The Ghost's Thrall (2)

Guided by Kang Woo-hyuk, I arrived at the village square. Just as the missing explorer had described, it was quite crowded. Stalls resembling a night market lined the area.

"There are quite a few people," I remarked.

"Yes. It's a night market," Woo-hyuk replied.

Yet, it was deathly silent. Despite the crowd, there was no presence of life. They weren't human to begin with, after all.

I checked my mental strength.

Every time it dipped, it immediately refilled, repeating the cycle over and over.

The trigger for the drain seemed to be 'every time I make contact with a ghost.'

"Mr. Woo-hyuk."

"Yes?"

"Are there any empty stalls around here?"

I wanted to take things a bit easier in this labyrinth.

The energy of the spirit realm—or whatever it was—registered clearly on my sensitive mana perception, but my mental strength remained perfectly fine.

The real critical hit was my knee.

The higher the concentration of non-atmospheric elements—whether mana, spiritual energy, or ghost energy—the worse my magical injury became.

My knee injury was precisely of that nature.

"Pardon? An empty stall?"

"I'd like to try my hand at some business."

"Ah... but you're an outsider. I wonder if you can handle the territorial locals..."

"I'll be fine."

According to the map, this village square held immense strategic value. To go anywhere else, one had to pass through here.

Even if it was crawling with all kinds of spirits, I had to secure at least one foothold.

"If I can't get a stall, I'll just pitch a tent and stage a sit-in."

"My goodness... I didn't expect such a fierce outsider."

"Fierce?"

That was an abrupt choice of words.

"Normally it's not allowed, but follow me. As the leader of the Youth Vigilante Unit, I can't help but be moved by your passion! It just so happens an old grandma was looking to retire anyway."

"Lead the way."

I walked behind Kang Woo-hyuk.

"By the way... how many residents live in this village?"

"Hmm. Probably a few hundred. What is your name, if I may ask?"

"Seol Ha... woon-and-a-pony."

It was a test.

"Ah, yes. Outsiders like you, Mr. Seol Ha-woon-and-a-pony, visit quite often, so there's a decent amount of foot traffic."

He accepted a ridiculous name like 'Seol Ha-woon-and-a-pony' without a shred of suspicion.

If this was an act, he was a master actor even Eldia couldn't hold a candle to.

"Actually, it's Seol Ha-woon. My tongue slipped."

"Ah, I see. Mr. Seol Ha-woon. My tongue gets tied sometimes too. Must be getting old... Here we are."

Meanwhile, we arrived at our destination. It was a bookstore with a wooden frame.

"Please, come in."

"Thank you."

I folded my umbrella and stepped inside.

A used bookstore with a grand total of four bookshelves, with piles of old books tied up and scattered across the floor. There was a sofa behind the counter.

"Grandma! Grandma!"

An elderly woman appeared from somewhere.

"...Eh? Is that you, Woo-hyuk?"

I stared intently at the crown of her head. An axe blade was buried deep inside it.

Amusing.

"Grandma, this place. How much did you say you wanted for the key money?"

"I said fifteen nyang. Why?"

Fifteen nyang.

The grandmother looked at me. I met her gaze.

Making eye contact with a spirit consumed mental strength.

Though it refilled almost instantly.

"By fifteen nyang, do you mean brass coins?"

I pulled five brass coins from the missing explorer's bag.

"Aye. Those."

"I have five right now. I'll give you the remaining ten tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? Is this fellow a swindler?"

He believed 'Seol Ha-woon-and-a-pony,' but she won't believe this? Is it a difference in ghost logic?

"Oh, come on, Grandma. He's a very brave outsider."

"I will definitely pay you back. If I fail to do so within a day, I will return the bookstore along with these five coins."

I handed the five brass coins to the grandmother. She fiddled with them with her wrinkled hands and nodded.

"Fine, then. You said tomorrow, right?"

"Yes. But what do you use those coins for?"

"Ah. They're for the ticket back home," Woo-hyuk answered instead.

The grandmother let out a deep sigh.

"...I feel like I've done enough here. I want to go back."

Go back.

Only then did I become certain.

Most of the residents here were dead.

"Well, then. See you tomorrow."

"Grandma, let me walk you out."

"Alright."

Kang Woo-hyuk and the grandmother held hands, preparing to leave the used bookstore.

"Mr. Woo-hyuk."

