NOVEL NEXT The Hungry Ghost 3
She unlocked her phone and pulled up an overhead street map of Chinatown. “As for the plan, as I said, it’s quite simple. I’ve spent years doing what I can to get ready, all that I was lacking when you reached out was suitable bait. This is the approximate area where the Hungry Ghost attacks its prey according to what I’ve been able to gather. It’s impossible to narrow it down further without identifying who the Ghost was in life. All that we can infer from his hunting behavior and choice of prey, is that he was likely killed by a male martial artist and carries a vendetta against them. And considering that the vengeful spirit became a Hungry Ghost and not some other variety, he was likely also obsessed with attaining martial prowess himself when he was alive.”
“You’re describing a type of guy more common than pigeons in Chinatown. I used to have to beat the shit out of dudes like that once a week back in my senior year of high school.”
It was a tradition to challenge the strongest in the school to fights of dominance. Not sure why people cared so much, it wasn’t like the position came with any tangible benefits. Maybe it would have helped with girls, but I was already dating Maria by the time I was considered the strongest.
“Indeed. Which is why we had to focus on likely victims. I triangulated the cases and approximated a radius of peril.” Maki tapped the screen and selected one of her custom filters, making a red circle appear over a section of Bell St. “Since the 1950’s, every five or so years, a freshly injured male martial artist has gone missing while walking alone at night in roughly this area, with the exception of this year. The attack on you was approximately three years earlier than I was expecting based on the pattern so far.”
I pointed at her with my chopsticks, a pork gyoza dangling between them. “By ‘we’, you mean you and who else?”
“I was able to recover my brother’s notes on this matter. Without his help, I doubt I would have been ready in time. I’m not sure why the Hungry Ghost is attacking ahead of schedule—”
“What do you mean?” I interrupted. “It’s obviously hungry, right? I bet your brother tagged it good with his sword, and now it’s been forced to come out of hiding early to look for prey. That means it can be hurt.”
“Maybe.” Maki placed a hand on my bicep and squeezed as tightly as she could. “But you absolutely will not bet your life on that assumption tonight. Do you understand me, James?” Some of the blood had drained from her face and her tone was cold, but it wasn’t creepy and inhuman like earlier. Rather, I could tell she was genuinely frightened for me.
“And what will I be betting my life on then?”
I’d only phrased the question that way for the word play, but Maki took it to heart, nodding seriously. “There’s an ancient Native American spirit who has taken up residence in our shrine, a huntress by nature and one local to this area – or, rather, our shrine was built on ground that is rightfully hers. Either way, like my brother two and a half years ago, you’ll be making a pact with her in exchange for a blessing of the hunt, which will draw the ghost to you. You don’t have to worry about the price, Elauwit is eager for her own chance at revenge; she favored my brother highly.”
She zoomed out on the map. “Once you’ve captured the spirit’s attention, you’ll lead it to here,” she pointed at the Ames Canal which served as the far southern border of Chinatown, “which is where I’ll be waiting. I’ve spent the past two years crafting an urn to seal the creature, as well as talismans to aid the process. If you can get it in my range, it stands no chance. Any questions?”
“Sure, one big one. Why the fuck do I need to run this thing all the way down to the canal? That’s like, nearly a mile and crosses through basically everyone’s territory at some point, including the Tigers.”
Maki bit her lip – a rare sign of uncertainty from the miko. “There’s no other way. In order to operate with the effectiveness I needed to challenge such a dangerous spirit, I had to incorporate the natural power of running water into my ritual. I would say that the heart of my Sealing Arts is a core built off my understanding of semiotics, which allows me to synergize traditional Shinto techniques with those based on Western practices. Like you, I’ve had to develop my own style. It has its weaknesses, but if you can bring me the Hungry Ghost, I’m positive that I can seal it. What I’ve developed could match even a greater Kami’s strength.”
I absentmindedly shoveled food into my mouth as I thought about the problem. Catching the ghost’s attention while avoiding both innocents and the Tigers, and any thus-far-unknown attacks from the monster, and then roof running nearly a mile was a Herculean effort. I could do it, probably, but there would be complications, that much I was certain. Luckily, the talk about tunnel exploring called to mind a much easier target.
“It’s just got to be running water, not the canal itself?”
