𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟐𝟏
As Xiao Chen warned, the air inside the mansion began to turn eerie as night fell.
「𝘿𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙨.」
It was more than just a feeling—a palpable chill that permeated the air, touching our very skin.
Behind our tense group, strange noises soon filled the hallways,
Hee-hee.
Hee-hee-hee.
The sounds resembled human laughter, yet also the cries of a beast.
Moments later, what appeared before us were bizarre creatures that could only be described as grotesque.
“. . . Ugh, what is that?”
“They look more like ghosts than anything.”
While their bodies were partially transparent and they bore the trait of ghosts in that they were filled with yin energy, their appearance was so hideous it was difficult to look at them directly.
In fact, they looked more like monsters than ghosts.
「𝙈𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙚𝙭𝙪𝙙𝙚𝙙. . . . . . .」
Each one was incredibly strong.
Compared to them, the ghosts one normally thought of were nothing more than cute little imps.
“For now, let’s not get separated. Let’s calmly respond and observe the situation.”
When I checked their abilities with sentiment, I didn’t see anything particularly deadly, but they were so numerous and their basic specs were so high.
We didn’t rush in, but instead split up our roles and dealt with them appropriately.
Peee-yew!
Zzzap!
Screech!
Spiritual power and yin energy clashed here and there, and with each spell’s completion, the ghosts let out piercing screams.
However, after about an hour of this, we all realized something strange.
“Their numbers aren’t decreasing. . . . . . .”
“Oppa, this is definitely.”
As we had all thought, despite the large number of them we had defeated, the number of ghosts hadn’t changed much.
In fact, it seemed like there were even more of them than before.
「𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙘𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙮 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙮𝙚𝙙, 𝙨𝙤 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮’𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙬?」
Judging from the fact that they were continuously producing such powerful ghosts, there must be some kind of core component, but even with my knowledge, I had no idea what it was.
「𝙄𝙣 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙩, 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙬. . . . . . .」
Blinding Mountain was an area that had only been teased in the original work, so it must have been much later that it was officially revealed.
So, it was only natural that my knowledge didn’t extend that far.
「𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙄 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙.」
However, I had anticipated that there would be some difficulty. If things were going to be like this, we would just have to change our strategy accordingly.
“It’s too difficult to hold out until morning. How about we just head to the place we figured out earlier?”
“A forced breakthrough—that’s not bad!”
Shin No-eul was the first to express her approval, and the others gradually nodded in agreement.
They had realized that nothing would change if they just kept doing what they were doing.
“Echinacea Lianqi and Xiao Chen will take the first floor, Seo-ah and Team Leader will take the second floor, and Sophia and I will take the third floor.”
With that, we split up as soon as the signal was given and headed towards our destinations, cutting through the ghosts.
「. . . 𝙏𝙚𝙖𝙢 𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧’𝙨 𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙢𝙨 𝙖 𝙗𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙚𝙖𝙠.」
In terms of ability alone, it would have been better to replace either Echinacea Lianqi or Xiao Chen with Seo-ah, but while I didn’t know much about Echinacea Lianqi, I still didn’t know what Xiao Chen was up to.
Rather than creating unnecessary anxiety, it would be better to keep the two members of Yahwak together.
Swish.
Boom!
“Geusdae, I’m counting on you.”
『. . . Groooo.』
So, I sent Geusdae, who could even fight S-rank yokai, to the second floor, and despite his reluctance, he began to follow behind Shin No-eul.
I couldn’t be sure, but I thought that this much would be okay.
Sophia spoke to me as I ran forward again.
“You know, the energy I felt before we came in here.”
“Of course.”
These ghosts were probably just an appetizer. To get through this current predicament, we would likely have to fight an even stronger enemy.
「𝙊𝙛 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙣’𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜. . . . . . .」
Perhaps one of these three floors would be where such a strong enemy existed.
n
With that tension weighing on our minds, Sophia and I finally reached the locked door that Xiao Chen had mentioned.
Click.
Click, click.
“Ugh. It definitely won’t open.”
Xiao Chen seemed to have assumed that the door would open if we came instead of her, who had lost her qualifications, but from the looks of things, it seemed like there was some additional condition.
Sophia clicked the door a few more times and then stepped back with a sigh, and immediately began to block the approaching ghosts and cast spells.
Whoosh.
Zzzap!
“What do we do?”
“I’ll check it out.”
I didn’t think there was much I could do either, but I couldn’t just sit back and do nothing.
「𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙠𝙚𝙮𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙚. . . . . . .」
With that thought, I clicked the doorknob, and suddenly, there was a sound of something engaging, and the locked door began to move.
“. . . It opened.”
“What? That can’t be right?”
Sophia followed me through the door in a panic.
