The Pit of the Immaemangnyang
Jirisan is a vast mountain range spanning Gyeongsang-do, Jeollanam-do, and Jeollabuk-do. Given its size, there are multiple routes to ascend it. The gate had appeared along the northward path from Gurye in Jeollanam-do.
Following the narrow road, we eventually reached a fork.
“Right here.”
“Master, have you ever been to Gurye before?”
“Once, for work.”
I brushed the question aside. As we climbed the gentle slope, a temple built halfway up the mountain came into view—Hwaeomsa Temple. I knew this path because of that grand temple. I had once hoped to find a Buddhist relic there, but instead discovered the essence of a Silla-era Hwarang. It left quite an impression, enough that I still remembered it after regressing.
The problem was that the essence had seeped into the land itself rather than residing in any specific object. Remembering the earthquake that followed when I absorbed Gaia’s essence at the Olympian temple, I clicked my tongue in regret.
A black sedan provided by the Association stopped in the Hwaeomsa parking lot.
“It’ll take some time. Why don’t you grab coffee in town?”
“No, sir. We cannot neglect our duty to escort Special Agent Jinho.”
The suited agents replied stiffly. There was no need for them to be so tense.
“Let’s move out.”
Following the mountain path to the right of the temple, a powerful surge of mana soon appeared in my senses. Slightly off the hiking trail, a blue-tinged gate had formed right in front of a sheer cliff.
“Good that it’s not too far from the temple.”
“Hah… hah… Why… is there a gate… in the mountains…?”
Jiyoung was panting heavily. Most of her bonus stats had gone into mana, so it couldn’t be helped. Still, I couldn’t exactly carry her up the mountain. Not when the gate threshold was right in front of us—it would only inconvenience everyone.
Ping Lei’s eyes widened.
“Level 50 restriction? This isn’t a party raid—it’s a guild-scale gate.”
“If you’re scared, feel free to sit it out.”
“Hmph! Do you think a warrior of the great Middle Kingdom would back down from a place like this?”
I was starting to get a feel for how to handle Ping Lei. Jiyoung whipped her head away, shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter. If I let it show, it would become harder to boss him around later. I’d have to warn her privately once the raid was over.
“Same as always.”
The four of us nodded. After countless clears of the 19th floor and several gates, the team had grown accustomed to operating with minimal instructions.
The moment we stepped through the gate, thick fog swallowed our vision.
Vibration Barrier ×5
A barrier enveloped every surface except the ground. Jiyoung deployed it without needing my order, showing no sign of panic.
“Is everyone all right?”
“Thanks to you.”
The internal structure of a gate remained unknown until you entered. Some, like the Night of Paradise, trapped you until cleared. Others, like this one, presented environments that obstructed the senses.
“Kiiiii!!!”
A piercing scream echoed, followed by a heavy thud that shook the barrier. Long black hair draped over a white robe. Crimson eyes gleamed between the strands.
“Hmm. Mere stray spirits.”
“Stray spirits? You mean ghosts?!”
Jiyoung flinched in shock. Nyx merely pursed her lips.
“Why so startled? These are nothing more than unqualified souls that failed to properly manifest even an ethereal form.”
As expected, the goddess was on another level. The term “Immaemangnyang” referred to all manner of yokai—specifically, ghosts that had fallen into lowly spirits due to their insufficient status in life.
“Kikikikiki!!”
Pale ethereal forms multiplied rapidly, surrounding the barrier. With the fog now joined by these spirits, the outside world had completely vanished from sight.
“If they’re spirits, don’t physical attacks just pass through?” Ping Lei asked.
“Physical attacks won’t work,” I replied.
“Then how do we—”
“Are you planning to save your inner energy for making soup?”
These Immaemangnyang weren’t true ethereal beings. They had been imperfectly materialized by the gate’s mana. If physical attacks were completely ineffective, the gate wouldn’t be rated Iron. Still, channeling inner energy into strikes was far more effective than swinging a blade alone.
“Don’t obsess over reaching the Sword Qi Manifestation stage. Simply infusing your will is enough.”
Ping Lei’s blazing sword pierced an Immaemangnyang’s torso.
“Kiiii!”
It let out a dying wail and vanished.
“This actually works?”
While Ping Lei stood dumbfounded, a swarm of Immaemangnyang poured down like a waterfall.
“What are you spacing out for on the battlefield?”
Provocation
The Immaemangnyang charging at Ping Lei abruptly changed direction, surging toward me like a tidal wave. The tyrannical inner energy gathered according to the Sura Demon Spirit Heart Art’s mantra circulated through my meridians. My claws, sharpened by the essence of the Primordial Species, were further enhanced by the Authority of Greed before I unleashed the technique with explosive force.
Swish!
A black current erupted from my claws and tore through the swarm.
“How did you know that, Team Leader?”
“Trade secret.”
I pressed a finger to my lips. Did he expect me to explain everything?
* * *
I had two reasons for targeting the Pit of the Immaemangnyang. The first was the massive experience gain.
“Kikikiki!”
