The Dread Ghost Falls in One Strike
The Grim Reaper muttered, “Sssip… something feels off.” Jua tilted her head in confusion while A-rin perked up her ears and spoke urgently.
There was no way A-rin, with her excellent hearing, could have missed what I’d caught. She said the other parties weren’t in great shape either and were actually pinning big hopes on us.
“Three hunters got demoted all the way down to level 30. What exactly are they expecting from us? Argh— we already registered… Should we cancel now? Even if we get banned for three days, at least we’d be safe—”
Canceling after registering for a boss fight came with a pretty harsh penalty.
Clack clack clack!!
“Hmm? Looks like Ilwol has something to say.”
(Ilwol says not to worry, Master!)
“Ah, he says we don’t need to worry. That we can do this.”
“Ilwol did?”
“Yep, yep.”
“Ooooh!! As expected!”
“So reassuring. Hehe~”
A short while later, the announcement rang out that the boss battle would begin soon.
The staff member’s somewhat dazed voice delivered the boss entry message. At the signal, the waiting hunters lined up in front of the door leading into the abandoned school.
“Why aren’t the people who went in coming back out?”
“There’s a back exit, apparently.”
“Ah, got it.”
Before us stood a brown door so rotten it was practically crumbling. Through the broken gaps, I could glimpse books, tables, and chairs scattered in disarray. From the outside it looked like a small castle, but the interior was shaped like a massive circular auditorium—hence the name “abandoned school.”
Yes, please enter one by one starting from the front~
Following the staff member’s cue, we began entering the building.
“Hmm, there’s nothing here yet.”
“The inside actually feels less oppressive than I expected?”
The auditorium surrounded by bookshelves looked like some enormous entity had shaken it violently; the place was in utter chaos. Surprisingly, the lights were still on, so it didn’t feel all that dark.
“—Floor! Everyone watch the floor! They’re coming up from below!”
At someone’s shout, the hunters instinctively rose onto their tiptoes. Everyone already knew the information, but having it reinforced right before the start was still helpful.
“Heeheeheehee…”
“If you’re coming out, just come out already.”
Just as the words suggested, the ghosts still hadn’t shown themselves even minutes after we entered. But that was the whole concept of this place. Maybe the monsters knew that hunters were the type to grow anxious when nothing happened.
Wooooong—
I had already expanded my senses to the maximum. Within the wave, I began picking up the presences of monsters one after another. Looked like it was about to begin.
‘The wraiths still haven’t appeared.’
—Hwoooooooaaar—!!
“The boss is here! It’s huge!”
“That bastard’s a total scam artist!”
The wraiths never showed themselves until the boss monster, the Dread Ghost, finally appeared. The Dread Ghost was so massive it filled the entire auditorium. The moment it showed up, it tried to seize the initiative with an overwhelming roar. But that gigantic form was just a decoy; its real body was only slightly larger than a normal ghost. There was no need to be intimidated.
“Hiiiik…! It gives me the creeps!”
“Ugh… Ilwol…”
I could feel Yeonhee squeezing my hand so hard it felt like she might break it. Her warm body heat and slightly sweaty fingers trembled against mine. When I gently held her hand in return, the shaking gradually subsided. Facing an incorporeal being must have been a different kind of terror.
—Hwoooooooaaar—!!
With the Dread Ghost’s second roar, dozens of ghosts burst out simultaneously from the ceiling, the floor, and the densely packed bookshelves. Thud. One hunter was immediately possessed by a ghost that rose from the floor and collapsed to his knees. Even though we’d been warned to watch the ground, he apparently couldn’t move during the moment he fell into Depression. Of course, he wasn’t the only one. Everyone was struggling similarly, but soon flashes of light began erupting all over.
“Purify!!”
“C-Cleanse!!”
The members of other parties who possessed removal abilities gathered what strength they had left and activated their skills. Our party also had one specialist for exactly this situation.
"Cross the river—"
"Dead ones circling books stained by the hand of darkness—"
"Small hands turning pages—"
"The time has come to end your suffering—"
"The shining warriors have come to fill the final empty page—"
⟨ Hymn of Release ⟩
‘She even recites it like a poem sometimes.’
A short poetic verse echoed through the auditorium in rhythmic waves, repeating over and over. It was a wide-area removal skill. The other party members gazed at Ham Eun-yeong with moved expressions, awed by the incredible power contained in her song. At least for this moment, she must have looked like a saintess radiating divinity.
‘Let’s take down the boss first. I need to let go of her hand…’
I lightly pressed my forehead against Yeonhee’s shoulder to let her know I was leaving her side.
“…… Y-yeah! I’m counting on you!”
Whoosh—
The moment she spoke, I leaped high into the air, unfurled my Gliding Cloak, and flew straight toward the Dread Ghost. I could sense several hunters from the other parties gaping in shock.
‘Better than dropping it thoughtlessly from above.’
Whoosh—
I flew all the way above its head and then descended directly toward its center. When I reached the target point, I saw the real body floating in the air, curled up and snickering as it watched the hunters. It noticed me too late.
