Level Up Hero!

Goodwill Hunting, Part 2

All that remained of that phantom was a single gold coin Sam recognized right away as a golden drachma of Olympus.

[Spoils of war, kid… a gift from the gods who watched your battle and enjoyed the show.]

Sam knew that this golden drachma along with money earned from a horror’s corpse was a major source of income for heroes. It was part of the reason so many of them eagerly braved haunted zones. Not to help those who were affected by a haunted zone’s proximity, but to earn a living that didn’t quite justify the many sacrifices done in the name of drachma.

“One coin’s all I get, huh,” Sam sighed.

[Be grateful they even sent you one, kid. The gods aren’t known for being generous.]

In his mind, Sam didn’t feel grateful. If the gods were truly watching his battle, then they could have offered him some form of help instead of enjoying his struggle like he was just entertainment in their eyes. No, these were blasphemous thoughts, Sam knew.

He recalled the words of the priestess from last Saturday’s temple worship, “The gods only help those who help themselves…”

Besides, it was because the gods existed and gifted the descendants of their descendants with power that Sam could even get a second chance at being a hero. It wasn’t right to question, he knew, only to believe.

In the five seconds it took for Sam’s brain to rationalize the intentions of the gods, the more powerful female phantom had begun to glide toward him once more. It didn’t look too damaged from his previous one-punch KO either.

“That old lady might be stronger than me…” Sam speculated. The realization that he was the weaker one didn’t stop him from balling his hands into fists though. “But I still think I can do this.” 

Sam was wary of this ghostly woman and its sudden ability to manifest in front of him, so he thought being proactive might be the more optimal approach.

He picked up the drachma and pocketed it before extending his hand for Cranium Smasher’s handle.

All the while, the female phantom took its time gliding toward him. It was as if the ghostly woman was actively trying to intimidate Sam.

“Sorry, but I don’t get intimidated easily anymore,” Sam commented.

He pulled his arm back, and after hardening the resolve in his heart, he flung Cranium Smasher forward.

[Stop throwing your weapon around, kid! It’s not like it’ll fly back to your hand afterward!]

Sam didn’t have time to read Chiron’s message because he’d already started running after his hammer as it soared through the air at a speed that would have made old Sam’s head spin. Well, old Sam might have actually gotten more shocked by new Sam’s dash time. The long-haired phantom clearly was.

The sight of the ghostly woman skidding to a stop in obvious surprise actually made Sam grin, boosting his confidence some more.

Boom!

Cranium Smasher slammed into the ghostly woman’s chest, and the force of the blow caused them both to get blown back the way they’d come from.

Sam raised his hand, and in a feat of dexterity he’d never shown before, he plucked the hammer from the air as it spun his way. His mad dash didn’t slow down one bit, and pretty soon he’d bridged the distance between himself and the female phantom that remained stunned by that last attack.

“Go, go, go!” Sam yelled.

He gripped Cranium Smasher with both hands, and with one last leap forward, drove the hammer’s brick-shaped end down onto the top of the phantom’s skull.

Sam heard bones cracked. It was a sound that only urged him onward.

One, two, three successive blows, each one to a separate part of the ghostly woman’s withering form. Sam barely felt each hit connect as the phantom really was part-ghost. Luckily, its bones were solid enough for the hammer’s enchanted iron to smash at.

The phantom let out a gut-wrenching screech that nearly caused Sam to lose his focus because it had reminded him so much of his worst nightmare where a mother in pain had screamed and screamed for a relief that would never come.

Sam gritted his teeth and sent one final hammer smash into the ghostly woman’s chest, causing the phantom to get blown all the way back into the hall beyond the corridor they were in. Not willing to let go of his momentum, he followed after it.

He jumped right into another dark space that was much wider than the one he’d left behind. It was so dark here that his flashlight could barely shed light ten feet ahead of him.

Luckily for Sam, the glowing bones of the female phantom lay sprawled on the floor just a few meters ahead. Its ghostly form flickered in and out of existence, almost like it was stressing just how weak it had gotten.

Old Sam would have looked upon that anguished female face and hesitated. New Sam wasn’t much different. He actually slowed down. Still, he carried enough resolve in his heart to raise his hammer high, and after offering the phantom words of comfort, “I hope you find peace in the afterlife,” Sam sent his hammer crashing down on its chest.

Seconds ticked by as the phantom’s bones dissolved into psychic residue. What it left behind after that were three golden drachmas and a small mound of dust that glowed with a faint green tinge.

[Hades’ bottom! that was spectacular, kid!]

Sam felt his cheeks flush from the first official compliment Chiron had ever given him. “Th-thanks… although I think knowing I’ll regenerate right away is making me a little reckless…”

[That’s true enough, but I still didn’t think you had it in you to charge into danger like that… And I bet even Superion would have been impressed by that combination of attacks you just pulled off.]

To even be compared to the number one hero — one of the only four omega-level powers in the world — made Sam grin wider than he’d ever grinned before.

“Y-you’re just exaggerating, master,” he replied in a very embarrassed tone.

[Humph! Don’t let this one-time compliment get to your head, kid. You’ve got a long way to go to reach Superion’s level… not that I think you can.]

“Yeah, yeah, I know that…” Sam just finished pocketing the drachmas and moved on to inspecting the pile of dust on the ground. “What is this stuff?”

Triple-A was kind enough to provide him with an answer.

[[ITEM: Phantom Dust] [CLASS: Common] [TYPE: Material] Psychic residue left behind by a powerful phantom. It can be used as material for enhancing hero gear or sold at the Olympus Trading Center at market value.]

“Huh, so this is phantom dust…” Sam pulled out an empty pouch from his utility belt and began scooping the dust into it. “I hear people use this in remedies too… might be worth stocking up on to sell later.”

[Hey, kid, remember lesson number five. Concentrate… because you’ve got company.]

Sam felt them before he saw them. They weren’t hard to notice because their collective forms had just sent a blast of cold air his way.

“Aw, Styx,” Sam sighed. “I could have used a break…”

There were many pairs of eyes glowing in the dark, and the ghostly glow of their bodies lined up like that gave Sam the impression he was staring at a line of twinkling Christmas lights.

He counted eight, but he didn’t feel any less confident as he got up and faced them. Perhaps his recent victory over the last two phantoms had steeled his mind and heart for the task ahead.

Sure, their collective gazes still sent a chill up his spine, but he quickly tamped down on the negative vibes they gave off by remembering just how good it felt to smash a phantom’s bones into dust.

“Phantom-lock won’t work on a guy who’s feeling pretty good about himself…” Sam tightened his grip on Cranium Smasher. “Well, alright then. Bring it on!”