Not good-looking. Not powerful. And don't have any useful powers.
Frankly, the Pale Night Lady is not that attractive to be captured, but Deklan could only bet that she'd at least give him a good fruit. That's the only thing he was hoping for from this Ghost. He almost forgot about that function earlier.
She's not special, but she is an Alpha Ghost. That must count as something, right?
Swoosh!
Deklan rushed ahead and went straight to the nearest Pale Draggle.
His speed was faster than the baby Ghost's.
Mercilessly, Deklan swung his spear straight at the Pale Draggle's legs.
One swing broke both of its legs, and without pausing, Deklan went to another one.
And then another one.
In a matter of ten seconds, he captured three Pale Draggles and was satisfied with this haul.
"I'm exhausted," Deklan wiped the sweat on his forehead. "I'm also running out of mana. I have to end this right now."
Deklan felt fatigue creeping in, and he reckoned his mana was only sufficient to make one more dash.
So, the next clash should be the final clash, or else he'd die.
Once again, Deklan used the Ghost Conqueror skill, manifesting it in the shape of a very long spear, and once he was done with his preparations, he brought the spear up. "Come on, Mama Ghost!" He mocked, eyeing the treelines. "Save your poor babies!"
Along the length of the long spear, Deklan used the Pale Draggles as weapon decorations.
All three Pale Draggles were hung on the spear by their baby diapers, crying and wailing for their mom.
The Pale Night Lady really liked to hide, so all Deklan needed to do was lure her out.
And what better way to do that than using her own babies?
Screee!
"Here she comes…"
Deklan's eyes narrowed, and time slowed down around him as he focused on the Pale Night Lady that blasted out from the treelines like a dark phantom. He immediately used his Breeze Affinity and dropped the glowing spear.
As her hand approached, he created a rush of wind that pushed him to the left.
It made his sidestep unnaturally fast.
For a fleeting moment, the Pale Night Lady was surprised as her attack missed.
Looking to her side, she saw Deklan was already raising his Albino Spear overhead with both hands.
"Being reckless is a surefire way to lose, lady. Stay down for me."
Deklan's arm muscles bulged as he swung down with all his might, using the Breeze Affinity to make way for the descending spear. His move was flawless—there was no time to react. And the moment the spear landed, the Pale Night Lady's back cracked.
Bam!
As the spear landed on her back, she was slammed into the ground.
Its force rippled like a gush as blood gushed out of her mouth.
Before she could recover, Deklan changed the Ghost Conqueror spear to a lasso and tied the Pale Night Lady. His foot pressed against her back, pinning her down as the capturing process started. And in an instant, the Ghost was captured.
"Not even half a minute?" Deklan panted as he fell to one knee.
He was pleasantly surprised that the capturing process only lasted a few seconds.
[If the Ghost is wounded, capturing it would be far easier, host.]
"I guess that made sense," Deklan shrugged as he panted heavily, trying to catch his breath. "Man, my body felt like it was going to break. That's a bronze rank, huh? If I didn't crack that status effect, I'd be the one on the ground."
Deklan watched as the Pale Night Lady faded into strands of energy.
She wasn't sucked towards him.
Instead, she flew away, leaving only a trail of energy behind—presumably pulled by the Ward.
[Capture complete!]
[Congratulations, host has captured an uncommon Ghost: Pale Night Lady!]
[Ghost Residents: 1 / 1]
[+2 Spooky Dollars per day.]
[The Pale Night Lady is a D-grade Ghost. A special fruit would be produced by the Ward.]
Deklan could finally breathe easily.
Since Pumple was inside the prison, the Pale Night Lady was registered as a Ghost Resident.
And that's why he got an increase in Spooky Dollars production.
But that doesn't matter—all Deklan cared about right now was the special fruit.
"Damn it," He raised his shirt and exposed blood and a claw mark—raking across the side of his abdomen. "It is scraping against my shirt, fuck!"
Compared to his bruises, it wasn't the worst pain—but its placement made it sting all the more, scraping constantly against the rough fabric of his shirt. Deklan needed to head back to treat his wound, but first, he took off his plain shirt.
As soon as he did, relief washed over him—the night air against his skin felt almost blissful.
He looked around and realized the world had regained its color.
A mild breeze coming from the bridge rushed against his skin, and the world recovered.
[Congratulations on closing the host's very first Null Zone!]
[Ghost Busters achievement has been completed!]
[20 Spooky Dollars and Boost Aura item has been awarded.]
Deklan ignored the notifications and watched the Pale Draggles ahead that were running into the woods.
Now, without their mother, these babies fled far away.
Of course, it's best for him to take them out right now, but he was too tired and lazy to do it.
He had done something productive today, so now is the time to reward himself!
