The Heavenly Demon Goes Looting (16)
The basement beneath the tower held not even the faintest spark of light. All that existed here was thick, heavy air, the echoing sound of footsteps against the stone floor, and the cold silence that followed. That was why Dang So-il gripped the torch in his hand with white-knuckled intensity. He knew that the moment he lost it, he would wander lost in the darkness and die of pure terror.
“Hwaaak?!”
Dang So-il, who had nearly fallen over from the surprise donation while watching his stream, somehow managed to regain his balance with superhuman reflexes and glared at the chat window.
“You scared me!”
“I’m never playing a horror game, so don’t get your hopes up.”
Dang So-il was the kind of person who absolutely hated anything scary. As a child, a ghost story from a friend had terrified him so much he stayed up all night. In middle school, he’d been too afraid to go to the bathroom alone and had woken his mother. Even now as an adult, he was a professional coward who turned on his stream whenever he watched a horror movie because being alone afterward terrified him. He simply couldn’t understand people who enjoyed horror.
Especially VR horror games, where you could feel the atmosphere with your entire body. Just watching, listening, or reading about it already felt like it would kill him from fear. Walking into that terror on his own two feet? What kind of twisted taste was that?
Absolutely not. No matter what, I’m never doing it. I’d rather bet my own neck. Why the hell would I do something that insane?
Even walking through this underground area where there weren’t any ghosts or anything was already scaring him to death. If he played a VR horror game, he’d probably just faint on the spot. Having nearly passed out while watching the horror game footage Enry had done with Hwaryeong last time, Dang So-il shuddered at the viewers’ teasing and firmly resolved himself once more.
While screaming internally, he pressed forward according to his memory. Then suddenly, he turned his head.
“I thought… I heard footsteps?”
After reading the viewers’ reactions, Dang So-il rubbed his neck and took another step forward.
Did I hear wrong? Haah. This is all because of the viewers. They keep talking about scary stuff, so I’m getting all worked up for nothing.
…Thud.
While letting out a sigh, Dang So-il froze at the sound that pierced his eardrums. That was definitely a real sound just now. He wasn’t sure if it was footsteps or something falling, but it was unmistakably clear.
“Guys. You heard that sound this time, right?!”
“No! There was a sound! Just now!”
Even forgetting that he was supposed to be running away, Dang So-il shouted, but not a single viewer had heard the sound from earlier. It was bizarre. They should have been seeing the exact same scene as him, so how could they not hear what he was hearing?
When Dang So-il’s face turned pale as he sensed something was going horribly wrong, the viewers finally started to notice that something was off.
“Ha. Fuck. I don’t know anymore. Let’s just get out of here fast. Once we’re out, somehow…”
Thud.
A sound. An incredibly clear sound. A sound no one could possibly mishear.
This time they must have heard it?!
Dang So-il urgently looked toward the chat, but it was the same again. Not a single viewer had heard the sound. Standing at the center of a clear abnormality, Dang So-il couldn’t even scream. His mouth opened and closed uselessly as he simply bolted forward.
The viewers and donation alerts asked him what was suddenly wrong, but Dang So-il didn’t answer. In a situation where even the breath needed to run felt precious, he had no energy left to speak.
I don’t know if it’s a bug or what. And I don’t want to know. Anyway, one of the viewers will eventually explain what happened like the know-it-all they are. I can understand it then. Right now, I just need to focus on escaping this phenomenon. Remember the path through this underground labyrinth. First, turn right at that corner, go straight, pass one more alley, then turn left.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
This time the sound was shared with the viewers, so Dang So-il felt relieved. Yeah. It must be some kind of system bug causing the glitch. It’s not like the Turret platform going haywire is anything new. Yeah. It has to be that.
Even while thinking that, Dang So-il moved toward where the footsteps were coming from. If the owner of those steps was a lost teammate who had wandered off their path, they could escape together—that would be a gain. If it was Hwaryeong, he could just die and escape this horror—that would also be a gain. No matter what situation came, it would only benefit him, so Dang So-il could step forward with an incredibly calm heart.
“Hgyaaaak!”
What he faced at the end was one of his teammates. The female streamer who broadcast on Turret under the name Kabi let out a terrified shriek the moment she saw Dang So-il’s face and collapsed to the floor. She was so frightened that she clutched her head and kept repeating “please spare me.” Dang So-il didn’t approach her right away and spoke from a distance.
