The Unlimited Ascension: Reborn as an Extra

Chapter 100: Way to the Ghost

On the dark streets of the broken city, two figures could be seen walking together. They constantly looked around the ruined environment, searching for any clue to help them find the elusive ’Dark Temple’ or the ’Ghost’.

Both of them wore grim expressions on their faces. Several hours had passed since they first began to walk around the broken city.

There was no evidence, no clue, and no sign of any temple or ghost. Only wandering monsters could be seen roaming the streets, frequently trying to ambush them from behind. But because Alen possessed exceptional hearing abilities and L had overpowered senses, it was easy to detect the beasts and handle them without much effort.

They kept walking for miles, but there was no improvement in their journey.

"Sigh, what the hell? Where is this temple? Where is the ghost? Does it even exist, or is this realm just playing a trick on us?"

Alen muttered his frustrations after finding nothing but rubble. He had looked everywhere with his ’Night-Vision’ active, but he couldn’t find a single hidden clue.

"Is it just another illusion? No, why would the Ascension realm give us an illusion for every single trial? It must be something different this time..."

As Alen dove deep into thought about this bizarre, clue-less trial, L walked beside him in a similar mood. However, L maintained a composed and calm exterior. Even though he was also worried about the passing time, he remained calm so that his mind and thoughts would stay sharp.

L looked away and checked the remaining time of the trial on his system interface once again.

[Time Left: 1 hour, 47 min, 46 sec... 45...]

His footsteps halted as he read the ticking timer.

’At this rate, it is going to be impossible to find the ghost through normal means. Am I really going to have to use that item now?’ L thought to himself.

’I can’t give up here. If I die now, then I can never walk on my path. It seems there is no other choice...’

Alen paused mid-stride and turned toward L, noticing his companion was trying to do something.

"Hey, why did you suddenly stop? Did you find something useful?" Alen asked.

L didn’t reply to the question. Instead, he suddenly summoned a different storage ring out of his existing spatial ring. This new ring looked ancient and featured a very different, intricate design.

L quickly put the old ring on his finger and channeled his mana into it. A moment later, he summoned a strange artifact that looked like an antique compass.

"You should step to the side for a second," L warned.

Following his own advice, L quickly channeled a massive amount of his mana into the artifact. A brilliant blue light started to shine from the compass. Suddenly, a thick beam of light erupted from the device, shooting straight up into the sky like a piercing laser cutting through the dark clouds.

The artifact floated out of his hands, hovering in the air. Long lines of blue light shot out in all four directions, stretching so far it looked as if the beams covered the entire realm of the trial.

Alen quickly stepped aside. He felt like his body was going to be swallowed by the intense glow; the ambient heat radiating from the light felt hot enough to melt his skin.

L closed his eyes and channeled a specific spell. As the magical runes floated in front of him, he poured even more mana into the formation and directed his demand straight toward the floating compass.

"I want to find the Ghost hiding in this Realm..." L commanded.

The long lines of blue light brightened intensely for a few seconds before they slowly started to dim.

The small arrow inside the compass began to move erratically, rotating several times in a blur before it finally paused, locking onto one particular direction.

The compass floated gently back into L’s waiting hand, providing him with the exact direction they needed to walk.

L turned his violet eyes toward Alen and spoke calmly.

"Let’s go. The ghost is in that direction."

Alen stared at him with wide, surprised eyes, unable to hold back his curiosity.

"Hey, if you had that artifact all along, then why didn’t you use it earlier? It would have been so much easier to find the Ghost hours ago if you had just done that from the start..."

L didn’t reply. He simply stepped forward and continued walking without offering a single word of explanation.

Alen watched the guy walk past him. He felt slightly annoyed by the cold dismissal, but he didn’t hold any actual grudge against L. Alen wasn’t petty enough to hold onto something like that. He preferred to do things directly without holding back, and he didn’t care much about what others thought of him. He just wanted to achieve stability in his life, and he planned to do that without depending on anyone else’s secrets.

Alen followed close behind as they started to walk through the dark broken city once again. But this time, instead of traveling down the wide, open streets, the compass led them toward a narrow passage. The alleyway was so tight that it was barely wide enough for one person to pass through at a time.

L checked the direction of the compass one last time, then looked back over his shoulder at Alen.

"We might find the ghost right after leaving this passage. Are you ready?"

Alen looked at the dark alley. He straightened his back, his demeanor turning serious.

"You bet I am... Let’s go."

Alen and L entered the tight, claustrophobic passage. The walk felt like it dragged on for an entire hour, but in reality, only a few tense minutes had passed. They navigated through the suffocating space, fighting the disgusting smell of rotting flesh and old decay.

The narrow passage was littered with the rotting meat and crushed bones of dead monsters. The gruesome trail served as a clear warning; whatever lived beyond this alleyway was a highly dangerous creature.

As they finally saw the exit of the narrow passage up ahead, the compass started to glow slightly and vibrate in L’s hand.

"It seems the Ghost is getting closer... Be careful," L whispered.

They walked closer to the exit, their weapons drawn.

Suddenly, they heard the sound of crying. It wasn’t the roar of a monster, nor was it the voice of an adult. It was the distinct, helpless crying of a small child.

*Waah...* *Waah...*

Alen and L stopped in their tracks. They stared at each other in confusion before hurrying their steps toward the exit.

*Waah...* *Waah...*

The sound of the crying grew much louder as they stepped out of the dark alley. They looked straight ahead, and what they saw made both of their skin crawl.

They took a step back, staring at the horrifying scene before them in sheer dread.