And the reward he settled on would be bullying Granny Linsa and winning Marsha over.
Besides, his mana was basically exhausted right now.
"I'll find them later," Deklan waved his hand. "None of them would be returning to this area, anyway."
Just then, Deklan realized something.
Even though he had dealt with the problem around the bridge, the sudden quest wasn't completed.
At this point, the notification should've come if it was already completed.
So that could only mean one thing.
"Good work on clearing the bridge, young master…"
Deklan glanced over his shoulder and allowed himself to chuckle at the sight of Adrian and Hendrick, who bot has their swords drawn already. Even though their intent was clear—by making an appearance right now, already drawing their swords was quite ballsy.
"Let me guess, your bitch mom told you to stalk and kill me."
"Mind your tongue, young master. No one insults my mother and walks away unscathed."
"I'd say you're the one who should watch your tongue," Deklan, though tired and beaten up, rose to his feet and turned to face these two fools. "Didn't your father ever tell you that a man is only as good as his word? If you say those words and fail, what would that say about you?"
Adrian gritted his teeth, furious at how Deklan, even in his state, dared to lecture him.
Instead of lecturing, Deklan should think about himself first.
"Let's kill this arrogant young master."
"Roger."
Adrian and Hendrick raised their swords and approached, inching closer warily.
But then, their steps stopped dead in their tracks when they noticed something inside Deklan's mouth.
He was chewing something.
"Hmm, seems like there's no father figure in your life. Fine... Just remember, you came to kill me." Deklan lowered his stance, his eyes bulging from the sudden sharp spiciness that attacked his tongue, causing his eyes to water. "Don't blame me for returning the same exact intent back at you."
"Hmph! You talk much for someone at death's door!" Hendrick charged, raising his sword overhead.
He swung down in a heavy vertical slash.
Deklan didn't move.
It made Hendric's lips curl into a smirk as this would be his end.
But at the last second, he pivoted his body, watching calmly as the slash missed him by a hair's breadth.
Hendrick missed; his sword hacked the rough ground, but he immediately swung up with a roar.
"Damn you!"
Clank!
Deklan raised his foot in time and stepped on the sword, stopping the momentum.
At that moment, Hendrick's brows dipped into a frown. He was confused—as to why he couldn't raise his sword. But before he could look down, a heavy punch landed squarely against his jaw, knocking him out cold.
Adrian watched this in shock.
'He's riddled with wounds and looks exhausted. How did he still have any strength left?!'
On the other hand, Deklan was screaming inside—he opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water as his mouth was on fire. He fanned his tongue with desperate gasps. Steam might as well rush out from his ears as he struggled to endure the spice.
It was hard to move with his exhausted body, so he needed a stimulant.
Fortunately, the Hot Blue Chilli could provide that stimulant.
But heck, it's only getting spicier!
Deklan stared at Adrian.
He was too exhausted to close the distance, and he feared that if he did that, he would lose the strength in his legs even with the Hot Blue Chilli. Instead, he should taunt the loser. "Come on, kiddo," Deklan taunted with a smirk. "Are you a man of your word? Or is your manhood short enough to be called a coward and a liar?"
Hearing this, Adrian could only see red.
Like a madman, he charged and roared, gripping the sword tightly.
"I'll kill you!!"
Adrian thrust his sword forward—a reckless thrust, an amateur thrust, a clumsy thrust.
Before he knew it, a fist drilled into his stomach hard.
Even though he was wearing leather armor, the full brunt of the punch pierced through it and even cracked a bone inside. His eyes bulged—and saliva gushed out of his mouth. In his entire life, this was his first time feeling a punch this hard.
It turned his legs into jelly as he fell to the ground, cradling his stomach.
Pah!
Adrian's eyes widened when Deklan hit the back of his head.
Not hard; it was only a slap, but the humiliation was so much that he wanted to bury himself.
"Bah-Bastard…"
"What? What happened?"
Deklan crouched down, looking at the pathetic state Adrian was which was a direct result of his brazen arrogance. To think he actually believed that he could take on someone who could utilize mana like Deklan was plain stupid.
He should at least attack at the same time as Hendrick, but he didn't.
And now, this happened.
Deklan grabbed a handful of his hair and forced him to look up.
"D-Don't kill me…"
"Kill you? Though you deserved it for attempting this stupid stunt, I won't. You got lucky. I had my fill a few nights ago. So, no, I won't kill you."
Hearing this, Adrian smiled a little as he was relieved to be shown such a mercy.
But that relief was short-lived as Deklan used his Eerie Smile skill, unnaturally stretching his smirk.
"Instead of killing you, I have a better idea. After all, though you annoyed me and deserved to die, I wasn't aiming for you initially."