They started to walk down a narrow path into the giant canyon. The air was cold and heavy. The silence was so deep that it felt like a pressure on their ears.
"Charming place," Ren said. "Very spooky. Five stars for the scary feeling."
Lyra did not laugh. She was focused. Her new armor shined even in the dim, grey light.
When they reached the bottom of the canyon, the dead came to meet them. Skeletons with old, rusty swords rose from the ground. They moved with a dry, scraping sound. Their eyes were just empty holes with a small, red light burning inside.
"Finally," Ren said with a fake sigh. "The welcoming party is here."
Lyra charged forward. Her A-Rank shield, the King's Bulwark, was perfect for this fight. She smashed the skeletons to pieces like they were made of dry sticks. Her sword cut through bone and old armor easily. She was a fortress of steel.
Ren was a river of death. He moved through the skeletons. He wanted to test his sword's Royal Venom on the undead. He learned that the poison part did not work on them. But the corrosive part worked very well. When his purple blade touched a skeleton's bones, the bones would hiss and turn black. They became weak and would crumble into dust with the next hit.
Soon, the ground was covered in bone dust. The fight was too easy.
[You have gained 350 EXP]
"These guys give very little experience," Ren said. "We need to find the stronger monsters."
They walked deeper into the canyon. The path went through an old graveyard. There were broken stone tombs everywhere. It was then that they heard it. A soft, sad sound. It was the sound of a woman crying.
A wave of magic washed over them. Lyra gasped. She felt a great sadness fill her heart. Her body felt heavy. "Ren..." she said, her voice weak. "The crying... I can't move right..."
Ren felt the sad magic too. But his special [PRIMORDIAL] bloodline protected him. The sadness could not touch his mind. He was fine. "Stay behind me," he said. His voice was not playful now. It was serious.
From the shadows, three ghostly shapes floated out. They looked like beautiful elven women. They were see-through and glowed with a pale, white light. Black tears ran down their ghostly faces. They were the Weeping Maidens.
Ren knew he could not just attack them. Their sad crying was their real weapon. He needed a weapon that could not feel sad. An idea came to him. A big grin came back to his face.
"They might be immune to my charm," he said to himself. "But let's see how they feel about something with no emotions at all."
He held out his hand. [Summon Lesser Wasp]!
The silver doorway opened, and Buzz flew out.
"Alright, Buzz," Ren commanded, pointing at the nearest ghost. "Go get them. Playtime is over."
Buzz was a perfect weapon for this fight. The sad magic did not affect the wasp at all. It flew like a black bullet towards the Weeping Maiden.
The ghost did not see Buzz as a threat. But Buzz's stinger was a real, physical thing. It hit the ghost's ethereal body.
The Weeping Maiden let out a loud shriek. It was not a sound of sadness. It was a sound of pain. The sad crying song stopped for a moment. Lyra felt the heavy weight on her mind get a little lighter.
Ren grinned. He had found their weakness.