Chapter 52 – Collecting Gems

A ghost appeared before his eyes.

It was a semi-transparent ghost in human form.

Notable points were that it was floating in mid-air with bloodshot eyes.

Hihihihi-

The eerie wail was spine-chilling just to hear, but Min Do-jun looked at the information window that appeared with his weakness detection without any particular reaction.

[Bloodshot Eye Ghost]

– Description: A low-level ghost that appears only on Ghost Island. Physical attacks are ineffective.

– Combat Method: Terrify with a ghostly wail, then attack with raised fingernails.

– Weakness: Magic, head

He roughly glanced at the information.

Although it was a monster he was seeing for the first time, he knew how to deal with it.

‘Monsters on Ghost Island are immune to physical damage.’

That’s why it was a place easy for mages to attack, but Min Do-jun was not inferior.

‘My magic power is over 1,100.’

Since the early stages, he had practically maxed out his magic power, so he had specs comparable to a mage.

And one who could handle magic freely.

Hwaaak!

A fire blast flew in a straight line towards the ghost.

[First Strike Effect is applied.]

Thanks to the characteristic that increases damage by 2x during a preemptive attack, the flame’s power was stronger than usual.

Moreover, with the 20% stat increase bonus and the achievement of dealing 10% additional damage to B-grade monsters, its power was beyond words.

Pueoong!

The incorporeal ghost disappeared like smoke, hit by the magic.

Min Do-jun couldn’t hide his surprise at the sight.

‘Did it die in one hit?’

Seeing the experience points come in, it was definitely dead.

[Experience +10,800]

‘That’s quite a lot of experience.’

Although he was enjoying a 3x experience amplification effect, it was a significant amount compared to how easily it was defeated.

‘Am I getting too strong?’

He seemed to be benefiting greatly from the First Strike characteristic.

Hihihihi!

Hearing the loud sound, another ghost appeared.

‘Alright, this time you’ll face it.’

[Woong!]

The ghost wolf stepped forward confidently.

Min Do-jun crossed his arms and watched from behind.

His reason for making the ghost wolf fight was not without purpose.

‘I heard ghosts can attack other ghosts, so I want to confirm this.’

While physical damage wouldn’t work on ghosts, he had heard that ghosts could damage each other, so he wanted to test it.

[Grrrr!]

As the ghost wolf bared its teeth threateningly, the ghost’s gaze turned towards the wolf.

‘Can ghosts see each other?’

At that moment, the wolf charged and took the first strike.

[Kwang!]

Despite being a physical attack, biting left a wound on the ghost’s body.

The statement that ghosts can attack ghosts was proven true.

Hihihi!

The ghost, not wanting to lose, attacked with its fingernails.

A fierce offense and defense unfolded with neither side giving an inch.

‘Hmm.’

Min Do-jun let out a small exclamation.

‘Is it because it’s on par with Aou?’

Aou’s current level is 750, with strength approaching 400.

Definitely not a level to be ignored.

But the ghost was also formidable, and Aou was struggling quite a bit.

‘Should I try using this here?’

Min Do-jun checked Aou’s skill list.

[Skill – Fierce Attack]

– Description: Attack speed and movement speed increase 2x for 15 seconds.

Although he had only used tracking skills so far, Aou also had attack skills.

‘Although it’s a buff type.’

Min Do-jun decided to try Aou’s second skill.

‘Aou, use Fierce Attack skill.’

[Grrrr!]

The ghost wolf’s eyes turned bright red, and its movements visibly accelerated.

Swish- Whik- Whik!

With agile movements, not only did it dodge the ghost’s fingernails, but it also repeatedly bit with incredible speed.

Zzak- Zzak-!

Beaten by the fierce attack, the ghost was reduced to a rag and eventually scattered.

[Experience +10,800]

‘If we use Fierce Attack from the start, we could win in an instant.’

The ghost wolf also realized it could be helpful in combat.

Min Do-jun continued walking down the forest path.

Hihihihi-!

The deeper he went, the higher the frequency of ghost appearances.

As they rushed towards him with raised fingernails, Min Do-jun responded with flames.

Pueoong!

Hiiik-!

‘Aou, use Fierce Attack and charge!’

With a Fire Blast killing one instantly, the ghost wolf would take care of the rest.

‘You’re fighting quite well?’

