Halloween Special: Bloody Ghost Queen

(This will take place later than the current storyline, on a Halloween event in which the game was already released to the world. I will introduce several new characters as well, so if you don’t like spoilers, don’t read this chapter.)

“HAH!”

Slashing at the monster, it fell before me. Behind me, another wolf pounced on me, but Cox helped protect my back. Next to him, a girl quietly chanted a few words, and firing from a magic circle were deadly projectiles that killed the last remaining wolves.

“Hey Vocal, where’s Navi?”

“She says that a Halloween update is coming up, so she went to try to find out what it is.”

“Awsome! So there really is a Halloween event. Any idea what it will be?”

“Well, most events are different for each continent you’re on, so a summoner filled continent like this will surely have an event for summoning special monsters.”

“You’re right, knowing this, maybe I should’ve become a summoner. Although I do like my current class right now.”

Cox, with that vulgar sounding name, has one of the rare hidden classes [Artisan]. A good class wasted on such a pervert can only make so many people cry.

“Wait, can’t a summoner summon a succubus? SHIT! I missed such a good chance to get lai- !!!”

Before he could finish his sentence, the girl next to him slapped his face. There was enough force in that slap that it actually shaved about a third of his health. Even a mage can deal a lot of physical damage to a low-defense crafting class.

“Pervert! Don’t pick a class for such a stupid reason.”

“Aww Luna, I was only joking. Could it be that you’re jealous?”

“No, in fact, just die to a wolf right now.”

“Don’t be so cru- AAARRRGGGHHH!”

Behind him, an injured wolf had managed to sneak up on the loud pervert. Knowing this, Luna purposely distracted him with the conversation so Cox wouldn’t notice.

“F*ck, die you stupid wolf!”

Throwing out several paintbrushes, the tips harden with mana and pierce the wolf’s eye, killing it.

“Hah, hah, WHAT THE HECK LUNA!?! WHY DIDN’T YOU WARN ME!”

“Hmm, did I forget to hit the one wolf that was so conveniently near you. My bad, are you okay?”

Saying that line with a monotone voice and a face that said, “Why didn’t you die,” Cox shivered and turned away.

“WAH, Vocal help me. She’s so mean to me.”

Ignoring him, I such the corpses into my hand and put them into my storage, but not before removing the monster cores.

“Well, let’s go back.”

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On the way back, both Luna and Cox were arguing about who is right about what the local Halloween event is about.

“It’s a summoning event!”

“It’s a chain quest event!”

Barely listening to those two argue, I call Navi.

“Hey, how’s it going on your end?”

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Urg, I can’t seem to understand this spell.

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“Don’t worry. By the way, do you know what the event is about? If I don’t satisfy these two’s curiosity, they’ll argue until we come back to town.”

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Sorry, but I did confirm that it’s related to summoning.

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“Thanks anyway, and take a day off. Kids like you should be out and trick-or-treating, although I doubt anyone other than players would actually give out candy.”

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Alright. Oh yeah! This may be related to the quest,

but recently the locals started talking about stories

associated with Halloween. Mainly it’s about how

criminals use the sneak bonus up effect to attack

people during the night.

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Sneak bonus up, a special effect in which your opponent loses defense when surprised and the attacker can deal more damage. Halloween is one of the most infamous times for bandits to attack those outside the city.

“Thanks, see you at school.”

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Bye!

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Finishing our conversation, I noticed that we already reached the base of the mountain our school was on. A seemingly endless set of stairs stretched up to the top of the mountain, where players and local inhabitants of this world can study together.

“Man, I always hate climbing these stairs.”

“A weak crafter like you may be strong in combat, but you are no match physically to the likes of us.”

“WHAT! You have no right to say that. You’re a mage, not a warrior!”

“I at least train my physique. Come on! Soleil and Navi are up at the top. Besides, if we don’t reach the top in time, Sensei will make you crawl up and down the steps as punishment.”

