Chapter 47: The Cautious Water Ghost
After confirming to continue the commission, the group had a simple meal at the tavern and then rested for a while.
They didn’t start heading to the riverbank to look for clues until the sun was less intense.
The afternoon sunlight glistened on the river, the sparkling waves shimmering with a warm yellow glow as the gentle breeze caressed the colorful water grasses.
The group, upon reaching the riverbank, was momentarily stunned into silence by the breathtaking scenery, almost forgetting their mission.
"This is the battle site mentioned by the tavern owner, right?"
Gauss bent down and noticed a few dried dark brown bloodstains on the stones of the riverbank, beckoning to the others.
According to that fat tavern owner Harvey, the sailors fought the Water Ghosts right here.
"This should be the place." Levin and the others came closer.
"I can smell human blood and a disgusting fishy scent." Medvedeva sniffed the air and briefly twitched before regaining her usual expressionless demeanor.
However, Gauss caught her brief change of expression and couldn’t help but smile inwardly.
He had only recently learned that the Wandering Apprentice Medvedeva possessed the skill ’Detection.’
The skill’s effect was to discover hidden enemies, clues, traps, and other traces through sight, hearing, and other senses.
Especially given her partial Elf bloodline, her senses were particularly heightened, making her ’detection’ more effective than other Wandering Apprentices.
Among the team, aside from Gauss, Medvedeva likely had the highest chance and fastest speed to advance in her Profession.
Of course, in addition to helping the team find clues, Detection would also amplify her sensory input, which is why Medvedeva instinctively frowned.
The fishy smell was evidently from their target, the Water Ghosts.
Gauss recalled the information on Water Ghosts in his mind.
Water Ghosts are a relatively common monster in this world. They have a gaunt humanoid shape, with sunken eye sockets, elongated limbs, and protruding joints, often moving with a hunched back. Their skin is a grayish-green, covered with a layer of sticky, rotting mucus.
Due to their human-like appearance, there are folktales claiming they are spirits of drowned humans.
They primarily inhabit areas around rivers, lakes, and swamps, hunting within these water environments. They aren’t picky eaters and consume whatever they can find, like animal carcasses, human waste, silt, rotten leaves, and fruits.
Sometimes, they also attack humans who approach water bodies, like fishermen, washerwomen, and anglers.
They mimic human voices to lure targets and drag victims into the water to drown before gutting and devouring them.
Water Ghosts rarely act alone, but they also don’t form large groups. They typically move in packs of 10-15. The presence of more than 20 Water Ghosts this time signifies a rather large Water Ghost pack.
"Where could they be hiding?" Doyle, feeling impatient, picked up a stone and threw it heavily into the water.
The stone caused a huge splash but was quickly swallowed by the flowing stream.
Although ordinary Water Ghosts are excellent swimmers, they cannot live entirely underwater and need to surface for air periodically.
Moreover, instead of lurking underwater, Water Ghosts typically prefer to inhabit shallow areas like shoals, swamps, or riverbank mud.
So where are the Water Ghosts hiding now?
"If nothing else, we’ll have to wait until sunset when Water Ghosts are more active."
The team, having accepted the Water Ghost commission, had prepared for encountering such circumstances.
If Water Ghosts were determined to swim into the river, their aquatic prowess would render most Bottom Adventurers helpless.
Fortunately, they are not particularly intelligent, so it’s often possible to lure them out of their hiding spots using other methods.
"It wasn’t a waste bringing this." Levin took out two foul-smelling, rotten gray rabbit corpses. "We’ll set up the bait later."
Having found no additional clues, the group decided to leave temporarily to avoid alarming the target.
In a flash, several hours passed.
Upon returning, they carefully set up traps and hid themselves.
They had arranged bait and other preparations at another riverbank site.
After adding scent catalysts to the rotting gray rabbit carcasses, which had been stowed away for quite some time, the stench grew incredibly strong.
This potent rotting odor was exactly what Water Ghosts craved.
Having prepared everything, the group could only hide and wait silently.
The setting sun slowly descended and eventually disappeared beyond the horizon.
As night deepened, the open riverbank was still illuminated adequately by the moonlight.
Just when the group, having waited for a long time, thought they would make no progress today and were preparing to pack up and return for a night’s rest.
Sounds of water being disturbed slowly approached from afar.
Under the bright moonlight, silhouettes of gray-black figures emerged from the shallow riverbank, parting the reeds as their dark toes tread on stones, crawling toward the shore.
A dozen or so pitch-black, sticky figures silently emerged from the water, sending chills down anyone’s spine with their creepy aura.
The leading Water Ghosts cautiously observed their surroundings; only after confirming there were no other creatures did they lead the others out of the water, but didn’t move far from the shore.
"They’re actually so cautious?" Levin furrowed his brow.
The reaction of these Water Ghosts didn’t quite match the tavern owner Harvey’s description, or his own impression of Water Ghosts.
They seemed to be on guard against an unseen predator, vigilant and on high alert.
But given the traps were set, and the target Water Ghosts appeared as planned, Levin could only set aside his doubts for now and focus on the impending battle.
"Pop! Pop! Pop!"
After hesitating for a long time, the Water Ghosts softly hissed, emitting hoarse sounds. Eventually, unable to resist, they headed for the bait trap set up by the team.
The specially treated enhanced stench of the rotting corpses was as irresistible to these Water Ghosts as a feast presented after a day or two of hunger.
The group watched the Water Ghosts inching closer, yet remained motionless.
Gauss silently noted the numbers in his mind.
He was personally most concerned about the count, as being close to triggering the next phase reward if it reached 10 more.
Water Ghosts.
It seemed fewer than expected?
The mission intel reported over twenty Water Ghosts. Even if two were killed by sailors, shouldn’t there still be around twenty?
Where did those missing ones go?
Were they hiding elsewhere and didn’t follow the main group out? Or did some unforeseen event occur?
Just like humans would encounter unknown risks in the wild, monsters also face various threats.
These could be from uncontrollable accidental factors, like tripping and falling to death, being swept away by a swift dark current or eddy, or very rarely, being struck by lightning. Other threats could come from attacks by larger wild beasts or monsters.