Chapter 377: The Deadweight Ais

As soon as the aged double doors of the front entrance were closed, the empty hall was instantly enveloped in gloom.

The ceiling was covered in cobwebs, a goat head specimen hung on the wall, and a statue in the corner, which originally should have been quite beautiful, was now missing half its face and an arm, adding a bit more eerie atmosphere to the surroundings.

Aiden raised the portable Magic Stone Lamp he had prepared beforehand, its soft glow driving away some of the darkness.

He somewhat understood why Ais was afraid; in this kind of environment, if someone came alone, most people would get cold feet.

Behind him, Ais had already drawn her rapier, her body tense, striking a posture ready to cut someone down at any moment.

This made Aiden secretly laugh; as expected, there were no girls who weren't afraid of ghosts and the like.

"Ais, there are monsters like Skeletons in the Lower Levels, right? You aren't afraid of things like that, but you're actually afraid of a ghost?" Aiden asked with some curiosity.

"Ghosts… can't be cut." Ais's answer was concise and to the point.

"Fair enough." Aiden found himself unable to retort.

"Aiden… are you afraid of ghosts?" Ais looked at him with a gaze carrying a hint of frailty.

Aiden revealed a speechless expression, then said, "If it were a real ghost, I'd be a little scared. But if such a thing really exists, just watch me burn it."

Saying that, he snapped his fingers, and a small wisp of bright flame began to dance at his fingertips.

Seeing Aiden's brimming confidence, Ais felt somewhat reassured.

She subconsciously leaned closer, almost pressing against him, as the unique fragrance of a young maiden drifted from her hair and gently brushed his neck.

"…For now, should we go check out the third floor where the black shadow was?" Aiden asked.

"W-wait a minute!" Ais hurriedly spoke up. "If we're going to investigate, we should start from one end of the building and leave the core part for last… That's what Riveria said."

For a dignified First-Class Adventurer to be scared to this extent, whether this ghost existed or not, it had already accomplished an impressive feat.

With an inward sweatdrop, Aiden led Ais up to the second floor, which they hadn't managed to finish investigating last time.

Their footsteps on the rotting stairs produced creaking sounds.

Ais nervously grabbed Aiden's sleeve, holding her long sword with a face full of vigilance, terrified that a ghost would suddenly rush out from some corner.

Just then, a massive bolt of lightning tore through the night sky outside the mansion.

"Kyaa!" Ais let out a startled cry, instinctively hugging Aiden's arm tightly.

The close contact of her soft body, her full breasts pressing against his elbow past her breastplate, and the fragrance gently drifting from her golden hair made Aiden's mind wander for a moment.

"Ais, you're using too much strength." Aiden felt as if his arm was caught in an iron vise, his bones groaning under the heavy burden.

While a maiden's reliance certainly brought secret joy to his heart, if this maiden was a Level 6 adventurer capable of cleaving a Floor Boss in half with a single sword strike, then this enjoyment became a bit too heavy.

He had no doubt that if it were a weaker adventurer, their arm would have already been snapped by this unconscious, immense force.

"S-sorry." Ais's cheeks instantly flushed crimson, and the strength in her hands subconsciously loosened a bit, yet that hand still tightly gripped Aiden's arm without the slightest intention of letting go.

Just this point alone was enough to show exactly how terrified she was.

"It's fine, it's just thunder, don't be afraid." Aiden sighed helplessly, raised his other hand, and gently placed it on top of her golden hair, soothing her tense emotions.

However, these words of comfort didn't have much effect.

The subsequent ghost investigation thoroughly made Aiden experience what it meant to be physically and mentally exhausted.

If a rat flashed past from the shadows of the corridor, Ais would instantly react with super-speed, the cold gleam of her rapier nearly shaving a layer off the wall.

If the sound of the wind blowing against a broken window came from outside the building, she would immediately raise her sword, striking a posture as if facing a formidable enemy.

If the thunder roared across the horizon again, the scene from just now of her tightly hugging his arm would play out once more.

Aiden even felt that if a normal adventurer were in his place, there was a high probability they wouldn't be scared to death by the so-called ghost, but rather killed first by Ais's startle-induced, extreme overreactions.

The "unknown" named "ghost" had made this First-Class Adventurer, who should have remained unshaken in the face of any abnormal situation, excessively sensitive, her actions becoming extraordinarily radical.

To be honest, she was probably unable to utilize even ten percent of her strength from her Dungeon explorations right now; it was all just a frantic mess.

However, even while dragging along Ais—who could be called the strongest "deadweight" in history—Aiden methodically finished investigating all the rooms on the second floor, eventually arriving at the third and highest floor.

"This is the only place left uninvestigated, right." Aiden said softly, standing at the entrance to the rotting stairs.

"Mhm… l-let's go." Ais's tone carried a noticeable tremble.

Aiden revealed a trace of speechlessness; he really wanted to say that if she was truly scared, it would be fine for him to go up alone.

But on second thought, given Ais's unyielding personality, she would probably never back down at a time like this.

After all, even scared to this extent, she still insisted on completing this commission.

Sure enough, Ais took a deep breath, and actually worked up the courage to actively reach out and push that tightly closed, rotting wooden door.

Of course, her other hand was still clamped like a vise, tightly hugging Aiden's arm.

The ear-piercing sound of grinding wood rang out, and the scene behind the door slowly appeared before their eyes—

It was a sight that could easily be mistaken for a "Witches' Sabbath."

Aiden and Ais simultaneously gasped in a breath of cold air.

This was a massive room without any windows. Placed right in the center was a huge iron cauldron, being heated by the roaring flames below, and the suspicious red liquid inside was bubbling with a "glug glug" sound.

Complex magic circles they had never seen before were drawn on the floor, and eerie candles were lit in circles around the perimeter.

Various large containers connected by tubes were piled up in the corners of the room, along with animal bones and flesh that looked like sacrificial offerings…

Faced with this scene that closely resembled some kind of cult ritual, even the normally bold Aiden felt his heartbeat involuntarily accelerate.

Then, right after that.

From the darkness of another room connected deep within the ritual chamber… a "shadow" swayed and walked out.

A silhouette resembling a phantom abruptly emerged from the darkness.

It was neither human nor a monster.

In front of Ais's seemingly petrified gaze, what was born from that darkness were white bones without flesh or skin—a living "Skeleton."

And Aiden instantly remembered something.

───

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