"How does a ghost get the creeps?" Chloe asked. She tilted her head. Her fear seed to be slowly receding. Replaced by curiosity.
Jack shrugged. "Good question. Not going to answer that though. I feel what I feel, alright? Do you want to analyze my existential dread? Or do you want to get out of this spider-infested hellhole?"
"I'd like to choose the second one. Thank you." Chloe flatly replied. "But really? Does ghost like you still feel scared?"
"I'm a specter, Li'l Girl. Not a ghost."
"I'm not a little girl." Chloe imdiately retorted. "Besides, specter and ghost are the sa, right?"
Jack smirked behind his mask. "Is little girl and young woman the sa?"
"Of course not... Wait! You an ghost grew up into specter?"
"Yep." Jack simply replied.
They had started moving away from the spider's carcasses. He floated to a direction. Chloe walked beside him.
"You haven't answered my question. Does specter like you feel fear?"
"And I said I'm not going to answer that." Jack sighed. "Oh, alright! I don't know about other specters. But I have my limits when it cos to creepy, crawly places. This place is just not for ."
He paused. And continued. "Plus, the air feels even worse than the smoke from a steam train chimney. It feels… unpleasant."
"Unpleasant?" Chloe echoed. She chuckled weakly. "That's one way to put it. Try terrifying."
"Terrifying? Unpleasant? Six of one, half a dozen of the other." Jack waved a hand dismissively. "Point is, this place is bad news. We need to find a way out of here."
They kept on walking. The tunnel stretched endlessly before them. The walls were damp and lined with cobwebs. And the air hung heavy with the stench of decaying organic matter.
"So..." Jack said. Breaking the silence. "You're a Mystic Scholar, huh? You're learning from that old professor, Dr. Crafton? What have you learnt? Besides that obvious magic missile thing."
Chloe hesitated. "Uh, I'm still apprentice. I… want to specialize in elental manipulation. Air and water, mostly. But I haven't succeeded in inscribing the spells to my grimoire."
"Nice idea." Jack said. "Two of the most common elents. Useful and versatile."
"How about you? Did you... er beco a Mystic Scholar before you died?"
"?" Jack let out a deprecating laugh. "Nope. I didn't know any magic before. I've just learned Mystic Arts for about two or three months. And most of the ti, it was trying to make a spectral grimoire."
He could feel her eyes on him. Still wary. Still a little scared.
"You seem… less scared now." Jack pointed out. "Which is good. But you were pretty spooked earlier. Why? Is it because of my looks? But I think I look cool."
Chloe flushed. "It's not your looks." She mumbled. "It's… you're a ghost. Or a specter. Aren't all ghost in horror stories evil? They try to possess people. Haunt places. Seek revenge."
Jack scoffed. "That's a load of crap." He said bluntly. "Seriously. It's a silly stereotype."
"I've t, well like, three other ghosts in my uh… afterlife." He continued. "Only one of them was actually evil. The other two were just suffering souls. Trying to find so peace. Or so justice. The last ghost I t even wanted to save his murderers."
"Just three?"
"Ghosts are not common cabbages you know?" He paused. "The point is, not all ghosts are evil. Just like not all humans are good. It's all about choices, right?"
Chloe seed to ponder that for a mont. "I guess so." She said slowly. "But it's still… unsettling. To see one. And, as the implication for your argunt... it can also be concluded that not all ghosts are good, right?"
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"Fair enough." Jack conceded. "But hey, I saved your pretty butt from those spider freaks. So I think I've earned at least a bit of trust, don't you think?"
He waited for her to reply. But she kept silent. They continued to walk. With Chloe focusing in front. Her face was pale. And her breath was unstable
"Don't you have a healing potion, Girl?" Jack asked. "That herbalist girl should give everyone at least one, shouldn't she? I knew she had created plenty.."
Chloe stopped. Her eyes widened. "I… I forgot." She said. Fumbling in her satchel. She pulled out a vial filled with a green liquid. "I guess I was too panicked."
She uncorked the vial. And downed the potion in one gulp. Her face scrunched up. "Ugh, it tastes like old socks." She complained.
"Does it work?" Jack asked.
"I did feel warr. Better."
They continued walking. The silence was less tense now. More companionable.
"So," Chloe said, after a while. "Why were you here?"
Jack shrugged his shoulders. "I'm with your expedition from the ti you guys left Calmcoast Harbor."
"You were with us?"
"Yep. The twenty third mber. Unofficial of course."
