Chapter 53: Star, The Dream (3)

‘Have I arrived?’ Chang-Sun wondered. After running for some time, he realized that the air around him had completely changed at some point.

[‘Beast Senses’ is reacting strongly!]

Due to the influence of the Jigwi’s territory, the air had been hot and dry; now, however, he was met with a damp and gloomy sensation, akin to what he had felt when he first walked through the Underworld.

‘No, the air is similar, but it’s different,’ Chang-Sun thought, shaking his head.

Although the Underworld’s air had a hint of gloominess, he had not found it unpleasant. In fact, the air in the Underworld had been comforting, as if it were meant to reassure the dead who felt lost. However, the air in this place was completely different; he sensed danger and tension, along with something foul.

Negative emotions, such as grudges, betrayal, resentment, and regret, formed a complex cocktail in the air. If the Hohwan Mama Chang-Sun had sensed from the [Dream Sphere] were to be described in terms of emotions, it would feel precisely like that. It indicated that many people had died nearby.

Most people would shudder and tense up as soon as they entered, but not Chang-Sun; he beamed, thinking, ‘Good for me.’

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ is having fun, saying you take after him.]

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ says ‘Calamity Tiger’ is being ridiculous and claims you are brave like her.]

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ advises ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ to go home and sleep if she is planning to continue speaking nonsense.]

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ smirks, retorting that it would be better for him to shut up because his breath stinks when he speaks.]

[Sparks are flying between the two Celestials!]

While Heoju and Pabilsag’s relationship continued to sour, and they bickered with each other…

‘I’ve arrived,’ Chang-Sun realized after heading deeper into the gloomy mountain.

His eyes shone when he saw a large research complex sprawling across the vast highland. The facility was heavily guarded, patrolled constantly by intimidating-looking Players. Surveillance artifacts and emergency traps were installed in various spots. It was clear that the facility was top-secret.

[Your Concealment Skill has been activated!]

[All the sounds you make disappear into the wind.]

Quickly altering the properties of [Windstalking Tiger], Chang-Sun began his attempt to sneak into the facility.

‘I’d better figure out the facility’s structure before I begin to attack.’

After coming up with a plan, he crossed over the wall with a single leap, seizing the opportunity when the front gate guards were distracted by conversation.

“Huh?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Well, I felt as if someone passed by just now.”

“Who would pass by here?”

“I might be mistaken…”

“Hey, cut the bullshit. because I’m already scared shitless. What are you going to do if someone really appears?”

“You’re right. Phew! I was too nervous because of the Inspection Department…”

Paying little heed to the guards’ conversation, Chang-Sun quickly crossed the research complex, nimbly jumping from rooftop to rooftop.

[Trap No. 12 has been activated!]

[The Skill 'Beast Senses’ detects the activated trap’s location!]

[The trap failed to detect you.]

[The Skill 'Viper Eyes’ has been activated, swiftly scanning for other traps installed nearby.]

[The Skill 'Windstalking Tiger’ has been applied to ‘Viper Eyes’.]

…

[Skill Level increased!]

…

[Trap No. 27 has been activated!]

[Successfully avoided the surveillance trap.]

…

While using [Beast Senses] to avoid any surveillance traps, Chang-Sun scanned for other traps with [Viper Eyes] to prepare for any possible danger.

[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ exclaims lightly in surprise as he watches how you use your skills.]

Due to both skills, Chang-Sun quickly reached the center of the complex.

‘Did something happen? Why is everyone so busy?’ he wondered; he could tell that an accident had occurred within the research complex.

Many people in lab coats and instructor uniforms were running around the complex frantically, their faces pale as they held bundles of documents. At first, Chang-Sun thought that perhaps he had been discovered; however, judging from the documents they were holding, that did not seem to be the case.

How could he describe the situation? It was similar to something he had experienced in Arcadia. While he had been resting in an army barracks, commissioned and non-commissioned officers alike had suddenly begun running around just like these people, because some superiors from military high command had suddenly announced that they were going to conduct an inspection.

‘Is someone coming?’ 

Chang-Sun’s eyes shone as he used [Beast Senses] to strengthen his hearing. The range of his hearing expanded, and the faint voices in the area became as loud as thunder.

[‘Beast Senses’ has sharpened your hearing!]

[Detecting nearby sounds.]

“Fuck! Why are they coming while we’re busy as hell…?!”

“Get rid of this stuff quickly! We’ll be dead meat if they figure anything out!”

“I don’t want to become a test subject when we’ve been the ones conducting the experiments. Shit!”

“Bring that over here!”

“Take that over…!”

They were all busy cursing, venting their anger, and shouting. Although most of it was unhelpful nonsense, Chang-Sun filtered and sorted through the information he had gathered to get what he needed.

“We’re swamped with work, so why aren’t the guys who went off to kill the Jigwi returning?!”

“We really need to retrieve the [Dream Sphere].”

“Shit! Those guys working in the field are such slowpokes.”

“What really happened?”

“F-Fuck! We’re screwed!”

“Why?”

“What happened?”

“The Management Bureau just sent an emergency message about how the Jigwis were found dead just now.”

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“What?”

“What are you talking about? The guys who went out didn’t report any…!”

“You idiot! How can you not tell that other people took out the Jigwis already?!”

“W-What…? Who could possibly kill Jigwis…?!”

“How can we know if it’s possible or not?! Fuck! We already received a report about how the Highoff Clan’s demonic Players secretly infiltrated the training institute…!”

“W-W-What’s going on?”

‘Well, it’s about time they found out,’ Chang-Sun thought with a nod.

Two powerful boss monsters had suddenly disappeared, so it was actually surprising that they had just found out now. However, it seemed the chaos in the research facility was not simply because of the Jigwi incident. Thus, Chang-Sun paid close attention to their chatter, and soon, he heard something interesting.

