Nia's Prank
He woke with a start.
Mmm.
Was this the aftermath of that monstrous battle? Park Ji-hoo frowned before he even knew he was doing it, every inch of him throbbing with a dull, deep ache.
What time is it?
A thick green light leaked in through the window. It told him nothing about the hour.
Feels like I slept forever.
The fatigue still clung to his bones, but his mind had cleared a little. Ordinary sleep never restored him this much—so he must have been under for a long time.
Slowly, Park Ji-hoo sat up. The blanket slid off him with a soft whisper, silk-smooth against his skin. He had never felt bedding this fine. Using luxury sheets like this in a ghost city, of all places—something he had never even known in the real world—drew a dry little laugh out of him.
Should I get up?
Even if he lay back down, he doubted sleep would come. In the end he left the bed and went to the window.
“…It’s quiet.”
More precisely, it was eerie. Like the dawn hours in the hillside slum where he used to live. An unnameable darkness hung over the whole city, and his chest tightened for no good reason.
Because Si-yeon was still out there alone.
He had asked Lee Sia’s parents for help. Thanks to that, she was in a better hospital now, under better care. That didn’t mean his heart was at ease. Was she lonely in a strange place? Did she cry for her brother every night?
Once the worry started, it kept unspooling, link after link.
When I get out this time, I’ll play with her as much as she wants.
Unlike Yujin, he had nothing particular waiting for him outside. No grand schemes. No need to face governments or national agencies. Just spending time with Si-yeon would be enough.
She should be discharged by now, right?
The punks who had shattered bone fragments into his own hands had hurt her badly, but mercifully not badly enough to need surgery. When he went out this time, they would be able to walk around together. Thinking of the things that would make her happy lifted his mood, if only a little.
Then—
“Huh?”
Far off, something moved.
What is that?
Hadn’t Yujin said the NPCs of this city were invisible to ordinary sight? He had said so only yesterday. And yet something was moving out there.
Ji-hoo focused mana into his eyes. His vision sharpened; the blur resolved into something clear.
A child?
Amazingly, it was a little girl. About Si-yeon’s age, at that.
An NPC?
Other players couldn’t have climbed this far already. Under Yujin’s guidance, their party had ascended the Tower faster than anyone. He thought of the spearman, the shield-bearer, and the healer they had hunted with on the first stratum. Even if those three—who were dead now—had hunted twice as fast as they had then, they still wouldn’t have reached the fifth stratum.
Park Ji-hoo and Lee Sia had climbed that quickly. So that figure could not be a player.
He turned from the window on pure reflex. Whether the child was a player or a ghost NPC didn’t matter. The simple fact that a little kid was wandering the city alone snagged on something in him—maybe because Si-yeon came to mind, maybe because the girl’s movements looked strangely desperate. Whatever the reason, he wanted to see her for himself and make sure.
He slipped out of the room and ran through the city.
From a window of the Bones Inn, Yujin watched him go.
“Got himself snared in a ghost prank.”
With a soft click of his tongue, he left his room as well.
It was around here…
The green light, soft as moonlight, somehow scrambled Park Ji-hoo’s sense of direction. Even though the distance hadn’t been far, he wandered a long while before he found a place he recognized—the exact spot he had seen from the inn.
He stopped and scanned the surroundings, searching for the child.
There.
A narrow alley between buildings. A small silhouette was tucked into it, hiding.
Careful not to startle her, Ji-hoo let his presence be known as he approached.
“Hey…”
At the soft sound of his voice, the child flinched hard.
“I’m not a bad person.”
He made the words as kind and gentle as he could. Whether the feeling reached her or not, the girl slowly peeked her head out of the alley.
Just as he had seen from the inn window—a girl about Si-yeon’s age. Filthy, smeared with the grime of the streets.
“Are you all right? Does anything hurt?”
He forced down the heavy thud in his chest and asked. She only shook her head, side to side.
“What are you doing out here alone? Where’s your house? Want me to take you home?”
Anxiety made him fire three questions at once. The girl hesitated, then shook her head again. Did that mean she had no home?
Ji-hoo patted himself down, hoping for something edible. Of course there was nothing. He didn’t have an Inventory Space yet; every item from their hunts stayed with Yujin. He had nothing useful to offer.
He let out a breath and held out his hand.
“If you’ve got nowhere to go, want to come with me? I’ll buy you something good to eat.”
Even as he said it, the words sat wrong. To anyone listening, it was a textbook kidnapping line. But there wasn’t a shred of ill intent in him, so he pressed on without shame.
“There’s an inn that way called the Bones Inn—you know it? The food there’s good. They even have meat.”
Mystery meat, sure. But it tasted fine and came with all sorts of effects; if the kid ate some, it would probably help.
