Descent of the White Ghosts
I sat atop the tallest building in Windmill Village, Area Beast 067, waiting for the department manager. According to the reports, he was approaching slowly with only a small force summoned. “He got burned once and now he’s being cautious.”
“Madda.”
Baengnae had just returned from guerrilla warfare at the Dark Elf fortress. There would be no more attacks on the fortress. I had no intention of advancing to Stage 5 until I dealt with him.
“How was the Frost Wyvern unit?”
“Umm…”
The wyvern unit was one of the two forces Baengnae had chosen from the Black Pit. Their bird-brained intelligence was low, but their aerial advantage outweighed the drawback.
“Dunno.”
“Fair enough. We haven’t had a real fight yet, so it’s hard to judge. We’ll find out this time. Get ready. We’re moving out.”
“Arada.”
She would remember the village’s characteristics. The surrounding terrain formed a canyon, allowing us to artificially generate wind. A recreation of the work the harpies had done. I planned to blast Park Gibeom with all the air conditioning he could handle.
‘Reminds me of the old days…’
Speaking of air conditioning, he had never let us use it. It wasn’t about saving electricity together. I still remembered vividly how he would run the AC in his tiny office while telling us to use fans.
‘He really tormented people in every way possible…’
Whooooosh—
Along with the report that Park Gibeom had reached Windmill Village, a cold wave began. Icy air clawed through every corner of the village. It was cold enough to burden anyone who came unprepared.
Park Gibeom’s voice echoed through the village.
“Hey! Baek Suhan! What kind of trick is this now!?”
Instead of answering, I released the zombies. Specially supplied from the snowy mountains, they were resistant to the cold. Groooar— Groooar— Polar zombies crawled out from the buildings. Yetis, furballs, snowflower rhinos, frost wolves, and more. Zombies that hadn’t become fusion materials swarmed toward Park Gibeom in a writhing mass.
“You’re still playing tricks…!”
The second round between zombies and puppets began. As expected, Park Gibeom summoned the Frost Knight Order, suited for cold environments. The moment the knights appeared, the snowy mountain zombies were sliced apart like tofu. I had anticipated this. They were plain zombies with no growth or fusion. Even regular infantry would have overwhelmed them.
‘Good. My turn.’
I deliberately showed myself and waved at Park Gibeom.
“You son of a bitch!”
Park Gibeom immediately kicked off the buildings and charged toward me. I spread [Swallow’s Wings] and flew toward my final destination. Our speeds were nearly equal. But [Swallow’s Wings] had an energy limit, so I couldn’t run forever. Park Gibeom seemed to know this too, grinning darkly as he shouted.
“Where do you think you’re running? Come here and taste my sword!”
After passing Seabird’s Bath, I reached my destination, folded my wings, and landed. Thinking I had given up, Park Gibeom slowed down as well.
“Heh heh heh. In the end, you’re still in my grasp.”
I turned to face him and asked, meeting his eyes.
“I’ve been wondering for a while…”
There was something I really wanted to know from him. The biggest reason I wanted to beat Park Gibeom to death wasn’t because he tormented me or because his personality was trash. It was betrayal. I had worked under him for quite a long time. Long enough for a new hire to become an assistant manager.
“I worked pretty diligently. I even played along with your dog-like roleplaying more enthusiastically than the others. You know that better than anyone. So why me? Why did you suddenly use me as a discard and pin something I didn’t do on me?”
Park Gibeom smirked at my question, his face saying, “Why ask something so pointless?”
“Isn’t it obvious? Doing your best in my games was your job, you idiot. You think you deserve praise for doing what you were supposed to do?”
Park Gibeom wasn’t saying this to mock me. He genuinely believed it. Subordinates were parts that moved for him, puppets, so he could do whatever he wanted with them. His expression showed not a shred of doubt.
“And why you were chosen as the sacrifice? Because you were the easiest target. Throwing away someone with no money and no connections is the most reasonable and correct choice, isn’t it? People like you are born to be discarded for the upper class. You still haven’t realized that at your age?”
