TRANSMIGRATED AS A GHOST

After Marcus proved himself to Treasa, the three of them went back to the private room that Jarek had reserved so that they could talk strategy and get to know each other's abilities better.

"So, are you really level thirty-seven Irene, and that shimmering glow of light around you was a unique skill, right?"

Treasa getting right to the point asked Marcus some personal questions he normally kept secret, but if he wanted to work with Treasa and Jarek at least a basic level of trust was going to be necessary.

"Yes, that was a unique skill and no I am not level thirty-seven. I certainly was last time I saw Jarek but since then I leveled up to forty."

Both Jarek and Treasa were surprised to hear this. Certainly, at lower levels going up by three in a couple of weeks was relatively easy but past level thirty the necessary experience curve was steep.

"You must have been fighting incredibly hard in the dungeon to go up three levels in such a short amount of time." Treasa said with an impressed expression on her face.

"Yeah, I guess if you perpetually fought creatures over level forty it would be possible. For someone with such high stats compared to you level that is possible."

"Oh yeah Irene, Jarek said you can use healing magic, could you show me."

Nodding his head Marcus walked over to Treasa and cast his tier four healing magic spell, persistent healing.

"Go ahead and give yourself a small cut and you will see how impressive my healing magic is." Marcus said with a confident smile on his face.

Doing just that Treasa cut herself, and as soon as she did the wound began closing up as the effect of Marcus' spell was still active, and before even a drop of blood was shed, the wound closed.

"Wow that will certainly be useful. Now whenever we get injured, we will not have to use a potion which can cause problems if used in high doses. Damn I wish I always had someone with healing magic to party with… Hey Irene want to become my partner after this, I promise it will be worth your while."

Both Jarek and Marcus were astounded by Treasa's shameless attempt to recruit Marcus. but since he had no intention of staying here for an extended period of time he said, "Sorry I am just here to get in some extra training before heading back to participate in the kingdom's tournament."

Hearing this both Treasa and Jarek gave each other a knowing look before Jarek said, "Irene, I recommend you not participate. For free spirits like us it normally just creates a big hassle. When I participated eighteen years ago and took fourth place, I had a number of noble families trying to recruit me for years, and some of them were very persistent. Even now I still get letters from a certain viscount every year."

There was visible displeasure in Jarek's eyes as he remembered the trouble he went through after the tournament and Treasa even went on to add her own experience saying, "I know that the rewards seem great, but I actually won the tournament twenty-four years ago, and I can tell you what some nobles and organizations will do to get you on their side is deplorable. A powerful marquis even tried to have me brought up on charges to turn me into a criminal slave just to get me under his thumb. Luckily though his whole family got wiped out by some sort of specter that took over his mansion before his plan came to fruition."

'Sounds like the guy who used to own my mansion was into more than just sacrificing kids to demons. He is lucky he already ended up dead because if he was still alive, I would make sure he suffered far more than he did.'

Treasa and Jarek continued to try and convince Marcus that he should avoid entering into he kingdom tournament. And while they did have a point, Marcus not only wanted to obtain the possible rewards but also test his abilities against the other strong fighters in the kingdom.

"Thank you both for the advice but I still plan on entering. Anyway, now that I know about your experiences, I can put up some walls that will help shield me. I have a couple of friends in high places that I can cling to keep the small fish away."

Once Marcus had reassured both of them that he would be fine they moved back onto the reason they had met today and began to talk about their team work.

"So, the first thing I would like to know is what level both of you are." Marcus said with an inquisitive look.

He had already divulged some information about himself and now it was time for them to do the same.

Luckily neither of them put up any resistance and Jarek told Marcus he was level fifty-three, and that Treasa was level fifty-six and had actually evolved.

This was Marcus' first-time meeting someone who had evolved that he knew of, and it gave him an even higher respect for Treasa.

"It is not that big of a deal, I am simply a tungsten tiger beast person, not like I evolved into something really rare."

However, a person evolving at all was pretty rare in of itself, and from what Marcus had seen, Treasa's evolution gave her exceptional defensive capabilities.

The three of them then spent hours explaining each other's abilities and going back to a practice room to train and figure out combinations that they could pull off.

