Chapter 88: Star, The Phantom (5)

Suddenly, the volunteer camp began to shake.

“What’s with this mana wave…? Is someone using a skill?”

“I hear noises. People must be fighting somewhere.”

“What?”

“Fuck! It’s chaos outside!”

“What…?!”

“The ‘Red Ghost’! The Red Ghost has appeared!”

“The Highoff Clan’s assistant leader…? He’s supposed to be in the Dungeon, so why is he suddenly here?!”

“I don’t know! Shit! The rearguard unit has been attacked! The White Tiger Clan and the Sword of the Ohsung Clan already went after them!”

“Ah, those shitheads! They never let Players from small and medium Clans make contributions!”

The volunteer Players shouted frantically as they heard the news.

Gwak Do-Woon, the Red Ghost and the Highoff Clan’s assistant leader, had been more famous than the Clan leader, the ‘Phantom Demon’ Jeong Yoo-Jin. That had been true even before the public found out Do-Woon was a demonic being.

It was understandable, as he was an Awakened from a generation of Players who were as strong as the first generation. In other words, Do-Woon was a 1.5th Generation Player. That meant a lot, as most of the first-generation Players were currently leaders of the major Clans.

In a time when people had been unfamiliar with the Player Systems, Do-Woon was five years old when he Awakened. His parents had abandoned him because he was different, so he had wandered through back alleys before becoming a ranker. His turbulent life story had been enough to touch many people’s hearts, but it only gave the public more reasons to be shocked and angry when they found out Do-Woon was a demonic being. They all concluded he had been deceiving people until now.

Do-Woon’s life, in which he had always worked hard to become one of the best Players, was thus assumed by the public to be a ‘byproduct’ he had acquired by choosing to become a demonic being; after all, Do-Woon had been involved in numerous missing persons cases in Korea. Now, he had appeared outside of the Dungeon, not inside, inevitably shocking many people.

No one knew why he had left the Dungeon, but two things were certain: The Clan that successfully captured the Red Ghost would gain great fame, and interrogating him would enable the Clan to discover the Highoff remnants’ location inside the Dungeon.

Pah―!

Thus, the news of the Red Ghost appearing somewhere quickly stirred many Clans up. The Clans that had been on standby to clear the Dungeon were suddenly left in disarray.

Pah―!

Someone quickly broke through the people running at the back of the crowd.

[The Skill ‘Windstalking Tiger’ has been activated, manifesting as Skill ‘Lightness’!]

Chang-Sun made himself as light as possible, moving through the air. He was so quick and quiet that people detected his presence, but could not figure out when he appeared or disappeared.

“Why did he suddenly appear? Shouldn’t he have been hiding as long as he possibly could…? Did he come to figure out the size of the punitive force?”

“Who knows?! Maybe the Clan leader sent him to get more food! Anyway, go after him!”

As Chang-Sun ran forward, he looked at the Players running frantically beneath his feet and narrowed his eyes.

‘He’s planning to stir the punitive force up greatly.’

Chang-Sun somehow realized that the Red Ghost was trying to disperse the punitive force. If all of the two thousand Players present entered the Dungeon, the Highoff Clan would be suppressed, no matter how rough the terrain of ‘Yeti Hill’ was or how skilled the Highoff remnants were. They were hopelessly outnumbered.

On top of that, the White Tiger Clan was with the punitive force to wipe out the remnants by any means necessary, so the fate of the Highoff remnants, who had been driven into a corner, was already decided.

‘That’s why the [Everlasting Ice Crystal] was their last resort. I’m not sure what they’re planning to do with it, but they must have thought it was enough to create their ace in the hole,’

Chang-Sun thought.

From the looks of it, it seemed that the remnants had not extracted the [Everlasting Ice Crystal] yet, or at the very least, had not managed to complete their secret weapon. That meant they needed more time. That was no doubt why the Red Ghost was trying to buy more time. He was valuable bait, so he would be able to prevent the 2,000 Players from being deployed to the Dungeon all at once.

‘Still, the Red Ghost would be a valuable asset for the Highoff Clan…?The?Clan is sacrificing?such an?asset?just like that? What kind of weapon are they building?’?

Chang-Sun wondered.

On the other hand, Chang-Sun was also amazed by the Red Ghost for choosing to sacrifice himself; it could not have been an easy decision. The fact that a loyal demonic being existed shocked him; although he had seen many people similar to them in Arcadia, those brutal criminals had only thought of themselves.

‘If that isn’t the case…’

Chang-Sun thought, his gaze turning cold. It was likely that the Red Ghost would not be their only bait, based on the characteristics of demonic beings.