“Yes, running water represents the passage of souls from this world into the next – that’s what I’ll call on with my sealing ritual. Why, what do you have in mind? Surely, there’s not a hidden creek only the locals know of.”
I dragged the map view to an alley, only a quarter of a mile away from the red circle. “Check it out.”
She leaned over and furrowed her brow. “I don’t see anything. This alley doesn’t even have a name.”
“That’s because they had to wall it off. There’s an old storm drain under there – it collects all the water for like half the neighborhood’s streets and diverts it towards the canal. Dumbasses in my dad’s generation used to try and body surf their way down and through the pipe that leads into the canal. So many of them drowned, that the city closed off all the easy entrances. Luckily for us, the lock on one of the doors has been broken for three years. It’s definitely bigger than most creeks. And with how much it’s been raining recently, the drain is sure to be at death trap levels of depth and water flow, but you’ll only have about two feet of standing room though. Think it’ll work? Hell of a lot closer.”
“Two feet? You’re lucky I’m thin. It’ll add some difficulty, but at a quarter the distance, it exponentially lowers the probability of external interference. It’ll have to work.” She paused. “No, I should say, I’ll make it work. You can put your trust in me, James. I will deliver, I promise.”
“Heh, that’s what I like to see.” I gave her a toothy grin, while clamping down my fighting spirit. “The resolve in your eyes has got me burning up. Alright, partner, my life is in your hands.”
She nodded. “I won’t let you down.”
We still had a few hours to go, and there was plenty of food, so I used the time to chow down and ask about the Hungry Ghost itself. Egui, as they were known in Chinese, were the spirits of the jealous and obsessed who never achieved their desires in life. In death, they sought out those they once envied to try and devour. The fact that it targeted only injured fighters spoke to the kind of man it once was, a hyena and a coward. He’d likely tried to prey on weaker foes while scrambling up the ranks of the Triads, before meeting a predictable end.
What a dumbass. In the Martial World, you are what you eat. If you wanted to become strong, you had to devour those as strong or stronger than you. Anyone who didn’t even know that much had no right to call themselves a martial artist.
I’m going to enjoy snuffing you out, loser.
Maki couldn’t tell me much about the specifics of how the ghost would fight; in general, Egui were known for their ability to turn into smoke, and, like many evil spirits, the weaponization of their dread presence. That gave me very little to go off, and that wasn’t accounting for the real possibility that it differed completely from Maki’s expectations.
With the time for me to spend my horde of Experience rapidly approaching, I could envision a few paths I could go down on, all existing somewhere on the spectrum of Survival vs. Glory. At the far end of Survival, was a path entirely focused on defenses and mobility. I would spend it all on becoming hardy and hard to hit, both things I needed in the long run, and would allow me to set up Maki for the goal tonight. At the far end of Glory, wer not only the big, flashy purchases, but a gamble on my future. These were the feats that would set me up to become something truly great, a new force on the scene, if I survived that long.
Alan wanted Survival, James wanted Glory, but I knew the answer didn’t lie directly in the middle. That path led to neither. No, I needed to pick one to focus on, if I didn’t want tonight to be the prologue to my own sister and Maki teaming up to beat this thing in five years. As sick as that movie sounded, I didn’t want to become someone’s tragic backstory.
“Dumpling for your thoughts,” said Maki, holding a lobster dumpling between her chopsticks up at my face. I raised an eyebrow; I didn’t realize we’d leveled up our relationship like that, but didn’t question it and scooped the dumpling into my mouth with my tongue. Maki blushed. “You, you were supposed to use your chopsticks,” she stammered out.
“Huh? Then why did you hold it up so close?”
“Ugh. Forget it. Tell me what had your brow so furrowed. You’ve been staring off into the distance for a few minutes now.”
“I was just trying to figure out my strategy for tonight. It’s hard to explain. I guess I’m trying to decide what aspect of my style I want to bet tonight on.”
“Hmph. Bet on me, you idiot. I’ll keep you alive. What’s so hard to understand? I’m the idiot counting on you, and you’re the idiot counting on me. Isn’t that what you were getting at in the alley?”
“Ha! You actually got something from all of that? I was mostly just trying to cheer you up.”
Maki rolled her eyes, but to my shock, the corners of her mouth twitched upwards ever so slightly. “Hey, James, can I ask you a question? I’ve been wondering for a long time.” I began to open my mouth, but she angrily interjected, “I swear, if you were about to say, ‘You just did’, I’m going to stab you with a steak knife.”
