Chasing A Ghost 2

I hate the swamps. Insects, bacteria, viruses, mud, creatures that lurk in said mud, the bad smell. Everything I hate exists here like some hellish melting pot. That's why in the game, I avoid them as much as I could. If an NPC gives me a quest that makes me go to a swamp, I always cancel it. That's why when Nick told me to investigate something here, I flat out refused to do it. So what the hell?! Why does he have to send the one guy I need to this place?! Of course, I could wait for him to come back but who knows what might happen to him out here. He's my only lead so I can't take that chance.

As I think about how much I don't want to be here, my boot squelches as it gets stuck in one of the mud pits.

"How could you live in this dump, Shr*k?"

As I struggle against this force of nature, I hone my senses around me. Nothing. A healthy swamp like this should be filled to the brim with all sorts of creatures but ever since I got here, I haven't sensed a single living thing. Not good...

Nick asked me to investigate this place because a kid reported seeing some strange light at night around this area. Of course, since I have no interest in venturing here and the fact that kids see anything if they put their minds to it, I just dismissed it. But being in this place now, I could tell that something weird's happening.

"Hey, Cramer! You here?!"

My voice echoes through the stale air.

No response.

Alright, since it's come to this, I think it's time to get a little serious.

[Summon Familiar- Model: Wolf]

At once, the same blue wispy wolves that I used to train Grace and Adresin appear from the summoning circle.

"Alright, boys. Time to sniff this place out."

Heeding my command, they immediately scatter in all directions with amazing speed. Except for being entirely made out of mana, these wolves function like normal ones. So, if Cramer or anyone is here, they'll be able to find them.

"Awoooo!"

Well, they sure work fast.

I follow the direction of the call and arrive at quite an interesting sight.

"Oof, dude what the hell happened to you?"

It's a monster called [Snatcher]. They're creatures that hide in the water and use their tentacles to sense and snatch prey to drown them. Since those that encounter them typically die, no one's really described what they look like. This one though has its bloated, goopy body aimlessly floating on the surface of the water. From this distance, I could tell that it's been mangled to shit but I don't know by what. The rancid smell makes my eyes water and there's not a single fly in sight which makes this whole situation even weirder.

[Telekinesis]

I carefully pull it to me so that I can take a closer look. These guys are hard to pin down so I'm curious what killed it.

"Alright... It's been dead for a while," I mutter. "The bloating's making it kinda hard to tell but those are bite and scratch marks..."

As I do my investigation, the wolves have started playing with each other.

What a happy-go-lucky bunch.

In any case, there seems to be a new apex predator in this swamp. And if what the kid said was true, it only got here a few weeks ago.

What's more interesting though is that except for rot, this corpse is also giving off an all too familiar smell. The smell of demonic energy.

"Come on boys, let's search some more."

The wolves stop their frolicking and follow my commands. However, before they could rush off, an arrow suddenly whizzes past my ear and stops the wolves in their tracks.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you!"

It's a child's voice. Obviously hiding behind one of the thick trees in this swamp.

"Who are you?" I shout back while making sure to raise both my hands in the air.

"That should be my question!" he responds. "Who're you? Why're you here?"

"That's two questions kid," I reply as I try to face towards his direction.

"Don't move an inch!" he shouts and makes a clicking noise. Sounds like he cocked his crossbow again. "This next shot has Aura in it so it'll hurt a lot even if it just grazes you."

That's not an empty threat. I could feel a spike of destructive energy aimed at my back as soon as he said that.

"Hey, are you from the settlement?"

"And why would I answer that huh?"

"I'll take that as a yes."

I snap my fingers and the wolves dissipate.

"If you're from there, you should know who I am. It's me, Richard! Sheriff Margrave sent me here to investigate."

Silence. It seems that he's thinking about his next move.

"Prove it!" he responds.

"Prove? Dude, just let me turn around and you can see my face," I reply with a bit of annoyance.

"That's a no for me. I don't know what you might pull once you could see where I am," he replies. "Just give me something that proves that you're the real Sir Richard and that Sheriff Margrave sent you."

The real Richard? What did this kid go through in this swamp?

"Fine!" I reply. "I'm gonna take something out of my pocket reeaaaal slowly ok?"

I gingerly take my hand into my pocket, making sure that I don't make any sudden moves. Then, I take out my middle finger and present it to him.

"You think this is a joke?!" he yells in frustration.

He aims for my back again, intending to shoot. However, in that split second, the wolves that disappeared earlier jump at him and immediately knock the crossbow off of his hands.

"Argh!"

Feeling that his life's in danger, the kid retaliates in the only way he knew how: uncontrolled destruction.

The air vibrates as flame-like crimson tongues burst from him. The helpless wolves immediately disintegrates along with the nature around him. This is the power of Aura... Its destruction goes beyond burns or explosions. Anything it touches simply ceases to exist.

"Hey kid! You need to calm down!"

I try to get through to him but he's in full-on survival mode. He shrouded himself in Aura so getting near him is out of the question. Fuck... I just wanted to stop him from pointing that dangerous thing at me so we can have a proper conversation. What made this kid so jumpy?

As I rack my brain on how to tackle this situation, the kid's energy output begins to dissipate until the atmosphere turns back from before.

"What the..." I mutter. "Wait, look out!"

I immediately rush towards him as I see him tumble like a corpse.

He fainted...

Wait... I can't breathe that well. Does Aura also destroy air?

"How fucking careless kid..." I say as I give him a piggyback. "You're my only lead right now to find Cramer so I can't have you dying on me."