The Ghost Hunter And The Terror!

Ring... ring... ring...

The sound of the alarm clock at six in the morning rings incessantly, Claude Young hastily reaches out to stop the alarm clock, yawns deeply, and then leaves the warmth of his bed. Today is the start of the week, close to the final exams, so Claude Young stayed up very late studying.

The sound of a long yawn still echoes in the room, and outside the door, the hurried voice of Mr. Young, Claude's father, calls out: "You lazy bum, what time do you think it is to still be sprawled out in bed, get up quickly, go wash your face and have breakfast, I still have to go to work!"

"Yes, I know!"

Hearing his father's voice, Claude quickly jumps out of bed, rushes to the toilet, then Mrs. Young, Claude's mother, shouts loudly: "What's with you two dragging your feet, breakfast is all ready, hurry up and eat before it gets cold!"

Mr. Young's voice: "Dear, what did you cook for the two of us today?"

"Shrimp noodle soup with egg!"

Mrs. Young's curt reply, followed by Mr. Young's grumbling voice: "Dear, it's been shrimp noodles all week, can't we have something different for a change?"

"Yes!"

Again, that blunt voice from Mrs. Young. Before Mr. Young could rejoice, he hears Mrs. Young calmly reply: "Egg shrimp noodles! Will you two eat it?"

"We will!"

Mr. Young's defeated voice responds. Then, hearing Mrs. Young's snorting as she goes into the kitchen. By this time, Claude has also finished his personal hygiene, hurriedly puts on his school clothes, and scurries to sit down at the dining table. As soon as Mr. Young sees Claude, he glares: "You little rascal! Is it because of your dawdling that your mother has been feeding me shrimp noodles all week?!"

Claude, eating his shrimp noodles, looks up slightly annoyed upon hearing this. He immediately sees a glare as sharp as bullets directed at him: "Am I wrong to look! Eat up quickly!"

Thump!

A sound so vivid it seems to travel centimeter by centimeter to Claude's ears. Claude can't help but cover his head with his hand and rub it.

"Dad, why did you hit me!"

"Your sight annoys me, so why can't I hit you? Eat up quickly, you little devil!"

Claude seems a bit aggrieved, he can only try to finish his bowl of noodles, then follows his father out. As they get on the bike, Mr. Young hands Claude the Twent dollar.

"You little devil, this is the money I secretly saved from your mom for smoking! Use it to find something nutritious to eat at school! Your mom has been tightening the budget lately, that's all I have left! Try hard in your studies and exams, you hear?"

Claude feels a sting in the corner of his eyes...

Thump!

"What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and get on the bike, I'm late for work now!"

Rubbing his head and feeling disgruntled, Claude climbs onto his father's old motorbike, quickly stuffing the Twent dollar into his pocket.

Upon arriving at school, while his classmates are still frolicking outside the gate, he silently takes out his books to review for the exam and do some additional exercises in class. Just then, there's a slight rustling sound outside the window. Claude slightly lifts his head to look outside, but sees no one there. He bends down again to continue his exercises. But after writing a few words, that sound once again rings in his ear.

Claude looked up again, almost screaming in fear. Fortunately, he managed to calm down, his face slightly annoyed.

"Hey, don't you guys have anything better to do than to skulk around here trying to scare me? Do you think you can just approach me because I'm handsome?"

A girl in a school uniform stood outside the window, her eyes wide as she looked at him, seemingly familiar with his grandiose manner of speaking, only smiling and saying: "Do you want to go out and play? I just found this place, it's really cool!"

Claude, still pretending to be diligently taking notes, slightly lifted his head, feigning indifference: "Exams are coming, shouldn't you be studying instead of playing? I'm not going, you go by yourself!"

"Really, you're not going? You'll regret it!"

"Psh, what's with the mysterious act? You planning to trick handsome Claude here? Dream on!"

"Hehe, really not going? Then I'll go ask someone else to come with me!"

"..."

Seeing the girl about to leave, Claude immediately dropped his pretense and jumped up, dashing out the window.

The girl looked up at Claude with her big, round eyes, smiling joyfully.

"Hehe, I thought you didn't want to go? Weren't you busy studying for exams?"

Claude, shameless, patted his chest and said: "This is me worrying about you being taken advantage of by bad people, so I'm coming along to protect you! How about it, don't I look handsome now?"

"Hehehe, slightly!"

"Hey, what do you mean 'slightly'? You should say 'extremely handsome, incredibly charming, beyond...'"

Claude was about to go on another tirade, but the girl had already run off, and he could only tuck his legs in and chase after her, calling out: "Rosalie, wait for me! Wait up!"

