Chapter 332 – Part 2 – Ghost City

‘Look at these guys?’

Choi Seong-min, who had been listening while hidden with stealth, made an incredulous expression.

‘They deceived me?’

He had discovered the criminal organization’s mark and entered through the window just in case, and sure enough.

‘So it was a criminal organization? Both of them?’

Choi Seong-min had clearly heard it.

The words “our organization” coming from Do Eun-jeong’s mouth.

‘So they weren’t father and daughter, but both members of the same organization.’

Listening to the conversation, it wasn’t difficult to understand the situation.

‘They wanted to recruit me into the organization, so they invited me to their house under the pretext of treating me to a meal. Then they acted as father and daughter while observing whether I was suitable as a member of the organization.’

It was a kind of interview.

A secret interview that the subject didn’t know about.

‘I’m beyond incredulous – I’m angry.’

Now that he knew the truth, a sense of betrayal washed over him like a tide.

‘Is this why she kept contacting me so persistently?’

Her persistent contact behavior finally made sense now.

‘I was a fool to think she had a personality that couldn’t live with debt.’

He had thought there seemed to be some purpose, but it was a more sinister purpose than he’d imagined.

‘She must have liked me and recommended me to the organization, but not a chance.’

Now that he knew it was a criminal organization, Choi Seong-min had no reason to get involved with them.

Most importantly, since it couldn’t be seen as deception with good intentions, his feelings had turned cold.

[Remaining time: 20 seconds]

Checking the system, it was almost time for stealth to end.

‘Should I reveal myself now and make them pay the price for deceiving me?’

His deliberation wasn’t long.

Choi Seong-min turned his body toward the window.

Even though their intentions weren’t good, they hadn’t actually harmed him, so he decided to let it slide.

From the conversation, it seemed he had failed the interview anyway…

‘They probably won’t bother me anymore.’

It wasn’t because of any trivial feelings.

He didn’t want to make things bigger.

‘Whether it’s a criminal organization or whatever, it has nothing to do with me. If I just pretend not to know and pass by, there won’t be any entanglement.’

Rather, since he had grasped their purpose and identity, Choi Seong-min was the one holding their weakness.

‘If they continue to bother me or cross the line…’

Then he could make them pay the appropriate price.

* * *

Choi Seong-min, who had left Do Eun-jeong’s house, looked up at the sky.

It was a perfect full moon.

It was time to enter Ghost City.

‘Originally I wanted to enter Ghost Island, but they said it doesn’t exist…’

In the previous dimension, Choi Seong-min had defeated the named boss of Ghost Island and obtained a ghost mask.

‘I used it quite usefully.’

Having used it, the utility of the ghost mask that could change faces was tremendous.

It could be considered essential for Choi Seong-min, who was an assassin.

‘That’s why I asked God to tell me the location of Ghost Island…’

But what do you know.

There was no Ghost Island in this dimension.

Ghost Island was apparently a dungeon created in the God version to begin with.

So it didn’t exist here in the old version.

‘Instead, there’s Ghost City.’

The same B-rank hidden dungeon, Ghost City, was said to have an item that could replace the ghost mask.

‘There are conditions, but it’s a better item.’

The item’s name was Doppelganger’s Mask.

It was an upgraded version of the ghost mask, an item you could get by defeating the boss, Doppelganger.

However, defeating the Doppelganger wasn’t easy…

‘More precisely, it was hard to find.’

Like finding a needle in a desert, finding the Doppelganger was the problem to begin with.

‘That’s only a problem when you don’t know the strategy.’

For Choi Seong-min, who had already learned the strategy from God, there would be no problem.

‘Go to Ghost City, defeat the Doppelganger, and obtain the mask.’

Having set his goal, Choi Seong-min headed to the parking lot in front of his house.

After getting in his sports car, he sent a text to his mother.

[Choi Seong-min: I’ll be late today because of hunting. Don’t wait for me.]

