Chapter 18: 18

Upon discovering Si-woo and Ah-rin, the ghost shrieked, its cry thick with grief and sorrow.

[You are the reason why I’m dead! I should be the one shining the brightest! Why must I die? Why must I be the sacrificial lamb!?]

“Look, his eyes are flashing like laser beams.”

“Oh, come on! You’re just scared to fight, that’s all.”

Si-woo debated about trying to talk some sense into them at some point, but no matter what he did, they didn’t seem to have any intention of communicating at all. They only seemed interested in wailing their grief at the players in front of them. This was a different case compared to the other ghosts they had faced in the past.

[I must survive!]

“Is each player like this?”

“Most of the original players have a sense they’ve been chosen. But among them, some believed themselves to be of elite status.”

“Ugh.”

The expressions on Si-Woo’s face indicated those words cut deep. He was one of those who thought himself to be the best in the world, but Jung Si-woo wasn’t entirely like this ghost. While he did see himself as a cut above the rest, he never denied the possibility of others being special as well. Meanwhile, the ghost was stuck in his belief that he was the only one unique in the world and that others ought to grovel at his feet.

Jung Si-woo could only laugh at the circumstance of this ghost who lived and died with evil in his heart and must now spend the rest of his afterlife in this dungeon.

[Human!]

[Let’s kill them! We’ll break free of this bondage and rejoin the outside world!]

The number of goblins that flocked around the ghost increased, but they seemed to be bound by some unseen force, preventing them from crossing the threshold that separated their room from where Si-woo and Ah-rin stood.

[Players abandoned me to die! I hate them! I’ll kill them all!]

[Kyaoohohohohoh!]

[Kua-ah-ah!]

The ghost screamed, its fury mounting even more. The goblins that surrounded him joined him in his misery, and together, they filled the room with their song of hate and revenge.

“Why would retired players return as ghosts in an Ant Cave dungeon?”

Si-woo wondered.

“Perhaps if we prevent players from searching for dungeons in the sky castles, we could also prevent dead players from reappearing. If that happened, there would be no more ant cave dungeons, and monsters might not pop out of dungeons after all.

“No… that’s impossible.”

Clearing a dungeon was a way to earn money beyond one’s wildest dreams. It was a market that even the government couldn’t touch. To walk inside a dungeon was to want more and more of the bounty that awaited deep within its caverns. Such was the insatiable desire of humans for wealth and power. At this point, only Jung Si-Woo knew about the connection between the dead players and the monsters that spawned on Sanha-dong today. But, unfortunately, he couldn’t think of a way to convince other people about it.

“I think we have to put him out of his misery now. Maybe then the boss room might open.”

“No, let’s leave him.”

“But!”

Si-woo shouted unintentionally. He didn’t expect this to come from Ah-rin, especially after all that they had seen today. Jung Si-Woo turned to her before carefully pulling out his hammer to prepare for battle.

“This is the last time we’re doing this, right?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“We don’t know whether these guys are in their final evolution or what. For now, it’s best to observe them and wait for an opportunity. This way, we’ll be able to respond better to more difficult situations later.”

It was troubling to see goblins swarm around the ghost, confident that their contempt and their sheer number was enough to conquer anything that stood between them and their goal. But what was more troubling was Ah-rin’s apparent sympathy for them.

“Oh, I get it now. It’s so obvious that we missed it at first! Do you want to know what they’re trying to do?”

“What?”

“They’re responding to you that way because your personality is as easy to read as an open book.”

Ah-rin explained. It sounded plausible, but Jung Si-Woo was more interested in exchanging blows with an enemy strong enough to give a decent fight.

[Ahhhhhhhhh!]

One of the goblins screamed as the ghost swallowed it whole, his eyes turning a deeper shade of red. The ghost’s crimson gaze remained fixed on Si-woo as the changes that Si-woo both feared and hoped for began to take to place.

[The ghost has begun running amok. If you cannot stop the monster’s power before it fully awakens, you will face an even stronger enemy.]

“Nice!”

Jung Si-Woo smiled as he read the string of text that flashed before his eyes.

[Player, I will kill you!]

[Kgyaahahahah!]

[Kyahaahahah!]

The ghost began devouring the other goblins, using those that remained as shields. Jung Si-Woo felt a sense of indifference as he watched the goblins willingly forfeit their lives to the spirit without resistance. The ghosts he had met so far had a clear hostile relationship with monsters, but this guy seemed to be cooperating with the goblins.

“Maybe, if the condition were a little worse, the ghost we met in the first dungeon would’ve attacked with centipedes?”

[The ghost is awakening as a demon who gained the power of a goblin! When the second awakening occurs, you can cross the dungeon’s border and invade the waiting room!]

‘In less than 5 minutes, how many goblins has he swallowed?’

The ghost’s body swelled like a balloon before bursting. An ethereal figure that was half-human and half-goblin appeared from where the first ghost was. Its body was translucent but gave off a faint green color, resembling that of a goblin.

[Khaahahahahahah! Not enough, this isn’t enough! Ae-ae-ae!]

“Yes, it really lacks something.”

[Ahhhhh!]

Judging by the aura it exuded, this new ghost seemed to be at the same level as the centurion goblin Si-woo killed earlier with a single blow. Si-woo sighed in disappointment at the sight of another weak monster that was barely worth his time, but the ghost took his resignation as a taunt and began rapidly consuming even more goblins to increase his strength. This also increased Soo Ah-rin’s headache.

Goblins flocked endlessly for another five minutes just to be devoured by the ghost. The dungeon was very wide. Theoretically, there should have been around a thousand goblins lurking in its shadow, and it seemed that the ghost swallowed up all of them to fuel its hunger for revenge.

