Ghost (2)
A few days later.
Hunter Bureau, Basement Level 2.
The Machine Upcycling Department was underground, and because of that it felt especially dark and oppressive.
Clank—.
Assistant Manager Park Gyu-tae opened the door carefully and poked only his head inside.
His cheap cybernetic arm trembled in fits and starts.
Staring at the machine parts hanging from the ceiling and the androids in the corner, Assistant Manager Park swallowed dryly.
Im Du-ho was nowhere to be seen.
Huh…?
“He hasn’t come in yet?”
Park’s face turned pale as he stood there, unable to bring himself to step inside.
He looked back into the office again.
As he was staring at the two androids propped against the wall, one of them rolled its eyeballs around!
“Hiiik….”
He slammed the door shut in terror.
Ever since Du-ho had really put the fear of God into him, Assistant Manager Park had been terrified, as if something had possessed him.
Which was why he had come to utterly despise being alone in the office….
And then Im Du-ho’s voice came from behind him.
“Assistant Manager Park. Good morning.”
Hoo—.
Park let out the breath he’d been holding and pressed a hand to his chest.
“You’re here….”
“Pardon?”
“Ah, no.”
Du-ho simply watched him.
He went so far as to get psychiatric treatment over something like that.
Of course, he’d heard it from Assistant Department Head Ham Bong-sik.
Supposedly androids were chasing him around like they were trying to kill him?
Well, apparently he kept having dreams like that.
Honestly.
In a world this advanced, there are still people who believe in ghosts.
— Oh~ then how about we keep scaring him?
Then he’ll quit, and if a smarter boss comes in, that’s even more of a headache.
So he decided to give the man a carrot instead of a stick.
“Assistant Manager Park, you don’t look well. I’ll take care of the morning work myself.”
“Huh? Y-you will?”
“Yes.”
Please just hide somewhere.
You’re no help even when you’re here.
Park muttered under his breath.
“But then… if the higher-ups see….”
“Then how about you go up to the rooftop?”
“Ah! Right, I left some parts up there, didn’t I?”
As Park hurriedly turned to leave the area—
“I’ll be in the rooftop storage, so if you need any parts, call me! That! I’ll bring them to you myself!”
“Pardon?”
“I mean carrying them! I’ll move the heavy stuff, and Im Du-ho, you stay right here! The carrier’s there, isn’t it?”
The situation had been completely reversed.
If it had been before, he would have shoved it off with, You’re the one who should carry that, asshole.
It seemed he planned to endure however he could and eventually transfer to another department.
Of course, while still making sure the higher-ups didn’t single him out.
“That isn’t necessary. I….”
“No! I’ll do it! Let me! I want to!”
“Then do that, sir.”
“R-right… You, uh, fix the mechanic stuff you like.”
Park spoke as if having a fit, and Du-ho shrugged.
It didn’t exactly sound friendly.
Still, compared to before, he’s come a long way.
— He’s still got a long way to go!
That can be broken in gradually.
Whirrrrr—.
Assistant Manager Park quickly loaded a heavy parts box onto the carrier and headed for the elevator.
Watching that, Du-ho let out a short breath of disbelief.
“Life really is ironic.”
— Du-ho nim, but why is that moron so scared?
Isto’s voice echoed in his head.
He’s rattled because of the android from that day.
— Eh! Just from that?
I was surprised too, but yeah.
In truth, it had been an incident staged to keep pressure on the incompetent Park, yet it had resolved itself in a bizarre way.
Rustle, rustle….
Du-ho changed into his work clothes.
Then Isto suddenly said something unexpected.
— By the way, Du-ho nim. Ordering the android that day was a stroke of genius!
Huh?
“What order?”
— You told the android to stare at Assistant Manager Park.
“I did? Weren’t you the one who did that?”
— Huh?!
The two of them fell silent for a moment.
Then Du-ho shook his head hard.
“…L-let’s work. If we work, we’ll forget all this.”
— R-right… right, sir.
Du-ho got back to work.
And Isto went into the Garage.
* * *
Before long, it was lunchtime.
Du-ho went to a convenience store, bought a triangle kimbap and a bottle of water, and came back to the department.
When he entered the Garage.
Tap-tap-tap, tap, tap-tap—.
He heard the sound of an old laptop keyboard being hammered away.
