Chapter 15: I Am Also a Ghost

Due to the long bow, Qi Shaoyun had to remove the black bow and squat down, gently reaching out to touch the girl's head.

Whether it was an illusion or not, when his palm touched the girl's head, her originally ethereal figure seemed to become more solid.

"The monsters have disappeared, it's safe now."

The faint warmth transmitted to his palm assured Qi Shaoyun that the girl was indeed alive. But if he wasn't mistaken, she should have already...

To dispel his doubts, he continued to inquire, "Can you tell me why you're here?"

Perhaps the topic struck a nerve, as Qi Shaoyun clearly felt a slight tremor in the girl's shoulder. Then, a familiar face lifted from between his knees.

With fair and slightly chubby cheeks, a rare teardrop mole beneath the right corner of her eye, and bangs that rested slightly above her eyebrows, giving her a cute and lovable appearance.

At this moment, Qi Shaoyun was certain that the girl before him was Sachi, a member of the "Moonlit Black Cats" in Sword Art Online.

"You... can you see me?" Those were Sachi's first words.

Just as he was about to ask why she posed such a question, Qi Shaoyun suddenly realized that Sachi might have already realized her own death and believed she had become a ghost.

In the neon-lit folk legends, people are also unable to see ghosts.

Qi Shaoyun wasn't sure if it was out of a mischievous nature or seeing Sachi pitiful appearance that sparked a desire in him to protect and comfort her.

Qi Shaoyun smiled slightly, squinting his eyes as he mysteriously replied, "I accidentally stumbled into this secret room and was killed."

"I think... I must have become a lingering spirit here, just like you."

Upon hearing this, a hint of melancholy flashed across Sachi's face.

"So, you were also..." she began.

In order to understand what exactly had happened to Sachi, Qi Shaoyun continued to engage in conversation.

"You must have become a lingering spirit here earlier than me. Can you tell me how long you've been here?"

Perhaps due to their shared plight, Sachi didn't resist the company of this stranger. After a brief moment of contemplation, she shook her head and replied, "I can't remember... It feels like a long time has passed, yet it also feels like it just happened."

"Do you still remember things from before?" Qi Shaoyun asked further.

Without offering any additional response, Sachi simply shook her head, indicating that she did not remember.

"Could it be that the system captured the data of Sachi moment of death, created this replica, and reconstructed her body when I touched her?" Qi Shaoyun wondered to himself.

Despite the limited information provided by Sachi, based on his own knowledge, Qi Shaoyun had a rough idea in mind.

The Sachi before him now was likely just a new life form with the appearance and personality of "Sachi" from "Sword Art Online".

Having come to this realization, Qi Shaoyun calmly shouldered his black bow once again and extended his right hand in front of Sachi gaze.

"I'm going to leave this place. Will you come with me?" he asked.

Staring at Qi Shaoyun hand in a daze, Sachi timidly asked, "W-where are you going?"

"Well... for you, it will be a whole new world," Qi Shaoyun pondered and replied.

Seeing a hint of longing on Sachi's face, he decided to push further.

"I don't want to stay in this enclosed space forever. How about you?"

It was obvious that nobody would want to remain in the place of their death.

And so, the small hand covered with white gloves gently landed on Qi Shaoyun hand.

...

Aincrad, the Tower of Babel.

[System Prompt: Mission "Teammate" completed.]

[System Prompt: Attribute panel of member "Sachi" is now open.]

[Name]: Sachi

[Level]: Lv.1

[Strength]: 1

[Endurance]: 1

[Agility]: 1

[Magic Power]: 0

[Available Attribute Points]: 0

"Where are we?" Qi Shaoyun, whose gaze had just landed on Sachi attribute panel, was interrupted by a voice from beside him.

Turning his head, he saw Sachi standing in Tsubaki's resting room, looking around.

Although she didn't synchronize with her original memories, the arrangement in this room gave her a peculiar feeling.

It wasn't a feeling of unfamiliarity, but rather a sense of unexpected presence.

"We are currently inside a tower. This place is a shop owned by the Hephaestus Clan within the tower," Qi Shaoyun explained as he stood up from his chair.

After regaining consciousness, he first checked his body.

There were no injuries from the instance space, indicating that his physical body did not enter and only his soul did.

Subconsciously, he patted the area where he had previously been seriously injured, then turned around and started searching the rest area of Tsubaki.

Although it was called a resting room, it was filled with various weapons and equipment.

Although many of them were unfinished or even scraps, the scraps produced by a Level 5 blacksmith were more than enough for Sachi, who was not even at Level 1, and there were even some leftovers.

"Sachi, catch!"

Qi Shaoyun threw a spear he had found, weighing only around ten kilograms, towards Sachi in the center of the resting room.

With her strength being equivalent to about a hundred kilograms, Sachi strength was not weaker than that of an average adult male. She easily caught the flying spear with little effort.

Holding the nearly two-meter-long spear in her arms, Sachi looked confused.

"Follow me to the underground dungeon to hunt monsters, level up, and qualify for joining the Familia."

...

Underground dungeon, first floor of the Dungeon.

In the corridor where Qi Shaoyun was located, Sachi held the spear, facing off against a newly spawned goblin.

"Sachi! Kill it!" Qi Shaoyun, holding his black bow, shouted.

However, Sachi, inheriting the traits of her original self, seemed to be very averse to fighting.

She had been in a standoff with the goblin in front of her for over a minute. During that time, she only evaded the goblin's attacks without launching any counterattacks herself.

Qi Shaoyun, observing this scene, slightly furrowed his brow.

But being well aware of Sachi's personality, he didn't scold her and instead showed relative patience.

"Crack, crack, crack..."

The stone wall beside them suddenly cracked little by little. Qi Shaoyun knew that another goblin had spawned beside him.

Instead of choosing to kill it before it fully emerged, Qi Shaoyun waited until the goblin broke free from the confines of the stone wall. With lightning speed, he instantly grabbed the goblin by the neck with his right hand.

Immediately, he exerted force with his arm, flinging the goblin far away towards Sachi.

A loud "boom" echoed as the goblin hit the ground. In the moment it crawled back up, its left arm was broken, but it crawled madly towards Sachi.

Facing one goblin was already a challenge, and now with a crazed goblin charging at her, Sachi was genuinely frightened.

"Whoosh!"

Just as the goblin lunged at Sachi, an arrow flew past her from the side, instantly pinning the goblin to a distant stone wall.

In front of Sachi's eyes, the goblin turned into black ash and disappeared.

At that moment, Qi Shaoyun voice once again rang out from behind.

"Bold move. I've been right behind you all along!"

Whether it was the effect of Qi Shaoyun words or the sense of safety that came from witnessing the goblin being shot down, Sachi, holding her spear, recklessly thrust it towards the goblin in front of her.

After about a minute, with five minor injuries, Sachi successfully killed the goblin that had been confronting her.

"Drink this."

Qi Shaoyun approached and took out a vial of low-level healing potion from a leather pouch hanging from his waist. He handed it to Sachi.

In truth, Sachi's injuries could have been treated with bandages alone. But in order to cultivate her courage to fight against monsters, Qi Shaoyun didn't mind wasting some healing potions, even though they cost several thousand Valis per bottle.