"You really are something else Irene, to think I could beat Treasa with just your support." Jarek said while panting heavily after having won a spar with Treasa.

"I just got blindsided, is all. Now that I know you can summon that golem and create those sneaky little threads, I would not be caught off guard again." Treasa said with a miffed expression.

After spending another few hours working together it was already beginning to get into the night and the three of them parted planning to meet after lunch tomorrow before beginning their expedition into the dungeon.

Heading out into the open guild hall, Marcus found Lilia waiting there for him sitting by herself and drinking some kind of juice.

"Lilia are you ready to go."

However, Lilia did not get up immediately and said, "Marcus there is something I need to show you."

With that Lilia led Marcus to the request board and pointed out a specific gold rank request to him.

'Capture the white and black dog that is presumed to be someone's beast companion and has been stealing food from restaurants all over town. The beast has access to an item box and is fast enough to evade capture from level twenty guards.'

Reading this Marcus was flabbergasted. When Roxene said she had been eating the finest dishes in the city he did not realize that she had been stealing them right off of people's plates.

Seething with anger Marcus opened up the telepathic line with Roxene and yelled at her, 'Roxene what the hell have you done! You are now wanted as a menace to society. You do realize that if people find out that you belong to me it is going to cause us a huge heap of trouble.'

Yet all Marcus got back in response was, a yawn followed by, 'What does it matter, I was just hungry and ate some good food. It is their fault that they were not strong enough to stop me from taking their food.'

Hearing this Marcus began rubbing his temples as he decided what he needed to do about his partner.

Certainly, he could come forward as her owner, but then he was liable to be hit with a bunch of fines and the ire of the people Roxene had pissed off.

'Nope it is better that we stay mum and pretend this never happened.'

"Lilia, we know nothing about this. We have never seen or even heard of this creature, now let us go get diner before it gets too late."

Leaving the adventures guild Marcus and Lilia headed to a high-class restaurant called the Dungeon Jewels where Marcus had made reservations.

This restaurant apparently used ingredients found in the dungeon to make incredibly delicious meals, but also had more normal fare for the less adventurous patrons.

However, when they arrived, they noticed that the amount of security for the restaurant was incredibly high and appeared that they had hired multiple extra adventuring parties in addition to their normal guards.

'Oh, this place had some of the best food I tried, I think I ate here three or four times while you were working.'

Receiving this message from Roxene, Marcus was glad he was no longer a human because he felt like he was about to have an aneurism.

Going inside the restaurant, Marcus confirmed his reservation and he and Lilia were sat down at a small table right by one of the restaurant's windows.

Looking out Marcus the window Marcus could see the viceroy's castle which was situated on a manmade island and was actually quite beautiful.

Except as he was enjoying this view, he received another communication from Roxene as she said, 'You know I never tried the cooking in the castle, maybe that is where I should try next.'

Letting out a low groan Marcus respond to Roxene and said, 'You are doing this on purpose now aren't you.'

'Hehehe, maybe a little.'

Experiencing a bit more torment from Roxene, as Marcus read the menu, she began suggesting all of the dished that she liked and giving Marcus a good understanding of how much damage she had caused.

'Just at this restaurant you ate more than fifty gold worth of items. No wonder they put such a large bounty on your capture. We are just lucky that they do not know what you really are otherwise every adventurer in the city would be after you.'

After that Roxene laxed on her teasing and let Marcus and Lilia enjoy their last meal before he headed into the dungeon to challenge a boss.

Yet when it came time for dessert, Marcus heard back from Roxene as she said, 'Oh, I did not get to try any desserts from here. Grab a couple of things for me to eat later.'

Sighing at the shameless wolf that showed no remorse for her actions, Marcus still ordered enough desserts to satisfy her so that hopefully she would not pull a stunt like this again.

Once Lilia and Marcus had finished their respective desserts, Marcus stored the remaining ones into his item box, and when the bill arrived, he left a generous tip to help elevate some of the guilt he felt for Roxene's thievery.

With their last night together for at least a couple of weeks over Marcus and Lilia retired to their beds at the Towering Bear, to rest for the coming days.