“That should do it,” Vlad muttered, strapping some gauntlets on his arms along with a couple of other pieces of armor. He was currently looting the armor from the skeletons since they had more or less decent protection that he could use. Although his body and senses were enhanced, he highly doubted that he was invincible.

With the armor, at least he had a bit more defense to protect him from enemies. Mostly those that wielded bladed weapons like swords, spears, and whatnot. Since he was in the underworld, there was a chance that more of the undead would come after him. After all, his quest said that the dead would try to stop him from delivering the silver bow to Hades. Which meant Vlad needed to be prepared for the worst. He was just glad that he managed to grab some decent armor for him to utilize for his quest. On his body, he wore the chest piece, boots, gauntlets, and also…the helmet.

Vlad lifted the helmet and examined it, judging its appearance.

[Spartan Helmet - (Common Grade): A helmet worn and taken to the grave with spartans. Provides +4 Defense]

His eyes panned on the plumes, scrutinizing the red brush. With a scoff, he quickly grabbed the plume before ripping it off the top of the helmet and tossed it to the ground without a second thought.

“Sorry, but if I’m wearing this thing, it’ll be without the stupid brush,” Vlad declared, finally putting on the last piece of armor. He then briefly examined himself, making sure that the armor was on right, adjusting certain pieces until he felt a bit more comfortable with them. “Yeah, this is good.”

Vlad gave a satisfying nod, approving his current attire. He then turned to his halberd, the butt currently pinned to the ground, to where it was standing up. He stared at the weapon for a moment, contemplating whether he should take the halberd or not.

Vlad stroked his chin, pondering over his options. “While the halberd was handy, I should stick with a spear. Plus, using the halberd was too straining on me, even when I’m used to using long-range weapons.”

During his fight with the skeleton warriors, he felt a bit of resistance from the halberd. Every time he swung it around, he nearly lost his balance due to the weight of the blade at the top, and he wasn’t used to that feeling. With a spear, it felt more balanced to him to where he could rely on it more. There’s also the fact that the halberd seemed to focus more on power rather than balance. Vlad knew this due to the difference in the way he takes down his enemies with the halberd compared to the spear.

When attacking his enemies, Vlad felt more weight from the halberd as it forced him to descend the blade forcefully on them. He barely had any control to resist the downward force to where even if he wanted to, he couldn’t pull back to avoid delivering the lethal blow. With a spear, he had far more control and versatility with it. He could thrust, swing, and more while also interrupting those attacks with relative ease. In a fight, Vlad needed complete control over his actions, in case he needed to stop one of his strikes to move away or for another similar reason. He couldn’t afford to sacrifice his versatility for more power.

Vlad walked over to the halberd with a solemn expression, gently placing his hand on the blade. “Sorry, Halberd. You were useful to me in the fight, but this is where we part ways.”

Turning around, Vlad then reached down and picked up one of the spears from the skeleton warriors. He examined the weapon, making sure that it was good enough to be used. The shaft was in good condition, and the spearhead was more or less doable.

[Spartan Spear - (Common Grade): A spear forged by Spartans back in during the era of Sparta. Provides +5 damage]

He then spun the weapon around while also performing a couple of thrust techniques to make sure that it was decently balanced for him to use. After doing so, he gave a satisfied smile at the weapon.

“This will do,” He smirked, resting the spear on his shoulder while humming.

Now that he was fully equipped and ready for battle, Vlad set his sights back to the Castle where Hades resided. With nothing else stopping him, he continued his stroll to his next destination.

While walking along the path, Vlad continued to observe his environment. Although the entire place was the same as before with its charcoal gray ground and sky, other things caught his attention. His eyes then panned over to the mist that formed skeletons. In the distance, he could still see the vast and possibly endless fog over to his right. The fog was constantly shifting, causing the skeleton figures that appeared in the mist to look deformed and haunting.

