The People Of Baengnyeong Forest (14)

They decided the direction in a similar way whenever they reached a fork. Using Yana and Danilo’s wind spirits, they chose an unblocked path and pushed forward.

Even if they only took unblocked routes, monsters and traps still appeared without fail. Sometimes, ghosts that looked like they had respawned from the rear chased after them from behind.

That was not a big problem either. Whether monsters or traps, everything was still at a level the raid team could handle without trouble.

“The problem starts from the fourth floor.”

While they rested in front of the stairs leading down to Basement Level 4, someone spoke up.

“Right. If you look at the pattern so far, A-rank monsters should start appearing from the fourth floor.”

“Honestly, even that isn’t the real issue. The real problem is….”

“The level of the monsters that appear behind us, right?”

If they only considered the repeated combat pattern on Basement Level 3, there was still no huge cause for worry. Every ghost that had appeared from the rear so far had been around the average level of Basement Level 2.

Meaning, if the pattern held, then when they went down to Basement Level 4, the respawned monsters appearing behind them would be around the average level of Basement Level 3.

But there was no guarantee that pattern would continue on Basement Level 4.

“It’s fine if it’s just ghosts trickling down from above….”

“The problem is that monsters we left behind might start roaming. High-level undead have a wider area they can move through.”

People mulled over the new issue for a moment. The deliberation did not last long.

“Still, let’s do what we’ve been doing.”

To change strategy, they first needed to confirm Basement Level 4’s pattern. So for now, it was better to proceed on the assumption that the pattern would remain the same.

“Alright, then let’s move again.”

Milena rose first. The others stood after checking their conditions.

They opened the door and went down. Using the blood jade, they opened the Basement Level 4 door and entered.

-People? Are those people?

-Uuuuh….

The moment they stepped into Basement Level 4, they heard voices. Amid the undead wailing, there was a voice shaped into clear words.

“…Speech?”

Hearing it, everyone heightened their guard toward the front. It was only natural—this was the first time they had encountered a monster in the dungeon that spoke so distinctly.

“It’s coming closer.”

“Be careful. If it really has a human voice….”

When a chill wind blew in from deeper inside Basement Level 4, their caution sharpened further. It seemed this wind was the sign of an undead monster approaching.

-It really is a living person, isn’t it? You can hear me, right?

When the approaching mob came clearly into Ye Hyeonseong’s view, the voice spoke again.

It was undeniably human speech.

“A ghost we can talk to?”

Someone muttered as if they could not believe it.

“It definitely went up another notch.”

“Shouldn’t we avoid answering?”

Someone else asked in a small voice.

“Yeah. We still don’t know what kind of trait it has.”

-That’s weird. Why is no one answering me? It sounds like you can hear me.

When no one replied and everyone only stayed wary, the ghost mumbled in a puzzled tone.

‘They said if you talk wrong with a high-rank ghost, it can turn into a disaster.’

Ye Hyeonseong also kept her mouth shut and stared at the approaching ghost.

The ghost’s grade, confirmed through the Interstellar Network, was A. At that level, there was a good chance it had at least one troublesome skill that triggered through conversation.

“Don’t react—just kill it as fast as possible.”

Ignoring the ghost’s muttering, the team took up battle stances.

Soon, the fight began with someone’s shouted battle cry.

Puh-BOOM!

Kyaaaaaah!

Kwaduk!

Each time white light flashed and flames surged, monsters fell one by one. At a glance, it looked like a smooth fight.

But there was one problem with that seemingly smooth battle.

“Hah—!”

Ivan, his blade wrapped in white frost, swung at the A-rank ghost.

But before the blade could connect, the ghost dodged at high speed.

“Tch!”

-I-if you swing something that dangerous around like that….

The ghost tried to complain, sounding wronged, but Ivan swung again. The ghost slipped away once more, dodging quickly.

“Damn it—watch your back!”

As the ghost flew toward the rear, Ivan shouted.

-Why won’t anyone listen to me? I was just…!

Weaving through attacks fired into empty air, the ghost kept spilling words.

Whenever an attack grazed past it, it let out a pained cry, but it never stopped talking.

-That’s cruel. I just wanted you to listen to me…. Huh…?

Flying around haphazardly to avoid attacks, the ghost suddenly focused on Ye Hyeonseong.

-Y-you there. Your aura feels kind of strange.

‘What?’

Out of nowhere, the ghost started talking like a street preacher. Ye Hyeonseong tightened her grip on the pickaxe that was still under consecration.

-It feels familiar. Familiar, and….

Whether Ye Hyeonseong stayed wary or not, the ghost kept drifting closer.

There was an oddly wistful feel to its muttering voice.

‘What kind of story is it suddenly getting sentimental about?’

Because she did not sense strong hostility in its voice, the strength in Ye Hyeonseong’s hand almost loosened without her realizing.

-Familiar… and… and….

But in that moment—

Kihihihihihihihi!

“Argh—!”

As the ghost came rushing in with a sudden maniacal laugh, Ye Hyeonseong swung her pickaxe. Again, the ghost leisurely dodged and fled.

-I got it! I know what it is! Kihihihihihihihi!

The fleeing ghost cackled like it had lost its mind, circling over the raid team’s heads.

-That aura! It’s like what I felt every time we went to the shrine! It’s that thing’s aura—the one that threw us away! Ihihihihi!

Still screaming at random, the ghost flew back toward Ye Hyeonseong. Before it could reach her, others fired attacks to block it.