『Is it okay if we leave them like that?』

Baek Gyeo-Ul sent a telepathic message to Chang-Sun. Just like Chang-Sun, he had also figured out the Red Ghost and Highoff Clan’s plan. He was indeed smart, able to see the bigger picture in a complicated situation.

[The Player ‘Baek Gyeo-Ul’ has activated the Trait ‘Shadow Play’, becoming your shadow!]

After going through Chang-Sun’s special training over the past five days, Gyeo-Ul had successfully mastered the Trait [Shadow Play], so he could blend into Chang-Sun’s shadow and move as one body whenever he wanted to. If necessary, he could leave anytime and become active as Chang-Sun’s doppelganger.

『Leave them.』

Chang-Sun replied through a telepathic message of his own.

『But…』

Gyeo-Ul trailed off.

『They wouldn’t listen even if I explained, seeing as they’re blinded by their desire to make contributions or get the [Everlasting Ice Crystal].』

Chang-Sun shrugged; Gyeo-Ul stayed silent as he continued.

『Besides, the Council needs to catch the Red Ghost no matter what, even if they know he’s bait.』

It was known that the first search unit the Council sent in had gone missing, so the Council wanted to capture the Red Ghost alive to gain news of the missing search unit.

‘The problem is that I have to catch him too,’?

Chang-Sun thought. His eyes shone for a moment.

[The Skill ‘Viper Eyes’ has been activated, quickly scanning the area!]

‘He’s there,’?

Chang-Sun thought, changing his course after noticing something. Strangely, he was going west, not northeast; he was going in the opposite direction from the others.

『Hyung-nim, you’re going…!』

Gyeo-Ul tried to stop Chang-Sun.

『He’s not there.』

Chang-Sun replied curtly.

『Pardon? What do you mean?』

Gyeo-Ul sent a question back, perplexed.

『It’s a decoy. The real one is in this direction.』

Chang-Sun replied with an explanation.

『…!』

Gyeo-Ul was stunned into silence, briefly distorting Chang-Sun's shadow. However, Chang-Sun paid him little attention and began moving more quickly.

Swoosh―!

* * *

“We found the Red Ghost!”

“Shit! Where is he?!”

“Sector M17!”

“There you are!”

A red figure darted along a steep mountain ridge dense with trees; dozens of Players tenaciously chased after him to capture him. The Red Ghost Do-Woon squeezed out as much mana as he could while he ran, in order to shake off the pursuit.

Swish―!

𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

The order Do-Woon had received from the Clan leader, Jeong Yoo-Jin, was very simple.

“Go outside and draw as much of their attention as you can,” Yoo-Jin said.

Do-Woon intended to follow her order fully. He had never questioned or doubted her orders, no matter what they were; the Clan leader had always treated Do-Woon like a doll or a tool. However, they never thought of how strange that relationship was, as the moment they questioned it, that relationship would be over. That was the promise they had made to each other, which no one else knew about.

Do-Woon had never complained about their relationship even once. He barked when she asked him to bark, and rolled if she ordered him to roll. He had a good reason for doing so, even if he had to give up the reputation he had built up over dozens of years and endure the disgrace of being called a demonic being. Like a loyal dog, Do-Woon followed the Clan leader’s orders to the fullest, as it was the only way to repay the debt he owed Yoo-Jin.

[The Celestial ‘Weeping Mōryō’ watches his apostle sorrowfully.]

‘My dear lord, don’t be so sad, because I’m the one who chose to do all this. Please just watch,’?

Do-Woon prayed inwardly to his deity, inhaling deeply.

[The Celestial ‘Weeping Mōryō’ nods silently.]

At that moment, the heavy air around Do-Woon changed completely.

Pzzzz!

His eyes burned with ghostly wisps, and red energy burst out of him. He looked like a ghost wandering aimlessly across a mountain. He had activated [Red Ghost], his long-time Title and Skill.

“We have him surrounded!”

“Gwak Do-Woon! The Myeongga Clan will take your head!”

Three Players appeared before Do-Woon as he darted forward. At first glance, Do-Woon could tell they were veteran Players over Level 30; one of them was close to level 50, which meant he could almost be considered a ranker.

The Myeongga Clan had always been considered one of the top ten Clans in Korea. Although they had no famous Players within the Clan, they had quite a few Players. As Do-Woon had to deal with three veteran Players at once, he had to stop running and release more of his ghost energy.

Boom, boom, boom!