I smirked. “Just ask the question, you maniac.”
“Why do you fight? Not just here, why do you fight when there aren’t heroics involved? Why do you throw yourself into danger, over and over? And when you’re training, and consumed by pain, what makes you push on? What’s the point?”
She was turned to face me, and her eyes pointed at mine, but Maki wasn’t talking to me. She was looking through me, through time and space, at a different man altogether.
I couldn’t answer for Ken, but she deserved to hear my truth. “It’s an ugly answer. You sure you want to know?” She nodded. “It’s funny, I’ve been trying to figure it out for a week, but tonight, something about walking past all the Yaks made it click for me.”
I didn’t bother to speak quietly; I was hoping this was overheard. “I’ve got responsibilities to others that I’m not going to abandon, but if you’re asking me, personally, what I want? It’s not complicated, I want to be the strongest in Black Harbor,” I said in a casual tone. “Not just the strongest person, or even the strongest being, I mean I want to be stronger than anything in the city, no government, organization, or conspiracy above me, nothing. After that, who knows? Maybe I’ll get greedy and go for the world, or maybe not, but I’m not stopping until I’m the undisputed king of the Harbor. I’d rather be dead than be anything else.”
I wasn’t just talking big. Before Alan had arrived, James Li felt safe in the city; it was his, after all. James had lived and breathed Black Harbor. I wasn’t delusional, I knew it was a dangerous place, but cold logic could do nothing against the fact that, emotionally, I felt safe. When I thought about what I could do to return to that feeling, only one answer came to mind: be the strongest. I was sure that just like in High School, being known as the strongest would only bring more problems and challengers to my door, but that didn’t stop me from wanting to feel safe again.
Maki closed her eyes and nodded. “Ah.”
“Not what you were expecting?”
“No, I think I already knew the answer, but I needed to hear it said out loud. Thank you.”
“Yeah, I feel the same way. That helped me figure out my strategy.”
I scooched over to Maki, so close our sides were pressed together, and slung my right arm over her shoulder. This was the third Seduction I was rolling on Maki, the first two having worked her out of her shell enough for me to step it up like this. I leaned in, so that my face was inches from her, and promptly did a mental double take at the results of my Presence + Seduction.
“Hey, Maki, this is going to sound crazy,” I said quietly, “but I need to kiss you.”
Her face scarlet, she shrunk in on herself, pulling her shoulders around her. “W-what? Why?”
“Because I’m going big, I’m betting my survival on you. So, I need to kiss you – it’ll make sense, I promise.”
“F-fine. Just be quick.”
Maki raised her chin and closed her eyes, steeling her will for what came next. I bent down and kissed her gently, very grateful that the system was letting my twelve Successes from my Seduction roll continue to guide my actions. My lips massaged and played with hers as I focused my Qi on a very basic Erotic Sorcery spell, gathering up the lust energy from around us and processing it in my body. The miko was producing very little at first and I could feel that she was fighting the sensations, despite not instantly pulling away.
Then, at once, the floodgates opened and a river of energy poured forth, far more than I’d expected. There was an anxious aura about Maki’s lust, and the way it exploded out of her implied long years of neglect.
She gasped and grabbed the cloth of my jacket between her thumb and forefinger and pinched it tight. It was a profoundly cute gesture, and I knew instantly that I was stuck with this woman, for better or for worse. No way was I letting her go now.
Our tongues met, and I could tell that she was hesitant. Even with the twelve Successes, this was just past where her new comfort level lay, and that was alright. I had gathered enough power to cast the blessing. It was the most basic I could do, but it was certain to come in handy.
Seven Successes was enough to give Maki a pool of six Dice that she could spend once for any roll tonight. Her hand moved to her core, where the bundle of transformed lust energy was now merging with her Qi network.
While Maki recovered in shocked silence, I checked my notifications.
[Hidden Quest Completed]
Convince a lesbian to make out.
Reward: 25 EXP, Gain Ishida Maki as an Ally
[Ally Quest Completed (Ishida Maki)]
Reawaken Maki’s ability to feel lust again.
Reward: 35 EXP, +1 Willpower, +2 Linguistics (Japanese)
God, that was going to be funny to drop on her later.