[Jeong Hee-seon: Okay, I understand. Be careful.]

Vroooooom-

Making a loud noise, he drove through the night streets.

Passing through the city and entering a quiet countryside.

Choi Seong-min parked his car in a rural village and climbed a mountain path.

Then he suddenly stopped walking.

‘Here it is.’

There was a tree with strangely twisted branches.

The portal was hidden in this place.

As he approached, sure enough, a message appeared.

[Ghost City (Hidden)]

-Difficulty: B

-Personnel Limit: 1 person

-Entry Restriction: B-rank or higher

-Conquest Goal: None

-Failure Penalty: None

-Time Limit: 6 hours

-Dungeon Break Possibility: None

-Remaining Entry Count: 1

‘To think a hidden dungeon that can only be discovered on full moon nights would be in such a mountain…’

No wonder it couldn’t be discovered.

‘The entry count is 1, so that’s good. I don’t have to worry about other guys interfering.’

Anyway, the boss Doppelganger was a named monster.

It was a unique entity, so whoever killed it first would be the owner.

‘Then shall I go kill the boss?’

As he threw his body into the generated portal, Choi Seong-min’s figure disappeared without a trace.

* * *

A cool wind brushed past his skin.

Chills.

That was the sensation Choi Seong-min felt as soon as he entered the dungeon.

‘Even though I have the Intermediate Resistance trait, my body is shivering.’

He had a trait that increased resistance by 15%, but it couldn’t completely block the cold.

‘Well, it’s not cold enough to eat away at my stamina.’

Like wearing short sleeves in the middle of winter?

It was cold, but not enough to affect his movements.

Crossing a bridge filled with fog, hazy buildings came into Choi Seong-min’s view.

‘That’s Ghost City.’

Approaching closer, he could see modern buildings densely lined up.

‘A city inside a dungeon. They made all sorts of things.’

He had only heard explanations from God, but this was his first time seeing it directly.

‘It’s a gloomy city.’

Perhaps due to the cold temperature and hazy fog, the city’s atmosphere looked desolate and lonely.

‘The name Ghost City is perfect.’

That didn’t mean there were no people around.

There were people walking around the streets.

‘Just what I can see, six people.’

Considering that visibility was narrowed due to the fog, there might be more behind.

Armed Choi Seong-min gripped his dagger and approached the nearest person.

When he approached within five steps, the man who sensed a presence looked this way.

“Hello? The weather is really cold…”

Slice-

After closing the distance, he cut his throat.

“Kyaaaak!”

A woman who witnessed the blood fountain screamed.

Swoosh-

He immediately approached with Shadow Step, pulled her forehead back, and.

Slice-

Cut her throat from behind.

“C-crazy bastard! It’s random murder!”

Thunk-

After quietly silencing another witness with dagger throw, he used Sprint skill to stab and kill the remaining three people.

He had murdered six people in an instant, but.

‘Can this be called murder?’

They weren’t human.

‘They’re ghosts possessing human bodies.’

You could tell by seeing the corpses disappear like smoke.

They were definitely monsters.

‘From the beginning, having people in a 1-person dungeon doesn’t make sense, right?’

Since it was a 1-person dungeon, it was safe to consider everything except himself as monsters.

‘Their stamina is weak like ordinary people, but you must never underestimate them. If you get caught by their mental magic, it’s over.’

Ghosts parasitizing human bodies use mental magic to bewitch hunters or make them unable to resist.

Then they suck out life force to maintain the host bodies they’ve taken.

‘It was good that I killed them before they could respond, but if I had hesitated, I would have been the one to suffer.’

In his previous life, he was immune due to his strong mental traits, but now he didn’t have any notable traits.

He had no means to resist mental magic.

‘Probably any other hunter would have been helplessly caught.’

Who knows, maybe they would have hesitated because of the human appearance and gotten caught?

Cutting monsters and cutting people are worlds apart.

‘I’m used to it since I’ve killed hundreds of people.’