Isto was staring intently at the screen.
Whoa~
— It’s up!
As Du-ho peeled back the wrapper on the triangle kimbap, he asked, “What’s up?”
Isto didn’t answer. Instead, he turned the screen toward him.
‘Ratkin mana stones, 50,000 coins → 70,000 coins’
Du-ho took a bite of the triangle kimbap and marveled.
Oh!
“That’s a huge jump.”
— Don’t be surprised yet!
This time, the headline read: ‘King’s Ratkin mana stone auction final bid: 10,000,000 coins!’
Du-ho’s eyes widened.
“T-ten million coins?!”
— Yep! But Queen’s Ratkin… has never been found, so we can’t even guess the market price.
“I suppose not.”
In other words, the price of Ratkin mana stones had shot up because Korea’s Abyss Floor 1 had vanished.
Then did that mean there were no Ratkin in other countries’ Abysses?
They did exist.
However, the color of the Ratkin mana stones differed from country to country.
The Ratkin mana stones from Korea were a pale violet.
Because of their rarity and symbolic value, they were becoming wildly popular at home and abroad as souvenirs commemorating the disappearance of Abyss Floor 1.
Du-ho drank some water and quietly did the math in his head.
One thousand Ratkin mana stones would be 70,000 coins.
Add seven King’s Ratkin mana stones to that….
140 million coins?
Just as his heart started pounding—
— Du-ho nim. They’re looking for hunters connected to the disappearance of Abyss Floor 1. Step forward! I’ll help you!
“No.”
— Hm?
“There’s no reason for me to step forward.”
Isto blinked.
He looked as if he had no idea what that had to do with anything.
“Nothing in the Abyss has ever worked electronics until now. What do you think happens if you show up?”
— They’ll fight over who gets to worship me first.
At that, the corner of Du-ho’s lips twitched.
His self-esteem really is top-tier.
At the very least, he’d either be treated as a research subject, or if they judged him dangerous, they’d try to dispose of him.
Isto shuddered.
How dare they!!
— To think they’d try to dispose of me, the vanguard of world conquest!
Yep.
World conquest was exactly the problem.
“Anyway, now isn’t the time.”
Du-ho moved to the workbench and continued, “Once we’ve secured our footing, and both you and I are stronger… if we have more allies by then, it won’t be too late to step up.”
— Hmm… it’s a shame, but I’ll follow your lead.
At Du-ho’s gesture, Isto closed the laptop and climbed onto the workbench to lie down.
“More importantly, what should we do with these mana stones?”
— Du-ho nim should use them!
“We still need to leave some for you to eat.”
— No problem. There are monsters everywhere once you enter the Abyss.
Isto thought of the Abyss like a convenience store.
Du-ho gave a dry laugh.
Then I’ll sell the Ratkin mana stones little by little while the prices are rising, and as for the King’s Ratkin mana stones… I should look into an auction.
— What about the Queen’s Ratkin?
I’ll store it for now. I don’t know what I might use it for.
After finishing the sorting, Du-ho cracked his knuckles.
“All right, let’s take a look at the arm joints.”
— Oh~ finally an upgrade, huh!
“By the way, Isto, in the last Abyss, time in the Garage moved at the same pace as in reality, didn’t it?”
— Ah! That.
“Yeah, that.”
— The outside time only slows down when Du-ho nim and I are both here in the Garage together.
“Okay. Then let’s start the upgrade.”
With that, silver particles flowed out from Du-ho’s body and ran down both his arms.
* * *
After the disappearance of Abyss Floor 1 in Korea.
Days had passed, but the issue still hadn’t died down.
If anything, the frenzy had grown hotter.
That was only natural.
Seventy years had passed since the Abyss first appeared.
It was the first time anything like this had happened.
So the internet was in the middle of every kind of heated argument.
There were also posts raging that the whole world was now trying to get into Korea.
Then there were the nationalists, shouting, “Long live Korea,” and other uproarious voices.
There were also posts full of conspiracy theories and accusations.
The internet was swept up in a storm of arguments.
And abroad, the reaction was no different.
CNM put together a special broadcast, while BBG updated Korea news every single hour.
Meanwhile, the reactions in China and Japan could be summed up in one line:
But what the hunter organizations in each country were really paying attention to was something else.
