Deklan smiled in excitement.
Below the Red Pumpkin Head's status window, there were three functions that he could use.
…
[Evolve]
[Devour Skill]
[Assimilate]
…
Deklan wasted no time and checked what each one was all about.
For the evolve function, he could evolve the targeted Ghost at the cost of Spooky Dollars to increase its potential. Not only would this influence the stats of the targeted Ghost, but it might also unlock more of their exclusive skills.
It costs 1,000 Spooky Dollars to evolve the Red Pumpkin Head to A-grade.
Devour Skill function is even more straightforward.
He could gain one skill from the targeted Ghost.
Deklan was given three options upon clicking the Devour Skill function: random, directed, and lock.
Random would mean he'd play with his luck to obtain one of the targeted Ghost's skill or trait, and the chances would be influenced by the fondness. For the directed option, he can increase the chances of getting the skill or trait he wanted, and the costs would also depend on the fondness.
Lastly, for the lock option, he can choose a skill that would be taken out of the skill pool.
And of course, it will cost Spooky Dollars.
"No guarantee option? At least there should be a pity system."
[What is this, a charity? No pity system.]
"Fuck, you're cruel."
Random option would cost Deklan 10 Spooky Dollars, directed option costs 50 Spooky Dollars, while the lock option cost varies depending on the targeted skill or trait that was going to be locked.
Fortunately, it didn't scale with the rank of the skill or trait.
Only the amount of locked skill or trait would inflate the cost to lock.
As for the assimilate function, it was the most interesting one out of all of the functions.
…
[Assimilate]
Stage 1 (Lock): Unlocked at 60% fondness.
Stage 2 (Lock): Unlocked at 190% fondness.
Stage 3 (Lock): Unlock after completing the Legacy Quest.
…
"Hmm, interesting… I wonder what the purpose of this Assimilate function is," Deklan rubbed his chin, curious but also excited to see what it was since it was locked behind a condition, which normally meant something good. "I am curious, but first, let me see what the special fruit is all about."
Capturing the Red Pumpkin Head earlier also gave him a special fruit.
It was clear that the system incentivized capturing Ghosts, and Deklan was going to see how well it was going to reward him.
Deklan circled the Ward, but found nothing.
Just then, his eyes widened, and he took a couple of steps back when the wind shifted.
Swish!
From the grave behind him, a reddish aura sizzled out and shot towards the Ward, seeping into its trunk under his gaze. Then, the leaves began to flutter violently as if someone was shaking them hard, and mana began to seep out through the aerial roots.
Soon enough, a fruit began to manifest above Deklan.
It was shaped like a pumpkin, the green color was sparkling, and the mana coming from it was immense.
Once it formed fully, the pumpkin dropped.
"Oopss!" Deklan caught the fruit before it fell to the ground. "I can't let such a beauty fall into the mud."
…
[Breezing Green Pumpkin]
Rank: B
Description: A rare gourd pulsing with the essence of gale. Its surface shimmers with drifting wisps of mist, as if the air bends to its will. Within its flesh swirls a calm yet untamed force. It tasted a bit sour, but within reason.
…
"B rank fruit from a B-grade potential Ghost, I see." Deklan nodded his head, noting the pattern.
And without wasting more time, he opened his mouth wide and bit into it.
He didn't even bother to cut and prepare the Breezing Green Pumpkin and immediately took a bite.
Just as the description stated, it's sour—it was not pleasant at all, like eating a pumpkin from the bad batch, but Deklan didn't care. He wanted to grow stronger, not for the taste—so this doesn't matter. Or at least—It doesn't matter as long as it's within reason.
Seeing no notification appearing, Deklan continued.
Chomp!
Chomp!
Bite after bite, he devoured the Breezing Green Pumpkin like a man starving.
Only when he devoured the pumpkin entirely did the notifications he was waiting for appear.
[Notice: Host has devoured the Breezing Green Pumpkin!]
[Agility stat has been increased!]
[Congratulations, the host has obtained Breeze Affinity!]
"Ooh… Breeze Affinity? Let me check."
…
Name: Deklan Tiernan
Persona: - (Single and ready to mingle)
Rank: Iron 1
——
STAT(S)
Strength: E+
Agility: D
Endurance: E-
Intelligence: F
Perception: D
Mental: C
Sanity: 100%
——
SKILL(S)
[Ghost Conqueror] [Dual Existence]
——
TRAIT(S)
[Iron Spine] [Breeze Affinity]
…
"From F+ to D?! That good?" Deklan gasped, surprised that the increase was that much. "Then again, it is a B-rank special fruit—while I am a weakling Iron-rank. Even so, this is good… Now you're really pumping me up to capture more Ghosts."
Other than that, Deklan noticed that his stats seemed to change.
He was confused since he was quite sure his strength should be E-, now it's E+.
But he was too excited to care.
Shrugging off the changes, he moved to check the Breeze Affinity.
