Wake Up In The Morning

Rama lunged at the Ghoul with his fog body. But he was not ready for what happened next. He tripped, and his body which had become very light immediately floated into the air.

Rama spun in the air while continuing to fly towards the Ghoul. The Ghoul, of course, immediately used his feet to run to greet Rama, whom he had identified as prey.

The Ghoul raised its hands covered in claws that were black with congealed blood. It clawed with all its might.

'Damnit!'

Rama, who could only spin in the air, could not avoid it. He saw the Ghoul's claws approaching and started clawing.

What happened next was quite surprising for Rama because the Ghoul's claws just passed through his body.

Rama tried to come back to his senses, not letting the shock last long. If he wanted to survive he had to start thinking of ways to fight back.

Rama twisted his body in the air until he finally got a good look at the Ghoul. Then he thrust his dagger with all his might into the Ghoul's head.

Rama thought that the dagger would not have any effect because it looked as if it was made of mist like the rest of his body. But apparently, the dagger still has the same hardness level.

Rama stabbed right through the Ghoul's head. A stinking blackish blood flowed out and splashed in all directions but because his body was still foggy, it just passed through.

"KHRRAAAAHHH!"

The Ghoul let out a shrill scream that bounced. Rama landed on the ground awkwardly because his body was too light.

The Ghoul wasn't dead yet. It turned out that the stab was not deep enough to kill the Supernatural. Realizing that, Rama lunged back.

This time, because he already knew what had happened to his body, Rama did not stumble again. Instead with that light body he was able to get in front of the Ghoul in the blink of an eye and directly thrust his dagger into its eye with ease. Because the Ghoul was still in so much pain, it couldn't fight back or dodge.

Black blood that smelled of rot was pouring out of the Ghoul's left eye. Rama immediately drew the dagger and then stabbed it again in the Ghoul's right eye, causing the Supernatural to suffer even more pain.

<Ghoul>

Rank: E

Life Points: 10/50

'Just a little more!'

Rama grinned in his transparent Ghost form, that form made his grin even more hideous. Rama began to feel his body getting weaker but he ignored it because he was immersed in the tension of this battle.

Rama slashed the Ghoul's neck, then stabbed it in the neck and pushed it until it collapsed to the ground. Rama's eyes bulged and his mouth curved into a cruel grin, enjoying the figure of this terrible creature dying.

The Ghoul squirmed and tried to claw at Rama but all his efforts were in vain. With the new ability he got Rama's body could not be touched by the Ghoul, yet he could attack the Supernatural just like a Ghost.

After restraining the Ghoul by stabbing its neck for a few seconds, it finally stopped moving and made a dying sound.

< The soul of Ghoul has been absorbed! >

< Soul Fusion Level 1 (XP: 20/100) >

< You gain 10 XP >

After seeing the writing, Rama drew his dagger and stood up. He looked up at the full moon that seemed to smile at him.

But then his vision darkened. He fell backward, next to the body of the Ghoul he had just killed.

~~~

"Hey! Can you hear me?"

A woman's voice sounded in his ear. Rama opened his eyes and saw that the world around him was already lit by the sun. When he turned his head he saw a girl's face.

"Thank goodness you're alive." The girl breathed a sigh of relief. "Can you stand?"

Rama wanted to answer. However, his voice could not come out. It seemed to be stuck in his throat.

'What happened to me?'

The woman frowned and studied him for a few moments before finally realizing something.

"Gosh, looks like you're out of Mana." She looked around and saw a pile of ashes that had previously been a Ghoul. "Tough hunting night, huh?"

The girl took out a bottle from her bag. There was a clear liquid in the bottle that looked like plain water. She brought the bottle closer to Rama's mouth after opening the lid.

"Drink."

Without thinking any longer Rama immediately opened his mouth. The girl holds Rama's head and helps him drink. After a few sips, Rama felt so much better.

"Ahh..." A sigh escaped his mouth. "Thank You."

When he spoke, Rama felt that his throat was dry - despite having just drunk that liquid - so that his voice came out hoarse.

"It's a good thing I came here," said the girl.

After he felt better, Rama was finally able to see the face of the girl who helped him. She is a very beautiful woman with an oval face and smooth pale skin.

The woman's eyes were round and dark, shiny like obsidian. A pair of thick eyebrows shaded those eyes.

Rama was fixated. For a moment he felt as if time had stopped. But the woman immediately disrupted his reverie by dropping Rama's head.

"Argh!" Rama groaned.

"You seem to have recovered. Although there was a tear in your clothes I don't see any other injuries. I don't know how you got here. There are no vehicles here either," said the girl. "You can come with me."

Rama looks at his clothes. The puncture marks of the stone stakes were indeed still there but like what the woman said, there were no wounds.

'What I experienced last night was not a dream. I really got some kind of power.'

"Hey! What do you think? Do you want to come or not?"

"O-Oh, yeah!" Rama immediately stood up, took his dagger, and followed the girl.

When following her from behind Rama realized that the girl was carrying a short sword at her waist. From everything Rama has seen, this woman is almost certainly a Supernatural Hunter.

But that doesn't matter now. What mattered was that what he experienced last night was not a dream.

Rama began to move his brain to think. Based on his memories he had used the Ghost's ability to fight against that Ghoul.

He was also suddenly able to see the weakness of the Ghoul so he could land a fatal blow on it. All of that he got after experiencing a near-death event because of Donovan.

However, he immediately felt weak as soon as he finished killing the Ghoul until he finally woke up this morning. If the girl didn't come he probably wouldn't be able to move for who knows how long.

'Wait, but what did she give me earlier?'

Rama decided to ask. If the clear liquid could cure him it would mean that it would be very useful in the future.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Hmm?" the girl only replied with a mumble.

"What liquid did you give me earlier?"

The girl turned around and looked at him with a confused face. "You didn't know?"

Rama shook his head.

The girl tilted her head to the side. "That's so weird. What kind of Hunter doesn't know about Mana Potions?"

"Mana potion..." Rama's forehead creased. "What is Mana?"

Rama's question made the woman even more confused. "You don't know Mana either? Don't tell me you killed that Ghoul with just a normal attack and not with magic power."

'Oh right! What I did last night was the same as magic, right? That means, Mana is some kind of power that can make those Hunters cast magic.'

Rama remembered seeing about Mana consumption writing when he used his ability last night. Now he began to understand a little about this new power. A smile appeared in his mouth.

The girl who saw Rama suddenly smiled and shuddered. 'What's wrong with this guy?'

When he realized the girl's gaze, he immediately lost his smile.

"S-Sorry. I remembered something funny," said Rama. 'Damnit! What kind of stupid excuse is that?!'

"O-Oh, well..." The girl still looked doubtful but she decided not to ask about it any further. She thought that perhaps the guy she had just helped was indeed a little insane and it was better not to provoke a madman. But that didn't mean she could leave him in this forest alone.

After they got outside the forest, Rama saw a large motorbike parked there.

"Y-You ride this bike?" asked Rama.

The girl nodded as she got on her motorbike. "Hurry up."

Rama rides behind the girl. The motorbike walked on a steep path but with its big wheels, the motorbike could pass the road easily.

"May I know your name?" Rama asked.

"What for?"

"I don't want to owe anyone. Tell me so I can pay for what you did to me."

The girl looked at Rama from the rearview mirror. 'He's not as crazy as I thought.'

"Alysia," said the girl.

Rama nodded. "I will repay your kindness, Alysia."

"You? What's your name?"

"Rama."

That's the introduction of the two of them. The beginning of a long and tense story that they never imagined.

~~~