She had finally made it to the half pint Inn.
"Sorry sir, do you have any rooms free at the moment?"
"we do, but we may have to settle you into one of the smaller rooms young man."
"Oh, that is fine, I'll be staying here for two nights."
"That'll be 14 value points."
"Fourteen! What do you think you're trying to pull here? That's over twice the normal charge for two night."
She turned around and left. She was still in the body of a young man though, and his body had been rotting a little, so it was kind of hard to make expressions. But leaving was fine, she had no intention of getting a room. The spike in prices was all the confirmation she needed that special guests were here. So, instead of outright sending people away, making prices outrageous was a simple gimmick.
I really should find myself a new body. He almost caught a whiff.
She then dug her own grave, a little ways off. Then she jumped in and buried herself alive. Then her soul left his body. She then went off to the Inn, which already had a barrier to stop people who spied using spirits, ferries, and pixies. After reaching the place she sunk into the ground, to avoid obvious detection from those who can see her.
I wonder how long I'll be down here? Maybe I should try making a report again. The last time I tried the link didn't form.
She then tried sending a link to the Knight, but she couldn't get a connection.
What is he even doing? I'll try again latter.
She had actually come from a neighbouring town. There she earned more points through odd jobs. Since this was not her body, she could even do jobs that would otherwise deter the living. There she also purchased the Timed explosive and also managed to take some revenge on an acquaintance who had sold her out a while back.
She waited underground for a long time. After all, even the decoy was heavily guarded, and this meant she couldn't easily just find her. But she knew she was in here from an early source of information – and through a confirmation of her own. She had even seen the 'incognito' guards sneaking in and out to fetch her food and things she fancy.
Three days later – during the celebration of the living festival, the guards and hotel staff were acting awfully suspicious, and that's when she knew it was her time. She moved closer to the entrance. Having grown stronger her skill had advanced.
Her skill did allow her to leave her body but the true essence of it was more complex. What her soul was doing was keeping physical conscience without having a physical body. Her memories and most importantly her skills. And on a second side this skill allowed her to inhabit anybody that had no soul. But after reaching level 50, she could also inhabit objects.
And unlike spirits, whilst inside an object she not only retained her mind, but she also became wholly invisible. Not because her soul had some invisibility side effect, but because her presence is the same as the object – incapacitated but virtually invisible. She managed to hide in the pin in the decoy's hair – the dangerous part had been jumping from underground to the hair pin.
I really can't see or hear anything – I really hate becoming one with objects.
Unable to perceive the world outside was a disadvantage, but due to her skill keeping her mind intact, she was able to keep track of time. She actually had to be in the pin, because there was no other reliable way to tail the decoy.
She had no-way of finding out if she was discarded, and she might die should someone destroy it. According to her information, the decoy never let the pin out her sight – convenient. She didn't want to wake up next to a discarded shoe at an auction.
A month passed like this – sensually closed from the world outside, but still counting. She had stored up on a month's energy beforehand. So, today, on the last day, she had to hope, no-one was staring at a pin and escape. She had a recent streak of bad luck lately, like the Knight going radio silent on her, so she didn't have much faith in it – so the plan was to run out and dive as deep into the ground as she thought necessary.
One… two… three… go…
She then rushed out and fell into the ground and dove as deep as she could go. The fact she had not surfaced into an empty space below the one she had dived from, meant that she was either on the ground floor or just outside. After a while she floated up and out of the ground.
I probably should surface… now!
When she came back up, she realised not only had she been lucky that they had not seen her, but they were already inside a building meaning that she didn't have to stake out outside. The plan had gone so well, her only problem now was to find energy.
She surfaced, turning her head slowly, analysing the place while remaining conspicuous.
What's all this now? This room – it's nothing like an Inn.
She saw the decoy, sitting on the bed, doing nothing at all. She was also the only one in the room, this place must be more secure than it lets on if they didn't leave extra security detail in here with her.
She also noted that the decoy, couldn't see her, so she got out of the ground and started roaming. The drawback of being in soul form was that she needed way more energy than a regular person at her level. And she also hadn't figured out how to ingest food while in soul form, so even if she found food, she first had to find a body.
Imagine watching someone eat as you starved – such a sight tempted her daily to try and kill her, take her body and enjoy the delectables herself. But she didn't. She just watched a brand-new guard deliver food everyday – none for her. Even worse she didn't even know where she was.
I used to hate treasure hunts, I still do. At least back then we all took breaks if the monsters got too strong for us. She smiled, internally, she had no such freedom as a soul. The funny part is that, sometimes the monster wouldn't even be guarding any.