There was one skeletal figure that showed its skull opening its jaw wide open before pulling back in a one hundred and eighty-degree manner. The skull then swirled around, becoming formless before taking the appearance of a new one. This time, the skull was more menacing and demonic with sharp teeth, crescent sockets, and a long neck that swung about like a tail. Vlad couldn’t help but grimace at the scene displayed before him as if he were watching a disturbing video on the internet.

“Let’s not ever go in that place…” Vlad muttered, looking away from the skeleton fog to avoid any more disturbing sights from it.

Continuing the trek, it didn’t take long before Vlad finally got to the field of ghosts. Staying on the path, he spun to either side and witnessed dozens upon dozens of ghosts floating around the sprawling fields around him. Much like before, they simply floated all over the field without a real destination. They were just aimlessly wandering about.

Since Vlad was in the fields, he got a better look at the ghosts haunting the area. There was a large variety of both males and females along with their appearances. Thanks to his appraisal, he also got to see their status windows as well.

[Damned Soul - Level ???]

So, instead of being called a ghost, they were instead Damned Souls? Considering that Vlad was in the Underworld, this sort of made sense to him. And once again, these guys had question marks for their levels. Although Vlad wasn't surprised, he also got sick of seeing the question marks. It made him feel inferior, despite the fact that he managed to kill plenty of monsters with question marks.

While looking at the damn souls around Vlad, he noticed that there was one woman who wore a worn-out loin cloth over her body with a simple and old rope strapped around her waist. She had long hair and bore a couple of scars on her face like a large cut on her cheek along with a burn mark splattered on her neck.

Due to the phantom’s green transparent appearance, he couldn’t make out the color of her hair or even clothes. But there was one that thing caught Vlad’s eye, though in a more disturbing way. Her eye was completely white as if glossed over. There was no sign of a pupil or even an iris, giving the ghost woman an even more haunting appearance. It also didn’t help that all of the ghosts had milky white eyes as well.

Vlad quickly looked away from the ghosts, not wanting to catch any of the undead's attention. He already had to deal with skeletons. He refused to fight ghosts, mainly because he didn’t think he could even touch them. They were incorporeal beings with no physical body. If he attempted to throw a punch at one of them, it would probably just go right through them.

“Maybe I should’ve brought salt with me. Or maybe a photon pack.” Vlad suddenly chuckled. “Heh. Who you gonna ca-aack?!” He didn’t finish his joke as he abruptly stopped walking when one of the ghosts floated in front of him. Instead of simply flying away, she stopped and turned to face Vlad with a vacant expression.

The phantom was a woman with short hair and wore an ancient gown of sorts. He couldn’t tell by the color since everything was an extremely pale blue, but he knew that it was old. His guess was likely that it was Greek-related much like everything else in this place.

The ghost slowly floated closer to Vlad, her face mere inches from his. Her milky white eyes gazed directly into his, and her hair floated around as if she were underwater. He had to back away to put some space between them, only for the phantom to close the distance again. As she continued to stare at Vlad, she tilted its head in a puzzling manner, its eyes not leaving him for a moment.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Suddenly, the ghostly woman started to open her mouth, as if trying to say something to him. “L-li…liv…ing.”

“L-living…?” Vlad muttered, trying to figure out what she was saying.

Why was she trying to say living? What was she telling him?

“Liv…ing…Living! Living!” The ghost's words were soon formed as she continued to repeat them with a sinister growl, frightening Vlad.

“Living…?”

“Living…!”

“Living!”

All of a sudden, the ghosts around the fields took notice of Vlad and the woman, causing them to float over to them. They levitated in droves as dozens of phantoms started surrounding Vlad like a flock of birds. Noticing this, he couldn’t help but feel intimidated, gripping his spear while frantically inspecting his surroundings, making sure none of the undead spirits tried to get too close to him.

“Easy, there,” Vlad said gently, glancing at all the spirits encircling him. “let’s not do anything we’re going to regret now…”

Although Vlad said this, he felt that it was he who was the one experiencing regret. With so many phantoms cornering him, he doubted he could just run away. If anything, he might get engulfed in the swarm and die in an instant. Sweat beaded down Vlad’s face as he attempted to come up with a plan to escape these spirits. Sadly, all of his possible exits were filled with the undead. Even if he managed to get through the first row, there were practically a dozen more for him to pass.

