Lord of Rot

With two Corpse Ghosts digging together, the speed was breakneck.

A dirt wall over ten feet thick was torn open as easily as cotton, revealing a space within.

’This doesn’t look like it was just buried in the mountain,’ Leech thought to himself as he directed the Corpse Ghost to step inside. ’There are no signs of artificial excavation on the outside, nor any traces above or below. It’s like it just appeared here out of thin air.’

There was only one possibility.

Spatial Magic technology.

This room had been stuffed into the mountainside in an abrupt, almost nonsensical way—much like how Leech had used his tombstones to drag the catacombs of Linta Bay to Porcupine Territory.

Perhaps too much time had passed, or some other reason had caused the space to fracture, which was why the mining slaves had encountered the ghosts escaping from this place.

It was a research lab, completely empty save for a small bed and a solitary bookshelf.

Only half of the bed was there; the other half was nowhere to be seen. It looked just like the Undead Flying Dragon that had been sliced in two when the Necromancer Ah Yamei’s Magic was interrupted, causing her Space Gate to slam shut.

’It seems the entire research lab wasn’t dragged into the mountain,’ Leech secretly surmised. ’The other half has likely drifted off to some other dimension.’

It was unclear why this research lab had appeared here, but he now had a rough idea of why the ghosts had emerged.

A space buried by time and earth had been breached by the mining, allowing its contents to see the light of day again—and that included these ghosts.

A ghost happened to poke its head out from the lone book on the bookshelf.

Before Leech could say anything, the Water Nymph had already crushed the ghost.

”Wait a moment,” Leech quickly called out. He hadn’t figured out what was going on yet.

Last time, in the dungeon tower within the Headland Catacombs, he had discovered a similar Magic Array.

’Do all ghosts have to exist this way? Do they have to stay inside a Magic Array?’

”There are many ghosts inside,” the Water Nymph said, controlling the Corpse Ghost to point at the book.

”Are they dangerous?”

”No.”

Just as he was about to have the Water Nymph go in and scout, the book’s cover was suddenly torn off with a RIIIP.

Then, countless ghosts began to pour out frantically.

Leech’s vision was filled with faint, white shadows.

In the space of a few breaths, the ghosts filled the entire small room. Some were even forced to ”clip” through the walls, squeezed into the surrounding earth.

’Did the seal break?’ he guessed.

This was becoming more and more like that ghost from the underground castle. Or maybe all ghosts had to live inside Magic Arrays?

These ghosts looked similar to the ones he had encountered outside. They were bizarrely shaped, and many seemed utterly illogical, as if they had been forcibly fabricated and pieced together.

One had a man’s head, a woman’s head, and a child’s head all growing from one body. It was strange no matter how you looked at it.

’A happy family?’

Recalling Leech’s earlier command, the Water Nymph didn’t rush to kill the ghosts. She had the Corpse Ghost stand motionlessly to the side, waiting quietly for Leech to investigate.

The ghosts’ state was also strange. They weren’t aggressive, nor did they possess much intelligence, simply floating listlessly nearby.

Leech walked straight forward, ”overlapping” with a long-bearded ghost in front of him before passing through it.

It wasn’t that he wanted to, but the narrow space was crammed with ghosts. Thankfully, they had no physical collision, or the mine tunnel would have collapsed from the pressure.

But the moment he passed through, he clearly felt something was wrong. His mind felt a little itchy, as if something was trying to bore its way in.

’When in doubt, use Intimidation.’

Leech unleashed his intimidation on the ghost he was overlapping with. Its body instantly shattered and vanished, and the force even drove away the surrounding ghosts, clearing a large open space.

That saved him from any more negative-distance contact with the ghosts.

The itching sensation in his mind disappeared.

Walking to the bookshelf, Leech picked up the book.

Words were still visible on the tattered cover.

”Rune Experiment Log”

Leech was suddenly reminded of the first journal he had obtained from a Necromancer.

