Chapter 29
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Ghost (1)
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A faint smile tugged at Jinwoo's lips as he checked the blue system window floating before his eyes.
[Main Linked Quest: Alliance in the Shadows]
📍 Objective: Invest in potential allies opposing the Trade Federation for the future.
⏰ Detailed Conditions: Deliver at least one crate of captured arcane magic guns to the resistance led by Kellogg.
🎁 Reward: ???
'So that's what it was.'
Everything was unfolding just as he had anticipated.
He shifted his gaze to scan the spoils he had delivered over the past three days and nights.
Several wooden crates.
Inside a rocky cave near the Dried Serpent Gorge, which he had turned into a temporary warehouse after ambushing the first transport unit.
Stacks of wooden crates filled the space.
All of them were boxes of arcane magic guns seized from the three ambushes.
The faint glow of blue mana stones seeping through the cracks between the crates mysteriously illuminated the dark cave interior.
Jinwoo opened the nearest crate.
A gun barrel combining polished steel and intricately crafted wood.
And lustrous mana stones embedded throughout the firearm.
He pulled out one gun.
A hefty weight settled into his arm.
"Shall I give it a test fire?"
He stepped out of the cave and aimed the barrel at a massive cactus visible in the distance.
The trigger pull felt alien compared to a standard revolver.
He could vividly sense the mana stone in the chamber glowing as it propelled the bullet.
Bang bang bang!
The rapid-fire shots turned the cactus into ragged shreds in an instant.
The power was undoubtedly formidable.
These personal automatic weapons, which shouldn't exist in a Western, packed tremendous firepower.
Having recently gotten a taste of it against the Steel Hounds, Jinwoo wasn't about to underestimate them.
'Most weapons in this world are revolvers, shotguns, or rifles.'
A gun that spits bullets just by pulling the trigger? It was like a cheat code.
But instead of satisfaction, Jinwoo clicked his tongue and lowered the gun.
'I admit the power... but...'
In the main storyline of Rising West, arcane magic guns were weapons strictly for max-level characters in the late game.
'To use these, you need both mana stones and specialized ammo.'
Weapons crafted with technology from the Atlas ruins propelled bullets by infusing them with mana stone power.
The mana-coated bullets hit much harder, but at the cost of requiring mana.
Hence, the exorbitant mana stones.
At the start of the game, you simply didn't have the funds.
'Above all...'
He tapped the Infinite Ammo Pistol holstered at his waist.
'Compared to my gun, they're inefficient in every way. Not for me.'
He placed the gun back in the crate.
How to handle all this gear?
It was already decided.
Selling them on the black market would fetch a tidy sum.
But such pocket change wouldn't help his goals.
His gaze returned to the quest window hovering in the air.
'I need to help Kellogg.'
The quest window's name conjured the face of a man he had nearly forgotten.
A comrade who escaped the salt mine with him.
A man who would later become a massive blaze against the Trade Federation.
Rebel commander Kellogg.
Jinwoo leaned against the cave wall, alternating his gaze between the quest window and the crates of guns.
'On the surface, this is just a linked quest. Do it or don't—either way.'
Hand specific items to a set NPC and claim unknown rewards.
In a game, he'd do it without question.
But this was no longer a game.
Every choice he made rippled back as real-world butterfly effects.
The early appearance of the Steel Hounds was clear proof.
Jinwoo couldn't ignore those butterfly effects.
'Let's think about the essence of this quest.'
He closed his eyes.
A vast map of the world unfolded in his mind.
A massive red dot representing the Trade Federation dominated the continent's heart.
Scattered around it were faint, flickering embers.
Kellogg was one of those embers.
The one with the highest potential.
Weak now, but with the right wind, it could erupt into a continent-engulfing inferno.
'My final boss is the Trade Federation. And toppling them alone? My power isn't enough.'
Infinite Ammo Pistol, Hawk Eye, and guide knowledge.
Overwhelming, for sure.
But he was just one man.
The Federation was a system.
For an individual to dismantle a system, the best way was to build another system to clash with it or crack it from within.
This was war.
Efficiency mattered.
'I could smash their branches one by one myself. But it's too draining. Time-consuming, exposes me faster, and headaches like Steel Hounds pop up.'
So, the most efficient path?
'Instead of fighting on the front lines myself, create the battlefield and manipulate from the shadows.'
His eyes turned back to the arcane magic gun crates.
'Mana stones included. They'll last a while. Resupply's on them after.'
Useless to him like a white elephant, but to the resistance still fighting with rusty shotguns and daggers? A gift from the gods.
'A sub-quest linked to the main one, but long-term, it could shift the entire main quest landscape.'
A perfect picture formed in his mind.
He secretly supports the resistance like a ghost.
Meanwhile, Kellogg and his men arm up, cut supply lines, purge corrupt local officials, and build strength.
While the Federation's eyes and forces focus there?
He strikes from the shadows at the real target.
The Federation's heart, with a decisive blow.
'I need a long-term pawn to rattle the Federation's rear—stuff too bothersome for me to handle directly. The stronger the opposition to the Federation, the easier my main quest.'
This was a calculated investment.
Dispersing future risks, paving the surest, most efficient path to his goals.
'Alright, decided.'
No more hesitation.
He double-checked the quest window's Kellogg name and the estimated activity zone on his mental map.
Now, just how to deliver it.
With resolve hardened, Jinwoo sprang into action.
One issue lingered, though.
'Can't show up as Jinwoo.'
Sure, Kellogg would recognize and welcome him.
But the risks for that shallow welcome?
Who was he?
In days, he had wiped out Blackwater's gangs and razed three secret Federation transport units in a row. An unidentified catastrophe.
The moment word linked him to Kellogg's fledgling resistance, the Federation would make an example—erase them from the Eldorado Continent.
Foolish to snuff his own ember before it bloomed.
'Hide my identity. Appear without a trace, help, then vanish like smoke... Yes! A ghost.'
He rummaged through his gear.
'Quest just says deliver. No how. Hiding identity was a choice in-game too.'
His eyes landed on loot from Steel Hounds in the ruins.
A cloak of pitch-black, tough material.
He draped it over his shoulders, pulling the hood deep.
Most of his face sank into shadow.
Jinwoo sliced extra cloth from the cloak with his knife, fashioning a crude mask for his lower face.
Tied roughly, only his eyes gleamed sharply in the dark.
Not perfect disguise, but from afar in shadows, silhouette only—no one would recognize him.
'Feels like I'm a highwayman.'
Emerging from shadows to toss future gifts, then vanishing silently.
An unidentified entity smashing Federation supply nets and assassinating key figures.
'In the game, they called me this? Ghost!'
He dubbed his new persona 'Ghost'.
With preparations complete, Jinwoo selected the best-conditioned arcane magic gun crate.
Heavy for Falcon alone, but enough to transform the resistance overnight.
He secured it firmly to Falcon's back with rope.
Falcon lowed excitedly at the new mission, unfazed by the bulk.
"Let's go."
Jinwoo gripped the reins and exited the cave.
'Now, where to?'
Coordinates for the next destination were etched in memory.
Kellogg's early-game base in the game.
Red Rock Valley.
By now, Kellogg was likely rallying fellow victims with a speech, plotting resistance ops.
Add a crate of arcane magic guns?
'He'll grow huge!'
Falcon raced across the dark wasteland, crate aboard.
Jinwoo pictured a crypto trading chart.
Building a base, then a sudden red line spiking.
Kellogg coin to the moon.
Definitely.
'No reason not to invest, right?'
The legend to terrify the Trade Federation.
Ghost's first step began.