“Living…”

“Living…!”

The phantoms slowly closed in on Vlad, eliminating any space he had left before getting fully engulfed in the horde. In an attempt to get the spirits to back away, he frantically swung his spear around. Sadly, the spearhead passed through them as if they weren’t even there, much like the holographic panels that occasionally presented themselves to Vlad.

“S-shit…!” Vlad could do nothing but close his eyes in fear, unable to do anything against the spirits swarming him. Once they completely enclosed him, he feared that he’d turn into a spirit like them, just as the system warned him off.

Then something miraculous happened…

“A-ahhh!”

“T-the light…!”

“I-it burns!”

For some reason, the spirits started to back away from Vlad in fear. He didn’t know what because his eyes were closed at the time. However, when he did open them, he soon got his answers when he noticed a bright white light emanating from somewhere. Looking around, he saw that the light was coming from the divine silver bow.

Pulling the bow off his back, he examined it, fully admiring the bright white glow it was emitting. He then glanced at the spirits who were all cowering in fear while shielding their faces from the light.

[Undead species is within vicinity! Divine Silver Bow will now activate [Divine Aura] to repel Undead.]

Another panel manifested before Vlad, telling him exactly what was happening. So the bow was reacting to the presence of the spirits, making it trigger some kind of ability. Like some undead-repellent power. Out of curiosity, Vlad walked toward one of the phantoms with the bow, only for it to wail in fear before flying away from him. The other spirits nearby also veered away when the bow was in proximity of them.

Vlad took another glance at the bow before smiling widely. “Looks like you’re pretty useful after all.” Despite not be able to use the damn weapon, it still managed to protect him. He then held onto the weapon firmly while keeping it raised in front of him before locating the path to continue his journey.

Once he found the path, he resumed his walk, completely unbothered by the spirits as they floated away in fear of the divine light from his bow. The ones that still blocked the path didn’t stay long as they immediately moved aside, practically making a pathway for Vlad to walk through. They parted away like the sea, and Vlad was Moses. Witnessing something like this made him marvel at such a sight.

However, he soon refocused on his task the moment he got back on track. Looking away from the spirits, he gazed over at the path leading toward the castle. Up ahead, he saw the trail leading toward an upward trek on the hill, where the palace was located at the very top. From where Vlad was, he had quite a trip until he reached his destination.

After a bit of walking, Vlad soon exited the field of ghosts and quickly entered a narrow and winding path leading to the castle of Hades. Unlike before where the fields were on either side of the path, there was now just a cliff leading down what appeared to be…an abyss. When Vlad looked down at the edge of the path, he saw a dark void with no end in sight. To make matters more disturbing, he could hear the faint sounds of wailings coming from the bottom…if there was one.

“Let’s avoid falling into there…” He muttered, turning away from the void to focus on the narrow path itself.

Vlad carefully traversed the track, making sure that he stayed away from the edge by staying at the very center. As he walked up the hill, he saw that he was getting closer to the castle. Thanks to that, he got a good look at the building he was going to. There was a large black metal fence surrounding the place with metal spikes protruding from the top. As for the building itself, the castle didn’t appear to be made of normal stone but something else. Like black marble. There was a smooth, glittering appearance to it that gave Vlad this impression.

Before Vlad could examine the castle more, a clap of thunder alarmed him, making him flinch in surprise. A second later, a black bolt of lightning struck down near the castle, hitting the ground with malicious intent. Even when Vlad wasn’t near the strike, he felt the ground before him tremble from it. He paused for a moment, waiting for another bolt or roll of thunder to occur. After a few moments, nothing happened, which prompted Vlad to move on.

