Elmer was rather surprised at his own mouth as his secret fears somehow morphed through his esophagus into him talking out of his ass Around him the other officers began to whisper excitedly to each other and look at Elmer with eyes shining with respect
To his own misbehaving mouth Elmer was somewhat helpless Considering that he would be stuck with these people for at least six months within the Dungeon admitting now that he had no idea what he was talking about would be awkward He could only shrug his shoulders and straighten his spine squinting upward toward the GhosthoundÆs island that was shrouded in silver mist The more he considered the implications the more conflicted he became regarding the prospect of losing this position
On the one hand he was currently very influential within Kharon That was nice He was included in many of the large scale decisions and was very well paid for his amount of responsibility leading the city His entire force seemed very proud of him and respected his decisions He was seen as a leader
They even dedicated the bowling complex to me Elmer thought to himself
On the other hand Elmer had no time to spend his generous paycheck because he was constantly dashing around the city investigating this or following up on that He had built a report fort on top of his desk Every day he woke up thinking that this would be the day that he encountered someone powerful just wandering the streets maybe someone at Level 60 who would be able to kill him without much effort Any attempts to sleep were swiftly cut short by stress dreams
He knew with the benefits of the System that it was just his imagination but the stress of the job made him peer peevishly at his hairline any time he was in front of the mirror
With a dull thump the large platform carrying all two hundred and sixteen of the police officers and support staff going into the Dungeon crunched up against the side of the GhosthoundÆs island Elmer frowned around to see that they had apparently arrived at a supply depot for the building of the GhosthoundÆs house Tall piles of wood and metal ingots formed a maze around them
Clicking his tongue Elmer strode confidently forward and the rest of the police force followed him Although he hadnÆt been told exactly where to meet the group going into the Dungeon it wasnÆt hard to guess Although there was nothing concrete to sense Elmer could feel a strange weightÆ from directly in front of him That was the presence of the Ghosthound he had no doubt Even if his own image was rather feeble Elmer had been working hard to sharpen his ability to sense other images
Plus the Ghosthound was very easy to sense when he wasnÆt restricting his aura
How did I end up in a situation where I need to walk directly toward such a scary individual haa maybe law enforcement isnÆt the career for me
Although intimidating the GhosthoundÆs island wasnÆt overly large The police contingent skirted around the edges of a pit where workers were digging a foundation for a large complex and arrived at a point where people had already gathered
The Ghosthound nodded slowly as he looked at Elmer with those piercing emerald eyes Good we are all here Everyone itÆs time to go
As everyone began to gather and queue up ElmerÆs eyes widened at some of the individuals that were quickly disappearing under the GhosthoundÆs touch There was about fifty of the GhosthoundÆs strange Riders that went first After that group were the two representatives of the Order Ducis Helen and Ajax Then a bunch of teenagers filed forward their eyes wide as they looked at the Ghosthound in front of them
Elmer watched with sympathy as the first kid the Ghosthound reached for even flinched
Behind the children were another group of people that Elmer instantly recognized Sam the Dawnsmith Nathan the Architect of Souls and Clarissa the Weather Witch Then Dinesh followed after them chatting with a shorter man with an impressive looking mustache When they had all vanished the Ghosthound beckoned and the police force came forward
Elmer was last and when it came to his turn his entire body was stiff with nerves He could feel sweat dripping down his back Without the slightest hesitation the Ghosthound reached out and touched ElmerÆs arm Suddenly Elmer was in a large field with all the other people who had been taken before him The children gathered together in one group while most of the other individuals spread out and looked around with interest The Riders just seemed bored
Several officers hurried up to Elmer Commissioner where is this
Elmer cleared his throat and spoke vaguely The worldÆs a big place ThatÆs why we are here To grow and learn
The surrounding police officers nodded solemnly The adjusted their any minuscule flaws in their uniform that had appeared due to the teleportation and gathered in formation as though they were on a parade ground After struggling for several seconds in front of them Elmer opened his mouth to talk more honestly about his own feelings Seeing the serious expressions of the people around him he felt somewhat like a fraud
Yet just as he was beginning to speak the surroundings changed again The group found themselves no longer on those rolling hills and suddenly they were in a valley next to a gushing river The Ghosthound surveyed the surrounding people and began to speak Alright we are now within the Dungeon Riders check the surrounding area for what sort of monsters we have here Helen Ajax get some training areas started up on that slope Yes
Helen had raised her hand CanÆt I go with the Riders I could use some exercise
The Ghosthound rolled his eyes The monsters in here should be around Level 55 Do you really think you will enjoy hunting them But yes feel free Mr Dugg give some time for the Riders to clear out the valley and then start whatever construction you deem appropriate The kids will be your helpers And kids listen to Mr Dugg alright Even though he looks like that heÆs very good at his job
Even though he looks like that after the career IÆve had The short man with the mustache muttered to himself Then he shook his head and stomped off toward the river The kids glanced at each other and then scurried after the man
Finally the Ghosthound turned to Commissioner Arietti and the other members of KharonÆs police force as for you your training will begin immediately I need to get a good grasp of where you are in terms of image clarity These sessions hum will probably happen every three days Aside from that Helen and Ajax will handle your training Those of you who engage directly with the populace will receive additional combat training while support staff will need to solve some logic puzzles that have been arranged for you Any questions
Everyone shook their heads ElmerÆs skin began to crawl as he realized that everyone else had left the surrounding area Now it was just them and the Ghosthound
For this part The Ghosthound continued All you need to do is stand your ground and attempt to endure my image Ready LetÆs begin
There wasnÆt enough time after he said ready to respond at all Elmer thought in alarm He had been planning on clarifying the task but the Ghosthound moved too quickly he began to smile at KharonÆs police force And then the air around their leader warped
The change was instantaneous One second a slim and athletic looking Randidly Ghosthound was standing in front of them regarding them critically Then the air around him shimmered and his form seemed to become increasingly intense The corner of his smile kept curling upward There was so much weight to his presence that an onlookerÆs eyes were dragged toward him
His hair flashed and lightened to emerald and stirred as though it was being toyed with by a spring breeze His right eye began to glow with an emerald light and his left eye seemed to become a hole in the world Light bent and twisted as though it was literally being drained away by that hungry eye A long dark tail that looked segmented like a spine flicked back and forth behind the Ghosthound The muscles and tendons of his arms seemed to strain and flex His hands shimmered and were covered in warped blackened flesh His toes flexed and dug into the ground as they were also shifting to that strange flesh