A New Recruit

"Poltergeist. You don't fight fair." One of the ghouls spat at him as it got closer.

"There's only one of me and a dozen of you. How fair is that?"

"We're only after you to get the Master's Spirit back. We don't care what happens to you."

"You're not getting anything from me."

"Give him back and you can leave, otherwise, The Transcended Overlord Tong Li is going to keep sending ghouls at you ad nauseam."

Blake waved his ax around.

"He can do whatever he chooses, but any ghoul he sends my way is going to turn into ashes, like all the others I've killed."

The lead ghoul indicated with a jerk of his head. All three turned their dark eye holes at him and converged, as one. He stood his ground and waited for them to come within ax reach.

As the first of the ghouls reached him, he roared and swung his ax.

It hit the first one in the chest, scattering him into ashes. The other two converged on him, with howls of defiance.

Blake dropped back down into the forest, mingling himself within the trees.

The last time he'd had dealings with strong ghouls, he had been caught and shoved into a jar. He could not afford to get caught this time.

The ghouls shot down into the jungle, hovering around as they looked for him. One was getting dangerously close to where he was hiding.

"Aaaaaargghhhh!" The other one snuck up behind him.

Reacting instinctively, Blake swung his ax, cleanly lopping off the ghoul's head.

In a puff of ashes, the ghoul dissipated, his stink wafting in the early morning air like a thick greenish miasma.

The last one, hearing the sounds hovered in midair.

"You just killed my last man, Poltergeist. Come out and fight me, fair and square, one-on-one."

Blake emerged from within the tangle of trees.

"Why did you kill the Master and steal his Demon Spirit?"

"I didn't kill him. I just picked up his skull once it fell from his body."

"Who killed the Master and why?"

Blake stared at the ghoul. Obviously, he was not stupid.

"Like I said, a powerful demigod killed him. All I did was pick up his skull and ran with it."

"Why?"

"My System asked for it."

The ghoul stared at him with his black holey eyes.

"You're part of the System?"

"Yes."

The ghoul said nothing for a moment, but then he turned and spoke with admiration in his voice.

"No wonder you are so good. We knew you were a poltergeist because you could pick up Master's skull. Were you also the ghoul who cracked the Overlord's spirit jar?"

Blake laughed.

"That would be me."

The ghoul shook his head.

"Nobody has ever been able to escape from the spirit jars before."

"Nobody? Are you sure about that?" Blake threw him a dubious glance.

The ghoul shook his head again.

"I have been a ghoul for hundreds of years, and this is the first time I have ever seen it happen. You are the first one to have ever escaped, that I know of."

Blake rose into the air. He was tired of shooting the breeze with this ghoul.

"Let's get this over with. You want to fight with me one on one. Here I am."

The ghoul sighed.

"I don't want to fight with you because I know you will kill me, but I can't return to Tong Li without the Master's Spirit because he will kill me. I'm dead either way."

"Why do you have to return to him if you really don't want to?" Blake gave him a quizzed look.

"What choice do I have? Where can I go?"

Blake shook his head.

"You can choose to live for yourself. You can also choose to escape this hell."

"How? How do I escape?"

Blake sighed.

"The only way I know how to escape is to join the Demon System."

The ghoul shook his head.

"Easier said than done, Poltergeist. To join the System, someone has to transfer it to me. No one will do that for a low level ghoul like myself."

Blake narrowed his gaze at the ghoul.

"Do you really want it?"

The ghoul hesitated.

"It has been something that none of us ghouls dare dream. It is too difficult to get the system."

"I don't get it. Why is it difficult?"

"Only the chosen get the system. The rest of us can only follow those with the system and hope for clemency and mercy."

"That's ridiculous," Blake muttered, mostly to himself. "It is nothing special. Just a set of directions that keeps points and guides you on the right path so you can do what you need to do to escape."

"Those with special gifts and abilities always say it's nothing special. The rest of us just look on with envy."

Blake scowled at the ghoul. What the hell was he talking about?

Everyone possessed something special and unique about them. It just took time and hard work to develop and to polish that special unique something until it was something great.

"What's your name, ghoul?"

The ghoul stared at him with those creepy black holes-for-eyes.

"Barry Carnival."

Blake nodded.

"System, give Barry Carnival the download codes to Demon System." Blake muttered to himself.

Unlike the last time when he lumped all five Army men together and asked System to send them the downloads, the effect this time was instantaneous.

Barry got system-slapped upside the head, and for a few stunned moments, hovered in midair, staring into space.

"What—what is this?"

"You said you wanted the Demon System. I gave it to you. Congratulations. You now have a way to escape this horrible place."

"Wait. This is System?"

Blake nodded. "Yeah. There is a snake looking symbol on the right side. Open it and start doing the quests it tells you to do. And here."

He threw five red energy points and five green energy points at Barry, his new recruit.

"Don't spend it all in one place."

"Wh—what?" Barry stuttered.

"Never mind. Just start doing the stuff it asks you. It'll get you started." He turned away, but then turned back.

"If you have questions that you can't figure out, or if you're hungry, come to the Parisienne Hotel at midnight tonight and I'll see if I can answer your questions and get you some food."

Barry Carnival nodded.

"Wait. Poltergeist. What's your name?"

"Blake Johnston." He threw over his shoulder.

And with that, Blake took off to find his way back to the Hotel.

If he was lucky, old man Dai Tien Hoang would already be there. Maybe he could beg the whip off the old man. He needed that one to finish off the weapons quest.