He soon arrived near the top of the hill where he was now before the massive metal gates protecting the castle. The gates and fences surrounding the palace were made of black steel that gave off a metallic hum when the ground shook a little from the thunder and lightning. As for the gates, they looked like your typical fancy mansion entrance with leaf-double doors. There didn’t appear to be any guards or anything similar, so Vlad just walked up to the entrance before pushing the gates open.

The metal gates made an eerily creaking sound that echoed all over the area. It was so ominous that Vlad paused for a moment to get over the creepy sound.

“Well, that was easy enough…” Vlad muttered, still disturbed by the eerie creaking before walking through the gate.

Entering the castle property, Vlad noticed that he was now in the front yard. Aside from the stone path leading to the palace, there was also a massive yard displayed in front of it along with a rather fancy-looking water fountain at the center.

As Vlad walked the path, he admired the yard, even though much like everything else, it was gray and devoid of all color. Even the fountain didn’t look normal as it was made of black marble much like the castle itself while also bearing a statue of a three-headed dog with a red liquid pouring out their mouths.

Thanks to his heightened senses, Vlad knew what that substance was from the rich smell of iron. It was blood. The stench was so strong that he was forced to pinch his nose to prevent the smell from entering his nostrils any further. There was, however, a lingering feeling regarding the three-headed dog statue. He felt that he knew what exactly it was, but at the moment, he couldn’t put his finger on it.

Vlad then stopped moving, goosebumps marbling across his skin, as his senses alerted him of something. He quickly returned the bow on his back before grabbing his spear with both hands and getting into a battle position. He focused on his senses, trying to ascertain what he was detecting right now. Despite this entire place being more or less quiet aside from the roll of thunder and lightning strikes, he could still hear it.

Faint footsteps stealthily sauntering along the yard he was in. He spun his head around, desperate to locate the source of the pattering. And yet he saw nothing around him. He then realized that he was being stalked. By whom or what, he still has yet determined. Was it another spirit? Another horde of skeletons? What was Vlad forced to confront this time?

Just then, another clap of thunder assaulted Vlad’s ears, and it was then that his enemy took action. The pattering soon turned into rapid stomps as whatever was stalking him started rushing with tremendous speed. Thanks to his heightened senses, Vlad was able to locate the source before whipping around to see his attacker, only to witness a large black blur as it slammed into him.

Vlad brought up his spear just in time to block, only to feel an immense force pushed upon him, sending him flying backward. Without even slowing down, Vlad crashed into part of the metal fence, bending the metal almost with ease from his collision alone. He let out a weak groan, shakily pushing himself off the fence. When he did, he fell on the ground with a thud, unable to land on his feet or even knees due to how much of a dazed he was in.

He reached over to his chest plate, feeling the massive dent caved in the center, practically pressing against his ribs. His chest ached as he heaved in pain. He likely broke a couple of ribs from that attack just now. Maybe more, if he was unlucky enough. Then again, it would’ve been a lot worse if he didn’t have the chest piece, so he was glad that he chose to put some protection on before coming here.

His vision blurred for a moment before finally clearing, allowing Vlad to finally bear witness to whatever just attacked him. However, when he did, his blood turned cold as he instantly regretted seeing the culprit. It was an animal, probably several times larger than him. It had wild black fur and stood on four legs, its massive claws digging into the ground. As Vlad stared at the creature, so did it with its three wolf-like heads glaring at him with blood-red eyes. The beast growled at him, peeling back its lips to reveal long, sharp teeth from all three heads as viscous saliva frothed from their mouths.

Vlad froze in fear, not just from the sight of such a horrific and monstrous creature…but also because he knew exactly what this thing was.

It was the three-headed guard dog of Hades that protected the gates of the underworld. The one creature from Greek Mythology that he unfortunately knew quite a lot of. It was Cerberus, the Three-headed hellhound.

Even when he knew what the monsters was, he still couldn't help but appraise it, only to regret his decision right after.

[Cerberus - Level ???]

It really was Cerberus...the Hound of Hades

Vlad stood there in stark horror, bearing witness to the mythological monster. His lips trembling, he could only mutter one word in response to his situation.

“Fuck…”