I see. So I was a consumable zombie. Thrown into a place to die for the master’s convenience, sacrificed for stronger zombies. Eventually eaten, torn apart, and used as parts. I was expendable.
Park Gibeom smiled broadly, apparently thinking my face showed I had realized my situation and given up.
“That’s just how life is. Destiny is decided from birth. Upper class and lower class.”
After hearing why I had to be discarded, I felt somewhat hollow. Because I had no money, no connections. Because I had nothing, because he could do whatever he wanted, I was used. If this wasn’t the wild, what was?
‘I didn’t come to a new world… I was just given a new opportunity.’
My curiosity was satisfied. Now only the task remained.
“Park Gibeom. Do you know where this is?”
“Ha, this bastard’s been speaking informally since earlier. What, Park Gibeom? What an ill-mannered punk!”
I grinned.
“A new world has come. What meaning do the old rules have? Still, I somewhat agree with what you said. Even in this new world, those without money or connections will be used and die…”
I pointed to the sign beside us.
[Welcome to the Quiet Plain.]
“In that sense, this is where my backing lives. To survive in this filthy world, I secured a reliable backer too. And you are my enemy.”
In the event [Maze Monster], killing the boy in the raincoat made the Quiet Plain inaccessible. Green tentacles would grow throughout the area and attack everything approaching. ‘Come when the wind and rain rage.’
My ally who would become my raincoat in this new wild. As it recognized my danger, the plain’s monster began to stir.
Rumble— Rumble—
“What trick are you pulling now!?”
I manipulated the White Stone to create gauntlets. Then I summoned zombies around me.
“I said backing. What’s the problem?”
Soon, massive green tentacles began bursting from the ground in all directions. Hundreds of tentacles, each over 10 meters long, covered the plain like octopus arms.
“This crazy bastard.”
Only then did Park Gibeom recognize the situation and summon his puppets. Infantry, artillery, cavalry, knight order. An army poured out around him and began fighting the tentacles. Zombies and puppets tangled in combat. Dead zombies became food for other zombies, dead puppets became parts for other puppets.
Boom— Boom—
Every time a tentacle struck, dozens of infantry were smashed and rolled across the ground. Gunpowder exploded in artillery fire, and aura bloomed on the knights’ swords. Familiar faces appeared among the puppets. People I had worked with at Barosoft. Various individuals, regardless of department or rank, had become puppets and were fighting.
‘Poor bastards. Even in death, they’re office workers?’
The Barosoft people showed knight-level movements, perhaps because their original stats were good. As former colleagues, I would deal with them. Wouldn’t dying by human hands be slightly more honorable than being chewed by zombies or crushed by tentacles?
“It’s been a while, Team Leader Ma. Rest well.”
Thud—
“This trash. I knew it was you who ate the ice cream I was hiding!”
Crack—
Then I met a fellow new hire. Assistant Manager Shin from the neighboring department.
“Oh my, look who it is. Assistant Manager Shin? How did you end up like this?”
“Assistant Manager Baek? Haha. It’s your turn this time.”
“Not quite.”
I raised my fist high. Assistant Manager Shin thrust his sword with a grin.
“What a dogshit world, huh?”
Crunch—
I pierced his heart and destroyed the puppet. Assistant Manager Shin collapsed with words of thanks.
“Told you so…”
That crazy bastard Park Gibeom had apparently turned every connection he knew into puppets. In the end, he was just a dog who took orders from others. Maybe his talk of upper and lower class was his own trauma.
As the battle progressed, I realized my zombies weren’t as weak as I thought. At least the ones that had benefited from the Fruit of Good and Evil were putting on a spectacular performance. Maybe I could have faced Park Gibeom without the help of the ‘Plain’s Monster.’ Of course, I wouldn’t do something so disadvantageous.
Just as the tide was slowly turning, I saw wyverns flying in from afar. Baengnae must have annihilated the Frost Knight Order and was returning. At the sight, Park Gibeom ground his teeth and shouted.