These creatures possessed both spiritual and physical properties. Originally ghosts too weak to manifest in the physical world, the gate’s waves had granted them a half-baked dual nature, making them vulnerable to any form of attack. True ghosts would require elemental power like fire or lightning, but these were not. The fact that Ping Lei’s attacks worked without reaching Sword Qi Manifestation proved it.
They could handle both spiritual and physical force, yet…
“Kikikiki!!”
Thud! Thud!
Even dozens of them together couldn’t easily break Jiyoung’s barrier. Their only advantage was sheer numbers.
“Wow, my level went up again!”
Jiyoung beamed. Just minutes ago she had been terrified of ghosts, but once she realized the Immaemangnyang posed little threat, her spirits lifted. Surprisingly, it was Nyx who reacted differently.
“What a turbid world. To think there are so many stray spirits…”
She muttered in lament, then spread her hand.
Eternal Night Dominion
She split Polar Night into dozens of threads and released them in every direction. The control was so delicate that even I couldn’t hope to replicate it. Because the power was divided among so many strands, each individual spike carried little force—yet when an Immaemangnyang was struck…
“Kiki…kik…”
It let out a feeble scream and vanished. These things weren’t so fragile that a single thread of Polar Night should destroy them outright.
“Ah.”
“Have you reached an epiphany?”
“No. You’re imbuing Polar Night with your divine rank, aren’t you?”
Nyx was a goddess who had reached the realm of concepts. In terms of rank alone, she surpassed even god-kings like Zeus or Odin. Polar Night was both her symbol and her very power. A mere stray spirit could be erased with the smallest fraction of it.
Embedding the rank of a soul into Polar Night… I tried it myself, but the efficiency was nowhere near hers.
“This is ridiculously difficult.”
Polar Night—the profound power that even I, who had devoured countless divine authorities before regressing, struggled to wield freely. Looks like I had another training regimen to add to the list.
“Master, how long are these ghosts going to keep coming?”
“How would I know?”
I answered curtly and activated Blood Claw Technique. While the White Beast King Art was powerful, it drained inner energy rapidly with each use. Even drawing on the energy stored in the Dragon Pearl wasn’t enough. At the same time, I devoured every last remnant of the souls being erased by Predation.
Etherealization
Grade: ★★
Classification: Active
Detaches the user’s body from the material plane, transforming them into a spirit state. Ignores most physical attacks but becomes extremely vulnerable to light-attribute damage. Consumes a small amount of mana.
A literal ghost transformation skill. Etherealization was useful when surrounded or facing multiple enemies. It wasn’t complete invincibility—attacks infused with aura, qi, or magic could still deal damage—but it remained highly effective up through the Bronze rank.
That wasn’t the only thing I gained. There were easily over a thousand Immaemangnyang. Even if I couldn’t extract additional stats from perfect 100% Predation, I possessed the Primordial Dragon Heart, which increased my mana with every Predation. My mana stat surged with each spirit’s destruction.
How long had we been inside the gate? My mana had already risen by dozens of points.
The steeply rising level was a bonus. The occupational penalty was becoming a joke. The moment I heard the level-up message, I tried investing the bonus stat into Polar Night, but—
Bonus stats cannot be invested into Polar Night.
…was the response. As expected. It was similar to inner energy. Martial artists had to achieve “enlightenment” at certain thresholds. Without understanding the circulation of qi, their inner energy stat would stagnate. Polar Night was no different. It was the power of Nyx herself, the very concept of night. The fact that bonus stats had worked at all was the real miracle.
The endless tide of stray spirits gradually thinned as time passed.
“Hah… hah…”
“Haah…”
The team members looked exhausted. Without Kim Youngsoo’s Legion Commander ability, their morale would have collapsed long ago.
“Worthless wraiths, the lot of them.”
Only one person remained unaffected—Nyx. Her usual languid expression had given way to a rare flicker of anger. She clearly disliked the endless swarm of Immaemangnyang. Strictly speaking, she wasn’t even a team member, so maybe I should exclude her from the count?
All monsters in the Pit of the Immaemangnyang have been defeated.
The gate is closing.
Clear reward: Key of the Netherworld has been granted.
◈ A key capable of opening and closing the path to the Netherworld.
◈ Durability: 1/1
A metallic key tinged with purple.
“Isn’t the description a bit too vague?”
Jiyoung examined the key with curious eyes before pouting. Ping Lei and Karla showed no interest whatsoever, turning away the moment they saw the item description.
“If it’s useless, I’ll take it.”
“In exchange, double the training volume.”
“One week.”
“Deal.”
When Karla agreed readily, Ping Lei’s face turned deathly pale.
“Hey, you! Why are you setting that kind of penalty?!”
“You’re staying on this team to train anyway.”
“No, that’s true, but… argh!”
The two bickered while I pocketed the key without a word. The Key of the Netherworld—the true reason I had come to the Pit of the Immaemangnyang. It was the item that opened the path to the Netherworld, Tartarus, and the endless hell where the fallen ancient gods were imprisoned. The key to the Tower’s basement.