Tap the text to show or hide reading controls.
Kraaak! KkyaaaAAaak!
The lich pointed at Hyeonseong and flew in quickly, gripping its staff. The ghosts that still remained did the same.
Uuuuuuu……
H-hic……. Hihihihi…….
‘…Well, the taunt effect is definitely insane.’
Hyeonseong watched with an awkward look as they all rushed her just because she had pulled out a single holy relic. The others were blocking the attacks for her, but she couldn’t be sure whether keeping it out like this was actually the right move.
“What should I do? Do I keep holding it like this?”
Hyeonseong asked as she widened the distance while the others attacked the ghosts and the lich.
“Keep holding it!”
Kwon Seojin shouted back as he struck at the lich’s skull.
“I think that’s better too…!”
“Try keeping it out!”
The others agreed with Seojin, though their tone felt less certain than his confident answer.
‘…So everyone’s basically saying to watch a little longer.’
Hyeonseong tucked the relic into her outer jacket pocket. Whatever it was, this was the first time she’d gotten any clear reaction, so it seemed better to observe a bit more.
Kkeuuhhh……. UaaAAaak! Kihyahahahak!
As Hyeonseong pulled away, the lich screamed again. Listening to it gave her a strange feeling.
‘That… the more I hear it, the more it sounds like its speech is being forcibly blocked.’
The screams always burst out at timings where actual words should have come out.
That alone wasn’t unheard of. Even among beast-type monsters, there were plenty that roared right when they’d be “cursing” or “mocking” an enemy.
But if she tried to dismiss it that way, the lich’s screams still felt oddly off.
‘At first I didn’t notice, but now that I keep hearing it… it feels like something is layered on top.’
A faint, static-like noise began to register over the lich’s scream.
She’d need to listen longer to be sure it wasn’t her imagination, but Hyeonseong felt the odds were high that she wasn’t imagining it.
‘Liches are normally a species that can communicate. If it can only scream like that, something is wrong—no matter what it is.’
Her grip on the pickaxe tightened.
Kyahahahahahaha……!
Blocked by the others, the lich raised its staff high.
At the same time, dark crimson energy gathered into it—signs of a phase change.
Ppeok!
Jjaeaeng—!
Rushed attacks struck the lich’s body and the blood jade. Still, there was no damage worth calling a scratch.
Huuuk—
The lich swung its staff, ignoring the incoming attacks. Cold air spread through the chamber, just like when it had first summoned ghosts.
‘Isn’t it disgusting that its casting doesn’t get interrupted even when it’s being hit?’
Her teeth ground on their own, but there was no immediate way to stop it. Hyeonseong scanned the area with tense eyes.
Kikik…….
Hihit……!
Along with the ominous air, the ghosts’ voices returned like before—but the feel of the sound had changed.
‘It feels… crazier. Closer to a Grudge Wraith.’
The signs of summoning rising all around were different too. Before, they had been pale; now, they were dark red.
Uuuhh……. Uhi?
Even the ghosts that hadn’t vanished yet began to change. The dark crimson energy wrapped around their bodies dispersed, and their wails shifted.
‘Is it summoning them as Grudge Wraiths this time?’
“Get over here!”
As if they had predicted it, the others gave up pressing the lich and gathered around Hyeonseong. Soon, she was surrounded like she was being protected.
Kkyahahahahahaha!
Kihihit!
Then the summoning completed. The moment it finished, most of the Grudge Wraiths charged straight at Hyeonseong.
Kihihihit!
Aaaak!
Kigigik……. Geureuk…….
Some of the A-rank Grudge Wraiths rushed at the lich instead. But they were suppressed instantly by the lich’s shout. Dark crimson energy wrapped around the ghosts that had tried to rebel.
Uuh…… kihihihihi!
A beat later, the ghost that had been suppressed also charged at Hyeonseong.
“What do I do? Do I put it away?”
Hyeonseong asked again.
“No. Keep holding it as-is, for now.”
Once again, the answer came from Kwon Seojin—confident as ever.
“If you keep it out, it feels like they’ll keep rampaging like that.”
“Still, you have to keep it. It’s the only thing we’ve gotten a reaction from.”
