Elmer Arrietti shifted uncomfortably as he stood in front of the assembled people, his fingers rising naturally to pick at all the dangling bits of commendation that adorned his uniform. He was currently decked out in his finest, as were the rest of his force, as they rose on platforms to Randidly Ghosthound’s private island. Moss spirits frolicked around happily, investigating the police officers then zooming off. Elmer hoped that the moss spirits didn’t get so distracted that they forgot to lift the platform.

Today would be the day they followed their leader into a Dungeon in order to do some intensive training. Everyone was very on edge at the prospect.

Of course, Elmer appreciated the effort to raise the strength of the police force. But after staying up all of the prior night tossing and turning, he could only come to one conclusion how this training would end. It would likely be polite, but the Order Ducis and Kharon would find a reason during this training session to remove Elmer from his position as Commissioner and put someone more powerful in his place.

By all accounts, it would be a very good decision

“Is something wrong, Commissioner?” A patrol officer named Fenlin asked.

Elmer cleared his throat. “Of course not. I”m mentally preparing myself. Heh, you have never been personally trained by the Ghosthound, have you? Let me just say that… if you thought the normal Order Ducis training was difficult… hehehe… well, feel free to rely on me if you have any difficulties. But always remember that we are all in this together.”

Elmer was rather surprised at his own mouth as his secret fears somehow morphed through his esophagus into him talking out of his ass. Around him, the other officers began to whisper excitedly to each other and look at Elmer with eyes shining with respect.

To his own misbehaving mouth, Elmer was somewhat helpless. Considering that he would be stuck with these people for at least six months within the Dungeon, admitting now that he had no idea what he was talking about would be awkward. He could only shrug his shoulders and straighten his spine, squinting upward toward the Ghosthound’s island that was shrouded in silver mist. The more he considered the implications, the more conflicted he became regarding the prospect of losing this position.

On the one hand, he was currently very influential within Kharon. That was nice. He was included in many of the large scale decisions and was very well paid for his amount of responsibility leading the city. His entire force seemed very proud of him and respected his decisions. He was seen as a leader.

They even dedicated the bowling complex to me… Elmer thought to himself.

On the other hand, Elmer had no time to spend his generous paycheck because he was constantly dashing around the city, investigating this, or following up on that. He had built a report-fort on top of his desk. Every day he woke up thinking that this would be the day that he encountered someone powerful just wandering the streets, maybe someone at Level 60, who would be able to kill him without much effort. Any attempts to sleep were swiftly cut short by stress dreams.

He knew with the benefits of the System that it was just his imagination, but the stress of the job made him peer peevishly at his hairline any time he was in front of the mirror.

With a dull thump, the large platform carrying all two hundred and sixteen of the police officers and support staff going into the Dungeon, crunched up against the side of the Ghosthound’s island. Elmer frowned around to see that they had apparently arrived at a supply depot for the building of the Ghosthound’s house. Tall piles of wood and metal ingots formed a maze around them.

Clicking his tongue, Elmer strode confidently forward and the rest of the police force followed him. Although he hadn’t been told exactly where to meet the group going into the Dungeon, it wasn’t hard to guess. Although there was nothing concrete to sense, Elmer could feel a strange ‘weight’ from directly in front of him. That was the presence of the Ghosthound, he had no doubt. Even if his own image was rather feeble, Elmer had been working hard to sharpen his ability to sense other images.

Plus, the Ghosthound was very easy to sense when he wasn’t restricting his aura.

How did I end up in a situation where I need to walk directly toward such a scary individual… haaaa, maybe law enforcement isn’t the career for me…

Although intimidating, the Ghosthound’s island wasn’t overly large. The police contingent skirted around the edges of a pit where workers were digging a foundation for a large complex and arrived at a point where people had already gathered.

The Ghosthound nodded slowly as he looked at Elmer with those piercing emerald eyes. “Good, we are all here. Everyone, it’s time to go.”

As everyone began to gather and queue up, Elmer’s eyes widened at some of the individuals that were quickly disappearing under the Ghosthound’s touch. There was about fifty of the Ghosthound’s strange Riders that went first. After that group were the two representatives of the Order Ducis: Helen and Ajax. Then a bunch of teenagers filed forward, their eyes wide as they looked at the Ghosthound in front of them.