This girl, named Rosalie Cooper, was a new friend Claude had made not long ago. Because Claude's school was undergoing renovations, his class had been moved to a building adjacent to an old apartment complex for over a week. Rosalie Cooper had also just moved to this apartment complex more than a week ago. Claude had only accidentally met Rosalie a few times, found her cute and lovely, and of similar age, so they started talking. But besides Claude, Rosalie hardly interacted with anyone else. It was always Rosalie who sought Claude out to talk first.

At this moment, the schoolyard was quite crowded with students. Some classmates of Claude, seeing him running and calling out like that, shook their heads.

"What's with Claude? Ever since our class moved to this building a week ago, I've seen him talking to himself like that?"

"Is it because he's stressed about the exams that he's losing his mind?"

"Who knows? This guy has always been quiet, only known for being good at studying!"

...

Claude did not hear the whispers of his classmates, as he was busy chasing after Rosalie. Not sure how, but they ended up running to a deserted road, surrounded by tall grass and old, time-stained walls.

Claude was curious and wanted to speak up, when Rosalie turned her head to look at Claude with a smile, an incredibly charming smile: "Master, come here quickly!"

Claude saw in Rosalie's eyes at that moment a deep, engulfing darkness. Inside it seemed to contain an entire vast galaxy, wanting to suck Claude's soul into it. He was startled and snapped back to reality, only to find Rosalie was nowhere to be seen. And the surroundings had completely changed. Gone were the old walls, stained and pitted with the marks of time. No longer were there tall weeds as high as a person. In front of Claude was a dense primeval forest, with trees so large that three or four people could not embrace them, some even larger than the classroom Claude sat in every day. The tree canopies rose high, casting shade, almost hiding the sky, with only a few rays of sunlight filtering through the leaves, shining down on Claude.

While he was dumbfounded, Rosalie's voice suddenly echoed in Claude's head.

"Welcome, master, to our world! Please confirm ownership so that I can complete the operation process!"

Claude's mind went blank. At this moment, Claude could feel a shiny golden book appearing in his mind, with Rosalie, only the size of a child's hand, standing on the book, floating, and speaking to him.

What was happening?

While Claude Young was still dazed and confused, Rosalie's voice echoed once again: "Since the master has not confirmed, the system will automatically activate, starting the activation process..."

"Beep... beep..."

"Activation process... ninety percent..."

"Beep... beep..."

"Activation successful! Welcome, master, to becoming the nine thousand nine hundred ninety-ninth member of the New Era Company!"

"Congratulations, master, on receiving a newcomer gift package and a profession gift package!"

"Would the master like to open the newcomer gift package?"

At this point, Claude Young was still very dazed. He saw Rosalie spinning in front of him, though now Rosalie was only as small as a little hand, but her face was completely indistinguishable from Rosalie's face that he had seen these past few days. Finally, Claude managed to speak dryly.

"What exactly is happening to me?"

"Dear master, we are members of the New Era Company, from a space more than nine million light-years away from Earth. Our company specializes in receiving orders from all dimensions across the entire galaxy, to transport main characters to places that require them. And you, master, are the nine thousand nine hundred ninety-ninth member selected by our company. On behalf of the New Era Company, I sincerely thank the master for cooperating with our company, to a completely new dimension."

"What's all this about New Era and Old Era, I don't want to be here, I don't want to be any main character! I just want to go home! Send me home right now!"

Claude was nearly shouting at Rosalie. Rosalie's face turned slightly embarrassed as she said: "I'm truly very sorry, master! This is the first time I've taken on a mission, so I forgot the coordinates to take you back home! Currently, I'm also unable to contact anyone from the company, so please, master, forgive me..."

"What?"

"I sincerely apologize, master!"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm very sorry, but right now, I can't take you back to Earth!"

And finally, Claude had to accept that he was brought to a strange place and could no longer return home.

Seeing Claude lost in thought for a while, Rosalie spoke up to remind him: "Master, although I can't take you back to Earth right now, as long as you complete the mission and reach a certain level, you can leave this dimension on your own and return home!"

"Really?"

Claude seemed like he wanted to rush and hug Rosalie tightly, but Rosalie appeared like a mirage, untouchable. She calmly replied: "Yes, master! As long as you reach the God level, you can leave this dimension and find your way home!"

"God level? How long will it take me to reach the God level?"

"That is..."

Seeing Rosalie's hesitation, Claude felt a burning anger inside. Fortunately, Rosalie quickly responded.

"Based on my calculations, if master completes all the main quests, it might take about ten years to reach that level, and at most, it might extend to a hundred years. But, master can be assured, one year in this world is equivalent to one day on Earth. So, it won't be long before you can return home!"

