004 Strange City

  The road trip continued, the skeleton horses cttering against the worn dirt path. I had no idea where we were heading, but after a while, the scenery shifted.

  We entered a dense forest.

  I had the distinct impression that Skully was hiding his carriage.

  I wasn’t sure why, but it was clear he was being cautious. He had the Normies pull the carriage into a well-hidden thicket, ensuring that it was practically invisible from the road.

  Not bad, Skully. Not bad at all.

  With everything in pce, we ventured deeper into the forest, following Skully’s lead.

  And then we reached… a city?

  At first gnce, it looked dipidated. Crumbling stone walls, rotting wooden gates, and vines creeping along the ruined structures. It screamed abandoned ghost town.

  But then, as we got closer… I realized how wrong I was.

  Past the ruined facade, the interior was bustling.

  People—or rather, beings—walked about like it was a normal day. The city had establishments, marketpces, taverns, and even what looked like a bcksmith’s forge. It was fully functional despite looking like a ruin from the outside.

  And the people?

  They were… questionable.

  I saw all sorts of characters—hooded figures lurking in alleys, heavily armed creatures bargaining with merchants, and shady individuals exchanging mysterious parcels with quick handshakes.

  This pce had a vibe.

  A seedy, underground, "you-might-get-shanked-in-the-dark" kind of vibe.

  What was this?

  Some kind of outw city?

  I wasn’t sure.

  It wasn’t like my grasp of nguage was that good already.

  “There sure are a lot of people.”

  I tried to memorize as many features of these people as possible. If I was going to be stuck here for who knows how long, I might as well learn to recognize one race from another.

  First, there were the beautiful long-eared fels. Some had fair skin, while others had darker complexions. They carried themselves with an air of grace, which made me think… elves? Probably.

  Then there were short people—stocky builds, bushy beards, and grumpy expressions. Okay, that screamed dwarves. Some were less hairy and had more mischievous grins, making me think of gnomes.

  And then, a cssic orc.

  Green skin, tusks, muscles that could crush a rock with ease. No mistake about that one.

  There was even a lizardfolk wandering around, looking like a humanoid reptile.

  A few humans, mixed in with the rest of the crowd.

  And… a clothed goblin?

  I wasn’t expecting that. It felt weird seeing a goblin in actual decent attire. I mean, I had assumed they were all the "run-at-you-screaming-and-get-fireballed" type. But apparently, some of them wore tailored suits. Huh.

  At this point, I had to admit—this world was definitely a world of sword and sorcery.

  For an isekai plot, this was quite something.

  Naturally, I couldn’t just observe. I had to experiment.

  Could anyone see me?

  I didn’t stray too far from Skully while I bothered one person after another. I’d wave a hand in front of their faces, phase through their bodies, or just stand awkwardly close to see if I got a reaction.

  No luck.

  Nobody noticed.

  And yes, I was referring to all intelligent life forms as "people."

  Because why not?

  I’m decent like that…

  Skully entered a seedy alley.

  The kind of alley where people got mugged, illicit deals were made, and something always smelled suspiciously bad.

  I decided to stop my shenanigans for now and followed him.

  At the end of the alley, we arrived at a discreet little room. Inside, an old woman sat at the center, hunched over a crystal ball resting on a pillowy cushion.

  She looked over fifty or something. Wrinkled face, beady eyes, the cssic “I’ve seen some serious stuff” look.

  Huh. She kind of reminded me of Mom.

  Mom used to moonlight as a fortune teller, scamming tourists with vague prophecies. I never expected Skully, of all people, to be into this stuff.

  When the fortune teller got a good look at Skully, her face drained of color. Her eyes went wide, and she nearly bolted for the door.

  But before she could, Skully plopped a heavy sack of gold coins onto the table, spilling its gleaming contents.

  Clink-cnk.

  The sound of money had an almost magical calming effect.

  She slowly sat back down, her eyes darting between Skully and the gold.

  And then, she stared at me.

  My nonexistent heart skipped a beat.

  "Oh?" I grinned. "You can see me?"

  This was huge. I had spent days—maybe even weeks—floating around, talking to myself, messing with people, and not a single soul reacted. But now?

  I was being acknowledged.

  I greeted her in the most polite and amicable way possible. A warm smile, a little bow—the full Filipino hospitality package. “Hello~! Nice to meet you, Madame!”

  But she just stared at me.

  Confused.

  Oh.

  She didn’t understand a word I was saying.

  Before I could even attempt to try charades or something, her entire body went stiff. Her lips trembled.

  And then—

  She fainted.

  Just like that.

  Face-first onto her table.

  Thud.

  Skully let out a sound that could only be described as an exasperated or probably an angry scream. Then he started cussing his heart out.

  At this point, I had to wonder—was it me that freaked her out, or was Skully just that terrifying?

  I prodded the woman.

  She let out a weak groan, slowly opened her eyes, and then—

  Puked.

  Right there.

  All over her table.

  "What the hell?!" I yelped, floating back in horror.

  She dry-heaved, wiped her mouth with her sleeve, and looked at me again, her face twisted in absolute dread.

  Oh.

  I was the problem.

  She grabbed the sack of gold coins and shoved it back toward Skully, screaming her lungs out.