Using Fierce Attack, Aou’s agility shone as it could handle three opponents alone.

‘If my summon is fighting so hard, I can’t just stand still.’

Min Do-jun also drew a flame-imbued sword and slashed the ghosts.

His attacks were fundamentally physical damage, but due to the magic infused in the buff, he could deal some damage.

[Experience +10,800]

[Red Gem obtained.]

An item dropped by the Bloodshot Eye Ghost.

Min Do-jun’s eyes sparkled.

[Red Gem]

– Category: Collectible

– Grade: B

– Characteristic: Bound Item

– Description: A gem ghosts might like. Limited to Ghost Island.

‘Finally, it’s here.’

The item he wanted had appeared.

‘If I collect three of these by color, I can summon Clark.’

According to pre-regression information, the gems were catalysts for summoning Clark.

‘If I go east from here, I’ll find different types of ghosts.’

Min Do-jun changed direction to find the next ghost.

As expected, a different type of ghost appeared.

Hiikhikhik!

[Eyeless Ghost]

A terrifyingly shaped ghost with empty holes where eyes should be.

However, this was not enough to scare a veteran hunter who had survived near-death experiences.

Pueoong!

[Experience +13,500]

Similar to the Bloodshot Eye Ghost, it died with one Fire Blast.

‘The experience is slightly higher.’

Min Do-jun began seriously hunting ghosts.

* * *

“Mmm…”

Ryoji opened his eyes an hour after Min Do-jun entered Ghost Island.

“Huk!”

Ryoji jumped up as if burned.

He became aware he was lying in an abandoned hotel.

He then recalled how he ended up lying there.

‘T-the ghost was real!’

He had finally encountered a ghost he’d never seen before.

Not a ghost from a horror movie, but an actual ghost.

“Oooh…”

Just remembering the ghost’s appearance made his entire body shiver.

Having denied the existence of ghosts and now confirming them with his own eyes.

He didn’t want to stay in this eerie place for even a moment.

‘I, I need to leave.’

But when leaving, he must grab his selfie stick.

Ryoji looked around and picked up the selfie stick lying in the hallway.

Naturally assuming the broadcast was on, he spoke:

“I’m sorry, hyungs. I fainted for a moment… Huh?”

For some reason, his phone was turned off.

‘What? The battery can’t be dead already?’

Turning on the phone, he saw the battery was still full.

‘Strange. Did it turn off when I dropped it? Or…’

Did someone turn it off?

A thought suddenly crossed his mind – maybe what he saw wasn’t a ghost.

‘That’s even more terrifying…’

Ryoji stared at the room at the end of the hallway.

‘What could be in that room?’

He could find out if it was a person or a ghost by looking inside.

‘Huh?’

Unlike before, the room’s door was now closed.

‘What’s going on? Could it be an actual person?’

Gathering courage, Ryoji tried to open the door but found it locked.

He felt even more suspicious.

‘Since it’s an old door, I might be able to force it open if I hit it hard…’

After hesitating, Ryoji’s curiosity won, and he decided to open the room.

Kwang-! Kwang!

After kicking a few times, the old door unexpectedly opened easily.

Entering the room, Ryoji.

“Oh?”

Unconsciously spoke aloud.

A portal was shimmering on the ceiling.

* * *

[Black Gem obtained.]

After nearly two hours of hunting Eyeless Ghosts, he got the desired gem.

During that time, he had also leveled up 7 times.

‘Okay. I just need one more.’

Min Do-jun moved towards the sea.

Hit-hit-hit-hit-!

There, ghosts with yellow mucus flowing from their eyes were wandering.

‘Ghosts with yellow mucus.’

Min Do-jun, who knew the name through information, jumped out without hesitation.

Hit-hit-hit!

The ghost raised its fingernails to attack, but he easily dodged and swung his sword.

Pahak! Pahak-!

While he couldn’t feel a cutting sensation because it was a ghost, he definitely felt something being hit.

After several swings, the ghost disappeared.

[Experience +16,200]

Leaving behind experience points.

‘If I catch these and get the yellow gem, I’m done.’

That moment…

Heuk-heuk-heuk-

A sound of sobbing was heard.

It was a different voice from the ghosts he had encountered so far.

‘Could it be?’

Min Do-jun, who knew the strategy, recognized the owner of the voice.

