The thunderclap that followed Wang Xian's lightning strike didn't just obliterate the ghost — it also silenced the group's collective scream.
"…Son," Dad said, his face pale, "that was really a ghost?"
Wang Xian gave a calm nod. "Yeah."
Mother's voice trembled. "So those wild monsters you said we'd be fighting tonight… you meant… ghosts?"
"Exactly."
"Brother-in-law…" Su Jin looked like she was about to cry. "Maybe we should, um, fight other monsters?"
"I vote forget this whole thing," Cheng Yao said, clinging tightly to Nangong Wu's arm, glancing over her shoulder as if ghosts were about to leap out of the shadows at any second.
Even Nangong Wu, Feng Luoli, and Yue Rushuang, usually composed, had stiff expressions. Their silence said it all.
Wang Xian sighed. "Look again at the system announcement. You'll see there's no avoiding this."
Everyone quickly reopened the event description. As they scrolled, their faces collectively paled.
And when they got to the part about "People Scaring Ghosts"?
"Who the hell planned this event?!" someone muttered.
"Ghosts scare us? Sure, fine." Cheng Yao looked like she was trying to rationalize things.
"But people scaring ghosts?" Su Jin shouted. "What kind of masochistic event designer—?!"
Wang Xian turned, gesturing toward the darkened crop fields nearby. "Come on. We're going ghost hunting."
The others hesitated, but followed. After all, if you didn't hunt the ghosts, the ghosts would come find you anyway.
The farmland was steeped in night and silence, with heavy clouds blocking the moonlight. The atmosphere was thick, the air colder than it should've been. Figures flickered between rows of crops — twisted, translucent things with blank faces and drifting limbs.
It looked like something out of a horror movie.
Suddenly — pop!
A ball of light formed in Wang Xian's hand, floating up and casting a soft glow over the group.
[Illumination]Condenses a glowing orb to light up surrounding space.MP Cost: 1/sec | Instant cast | No cooldown
The warm light gave everyone a bit of comfort. Sometimes, it's not the ghosts that scare people, but the darkness itself.
"You mages, come with me," Wang Xian said. "Time to start grinding."
Four mages in total: Nangong Wu, Feng Luoli, Yue Rushuang, and Su Jin.
The first three, though still clearly uneasy, nodded and stepped forward. Wang Xian had already explained these were just neutral monsters — spooky, yes, but still just data.
Su Jin, however, looked like a deer about to bolt.
"B-Brother-in-law," she whispered. "Can I not fight? Please?"
Before Wang Xian could answer, Mom stepped in.
"It's alright. Xiaojin, if you're scared, just stay with me."
Wang Xian raised a brow. "Mom, admit it. You're scared too, and you just don't want to be alone."
Mom narrowed her eyes. "Smelly boy!"
With a flick of her wrist, she cast a spell — a soft beam of light shot at Wang Xian and passed harmlessly through him.
-0
A "damage" number floated above his head, completely ineffective.
[Holy Light]Inflicts 60% of your spell attack on a single target.Instant | 30 MP | 1s cooldown
It was the priest's one and only damage skill before level 30.
Honestly, it barely qualified as damage.
By contrast, there was [Magic Bullet], a universal mage skill every magic class had:
[Magic Bullet]Throws a magic ball to deal 100% spell damage.Instant | 5 MP | No cooldown
Sounds better on paper — but in reality? You had to manually throw the ball. Like a dodgeball. No guarantee it'd even hit. It was so bad, it was a meme among casters.
"Hey, it still doesn't break my defense," Wang Xian said smugly.
"Oh, doesn't it?" Mom walked up, a dangerous gleam in her eyes.
Before Wang Xian could react, she grabbed his ear and twisted.
"OW OW OW!" Wang Xian yelped. "Mom! That's not how defense works!"
"You said it didn't hurt," she said sweetly.
"This is emotional damage!"
"Still works."
"Okay okay, I'm sorry!"
"Hmph. No matter how high your level is, your mother can still deal with you." She let go and turned away smugly.
Wang Xian rubbed his ear, sighing. "Honestly, you made it sound… off."
"Hm? What do you mean?" she asked, suspicious.
"Nothing. Let's just grind."
With a wave of his hand, Wang Xian summoned another bolt of lightning. It struck a wandering ghost not far from the group and vaporized it instantly.
[Thunderbolt] Lv1200% spell damage to a single target.Instant cast | 100 MP | 15s cooldownChance to Paralyze
This was the most powerful base-level spell available to mages, and one of the skill books Wang Xian had traded for with a green mace back in Jecheng.
As the ghost turned to ash, the others slowly stepped forward, forming ranks.
The fear was still there — the night was still dark, the ghosts still eerie — but this time, they were ready.
The real grind had begun.