-What nerve do you have to come back, huh? When we begged you to save us, you never listened even once! You left us behind—so why did you come back?

Even as it dodged and fled, the ghost poured out a voice thick with resentment. And as it did, its appearance began to change little by little.

As the ghost’s coloring became more vivid, the system message appeared. Ye Hyeonseong immediately checked its information.

An ordinary ghost had turned into a malignant spirit steeped in resentment.

-Kihihi! Kihihihihihi!

Now fully changed, the Wonhangwi only spilled insane laughter, as if it had lost its mind.

“Is it crazy? What the hell is this?”

They heard a few startled voices.

“It’s probably because of the holy relic we picked up earlier.”

Ye Hyeonseong answered while keeping her eyes on the Wonhangwi. If she considered what it had shouted before transforming, it was obvious.

“…Come to think of it.”

“In the records, it was written like the revelation about the blood jade came from a god.”

“And that holy relic earlier was labeled as a relic for a forsaken god.”

At Ye Hyeonseong’s words, others brought up the points that clicked in their minds one by one.

“This is….”

Kyahahahaha!

Just as they were about to dig deeper into the relic, the Wonhangwi charged the team. A dark crimson aura began to frost around it.

“Damn!”

“Watch out!”

Anyone could tell it was a sign of an incoming attack, and everyone braced.

Hihihihi!

Kwaaang!

With eerie laughter, a thunderous blast erupted in midair—the sound of Milena’s holy barrier colliding with the Wonhangwi’s attack.

“Grab it!”

“Bind its legs first!”

They followed up by trying to strike it down again. Debuffs and attacks that worked especially well on undead concentrated on the Wonhangwi.

Kihihihihihi!

Even when it took a direct hit from an attack with an overwhelming advantage, the Wonhangwi only burst into laughter. It was not a fear-inducing debuff effect, but the laughter alone was chilling enough.

Kihihi! Ihihihihi!

Even when a white-frost-coated arrow pierced its weak point, the Wonhangwi was laughing.

That was the last sound it made.

“We killed it, but….”

The person who delivered the final blow with the arrow muttered in an uneasy voice.

“Why does this feel so nasty?”

“It’s like I can still hear that laughter in my ears….”

“What, did it put a curse on us or something?”

“It’s not that, but….”

Even after they cleared every monster, no one looked fully relieved.

‘There’s definitely no extra debuff on us.’

Ye Hyeonseong checked her own condition again. Everything felt normal. There was no debuff recorded in the system logs either.

“So it drops again.”

Someone picked up a small item from where the monster fell. It was a blood jade fragment, its color deeper than the ones from above.

‘The description itself is the same as the one from upstairs, but….’

Taking the item, Ye Hyeonseong hesitated for a moment, then created a new compartment inside Infinite Corridor.

Even if it was judged as the same item type, it looked different—so it seemed better to store it separately for now.

“So we can say we found another clue here, too.”

After they gathered all the items dropped by the undead, Ye Hyeonseong spoke.

“You mean the holy relic?”

“Are we sure it’s the relic?”

“Like I said earlier, other than that, there’s nothing else worth considering.”

As she replied, Ye Hyeonseong opened Infinite Corridor. The relic item dropped onto her palm.

“From the talk about a shrine and an aura, there isn’t anything else that fits as well as this, is there?”

“That’s true. If it’s not that, it would have to be the green crystal….”

“There’s no point picking the vague one when the most plausible answer is right there.”

People agreed with Ye Hyeonseong.

“Then the next problem is what comes after that—the discrepancy between what the relic’s description says and what the Wonhangwi said.”

Ye Hyeonseong checked the relic’s information again. It still said it was a relic for a forsaken god.

‘But that Wonhangwi talked like the god abandoned them first.’

Of course, both could still be true. If a god abandoned people first, and then people abandoned that god, the story completed itself neatly.

But Ye Hyeonseong felt something off in that completed story.

‘The problem is, I still don’t have evidence—just a hunch.’

She read the room.

Seeing that there were multiple people frowning, it did not seem like her hunch was baseless.

“To learn more, we’ll have to go deeper inside, right?”

They all threw their gazes toward the depths of Basement Level 4.

“That’s all we can do here.”

“Ugh, I really don’t want to see another ghost like that one again….”

“But if we want to close this dungeon and get out, we don’t have a choice.”

After finishing their checks, the raid team started forward again.

“By the way, what should we do with this?”

Ye Hyeonseong held up the relic. She debated whether to put it back into Infinite Corridor or keep it in hand as a test.

“Isn’t it dangerous? It reacted even while it was inside Infinite Corridor.”

“It definitely did.”

“But if we want to confirm the conditions, it might be better to try it now….”

A brief discussion passed through the team, and they quickly settled on carrying the relic in hand—at least, keeping it out.

“Later on, monsters at the level of the Wonhangwi we met might come pouring out all at once.”

“Yeah. If we want to see how they react, it’s better to check while there are still fewer of them.”

With the conclusion decided, Ye Hyeonseong chose to keep the relic out. She could not hold it in her hand the whole time, so she slipped it into her outer pocket.

Not long after Ye Hyeonseong pocketed the relic, a second wave of monsters appeared.

Ghh…..

Uuu….

Again, multiple skeletons, zombies, and ghosts blocked the way.

‘Is there going to be an A-rank ghost here, too?’

Ye Hyeonseong tried to check the ghosts’ information first. But soon, she did not need to.

Dakdakdakdakdakdak

A skeleton with an especially sturdy-looking frame rushed in first, clacking its jawbone as it charged the raid team.