Kang Woo-hyuk turned back to look at me.

"What time is it, exactly?"

I intended to imprint my internal clock onto my Sequence.

Looking at his wristwatch, Kang Woo-hyuk replied,

"It's three minutes past midnight."

"...Three minutes."

I responded calmly.

"Didn't you say it was midnight when we first met?"

"Yes, I did. That's why ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠three minutes have passed."

It seemed their concept of time was on a completely different plane compared to the outside world.

"I see. Take care."

"Yes. Good luck with your business, Mr. Seol Ha-woon."

Kang Woo-hyuk departed.

I scanned the books in the store. A newspaper clipping stuck to the wall caught my eye.

It looked like the grandmother had clipped it herself.

I stepped out of the used bookstore.

Pitter-patter...

Standing on the rain-slicked steps, I activated the Land Magic Contract.

The radius was 14.44 cubic meters, encompassing the bookstore.

Whoosh!

A fierce gust of wind blew, clearing the air inside the bookstore. The dense fog dissolved away.

I picked up two wooden planks rolling around nearby and set up an A-frame sign. Tearing off a strip of Duct Tape, I secured a lantern to the wall to make it highly visible.

My shop was complete.

"Hmm..."

I took a step back to inspect my work.

"Perfect."

In this labyrinth, I planned to act as the base camp. The others could handle the rest.

"Let me get carried for once."

I couldn't keep doing everything for them forever.

I was already being called a screen-time hog—no, a screen-time elephant—and getting cursed out daily for being the PD's favorite. Some crazy bastards were even trying to spread dating rumors between me and Kim A-rang.

...Though, to be fair, the labyrinth's difficulty spiking was probably entirely my fault.

Anyway.

I returned to the bookstore. Feeling a bit of a chill, I turned on the stove.

It barely gave off any heat.

"Why is the flame so weak?"

Riiip. I slapped some Duct Tape onto it.

Duct Tape also doubled as a temporary 'circuit.' Naturally, a stove with an added circuit performed much better.

Whoosh!

"Whoa, hot."

I was impressed even by my own work.

Dear Duct Tape. You're not just versatile anymore; you're evolving into something truly omnipotent.

"...I worship thee," I muttered, sitting down behind the counter.

I quietly clutched my left knee, bending my upper body forward. Gritting my teeth, I endured the agony for a long time.

It felt as if my knee was about to tear apart.

If I were in the middle of a critical military operation, I would have amputated the leg, but there was no need to go that far in a mere labyrinth.

"Haa..."

Just as the pain began to subside,

Growl.

My stomach rumbled. I scanned the interior of the bookstore, but there was nothing edible.

I summoned the Truck from my Subspace.

The objective: food gathering. According to the map, there were fields nearby. Let's head there.

"Let's go."

I opened the bookstore door and linked my senses to the Truck.

Rattle, rattle.

Here comes the elite truck.

Kang Hyun, Lee Jun-ho, Im Hae-jun, and Kate rested inside a barrier made of sacred straw ropes.

"...How is everyone's mental strength?" Lee Jun-ho asked.

"I'm fine," Kang Hyun replied. "Hae-jun's complexion looks better too."

Although he was still unconscious, his face was no longer a sickly shade of purple.

"I've almost fully recovered as well," Kate added.

She seemed to be gradually adapting.

"Then let's get moving."

Lee Jun-ho stood up.

"Staying in one place for too long is dangerous. The Headless Ghost will find us."

"...Everyone, put on your straw shoes."

After slipping on the straw shoes they had painstakingly crafted, Kang Hyun hoisted Im Hae-jun onto his back. Kate shouldered a backpack stuffed with items they had scavenged and purchased.

"Let's go."

Lee Jun-ho led the way, gripping a torch.

As they tread softly over the ground in their straw shoes,

"Where are you going... Where are you going..."

A raspy voice drifting from somewhere sent goosebumps down their spines.

"Where are you going... Where are you going..."

An old man—or something shaped like one—approached from ahead, but...

"Where are they..."

Muttering to itself, it brushed right past the party.

"Haa..."

"Whoa..."

"Whew..."

The three of them let out collective sighs of relief.

I gathered food using the Truck.

Pumpkins, bottled water, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and rice.

Fermented soybean paste, chili paste, and soy sauce from a cluster of earthenware jars I stumbled upon.

Pork, braised beef, and beef from a closed butcher shop I picked the lock to enter...