Elmer watched with sympathy as the first kid the Ghosthound reached for even flinched.

Behind the children were another group of people that Elmer instantly recognized: Sam the Dawnsmith, Nathan the Architect of Souls, and Clarissa the Weather Witch. Then Dinesh followed after them, chatting with a shorter man with an impressive looking mustache. When they had all vanished, the Ghosthound beckoned and the police force came forward.

Elmer was last, and when it came to his turn, his entire body was stiff with nerves. He could feel sweat dripping down his back. Without the slightest hesitation, the Ghosthound reached out and touched Elmer’s arm. Suddenly, Elmer was in a large field with all the other people who had been taken before him. The children gathered together in one group while most of the other individuals spread out and looked around with interest. The Riders just seemed bored.

Several officers hurried up to Elmer. “Commissioner… where is this…?”

Elmer cleared his throat and spoke vaguely. “The world’s a big place. That’s why we are here. To grow and learn.”

The surrounding police officers nodded solemnly. The adjusted their any minuscule flaws in their uniform that had appeared due to the teleportation and gathered in formation, as though they were on a parade ground. After struggling for several seconds in front of them, Elmer opened his mouth to talk more honestly about his own feelings. Seeing the serious expressions of the people around him, he felt somewhat like a fraud.

Yet just as he was beginning to speak, the surroundings changed again. The group found themselves no longer on those rolling hills and suddenly they were in a valley next to a gushing river. The Ghosthound surveyed the surrounding people and began to speak. “Alright, we are now within the Dungeon. Riders, check the surrounding area for what sort of monsters we have here. Helen, Ajax… get some training areas started up on that slope- Yes?”

Helen had raised her hand. “Can’t I go with the Riders? I could use some exercise.”

The Ghosthound rolled his eyes. “The monsters in here should be around Level 55. Do you really think you will enjoy hunting them? But yes, feel free. Mr. Dugg, give some time for the Riders to clear out the valley and then start whatever construction you deem appropriate. The kids will be your helpers. And kids… listen to Mr. Dugg, alright? Even though he looks like that, he’s very good at his job.”

“Even though he looks like that… after the career I’ve had...” The short man with the mustache muttered to himself. Then he shook his head and stomped off toward the river. The kids glanced at each other and then scurried after the man.

Finally, the Ghosthound turned to Commissioner Arietti and the other members of Kharon’s police force. “...as for you, your training will begin immediately. I need to get a good grasp of where you are in terms of image clarity. These sessions… hum… will probably happen every three days. Aside from that, Helen and Ajax will handle your training. Those of you who engage directly with the populace will receive additional combat training, while support staff will need to solve some logic puzzles that have been arranged for you. Any questions?”

Everyone shook their heads. Elmer’s skin began to crawl as he realized that everyone else had left the surrounding area. Now, it was just them and the Ghosthound.

“For this part,” The Ghosthound continued. “All you need to do is stand your ground and attempt to endure my image. Ready? Let’s begin.”

There wasn’t enough time after he said ready to respond at all! Elmer thought in alarm. He had been planning on clarifying the task, but the Ghosthound moved too quickly; he began to smile at Kharon’s police force. And then the air around their leader warped.

The change was instantaneous. One second a slim and athletic-looking Randidly Ghosthound was standing in front of them, regarding them critically. Then the air around him shimmered and his form seemed to become increasingly intense. The corner of his smile kept curling upward. There was so much weight to his presence that an onlooker’s eyes were dragged toward him.

His hair flashed and lightened to emerald and stirred as though it was being toyed with by a spring breeze. His right eye began to glow with an emerald light and his left eye… seemed to become a hole in the world. Light bent and twisted as though it was literally being drained away by that hungry eye. A long, dark tail that looked segmented like a spine flicked back and forth behind the Ghosthound. The muscles and tendons of his arms seemed to strain and flex. His hands shimmered and were covered in warped, blackened flesh. His toes flexed and dug into the ground as they were also shifting to that strange flesh.

The pressure smashed into Elmer with a physical force. Elmer Arrietti couldn’t breathe. His entire body locked up, one joint at a time until he was a sweaty statue. Behind him, he could distantly hear his force groan and shudder beneath that abrupt pressure. But perhaps because Elmer was at the front, his consciousness was directly smashed to the side.

