The shadow's resentful voice exploded in Lucas' ears like a thunderclap.
"I died… so unjustly…"
Startled awake, Lucas shot his eyes open, adrenaline flooding his system. Danger indicators and a system prompt appeared in his vision instantly:
> [The Butcher's Shadow (Left): Advanced Threat Level]
[System Prompt: Player Lucas has triggered a Hidden Mission]
[Hidden Mission: Help]
Before the full details of the hidden mission could reveal themselves, instinct kicked in.
Lucas turned his wrist with mechanical precision. One hand locked tightly on the handle of the kitchen knife he'd secured earlier. Without hesitation, he delivered a clean, practiced slash at the shadow.
The blade sliced straight through the entity's neck.
It happened too fast.
One second, a shadow lay dormant—almost invisible. The next, it dissolved into mist, its head cleanly severed. No struggle. No resistance.
Not even time to scream.
In the moment of silence that followed, only a lingering emotion remained.
"I… died… so unjustly…"
There was no physical corpse. No blood. Just a memory and a final, tragic thought left behind in the air.
Lucas blinked, frozen for a second. Then his heart caught up.
"What… just happened?"
He slapped his chest with relief. "Thank God I didn't fall asleep! With an advanced-threat entity like that, I had to wait until she let down her guard and strike at the exact moment of vulnerability—like the 523rd fatal strike opportunity. Perfect timing... almost too perfect."
He looked around.
The butcher was still asleep, snoring heavily in his chair, utterly unaware of the spiritual assassination that just took place at his feet.
"It's insane… even in a game instance like this, you can't afford to drop your guard for a second," Lucas muttered.
Suddenly, the system interface glowed again. A new line of text revealed itself:
> [System Prompt: Player Lucas has triggered a Side Mission]
[Side Mission: Help the Shadow Resolve Her Resentment]
[Reward: Unknown]
Lucas stared at the message.
He sighed.
"The mission target's already dead. Now you tell me? Isn't that just a little late, system?"
---
Viewers watching the live stream exploded into chaos.
"Can this guy seriously blame the system for that?!"
"Lucas just one-shot a named ghost NPC without even blinking and then has the audacity to be like 'oh no the mission's ruined.' Bro, you're the reason it's ruined!"
"I've never seen someone botch a ghost side quest and then act like the system is at fault! Peak shameless!"
"And why was that shadow so high-level if she was meant to be helped? Man just sliced her like a carrot."
To them, it had all happened in less than two seconds.
Lucas drew a blade and—bam—problem deleted.
---
Meanwhile, Lucas was still troubled. He stared at the side mission, reopening and refreshing it multiple times. No updates. No solution. Just:
> Help the shadow resolve her resentment.
"But she's gone…" Lucas murmured.
Then, something caught his eye.
There were still three shadows beneath the butcher's chair.
They clung to the floor, unmoving, seemingly harmless—just part of the scenery.
Lucas crouched down, narrowing his eyes.
"The shadow in the quest might not refer to the one I already cut…"
As soon as those words left his mouth, one of the remaining shadows trembled faintly.
It froze again, pretending nothing had happened.
Lucas, cautious as ever, did not act.
Instead, he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, feigning sleep.
---
11:00 AM.
The butcher stirred. Groggily, he got up and stretched his thick arms.
"Hey, Lucas. Lunchtime. Come on."
Lucas nodded and followed. Together, they prepped a large slab of pork. The butcher showed no sign of awareness that one of his shadowy companions had disappeared.
By 2:00 PM, the butcher lay back again, entering his scheduled nap time.
Lucas wiped his hands dry.
"This is it," he whispered.
"This moment… is likely the only safe time window left."
The butcher's stats were far beyond the level of this instance. It wasn't an exaggeration to call him a mini-boss. But the system had clearly built in these "nap times" as the only realistic opportunity to make progress—or survive.
Lucas crouched again near the three remaining shadows.
He could hear the butcher's breathing—heavy, steady, dangerously close.
"Which one first?"
He studied them.
"Let's start with the weakest one…"
He reached for the shadow on the far right. Its presence felt the least active.
Viewers laughed as they watched this entire sequence unfold.
"Dude's literally squatting like he's picking vegetables."
"He's choosing pork cuts in front of the boss and we're out here holding our breath."
"Kitchen knife in hand, shaking his legs like a rogue butcher in a horror movie."
---
> [The Butcher's Shadow (Part 1): Advanced Danger]
Lucas tapped the edge of the shadow with his finger.
Cold.
Not floor-like. Not normal. Definitely ghostly.
He reached deeper.
He felt resistance—and pulled.
Out came a black and gray figure, humanoid and twitching. It struggled silently, its eyeless face twisted in horror.
Its mouth opened, preparing to scream.
Crunch.
The butcher twitched.
The chair groaned.
Lucas froze. The butcher's brow furrowed. One eye blinked open just a crack.
Lucas didn't hesitate.
With a precise, decisive movement—he raised the knife and sliced cleanly.
Schhhlick.
Head. Separated.
The shadow faded without a sound.
The butcher's eye closed again.
He snored.
Lucas exhaled sharply. "I nearly woke him… had to silence her fast."
---
Two shadows remained.
They trembled.
Pretending to be dead clearly wasn't working anymore.
But Lucas just smiled, wiping sweat from his brow.
"Two left," he said softly. "Now you're aware of what's coming, aren't you?"
Back in the live stream, viewers spammed chat:
> "Bro's treating ghost hunting like gardening!"
"Lucas is literally the Michael Myers of the afterlife. Quiet, effective, and terrifying."
"I'd hate to be a ghost in his map."
"Give that man a chef's hat. He's carving souls for lunch."
---
Lucas's plan now was simple: finish off the remaining shadows before the butcher woke again.
He had a narrow window—probably twenty minutes at most before the next reset.
But what he didn't expect… was what happened after he killed the second one.
---
As the second shadow vanished into mist, the third didn't wait.
It launched itself out of the ground like a spring-loaded trap, aiming straight for Lucas' throat.
"Tch—too soon!"
He barely twisted in time to dodge the ghost's shriek, but the attack forced him back.
The butcher stirred again.
Lucas had seconds—no, milliseconds.
He stepped forward, parried the specter's claw with his elbow, and drove the knife straight into its chest with his other hand.
The ghost convulsed and shattered into smoke.
Lucas fell back against the counter, breathing hard.
Behind him, the butcher snored on.
Three shadows. Three kills. All done without waking the sleeping boss.
"That's got to be a record," he muttered, chest heaving.
Then the system chimed.
> [Side Mission Complete: You have helped the trapped shadows move on]
[Reward Unlocked: "Grudge Blade – Ghost-Touched Variant"]
[Effect: Increases damage against incorporeal enemies. Passive: Chance to silence ghostly entities on contact.]
Lucas grinned.
"This blade's gonna be useful in the next level…"
---
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