Transmigrated as a Ghost

"You know, I honestly think that this might be to our benefit." Mrazivý said after Marcus shared the details of their party's assignment.

Pretty much everyone else looked displeased to hear that they would have to traverse the sewers, but she somehow saw a positive side to it.

"What could possibly be good about this? It's going to be cold and smelly down there. Ugh, and I already know that the shambling corpses will be rotting." Roxene said, holding her nose and grimacing. With her acute sense of smell, sewers, especially ones with undead in them, were one of the last places she wanted to go.

Nevertheless, as Mrazivý elaborated on what she meant, everyone came to understand.

By being relegated to the sewers, they had the perfect opportunity to sneak into the former capital's castle and seek out the ghost king they had come here for.

With only Novak's party being assigned to the same area, they would be able to act without worrying about having any eyes on them.

The sewers also very likely could serve as access into the castle or at the very least get them close by.

"I mean, I'm not going to deny that it's definitely a dour assignment, but it does offer us some opportunities."

Thanks to Mrazivý, things appeared to be at least a bit more optimistic.

"Well, I'll spend tonight working on some items to dampen bad smells, but for now, I finally finished what I've been working on."

From out of his item box Marcus grabbed several different items. Cloaks, boots, rings, cuffs, and more. Each of them crafted using materials from the Cauldron Bloom.

"These will help us should we go up against another enemy that specialized in spatial manipulating abilities. Some of them will block forced teleportation, others can allow you to slip through barriers created by space magic. Though the one I'm most proud of are these cloaks.

Its not quite on the same level, but it can mimic the Cauldron Bloom's barrier." Marcus said, wearing a proud expression on his face. He had spent time off and on over the last several days creating these items for everyone in the party.

Happily, everyone but Miguel grabbed a full set of the magic tools and began putting them on. They would undoubtedly be useful since items that could utilize space magic were very rare.

Noticing Miguel's reservations, Marcus had to force him to take them. One of the functions of the cuff was to designate how far away anyone else possessing a copy was and allow for instant teleportation to them. It was an invaluable tool for them since even if one of them got into trouble, it would only take a second for help to arrive.

"Fine. I'll take these for now. But I'll make sure to pay you later. There is no way I can take such valuable items for free." Miguel said, hesitantly taking a full set of the spatial magic tools Marcus had made.

Marcus wanted to tell him that it was fine to accept gifts from a friend but held off. Miguel was still getting used to truly trusting people again and there was no point in pushing him right now.

For the next several hours, Marcus and his companions tested their new magic tools. It was important to familiarize themselves with the items, though, around halfway through it really just became them playing around.

As time went by, night came by and everyone other than Marcus went to sleep so that they would be well rested for the coming day.

Instead of resting, Marcus continued to work on several tools that would help alleviate unappealing scents just as he said he would. Sleep was mostly unnecessary for him anyway.

Even before the sun crested over the horizon, the enormous encampment of soldiers, adventurers, and sell swords was bustling with activity.

The assault on the former capital was set to begin at first light, and this necessitated getting prepared early.

"Wear these around your necks. It won't eliminate bad smells, but it will lessen their intensity." Marcus said, handing out some quickly made mithril pendants.

After a quick final check, everyone was certain they were ready and headed out.

Only the army would participate in the initial assault. Until a foothold was established in the city it would be impossible to maneuver all of the forces that had bene brought.

Thankfully, the opening stages of the battle went well and before noon Houten's army had secured a large area on the outskirts of the city to serve as a forward base.

At a steady pace, everyone was brought inside and began setting up. This was going to be a long operation as they systematically took over the city.

"Looks like the barrier doesn't work against me. I was a bit worried, but I'm guessing being a great spirit as well as a ghost puts me outside the conditions it uses to black exit or entry." Marcus said, wearing a relived expression.

Since he was technically an undead monster there was chance that the barrier the Great Spirit of Death had erected around the city might reject him. Luckily, just like when he slipped past Forlorieous' barrier around the world tree, this one did not affect him.

Still, now that they were inside the former capital, the barrier became the least of their worries.

The instant he set foot in the city; Marcus could feel danger in the air. It wasn't quite to the level of the Font of Death, but this place was covered in a dark energy.

"It's so cold. What happened here?"

Lilia rapidly looked around like a frightened woodland creature and shivered. She had evolved into a type of divine being and her senses were heightened against forces that were considered wicked. Such as demons, devils, and of course, undead.

"I sense it too. There is a lot of resent meant and negative energy in this place. No doubt several terrible tragedies have occurred here." Roxene said. Her eyes narrowed as she stared off in a single direction.

Naturally all of them felt the built-up animosity of all those that had unjustly died within the city, but there was something else as well. It was far away but an intense fury was being directed at the entire force Houten had brought. Something was watching them from afar and was immensely displeased by their presence.

"That direction is towards the castle, right?" Miguel asked, his hand hovering nervously over his sword.

"If the maps I read are correct, then yes." Alaric replied.

Without a doubt, something powerful was observing Houten's forces from afar. While most of the soldiers were unaware of this, those with hones senses could feel it. The monster that had its eyes on them was not trying to hide and wanted them to know that they had angered it.

Marcus almost wanted to follow the presence back to its source and see what it was that was surveying Houten's troops, but he held back. If he did so, it would put him squarely on the strongest undead monsters' radars.

"There's no point in worrying about something that far off right now. Let's go check in and get started. We've got a sewer system to explore." Marcus said, leading his party to the command post Major Leopold was stationed at.