The fact that they’d nearly died—but had lived.
In a desperate situation where Seoul might be swallowed whole by the Abyss in just three months, they had bought themselves two precious months.
And there was an unexpected bonus, too.
“The difficulty dropped?”
“Is it true? Are you sure?”
“Yeah, people who actually went in said so.”
As Floor 82 shrank to Floor 81, the overall difficulty had fallen by one stage.
It was a literal miracle.
Like a dying patient suddenly sitting up and walking around.
In the aftermath, governments around the world began flooding the Hunter Bureau of Korea with requests to share information.
* * *
Hunter Bureau, 12th Floor Conference Room.
In front of Chairman Ma Jeong-seok, dozens of holographic screens floated in a chaotic array. Director Kim Tae-seong and Director Park Sun-kwon were also watching the screens before them.
With a wave of his hand, Chairman Ma Jeong-seok swept the displays aside and said, “Director Na, report.”
Director Na Yong-seok stood and gestured, and a new hologram appeared.
“This morning, the U.S. government sent another information request….”
“Wait.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
“Tell them we don’t know anything.”
“…Understood.”
Seeing Na Yong-seok press his lips together, Kim Tae-seong asked, “How are the hunter families moving?”
“Ah, yes.”
Data appeared at once.
‘Han Hyeon-cheol Family — Maximum signing bonus: 500 million won’
‘Seo Jin Family — Maximum signing bonus: 700 million won’
‘Lee In-jun Family — Sig…’
Kim Tae-seong furrowed his brow and shook his head.
“What a war of money this is. But why is everyone so sure it was just one person?”
“A total of twelve teams entered the Abyss that day. But from Floors 1 through 10, there were no records of any group entries.”
“Pathetic fools.”
Chairman Ma Jeong-seok sighed.
“They’re so obsessed with the lower floors that cracks are opening up in the upper ones. And even if there was only one person on Floor 1… it could have been a coincidence. Yet look at this circus.”
A silence hung in the room.
Director Kim Tae-seong spoke carefully.
“…Chairman, even if he was a complete rookie, the System would have issued a quest. If he cleared it, then he was clearly extraordinary.”
“Hmm, Director Kim does have a point.”
Even ordinary quests failed all the time.
And a quest tied to the disappearance of Abyss Floor 1?
For all they knew, it had been far beyond imagination in difficulty.
Chairman Ma Jeong-seok scratched his chin.
“So, where is this person?”
“…That’s the thing.”
Na Yong-seok changed the screen.
‘Abyss Floor 1 entry records: 0 people’
Everyone just blinked.
Then Director Na Yong-seok said, “That day, there wasn’t a single hunter who checked in at the entrance.”
“That’s nonsense!”
“Exactly. It is nonsense. Which is why the codename ‘Ghost’ was given to him.”
Park Sun-kwon, who had been watching quietly, spoke up.
“There are lots of fake clearers, aren’t there?”
“Pathetic. Why would anyone tell a lie that’ll be exposed the moment you test it?”
“Exactly. You can just demand the Queen’s Ratkin mana stone.”
At Park Sun-kwon’s words, Kim Tae-seong couldn’t help laughing.
“Puhahaha.
“They’ve never even seen a Queen’s Ratkin, and they’re supposed to present one?”
“…Director Kim, you don’t know.”
“Don’t know?”
“No, you don’t. High-grade mana stone appraisers can tell. To their eyes, the source stands out.”
“Well… if Director Park says so.”
A moment later, Ma Jeong-seok leaned back in his chair and brought the discussion to a close.
“What we have to do is… make sure he doesn’t slip away from us.”
Everyone nodded.
Going to a guild or a hunter family wasn’t a problem.
After all, the Bureau’s treatment had been poor from the start.
If that “Ghost” stayed in the country…
Maybe, just maybe, the number of floors in Korea’s Abyss would really keep shrinking like the rumors say.
So the answer was obvious.
“Tell him that wherever Ghost signs a contract domestically, we’ll support him with everything we’ve got.”
That was the most realistic solution.
Still, Director Kim Tae-seong couldn’t hide his disappointment.
Haa….
If only he’d come to our Bureau… our standing would change overnight.
They had no idea at all.
That at this very moment, that so-called “Ghost” was in Basement Level 2 of the Bureau, repairing androids.
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