章 169: Chapter 169: Ghost Town Part 4
The inn was tucked away in a remote corner of the village.
Perhaps it was because outsiders rarely visited, but the inn seemed like it hadn't hosted guests in a long time. Instead of the usual scent of people, the air was filled with the musty smell of old dust.
"W-Welcome!"
The innkeeper was a very young woman. It seemed as though it had been a long time since she last greeted guests, as she fumbled awkwardly while getting up to welcome us. We paid a week's worth of rent in advance and headed upstairs. The thought of eating a meal prepared by someone else and taking a bath for the first time in a while made me feel quite excited.
There were three rooms upstairs in total, but one of them was being used as storage, so we only rented two. Once again, Lloyd and I shared the larger room while El and Ayla took the smaller one.
"Guests, the water is ready!"
"Yes, thank you."
I gathered bath salts, herbs, and the old book, then headed to the bath. The bathhouse was made of wood and had a pleasant birch scent to it, and in one corner, there was a pile of hot stones. The innkeeper poured water over the stones, then filled the room with steam before she left. I added the salts and herbs to the wooden tub and soon soaked myself in the warm water.
I'll have to start asking questions tomorrow.
While the innkeeper seemed happy to have us, there was a sense that she wasn't entirely comfortable. She had gladly accepted our generous payment, but the way she watched us nervously until we entered our rooms was enough to make me feel suspicious.
…Well, now that things have come to this, I should get a good rest tonight.
Soaking in the hot water melted away my worries. I pushed the gruesome image of the man I had seen in the burning mansion to the back of my mind and opened the old book. The previously blank pages were now filled with new information.
I'm at… level 48 now.
Perhaps it was due to everything that had happened in Dihid, but my level had risen quite a bit. As a result, I gained two new skills.
One was [Call of the Forest], which could be learned at level 46, and the other was [Forest Giant] which could be learned at level 48. Both were incredibly useful.
[Call of the Forest] allowed me to summon the guardian of any forest, or what is called the forest's "spirit".
The type of spirit varied depending on the forest, but spirits always existed inside them. They weren't the same as fairies. If I had to describe them, they were more like mountain spirits. These beings controlled the energy and flow of the forest, and their appearance and strength differed according to the forest's type.
Using this skill didn't mean the spirit would become my servant. They would merely help me, and they wouldn't cooperate if the forest was at risk. The conditions were somewhat tricky, but… if used at the right time, it would be an extremely helpful skill. For things like monster hunts, for example.
The one drawback was that, as the name suggested, forest spirits could only be summoned in forests.
Still, this skill would come in handy later in monster-hunting areas.
The [Forest Giant] wasn't about borrowing the power of spirits or fairies; it was literally about harnessing the power of trees. Whether it was an oak, cedar, fir, or any type of tree, once this skill was used to awaken it, that tree became a "giant". It would pull its roots from the soil to use as legs to walk across the land and could attack enemies with its branches or trunk. Though not as agile or versatile as beasts or spirits, its advantage lay in the overwhelming size and strength inherent in the tree itself. If this skill were used on a redwood, which grows up to 100 meters, it might even be possible to take on an orc army.
The only downside was that as soon as the skill ended, the tree would revert to its normal state, planting its roots back into the ground. It was important to be careful not to let the skill end in an unexpected place.
While it was also possible to use this skill on smaller plants to make them move… that wasn't very efficient, so it wasn't worth the effort. After all, this skill was meant for combat, and the amount of magical power consumed would vary depending on the tree.
Well, for now, let's try using [Call of the Forest].
I closed my eyes and focused my mind. If there was a forest near the village, a spirit would surely respond to this skill and reveal itself.
"..."
Why wasn't this working?
I kept trying [Call of the Forest] until the bathwater had cooled to lukewarm, but nothing appeared. What was this? Could it be a bug? Just as I was about to give up.
-Bzzzzzz...
The bathwater trembled slightly, then began to emit a soft, bluish glow. I felt Beepy who had been dozing off on top of my head suddenly get startled and fly away.
-Whoosh!
Before long, I felt a refreshing breeze blow through. The skill had worked. When I opened my eyes, I saw a floating orb scattering soft green light.
It's not a particularly strong one yet.
Was there some issue with the nearby forest? I placed the round green light on my fingertip and gently rolled it around. The green light made a whistling sound as it softly bounced up and down, landing back on my fingertip repeatedly.