…
[Breeze Affinity]
Rank: B
Description: Grants control over gentle air currents, allowing subtle manipulation of wind for precision, balance, and movement. Focus or you'll miss me!
…
"Gentle air currents…?" Deklan rubbed his chin, confused.
But since it was manipulation, he tried closing his eyes and standing still, focusing only on his senses.
He could feel the night air brushing against his body.
It was cold, soothing, and it made him afraid that he might get sick from staying outside longer.
Not to mention, he was also covered in mud.
Then, he felt it; there was a familiarity with the breeze that brushed against his skin. Nothing obvious, but it was there, like an invisible being tugging on his mana. And when he fully focused on the breeze, he tried to subtly control it.
He exerted his mana out of his skin and tried guiding the breeze.
Baby step… How about making it shift slightly?
Swish…
Deklan's lips curled into a smile when he could feel the breeze moving away from him.
Now, he tried playing around it, moving the air current left and right, up and down.
Even though he was a total noob in using this affinity, he could already see the potential.
Maybe I don't need to buy an air conditioner. Soon, very soon, I can guide the breeze to focus the hut.
It strained him to do so, and he needed to focus fully on controlling the air current, but slowly, he began to get used to the motion. From the outside, nothing about him—changed. But if anyone were to stand close to him, they would feel the air current acting weirdly.
Deklan opened his eyes again and looked down at his hands.
"Hmm… It uses mana, but not that much. As long as I'm not going overboard, I should be able to keep this up for a minute or maybe more."
Once he was more confident in this Breeze Affinity, he nodded his head and began to run.
He ran around the backyard, making a lap to know how fast he was.
Since his agility stat has increased dramatically, he has been running faster than he ever was in his previous world. In fact, he probably can run faster than the fastest man in the world if he really tried. And that was all thanks to the mana inside him.
Now, with the Breeze Affinity, he can run even faster.
"Let's see how much faster I can get!"
Deklan immediately focused on the moment, disregarding his surroundings completely.
He focused and began parting the air current in front of him.
Instead of letting the air current rush against his body, Deklan made them make way for him, reducing the air resistance to almost none. And as a result, his speed increased. Earlier, he mentally noted in his mind that he ran a lap in about eleven seconds.
Now, he can run a lap in under eight seconds!
And that's when he wasn't even trying.
Splash!
Deklan stopped abruptly, splashing mud everywhere with a stomp.
"Hah! I think I can make a dash if my control is strong enough, should I try…?"
Deklan lowered his stance, preparing to make a dash, but he remembered that recovering his mana is not a brief process. It's the middle of the night, too, so there's no reason for him to create a commotion, "Paul used to say, unless I'm a hooker, there's no reason to be making noise this late."
Deciding to wait until morning to train, he directed his attention to an item in his inventory.
It was the Random Devour Skill Ticket.
"Hmm… Based on the description, I can basically use the random function for free, and unfortunately, the lock function won't work on it. I'm guessing that with my luck, I will be getting that skill. But whatever, it's free," Deklan rubbed his hand, praying that Lady Luck was on his side tonight.
Upon mentally tapping the item, a notification appeared.
…
[Pick a target:]
• Red Pumpkin Head
…
"There's only one Ghost, you jackass. Use it on that annoying beggar."
[Alright, I'm just asking.]
Soon, a spinning wheel emerged with a chibi ghost symbol at the center, and at the very top, the pointer is a pointing skeleton. Inside the spinning wheel were all four of the available abilities that Deklan could obtain.
And as expected, the Eerie Smile skill had the biggest section, more than half of the wheel.
With an eerie chuckle sound effect, the wheel spun.
Deklan's eyes were glued to the spinning wheel, hoping for the Small Prankster skill.
Unlike the other skills, the Small Prankster skill section on the wheel was very small and also golden.
Clearly, the Red Pumpkin Head's signature skill is this one.
Being able to stun someone like that, allowing one to land the first hit, is OP. I need to have it.
But of course, Deklan is not that lucky.
Firework effect blasted in his vision alongside with ghostly effect as the pointer landed on the worst possible skill that he could get from the Red Pumpkin head—Eerie Smile. Deklan wasn't even surprised. He knew the system would screw with him.
"Let's see what it can do. It's still a skill, so it should be somewhat useful."
…
[Eerie Smile]
Rank: F
Description: Your lips will be able to curl wider than normal, turning your ugly smile... hideous.
…
"What the hell is this skill?!" Deklan howled as he refused to acknowledge this Eerie Smile as a skill.
It can only make him smile wider—that's it.
No debuff. No nothing. Just a wide, hideous smile.
Just as he was about to complain more, another notification appeared in his vision.
…
[Sudden Quest]
Description: Defeat all hostile enemies who were going to trespass into the host's turf!
Reward: 30 Spooky Dollars and 3x Basic Mana Candy.
…