And as soon as we closed the door behind us, the ghosts that had been coming at us through the walls and ceiling strangely backed away to another location.
It seemed like we had found the right place.
“H-Hey, Kang-yoon?”
“What is it?”
When I turned around at her stiff voice, I saw Sophia pointing somewhere with a bewildered expression.
And when I followed her finger, I saw a skeleton sitting on a chair between the small studies.
The skeleton was just sitting there, but like Sophia, I couldn’t take my eyes off of it.
And when I checked its Emotion Detection just in case, I immediately realized the source of that strange feeling.
【Robert of Normandy】
▶Level 71
「. . . 𝙊𝙝, 𝙘𝙧𝙖𝙥.」
A clear status window was floating up from the skeleton, which must have died a long time ago.
“. . . The eerie energy just keeps getting.”
As she said, an eerie aura was now swirling around the room.
Soon, the eye sockets of the skeleton, which had been sitting powerlessly on the chair, began to glow, and it slowly began to move.
Creak.
Craaaack.
The eerie sound of bones grinding together and the bizarre way its body bent.
Soon, the skeleton picked up a fancy outfit from the table in front of it and put it on, then stood up and spoke to us.
“Nice to meet you. It’s my first time greeting guests.”
It was a very relaxed greeting, but we who stood before it felt an overwhelming pressure.
After all, a level of 71 was definitely a level that even we couldn’t easily handle.
The skeleton watched our frozen forms and calmly flicked the dust off its clothes as it continued to speak.
“My name is Robert. In my previous life, I lived as the dear Lady Verdi’s librarian and aide.”
Despite the skeleton’s appearance, which could have seemed ridiculous, there was an undeniable air of dignity about its actions.
“Don’t be so nervous. As it is, I am now just an empty shell prepared for a test. I am only here to do what I have been ordered to do.”
Robert finished speaking softly and picked up a wind-up doll on the table, winding it with his hand and saying only one thing to us.
Click.
Clack.
Clack.
“The time limit is until this doll stops moving.”
Bam!
The doll on the table began to dance, its tiny body shaking as it spun around.
“Find the greatest falsehood in this space. The hint lies within the experiences you have had here so far. If you cannot find it, you will not be qualified to go to the next location.”
“What happens if we can’t find the correct answer?”
“You will become like them and wander this place.”
Robert pointed a bony finger at the room outside, where the ghosts were roaming.
「. . . 𝘿𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙬𝙚’𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙞𝙚 𝙞𝙛 𝙬𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝?」
It was better than simply fighting, but it was still a difficult situation.
“U-Uh, what does that mean?”
Sophia looked completely lost as she rolled her eyes around.
I knew it, but she was weak in this area. In the end, I had no choice but to do it myself.
「𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚.」
The witches’ unseen familiars, the village of tranquility and rest.
The lesson we had learned from the situations we had been through so far was one thing: not everything that you see is real.
「. . . 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙢 𝙞𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙗𝙞𝙜.」
The overall size and the objects placed within it were all small enough to take in at a glance.
To me, it felt like a kind of clue.
「𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚.」
The first thing that caught my eye was the portraits of various figures displayed on the wall, and the old library that took up one side of the room.
When I went over and looked around, I saw that the portraits of the figures were quite familiar.
「𝙄’𝙢 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩, 𝙩𝙤𝙤?」
These were the ancestors of the witch clan, and among them were figures who had been particularly famous and prestigious.
There were some faces I didn’t recognize, but they all seemed to be of the same type.
「𝙃𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜.」
Verdi.
The last witch of her time, who had received the love of the most stars, and the one who had created this labyrinth.
As such, it was hard to believe that she alone was missing.
Surely, it had something to do with the correct answer that Robert had mentioned.
“Look around the room and tell me if anything seems strange.”
Just in case, I asked Sophia for help, and then headed towards the library, the only place left, and began to look through its contents.
「𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙙-𝙪𝙥 𝙙𝙤𝙡𝙡 𝙬𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙧𝙪𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜, 𝙨𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙛𝙞𝙜𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙮 𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙡𝙮 𝙞𝙛 𝙬𝙚 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙮. . . . . . .」
Since there wasn’t much time, my impatience wouldn’t go away.
There were many factors to consider, but my body and mind were one.
No matter how I thought about it, it was an unreasonable condition.
However, that thought was short-lived, as I soon noticed a very subtle difference
And with a frustrated laugh, I put down the book I was holding and headed straight for Robert.
“Have you found the correct answer?”
Yes. To begin with, this wasn’t a problem that required considering so many factors and solving it in a complex way.
I glanced back at Sophia, who looked worried, and then pointed at Robert and muttered softly,
“The greatest falsehood in this place is your very existence, isn’t it?”
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