The 36^th floor’s passages had a crypt feel to them. Like the caves previously, they wound through the level. Unlike the previous floors, this one was lit with torches that were held in sconces along the passage way, leading to dark spots between them. The passage was just wide enough for the wagon to fit through, but if he reached a dead end, he needed to push the wagon backwards until another passage arrived. The monsters on this floor couldn’t be sensed by Evren at all. They didn’t have a body and could pass through the wall without a problem. They were ghosts.

The first time one popped out of the wall in front of him, he was so startled he jumped. Until now he could tell when something was approaching, or when there were monsters ahead. Even with the skeletons and their low profile could still be sensed, but now he would jump whenever one appeared. It seemed Evren had a problem with ghosts.

He had switched to the new longsword he picked up on the previous level because it was more efficient with his mana than his adamantium sword is. The reason was obvious because he couldn’t hit the ghosts without using a magic imbued weapon. The ghosts’ attacks were to either touch him, or pass through him, and when that happened, Evren would be drained of energy. The ghosts would take his stamina and magic, and who knows what else, but it was a draining feeling that Evren disliked more than any injury he had gotten thus far.

He pushed the wagon with the sword in hand, and when a ghost appeared, he would put magic into the sword and swing it. If it hit the ghost, the ghost would disappear, leaving behind a mana gem in its place. There were no caves for Evren to rest in, but there were rooms that were difficult to find and impossible for the wagon to enter. Sometimes the entrance to these rooms would be hidden in alcoves that Evren had to crawl through. Sometimes they’d be hidden in the corner of an empty room that Evren wouldn’t find until he walked directly in front of the entrance. Fortunately, Evren’s sensory field would find these quickly.

In some of the rooms, he would find money. It was the first time he had seen money since he came to this world, and he wasn’t sure if it would be needed or not, so he collected it up and kept it in a pouch on the wagon. There was copper, silver and gold coins of various sizes with different faces on them, and he wasn’t sure what the denominations meant as they didn’t have a label on them. Occasionally Evren would find some cut gems in with the coins that he wondered if they were magical gems or just the decorative type.

Every time a ghost would appear, Evren would swear out loudly. The cool calm he had displayed up until now was nowhere to be found. When a ghost would appear, he would swing wildly at it until it went away, and he would go back to pulling his wagon at a brisk pace. The ghosts on the 36^th floor were a bit tame in their appearance. They would appear as humans of both sexes and would just suddenly appear. They would follow Evren for a while, flying in random patterns, and if Evren had let them go, they would have eventually flown away.

The ghosts seemed to have a location they haunted and appeared in that area. If Evren were to move out of that area, the ghost wouldn’t follow. Evren, however, never learned this because each time one appeared, he would slash at it wildly. He even had to repair the pull pole once as his wild swing cut it in half when a ghost flew behind him. He contemplated using the spear instead of the longsword but stuck with the blade because he was more familiar with it, and its length was comparable to the spear if he just used one hand.

After five days, Evren reached the 37^th floor. The ghosts changed to be more of a soldierly type and would now aggressively attack Evren. Evren learned he couldn’t block or parry the attacks made by the ghosts, because they weren’t physical attacks. Therefore, he spent the entirety of the 37^th floor practicing his dodging. Evren didn’t know that though, he just saw them attack, would curse loudly and with exaggerated movements get out of the way and swing his sword.

He could only rest for a couple of hours whenever he found a room to rest in because his paranoia would get the better of him and he’d want to keep moving. He would actively scan the dungeon as much as he could to avoid the areas that lead to dead ends. Even if there were a hidden passage found within a dead end, he would avoid it, and continue pulling the wagon long after he was exhausted. The 37^th floor also took five days to traverse.

The 38^th floor tested Evren’s sanity. Many of the ghosts now no longer looked human. They were monstrous in appearance, and sometimes they would follow Evren without attacking while just making noises. Sometimes the ghosts would appear normal and change to more frightening appearances. There were even ghosts that would just appear from a distanced to Evren and that was it, it would just stand there. If Evren got closer, it would fade away and disappear.

Evren didn’t sleep on the 38^th floor. When he finally reached the passage to the 39^th floor, he rested in it for two days. Evren seriously considered staying in this passageway for a longer period of time. He did think that he shouldn’t have this difficult of a time with ghosts. Sure, he didn’t like them but once he discovered he could kill them easily, he should be fine with just reacting to them. He felt that the ghosts themselves gave off a presence that evoked fear in others.

The ghosts of the 39^th floor could appear and disappear instantly. They would also not appear for several hours at a time, then suddenly appear in masses. There was one thing the ghosts could do that frightened Evren even more, they could possess his body. Most of the ghosts wouldn’t do much with the possession, some of them even attacked other ghosts while they possessed him. Then others would drain him of energy while he was possessed.