Goddamnit it knees, just collapse and let me fall over! Elmer roared in panic at his unresponsive body. A second wave of pressure spread outward from the Ghosthound. It seemed Kharon’s creator was laughing hysterically, raising his head and daring the world to stand in his way. That laughter ripped into Elmer’s vulnerable thoughts, wiping everything away.

Then all he could hear was a strange buzzing and all he could feel was sweat trickling down his back in a small stream. His eyes remained locked on the Ghosthound in front of him. Specifically, his gaze was drawn into that intense darkness that grew from his left eye. But the more he looked, the more Elmer began to understand that he had severely underestimated their leader. He had always known the man was powerful… he had been at the Ghosthound’s birthday celebration. He had felt the pressure that he could casually unleash.

And yet…

In front of him, the Ghosthound’s skin of his shoulders and torso was translucent. Although most of it was covered up by the dark grey armor he wore, within the small amount of exposed skin Elmer could see pulsing golden veins. His pale neck was filled with thick, flexing topaz serpents. The Ghosthound’s smile stretched wider and wider. He took a step forward and the pressure that Elmer endured intensified. His entire body began to tremble.

Randidly Ghosthound wasn’t powerful because of his images. He was powerful because he was his images, personified. The surrounding air began to howl. Elmer’s muscles continued to spasm. As much as he wanted to flee from the powerful figure in front of him, he was too scared to move.

He was a mouse before a leviathan. Randidly Ghosthound was a monster that had once worn human skin.

Congratulations! You have learned the Skill Image Resistance (Ru)!

Image Resistance (Ru): Slightly decreases the influence that images have on your body and mind. A Skill that only emerges under extreme circumstances. Power of own images will slightly increase with Skill Level. Amount of resistance increases with Skill Level.

Congratulations! Your Skill Image Resistance (Ru) has grown to Level 2!

Randidly Ghosthound took an extremely heavy step forward. The amount of light swirling around his eye increased. Almost the entirety of the left side of his face was obscured by the swirling, liquid light and that pitch darkness at the core of it. He became a faceless horror, stalking forward toward Kharon’s police force.

Elmer’s entire body shuddered. The twitches wracking his body became increasingly erratic. Behind him, he could distantly make out panting and low cries. But Elmer didn’t have any spare attention to focus on the people behind him. His own body continued to betray him, barely allowing himself to move.

Please… just...

Congratulations! Your Skill Image Resistance (Ru) has grown to Level 3!

…

Congratulations! Your Skill Image Resistance (Ru) has grown to Level 19!

Elmer’s breath was stuck in his throat. His constricted organs writhed in agony as his muscles refused to relax. It was like his subconscious was locked in a wrestling match with itself. Half of him wanted to turn and run away while the other half wanted him to avoid detection by remaining exactly still. Neither was able to grasp an advantage. Each remained determined to succeed. So Elmer stood still and trembled.

The Ghosthound took another step forward. A strange, desperate howling arrived at Elmer’s ears. The very air around this avatar of power seemed to seethe and scream in agony. The darkness in the Ghosthound’s left eye seemed to round until Elmer could see the faintest shimmer of an egg.

Congratulations! Your Skill Image Resistance (Ru) has grown to Level 23!

After the third step, Elmer went unconscious. His eyelids fluttered and closed with the most reassuring sense of relief that he had ever experienced.

The fourth step woke him back up to find that his traitorous body had remained standing even after he had been knocked out. The strange wind that was blowing the Ghosthound’s hair finally reached Elmer, somehow chilling him to the bone and scouring his skin like a raging sandstorm.

Small wounds appeared up and down Elmer’s arms. As soon as he bled the liquid of life was whisked away into the deadly maelstrom around the Ghosthound.

Congratulations! Your Skill Image Resistance (Ru) has grown to Level 40!

“Oh? Interesting. Considering your determination… I’ll have Helen design a private training program for you, Commissioner Arrietti. Good job.” The Ghosthound’s voice rumbled. He released his image. “That’s all for today. I feel like I have a good understanding of what you are all capable of.”

Even now, Elmer couldn’t move. His muscles had strained themselves to the point that he didn’t have the strength to relax them. He remained locked in place even as the Ghosthound turned and walked away. Behind him, most of his police force was unconscious, unable to help him.

Six months…

Tears silently coursed down Elmer’s cheeks.