Is this thing really a ghost? Sophie's scared out of her wits.

Don't be scared of ridiculous things. The only reason I'm afraid is because it's an unknown element. It's not necessarily hostile, let's just leave while we still can.

"..."

"Claud... a real ghost... the status window says so."

Then, we should we getting out of here. Why are you still hanging around for? I tug on her hand, but she pulls back.

"Wait, Claud! We can't leave, a ghost has to be put to rest. Otherwise, it'll remain stuck here, unable to depart for the afterlife."

Damn it, don't go with the flow, Sophie. I reject! I loathe nondescriptive quests!

"..."

"W-what do you want? How can we help?"

Raising its blue rotten hand, the ghost points at the brick wall behind us.

-Quest: Help the Spirit-

Screw you, system! Don't support her reckless behavior!

Ghosts are another type of monster that are poorly recorded in the bestiaries. Some are malevolent, others just need to finish their final business. Due to the extremely varying nature of each ghost and their vague requests, best not to interact at all, if you can. But this stupid girl went and asked it what it wanted. Now we're obligated to complete the request unless we want to be cursed. What if it asked for us to be sacrifices in a ritual, huh?

"There doesn't seem to be a way in. Hmph!"

The bricks budged a little with each kick. She's determined to help this ghost...Fine. Not like you gave me a choice.

"Help me, Claud. I can't break it by myself."

Damn it... Not like I can reason with her without any Willpower. The optional dialogues won't be able to get my elaborate points across.

I'm not sure what's on the other side of this wall. Should we really be busting it down like this? A well-timed kick from both of us smashed several bricks. A few more and the wall fully crumbled.

Inside was a basement. Too dark to see what's inside. Lighting the lantern isn't such a good idea in an enclosed space.

"Light!"

A bright ball of light shot up from Sophie, illuminating the surroundings. A new Priest spell.

"Hihi! My new skill. I learned it even though I'm a Swordsman. I kept it a secret to surprise you."

Come to think about it, Sophie's status screen didn't show her new skill. Hiding her skills like I did with my status. Wait a bloody second... Her class had clearly shown as Priest back then... Ah, I see now. This cheeky girl... Lying to my face. It's much harder to learn skills outside of your chosen class. But since only the Hero can swap between classes at will, it would be significantly easier to train new abilities.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Showing off by saying she learned something much more difficult than it actually was. I want to smack her.

She made such an obvious mistake. Should I deliberately ignore this? Or do I bring it up? I probably shouldn't. Pressuring to reveal her secret can cause friction.

... The coast is clear, but my nerves are still tense. The initial basement room branched off into the sewers. Getting separated in this maze would be bad, I'm the only one with any supplies and she's the only one with a usable torch. Her knapsack only has diaries and miscellaneous items. Most of our bags, food, water and medicine were left behind while escaping. Fortunately, we didn't lose anything that could not be replaced. I ensured both of us carried our important items at all times.

I keep peering over our shoulders to see the ghost trailing. So creepy. Why isn't it leading the way instead? We don't know where we're going. I was certain we passed by here earlier but I'm unsure. It's pitch-black darkness outside of her skill's illumination.

Air down here feels heavier, difficult to breathe. Hold on. The paths we took to get here look... strange. Certain parts of the ground were cleaned. As if a mop had been dragged over it.

I nudge Sophie and gesture to the clean portions of the floor.

"Yea, Claud? You mean the floor? I thought something was weird about it, but I can't place my finger on it. Here write in my diary."

'Parts of floor clean. Follow. Signs of people.'

"You're right! That's what was weird. Alright, let's follow those!"

----------------------------------------

How long have we been walking?

The pocket watch states it is 3 in the morning. We've been down here for over an hour.

The trail ends around here. But there's nothing else. A hidden mechanism in the wall perhaps? I've tapped the ceiling and walls with my scabbard. Nothing's popped up. These walls are too sturdy to break.

It feels like the sewers have been repeating in a pattern wherever we walk. This brick, I'm pretty sure I've stared at it more than thrice. Whoever designed this city did a 'great' job.

The atmosphere is so tense although nothing has happened yet. I'm getting tired from being in this constant state of heightened awareness. I'm going to collapse again. I... want to sleep.

Shouldn't we settle in for the night? The terrible smell of the sewers honestly couldn't deter me from sleeping.

"Claud?! Eww! Please don't go to sleep here!"

As I lied on the floor, I felt the ground sink and a click emanated from the wall.

Huh?

A disgusting mist flowed out. The putrid smell intensified by several fold. I quickly got up and flipped Sophie around into my chest. Don't look.

The door had opened up to reveal a sight that etched itself onto my retinas. If I'm not going to forget this; Sophie definitely can't see this.

"Claud?"

My face must have betrayed what I was feeling on the inside.

"It's okay, I had an inkling when the spirit asked for help."

"..."

"I'm brave, I'll see this through to the end."

No, you're not. It's okay to stay a coward for these matters.

I shook my head and firmly tried moving her back upstairs. She resisted, visibly upset.

"Don't shoulder all the heavy things by yourself, Claud. I'm here. We promised to protect each other, that extends to more than just physical pain. It's our emotions too."

Playing that card is cheating... Fine. You've gotten good at smooth talking. The Hero might have to eventually encounter similar situations. Better here than in a real battlefield.

The ghost was patiently waiting for us at the newly discovered entrance.

This door used recognition magic to detect if an object had a certain orientation. In this case, a person lying down. After all, who would think to lie down on a filthy sewer floor. A corpse wouldn't mind though.

My mana... it's not forming outwardly. The pink mist occupying the air is so dense, my mana's forcibly shoved back within. I can't even make the thinnest barrier in this foul environment... The smell is permeating into my clothes.

The ghost seemed to be leading us somewhere.

What now? What am I supposed to do to let this ghost rest?

It stopped short at some of the desecrated carcasses. A butcher knife was still lodged. Adult male and an adult female, both with rings on their fingers. Tch.

In times of food shortages, the weak are culled first. The quiet night makes sense. No one wants to be caught outside when the law can no longer apply.