[The ghost has triggered a second awakening as an evil demon!]

[Khaah!]

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At the end of all that, the ghost succeeded in causing a second awakening — the monster now possessed a larger body with more magical power. The horrifying elite monster glared at Jung Si-woo with its ethereal eyes. Its awakening gave it the power to finally cross the room and attack Jung Si-woo despite the dungeon rules that were created to prevent such things.

[My waiting has come to an end, player! Time to die!]

The demon raised both its hands and manifested a giant fireball in the air. After consuming countless goblins, the ghost gained the power to utilize magic.

“Ah.”

[What!?]

“Are you kidding me?! Even after eating all those goblins, this is the best you got?”

Si-woo mocked him. With his hammer, he struck the fireball and let out a huge roar. He realized that if you transferred mana to a weapon, you could wield magic.

The ghost-turned-demon was left speechless after witnessing Si-woo’s actions. Using his powers, the demon extinguished the fire that landed on his body when Si-woo destroyed his fireball. Seeing as how his powers were still far inferior, the demon turned around, his teeth grinding. Si-woo wanted to believe that those ethereal eyes didn’t hold tears, but that would be far from the truth.

[I will come back stronger!]

Soo Ah-rin sympathized a little with the demon. She understood the pain and misery the ghost had to endure and the bitter need for revenge that pushed him to become a demon in the end. But Ah-rin still understood that despite the tragic story of the demon, they would still need to carry out their objective for everyone’s sake.

“Kill it quickly. We shouldn’t wait for a third awakening.”

Ah-rin urged him on. After eating all the goblins, the demon quickly rushed into the dungeon, looking for another elite monster to devour.

“He’s clearing the dungeon for me. This strategy might be pretty good.”

Jung Si-Woo casually walked along the path the demon had created. Although Si-woo laughed at the demon and called him pathetic, he acknowledged that the power that the demon radiated after its second awakening surpassed that of the elite centipede’s at the centipede den.

‘So, what if it achieves the third awakening? Wouldn’t it be more fun to fight against a strong opponent? The battle that would ensue would definitely be more thrilling than the one against the giant centipede.’

An unpleasant sound rang throughout the dungeon. Something had been opened.

[Kugaah!]

[You think I pretend to be hostile to people? I have eaten so many humans I’ve lost count. How dare you covet my strength! As the Goblin Warrior, I will punish you!]

“Uh, I think that’s the boss.”

“You mean that ghost opened up the boss room!?”

Huge tremors swept the dungeon amidst the battle between the demon and the Goblin Dungeon Boss. It was evident that the boss possessed power incomparable to the other they had faced so far, but Jing Si-woo remained calm and composed.

“The demon will win, and a third awakening will happen.”

Ah-rin cried out, her voice trembling.

“Hurry up!”

Only then did Jung Si-woo start taking action. He sprinted smoothly through the dungeon. All the other lesser monsters have been eaten already by the demon, so they had nothing to worry about except the final boss.

[Kwaahahahahah! Death has come for you!]

The tremors ceased. Jung Si-Woo ran to see what has happened in the boss room, only to find the Goblin Chief being devoured by the demon.

[Khwaahahahahah! I can win now! I can finally kill the player!]

“It awakened.”

Si-woo let out a sigh. The demon that consumed the Goblin Chief and had now achieved a third awakening flew towards him at a blistering speed. Jung Si-Woo prepared himself, lifting his sledgehammer.

[Die!]

Even at a distance, Si-woo could feel the temperature in the room go up. Within moments, dozens of fireballs broke through the walls of the dungeon. Jung Si-Woo smiled, sliding into the next room to evade them. A wall of flames greeted Jung Si-Woo.

“Now!”

He struck the floor with his hammer as hard as he could. Countless stone shards sprang up, dispersing the flame wall completely, and Jung Si-Woo rushed through the opening created by the stone fragments. There, the giant demon waited for him. Its body had grown two and a half meters tall after its third awakening. The power it oozed after its last transformation wasn’t something to be taken lightly.

[You can’t ignore me anymore!]

“Yes, thank you for growing up!”

Jung Si-Woo was sincerely happy, laughing as he swung the hammer. The clash of steel between the demon’s ax and his sledgehammer filled the room with a metallic roar. This was a better fight than the last one Si-woo had.

“Soo Ah-rin, step back! You might get hurt!”

[Kuhahah!]

The impact of the demon’s ax against Jung Si-woo’s hammer sent him staggering back a little. The demon prepped for another attack, heat radiating from all over his body. Jung Si-Woo parried the ax strike with his sledgehammer as hard as he could.

“It’s like fireworks!”

Si-woo shoulder-checked the demon, making the attack more powerful by infusing mana into his body.

“Hey!”

Ah-rin cried out.

“I’m okay!”

The flames’ power was too difficult to control, and it ended up scorching Jung Si-woo. But he didn’t care one bit, merely shrugging it off as another challenge he had to endure. Meanwhile, Soo Ah-rin’s healing magic flew across the room to heal his wounds right away.

‘Come to think of it; this is the first time she’s healed me.’

The demon, caught off guard by Si-woo’s actions despite the burns sustained, hurriedly stood up and tried to fight back, but Jung Si-Woo had already caught him unaware.

[You guys, your lives aren’t a waste!]

Jung Si-Woo struck with his fist, his body still burning from the demon’s last attack.

[But, how?]

“I’m used to the pain.”

The demon, who didn’t know how much effort Jung Si-Woo had exerted to prove he was special and survive with his natural strength, now stared with blank eyes. Of course, Jung Si-Woo didn’t care to explain it to him.

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He just smashed its skull in with his hammer.

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