The Attendant in the Horror Game C17

Chapter 17

“The mop ghost? That’s really its name?”

Jade repeated in disbelief. This time, it was his face—rather than Soondol’s—that was filled with suspicion.

“Yes.”

“What kind of name is that? Who came up with something so half-hearted?”

“I… don’t know either.”

Ian trailed off, scratching his pale cheek with a hesitant expression. He vaguely recalled reading about it once in a book on monsters. It was a type of ghost, but unlike others—who appeared translucent—it had a clearly visible form, making it more likely to flee from people rather than haunt them directly.

“You don’t… really have to worry about it,” Ian added softly, his gentle eyes flicking aside before muttering under his breath, “Probably.”

“Probably? What do you mean, probably?”

Jade leaned forward, lowering himself to Ian’s eye level, startled by the uncertain tone. Those soft hazelnut eyes filled his vision as Ian calmly began to explain, avoiding his gaze.

“Before I came here, I studied the monsters and creatures of the northern region.”

According to the books, the mop ghost wasn’t particularly aggressive and possessed no special abilities. It simply wandered around dirty places, doing nothing in particular.

Ian himself had seen it around the villa on a few occasions, but he never paid it much attention. Still, he doubted Jade could do the same.

“The mop ghost… likes dirty places, but it tends to avoid people. I’ve heard it’s usually afraid of humans and doesn’t attack.”

“It doesn’t attack? This—this is a major attack in my book!”

Jade let out a dry laugh and pointed at the streaks of grime still staining the floor, blowing air through his nose in frustration.

“This is basically a declaration of war!”

He raised a finger and waved it slowly from side to side, his posture full of exasperation. One leg propped up, arms crossed—he looked genuinely angry. Ian, who was used to seeing him cheerful and easygoing, found it oddly new.

“It’s generally supposed to be harmless.”

“Then I guess this one isn’t part of that general rule, is it?”

“So far, it’s been fine. It hasn’t shown up often…”

“Hmm.”

Jade narrowed his eyes. Ian tried to offer reassurance, but his irritation wasn’t going anywhere.

And who could blame him? He would now have to re-clean the entire third-floor hallway—the same floor he’d painstakingly polished to perfection. His carefully crafted cleaning schedule was ruined. He wouldn’t rest until he found that wretched creature and made it pay for the insult.

And besides, the whole idea was ridiculous. A mop ghost that liked dirty places? Wasn’t a mop supposed to clean them?

“So you’re saying this thing is really a ghost?”

“Yes.”

“And since it’s called a ghost, it really is one, right?”

“I suppose so…”

Once Ian nodded in affirmation, Jade recalled the skill he had received a few days ago after suffering through that mysterious fever—the so-called “Developer’s Gift.” Obedience of the Ghost.

Perhaps this was his chance to put it to use—and maybe, finally, catch the damned thing.

By the time evening arrived, Jade was wiping the floor with barely contained fury. It had taken him an entire day to erase every trace of filth the mop ghost had left behind.

He’d even ended up cleaning part of the fifth floor in the process. The sunset glowed through the windows by the time he was done. The ghost had plastered itself to the walls earlier, dirtying them too, which made the job even more tedious.

“My future healing life…”

Jade ground his teeth audibly. His obsession with cleaning had a purpose.

Everything came down to setting the tone early. If he wanted to live comfortably here, he needed to establish order from the start.

If that cursed mop ghost kept showing up to mess up his freshly cleaned halls, it would be a nightmare. Jade opened his skill window and reread the description carefully.

Special Skill <<
Obedience of the Ghost

Description <<
Allows the user to command obedience from a ghost.

Like the other skills, the description was only a single line long. What an unhelpful game. But what mattered now was that he could make the ghost obey him.

Warning <<
Skill inflicts damage upon use; the type of damage is unknown.

That part still bothered him, but honestly, the mop ghost’s existence itself was already inflicting enough psychological damage.

Jade clenched his teeth all the way to bed. Normally, he was the kind of person who let things go easily—but defiling his clean floor was unforgivable.

And soon enough, his chance for revenge arrived.

The next morning, Jade roasted mushrooms as usual and began his cleaning routine. Today’s target was the fifth floor—the very place he’d left unfinished yesterday.

The mop ghost liked dirty places, didn’t it? Then he’d make sure there weren’t any left.

“Myang, myang myaang.”

Ever since yesterday, Soondol had followed him around like a shadow.

“Soondol, you do believe me now, right?”

“Myang!”

At first, Soondol had given him that skeptical look—but now, he chirped confidently in reply. Jade felt grateful for the little creature’s loyalty. It felt almost like Soondol was protecting him from that strange ghost.