There was one point where he got possessed by three consecutive ghosts. When he was finally rid of the three of them, he was so exhausted, he fell asleep on the floor. Fortunately, he gained consciousness before any more ghosts came along, but that was such a dangerous situation he immediately searched for a room he could rest in, dragging his wagon along with him and catching a fitful rest. He was awoken by a ghost possessing him and running him straight at a wall, hitting his head against it and almost knocking him out again.

The situation was dire as he traversed the 39^th floor. The deeper he went, the more malevolent the ghostly possessions became. Some would cut him, some would choke him, some would run him away from his wagon as far as it could. Evren could find his way back easily enough though with his sensory field. When Evren finally reached the passage for the 40^th floor, he collapsed. He had traveled through the 39^th floor in six days with little to no sleep at all. What little energy he would recover from sleep would be sapped away by a ghost shortly afterwards.

His recovery before the boss’ door on the 40^th floor took several days of rest. During that time, he did maintenance on his equipment and the wagon, ate warm food and slept as much as he could until he finally woke up refreshed on the fourth day. When he was ready, he stared at the door to the boss’ chamber wearily. He was tired of the dungeon and considered giving up on it. He wondered how the residents of Aernide Fortress, if they managed to escape to the dungeon, would have done getting to the 86^th floor.

He was pretty sure there were people not strong enough to make it in the dungeon among the refugees. This one floor alone would have been tough for them. Did they have children with them when they came? Would the children have survived a touch from a ghost? What about animals and livestock? Would they survive the trip? It felt bleak for there to be any survivors, especially if he has another forty-six levels of this to go.

Taking a deep breath to calm his emotions and clear his mind, he approached the door to the boss’ chamber. This was similar to the previous boss chamber, with a portcullis and a winch to raise it. As he was pulling his wagon into the room, he looked around the room for the ghost that resided within. Once the wagon was fully in, he pulled out the longsword and stepped away from it. The portcullis slammed shut causing Evren to swear to himself.

Evren looked around the room and waited for the ghost to appear, yet for several minutes nothing appeared. He walked towards the center of the room, but there was nothing there. As he turned about in the center of the room, he saw a woman appear by his wagon. She floated in his direction with a calm smile on her face. As she got closer the smile turned more malevolent, and her appearance more gaunt. When she was within five meters of Evren, her mouth suddenly opened wide, and she screamed.

Evren dropped his sword, holding both hands over his ears as the scream continued for several minutes. Evren’s ears bled and a headache threatened to make his head explode from the pressure. Evren dropped to his knees as the scream began to fade, when he looked back up at the ghostly figure, she had begun to charge at Evren. Evren held his left hand up as if to ward off the ghost, and she passed through it, continuing over Evren’s shoulder.

Evren’s hand was wracked with pain as if several years of arthritis had suddenly happened all at once. When Evren looked at his hand, it had withered slightly, and felt weaker. He grabbed his sword and stood, looking around the room again. The ghostly woman appeared and as Evren was about to hit it with his sword, it disappeared again. When Evren finally hit the ghostly woman, he thought the fight would be over, but instead she screamed and flew away.

Evren’s eyes opened wide, and he looked at the sword in his hand. Frowning with determination, Evren said, “Then I’ll just have to keep hitting it until its dead.” Evren couldn’t sense the ghostly woman at all. But, as if his head were on a swivel, he was looking around the room rapidly. When it appeared from behind, Evren swung at it, and it screamed and disappeared. When it came from the left, Evren dove out of the way and swung his sword at it, missing it. This continued on for several minutes before finally, the ghostly woman was hit and instead of screaming and disappearing. She groaned and faded away, a wooden staff and a mana gem fell in its place.

Evren dropped his head and fell to his knees, looking at his withered left hand. When he touched it with his right hand, it felt dry and leathery making him wonder if it withered the way it did because the moisture had been sucked from it. Evren put the longsword on the front of the wagon, in the spot where he normally kept his adamantium sword, which was now in the back of the wagon. He picked up the milky white mana gem and put it in a pouch at his waist and picked up the wooden staff that was on the floor.

The staff seemed plain but was made from a dark wood and had a smooth, slick surface. When he put magic in the staff, he could feel the magic entering smoothly, but the staff didn’t glow. He cast ‘fire ball’ through the staff and it seemed to be more powerful, but that would have to be something he would test later. He walked back to the wagon and placed the staff inside with the other weapons. Changing his mind and wanting his adamantium sword with him for the next level, he brought that from the back of the wagon and placed the longsword in the back with the other weapons.

He rested in the passageway outside of the boss’ chamber, making sure to properly hydrate himself while doing so. When he woke from his rest, he found his left hand had returned to the way it was before. Glad that it was only a temporary thing, Evren pulled his wagon to the 41^st floor.