Chapter 65: Click Clack

Words : 1112 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

Chapter 65: Click Clack When Luca spent 15,000CP on three Contractual Spirits in one bundle, he thought he was saving money. The description stated that each Contractual Spirit would be equivalent to one farmer. Other choices were available, but they averaged 7,000CP or higher for each one, and as a penny-pincher, that sounded a little too heartbreaking. But maybe there were more things to consider than just the bottom line. All Luca wanted was to follow the idea that a happy farm was a happy life. But how did it end up like this? It all started with the prompt: [Acquired: Contractual Spirit Bundle x 1] When Luca tried using the item the same way he did for anything in his inventory, he was surprised to find that it didn’t work. [Missing: Energy Crystal x 3] "Huh?" Luca stared at the prompt and tried to see if he had seen something like that. He knew of Spirit Stones, but what were Energy Crystals? "Oh no! The item needs energy crystals to make this work. Do we even have those?" Luca realized he was too worked up when he bought something without scrutinizing the fine details. Maybe he was too bothered about the debt and couldn’t concentrate as much as he needed to. "About the Energy Crystals, Host, I think we should be fine with that." "You’re saying we have Energy Crystals?" "If you look at the side of the Recycler, we should have a few of them by now." "!" Luca moved toward the direction pointed by D-29, and sure enough, there was a glass-like cylinder with iridescent liquid. It was such a beautiful color that Luca didn’t notice how it was slowly titrating into a container before solidifying into tiny crystals. "So all the corrupted loot we’ve thrown into the Recycler were used to produce this?" Luca marveled at the giant glass tubes that weren’t even a quarter full. "Yes, Host. Apologies for not discussing the Recycler in detail. We’re recycling to obtain Filtered Energy Essence that would solidify into Energy Crystals." "What are the Crystals for?" "Host, It is what powers the Dungeon." "Wait, what? Isn’t it powered by the Energy in the environment?" That was an unexpected answer. All this time, he thought it was the ecosystem that kept a steady supply of Spiritual energy. "Yes, Host. It is, and that is why the entrance to the dungeon could remain intact even when you didn’t have enough energy." "But with the expansions and additional features, the Dungeon must have a way to sustain itself. And that is through Energy Crystals." "Host, you may want to try storing a few in your inventory." Luca followed D-29’s instructions and stored several pieces before pulling one out. "Hmm" "Why does it look so much like an Energy Core?" "That is because that’s technically an artificially made Energy Core, Host." The response was straightforward, but Luca was having a crisis reconciling how he was basically holding a power source for any being with Spiritual Abilities. He shuddered at the memory of his past life. Back in Tesseris, the Awakened would use these Cores to improve their abilities, eventually allowing them to move up ranks faster than manually accumulating energy. And the Recycler was just churning second hearts like it was no one’s business! But even wilder was that he was supposedly the owner of this Dungeon! Wow. However, before Luca could further marvel at the Energy Crystals, a prompt suddenly showed up. [Contractual Spirit Bundle Activated] Luca wanted to think about how that happened when he saw three arrays on the ground where bones—yes, *bones*—suddenly started appearing. They clattered and clicked, eventually assembling themselves into three different skeletons. One was tall and lanky, another was short and hunched, while the third was stout and had an odd ribcage. Now, Luca would’ve noticed those differences if he hadn’t been so busy screaming his lungs out. "!!!" "AAHHHHHHH!!!" Luca bolted. Forgive the young man, but even as someone who has died and transmigrated, he still had a problem with the dead and ghosts. When the bones realized that the Energy Crystal Holder was running away, they began chasing him. "Hey! You! How is that the right way to greet your Elders?!" Screeched the short one. "Can’t you see you’re scaring him! I can’t believe that even your bones are ugly!" Spat the tall one as they hobbled towards the screaming Luca. "My bones? How about your stinky feet?! How many millenniums has it been since you took a shower, you old geezer?! Retorted the short one while being tempted to throw a bone onto the other’s skull. "Stop talking, you fools! It’s not your bones or your feet. It’s gotta be those teeth you don’t even have now!" said the stout one who almost wobbled just now. Luca’s heart was in overdrive as he felt the three skeletons running behind him. He never imagined that the undead would infiltrate his peaceful space just because he wanted to save money. "Kid! Stop right there!" It didn’t matter how much they called because Luca was already running on autopilot. But the underground level would eventually have a dead end, like his life, once these skeletons caught up with him. When he slammed to the very edge, Luca braised for impact or something like an undead bite. But nothing came. And ever so slowly, he squinted his eyes open, only to see three skeletons up close and very personal. "Are you done running now?" It was the stout one who asked. Elder Shen never liked running even when he still had a body, but now that he wasn’t even skin and bones and was just literally bones, there was no way he could keep this up. "Kid! Wake up!" Elder Feng wanted to prod the kid who had balled himself by the corner but figured that anyone being chased by skeletons would probably act similarly. "Don’t you even dare blame us, Feng?! You look the scariest of us, so you better shut your trap." While the three skeletons argued again, Luca wondered if he had entered the underworld long enough to understand the language of the dead. "Um, Host. You’re still alive." D-29 pointed out, trying not to show signs of secondhand embarrassment. "What?" Luca was reluctant, but he could still hear D-29. And apparently, even these three skeletons. The tall skeleton leaned down before speaking to Luca, "Took you long enough! I thought we’d end up rotting again with how long you plan to stay like that." They waited for a response but never got one because Luca fainted before he even got to speak.

Chapter 65: Click Clack

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