“All right then, let’s go.”

“Myang!”

Soondol grabbed a tiny piece of cloth, like a miniature rag, as if ready to help. Jade, holding his mop, started climbing the stairs to the fifth floor—but froze when he saw Ian already there, standing by the railing and looking down at him.

“Huh? When did you get here? I told you to rest, Young Master.”

“I didn’t have anything else to do. I was bored.”

Ian, who had been waiting for him, turned his gaze aside the moment their eyes met and awkwardly began wiping the railings.

“Young Master…!”

Jade clasped his hands, eyes wide with emotion. After all the cold shoulders and rejections from the past few days, seeing Ian willingly approach him nearly brought tears to his eyes.

It was understandable. Every time he’d tried to interact—

When he’d offered to read him a book from the study:

“I’m fine.”

When he’d suggested building a snowman together:

“I’d rather be alone.”

And when he’d brought scissors to trim Ian’s hair as promised:

“I don’t like people touching me.”

He’d been firmly rejected each time.

Jade had sincerely wanted to get along. Sure, part of it was because he didn’t want to be killed, but more than that—there were only two of them here. Why make things awkward?

Persistent as Jade was, Ian was equally stubborn in pushing him away.

Maybe that was why this moment meant so much. For Ian to voluntarily offer to help clean—it felt like a miracle.

“Well then! Shall we clean together, like a happy little team?”

Clapping his hands like a cheerful cleaning captain, Jade beamed. Soondol chirped enthusiastically, and Ian replied more softly.

“Myang!”

“Yes.”

The fifth floor was the dirtiest area in the entire villa, with plenty to clean. That must have been why the mop ghost lingered there.

“If we run into it again today, I won’t go easy on it.”

Jade reaffirmed his determination. He was going to wring that filthy thing dry until not a single drop of sludge remained. He’d dunk it in soap water at least ten times.

And as if responding to that fierce resolve, the mop ghost appeared shortly after they began cleaning.

“Krrr—Kaaahk—!”

Soondol spotted it first, hissing ferociously from a corner. The usually soft-voiced creature now growled like a predator—fiercer than he ever was with Ian.

“What’s wrong?!”

Jade dropped his rag and ran toward him.

Sasassasak—

As expected, the mop ghost was there. But it felt different from yesterday. It wasn’t fleeing this time—it had come on purpose.

“Oh, you want a fight?”

Jade smirked. The mop ghost seemed furious, likely because he’d cleaned its favorite dirty haunts. A dense gray mist swirled behind it like an aurora. But Jade was just as fired up.

“Myang-aaang—!”

Suddenly, its tendrils stretched like elastic cords, snapping through the air like whips. One of them lashed toward Soondol.

“Myang-aak!”

“Soondol!”

The little creature was sent flying. It seemed the ghost viewed Soondol as the true threat rather than Jade.

“Myang!”

Thankfully, Soondol’s wings kept him from injury; he quickly swooped back toward them in a wide arc.

“Jade!”

“Stay back!”

Ian ran toward them, but Jade blocked him, keeping a safe distance from the ghost’s reach.

“W-whoa—!”

But the whip-like tendrils weren’t the only danger. The ghost spewed filth like a sprinkler, spraying thick, dark water through the air. The attack flew straight toward Ian, the weakest-looking target.

“…!”

“Young Master!”

The blast hit Ian, lifting him off his feet. His body hovered in the air for a brief, horrifying second—then tilted backward over the railing.

“No—!”

“Myang!”

Jade lunged instinctively. He barely managed to grab Ian before they both went over, his upper body hanging dangerously over the edge.

“Young Master!”

With a loud thud, Jade pulled Ian into his arms and tumbled back onto the hallway floor. Both were breathing hard, gasping for air.

That had been too close. If they had fallen from the fifth floor, they wouldn’t have survived.

“Are you all right? Ian! Young Master!”

Without a moment’s rest, Jade checked Ian’s condition. He hadn’t fallen, thankfully—but his eyes were closed, unresponsive.

“That damn ghost…”

Jade’s jaw tightened. He had to act fast—before the creature launched another attack, he needed to force it into submission.

“Open skill window.”

He summoned the system screen. Around the ghost, the smoky aura thickened—it was preparing another strike.

Jade focused, his gaze sharp, and pressed Activate Skill.

But who could have predicted it—his bad luck struck again, even now, in this desperate moment.

Activation Requirement <<
You must say “Obey me” three times aloud.

“What—?!”

Since when was that part of the description?!

Jade internally screamed in disbelief.