Fortunately, I managed to pack the cargo bay to the brim.

"Just how many stages of expansion does this thing have?"

It was fascinating. Thanks to Julione's meticulous modifications, the cargo bay expanded not just sideways, but upward as well.

At any rate, the ingredients themselves showed absolutely no abnormalities, whether analyzed through my Sequence or the information window.

I laid out a portable burner, a pot, and a frying pan, then opened the cooking manual.

The first page was pot rice. As I stared at the recipe, my body began to move on its own.

Put rice in the pot, wash it, add water, and heat it. That was it.

The soybean paste stew was the same; looking at the page naturally guided my hands through the cooking process.

*Bubble, bubble, bubble.*

I stared in awe at the completed stew, which had practically made itself.

"This is quite the loot."

It ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠seemed this cooking manual functioned like a mastery book, directly imparting 'proficiency'—making it a rather rare item.

I scooped up a spoonful of the stew and took a bite.

"Ah..."

I closed my eyes without realizing it. I tucked the cooking manual under my arm.

This wasn't just loot; it was a treasure.

"..."

I made eye contact with the Truck. For some reason, it looked a bit hurt.

"You're way more than a treasure."

Only then did it seem to cheer up.

"...Am I losing my mind too because of this ghost village?"

I finished every last grain of rice and stepped outside.

I wrote a few more words on the sign outside.

"They'll all make it here eventually."

I shouldn't underestimate the explorers. Though they were still young, they were the type to find a way and uncover the right answer no matter what.

I sat down at the bookstore counter.

"...Cigarettes?"

A pack of cigarettes next to the cash register caught my eye. I tapped it; about half of them were left.

Did the grandmother smoke these?

Pain relief. I desperately needed that. My knee felt like it was about to shatter.

I pulled out a single cigarette.

Then, I glanced back at the scrap article on the wall.

"Wait a minute."

I furrowed my brows.

I compared my memory from moments ago with what I was seeing now.

"The number of missing people."

Wasn't it originally thirty-three?

No, it was definitely thirty-three.

My memory might falter, but there was no error in the visual information I had processed. My Sequence—essentially my mana—handled that task flawlessly for me.

I stared intently at the newspaper article.

*Pitter-patter...*

Inside the bookstore, with the rain drumming against the windows, I waited quietly.

"Now it's forty."

I placed the cigarette between my lips. Sparking a small flame with the tip of my index finger, I lit it.

Smoke filled my lungs. Thanks to that, the pain in my knee began to dull.

"Phew..."

Exhaling the thick smoke, the corner of my mouth twitched upward.

"...Of course."

The work of ghosts. A serial disappearance case.

As if.

Humans were the ones who killed them all.

Every single horrific event in this world was always the work of humans.

Those who understood human nature did not fear ghosts.

Ghosts were merely the dead, whereas the living were the ones who created them.

"You..."

There are no bad ghosts in this world.

"You're not a ghost, are you?"

Only bad people.

And that very person was lurking somewhere in this place.

That bastard was the true target of this labyrinth.

"...What on earth is that?"

The group of four arrived at Wolryeong Bridge. Lee Jun-ho squinted as he read the warning sign.

"Hyun. We don't know what time it is, do we?"

"No," Kang Hyun replied.

Lee Jun-ho opened the Wolryeong Ghost Stories document again.

"If we don't know the time, I don't think we should cross."

"No, wait. I have an item," Kate said.

She pulled a small, flickering lantern from her bag.

"It's a Hororong Lantern. Gather around me. Just make sure it doesn't go out."

"Oh, nice. Got it."

"Understood."

The four of them huddled close together.

"Let's go," Kate said, taking the lead.

Lee Jun-ho and Kang Hyun walked right beside her like bodyguards, while Im Hae-jun remained piggybacked on Kang Hyun.

The four of them pressed forward into the dense fog.

Step. Step.

At the entrance of the bridge, there were clearly only the footsteps of their own group.

Step-step-step-step-step-step-step-step-step-step-step-step-step-step-step-step-step-step-step-step-step-step.

But at some point, countless other footsteps began to mingle with theirs.

Excuse me. Excuse me.

Excuse me. Can't you hear me?

Where are you going? Please look at me.

Whoa. Mister! Miss!

Miss! You can see us, can't you!

They ignored all the voices, refusing to show even a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠flicker of reaction.