Leveling Endlessly with the Strongest System!-Chapter 418: Phantoms

Some minutes later, Delilah caught sight of a grotesque monster, its twisted form, unlike anything she had ever seen.

A chill ran down her spine as it suddenly appeared in her vision.

However, when she blinked, it was no longer there, leaving her questioning whether it was real or a figment of her imagination.

Roy noticed her unease.

He looked at her and saw her staring at a tree unblinkingly. "Did you see something?"

Delilah hesitated before replying to him, "I think I saw something standing behind that tree in the distance. But it disappeared in an instant, so I'm not sure if what I saw was real."

"Let me inspect the area," said Roy in a deep voice.

Roy surveyed the area, his keen eyesight piercing through the darkness and the trees and stretching a long distance.

But the creature only she had glimpsed was nowhere to be found.

"Anything?" Delilah inquired, her voice trembling with unease.

"Not a peep," Roy replied with a solemn expression. "But that doesn't mean we should let our guard down. My abilities have their limits. I cannot sense the dead. Maybe what you saw was a ghost."

"A ghost?" Delilah repeated, her eyes widening. "Surely you jest!"

Roy chuckled, a glint in his eye. "I jest not. The place we are in is called the Ghost Forest, and your experience makes me believe it's for a reason. The name 'Ghost Forest' may suggest the presence of spirits." He paused and looked at her teasingly. "But fear not, my dear. With me by your side, nothing will happen to you. I can handle anything this forest throws our way."

"Who is your dear?" she rolled her eyes as she sped off.

But she quickly stopped as she stumbled upon a horde of ghostly creatures that flickered in and out of sight, their translucent forms lending them an otherworldly appearance.

The beings ranged from those that bore a striking resemblance to humans to those whose twisted and distorted forms defied explanation. It seemed as if someone had created them using whatever they could get their hands on.

"Ghosts are real!"

Delilah had spent countless years in the dark and completed many shady missions, but she had never seen a ghost hence why, before this moment, she believed that ghosts weren't real.

However, now that they were before her, she felt shocked out of her mind.

She looked at Roy and cried, "Lord, you jinxed us!"

Roy appeared unfazed by the sight, but even he was secretly shaken. "I didn't know my words would come back to bite me so soon."

The horde of ghosts advanced towards their prey.

"Prepare to fight!" Roy commanded.

Delilah swiftly regained her composure, rousing her class weapon using aura, causing a few sharp-bladed daggers to be summoned.

A ghostly creature lunged towards her with remarkable speed, and she threw her dagger at it.

Her attempt proved futile as the daggers merely passed through the ghostly creature without causing any harm.

"What?!" Delilah exclaimed, taken aback.

The ghostly creature was upon her, its claw poised to strike, but just as the attack was about to connect, a bolt of lightning crashed down upon it.

Bomb!

The creature's ethereal form was obliterated into smithereens.

『You have slain a low-level malevolent spirit.』

『Gained 10 points of dark soul energy.』

Humans and dragonkin can't use 『Dark soul energy.

『10 points of Dark soul energy be converted into 1 unit of mental energy or 1000 experience points』

'What is mental energy?' Roy asked.

『It's a high form of energy that can be used to attack the consciousness. But you can't use it unless you learn a technique to control it.』

"Thank you," Delilah said to her savior.

"Save that for later," Roy replied as he pushed out his hands, fireballs pulsing out of his palms and exploding on the ghostly creatures.

Half of their form was destroyed, but they didn't die. It could only mean that level-9 fire magic wasn't as effective against them as black aura lightning.

『You have activated Perception.』

『The target level is lower than yours.』

『The activation of the skill was successful.』

『You have gained the target's [character screen] and [character background]』

"Great!" Roy exclaimed.

Name: Phantom

Race: Ghost

Class: Specter

Level: 10

Stats: Strength: 1, Dexterity: 8, Constitution: N/A, Intelligence: 15, Wisdom: 20

Skills:

Ethereal Form (Passive): The phantom is immune to all physical and magical attacks.

Possession: This skill allows the Phantom to possess a target within two feet of it. If the target has a weak soul, they would be possessed. If the target has a strong soul, the effect will be negated.

Soul Slash (Passive): Phantom's touch deals necrotic damage, and can drain the life force of its target, healing and strengthening Phantom in the process.

Weaknesses:

1) Soul Core.

2) Fire

3) Aura lightning.

The only way to defeat Phantom is through the use of spells and abilities that target its incorporeal form or by finding and destroying the object or location that binds it to the mortal world.

Roy's suspicion was confirmed when he inspected one of the many ghostly creatures that were approaching them despite being beaten back.

Weapons and spells were ineffective against the ghostly creatures. However, his black aura lightning was their Achilles heel.

"Stay back. You can't handle them. They can't be hurt by anything other than aura lightning." Roy said to Delilah.

She gave him a nod and teleported a safe distance away from the battle.

Roy turned resolutely towards the looming horde of ghosts, his eyes burning with a fierce determination.

"Come!" he bellowed, his voice ringing out like a challenge to the ethereal beings before him.

In response, the ghosts surged forward with even greater speed, their incorporeal forms seemingly provoked by the human's bravado.

But Roy stood his ground, his hands crackling with energy as he prepared to unleash his devastating power.

"This is the first time I have seen someone so eager to die," he taunted, his lips twisting into a sneer of contempt. "Let me fulfill your wish!"