She seemed to think it over, then took a step back. Refusal, clearly. Ji-hoo sighed.
“Well-raised, huh.”
Of course you never follow a stranger who offers you food. He had taught Si-yeon the exact same thing.
“Then is there something I can help with? Is someone bothering you?”
As he watched her, he noticed the small wounds. Not scrapes from play or careless falls—heavier, deeper marks than that. Marks like the ones he had seen on Si-yeon in the hospital. Someone had hit her. That much was certain.
At his question, the girl’s eyes grew wet. She looked ready to cry at any second—but she held it in, as if she weren’t allowed to. The sight clenched tighter around his heart.
“I might not look it, but I’m pretty good in a fight. Tell me who’s hurting you, and I’ll make sure they never do it again.”
The way he had smashed the punks who beat Si-yeon. An arm, a leg—easy enough to break. He was confident he could plant a fear deep enough that they would never touch a child again.
He waited, lips pressed firm. Maybe that steadiness earned her trust. After a long hesitation, the girl lifted a hand and pointed—down the street opposite the inn where he was staying.
“That way?”
A nod. Whether she couldn’t speak or simply wouldn’t, she answered only with her body.
“All right. Let’s go together. I’ll take care of them for you.”
He thumped his chest for emphasis. The girl scampered over and clung to his leg. A smile tugged at his mouth. Si-yeon used to do the exact same thing.
He stroked her hair and started walking. This time he didn’t lose his way—she guided him with absolute certainty.
A ghost NPC after all?
Probably. He still didn’t know why something that should have been invisible was visible to him, but if she knew the city’s layout this well and interacted with others, a ghost NPC was the likeliest answer. He didn’t care either way. Ghost, player, living person—when a child this young was in trouble, you helped.
“Here?”
An eager nod, head bouncing up and down as she stopped guiding him. He looked around. Nothing. Just the same green-drenched silence that filled every other street of the city.
“Sorry, but I can’t see anything.”
He said it with an awkward face. The girl looked as if she understood, then raised her hand—toward his head.
“Huh? What is it?”
He knelt to meet her eyes. Her fingers brushed his eyelids.
And then the invisible became visible.
The empty street bloomed into a crowded market. The dead-quiet city transformed into a living, bustling world.
“Skeleton bone broth for sale!”
“Zombie-eyeball soup meal kits!”
“Can’t you knock the price down a little?”
“I heard players showed up? They’re ridiculously fast this time.”
“They’re staying at Mosston’s Inn, I hear. Thought I’d go scare them later.”
“Zillian already tried a prank earlier. Said one of the women completely lost it. Wish I’d seen that.”
“We’ve got all the time in the world. Hope she catches Ghost Sickness. Then we can mess with her for ages.”
“Huh? Is that a player over there?”
“The one with Nia?”
“Yeah. One of the bunch that just entered the city. I saw them.”
“Already caught in a prank?”
“Tch. Someone beat us to it.”
Noise. Chaos. Nothing like the city of the dead he had believed it to be moments ago. Even compared to Terra on the first floor, the place was every bit as lively—except that every NPC was a ghost.
The sudden change jolted Park Ji-hoo; he stumbled a step back, Nia still clinging to his leg. He looked down at once. Nia stared up at him with shining, damp eyes and finally opened her mouth.
“Please help me.”
The pitiful voice startled him—but only for a second. A notification claimed his attention.
Nia's Prank
Defeat the Ghost Rider who rules the back alleys of Viridgrave.
He had a feeling he had just gotten tangled in something very strange.
“What to do.”
Watching Park Ji-hoo from a distance, Yujin scratched his head.
Ghost pranks. Common enough in Viridgrave. Not every player ran into them—mostly the ones who scared easily. That was why he had planned to check on Lee Sia. A coward like her could get reeled in without half trying. Instead, it was Park Ji-hoo who had taken the bait.
“That kid’s soft-hearted in his own way, I guess.”
A different kind of fear, but Ji-hoo’s nerves were fragile enough.
“Hmm.”
Yujin could have stepped in anytime and wrecked the ghosts’ game. On the tenth floor, NPCs were laughably weak next to monsters. Still, he hesitated.
Sometimes they actually help.
Ghost pranks. Most of the time you just got thoroughly toyed with and that was the end of it—but on rare occasions, they left a player with something genuinely useful. Not items or skills. Something more fundamental. Something closer to a powerful motive, or a blessing on the mind.
If Park Ji-hoo walked away with that kind of gift…
“I might have one less thing to worry about.”
After a moment’s thought, Yujin decided to watch a little longer. He could always intervene if things truly turned dangerous. For now, he simply hoped luck would break the kid’s way.