Chapter 90
Chapter 90
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 90
Chapter Title: Mischievous Ghosts Love to Play (3)
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Whoosh—
Subtle hand signals passed back and forth.
Five figures concealed themselves in the darkness.
People clad entirely in pitch-black garb, save for their eyes, began to scatter.
'Just as the intel indicated.'
Lately, more and more people had been showing interest in this place.
A mysterious hero who had appeared out of nowhere.
A person who could see souls with their own eyes, drawing the attention of remarkable figures.
Even the imperial capital, which had dispatched informants here, was paying close attention to him.
Swish—
The leader of the informants, moving along the path, suddenly halted.
'Something's off.'
There were no guards, no signs of anyone protecting the area.
Leaving a figure of this caliber so utterly defenseless raised two possibilities.
'A powerhouse who needs no defenses.'
Or hidden defenses so subtle that someone of his skill couldn't detect them.
According to their intel, the target location wasn't far now.
The team members he'd brought along were likely advancing from their own positions.
Skilled as they were, they must have noticed it too.
This place was no pushover.
Swish—
The moment he turned his head to scan the surroundings, his body went rigid.
Thud.
Someone had tapped his shoulder.
"Gah...!"
He whipped his head around and drew his dagger, but there was nothing around him.
'...A master! To get this close without me noticing!'
Informants were especially attuned to presences.
They'd trained extensively to conceal their own, to the point of expertise.
Failing to detect someone until they touched his shoulder meant an overwhelming gap in skill.
Swish—
The instant he turned to check the other side.
Thud.
His blind spot pierced again—another tap on his shoulder.
"...!"
His body and breath froze.
He'd confirmed nothing was there.
That meant they'd hidden their presence and slipped behind him the moment he turned.
'If I move, I'm dead...!'
For a master like this, killing him would be easier than blinking.
Thud.
This time, the sensation came from the opposite shoulder.
The key point was that he still hadn't sensed any presence.
And that wasn't all.
A chill crawled over his entire body.
It was more terrifying than facing raw killing intent.
"..."
His body stiffened amid the goosebumps prickling his skin.
'...I can't lose all my team like this.'
He lowered his trembling dagger toward the ground and spoke.
"We're imperial informants. We're not here to harm you."
No response from the surroundings.
Did that mean they understood him?
The hesitant informant spoke again.
"We'll turn back now, so please—no needless sacrifices."
The quiet mountains remained silent.
The frozen informant darted his eyes around.
Then.
Whoosh—
A hazy figure streaked past right beside him.
'Wha...it's moving, but no presence at all!'
Simultaneously, something passed on the opposite side.
'N-not just one?'
Dry saliva scraped down the informant's throat.
Gulp.
Opponents far beyond what he could handle.
Time to choose for his team's sake.
"We'll gather our comrades and leave, so I beg your mercy."
By protocol, they should self-terminate the moment their cover was blown.
But in a place that wasn't even enemy territory, sacrificing his team felt too wasteful.
They weren't here with malicious intent, after all.
Just an intel-gathering mission.
"From now on, I'll back away slowly."
Swish—
His foot moved.
Swish—
Even after two steps, no threatening aura emerged.
The opponent was honoring his request.
Confirming it, he turned and bolted down the mountain path.
Whoosh—
Trees and ground blurred past his peripheral vision.
But he couldn't relax.
Something was keeping pace on both sides, visible in his sidelong glances.
Whoosh—
'Running at this speed, and still no presence?'
Drip.
Sweat streamed down both cheeks.
No presence, not even the slightest sound.
As if nothing existed at all.
Their forms were faint, amplifying the pressure.
'Gotta link up with the team fast...!'
The moment he tried to accelerate.
Thud.
"Gah...!"
Someone tapped his shoulder again.
That same spot where nothing existed.
He'd turned his head multiple times—nothing in sight.
Thud.
"...!"
Thud.
Taps alternated between both shoulders.
Perfect stealth even mid-sprint.