"Really? You're not deceiving me, are you?"

"That... master can rest assured! I can stake my honor on assuring the master! As long as the master diligently completes the tasks, you will quickly reach the required level! I can guarantee that!"

Seeing Claude still looking at her with skepticism, Rosalie carefully said: "Master, we are currently in the Eternal Star, a medium-sized dimension. This place has plenty of resources for the master to cultivate. As long as the master tries hard, I believe it won't take ten years; the master will reach the God level! That's equivalent to just ten days on Earth!"

"Are you really not deceiving me?"

Rosalie nodded and replied: "I definitely wouldn't dare deceive the master!"

At this point, Claude could only sigh and accept his fate. He looked up at the sky obscured by tree canopies, his heart inevitably filled with thoughts of his parents, murmuring softly: "Dad, Mom! Please wait for me to return!"

Claude took a deep breath, then turned to ask Rosalie: "Right, you mentioned a newcomer's gift pack and a profession gift pack earlier. Can we open them now to see?"

Hearing Claude's question, Rosalie let out a sigh of relief.

"Yes, master!"

Rosalie immediately replied and began to open the two gift packages.

"Ding!"

"The newbie gift package has been opened!"

"Congratulations to the owner for receiving a weapon, a skill book, and an experience pouch!"

"Ding!"

"Congratulations to the owner for receiving the Hunter's Profession Bag!"

Immediately after, an information panel appeared in front of Claude.

Character Name: Claude

Level: 1

Profession: Junior Hunter

Experience: 1/100

Physique: 10

Strength: 10

Defense: 10

Agility: 10

Intelligence: 10

Weapon: White Silver Bow (Junior)

Equipment: Skill book, experience pouch (Junior)

Seeing this information panel, Claude curiously turned to ask Rosalie: "Doesn't this information panel look a lot like those interfaces in games?"

"Yes, this is a panel we created based on data from Earth, to make it user-friendly for the owner!"

"So, can only I see this?"

"Yes, my lord! Everything the owner is seeing is in a separate space of the system, invisible to others. Even deities cannot see it! So, the owner can rest assured."

Claude thought for a while, then felt it made sense. He often read fantasy, science fiction, system, and virtual reality novels, so he was somewhat familiar with these concepts. However, he never imagined he would one day receive a system like this. A thought suddenly flashed through his mind: "Aren't the main characters in stories always very powerful? Could I become as dominant as them?"

Sensing Claude's thoughts, Rosalie spoke up: "My lord, due to the company's orders are not very good! This system is just a common professional system. Besides aiding the owner in cultivation, everything else requires the owner's effort! Rosalie cannot offer too much help to the owner! So, please forgive Rosalie!"

Regardless of what Claude thought, he couldn't imagine his luck being so bad. He could only grit his teeth and swallow his grievances. Seeing Claude's frustration, Rosalie sensitively smiled and said: "My lord, to compensate for my mistake, Rosalie will specially enhance the owner's benefits. Now, the owner's experience pouch and skill book will be upgraded to advanced level. Please accept your rewards!"

"Ding!"

"Experience pouch opened successfully! Congratulations to the owner for receiving 5000 experience points!"

"Ding!"

"Skill book opened successfully! Congratulations to the owner for receiving the advanced skill, Heartfelt Bow!"

"Ding!"

"Congratulations to the owner for leveling up to level 10!"

Character Name: Claude

Level: 10

Profession: Junior Hunter

Experience: 500/1000

Physique: 19

Strength: 19

Defense: 19

Agility: 19

Intelligence: 19

Weapon: White Silver Bow (Junior)

Skill: Heartfelt Bow (Advanced)

Morale: 100/100

Equipment: None.

Looking at this, Claude gained some understanding of his own attributes. By this time, dusk had begun to fall, silently dyeing the vast forest red, filling Claude Young's heart with panic. This was the first time Claude had been away from his family, and in a completely unfamiliar world, without relatives or acquaintances. Could a high school student like Claude survive in such a world?

"Ding, the system has successfully activated the main quest, go to Young House countryside, receive the commission from Toxic Master Kendrick Young!"

The system's reminder startled Claude, and then a 3D map appeared in front of him.

This was a regional map, drawn in great detail, showing Claude's location and marked with several eye-catching red dots. Claude counted about five or six of these red dots, but it was unclear what they indicated since the map did not specify. Only one area, about twenty miles northeast of Claude's position, was clearly marked. This was a residential area spanning about fifty to sixty square miles, named Young House countryside.

