Late-night school.
The combination of the dark night and the school exuded an eerie atmosphere.
I also felt like someone was watching me.
“Let’s drop by the temporary training ground first.”
Even if it’s me, I can’t explore a dungeon unarmed.
I picked up two swords at the temporary training ground.
Since ‘Gigantic Forest’ was closed, the weapons that were there were piled up in front of the temporary training ground.
I made up some excuse to Park Hayeon that it was to crush anything that might appear.
She silently followed, seemingly scared.
We entered the annex.
The empty hallway was truly spooky.
The light from the city was blocked by the main building, and there was a mountain behind, so we couldn’t see even a foot in front of us.
We turned on our smartphone lights and moved forward.
Second floor, Women’s Restroom.
I hesitated for a moment before opening the door.
“I’ve heard this is the best spot.”
“Gee, do we have to do it here? It’s scary…”
“Yeah, let’s go in first.”
Park Hayeon subtly grabbed my hand.
She must be really scared.
Rather than shaking her off, I held her hand back.
After entering the restroom, I first flipped the light switch.
…
The light didn’t turn on.
Why isn’t the light working? This building is new.
I took a deep breath and hypnotized myself.
‘Hmm. Don’t be scared. I already have an incredibly strong ghost attached to me.’
[What?]
Now it’s time to perform the gate-summoning ritual, but before that, there was something I needed to do.
For a while, I wasn’t sure, but now I’m certain.
Pretending to venture deep inside the restroom, I suddenly turned around and reached out my hand.
To that place I could sense something.
“Uh, gack…”
Since my pure stats reached the A-rank, my ki perception has greatly improved.
Something has been catching my ki perception since the Coin Karaoke.
I unsheathed my sword and prepared to stab.
“Hey, wait a second…”
The frightened feminine voice sounded familiar.
The part I had grabbed became translucent, and Ji Soyeon appeared.
Only her face emerged as she turned off her transparency.
“Ji Soyeon?”
I let go of her neck.
If it was Ji Soyeon, there was no threat to me.
“What do we do… we’ve been caught.”
“Why were you tailing me?”
Just the act of following someone was dangerous. It’s a good thing I didn’t pretend to be the ‘Dark Knight’ today; if it were a hunting day, she’d have been in real trouble.
Ji Soyeon fidgeted nervously, struggling to express herself.
I grabbed her hair and lifted it up.
Her body floated slightly off the ground.
With A-rank strength, I could easily bear her weight with just one arm.
Ji Soyeon had to stand on her tiptoes to barely touch the ground.
“Aaah… it hurts…!”
“If it hurts, answer quickly. I won’t let you go until you do.”
Tears flowed down her cheeks.
“Stop it!”
She resisted, hitting and kicking me.
‘Does she think I won’t actually kill her?’
I thought I needed a more severe form of pain.
I released her hair and knocked her down, sitting on top of her.
I pressed down on her neck with one hand and twisted her finger with the other.
“Kyaahhh! It hurts. It hurts!”
“Talk.”
Park Hayeon interjected with a worried look.
“Uh… isn’t this too harsh?”
“This woman has been secretly watching us.”
“Yeah.”
But at least, the protagonist isn’t a pushover which is good. In other stories, sometimes the main character gets betrayed or suffers NTR and still smiles.
I twisted her finger harder.
Ji Soyeon screamed.
“I’ll talk! I’ll talk! Please stop! It’s breaking!”
I let go of her finger.
Only then did she reveal the whole story.
After school, Ji Soyeon waited at the school gate for Yang Min-seo.
She had contacted her through a messenger, asking to meet.
After waiting for about five minutes, a car with an imposing presence approached from afar.
A BenzO Maybach S-Class.
Just by looking at it, it was clear how luxurious the car was.
The rear door opened, revealing Yang Min-seo.
“Please get in.”
Ji Soyeon wiped her shoes before entering, worried about getting them dirty.
‘So she really is incredibly wealthy…’
The car stopped at the K Hotel, the most luxurious hotel in Korea, where foreign dignitaries stayed.
Yang Min-seo took Ji Soyeon to the K Hotel lounge.
“Please help yourself. I’ll pay.”
“Uh, it looks incredibly expensive…”
“Expensive? My aunt runs this place, so don’t worry about the price. Just have your fill.”
Ji Soyeon, seeing an opportunity, ordered the most expensive-looking dessert and coffee without hesitation.
The snacks she ordered soon arrived.
Yang Min-seo took a sip of her coffee and brought up the topic.
“I don’t know much about Shinno or Oh Haena, but I’m sure there are plenty of people like you, right?”
Invisible humans.
A highly versatile ability with clear limitations. Ji Soyeon herself believed she was far inferior to Shinno or Oh Haena.
Yang Min-seo continued.
“Still, the reason I chose you is because, though I don’t know about you being a Hero or Hunter, I thought you’d be good for my team.”
“Team…?”
“I want so much. And this is just between you and me, but I want to reach the very top.”
“The top? Surely, the president?”
Yang Min-seo nodded silently, putting her index finger to her lips.
“I have countless competitors. There will be dirty fights ahead. The things someone invisible can do are endless – stealing important documents, eavesdropping secretly, even assassinating important figures…”
“Bu, but I don’t like that. Heroes don’t kill… That’s a Villain!”