He felt utterly toyed with.
Flinch.
He halted as he picked up speed.
"This place...!"
He'd run in a straight line, for sure.
How was he back here?
He'd arrived at the exact spot where he'd fled from the master.
"H-how...!"
Whoosh—
The informant kicked off again and ran.
After a long sprint, he arrived at the same place once more.
"I ran straight...!"
Drip.
Cold sweat poured like rain.
He couldn't fathom how this was possible.
His magic-detection artifact showed nothing, and his senses felt normal.
"Then...!"
This time, he veered off the path into the uphill slope thick with trees and grass.
But the farther he ran, the more something felt wrong.
Climbing uphill, yet his legs felt no strain.
Like running on flat ground.
Stopping in bewilderment, he sucked in a breath.
"Gah...!"
The path he'd run was truly flat.
And the place he'd just fled from lay ahead.
He'd been running right back toward it again.
Chill—
Goosebumps erupted from head to toe.
Terror was rising now.
Then.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
Sensations all over his body.
His rigid neck couldn't turn; it stared straight ahead.
Suddenly, something brushed his nose tip.
"Gasp...!"
Staring straight ahead—how could it touch his nose?
Trembling, the informant backed away.
"S-sorry...! We won't come back...!"
Thud.
"Im-imperial informants! If you want, I can prove our identi—!"
He couldn't finish.
A chill shot up his spine.
No presence, yet goosebumps rose.
His years-honed body screamed a warning.
Something was behind him.
"..."
His stiff neck slowly turned his head.
And what entered his eyes was.
A faint figure holding its head in both hands.
"Gah...! U-undead...!"
Swish—
The informant gripped his dagger tighter.
But the figure before him had vanished.
There, he witnessed something astonishing.
"...No way!"
One more step back, and it'd have been a cliff.
His training had saved his life, but it was a massive risk.
Thump.
Thump.
His heart pounded, signaling danger.
'Gotta run.'
The fear, once ignited, swelled uncontrollably.
To the point he forgot which path he was even on.
"Urgh...!"
No matter how far he ran, the same spot.
He'd think he took a different route, only to end up back at the start.
By then, his mind was pure chaos—no room for other thoughts.
As he fled, a new sound reached him, unlike before.
Ding—
Ting-a-ling—
"B-bell chimes...!"
Instinctively, he followed the sound.
The only anomaly amid the repetition.
His chance to escape this place.
Whoosh—
Light appeared in the distance.
Human voices too.
He'd finally escaped.
But.
Witnessing that scene, the informant felt fresh goosebumps.
"...!"
A small hut.
A fire blooming before it.
One person stood there.
Barefoot, atop a sword tip.
Chill—
Ting-a-ling—
Ting-a-ling—
- Haha, that's it! Perfect!
The body hopped lightly off the sword tip.
Countless steps on blade edges, yet the movements stayed flawless.
And from behind him, another voice.
"Sleep!"
"...!"
"He has a protection artifact. Sleep!"
In an instant, darkness swallowed his vision, and his body crumpled to the ground.
"Is this the last one? Hmm? I know that face."
"Me too."
Robe-clad figures gathered around the fallen informant.
"To invade the site of the World Tree's branch—mocking the spirit user."
"Lord Dupont is right."
"Hey now, didn't we mages do the subduing?"
The murmuring group fell silent.
"Shh! We need to stay quiet before they chase us farther."
"Agreed."
They'd already been booted from the shrine once.
To avoid more trouble and seize any chance, they couldn't cause further nuisance.
"But they seem like imperial dispatches. Is it okay to take them down like this?"
"Ahem..."
"We just put them to sleep—they were already subdued by the time we arrived, right?"
"Quite true."
Dupont, stroking his beard, flinched and gestured.
"The High Elf seems to have noticed us. We should withdraw quickly."
"Take them with us."
The five in black were dragged away across the ground, and silence returned.
Ting-a-ling—
Ting-a-ling—