“Kabi-nim. It’s me, Dang So-il.”
“…Huh?”
Only after hearing that did Kabi cautiously lift her head. After confirming his face, she clung to his ankle and burst into tears. It had been too scary. She thought she was going to die.
It might have been a heart-fluttering situation, but Dang So-il couldn’t think that way at all. Instead, a completely different thought filled his head.
Just what is Kabi-nim so afraid of to act like this? What exactly did she see to be trembling this much?
“Run. We have to run! If we don’t escape this basement quickly, the monster will—!”
“What exactly do you mean is in this basement?”
There were no living creatures in this underground area. After passing through the ridiculously complicated maze beneath the tower, you only received a magic recipe. There was no need to fight any monsters. Therefore, there couldn’t be any monsters, and there shouldn’t be.
“But I saw it!”
Hearing Kabi shout in grievance, Dang So-il could only shut his mouth. The terror and fear in her voice could never have been faked.
Damn it. Did the Thread side add something during the last update? Or did Bae Min-hwang add something while setting up the private server?
Whichever it was, something had clearly changed from the original game. There was definitely a problem—
“…What?”
He wanted to tell them to stop joking, but the donation and the messages flooding the chat all matched. They weren’t teasing him. They were trembling in fear together in front of a phenomenon even they couldn’t understand.
Then who the hell is this person?
Forcing his trembling head to move, Dang So-il tore his gaze away from the chat and looked at the ‘Kabi’ beneath him.
“Who… are you?”
“What? Dang So-il-nim, why are you acting like this all of a sudden? It’s really me.”
“Kabi is dead.”
The moment Dang So-il declared it so firmly, the expression of the one imitating Kabi changed. The person who had just been wailing in terror now wore a completely straight face as if none of that had happened. Goosebumps raced down Dang So-il’s spine.
“You. What are you! What the hell are you?!”
While the terrified Dang So-il screamed, the one imitating Kabi slowly rose to their feet. Then, with eyes completely devoid of emotion, they looked at him… and smiled.
A smile that drew a crescent like their mouth had been torn apart.
Fuck. Fuuuuck! What the hell! Who is that bastard?! Is it a monster?! Was it added in the new update?! Or is it a bug?! If not, then…
While the frightened Dang So-il stood frozen, unable to move even a single finger and only blinking, the one imitating Kabi suddenly lunged at him.
He was usually used to this kind of physical fight, but that was only usually. When he was this terrified and unable to think of anything else, everything became meaningless.
The one imitating Kabi grabbed Dang So-il’s arm and made him drop the torch. The fire went out, and the maze was swallowed by darkness.
“Fuuuuck!… ”
Inside that darkness, Dang So-il urgently took a stance. He had lost the light to a surprise attack, but the opponent was in the same situation. If he could just keep his wits about him, he could handle it. After all, he was Hwaryeong’s disciple and considered the strongest among amateur Heavenly Demon users.
With his teeth chattering, Dang So-il focused on sensing the opponent’s presence. He waited for a long time, but nothing came. Carefully, he relaxed his stance.
Did it leave? Has it gone?
Staying in a half-crouched position so he could react to any sudden attack, he found the torch, relit it, and confirmed that the Kabi who had been there moments ago was gone. He wiped a hand down his face.
“Let’s bounce.”
Let’s get out of here fast. I’m escaping this goddamn place. As quickly as possible!
Hiding in the darkness beyond the torchlight, watching Dang So-il’s legs tremble pathetically, I couldn’t help but let out a sigh.
To think that such a pathetic guy was the one receiving my teachings. I had put in quite a bit of sincere effort to help him grow significantly, yet he didn’t even recognize that grace and tried to harm me. That much I can understand. After all, it’s just a game. In a place like this, a little petty revenge is only natural.
However.
I simply cannot forgive him for showing such a pathetic sight.
I suppose I’ll have to forcibly beat some backbone into him the next time I torment the brat.
The thought made my brow furrow on its own, but whether I liked it or not, the viewers watching my stream were having the time of their lives seeing Dang So-il like this.
Attacking someone far beyond what you can handle is exactly how you end up like this. I recommend you take this as a lesson and only pick fights with enemies you can actually deal with.
While I spoke in that manner, I once again adjusted the face I had changed just moments ago.