, I'm ignoring this.

I shake my head while I'm still sitting on floor and find Petra still looking at me.

"What are you thinking so heavily about?"

"You don't need to know"

"Really? Was it something bad then?"

She's going to start teasing again so I'll ignore it, I want to get a move on so I speak once more while getting myself up off the ground.

"*Sigh*… I'm more than awake now, can we make a move on then?"

(Petra) "What's your magic at Ikarus?"

'Aesa?'

[<92%>]

"Close to full"

(Petra) "Good then"

"We're ready Ikarus-sama"

(Nathan) "Yeah, I'm good"

We all enter into the next room ready to go and just after we step in, the door closes behind us, this is different than usual since it normally doesn't close till the button has been pressed.

In the centre of the room, a large ghostly figure starts forming slowly, magic particles also start crashing into the charging up undead creature.

"Shit"

Wait, Petra just swore, is that the first time? She might have sworn once or twice before but she it's extremely rare, what's going on?

"What's wrong?"

As I'm asking her, I want to check my status at the undead that is appeareing. Its appearance has now mostly formed and looks like a more menacing version of the other creatures, just a lot bigger and has four arms as well as a pair of ghostly wings but they don't look like they work.

"That thing is a wraith. Ikarus and knight, you two sit out this fight"

'It can't be that bad, right? Status'

[Name: ________ | Species: Wraith | Level: 250]

[Health 12,500/12,500]

[Stamina 12,500/12,500]

[Magicka 25,000/25,000]

'That thing is higher level sure, but wouldn't all four of us provide more help? I can't understand why she seems so stressed'

[<Aesa advises -user- shut up and listen to target -Petra->]

I quickly get told off by my nagging wife, I feel like I'm missing something here. At least Aesa is willing to use Petra's name now.

"Why don't you want us involved?"

(Nathan) "Yeah sorry, why?"

I've never seen Petra look this serious over something, that ghostly figure must be extremely dangerous for her to react like this.

"This isn't something you two can handle, trust me. Priestess, get your God to provide us with some support here"

"He'll need a little more to go off than that Petra-sama, I'm unable to use my main attack remember"

If it isn't obvious yet, big orbital lasers that shoot down from the sky don't work inside or underground, priestess hasn't used any abilities since we've entered this dungeon.

"Just anything that doesn't use physical damage as its main attack. Us two should still be enough but I don't want to take chances, this guy isn't a normal enemy"

"Give me a second… he says he's willing to offer something that might help"

"Good"

Both Charlotte and Petra approach the wraith while me and Nathan stand back but I can't help but still question things though.

"Wait! You seriously want us two to stand back?"

Petra lets out a little sigh but it seems to be more in a stressed way than annoyance.

"*Sigh*, Ikarus please, this is for your own safety"

I'll just let it go and join in if they need help then, she normally isn't a very serious person so I'll just trust her.

The undead wraith has now fully formed and is ready to attack. Before it has the chance to even do a single thing, both Charlotte and Petra step even further into the room.

"Priestess, please prepare your attack"

"Okay"

After speaking, Petra puts out her spare hand and releases her black flame all across the room ahead of them two covering every inch of the area around the wraith in thick, black deadly fire.

"Ready?"

"Yes"

The priestess follows up her confirmation with her summoned sword pointing it towards the black flame covered wraith.

"Repent!"

As the priestess says that, the gigantic flashbang attack returns surrounding everything in front of us in pure white. Like last time with the white dragon, it stays for a little bit and then disappears. Once it's gone, the wraith is nowhere to be seen and the door to the next room has opened.

…

'What the… that was disappointing as fuck'

I can't help and be a little surprised and disappointed, both of those two have killed the wraith in a split second. Talk about overkill, I was expecting an exciting battle to the death, that just feels like a lazy twist.

"Wait, is that it?"

(Nathan) "Is it finished?"

"Yes Nat, that creature is now gone"

Petra is also now looking a lot calmer after destroying the ghostly undead.

"Phew, you really have no idea how much you helped their priestess, that might've been a slug without you"

"Don't thank me, thank-"

Petra finishes her sentence for her.

"Your God, right? Tell him he has my gratitude"

"He says he accepts your gratitude; he also would like to point out that your worry was justified, that foe needed taking care of swiftly"

Am I missing something right now?

"Oi, are you two listening me? Why were you so worried when you just one hit it?"

Petra made that out to be an enemy of immense power and destruction, yet they both just killed it like that.

"That wraith Ikarus, the word you would use to describe it would be overpowered. Magic doesn't work against it as well as physical attacks, you and the knight would've been useless…"

'It's that strong that we would've been useless?'

"… Sorry, that sounds mean, that wasn't supposed to come across like that. My point is, didn't want to see that thing hurt and stress you out, it would've been a fight that you couldn't inflict any damage on"

She doesn't want to see me hurt or stressed out? Oi, don't fixate on stupid things Ikarus!

"How did you kill it then? You just said magic doesn't work"

It's obvious I'm the only one pressing on this, both the knight and priestess have started talking about something else while I'm still slightly complaining.

"That was an ability that just got used, not magic. There is a slight difference between ability magic and magicka as you call it. It also gets listed as ki in my system though"

That wasn't magic? That looked nearly identical to the other magic attack she's been using recently, just was bigger and more destructive. I don't have any abilities that inflict damage since all mine are stat or defence related. I guess she was right not to involve me and the knight then if we couldn't have damaged it.

It's probably time to take another break, can't be fighting on empty stomach, or magicka as well. It's a really good thing Petra is down here with us.