Maki elbowed me in the ribs as hard as she could and harrumphed. “You jerk! I said quick!”
“Ow! It takes as long as it takes, woman. Aren’t you going to thank me?”
“Maybe if you told me ahead of time instead of tricking me! Respect my boundaries, beast!”
I untangled myself from her and took a gulp of sake. “I didn’t know how to explain it with words. I’m self-taught, remember.”
She narrowed her eyes. Now that I knew for sure Maki was sublimating her lust into annoyance, it only served to make my heart thunder and my grin go goofy. “Of course you taught yourself sex magic. Ugh, I can’t believe I…”
“Can’t believe you what?” She responded by kicking me in the ankle. “Ow! Fine, we’ll move on, Jesus!” I put my palms togethers in front of me, and said, “You’re going to want to have your spiritual senses turned up for this next part. I’ve decided that tonight, I’m the monster.”
I was going for the 90% Glory, 10% Survival path, my reasonable half demanding at least that much of the latter. But otherwise, this was totally future focused, designed so that all I needed to grow was to keep putting myself in really, outrageously dangerous situations. First, I spent 50 Experience on bringing my Martial Arts up to 10 Dice, which was the last threshold I needed to pass to upgrade my signature ability.
[Master Feat] Style Maker (Upgraded) – You are the demon at the crossroads of all conflicts, and your style is synthesis manifest. You may ignore tutor requirements to buy feats so long as you’ve seen them in action and possess the Feat, Attribute, and Skill requirements. During combat, your mind is continuously processing the flow of battle in order to evolve and develop your fighting style, and outside of combat you may be struck by the occasional epiphany while observing seemingly unrelated phenomena, like the waving of grass in the wind or the way the roots of a tree grasp the earth. Feats that come to you in either way and their specifics are outside your direct control, born from your subconscious, but they will always be useful. You receive a 5 EXP discount to buy all feats gained from Style Maker.
With that I was down a total of 100 EXP, but like money, Experience was meant to be spent, not horded away. Before I got to the really fun part, I obliged my more cautious side by buying two of Kas’s footwork feats in the same tree at a heavy discount, and upgrading the jumping feat I’d taken from Annie.
[Minor Feat] Fancy Footwork
Your ankle mobility and strength are exceptional. Add 1 Die to either your Attack or Defense pool every round.
[Minor Feat] Slide Steps
You have learned to slightly shift your position quickly and without any tells. Add 1 Die to either your Attack or Defense pool every round. You can choose to add this Die to a pool after knowing the result; This feat also upgrades Fancy Footwork to have the same option.
[Major Feat] Coiled Hamstrings (Upgraded)
Your jump distance is multiplied tenfold, and your sprinting speed is considerably increased.
“Were you able to follow along?” I asked Maki.
She shook her head. “I sensed a change, but the complexity was far beyond my ability to track.”
“Keep watching. I’m just getting started.”
The key to maximizing Style Maker was to have the highest possible Attributes and Skills that I could manage, in order to unlock the highest echelon of feats, while still having EXP in my bank to actually utilize it in the heat of the moment. I was pretty well-rounded right now, but with the Quest reward for actually encountering the supernatural on the way, it left me with only one real choice for tonight.
I gritted my teeth and got ready for the next part. Buying Attributes had been unnoticeable so far, but I was about to enter a new strata. I’d be announcing my power growth to the world with this, but I’d sailed past the chance for discretion after my duel with Pak anyway.
“Are you watching, Black Harbor?! I’m coming for the throne!”
The booming of a great gong burst forth from my chest as I bought my seventh Aura Die. Whether or not it was actually audible to others was beyond my ability to perceive, fighting as I was to control the sudden burst of power roaring through my dantian. The next gong was louder, making my vision start to narrow as I bought the eighth Die for Aura. With the final Die, my ninth, leaving me with 87 EXP, there was no sound. Instead, it was like a canon blast went off and continued to do so, my world becoming white, and all the bones in my body vibrating a high-pitched, warbling scream as my body adjusted to the unbelievable Qi growth.
There was a small audience gathered when I recovered, four bussers with more food and the two security guards from the door behind them. The smaller man had two karambits out and his partner had whipped off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves. Both looked terrified at the thought of approaching much closer, lines of sweat dripping down their necks.
“Perfect timing!” I shouted, ears still ringing slightly. “I’m starving!”