“Take care of the stuff inside before the Inspection Department members barge in…!”

‘Got it,’ Chang-Sun thought, instinctively realizing that he had found what he had been looking for, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

Any organization and country would fear an inspection. Naturally, a Clan the size of the White Tiger Clan feared such a thing too. If the Inspecting Department was about to visit a facility, that facility’s staff would naturally try to bury any information they wanted to hide as deep as they could. Whether that information was about their performance, or embezzlement, or something else, they would become the facility staff’s weakness.

Thus, Chang-Sun followed the men who had just spoken up. At a glance, he could already tell that the men were in a hurry to enter the most heavily guarded building, which reeked of [Dream Spheres].

‘That’s the [Dream Sphere] manufacturing line,’ Chang-Sun realized in an instant as he entered the building, sticking close to the men and slipping in right before the gate closed.

[A strong smell of poisonous herbs fills the building!]

[Crying Flower Toxin has entered your body.]

[Laughing Flower Toxin has begun causing seizures.]

…

[The Hohwan Mama has targeted you!]

…

[The Effect ‘Ten Toxin Immunity’ has been applied, successfully purifying all the toxins.]

‘I’m feeling lightheaded. How much medicine are they making?’ Chang-Sun thought, lightly clicking his tongue as he passed by the men who were running around busily. In order to locate the Hohwan Mama, he followed the scent of [Dream Spheres], which grew stronger the deeper he went.

“Hurry! Come on!”

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“Move that over here!”

After moving past the researchers, Chang-Sun finally reached an iron door that was locked up tightly, unlike the other rooms he had seen.

[The door is securely locked!]

[Unauthorized personnel.]

[Enter the correct pattern or password to unlock the gate.]

When Chang-Sun pressed his hand against the door, a screen appeared in front of him, making him narrow his eyes. He wondered, ‘How do I open it?’

He looked around, hoping someone would enter the door, but the researchers were not even looking in its direction. It seemed only a few selected personnel could enter the area.

‘I wonder, are there any Administrators like Herald wandering around somewhere?’ Chang-Sun thought.

Of course, that thought was just a bit of nonsense. Even if he could call on an Administrator the way he had with Herald, he had no leverage he could use against them.

Squinting, he thought, ‘It looks as if I could get through if I wanted to…’

For a moment, the thought of breaking through the iron door using [Jigwi’s Phantom Body] crossed his mind, but that plan would only be valid if he decided to wreak havoc in the facility. Chang-Sun still had to figure out the secret the research facility members were trying to hide, which could be used as leverage against Executive Director Oh. If he caused chaos before he discovered the secret, there was a chance he would be unable to find it at all, as he would be too busy fighting against the research facility members. Thus, he considered searching other rooms first.

‘No, this has to be the place,’ Chang-Sun thought, shaking his head. He had a strong gut feeling that something was inside the room; it made no sense to move past it without checking.

‘A password, a password, huh…’ he thought, putting his brain to work.

What kind of password would they use? As they would not want their security to be weak, they would naturally use a very difficult password. As he racked his brains, suddenly…

Ooong!

He felt something vibrating against his neck.

‘Huh…?’ he thought, unsure what was going on, but he could tell that [Peter’s Key] was reacting. He wondered whether it would be okay to pull out the key while Heoju was watching him.

A thought suddenly crossed his mind. He reached out toward the touch screen, and…

[Master ID has been confirmed.]

[Unlocking the devices and opening the door.]

Suddenly glowing brightly, the touch screen displayed new messages, and the tightly-shut iron door opened up.

“Huh,” Chang-Sun reflexively said out loud.

The lock used a very complicated encryption system, but it had been unlocked very easily. Chang-Sun could not tell how it had been opened. Perhaps [Peter’s Key] was connected to the [Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan] or had a secret of its own. Regardless of the reason, Chang-Sun was not about to leave when the door had conveniently been opened.

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ is a bit perplexed to see the device suddenly being unlocked.]

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ wonders whether you have a for unlocking things.]

[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ asks if ‘Calamity Tiger’ still cannot tell what happened, clicking his tongue.]

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ asks what ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ means by that.]

[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ says you are capable of doing so because you are more cunning than a nest of serpents.]

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ says ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ has a point, nodding.]

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ exclaims that you are not only brave, but also smart!]

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ desires you more.]

‘Surely, Heoju doesn’t know I have [Peter’s Key]... but what do they mean by that?’ Chang-Sun thought, tilting his head in confusion.

Heoju had fought fiercely with Pabilsag, but strangely, he seemed to get along with Jörmungandr on some level. Besides, why would Jörmungandr, a real serpent, call Chang-Sun a serpent? Although he felt somewhat dumbfounded, Chang-Sun showed none of his confusion as he entered the depths of the lab. Shortly after he entered…

‘…So this was their secret.’ 

Chang-Sun’s expression turned grim as he saw an empty room, in which dozens of people were standing still in a military formation. As if they had become mannequins, their eyes were all vacant. They wore sturdy armor and helmets and held sharp-edged weapons, emanating more violent and wicked ghost energy than the Jigwis. They looked more like weapons than people.

At that moment, Chang-Sun could tell that the people before him were the invincible soldiers created using [Dream Spheres] that the Highoff Clan’s demonic Player had told him about, the ‘ones who lost their souls and were possessed by starlight’.

Bae Woo-Gyeong had said that the White Tiger Clan called them ‘Ghost Soldiers’—soldiers who had become like ghosts.

Grrrr!

The ghost energy emanating from the Ghost Soldiers ravaged the area.

[The Hohwan Mama rages within the area!]

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ smiles wickedly as he sees his fangs and claws lined up.]

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