Because of this, he couldn’t hide his smile even while rushing towards the sound.

[Wailing Banshee]

A ghost wearing a flowing white dress was floating in mid-air.

It was the mid-boss of Ghost Island.

‘Finally found you.’

Someone unfamiliar might have thought it was the final boss of Ghost Island, but it was just a common mid-boss.

‘Incomparable to the single entity Clark, but…’

Anyway, as a boss, it would leave substantial rewards.

Min Do-jun, unable to hide his joy, pulled out a skill book from his inventory.

‘I was waiting for the right moment to use this.’

The skill book he took out was none other than Lion’s Roar.

Currently an F-grade skill worth 200,000 won, but in 8 months, it would transform into a 200 million won scam skill.

‘I used this quite effectively to catch big-eared monkeys.’

The time to pull it out again had come.

[Skill slot is full. Would you like to learn this skill by removing one?]

‘Learn. Remove Mana Skin.’

He erased the less combat-useful Mana Skin skill and learned Lion’s Roar.

In fact, he could have removed Invisibility, but it was useful in many ways, so he kept it.

It could be used for survival in truly dangerous situations.

‘Aou, let’s go!’

[Woof!]

Min Do-jun ran with the ghost wolf.

Heuk-heuk?

The crying Banshee turned her head and stopped crying.

A large fireball was flying towards her face.

Pueoong!

Heueueuk!

The Banshee’s head swayed greatly, and Min Do-jun dove underneath.

‘Aou, Fierce Attack!’

[Kwang!]

The ghost wolf attacked the Banshee’s head at incredible speed.

The Banshee attacked with raised hair, but couldn’t catch Aou’s movements.

While Aou distracted the Banshee, Min Do-jun swung his sword from below.

Pahak- Pahak!

Not dealing significant damage, but enough to be annoying.

Heueuk!

The Banshee looked down at Min Do-jun with a deliberately scary expression.

Then.

Kkyaaaaaaak!!!

She let out an enormous, ear-splitting scream.

But when it comes to vocal power, Min Do-jun was no pushover.

“Keu-heo-eo-eong-!!!”

Timing it perfectly, he countered with Lion’s Roar, pushing the ghostly scream back towards the Banshee.

Haaaaaak!

Hit by her own attack, the Banshee wailed and descended from mid-air.

‘Now!’

Min Do-jun landed a Fire Blast again and then swung his sword.

Peoguk! Peoguk! Peoguk-!

Hitting the Banshee’s head, he felt a different impact this time.

Hududuk-

As he struck with his buff-infused sword, her hair fell out, and the Banshee lost strength.

[Wailing Banshee defeated!]

[Experience +162,000]

[Level increased!]

[B-grade Magic Stone obtained!]

[Ghost Step Boots obtained!]

[Gem Selection Right obtained!]

Defeating the mid-boss brought tremendous rewards.

‘The experience points alone are very satisfying.’

But that wasn’t the only thing he liked.

‘Ghost Step Boots?’

Min Do-jun called up the item information.

[Ghost Step Boots]

– Category: Shoes

– Grade: B

– Defense: 4,500

– Effect: Magic +100, Footsteps hidden

– Durability: 10,000/10,000

– Usage Restriction: Level 750 or above (Bound)

– Description: Boots made imitating a ghost’s walk. Good for surprise attacks due to silent steps.

‘I needed boots, and these will be useful.’

If they eliminate footstep sounds, he can approach more stealthily.

Most importantly, he liked that they increase magic power by 100.

‘Now I’ve collected all the gems.’

He was short one gem, but there was no problem.

He had the Gem Selection Right from defeating the Banshee.

Min Do-jun held the Gem Selection Right and said “Use”.

[Which gem would you like to select?]

‘Select yellow gem.’

The Gem Selection Right disappeared, and a yellow gem entered his inventory.

‘Preparations to call Clark are complete.’

The only remaining task was to go to the shrine in the center of Ghost Island and summon Clark.

But he had no intention of calling immediately.

‘There’s plenty of time. No rush.’

He had used 3 hours of the 6-hour dungeon limit.

That meant he still had 3 hours to hunt.

‘I can level up sufficiently and then catch Clark. It won’t be too late.’

Min Do-jun, wearing Ghost Step Boots, began to roam the dungeon.