Early Sunday morning, Luke ran into his landlord in the hallway as she was making her usual rounds collecting rent.
"Little Luke, did you hear anything strange last night?"
"Huh?" Luke blinked. "I went to bed pretty early. What happened?"
"I'm not sure…" Sister Liu lowered her voice. "People in the building have been saying they've run into something weird. The lights in the stairwell keep refusing to turn on."
"And our elevator only goes down to B1, right? But several tenants swear they've seen a button for B2…"
Luke smiled reassuringly.
"It's probably just an electrical issue, Sister Liu. I'll take a look in a bit."
Only then did Sister Liu relax.
"That's good. I made fish head soup this morning. I'll have Suction Cups bring you a bowl later."
Luke nodded with a smile.
Halfway down the stairs, he suddenly froze.
"…Fish head soup."
"…Please don't tell me it's Magikarp."
The apartment building was an old six-story walk-up with an aging freight elevator.
Electrical problems were nothing new.
Luke checked the breaker downstairs before replacing the stairwell light bulb himself.
"…Strange."
"The bulb isn't broken."
Scratching his head, he absentmindedly stepped into the freight elevator.
The cramped elevator smelled damp, and the old apartment advertisements plastered on the walls had long since grown mold.
Below the B1 button…
There seemed to be another one.
A faded button labeled B2.
Luke rubbed his eyes.
When he looked again…
Only B1 remained.
Luke swallowed.
"…A ghost in broad daylight?"
He immediately called for backup.
"System."
"What's the standard procedure for something like this?"
[Recommended Skills]
Holy Light Lv.1 — 2000 BP
Retribution Lv.1 — 3000 BP
Heavenly Dragon Strike Lv.1 — 5000 BP
Luke's face twitched.
"You've even got Holy Light and Heavenly Dragon Strike?!"
"Forget complaining! Recommend something I can actually afford!"
The system immediately changed its suggestion.
[Recommended Skill]
Spirit Vision Lv.1 — 500 BP
[Spend 500 BP to unlock Spirit Vision Lv.1?]
"Buy it!"
[Remaining BP: 220]
[Spirit Vision Lv.1]
Greatly enhances eyesight and grants a small chance of perceiving spiritual entities.
(Excellent eyesight isn't always a blessing…)
Luke wiped the cold sweat from his forehead before cautiously looking around.
"…Nothing?"
The freight elevator was empty.
Only a chilly draft drifted through the narrow space, carrying the smell of mildew.
The flickering incandescent bulb overhead creaked softly.
Outside the elevator, the elderly security guard yawned.
"Young man…"
"You've been standing in there for ages."
"…You weren't peeing in the elevator, were you?"
Luke silently walked out.
"Sir…"
"Are there any ghost stories around here?"
"There sure are."
The old man instantly became animated.
"My granddaughter told me all about them."
"She said the Slit-Mouthed Woman is actually a Mawile."
"And that scary cat-faced old lady?"
"Turns out she's a Zoroark!"
Luke hurriedly raised a hand.
"That's enough, sir."
"Your granddaughter knows quite a bit."
The old man puffed out his chest proudly.
"Of course!"
"She's an excellent Trainer!"
He looked Luke up and down.
"I know you."
"You're the young man renting on the sixth floor."
"I haven't seen you leave the apartment in over half a month."
"You're still so young."
"You should be out becoming a great Trainer."
"What's the point of staying home all day as some little streamer?"
Luke forced an awkward smile.
"…Thank you for your encouragement."
Then he made a tactical retreat.
On the way to the Pokémon Store, Luke kept replaying what had happened.
"It probably isn't anything supernatural…"
"It's more likely a Ghost-type Pokémon."
"That actually makes perfect sense."
Luke firmly believed in science.
"Maybe I should ask the landlady to hire a capable Trainer."
"If it's really a Ghost-type Pokémon, they should be able to deal with it."
After calming himself down, Luke opened the food delivery app.
"Let's see…"
"Ooh, there's a kaiseki restaurant nearby…"
He immediately froze.
"Slowpoke Tail sashimi…"
"$599 a serving?"
"…Never mind."
"I'd better buy some Poké Balls first."
"There are a few Breeding Houses nearby too."
"I'll take a look while I'm there."
The system shop sold Poké Balls for 200 BP each.
Compared to that…
The real-world price of $69.99 apiece suddenly didn't seem nearly as outrageous.
Luke walked into the Pokémon Store and spent $349.99 on five Poké Balls.
His savings immediately dropped to about $2,380.
Unfortunately…
The Breeding House didn't have either of the Pokémon he wanted.
"I'm sorry," the clerk said apologetically.
"Eevee and Rockruff are both extremely popular."
"Even with a reservation, the waiting list is about six months."
"It's fine."
"I was just asking."
Eevee cost nearly $4,200.
Rockruff was close to $7,000.
Neither was remotely affordable for Luke.
Cheaper Pokémon eggs—like Weedle or Wurmple—sold for only a few dozen dollars each.
Whether they hatched into anything worthwhile depended entirely on luck.
Common Flying-type Pokémon such as Pidgey or Taillow were also available for a few hundred dollars.
Still…
Luke figured catching one himself would be far more cost-effective.
"If you plan to catch wild Pokémon yourself," the clerk reminded him kindly, "please be careful."
"There have been quite a few injuries reported over the past few years."
Luke nodded.
His dream of getting an Eevee had officially gone bankrupt.
With no other choice, he headed home.
By the time he returned, dusk had settled over the city.
A flock of Spearow flew overhead, filling the evening sky with harsh cries.
"Gaaah!"
Luke casually played with one of his new Poké Balls, shrinking and expanding it in his hand as he walked.
Then he stepped into the apartment elevator.
The moment the doors closed…
A drop of cold sweat rolled down his forehead.
"…Crap."
The world blurred.
The colors inverted in an instant, as though someone had completely rewritten reality's palette.
If he had to compare it to something…
It looked exactly like one of those bizarre color shifts from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
Dark green bloody handprints suddenly covered the elevator buttons.
The old light bulb overhead shook violently.
Creak…
Creak…
The filament flickered wildly before dying with a sharp hiss.
Darkness swallowed everything.
A nauseating smell of decay filled the air.
An icy wind brushed across Luke's neck like a cold, blood-soaked noose.
His entire body stiffened.
The elevator continued descending.
B1…
Then lower.
The doors slowly slid open.
B2.
[Spirit Vision Lv.1 Evaluation: Passed!]
A faint green glow illuminated Luke's surroundings.
His enhanced eyesight made everything unnaturally clear.
At this point…
Luke had become completely calm.
Expressionless, he slowly raised his head.
Floating directly in front of him…
…was a Gastly.
Its huge white eyes bulged unnaturally.
Its mouth stretched into an ear-to-ear grin.
A long crimson tongue hung lazily from its face.
Gastly drifted closer.
The two stared at each other in complete silence.
One second.
Five seconds.
Thirty seconds.
A full minute passed.
Click.
A camera shutter sounded.
A bright flash lit up the darkness.
Luke lowered his phone with trembling hands.
Then he opened his livestream fan group and uploaded a picture.
[Image]
Emergency.
What should I do if I run into a ghost in the middle of the night?
Please help.