"Alright, friend. Nice to meet you."
-Ping!
"Can you do me a favor?"
-Pinggle!
"Make the wind blow. Until all the fog over this village is gone."
-Pinggrrrrr!
The green light spun quickly on my fingertip before shooting up into the air and disappearing. As if to chase after it, Beepy flew up but slammed into the ceiling and fell straight into the tub.
"Whoa, whoa, Beepy. You've been getting a bit aggressive lately, haven't you?"
I scooped Beepy out of the water as he sank with a gurgle and placed him back on top of my head. While he preened his soaked feathers, I fell into thought for a moment.
The path we had taken to reach this village had been entirely through forests. Yet the fact that it took so long for a forest spirit to appear here might mean that something was interfering with the forest around the village. Something like an unusually deep darkness or the thick fog.
Once those things are driven away, the truth of this village might become clearer.
The bathwater cooled down, so I got up, tidied the area, and returned to the room. Lloyd was still in full gear and staring out the window.
"Aren't you going to sleep?"
"…Tonight, it feels like I shouldn't for some reason."
"As I thought, something's strange about this village."
Lloyd nodded his head silently. He sensed it too. That something unsettling was happening in this village.
"Get some rest. You must be tired from all the traveling. I'll keep watch outside tonight."
After all, I had the magic stone necklace of the Sand Olaphant, so I didn't need to sleep. As I pulled out some jerky, dried fruits, and nuts to snack on during the night, I gestured toward the bed with a nod.
"If anything happens, I'll wake you right away."
"…Alright."
Lloyd returned to the bed without another word, and I dragged a chair over and sat by the window. There was a birdcage hanging by the windowsill, and inside, a legless crow slept soundly at the bottom. After checking on its condition, I turned my gaze outside.
The streets were eerily quiet. It was nighttime, so that was to be expected, but after what had happened at the mansion, the atmosphere felt even more ominous. There wasn't even a sign of the usual drunks that every village seemed to have at least one or two of.
– Crunch, crunch.
I chewed on an almond as I kept watch over the empty night streets.
How much time had passed by then?
Normally, I would have gauged the time by the position of the stars, but with the fog so thick, even that wasn't possible. There was nothing to do but wait until dawn.
"....!"
It was just when I had grown tired of staring at the same scenery.
I suddenly sprang to my feet when I saw something dart across the street. It had sleek, silver fur that shimmered as if catching moonlight, two pointed ears standing upright, and a fluffy tail. It moved like the wind without making a sound.
"A-Ayla…?"
That's right.
It was Ayla.
Ayla was darting around the village, spinning in circles and leaping playfully into the air, as if she was having the time of her life. It almost looked like she was playing a game of tag. After a while, she disappeared into an alley as though chasing something.
What on earth is going on?
Ayla had never acted on her own like this before. Running around the streets in the middle of the night as if playing? I had never raised Ayla to behave like that!
Should I connect with her mind using [Obedience] to figure out what she's up to?
"...."
However, there was one thing that bothered me. Ayla had been acting as if she wasn't playing alone but with someone else. Was she under the influence of some kind of illusion or mental magic? No, that couldn't be…
Then, does Ayla see something I can't?
Just like the superstition that dogs and cats can see ghosts, could it be that Ayla was seeing something invisible?
I should follow her.
I wrapped myself in my cloak and quietly opened the window. If I went out through the door downstairs, the innkeeper might get suspicious, so I planned to make a quick trip out through the window.
I can't let Ayla notice my presence.
With this cloak I received during the Cat Lord ceremony, I should be fine. Damn it, if only I could use the passive skill [Cat Eyes] I got back then, but there's not a single cat in this village… not even a rat.
I carefully hid my presence and entered the alley where Ayla had disappeared.
…There's only one set of footprints.
That's right. The only footprints left in the alley were Ayla's. I quietly followed them. The sun was still a long way from rising, and as I weaved through the foggy alley, at the end…
"...!"
There was still the mansion with thick smoke rising from it. The iron gate which had been tightly shut was now half open.
…No way, did she go inside that house?
The footprints led into the mansion. Damn it, Ayla! I suppressed the urge to smack her on the butt and cautiously stepped through the gate. The eerie atmosphere still lingered there…
-Creak.
The door to the house swung wide open as if it had been waiting for me.
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