’This is an experiment log?’

Knowledge was one of the greatest treasures in this world.

More precious than riches or wondrous artifacts.

There were ways to acquire the former two, but much knowledge had already been buried in the river of history, lost for various reasons and fated never to reappear in the world of the living.

[Rune Experiment Log (1): Twelve test subjects selected, six male and six female. Divided into control groups by age.]

’A controlled experiment?’ Leech frowned slightly. ’Using humans as test subjects... that doesn’t sit well.’

[Power Runes carved into the skin of the subjects’ bodies. Tests on two groups of young females show the Runes provide a significant increase in strength, but seem to have a strong corrosive effect on the spirit. The group without carved Runes shows no change, only great fear. A normal reaction.]

Below was a timetable, detailing the meal and rest times of the female control group, including excretion and other abnormal conditions.

He turned the page.

[Group one deceased.]

[...Group two deceased.]

[...Deceased.]

[All control groups deceased.]

[Summary: Runes have a powerful corrosive effect on the spirit. Specifics of death: extreme terror, cardiac arrest, mouth agape. Souls can be detained for use as material.]

’Soul detention? So they weren’t even spared after death.’ Leech looked at the ghosts floating around him. ’They probably became ghosts because of the experimenter’s Magic.’

[Rune Experiment Log (2): Strength limit test. Six test subjects selected, divided into comparison groups by age.]

[Group one selected. Fourteen arms sutured on and carved with Power Runes. Comparison group only carved with Runes.]

Leech’s frown deepened. He was beginning to understand the experience of that creature outside with a dozen arms hugging itself. It was probably one of the test subjects from this group.

The result was, likewise, self-evident.

[Even with Power Runes carved on every arm, there was no significant increase in strength, but the rate of spiritual corrosion was markedly faster. Cannot rule out that sutured limbs affected the spirit.]

[...All deceased.]

[Conclusion: Too many influencing factors. Results not suitable for reference.]

FLIP. He turned the page.

[Rune Experiment Log (3): Additional Rune limit test...]

[Group one carved with two Power Runes. Comparison group carved with one Power Rune.]

[Group one showed a markedly faster rate of spiritual corrosion...]

[Deceased...]

[Conclusion: Rate of spiritual corrosion is affected by the number of Runes. Runes cannot be stacked.]

’Runes... Power Runes... Is this a way to grant Extraordinary power to ordinary humans? A corpse has no consciousness of its own. Could it be carved with them?’

To be more precise, Corpse Ghosts don’t have souls either, but they do have Spiritual Power.

The difference between a soul and Spiritual Power was a difficult thing to explain.

’If I carve them and then control the subject, would my own Spiritual Power be corroded?’

Leech mulled it over carefully. ’What if I let a Corpse Ghost act as a console to bear the corrosion, while I issue simple commands, controlling the corpse like in an RTS game? Could I obtain an army of Rune-users that are already dead?’

He now understood why the scholar from Three-fork River Castle had suddenly gone mad. The man had probably entered the mine and, just like Leech had a moment ago when overlapping with the ghost, had his spirit corroded.

The scholar’s Spiritual Power was nothing compared to Leech’s—he specialized in herbalism, after all. That’s why he went mad, just like those slaves.

’Perhaps because his Spiritual Power was stronger than the slaves’, they died on the spot, while he held on for a while longer before succumbing to the corrosion.’

Leech continued to read.

[Rune Experiment Log (4): Different Rune stacking test. No comparison group. Four subjects selected for the experiment, each carved with different Runes.]

[Survival time: 4 hours.]

[Conclusion: Multiple Runes can be effective simultaneously.]

[Rune Experiment Log (5): Test on the interaction between Runes and special body modifications.]

[One test subject selected. Face modified, eyeball of a one-eyed viper transplanted, carved with a Perception Rune.]

[Survival time: two days.]