—Hwoar—?!
‘Hello there.’
Since it was incorporeal, I reached the center of its torso without any resistance. My hands were already full of Skeleton Bombs. My speed at pulling bombs from the inventory had increased dramatically, so the attack happened in an instant. Thirty Skeleton Bombs detonated simultaneously.
30 SKELETON BOMBS DETONATED
Kwa-kwa-kwaaaang!!
Kwa-gwang!!
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwaaang—!!
The tremendous chain of explosions inside the enclosed space caused the hunters—who had been wrestling with ghosts—to scream involuntarily. Hwooooo— Although I had detonated them while lifted off the ground, every structure in the vicinity was completely obliterated.
You have defeated the 'Dread Ghost'!
……Silence fell.
Not only had the hunters been rendered speechless, even the ghosts seemed unable to believe what had just happened; all their gazes were fixed in my direction.
I could feel both fear and a hint of reverence in the eyes of the hunters looking at me.
‘Their reaction is pretty dramatic. Was using thirty a bit much? No… twenty might not have been enough.’
Still, I felt satisfied with the one-shot kill and gave a small nod.
You have gained experience.
Due to a special event, all of the dungeon's stored daily rewards have been exhausted.
No runes will be granted.
Aside from my satisfaction, the lack of any reward was strange.
‘…? Was this what the kids were talking about earlier? Even if it’s a boss, not giving out any reward runes? Isn’t that too much?’
Having already received compensation from the Mimic, I could somewhat accept it, but the other hunters had every right to be dissatisfied. The hunters who had finally regained their senses looked at the boss defeat message and, sure enough, burst into strong complaints.
“Aish, seriously, what the hell is wrong with today?”
“I heard there was a Mimic event.”
“A Mimic?! Where did you hear that?”
“I overheard a six-man party talking about it as they passed by. They were regretting how they had rushed in.”
“Looks like the people who triggered the event got a huge reward. All the daily rewards exhausted… I’ve never heard of anything like that.”
“Everyone, snap out of it! It’s not over yet!”
Just as he said, the moment the boss died, four wraiths finally revealed themselves from all directions. They seemed to have been waiting to strike the hunters from behind once the boss started fighting in earnest. But since the boss had been erased so quickly, they had no choice but to appear in a hurry.
I had already pinpointed their locations the moment I detonated the bombs. I was already waiting in front of the one that appeared on the right.
Flame Slash
Swish—!
I swung the dagger downward in a swift arc, slicing the wraith’s body cleanly in two. A wraith, whose body was even more fragile than a spectre’s below-average stamina, scattered like smoke and vanished with a single swing.
You have defeated a 'Wraith'!
Trait Thievery has activated!
You have acquired the skill Sneaky Drain!
‘Nice!’
Sneaky Drain Lv.1
Randomly selects and temporarily absorbs one stat from a damaged target.
Absorption amount: 1-2
Mana cost: 7
Duration: 10 minutes
‘The mana cost is pretty high. But the ability itself is so good, it makes sense.’
Maybe because the level was still low, the ability I had been hoping for wasn’t listed. Or perhaps the skill obtained from a low-grade wraith was limited to this level of power.
‘I’ll have to level it up first.’
Just in case, I quickly dealt with the remaining three wraiths as well, but I didn’t obtain any additional abilities.
Booom—!
You have defeated a 'Ghost'!
Trait Thievery has activated!
You have acquired the skill Depressed!
‘This one’s pretty useful too. But it wasn’t a passive? Having to consciously activate it every time… that’s going to be a bit of a hassle.’
A fusible skill has been detected.
Would you like to fuse Sneaky Drain with Depressed?
‘Hmm? Of course I do!’
Depressed Sneaky Drain Lv.1 has been created.
Randomly selects and temporarily absorbs one stat from a damaged target.
Applies the status ailment Depressed to the damaged target.
Absorption amount: 2-3
Mana cost: 8
Duration: 10 minutes
‘Ooh… I don’t even have to use them separately anymore!’
The mana cost went up by one, but the absorption amount increased and it now applied Depression as well. It had transformed into a tremendously useful skill.
Hwoooooooo—
Even though the boss monster was dead, the ghosts continued to swarm without end. Over a hundred ghosts were now freely flying through the air, tormenting the hunters.
“Krrgh…!”
“N-no!! You crazy bastard!”
One hunter who had fallen deep into Depression even tried to take his own life. Fortunately, his teammate stopped him, but the situation was extremely dangerous. Still, that was the only noticeable crisis.
Yeonhee and the party members were safely hidden beneath the defensive wall of her summoned creatures since they had run out of holy water.
“I don’t think you need to use magic, Jua.”
Bae Jua had recovered enough to use magic again, but Yeonhee advised her to refrain, considering how much she had already pushed herself today.
“Still… just sitting here doing nothing feels…”
“Please stay put. It would be a bigger loss if you overdo it and can’t come out tomorrow.”
“Ah, okay.”
Lee Yeonhee unusually used a firm tone to restrain Bae Jua. Jua felt both apologetic and grateful toward her.