She was referring to the kind of treasure hunts adventurers went on. Since if a monster was roaming a single spot, that was not a dungeon, like haunted grounds, or unused routes, it usually meant they were protecting some kind of treasure.
Her and her party, when she used to have her original body used to study monsters like this. The village had little to no jobs, so if a monster was found nesting, everyone would scrabble to hunt it first. It was a risky gig – as it always is being an adventurer. Either they found actual treasure, or it was guarding something useless, or it hadn't been nesting just held up due to some other reason.
The problem with these hunts were the strength of monsters – usually the stronger ones protected more valuable stuff. And, being a weak party, they had not made a lot from these excursion. In fact, they were a waste of time. Since they would suffer grievous injuries for nothing. Worse still they would use the money earned from just clearing the monster to pay for the healing.
Nevertheless, they went on them anyway because it was fun. The planning, hunting, tracking, studying, the attack, and the rare times when they found something so valuable, the merchants who passed through would drop their jaws. None of that made up for the pain of the previous hunts, but being with them did.
But now, she had no-one by her side, was starving, and she didn't even know if the treasure she would get was even on this hunt. But it was for one thing and one thing only – to at the very least make sure that she manages to not add another regret.
*Knock-knock*
That's not the guards; they knock six times.
She turned her head and faced the decoy, and she changed her face and some of her features and said come in, meaning she had been expecting this particular person.
Good, something new.
"She has arrived, so you'll be free to leave. Here, these are the uniforms of some of the staff, you'll be able to leave without causing a ruckus. Also here…"
He shook her hand transferring some value points.
"I'm sure you know where to go for the rendezvous right?"
She nodded, took the uniform and signalled for him to leave. After dressing up, she changed her features again. And she opened a hidden small exit door.
Dang it, I was hoping to follow that old guy, but it seems even he's just a decoy. I could follow her out but being revoked of her decoy duties that'll lead me nowhere. Darn it‼! I can't let the last few months be a bust…
She then left using the gap, but this time didn't follow the decoy – she was looking for something. She had to act fast.
Found it.
She then leapt as fast as a soul could. She then delved as deep as she could in the ground. *Dum-dum-scratch-crumble* As she surfaced through the ground like a zombie in a new body. Her skill also made her good at finding buried plots. This was not part of the skill – just a sense gained through experience, demand, and necessity.
This was not the body she had wanted, since surfacing out like this destroyed it. So, just like the decoy, she used this body to properly dig out a stronger nearby one. She was not into desecrating burial grounds, but she was not going to let this chance slip.
She bowed at the body she had just used to dig and ran in the one she had dug out. She also had the experience of moving these creaky and crooked joints like a living person. She scrambled looking around.
Did I miss her?
She then luckily – more like skilfully since she had known most of her path out of this place, since she used to mumble parts of it to herself to stave off the boredom.
There!
She had just disposed of the clothed and switched features again. She might have lost her, if she hadn't seen all the clothes she had been supplied. She ran after her but then began following behind the shadows. She noticed that no-one else had followed her, making this an easier follow since she had no contenders – she lost a previous decoy this way.
The decoy then bought a middle ranked large black wolf beast.
That must've cost a pretty point.
She knew three things – she couldn't keep up with them if she began riding it. She also couldn't face them. She also knew she couldn't attack her out in the open. So, she had to set a trap – and hope she would fall for it – she did somewhat know things her after spending months together.
She set herself up on a corner, looking at the barely visible stars. Singing a tune she had pieced together from hearing the decoy sing it. And it worked she stopped and looked at the stranger. She smelled awful, looked a little better – only a little, but the decoy had never heard anyone else sing it. She stopped, looked at the stranger singing her mother's lullaby, and so clearly too – and she was sure no-one should know it.
"Hey there! How do you know that song."
She didn't look. After one more call, she looked back and said: "My hearing ain't what it's supposed to be, and who might you be."
"Umm, Yolha, and you, kind ma'am?"
"Hanum."
Both lied to each other through their teeth, and only one knew that fact. Making her position more advantageous, because she knew both of them were lying.
She continued – "Just an old song I heard."
"where did you hear it?"
"Back in this town I visited, a kind waitress sung it to me – I was badly injured you see."
"Thank you, ma'am."
She then left, the night was still young, so even with this decrepit body, she stood there singing. Sure, her target was getting away, but now she had no reason to follow.
Five… four… three… two… one… a half… a third… a quarter…
"which town was it may I ask?"
She sure took her sweet time – doesn't she know I'm rotting here. Regardless – I'd say this was a successful hook – liner, and scam.