Chapter 20

‘…Oh.’

He remembered that just before, he had activated his mana and unlocked a passive skill.

Thanks to this, he wouldn’t be affected by the ghost’s smoke without doing anything.

Whoooosh!

Whoosh!

However, the ghost, unaware of this fact, continued to emit smoke diligently. The hallway was filled with smoke to the point of being suffocating.

As the smoke began to clear, the ghost’s eyes became visible again.

The ghost stared at him with wide eyes, wearing a dumbfounded expression.

[…Huh? Sniff!]

‘Why are you unaffected by my smoke?’

“…”

[Growl!]

‘Are you even human?’

Alec looked down at the small ghost with a slight smirk.

“Is this how you’ve been driving people away? Give up on your master coming back.”

[Sniff? Growl!]

‘What are you talking about? No! My master promised to return!’

Alec responded even colder.

“No. They won’t come back, so stop tormenting people.”

The ghost’s eyes narrowed in anger, and it trembled with rage.

[Sniff…]

Taking advantage of the slight relaxation of Alec’s magical restraint, the ghost began to grow in size.

Alec watched curiously as the ghost, which had looked like a small puppy, grew into a furry beast.

[Growl.]

Its eyes turned a fiery red, and its enlarged fangs looked incredibly threatening.

Gideon, poised to pounce, lifted a paw that now seemed capable of tearing a person apart.

The fluffy puppy’s paw had transformed into a lethal weapon.

If Alec hadn’t activated his mana, dealing with such ferocity would have been challenging.

At that moment, a notification chimed.

[Gideon has transformed into an adult form.]

[The target’s combat power has doubled.]

Gideon scratched his throat menacingly.

[Growl. Growl.]

‘If you don’t leave this house now, I’ll kill everyone.’

Despite the threat, Alec remained unmoved.

“It can’t be helped, then.”

[Growl!]

Almost simultaneously with Alec’s words, Gideon lunged with bared fangs.

Whoosh.

Alec spread his hand.

A sharp blade of mana formed in his hand, glowing with a blue light.

Gripping the blade, Alec rolled to the ground, grabbing Gideon’s neck and pinning him down.

However, he couldn’t kill the ghost with the mana blade as it would destroy it.

Doing so would also make him lose the opportunity for the job quest. He needed to subdue Gideon’s spirit and capture him as a minion.

With the blade pointed at Gideon, Alec smirked.

“Why don’t you serve a new master? What’s the point of guarding the house of someone who abandoned you?”

Gideon bared his fangs even more fiercely, as if provoked by his words.

[Growl.]

‘My master would never abandon me!’

Gideon struggled and managed to stand up. Swiftly, he raised his claws and lunged at Alec.

Alec dodged the large claws and lightly slashed one of Gideon’s legs with the blade.

[Growl!]

Gideon recoiled, whimpering in pain.

A pale mist-like substance oozed from the wound.

Gideon growled furiously.

[Growl!]

‘Who are you? How can a human…’

Despite the injury, Gideon didn’t give up. He bared his sharp teeth at Alec.

Then, with his now larger body, he let out a fearsome roar.

[Roar!]

Not giving up even when injured.

Just before Gideon’s claws could slash at him, Alec bound him tightly with his mana.

[Growl! Bark!]

Gideon struggled fiercely.

The adult beast form was indeed more intimidating than before.

Alec stared at Gideon firmly.

“Playing with a puppy ends here.”

Despite tormenting people, Gideon had high loyalty to his master and didn’t seem like an entirely bad ghost.

There was no need to cause more harm.

“Do you want to know why I’m unaffected by your smoke?”

[Growl…]

Alec dissolved the blade in his hand.

Then, he reached out to the beast’s wound.

[Passive Skill: Natural Healing]

[Mana is being consumed.]

While Gideon remained wary, Alec’s hand emitted a healing energy.

This was a passive skill that automatically healed the player’s wounds. It could also heal others to a certain extent.

However, with his current low level and only 1 Circle of mana, it wasn’t very powerful.

“I’m going to be your new master.”

[Growl!]

‘That’s ridiculous!’

[Growl.]

‘My master is the only one in the world…’

Sensing something amiss, Gideon widened his eyes.

The mana flowing from Alec’s hand was healing Gideon’s wound.

“I could destroy you right now. But I’m giving you one last chance to serve me as your master.”

[…Growl!]

‘You think I’ll serve someone like you?’

“If I wasn’t your new master, how could I be unaffected by your smoke? I came to this house specifically to find you.”

[Sniff.]

‘That can’t be.’

“That’s just your misunderstanding. I already know your name.”

[…?]

“Nice to meet you, Gideon.”

[Growl?]

‘…! How do you know my name?’

Gideon’s eyes flickered with disbelief and confusion.

At that moment, a system notification appeared.

[Gideon has temporarily lost his will.]

[Would you like to include Gideon as your minion? Use the standard command to include him.]

[Caution! Gideon will regain his fighting spirit in 3 seconds.]

The system’s text blinked, urging a quick decision.

Although he chose this house knowing it had a ghost, he hadn’t expected much.

He thought it would be just an ordinary ghost, not useful like the powerful monster spirits from his previous life.

However, the ability to put people to sleep was an unexpected find.

He approached the trembling beast, extending his hand and accepting the system’s prompt.

The command he used to capture minions in his previous life came out in a low voice.

“Become my minion.”

[Growl!]

‘No!’

The system bound Gideon, who resisted too late.

Trembling.

Gideon struggled desperately against being captured as a minion.

Although he was just a level 5 ghost, capturing him in one go was difficult.

Gideon’s resistance caused the system and Alec’s body to vibrate slightly.

However, with his 1 Circle of mana, Alec could easily nullify this level of resistance.

Gideon’s spirit began to fade gradually.

[Growl…]

And finally, he disappeared completely.

Ding.

[Successfully captured a minion.]

[Number of Minions: 1/1]

Alec finally had a minion again.

* * *

I was in a deep, sweet sleep.

I didn’t know what time it was or why I had fallen asleep, but I had been sleeping deeply for a long time.

Maybe I was just too tired.

I had planned to go to the market, so why was I sleeping…?

Half-awake, I vaguely thought about it.

I wanted to get up, but my body wouldn’t move easily.

‘Well, I was tired from waking up early to cook lamb dishes this morning.’

I thought about just going back to sleep when…

“Sister! Wake up, sister!”

A strange, uneasy feeling crept in.

It felt like I hadn’t fallen asleep of my own will.

“It’s time for dinner. Aren’t you hungry? Dinner is ready.”

I furrowed my brows in confusion, finally recognizing the voice that pierced my eardrums.

As I slowly opened my eyes, I saw my sister-in-law glaring at me.

“You finally woke up? Why did you sleep so long? It’s already past dinner time.”

“…Oh, Eloise.”

Still groggy, I slowly sat up in bed.

I glanced out the window and silently gasped.

Stars were twinkling in the sky.