In the quiet courtyard, Jack and the militia guy patiently waited. The latter kept looking at him with a very peculiar gaze, unsure if he should say something.

"What is it?

" Jack playfully asked.

"The letter….he's going to look for sure!

"He exclaimed.

"Most definitely.

" Jack grinned to the utter stupefaction of his companion.

As for what he had written, there had only been four lines:

1. I know what you are

2. I have brought an offering

3. I hereby request a gathering

4. To prove my identity:

"Let the feast begin so that I may live eternally!

"

They would indubitably take the bait if they were who he thought they were. But it soon appeared that the mimes were really taking their time, and the night was about to fall.

"Moon Moon, go back to the farm and protect my pumpkins for the night. Make sure no one follows.

" Jack ordered.

"Woo!

" (Heroic!

")

Jack then decided to level up his cooking while waiting.

The militia guy watched the little wolf leave in shock. He knew that it was clever, but it could also defend a farm alone?! Since the renewal of mana, this was no easy task!

As he was still shocked, he witnessed Jack summon incredibly pure fiery flames with one hand as he took out some mysterious meat in the other.

What the heck was he doing?! The NPC couldn't believe his eyes.

1. This guy was actually a mage?!

Mages were proud beings that thought themselves superior to others. Somehow the man seemed weak but was so damn skillful! How was this possible?!

2. He was using magic for a task as mundane as cooking?!

This had to be a joke, right?! Starting a fire was one thing, but he even had oil staining his hands! What kind of mage was this?!

3. What kind of meat was this?!

The fragrant aroma of the sizzling meat permeated the entire courtyard. It smelled so good! Yet, he couldn't for the life of him determine what it was. Probably expensive stuff!

But the silence was suddenly interrupted by the faint sound of footsteps as that one Rock Hard guy was coming back.

The mimes followed, wearing extremely thick makeup: their faces incredibly white. Then again, they were probably the same color underneath.

But what stood out the most was the smell. It was outrageously mighty! Orchid perfume? No, this deserved to be called an olfactory bomb!

Jack recognized this specific smell. It was incredibly sweet, but it was so damn pungent to him! At this point, he had no doubt anymore on their identity.

"I brought them! What now?

" the Rock Hard guy excitedly asked.

Jack nodded at the mimes. They waved their hands, and a black energy barrier suddenly sealed the area. It would block escape as well as sound.

"Now, let us start: it is time for the offering. We'll need a human sacrifice.

" Jack grinned as he glanced at the player, his smile looking awfully demonic.

The mimes all glanced at the poor guy, slightly opening their mouth and licking their lips in expectation.

This simple action gave a glimpse of their true nature: Jagged teeth peeked out as well as incredibly long blackish tongues.

Those things weren't human for sure!!!

"W-what the hell?! I didn't sign up for this!!!

" The man shouted in fright, trying to find a way out. Suddenly he had an insight as he gave a victorious grin!

"I can prove my identity!!! Let the feast begin so that I may live eternally!

" He screamed triumphantly!

"Tsk—tsk— Threatens people and can't even listen to basic instructions.

" Jack shook his head in

"disappointment

".

The man expected to be saved, but unbeknown to him, he had just uttered a verse that pretty much meant:

"Come and eat me

". He'd soon live eternally…in their bellies.

That's when the creatures dropped all pretenses. The undead charged at the player, eager to tear him in pieces.

"What?! What are you doing?! Stay back!!!

"

"Oh right, silly me! I almost forgot the seasoning.

" Jack chuckled as he threw the hot sauce bottle right at the player, drenching him completely.

The creatures gladly sank their teeth into the man and revealed dark claws, as began the messiest live butchering session ever!

The scene was as graphic as the screams loud.

As a man was getting torn to shred, Jack grabbed the meat he had been cooking earlier as he blissfully began munching.

"W-what?! T-this is impossible….

" The militia guy nearby was going insane.

"Oh right, guess you were right. Our new friends are 100% human.

" Jack remarked sarcastically.

"….?!?

" The militia guy's face looked almost as white as the creatures. His entire body was shaking, and he seemed about to vomit.

"Anyway, want some meat?

" Jack friendlily offered.

"BLERG!!

" At the mention of food, the NPC couldn't take it anymore as he started throwing up.

Every time the NPC would raise his head, he'd be overcome by nausea. After all, the show was pretty damn gruesome.

Honestly, even Jack had trouble stomaching how ghouls ate. Their preference for raw flesh was pretty disgusting. Meh, whatever to each their own.

¯_(ツ)_

/¯

As for the victim, his spirit had long been forcefully logged out, leaving an empty husk behind.

Still, he probably wouldn't feel too well once he respawned. A Curse of Fear and a physical debuff were expected.

In any case, the ghouls happily cleaned everything up, even devouring the bones. With the feast over, they finally turned his way.

"YoU, YoU'Re hUmAn! No gReAt oNe mArK EiThEr. HoW Do yOu kNoW AbOuT Us?

"

There it was, the signature undead voice! It was so grating that it would instinctively make the livings shiver! There was a reason they cosplayed mute characters,

"No need to be so tense. We're between friends here.

" He chuckled evilly.

"FrIeNd, YoU SaY? YoU DiD BrInG Us a FeaSt. HErE'S YoUr RewArD.

" The ghoul threw a small onyx ring that smelled of death.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Rare Ghoulish Touch Ring!

Rank E

IF Demonic Energy Affinity 10

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Attribute 4 INT

Trait Demonic Spells Buff

Contains Ghoulish Touch

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Hell **ing yes!!! The bonus INT and Demonic Buff were nice, but the ghoulish touch was amazing! This ring would teach him a new skill!

Rank E meant the item was pretty much level 20. For an average player, the Demonic Affinity requirement may have been troublesome. For him, it was a freaking joke!

"WiTh tHiS, wE'Re dOnE. gOoDnIgHt.

" The ghouls politely waved goodbye.

But would Jack let them go just like that?! Hell no! He had everything planned out: now that they had enjoyed the feast, he'd showcase his abilities and get in their good graces!

"Wait a second!

"

He focused, emitting incredible demonic energy as he summoned Chicky. The skeleton chicken appeared as it clucked-shrieked in all its glory!

With this, they would see that he was actually a necromancer! They'd recruit him with awe in their undead eyes and would rain training resources on him!

"HaHaHaHaHa, WhAt tHe hElL Is tHaT?!

"

"A ChIcKeN?! Is tHaT A ChIcKeN?!

"

"ThIs iS So rIdIcUlOuS!

"

"PfFt— HaHaHa!

"

There was no awe, no bottomless respect, and no proposition for an alliance. They just laughed their undead asses off as they left.

Jack was left shellshocked….

"Hey, system! I want to contest this! What's up with that crazy reaction?! They should have been welcoming me with open arms!

" Jack complained.

Analyzing!

Request Denied!

Necrocluckmancy ≠ Necromancy

"Tch— Whatever, ghouls are smelly anyway.

" He grumbled. That's when he saw the terrified militia guy nearby.

"D-demon, stay away from me!!

" He screamed in fright.

Seems he had some explaining to do…

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

A

/N Hype! Feb Mass Release Time! 🔥

Day 16: One can never have too many friends! 😈 ^_^v