[Conclusion: Significant enhancement to special body modifications. Runes should be matched to body modifications. Body suturing is also an option, but tissue rejection must be addressed.]

He quickened his pace, now understanding what the ghosts in this mine had truly gone through.

They were just a group of poor souls, modified by a crazed bastard with Magic while alive, and had their souls controlled after death to study the relationship between Runes, the body, and the soul.

HUFF! He let out a long breath and said to the quietly waiting Water Nymph, ”Exterminate them all.”

The Water Nymph, standing beside Leech, didn’t know why he had suddenly sighed.

Leech was no Divine Spirit. He couldn’t resurrect these victims, nor did he have the means to let them exist happily as ghosts. The only thing he could do was end the dazed, miserable existence of these ghosts who had been trapped here for who knew how many years, and grant them true release.

One by one, the ghosts vanished peacefully before Leech’s eyes, offering no resistance.

’I really should have called a Priest from the church over. I wonder if Priests take on jobs to guide the dead.’

But their souls had been annihilated. He figured even the Four Gods couldn’t pull them back now. After a moment’s thought, he dismissed the idea. No point in padding the Four Gods Sect’s performance numbers.

「Outside the mine.」

Leech finished waiting and started walking inside.

Seeing this, Hawke Wood instinctively called out, ”Lord Leech...”

”Don’t let anyone in,” Leech said, stopping and turning to Hawke Wood with a serious expression. ”It’s dangerous inside. Leave it to me!”

”May the Four Gods protect and bless you!” he said piously.

The others did the same, watching with the eyes one might reserve for a hero as Leech walked resolutely into the mine.

Once inside the mine, Leech rolled up his sleeves.

’First, a layer of Stone Skin!’

He recited the Spell.

His body was coated in a thin layer of stone skin.

’Huff, not a bad effect.’

He swung his fists twice. They felt heavy.

Then, he smashed a fist against the mine wall.

BOOM!!

The massive sound, like a beast’s roar, shot out from the mine and made Hawke Wood and the others tremble in fear.

Inside the mine, the Water Nymph watched Leech furiously hammering away with his fists and asked, ”What are you doing?”

Leech had cast Stone Skin Magic on himself and was now punching here and kicking there, leaving the Corpse Ghost utterly bewildered.

This was one of the reasons Leech couldn’t be sure if a Corpse Ghost was still a living being.

Aside from lacking normal physiological functions and their tendency to rot, Corpse Ghosts were clearly superior to humans; they wouldn’t even die from a few arrows to the head.

And the Water Nymph didn’t even have the weakness of decay.

”I’m making a scene,” Leech said. ”If we go in quietly and come out quietly, they’ll think the process was too easy. They won’t feel at ease.”

The performance was part of the job, and a very important part at that.

The bigger the commotion, the more they’d feel their money was well spent.

The Water Nymph couldn’t understand Leech’s meaning at all. She simply withdrew her Spiritual Power and relinquished control of the Corpse Ghost. She probably went back to Pigtail Bay to listen to the sailors sing. Leech had heard them before, bellowing out a song called ”The Shrew Queen’s Shack.”

It had even made him consider teaching the sailors to sing a song called ”The Sailor.”

Now, Leech directly controlled the two Corpse Ghosts to cause destruction alongside him.

The entire mine tunnel was thrown into chaos, its walls collapsing.

”Lord Leech!” a shout came from outside. ”The mine is collapsing! Get out of there!”

”It’s almost taken care of!” Leech yelled back, threw in two more kicks, and then started running for the exit.

Not long after the three of them got out...

BOOM! The mine collapsed.

”How did it go?” Hawke Wood asked, coming over.

Leech, panting heavily, said, ”It was indeed full of ghosts, but don’t worry. They’ve all been eliminated!”

Hawke Wood was overjoyed. ”The Four Gods be praised!”

Leech also smiled and nodded. ”The Four Gods be praised!”