Without answering, Do-Woon struck out with his palm, then continued running straight ahead. Red ghost energy burst out of him, making the enemy Players feel as if the air itself were pushing them. The energy split into five streams and flew at the three Players.

“I can take this…!”

Clang! Clash!

The Players laughed pompously and infused as much mana as they could. They activated several Skills, sending bright Skill Effects all over the place. One struck Do-Woon with his sword, and another formed an invisible magic barrier.

Boom, boom, boom!

Several destructive earthquakes shook the ground, spreading thick clouds of dust.

“Huh! People talked the Red Ghost up, but he’s nothing…!” a Player exclaimed, snorting as he successfully nullified Do-Woon’s skill. He seemed to be the leader of the three.

He had long been quite anxious due to his inability to level up after level 49; thus, he was happy to find out he still had sufficient skill. Perhaps he had been needlessly tense because the Red Ghost was renowned, but the Red Ghost actually seemed to amount to nothing in the end. The Player thought that, as Do-Woon was already over 60, it would not be strange if he were to retire due to a lack of ability.

However, that Player was soon forced to change his mind.

Pah!

By the time the dust cloud cleared, Do-Woon was already right in front of the Player. The first thing the Player saw was Do-Woon’s eyes, blazing with red wisps and reflecting his own shocked expression back at him. Do-Woon had previously been far away, so when had he managed to get so close…?

That unexpected question was the last one he ever asked.

Smack!

Do-Woon thrust out his hand with lightning speed, easily smashing the Player’s head like a watermelon. Shortly after, the heads of the other two Players, who had been standing beside the first Player, fell to the ground. Do-Woon had cut off their head with a single stroke using his red ghost energy, which he had sharpened like a knife. All that quite literally happened in a flash.

“Leader!”

“Chang-Woo!”

“Shit! You monster…!”

Gritting their teeth, the other Myeongga Clan Players flew at Do-Woon together to avenge their colleagues. However, Do-Woon kept going, his face completely expressionless.

Bang, bang, bang!

Rumble, rumble―!

Do-Woon waved his hands fiercely through the air, creating several red explosions. Each time they detonated, several Players were blown away, coughing up blood. Some ended up rolling down the mountain slope, their limbs twisted bizarrely; many others were killed instantly. Explosions echoed loudly across the mountain like thunderclaps, and the blood of Players who lay collapsed all along the slope created a stream. The blood-soaked Do-Woon’s eyes shone menacingly, making him look like a true ghost.

“Impossible…!”

Thirty percent of the Myeongga Clan’s forces, which had formed a blockade, was left unable to fight. The remaining crowd was left in shock. Do-Woon saw an opportunity as his enemies were discouraged; thus, he crushed the head he happened to be holding and quickly moved toward the exit. However, he was quickly forced to stop, as something outrageous fell from the sky.

Boom!

Do-Woon crossed his arms to cover his face and leaped a good distance backward.

Pzz,?pzzzz!

In the spot where Do-Woon had just been, [Tiger Kill] sparked ferociously, resembling a tiger defending its territory.

“[Tiger Form]…? The White Tiger Clan Players are already here?” Do-Woon muttered with a frown when he recognized the White Tiger Clan’s signature skill in use. The ferocity of the attack implied that at least an Raid Team leader had activated the skill, and even Do-Woon could not take such a person lightly.

[Tiger Form] quickly deactivated, and a giant man, Seo Jeong-Gwon, appeared. He exclaimed with a laugh, “Hahahaha! The Red Ghost, as I live and breathe. I wanted to fight you someday, but I didn’t think I'd be fighting you like this.”

Do-Woon frowned.

‘Out of all the team leaders, why did I have to run into that lunatic…!’

Even for Do-Woon, Jeong-Gwon was the trickiest of them to deal with; his attack style resembled Do-Woon’s own, as he would fiercely pursue the enemy without thinking of his own safety. However, that was only the start of Do-Woon’s troubles.

Tap!

The sound of footsteps filled the air; although it was faint, it sounded incredibly loud to Do-Woon. As he turned to look, he saw a man wearing a suit standing there, drawing his sword. It was Woo Yeong-Geun.

Yeong-Geun said, “You’ve already caused so many casualties… I really can’t leave you be.”

“The White Tiger Clan and the Sword of Ohsung Clan… I see I’ve become quite a celebrity, to see Players from the first and second-best Clans welcoming an old man like me,” Do-Woon said. He smiled coldly and released more of his blazing red ghost energy.

Whoosh!

Clenching his fists, Do-Woon called out with wide eyes, “Let’s see my hoobae-nims’ ability, shall we?”