CHAPTER 52: CHAPTER 52: GHOST GENERAL, DOMINATING THE GHOST HUNT

Teeth Embrace!

The ghost general lunged forward, jaws wide, trying to devour Stark whole.

Its massive teeth clamped down, but all it met was Stark’s [Invincible Magic Barrier].

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The sound of those sharp teeth scraping uselessly against the barrier echoed in the night air.

It tried again, harder, biting with the jagged rows lining its arms and its head, but nothing worked.

The barrier held firm, not even a scratch showing.

"..."

The ghost general paused, its empty eyes staring at Stark for a few seconds as if it couldn’t understand why its attack failed.

That brief pause was all Stark needed.

Fire Meteor! Storm of Lightning! Vines of Fate! Plague Crystals!

The staff in his hands pulsed with power.

-93,375! -49,800! -87,300! -15,000! -6,000! -6,000!

The entire battlefield lit up in crimson fire and blue lightning.

The ghost’s teeth cracked, one after another, until the entire monster collapsed.

Its body dissolved into white wisps, fading into nothing.

Ding!

[You have gained 5 Evolution Points!]

[You have gained 47 Lives!]

[You have gained 50 Event Points.]

"Damn."

Fifty event points from a single ghost.

That was more than most players would earn in an hour.

Since this was a unique boss, nobody else would ever fight it. The points were his alone.

’There must be other bosses,’ Stark thought, tightening his grip on the staff. ’And if that’s true, I’m going to hunt them all.’

Even though he was already miles ahead of the competition, he refused to slow down.

He wanted to widen the gap so much that nobody could even dream of catching up.

He kept walking along the edge of the city, the only place where the strongest ghosts spawned.

Every few minutes, new figures appeared in the fog, and Stark destroyed them without hesitation.

To him, this event was simple.

But to most players...

"God damn it, why are there so many?!"

"These things don’t stop spawning!"

"And there’s types too, I can’t even memorize which does what!"

"Get good."

"Didn’t you die 3 times already?"

The ruined city was filled with chaos.

Dozens of players were shouting, fighting, and dying all across the streets.

Some ghosts wailed from rooftops, others floated silently through alleys, and some charged like beasts.

Every time one fell, another took its place.

Players were dropping like flies.

Many gave up entirely, deciding it wasn’t worth the effort.

Some swore to wait the event out, saying they’d return when it was over.

What they didn’t realize was simple: leaving an event meant losing rewards.

Even if you didn’t reach the top, participation was essential!

Skipping it entirely meant falling behind.

The [Ghost Hunt] was designed to be short, lasting only half a day, but brutal enough to thin the weak out.

[Eternal Soul] was like that. Harsh, punishing, but fair in its own twisted way.

Ranks, types, levels, it explained everything, never enough to make you safe, but just enough to make you think survival was possible.

As more mechanics were introduced, it would make sure to at least give the bare minimum of information.

And then, of course, you died anyway.

...

Elsewhere...

"Can’t you kill them faster? At this rate, we’re not even staying in the top ten!"

"Maybe if you healed faster, I would!"

Max and Seren argued as they fought through a cluster of ghosts.

Despite the bickering, they were holding steady at eighth place.

Not great for them, but not terrible either.

They knew they had no chance of catching the top three, those monsters already had more than 500 points each.

Still, even just making it into the top ten meant solid rewards.

They had agreed that Max would handle all the damage while Seren focused on support.

It was the only way to guarantee points, since the system rewarded the player who dealt the most damage.

But after hours of grinding, they were still far behind.

"God damn it," Max groaned, slashing down another ghost. "What the hell is wrong with the top players in this game? Do they even sleep?!"

"I mean, we’re level 25," Seren said, tilting her head. "Shouldn’t that put us on equal ground?"

Max scoffed. "Equal ground? Look at the leaderboard. Oblivion’s at the top again. That fucker."

Their resentment had only grown stronger since their last encounters.

They hated him not just for rejecting their party invites or killing them, but because his name always shone on top of the rankings.

Every time they looked up, there it was: [Oblivion].

Seren cast [Divine Shield] on Max, then asked, "What do you think Stark’s doing? Haven’t seen his name anywhere."

"I said it once and I’ll say it again, he’s either already dead, in the novice towns, or just abandoned the game," Max laughed.

"Hm..." Seren scratched her chin, unconvinced, but let it go, "You’re probably right."

In truth, their leveling speed had surpassed the one from their past life.

They were playing longer hours this time, desperate to stay competitive.

But even so, the gap between them and the best players only grew larger.

Then—

Ding!

[Six hours have passed since the start of the event.]

...

Back to Stark.

He paused when the system message appeared, expression calm.

He had been waiting for this exact moment.

[A "Special Zone" has been opened in the "Outskirts"]

[Clear it to gain many Event Points!]

"Hm."

Halfway through the event, and now the real challenge began.

’Special zone, huh?’ Stark thought. ’Could it be the [Church Sanctuary]?’

He’d been searching for that exact place for days, carrying the key in his inventory.

If the [Church Sanctuary] was tied to the Ghost Hunt, then this was his one chance.

Without hesitation, Stark moved.

Special zones didn’t last forever.

Just like unique bosses, they disappeared when their time was up.

With only six hours left in the event, this one would vanish when the clock hit zero.

He spent nearly an hour scouring the outskirts, but didn’t find anything.

Of course, he didn’t waste time either.

Every ghost he saw fell to his spells, keeping his position at the top locked in place.

’I’m either the worst at finding things... or just unlucky.’

But right at that moment...

Ding!

[Player "Starfall" has sent you a private message!]

"Hm?"

[Starfall: Me and Ghost found the special zone, and we thought it would be good to tell you where it is!]

"Oh."

Stark was pleasantly surprised, but then his expression hardened.

Grace was kind enough to share something like this, she had done the same with the [City Sewers].

But Ghost? That was surprising. Did she actually agree with this?

Either way, Stark wasn’t going to waste the opportunity.

[Oblivion: Tell me where it is, and I’ll try to reward you...]

[Starfall: (;° ロ°)?]

[Oblivion: ...With an item.]

[Starfall: Ohhh, alright, I’ll try to look for landmarks.]

It took her about thirty minutes, but eventually Stark pieced together the location from her hints.

When he finally arrived, he saw Ghost slashing through a cluster of enemies while Grace waved at him with a smile.

"Finally," she sighed. "It took a while."

"It’s fine," Stark said, nodding once.

Ahead of them, the street glowed with an eerie blue light.

The lanterns burned with unnatural flames, and at the end of the road stood a massive white door.

Different from the rest of the city. Different from everything else.

Stark walked closer.

Ding!

[You are about to enter a dangerous level 25 special zone: "Tomb of Resentment"]

[Countdown: 4 hours 27 minutes 39 seconds]