"Wait?" Chloe widened her eyes. "Are you the one who pulled back in the fight against those zombies?"
"I don't rember. But probably yes. I did prank many of you during the fight. To save you, of course."
"Thanks, I guess. Though I'd prefer more 'civilized' way."
"Hey. It's ergency situation."
Chloe stayed silent for a while. And then, she asked, "What do you think happened? How did we get here? And what is this place?"
Jack shrugged. "I have no freaking idea." He admitted. "One minute we were fighting those zombies, the next we're fighting giant spiders in a creepy labyrinth. My best guess is that the temple had sothing to do with it. Activated so kind of teleportation trap or sothing."
"But why a labyrinth?" Chloe asked. "And why giant spiders?"
Jack snorted. "Maybe so bored god had a twisted sense of humor. Or maybe it's so kind of test. To see who's worthy of… whatever this place is guarding."
Chloe frowned. "That sounds like sothing from a bad adventure novel."
"True." Jack admitted. "But sotis the simplest explanations are the correct ones."
Chloe grew silent again. Her mind seed to be working overti.
"What if…" She started. Her voice hushed. "What if we didn't just get teleported? What if… what if we got shrunk? And this labyrinth is actually just… a normal tunnel? And the spiders are actually in their normal size?"
Jack stared at her. "Shrunk?" He repeated. "You think we got shrunk down to the size of ants? And the spiders are just regular-sized spiders?"
Chloe nodded. Her eyes were wide with a strange sort of wonder. "It's possible, isn't it? Magic can do anything, right?"
Jack chuckled. "Okay, that's officially the craziest theory I've heard all of my whole life... er, dead life. And I've been dead for a while. But okay, I will play along. Even if that crazy theory is true, what are we gonna do?"
Before Chloe could answer, they heard another rustling sound. This ti, closer.
"Sounds like we've got company." Jack said. Materializing his spectral grimoire. "And I don't think they are here to offer us tea."
Two more of the giant spiders erged from the shadows. These ones were slightly smaller than the ones they previously faces. But still big enough to cause trouble. Their eyes glowed red in the dim light.
"Alright!" Jack said. His voice still sounded relax. "Plan A. Let's target their eyes."
He floated upward. Glowing orbs appearing around him. And they shot like missiles. Targeting the spiders' eyes.
Chloe also opened her grimoire. She unleashed similar barrage of magic missiles. Towards the sa targets.
This ti, they were ready. They knew what to expect. They worked together pretty well.
The fight didn't last long. Targeting the spiders' eyes proved to be an effective strategy. With a final, desperate screech, the spiders collapsed.
"Not bad." Jack said. Still with the relaxed tone. "These spiders were not that bad now that we know their weaknesses."
They continued their journey. More cautiously this ti. The labyrinth seed to stretch on forever. They hit dead ends several tis.
Retracing their steps. Trying different paths.
"You know..." Jack said. After another fruitless detour. "If we're stuck down here long enough, you might actually die. Then you could beco a ghost and keep company." He laughed.
Chloe rolled her eyes. "That's not going to happen." She said firmly. "I'm not going to die in so creepy spider labyrinth. I have a life to live."
"Is that going to be your famous last words?" Jack asked with a grin.
Suddenly, they heard a shout. And the sounds of clashes. And the unmistakable clicking of spider legs.
"Soone's in trouble," Jack said. "Let's go."
They ran towards the sound. Rounding a corner, they saw a horrifying sight.
It was a spider. But it was very different from any they had seen before. This one was enormous. The size of a small truck. Its fangs dripped with venom. And its eight eyes glowed with malevolent intelligence.
Amaranth White was locked in combat with it. The Primal Sorceress was using her mist whip and mist cloud to combat the creature. But she was clearly struggling.
None of her attack caused significant damage. The spider was too big. Too strong.
"We need to help her!" Chloe said. Her voice trembling. "I'll try to target the eyes again."
"Alright!" Jack answered. "I'll try another trick."
Chloe didn't wait for a signal. She unloaded a series of Magic Missile toward the giant spider. Aiming with precision at its eyes.
Jack floated upward once more. Focusing his spectral energy. He launched his [Mysterious Dream] ability.
At the sa ti, an orchestra of [Mysterious Lullaby] and dizzying fragrance from [Alraune's Myriad Aromas] assaulted the gigantic monster's senses.
A wave of spectral energy washed over the giant spider. Its movents beca sluggish. Its eyes glazed over. It began to sway. As if it was caught in a bizarre, unescapable nightmare.
It worked!
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