Ghoul Evolution

Chapter 16: Skeleton underwater

Oliver was still confused about what exactly was keeping the beasts away from the river. The squirrel then pointed toward the water again, but this time instead of making fun of him, it made a diving motion.

Oliver blinked as he understood what the squirrel wanted to say.

"You want me to go in?"

Goldie nodded and made the diving motion again, looking quite cute.

Oliver stared at the river for a few seconds and then back at Goldie.

"You’re really lucky that you’re so cute."

Curiosity eventually won over reason, and so he removed his shirt, took a deep breath, and stepped toward the river.

"If I end up gettting eaten, I’m haunting you."

Goldie merely waved a paw dismissively, basically saying nothing would happen.

A moment later, Oliver dove in.

The water was surprisingly clear. Goldie too jumped in after him and quickly began guiding him deeper. Oliver followed behind him, occasionally glancing around. He was surprised to see that even underwater there were no beasts.

The deeper he went, the stranger it felt and then he saw it; and his eyes widened.

It was a skeleton...a human skeleton.

It rested near the riverbed as if it had been there for a very, very long time.

For a moment Oliver simply stared at it.

The skeleton looked quite scary underwater like that. He stared for a few more moments, but then his lungs reminded him that breathing was also important.

He then immediately began pushing himself upward and emerged out of the river.

"Huff... huff..."

He took several deep breaths, still swimming, before looking toward Goldie.

"That skeleton?"

"That’s the reason beasts stay away from the river?"

He gained a nod and so, Oliver looked back downwards as this answer had only raised more questions.

"But why?" he asked. "What does some dead guy have to do with the cave? And how does a skeleton scare away beasts?"

Goldie looked thoughtful for a moment but then shrugged making Oliver stare at him.

"You don’t know either?"

Goldie shrugged again.

Once he was back on land, Oliver sat near the riverbank and slowly warmed himself using his newly improved Firecraft. Tiny flames flickered between his fingers, while he stared into the distance.

Instead of getting answers, it felt like every discovery only created more mysteries.

’The man who supposedly found this island.’

’The five moons instead of four.’ freewebnøvel.coɱ

’The red-skinned people or creatures.’

’That yellow-suited bastard.’

’The creature that had appeared in Australia.’

’The deity who blessed me.’

’The Key of Forgotten Doors.’

’The One Who Vanished.’

’And now a random human skeleton sitting at the bottom of a river that somehow keeps beasts away.’

Oliver rubbed his forehead in frustration.

The more he learned, the less he seemed to understand. He did like mysteries, but only when he had a chance to solve them.

"God damn it."

He let out a long sigh.

"Why are there so many questions and not a single straight answer?"

As he was heating himself, he also remembered that after killing the Ebon Viper, he had gained a weapon-type inheritance; and so he summoned it’s informattion.

[Viperlash Whip]

[Grade: Tarnished | Rank: Feral]

[Description:]

[From the lingering soul of a Ebon Viper, the Viperlash Whip retains a fragment of its creator’s instinct.

Though lacking true venom, its strikes are swift.

It is a humble weapon, but even the weakest serpent knows where to bite.]

---

"A whip?"

To be honest, Oliver didn’t like whips very much as weapons.

They looked cool, sure, but when it came to actually fighting, they weren’t exactly known for delivering lethal blows. Most whips were designed to cause pain, control distance, or intimidate an opponent rather than kill them outright.

Still, he decided to test it.

Summoning the whip into his hand, he gave it a hard swing toward a nearby tree.

Crack!

The moment it struck, Oliver’s eyes widened slightly.

Instead of simply rebounding, the whip wrapped itself around the trunk.

The movement was unnaturally smooth, almost as if the weapon were alive. It had coiled around the tree in a manner eerily similar to a snake constricting its prey.

"So that’s what it meant by the instincts of a snake."

He gave the whip a slight tug and watched as it loosened itself before slithering back toward him.

After spending some more time experimenting with it, Oliver eventually dismissed the weapon.

For now, he still preferred the spear as it was simple and reliable.

And even more importantly, it was incredibly sharp and deadly thanks to being crafted from the fangs of an Aberration-ranked beast.

’Just in case, if something dangerous appeared, it’s better to have a pointy stick than a fancy whip.’

With that settled, he called Goldie over and began thinking about where to head next.

"Hmm...So where to go next?"

The squirrel immediately pointed in a direction opposite from where Oliver had originally entered the region.

Oliver looked that way and then back at Goldie.

"You seem awfully confident."

Goldie puffed out his chest proudly.

Oliver wasn’t entirely sure why he trusted the little guy so much. Rationally speaking, following directions from a squirrel was a terrible survival strategy.

Yet so far, Goldie’s decisions had led him to a hidden cave, a treasure chest, a mysterious inheritance, and several revelations about this strange place.

Admittedly, they had also nearly gotten him eaten by a giant snake, and then there was that whole scenario with that yellow-suit wearing guy, but nobody was perfect.

"Fine," Oliver said with a sigh. "We’ll go your way."

The moment he said that, his system’s cool voice emerged.

[You have gained insight into your spiritual contract]

[Ratatoskr’s Heir]

[Rank: Feral]

[Attributes:]

[Eyes of the Hoarder]

When Ratatoskr ran up and down the ???, carrying messages between the one who watched from above and the one who waited below, it often returned with more than words.

As his heir, hidden treasures, divine relics, and traces of power are easier for you to notice.

[Branch Sight]

Just as the branches of ??? spread toward countless futures, Ratatoskr could sense which paths carried fortune and which led to ruin.

Though imperfect, this instinct may guide you toward opportunities others would never notice.

[???]

[???]

"Huh... so that’s how you knew to take me to the cave and then into the river."

Oliver looked down at Goldie with narrowed eyes, while, the squirrel simply stared back at him.

"And now you’re acting innocent."

Goldie tilted his head, clearly having no idea what Oliver was talking about. Unlike him, Goldie couldn’t see the System notifications.

After a few seconds, Oliver just shook his head.

"Right. Forget it."

As they continued walking, he couldn’t help but think about the notification.

’Why did I gain insight just now?’

The timing felt strange.

He had been traveling with Goldie for a while now. The squirrel had already led him to the cave, the treasure chest and the skeleton beneath the river.

Yet the insight had only appeared now.

’Was it because I finally acknowledged it’s ability?’

The thought lingered in his mind.

Until now, he had mostly been following Goldie around because he had nothing better to do. Sometimes out of curiosity and sometimes because the squirrel was annoyingly persistent.

But this was probably the first time he had genuinely accepted that Goldie knew what it was doing.

The first time he had consciously chosen to trust its guidance.

’Maybe that’s why.’

Oliver glanced at the squirrel trotting proudly ahead of him.

"Don’t let it get to your head."

Goldie immediately puffed out its chest even more.