“It was only an example. I can change your life, Ji Soyeon. Each time you do a favor for me, I’ll give you astronomical amounts of money, and if something goes wrong and you get caught, I’ll figure out a way to get you out.”
Ji Soyeon thought for a moment.
Her family had originally been a regular middle-class unit, but her father recently amassed massive debt. He had heavily invested in the stock market and virtual currencies, losing everything. Their house was now held as collateral, and her mother was crying every day.
Though Ji Soyeon was a cautious person and normally would never accept Yang Min-seo’s proposal, the family’s situation influenced her decision.
“Ah, I’ll do it. Uh, I mean, I accept?”
“There’s no need to use honorifics. Relax. Relax.”
“Okay.”
“Then, I’ll make my first request. Please monitor Shinno after Academy ends.”
Ji Soyeon tilted her head in confusion.
“Shinno?”
“I’ve had an investigation done through some connections, but there are many aspects that are incomprehensible. It seems I’ll need a direct investigation. I want you to find out any details, even minor ones. What Shinno eats, his hobbies, and what he does after classes… please observe and report.”
“I see.”
“There’s no need to get too close. For example, there’s no need to follow Shinno to his house—I don’t want you to be caught. It’s kind of awkward to put a shadow on a classmate, isn’t it? Hehe.”
And thus, Ji Soyeon began tailing Shinno.
When she saw him go to school with a girl at night, her curiosity got the better of her, and she got too close.
His intuition was far sharper than she had imagined. She got caught.
Ji Soyeon had finished her explanation.
Yang Min-seo had sent her to spy.
Of course, the original antagonist character was up to something behind the scenes. I was beginning to get disappointed as she recently seemed somewhat cuter.
“A bit annoying. I’ll do some background checks. I need to confront Yang Min-seo.”
“Bu, but… can you pretend like I said nothing?”
“That can’t be. You’re not getting off easily. I’ll need to teach you not to spy on others.”
I lifted my sword.
“Choose, left or right hand. Leave the little finger behind.”
Even though the sword was used and slightly dulled, it might cut her.
Ji Soyeon sobbed loudly, grabbing my legs and hanging on.
“Please save me! Cutting someone’s finger off just for spying is excessive! Huuuh!”
“Yang Min-seo might have not done this with bad intentions… Hmm. Maybe she just cares about you?!”
Park Hayeon, with a serious expression, tried to stop me.
“Hey, this might be a bit too harsh.”
I smirked and put the sword away.
“Just kidding.”
I took off my coat and handed it to Ji Soyeon, realizing she had probably taken off her clothes to maintain her invisibility.
I turned to Park Hayeon.
“Let’s do what we planned, right? One more person joining doesn’t matter. Let’s do it with all three of us. The important part will be directed entirely at you.”
She blushed deeply and waved her hands.
“What?! With three people? That’s wrong! Doing it outside, and at night in the school… I’m not into it! I came here thinking I had no choice, but you’re suggesting this with another girl I just met!”
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
Our conversation seemed to be going off track. Park Hayeon might have misunderstood something, though I wasn’t entirely sure.
I opened the fourth stall door in the women’s restroom. It read “Occupied.”
“Of course, it’s occupied.”
I entered the cubicle and locked the door.
“What are you doing, Shinno?”
Park Hayeon’s shocked voice.
That’s understandable.
I stepped over the toilet and entered the neighboring stall.
“The door is locked, right? I’ve heard rumors; if you lock the fourth stall and throw water inside, a ghost will appear.”
“We’re not here to test our courage, right?”
Park Hayeon’s face had turned bright red.
‘Hey, she’s been sensitive since before.’
“Of course, what else did you think we were doing?”
“I… well, I did know. Yes.”
I went to the cleaning closet, grabbed a bucket, filled it with water, and threw it into the fourth stall. That completed the conditions.
Park Hayeon and Ji Soyeon were looking at me, having no clue what was going on.
Clank.
At that moment, the latch on the fourth stall unlocked.
Even though no one was around.
The door opened, and a girl in a school uniform glided out. She had no legs.
Her Red Eyes intensely stared at us.
With white hair and pale skin, the girl had an otherworldly appearance.
A dream-like, surreal feeling.
It was clear that she was not of this world.
“AAAAAH!”
“What is that!”
Park Hayoen and Ji Soyeon screamed in panic. That’s expected when a ghost appears like that. In fact, it was a ghost.
The girl spoke.
“Please save me… I’m suffering… struggling to breathe… I beg you… please save me.”
A voice loaded with all kinds of worldly agonies. The despair she exuded evoked more sympathy than fear.
Soon, her eyeballs popped out of her sockets and rolled across the bathroom floor.
Dark red liquid began flowing from the incredibly deep eye cavities. Blood, blood, blood—it was our own blood.
The bathroom started turning red.
“Ah!”
Since the beginning, Ji Soyeon had been reacting like a scene from a horror movie. She turned around to escape.
“Can’t let you.”
Clank, clank.
The bathroom door was locked, unable to open.
I smirked slightly.
————-<Dungeon Entry>————–
[‘<DLC04> The End of Waiting’ has been entered.]
——————————————
‘Hero Name: ZEUS’ This is the start of the Easter egg contained within the 4th expansion pack <Halloween>.
