The Attendant in the Horror Game C45

Chapter 45

On the third day of hunting for the wraith, Jade’s patience finally began to fray.

The notebook Ian had given him stated that the blind servant’s wraith appeared fairly often—yet somehow, even with deliberate searching, it remained stubbornly out of sight.

Half–giving up for the day, Jade headed to the storage room. He intended to sort through Soondol’s box and various items he’d neglected while obsessing over the wraith.

As he worked, that sinking suspicion returned—that today would be another wasted effort. At this rate, it almost felt like the wraith had sensed his intentions and was deliberately avoiding him.

Click, scrape. Click, scrape.

A dragging foot. Grinding joints. The eerie sounds he had waited for finally pierced his ears. The familiar rotten stench seeped into the storage room. It was here.

A thrill shot down his spine. If he trembled with excitement, would that make him look like a psycho? Jade held his breath, creeping toward the storage room door and peeking into the underground passage.

“Uoooorh—”

The wraith groaned as it drifted toward the right side—the same direction Jade had first spotted it. The sealed door leading to the outside. The sound stopped there.

Even though the door was barricaded, the wraith could pass through walls. It could leave whenever it wished, yet it remained. Perhaps that place meant something to it.

“It must’ve been here a long time if the first family head noted it down.”

Actually confronting it made Jade feel oddly conflicted. This creature had once been human. What had caused it to linger here?

“Putting it to rest is practically doing it a favor. Wandering the afterlife can’t be doing it any good.”

He shook the thought away. Whatever story it had, the wraith was still a wraith. Sympathy would only complicate things. And the system window had told him to eliminate it.

Healing potions, healing potions…

He repeated the phrase like a charm, steadying himself. His obsession wasn’t purely selfish.

Defeating the wraith yielded three healing potions. He planned to leave two behind for Ian when he fled. The child would need them to survive. And Jade needed one so he could at least function.

“Okay… breathe.”

Based on the last encounter, the wraith didn’t attack humans. He needed to strike before it wandered off again.

He would open the door and immediately cast his skill. Perfect plan. To avoid mispronouncing the skill name, he repeated the four simple syllables in his head.

He opened the door.

Then he stepped boldly into position—

If only Soondol hadn’t suddenly appeared.

“Fire—!”

“Myang?”

“Why are you here again?!”

“Myang!”

Soondol flapped his wings innocently as Jade nearly exploded.

Worse—Soondol was prancing right in front of the wraith. Jade had never used Fireball before; he didn’t know the blast radius or its power. He might hurt the creature.

Soondol pointed at the wraith with his paw. Fearless little menace.

“Myaaaang.”

“I know, I know. Now move.”

“Uoooorh—”

Something was off. The wraith was reacting strangely—almost as if it were… playing? Its twisted limbs swayed slowly, like a bizarre dance aimed at entertaining Soondol.

“What the…?”

“Myak.”

“Uooorh—”

“Myang?”

“Uoooorh.”

The two even exchanged sounds like they were conversing. Then Soondol fluttered over and patted Jade’s chest excitedly, as though pleased with whatever had just occurred.

System <<
Reward for defeating the Blind Servant’s Wraith: Healing Potion (3)

The flashing prompt urged him to act. Jade inhaled sharply and summoned the skill name in his mind.

“Fi… Fire—”

But he hesitated.

After seeing the wraith interact with Soondol, it no longer felt like a mere hostile entity. It looked too human—its clothing, its posture, even the remnants of its mannerisms. All of it stirred an inconvenient sense of familiarity.

Back in high school, a friend had warned him: “That shallow compassion of yours is going to bite you someday. You don’t do deep relationships, yet you have so much unsolicited empathy. One day, your kindness is going to become your own trap.”

It was happening now.

“Myang! Myang! Myang-ung! Myaung!”

While Jade wavered, Soondol began vigorously explaining something. He scratched shapes onto the wall, barking like a dog.

“A dog?”

“Myang!”

“Uooorh—”

Apparently Jade had guessed right—both Soondol and the wraith reacted as if he’d solved their riddle. The wraith—despite having no eyes—tilted its head as if pleased.

Damn it. A communicative wraith? Seriously? How was he supposed to incinerate something that clearly interacted like a living person?

“So you’re saying… that wraith had a dog?”

“Myang!”

Soondol clapped approvingly. He had been sketching dog-like shapes on the wall. Jade’s mind short-circuited.

“You… can communicate with that thing?”

“Myang…”

Soondol tilted his head on his paw. Not perfectly, it seemed—just vague, empathic impressions. Even he didn’t seem to know how he understood the wraith.

“A dog… huh.”

The wraith had existed since the time of the first family head. If it once had a dog, that dog would’ve died long ago.

System <<
Reward for defeating the Blind Servant’s Wraith: Healing Potion (3)

The prompt blinked insistently.

Right. He needed to kill it. He needed the potions—for his arm, for the future, for Ian. And there was no way he could fulfill the wraith’s wish to find a dog long dead.

“Haah… So what exactly do you want me to do? You’re dead. Your dog is dead too.”

But even then, he couldn’t attack. His friend had been right—this personality was his downfall. And today was the day it caught his ankle.

“Uooorh—”

The wraith didn’t seem to understand him. Or maybe it understood only the word dog. Either way, matters had become complicated.

“What is that?”

“Ah—! Ian…!”

At some point, Ian had silently approached. Whatever happened next, one thing was certain:

Jade could no longer use his skill. There was no way he could unleash flames in front of Ian.

“What is that, Jade?” Ian pointed at the wraith.

The wraith recoiled sharply, shuffling backward. It didn’t seem to like children. Jade gave Ian a quick explanation.

“That’s the blind servant’s wraith. The one described in the notebook.”

“Ah… so that’s why you needed it.”

“Haha… yes.”

“……”

Ian studied the wraith quietly. He had never seen it before, and its appearance was horrifying—empty sockets, creaking jaw, grotesquely bent limbs, foul stench. Enough to make a normal child collapse in terror.

But Ian showed no fear—he merely blinked. Too composed.

Maybe he was so scared he froze. Ian rarely showed emotion; that could easily be the case.

Jade stepped in front of him.

“It won’t attack, but please hide behind me.”

“…Why?”

Ian genuinely sounded confused, not sarcastic.

“Because you’re scared, aren’t you?”

“…What?”

“Aren’t you?”

Jade glanced back. Ian thought deeply—as if translating a foreign sentence.

“Oh… right.”

Then he slowly moved behind Jade and clutched his coat hem with small fingers. The tiny hand triggered Jade’s protective instincts. He must have really been frozen with fear.

“I’m scared, Jade.”

“Don’t worry. I’m here. And it doesn’t appear to attack people.”

Jade puffed up his chest confidently.

“O… okay…”

Ian covered his eyes with Jade’s coat and trembled delicately. He looked like the picture of a frightened, helpless child.

“Myang…”

Soondol’s eyes narrowed icily.

He could see through it. This little brat had overwhelming power—power even mighty monsters could sense. The wraith had recoiled in fear the instant Ian arrived. Yet Ian was pretending to be scared?

The acting was Oscar-worthy.

“Myak! Myak!”

Soondol kicked the air in frustration. Watching Ian fake innocence made him want to scream. He couldn’t even tell Jade the truth.

“Soondol, what’s wrong? Don’t be noisy.”

“Myang?!”

Once again—Jade scolded him. Never Ian.

Soondol nearly died of injustice.