Seojin replied just as firmly to Hyeonseong’s follow-up.
‘He’s not wrong, but…’
“Damn it—no matter how I look at it, that bastard feels like it’s cheating…!”
One of the people holding formation against the Grudge Wraith pack muttered irritably.
“Isn’t there a problem with the level assessment?”
“How is this even A-rank—”
As soon as a few people complained, a message appeared.
“What kind of nonsense—!”
Of course, a single line wasn’t going to erase their doubts. A few flared up again, but the Interstellar Network’s notice didn’t change.
‘…Still, they’ve never messed with dungeon or monster ranks before.’
Hyeonseong was just as annoyed by the message, but since the Interstellar Network appeared, she had never heard of rank assessments being wrong.
‘Anyway, it means this can be solved just by holding it.’
She stopped wasting energy on irritation and focused on finding a way to bring the lich down.
‘Come to think of it… didn’t that change color a bit?’
Once she calmed down, she noticed a new change. The blood jade embedded in the lich’s chest looked slightly duller.
‘It was already a murky blood-red, so it’s not super obvious, but…’
Still, a change was a change. One possibility came to mind.
‘Does that mean the power it can draw from the blood jade isn’t infinite?’
When an item’s color faded, it meant it was worn down or depleted. There was no reason blood jade would be an exception.
‘So if we can endure, we can deal real damage… if we endure.’
Ihihihihit…!
Hwarureuk!
Ppeobeobeong!
KkyaaaAAaak!
Ghostly shrieks and explosions echoed in all directions. The moment one Grudge Wraith vanished, a new one filled the gap.
Kikiki…!
“Tch…!”
“Hold them back!”
And every time the lich’s cry rang out, black-magic-type attacks fell over the party’s heads. Sometimes buffs were applied to the Grudge Wraiths as well.
They weren’t being pushed back yet, but it wasn’t a situation where anyone could be confident they could hold out for long.
‘The lich itself… if we just drag this out, it feels like it’ll run out of steam on its own…’
It was commanding a unit of Grudge Wraiths at this scale while still using attack skills. Its energy had to be burning away at a ferocious rate.
‘The Grudge Wraiths are the problem. Even if we bind and clear them in groups, the refill speed doesn’t slow down.’
And from the start, their target was crystal-clear. That meant the number they could lure and bind together was limited.
‘If only we had something to pull their attention…’
Kihihihihihi!
But Hyeonseong had no immediate sense of how to redirect the attention of enemies charging only at her.
‘The thing they react to most is definitely the holy relic, but…’
Kkiyaaak!
Several Grudge Wraiths bound by a holy skill were split apart by the sword aura Ivan launched in a broad arc.
‘But I can’t just throw the relic away. If it ends up in a monster’s hands, who knows what happens.
…Wait. Throw something?’
That idle thought sparked another idea. Hyeonseong checked her item list again.
This time, she looked for coins and gems she still hadn’t found a good use for.
‘If those Grudge Wraiths were residents here, they must’ve been squeezed dry by that lord bastard.’
Sure, their biggest grudge seemed tied to the relic. But if they lived being extorted and died that way, maybe they’d still be drawn—at least for a moment—to valuables.
‘Nothing to lose.’
As a test, Hyeonseong pulled out a single gold coin and threw it with all her strength toward the direction where the Grudge Wraiths were thickest.
Kihit…?
A few Grudge Wraiths’ gazes tracked the flying gold coin.
“…!”
“Now!”
The Baengnyeong Forest people reacted instantly in the brief moment the ghosts were distracted.
Wind spirits immediately dragged the distracted Grudge Wraiths into one spot. Then multiple streaks of white frost flew into the gathered pack.
Ppeobeobeong!
KkyaaaAAaak!
‘Good—so it works.’
In battle, even a split-second distraction always has lethal consequences.
In that sense, a single gold coin had done its job perfectly.
‘So there’s still some grudge tied to wealth as well.’
Undead were a race bound to the grudges they carried in life. Those grudges were, in a sense, instinct.
Meaning: even with strong self-awareness, if something was tied to their grudge, they couldn’t completely ignore it.