  Skully screamed right back.

  And just like that, a shouting match broke out.

  I floated back, arms crossed, watching the chaos unfold. If this was charades, what would I even guess?

  Skully was pointing aggressively at me. The old woman did the same.

  Hmm. Was Skully angry on my behalf because she was rude to me?

  Pfft. No way. I’m not that delusional.

  More likely, Skully was trying to get rid of me.

  Well, tough luck, buddy. I had no pns of leaving you just yet.

  After all, only Skully could see me, and I’d be pretty sad if I was lonely.

  Sure, the old woman could see me too, but at this rate, she might faint every five minutes.

  And if she suddenly kicked the bucket?

  Well, then I’d be alone again.

  So yeah.

  I decided to stick with Skully.

  He was virtually immortal, could sughter a small army of goblins with ease, and honestly?

  He was kind of fun to mess with.

  The shouting match didn’t stop for the next five minutes.

  At this point, it was like watching a divorced couple arguing over child custody—except neither of them wanted the kid.

  Skully barked something. The old woman shrieked back. More wild gesturing. More pointing at me. I just hovered there, watching the chaos like a soap opera.

  Then, slowly, they started to calm down.

  The woman let out a deep sigh and then turned her focus on me.

  Uh-oh.

  She muttered something, waving her hands in weird motions.

  I felt a faint tingle in the air.

  Ah, magic.

  I had no clue what the spell was, but I was pretty sure it was aimed at me.

  She cast one.

  Nothing happened.

  She frowned.

  She cast another.

  Still nothing.

  Her expression turned more exasperated.

  Another spell.

  And another.

  And still—zip.

  I floated there, perfectly fine, perfectly unaffected.

  Eventually, she let out a long, defeated sigh and turned back to Skully.

  She said something—this time, her voice was gentle, almost… sympathetic?

  Maybe she was giving Skully advice?

  Whatever it was, Skully didn’t look happy. He groaned, rubbing his bony temple as if he had a headache.

  Which, you know, was impossible since he had no brain.

  We got out of the alley, Skully stomping ahead of me like he had somewhere important to be.

  I was floating right behind him, just minding my own ghostly business, when he suddenly stopped and turned to stare at me.

  For a moment, we locked eyes. Well, his eye sockets, at least.

  And then, without warning, Skully raised a hand, pulsing with some kind of magic. Before I could react, there was a bright shimmer, a ripple in the air—and Skully vanished.

  I blinked. Or, well… I think I blinked.

  “Huh?”

  I looked around, confused.

  “Wait… what just happened?”

  Did he just… teleport?

  No way.

  I floated there, stunned for a few seconds, as realization slowly dawned on me.

  “Did he just ditch me?”

  He did. He actually did.

  I shook my head, chuckling in disbelief. “Damn it, Skully. I never knew you had it in you.”

  I sighed. This wasn’t exactly what I’d expected when I followed him on this little road trip. Outsmarted by a skeleton. What a day.

  Thankfully, I wasn’t entirely helpless. Before we’d entered the city, I’d been paying attention. I had memorized the way back to the cathedral.

  Was it weird? That I kind of felt… homely about that pce? Maybe. But it wasn’t like I had a ton of other options right now.

  “Alright, Skully,” I muttered to myself, cracking my non-existent knuckles. “Let’s see how far you get.”

  Without wasting any more time, I bolted down the street, using a combination of my weak telekinesis and floating powers to boost my speed. It was like a weird mix of running, gliding, and hovering, but it worked.

  The best part? No stamina bar. No getting tired. I could keep this up for as long as I needed.

  And it wasn’t long before I spotted Skully’s carriage rolling down the road, the same rickety contraption from before, pulled by his spooky, bone-horse creations.

  I floated up alongside it and phased through the side of the carriage, popping in right next to Skully, who was slouched on the couch with his arms crossed.

  “Miss me?” I asked, grinning.

  Skully slowly turned his head to look at me. His hollow eye sockets burst with blue fmes for a second, creating two orbs of blue fmes.

  Yep, there was no getting rid of me yet.

  Skully stared ahead, his fiery eyes dim and flickering, locked on some faraway point outside the carriage window. He wasn’t moving, wasn’t yelling, wasn’t even giving me the usual “I’m-gonna-destroy-you” death gre.

  He was just… sitting there.

  Quiet.

  I floated in front of him and waved a hand. No response.

  “Uh… Skully?” I said, leaning a little closer.

  Nothing.

  I blinked. Wait… did I break him?

  I tilted my head, watching for any sign of life—or, well, unlife, in his case. But nope. He just sat there like he’d completely checked out of reality.

  “Okay… this is weird.” I tapped my chin, trying to figure out what was going on.

  Did he hit his limit? Did the whole teleporting-away-and-me-still-showing-up-right-next-to-him thing push him over the edge?

  “Hey, Skully,” I said, poking him lightly on the shoulder with my telekinetic finger. “You good, buddy?”

  Still nothing.

  Oh, man. I think I really did it. I broke the skeleton.

  Part of me felt kind of bad. But another part? Well, that part was just a little bit proud.

  I mean, it’s not every day you can say you defeated a fming, magic-slinging skeleton.