“Ehh! We only have a time limit of half an hour! Gotta run before I crawl!”

Running ahead, both of us catch up to Cox and quickly overtake him.

Reaching the top, all of us breath heavily a bit, although I didn't really feel tired like the others as I didn't have lungs.

“Phew, we made it. I could see the various guards waiting for us to fail.”

“Hurry up, let's go back to class.”

“Okay!”

Sekaikoa Academy. A slightly famous summoner school that we currently attend. Recently there were rumors of a new event, so I wonder if any of the teachers might know something. Let's ask Sensei for help.

“Sensei! What the heck are you doing!”

Next to me, Luna shouted out in a very loud voice. Turning to look at what she was surprised about, I saw Sensei carrying out hundreds of giant mirrors all on his back. Running over, we helped the load off of him as he looked like he was dying.

“Hah, hah. Thank the lord you youngsters helped me. Now set these up for me as well.”

“Eh, what are you talking about?”

“Of course, it’s for the Halloween event!”

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Bloody Mary.

A story with several variations, but the overall story of today is about how calling out her name while looking in a mirror several times would summon her. In [New World] the blood mary is more than a story and is actually a race of legendary A-Ranked summon that everyone aspires to contract with.

Of course, I also have my share of A-Ranked summons, but an intelligent ghost type is one of the rarest summons anyone can contract with.

“So learning that she is easier to summon on Halloween, you made a purchase of 200 mirrors to help in hopes summoning her.”

“Hahaha, it’s true. In fact, almost everyone at school knows about it, but only a few can contract with a Bloody Mary. Maybe I might have the luck to summon the original Bloody Mary.”

“Original? I thought that Bloody Mary is only the name of the race.”

“No, no, no. The original Bloody Mary was a well known magician that studied the concepts of death and the afterlife. She was the first person to retain her existence after death, becoming the first ghost. Due to this, she became widely known as the Ghost Queen Mary.”

(No relation to the English Queen Mary)

So the mirrors are going to be used to summon a powerful spirit. In fact, from what Sensei told us, the mirrors are going to be placed in a room so that everyone can access it and have a chance to summon Bloody Mary. This is certainly a favorable event for a school mainly focused on summoners.

Well, even non-summoners benefit. Sometimes a failed contract makes the summon go beserk, making fights common. Defeating rare monsters would give exp and loot, so everyone benefits, except for summoners who fail.

“Okay, we’ll help.”

“Great, now just help me move these.”

For the next few hours, everyone helped in setting the mirrors into a specific arrangement that reminded one of a fun house. Because of space, the formation looked like a maze with narrow corridors. The mirrors were enchanted to hold in place and survive a few attacks in case of a battle against a failed contract.

“DONE!!! Alright everyone, make a line. Warriors and mages, on standby in case of failure.”

“OOOOOHHHHHHHH!!!”

Multiple summoners were casting magic out onto the magic circle. People were waiting nearby either waiting in line, on standby in case of an attack, or simply watching.

Eventually after a few minutes, someone succeeded.

“Oh my god, I actually did it!” A boy around my age shouted. He was prancing around his new spirit, a hazy figure that could barely pass as a female. Soon, several other students started to succeed.

“Wow, I wonder if I should try.”

“Navi! You’re here.” Seeing the tiny pixie, Luna ran up to her and grabbed her. Pressing Navi to her cheeks, Navi eventually cried, “STOP!”

“Why don’t you try Navi?”

“Umm, well I know I don’t really have good affinity with summoning, so I’m worried that I might trouble people if I fail a contract.”

“Nonsense,” Cox interjected. “Most people can’t even manifest a Bloody Mary, and they still try. Even if you do fail, defeating it can give out a lot of rewards, so everyone should attempt a summon.”

“Mmm, okay!”

Seeing her get in line, everyone watched her. To the majority of the students, she was a popular figure that was well known for not having an affinity for summoning, so everyone was watching with some interest.

“Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary…”

With the unique chant used specifically to summon Bloody Mary, mana started to gather, bouncing off of several mirrors. The mirrors reflected the gathered mana until it eventually formed a complicated formation from a bird’s eye view. In fact, compared to others, her summoning seemed to have a lot more flair than everyone combined.

Then, it suddenly grew very wrong…

Without an obvious reason, the summoning failed. Everyone knew it, even without any logical reasoning. The gathered mana, their beautiful form of light, started to turn pitch black as the mana grew alive. Turning into flies, a swarm of black mana gathered at the center of the formation.

All of the mirrors cracked, an ominous presence descended upon everyone in the vicinity. Fusing together, the flies turned into a figure of a woman. She was no beauty, nor was she hidious, rather she was quite plain looking. Mana drooped from her skin, turning dark red, the color of blood.

Bloody Mary, the original, has appeared.

Instantly, guards surrounded her. Everyone unable to help were running away, even if they wanted to watch. The Ghost Queen was ranked at the SS-Tier. Even if they stayed, they would only watch a battle for a few seconds before they realized that they have died.

Equipping all the necessities for battle, Luna, Cox, Navi, and I all charged at the enemy.

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[Summoned Terror]

Ghost Queen: Bloody Mary Lv: ???

???,??? / ???,???

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Seeing her title, I wondered if it was the same as my title [Summoned Apocalypse] but with [Identify] I found out that it only gave a fear factor in her presence. With everyone attacking, GQBM could barely fight back.

Warriors were unable to attack without special skills, so the majority of the damage were taken from mages. Summoners were also not helpful without any monsters that could damage ghosts.

Although Cox couldn’t attack, he used his [Mark Bright Red] skill to make GQBM lose mobility and drop dodge rate. Luna and Navi, as magicians, attacked with their signature spells.

I was doing nothing. With my main body gone, my powers were harshly restricted fighting with a copy’s body. But I did go around giving aid with the help of potions and items.

“AWW YEAH! THIS IS WHAT HALLOWEEN SHOULD BE ABOUT!” An excited Sensei shouted as he rode on his summons.

“No, this is definitely not what Halloween is supposed to be about,” Luna replied.

“Fighting with everyone, working together, having fun. Isn’t that the goal of every holiday.” I replied. I really meant what I said. Most people take the chance for a cause of celebration to have a good time. This was what everyone should be like.

Although we were at a stalemate, everyone was having fun with the fight. I even saw GQBM smile.

“What a fun night!”

“You didn’t get summoned did you? You intentionally came here.”

I inquired her about that. Her actions were that of playing a game with her friends.

“Yeah, I answer to those only who wish to have fun. Halloween is my jam, baby.”

“What century are you from?”

“Now that’s just harsh. Now, let’s fight to our best. Don’t worry about killing me, I’ll revive by tomorrow. Just entertain me!”

Hearing her words, everyone’s spirit fired up.

“WE WON’T LOSE TO YOU! WE ARE MEMBERS OF SEKAIKOA! WE WON’T LOSE TO SOME GHOST!!!”

With our spirits in one, everyone charged with new vigor.

“That’s the spirit! Let’s fight to our heart’s content.”

She smiled.

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“WE WON!!!”

“Congratulations, I had quite a fun time as well. I hope that everyone here grows up to be amazing people. See you next Halloween.” Saying that, Bloody Mary smiled as her body disappeared. People started to receive notifications on rewards and gains in level.

And as for me...

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You received the event award [Pumpkin Bomb x100]

and [GQBM Gift Card]. Thank you for participating in

the Sekaikoa Halloween Event (but it’s not over yet).

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I smiled at that message, and I knew that it wasn’t Navi that wrote that last part.

“Alright, now let’s go trick-or-treating.”

“YEAH!”

Smiling, I saw my friends wave at me, telling me to hurry up. With the night still young, I followed them.