“If you need me to pull their eyes off, tell me.”
Hyeonseong shouted as she pulled out a handful of gold and silver coins and gemstones from Infinite Corridor.
Those who had seen what just happened directed her toward where the Grudge Wraiths’ attention needed to be disrupted. Hyeonseong threw the coins and gems in the requested directions.
Hihit….
Kkihihi?
Each time coins and gems flew, the Grudge Wraiths’ gazes flicked back for a moment. Weaker individuals even tried to chase after the valuables.
It was only for an instant—but it was enough of an opening for allies to pour in attacks.
‘If I’d realized this on the way down… no. Actually, if I had, I might’ve run short of things to use here.’
After glancing at the Constellations’ chatter, Hyeonseong threw a few more coins. Some of the thrown coins were visibly tainted as they passed through a Grudge Wraith’s hand.
Valuables tainted by undead miasma wouldn’t be able to stir their grudges anymore.
So there was no point regretting that she’d learned this method late.
‘And that thing looks even more drained than before.’
With the speed of clearing Grudge Wraiths improving, it became easier to check the lich again. Hyeonseong examined the state of the blood jade.
It was duller than before. That likely meant it had wasted a lot of power in the meantime.
‘…Come to think of it, something like that should be vulnerable to the Fire of Judgment.’
After tossing another gem where help was needed, she opened the item list again—
this time to the compartment where the Fire of Judgment was stored.
‘If the clues we gathered are right, that bastard’s karma can’t be ordinary. It should work properly…’
But Hyeonseong couldn’t easily be confident in its power.
Ever since obtaining the item, she had tested it a few times, and not once had it paid off as much as she’d hoped.
‘The problem is I can’t figure out what the hell its “karma standard” is.’
Even against targets she thought would have heavy karma, the output never reached what she expected. Sure, it hit harder than against targets judged to have no burnable karma, but still.
‘Even so, I should try. Even if I use some, I can refill it afterward.’
Fire of Judgment was still fire. Even objects that didn’t receive a karma judgment could be consumed as fuel to bulk it up.
That was why, whenever Hyeonseong picked up useless junk, she tossed it into the compartment holding the Fire of Judgment. That was how one compartment of Infinite Corridor had turned into a vast sea of flames.
‘I should ask first.’
If she attacked the lich rashly and something went wrong, it could get ugly. Better to get the others’ take.
“We’ve cleared the Grudge Wraiths a bit—shouldn’t we take a swing at that thing now?”
Hyeonseong asked while throwing the last few coins and gems in her hand toward the direction where Grudge Wraiths were clustered.
“How, exactly?”
Anna asked while erasing a Grudge Wraith whose gaze had been stolen by a flying gem.
“I’m thinking of using the Fire of Judgment again.”
“That thing from earlier?”
Someone else asked in a puzzled tone at Hyeonseong’s answer.
Ihihihihi…!
Kwaaang!
“Other monsters aside, that lich has committed more than one or two sins, hasn’t it?”
Hyeonseong replied, letting the wails and explosions wash past her.
“If there’s something we can try, we should try it.”
“Besides, the only one who can directly attack that thing right now is Hyeonseong anyway…”
“Then do it.”
Amid the voices of agreement, Ivan’s stiff voice cut in. Hyeonseong expected him to be prickly again, but surprisingly, he agreed without much fuss.
“…Alright. Then I’m taking that as everyone being okay with it. It might make that thing go berserk as a side effect, so stay ready.”
Hyeonseong’s gaze locked onto the lich. The others were still fighting the Grudge Wraiths, but their posture shifted to something more defensive than before—ready in case the lich or the ghosts erupted.
‘That thing’s been standing there the whole time, too.’
Since the mass summoning began, the lich had not moved once. If it had given them the slightest gap, it would have been focused down immediately.
‘Then let’s try.’
The entrance of Infinite Corridor was set above the lich’s head. Space split open overhead, and a mass of fire dropped down.
Krrrk…?
Startled by the fireball that suddenly fell, the lich let out a confused cry. At least setting it on fire succeeded cleanly.
‘Now the real question is what happens next.’
The karma judgment began.
Reading Settings