“What nonsense is this! Losing to Stage 4? Losing to that lower-class insect!?”
Park Gibeom spewed curses into the air, unable to accept reality. Then his face showed conflict. After a moment, he made a determined expression and cut off his left ring finger. The finger entangled with the red thread.
Slice—
“Damn it… Damn it, damn it! Haa…”
He raised the severed finger and shouted.
“Here I sever the deeply entangled thread of fate! O Threadbearer, come and receive your rightful price!”
‘What is he doing?’
Thud—
For a moment, a small vibration shook the world briefly.
[The Thread is Tangled.]
A message suddenly appeared before my eyes and disappeared. Then another vibration. Another message. Vibration, message, vibration, message, vibration, message.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
All zombies and puppets looked up and stared blankly into the air. Then a message flew in.
[The ‘Master of White Ghosts’ descends upon Stage 4.]
‘A patron…?’
This didn’t make sense. The patrons I had experienced couldn’t arbitrarily interfere with our space. Wasn’t that the rule here?
“Baek Suhan, you insect bastard!”
Seeing my expression, Park Gibeom grinned.
“Yeah, looks like you got yourself a little backing in that pathetic life! But you and I are born different! Hahaha! Blue tentacles! That’s exactly the kind of backing that suits you! Look at the sky! This is the difference between you and me.”
Flames rippled across the sky. Fires whose size couldn’t be measured. Two, three, ten, twenty, two hundred, eight hundred, five thousand, nine thousand. They multiplied endlessly.
Kihihihihihihi—
Each of those flames was a massive ghost, and together they formed clouds that covered the sky. Goosebumps rose all over my body. One corner of Stage 4 was filling with enormous ghosts.
‘Is this… allowed?’
The first to react were the green tentacles. They trembled as if feeling fear, then burrowed into the ground. The plain was left filled only with the holes where the tentacles had been.
The clouds descended. Faces approached.
Park Gibeom bowed repeatedly to them.
“O great Master of White Ghosts! To descend upon such a lowly place, I know not how to contain myself.”
I looked at him and chuckled softly.
“Haha, even here you’re playing the servant.”
The moment I said that, my entire body creaked and stopped moving. I felt a gaze. I couldn’t see it, but I knew. Countless faces in the sky were all staring at me simultaneously. An incomprehensible pressure bound me.
‘What the hell…’
I tried with all my strength to move, but I couldn’t budge. The only thing that could move was the finger inside the White Stone gauntlet.
Park Gibeom, as if possessed, laughed with a face he had never shown before. His mouth corners tore into an unnaturally wide grin.
“Kihihihihihihihihi! Kihihihihihihihihi!”
‘Damn it, move!’
I needed to find a way. If I stayed like this, the ghosts would reach the ground and there would be no way to respond. The energy from each of them far surpassed any monster I had seen.
‘R-right, Stage 5!’
If I went to Stage 5, I could escape. Hadn’t it said the ‘Master of White Ghosts’ descended upon Stage 4? I had to move somehow and get to the Dark Elves.
‘Please… move! Ah, it moved.’
I quickly turned my head toward the direction Baengnae had been coming from. I needed to send her to the fortress. But where the wyverns had been, there was nothing.
‘Did they crash?’
If they had their bodies’ freedom taken by the ghosts, they would have fallen to the ground too. I needed to think of another method for now.
Suddenly, I felt something strange.
‘Why… did the laughter stop?’
Park Gibeom had been laughing endlessly like a madman. The one who had been making that eerie sound far beyond human lung capacity was now deathly silent. He was staring at me with a blank face.
I looked at the sky. Countless ghosts, clouds of horrific faces. All the flames that had been burning the sky as they approached were completely frozen. As if they were afraid of something.
‘What… why…?’
Then a warm, soft hand rested on my shoulder. A familiar voice. No, a voice I had never heard before, yet felt incredibly familiar, came from behind me.
“Nya-ha. What are you guys?”