Little Phantom

Picking up the Necromancer’s Recruitment Token, Karen scratched his head, spending quite some time before finally understanding its purpose. In his own words, it was essentially a tool to summon a minor boss.

If Karen could defeat the summoned undead, it would become his trophy. If not, or if the undead managed to escape, the token would be wasted. Once he grasped its function, Karen’s interest was piqued. Without hesitation, he gathered all his undead minions—even the one he’d punished, Little Green.

Soon enough, forty second-tier melee undead formed a circle, with a dozen mages behind them, ready and waiting. “Fifty second-tier undead, plus Little Green, an ‘Exceptional Second Tier’—even if a third-tier undead appears, I should be able to handle it easily,” Karen estimated. Confident in his strength, he activated the Necromancer’s Recruitment Token.

As the token was triggered, a black magic circle slowly appeared in the center of the clearing, surrounded by Karen and his undead. Karen immediately drew his longsword, bracing himself for battle.

Meanwhile, in a distant, unknown basement, two bodies lay together—one large, about one meter forty, likely a twelve-year-old boy; the other small, less than a meter, possibly a four-year-old girl. When Karen activated the token, a black magic circle appeared beneath them, but it vanished as swiftly as it emerged.

The instant the circle appeared, the smaller corpse shattered to dust, leaving only a blood-stained bow. Almost instantly, a spectral figure less than a meter tall, with golden hair and a half-phantom form, materialized before Karen.

The light from the magic circle merged into this little ghost, rousing her from slumber. She gazed around in confusion. Karen, still tense, stared blankly at the small figure. The little ghost, seeing the surrounding undead, instantly awakened from her daze—her golden hair bristled, tiny hands raised, mouth wide as she let out a fierce, childlike roar: “Awoo!”

It was hard to say, but the little one’s adorable yet fierce demeanor quickly made Karen feel his earlier vigilance was both foolish and embarrassing.

At the same time, Little Green was drawn to the tiny ghost, not out of any desire to fight, but pure curiosity. Unable to resist, he poked the intangible child with the Bone Bow Karen had given him.

This act instantly enraged the little ghost, who grabbed the bow and ‘awoo’-bit it. Before Little Green could react, his precious bow had two neat rows of tiny teeth marks, causing him to clack in distress.

Interestingly, despite his beloved bow being bitten, Little Green didn’t try to snatch it back by force. Instead, he circled the little ghost, clacking plaintively, seemingly pleading for her to let go.

While Little Green begged, Karen’s Eye of Insight revealed the little ghost’s attributes:

…

Hungry Little Ghost

Type: Ghost

Strength: Exceptional First Tier

Intelligence: Above Average

Skills: Consumption Lv1 (Can strengthen herself by eating)

Ghostly Body Lv1 (Can freely shift between tangible and intangible form)

Talent: Undead Affinity (Innately possesses high affinity for undead)

Description: Originally a human girl, apparently died of hunger. Transformed into a ghost after death; possesses considerable potential for cultivation. Recommended to tame.

…

Reading her attributes, Karen sighed, clearly dissatisfied with the Necromancer’s Recruitment Token and the summoned little ghost.

Adorable yet fierce, she lacked any of the dignity Karen expected from his ideal undead minion.

If he really kept such a subordinate, could she even be useful? Karen would feel guilty just sending her into a fight. So he decided to let her go—there was no way he would keep her.

Yes, even if Karen had to jump off a cliff…

Luckily, he didn’t say it aloud.

The little ghost, who had been biting Little Green’s bow, noticed Karen’s sigh and immediately lost interest in the bow. She released it and floated over to Karen, her delicate face blossoming into an angelic smile, arms outstretched as she called, “Brother… hug…”

In that instant, Karen’s mind went blank. He instinctively reached out and embraced the little ghost.

By the time Karen realized what he was doing, the ghost was already clinging to his neck, her small head burrowing into his chest. The anxiety from her new surroundings faded away, replaced by a sweet smile as she drifted into sleep.

Looking at the angelic sleeping face, Karen found himself unable to utter any of the things he’d just decided. In the end, he could only gently stroke her golden hair, so ethereal yet real, whispering, “Ah, fine, I’ll just raise her.”

Little Green, seeing Karen’s tender caress, grew jealous, clacking as he ran over, pointing to the little ghost with his Bone Bow, airing his grievances and demanding a hug and a pat.

He was ruthlessly denied. “Hug? Get back to your punishment. Keep it down while you practice—your little sister’s sleeping. If you wake her, you’ll regret it!”

Poor Little Green, not only denied comfort, but thoroughly scolded, now the model of an elder brother. He gazed at the ghost in Karen’s arms with envy—and, perhaps, a hint of fondness.

It was clear the little ghost’s affinity for the undead was no joke.

Meanwhile, as Karen held the little one, he was unaware that a group was setting out from the Goblin Forest, heading towards Dole Village…