"Master, the area you are currently in is part of the Dark Forest, one of the four major territories of the Beast Mountain Range. At night, this place becomes active with wild beasts and monsters. To ensure your safety, Rosalie suggests you quickly move towards the Young House countryside to rest!"

While Claude was still dazedly looking at the map, Rosalie's reminder sounded again. Claude, startled and flustered, said: "Rosalie, how can I get to Young House countryside?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Claude inwardly scolded himself. But then, Rosalie simply smiled, revealing her beautiful dimples, and explained: "Master, you just need to follow the direction of the arrow on the map!"

After saying this, the light flashed and disappeared. Claude looked around, feeling a chill down his spine: "Ah, it seems I have to rely on myself!"

Sighing, Claude quickly adjusted his mood and followed the arrow on the map towards Young House countryside.

He did not know how long he had walked, but the sunset had turned dark, and the sound of birds returning to their nests grew louder, while the distance to Young House countryside was more than halfway covered. Claude was worried if he could reach Young House countryside before it got completely dark.

Just then, about seven or eight yards ahead of him, a plump white rabbit was nibbling on a ginseng root as big as an adult's arm. When it heard Claude's approaching footsteps, it looked at him suspiciously with its large, black, round eyes, and sniffed a few times with its nose.

Claude had never seen such an adorable rabbit before, and he was intrigued and wanted to step forward to hug the rabbit. However, as soon as Claude moved, the rabbit became frightened, turned its back, wiggled a few times, and then darted into the forest and disappeared.

Claude couldn't help feeling helpless and scratched his head a few times.

"Ding! Rabbit King discovered, beginning the newcomer quest to collect ten pairs of rabbit ears."

While Claude was still bewildered and unsure of what was happening, Rosalie appeared once again to explain: "Master, this is a side quest. These quests will be initiated based on the master's circumstances. After the master completes the quest, the system will unlock the mount system, and you will receive the Rabbit King as a mount! Please check the map again to quickly complete the quest!"

Rosalie finished speaking and disappeared once more. Claude felt a bit annoyed. How could this woman come and go as she pleases, without bothering to explain anything? Is she considering me the master, or is she actually the master?

Though he thought this, Claude did not want to waste more time lingering in this dense forest. He quickly headed towards the location where the white rabbit had just disappeared. After walking about fifty or sixty yards, Claude finally saw a group of gray wild rabbits quietly nibbling on the grass below.

Looking at these gray rabbits, Claude hesitated. Did he really have to kill them?

With just a thought, a wooden bow appeared in Claude's hand, its string made from animal sinew, with silver metal wrapped around both ends of the string. Above the body of the bow are engraved a few words whose meaning is not very clear. At that moment, a quiver full of steel-tipped arrows, gleaming brilliantly, appeared on Claude's back. Yet, inside, Claude was secretly lamenting. He had never used such a thing since he was born.

However, Claude did not realize that when he held the bow in his hand, his posture became firm and calm like a skilled hunter, completely unlike his previous frail, scholarly appearance without a bit of strength.

"Thwack!"

An arrow was shot, hitting a gray rabbit near where Claude stood, startling the rest of the rabbits. Claude was puzzled, wondering since when he had become so formidable. Could it be that he was a hidden genius, naturally skilled? Indeed, he was impressive!

While Claude was still self-admiring, the rabbits were terrified and scattered. By the time Claude looked again, there wasn't a single rabbit left on the grassland.

"Hey, wait, don't run away!"

Claude couldn't help but shout, then quickly ran after them.

"Thwack!"

"Thwack!"

"..."

Arrows were fired in succession, and although they were not all hitting their target, after about a dozen volleys, a group of gray rabbit corpses lay on the ground. Claude went to check, and indeed, he had collected ten rabbit corpses. The moment Claude touched these bodies, they disappeared without a trace.

"Ding, congratulations master for completing the rabbit ear collection mission!"

"Ding, congratulations master for receiving 500 experience points!"

"Ding, congratulations master for leveling up to level 11!"

"Ding, mount system unlocked!"

"Ding, congratulations master for receiving the mount, Rabbit King!"

...

Listening to the system's continuous notification sounds, Claude felt like he was still dreaming.

"Ah, hold on, Rabbit King, isn't this supposed to be a fairy's pet? How can this be ridden?"

No sooner had the words left his mouth, than a white rabbit with wide-open eyes looked at him in bewilderment.

"Ah, Rosalie, don't tell me this white rabbit in front of me is the Rabbit King? It... it's so small, how could it possibly carry me?"

Just as Claude finished speaking, a rustling sound came from behind the white rabbit, and then a pair of fierce, gleaming eyes burst out of the bushes, pouncing towards it. Claude stood aside, his eyes wide and mouth agape, stammering out.