Choi Seong-min, whose emotions had dulled from repeated murders, massacred the humans he encountered with an indifferent face.

Thunk-

“Kyaaaak!”

“Murderer! Murderer!”

Thunk thunk-

“P-please spare me!”

“Kyaaaak!”

He killed indiscriminately regardless of age or gender with a poker face.

‘Those things are not human. They’re monsters wearing human masks.’

No matter how much their essence was monsters, their appearance was undeniably human.

An ordinary hunter would have gone crazy, but Choi Seong-min’s mind was clearer than ever.

That’s when it happened.

[You have obtained a Choice Rune.]

[Please specify which rune you want among Strength, Health, Agility, and Magic Power.]

As if proving that their true identity was monsters, a rune came in.

‘I can choose one? Agility.’

If he had to choose, it was naturally agility.

[You have obtained an Agility Rune.]

[Rune Affinity trait activates.]

[Agility Rune effect enhanced to Agility +2.]

‘I can choose the rune I want… That’s good? I should do some grinding later if I have time left after killing the boss.’

Once he killed the Doppelganger and obtained the mask, his purpose for entering this place would be achieved.

He thought he should do some rune work during the remaining time.

‘The problem is that finding the Doppelganger isn’t easy.’

Killing the boss wasn’t the problem.

Finding the boss was the problem to begin with.

‘God said there are countless humans in the dungeon. One of them is the Doppelganger.’

It’s not for nothing that it’s compared to finding a needle in a desert.

It was nearly impossible to accidentally encounter the Doppelganger within a limited time in a vast downtown area.

‘It doesn’t easily reveal itself. It hides among humans.’

As a result, most hunters probably don’t even know of the boss’s existence.

‘Most probably don’t even know such a dungeon exists…’

Anyway, Choi Seong-min had heard the strategy from God.

The method to easily find the Doppelganger.

‘He said if I go straight for about 30 minutes while killing humans, I’ll see some bar…’

While advancing while observing the surroundings, killing every human in sight, a sign caught Choi Seong-min’s attention.

It was a sign written “BAR” in pink.

‘That’s it. The pink neon sign.’

While all the signs hanging on buildings were LED, only that sign was made with a crude neon sign.

Creak-

Without hesitation, he entered the bar, and what do you know.

‘Why are there so many ghosts?’

At least twenty humans were all looking at Choi Seong-min at once.

“I have to kill them all.”

Choi Seong-min, who had been grinning, threw his dagger without delay.

Thunk-

“Kyaaaak!”

“Killed one.”

Using Sprint skill, he rushed forward and instantly cut the throats of three people.

[Fierce Attack buff stack: 10/10]

[Attack speed increased by 200%.]

[Remaining time: 59 seconds]

Thunk thunk-

Thunk thunk thunk-

Like a wolf among a flock of sheep, he moved here and there stabbing with his dagger.

“Wh-what! That bastard!”

“K-kill him!”

Perhaps because of the gangster setting, several men pulled out sashimi knives, but.

Slice- Swish-

He immediately cut their throats, turned around to stab an eyeball, tilted his head back to avoid a sashimi knife, stabbed a thigh, then appeared from behind again with Shadow Step.

With truly overwhelming skill, he was running rampant, leaving no time to respond.

“Kheureok…”

Thud-

As a man with a dagger stuck in the back of his head fell face-first into a pool of blood.

“Uh, uuuuah…”

There was no one standing except the terrified bartender.

“Hey.”

“Hiik!”

As Choi Seong-min approached, the bartender trembled like an aspen tree and bowed his head.

“P-please spare me. P-please, just my life…”

Choi Seong-min felt unpleasant at the sight of the ghost begging for its life.

‘A ghost imitating humans.’

He was annoyed, but he couldn’t kill it yet.

“Want to live?”

“Yes? Yes!”

“Then guide me. To the treasure vault.”

He needed an item that would help him find the Doppelganger.