"This... this..."

All of a sudden, a large gray wolf, as big as a bison, lunged forward, its sharp claws aimed straight at the small white rabbit's back. At that moment, the seemingly frail body of the white rabbit suddenly became extraordinarily agile. Its legs pushed hard against the ground, propelling it straight into the sky, leaping over trees five or six dozen feet tall. When it landed on the ground, it was only a few dozen steps away from Claude. Only then did Claude truly understand the saying that looks can be deceiving; the strength of this white rabbit was in no way inferior to that of the gray wolf.

Claude swallowed dryly, unable to believe that he would witness such a spectacle one day.

A white rabbit that could jump five or six dozen feet high.

A gray wolf, with a body as huge as a bison.

Yet, the extraordinary scene before him had not yet ended. At this moment, streaks of lightning, like tiny purple snakes, began to appear on the "small" white rabbit's smooth fur, covering its body. And its body finally swelled to over five or six feet tall.

On the other side, the cold gaze of the gray wolf became increasingly chilling and terrifying, and from its mouth full of sharp teeth, it began to emit streams of black miasma, exceedingly strange.

"My God, what kind of terrifying world is this?" Witnessing the scene before him, Claude felt like he was about to cry. He could never have imagined that he would actually cross into a world like this!

The gray wolf slowly approached, baring its sharp, threatening teeth, intently staring at the white rabbit with a menacing gaze. Despite the gray wolf's fierce appearance, Claude felt as if it was afraid of something on the white rabbit and dared not come any closer. Poor Claude was standing next to a white rabbit several times larger than himself, its body crackling with electricity, risking an electric shock at any moment.

Opposite him was a ferocious gray wolf, ready to pounce and tear him to shreds the moment he dared to move a few steps away from the white rabbit. But Claude didn't know that in the eyes of the gray wolf, he was nothing more than an appetizer, completely unappealing, with only the blood and flesh of the white rabbit being its favorite.

The white rabbit's large ears began to perk up, and a look of bewilderment appeared in its large, round eyes. It didn't understand how, while it was desperately fleeing for its life, it got pulled back to this place by some invisible force. Otherwise, it would have run far away and not been chased by that disgusting creature.

"Why is there a fight happening here?"

Suddenly, from inside the forest, came the voice of a young girl, followed by the rude scolding of a man: "Tiffany, where did you run off to? This place has a strong magical beast presence, don't run around carelessly, okay?"

"Hmph, what's there to be afraid of? Big brother, don't be such a coward."

The young girl's voice lingered for a moment, then stopped, as did the footsteps of the two people. Claude looked curiously at the man and woman before him.

The two in front of him appeared quite young, the girl around sixteen or seventeen, wearing a short-sleeved leather armor that tightly hugged her body, revealing a bit of her bronze skin, looking incredibly tough. Below her waist was a brown-red leather skirt that extended just to her knees, and her calves were tightly wrapped in a layer of similarly colored animal skin, paired with a pair of brown leather sandals, adding a wild touch. Especially noteworthy were the two short swords in her hands, with handles placed horizontally to the hand, and blades curved like crescent moons. Claude had never seen such strange weapons in real life before, likely they only existed in video game characters.

Claude then turned his gaze to the young man standing next to the girl. He was rugged, with a physique as large as an American wrestler, at least two meters tall, his body all muscles and brawn. He was bare-chested, wearing only an animal skin around his waist, covering his modesty. On his shoulder, he carried a large axe with a blade about two feet wide and a handle about six feet long, as thick as an adult's arm.

However, the expressions on their faces had become quite unique. The burly man continuously swallowed, unconsciously stepping back five or six steps. Meanwhile, the young girl in front of him stuck out her tongue, licking her lips with a gleam of inexplicable excitement in her eyes.

"Grunt!" Sensing the presence of the newcomers, the grey wolf emitted a warning growl.

At this moment, the steps of the young girl moved towards the grey wolf, seemingly ignoring its warning entirely.

"Hey, hey, what are you doing? Don't go over there, it's dangerous!" Claude, seeing such a scene, kindly raised his voice to remind.

However, what he received in return was a look full of disdain, and the young girl's steps did not stop at all, she even intentionally sped up, the blades in her hands beginning to emit a cold light.

"Hey, Tiffany, what are you doing running over there? That's a high-level monster, do you want to die or something?" The burly young man finally reacted in time, urgently calling out.

"Grunt!" The grey wolf seemed to get provoked as well, although it did not take the strength of these two humans seriously, deep in its soul, a vague warning emerged. It did not know where this warning came from, but the monster's instinct told it that something here could pose a threat to it.