Su-ho spoke to Choi Yun after she answered the phone.
– Why?
Her tone was blunt.
It was understandable. At one time, Su-ho wished that she would contact him more often, but after he pushed himself too hard while going on gate raids, she had completely gotten tired of him. So, when he contacted her again within just a few days after jokingly telling him not to contact her anymore, her reaction was not surprising.
However, Su-ho didn’t mind at all and replied:
“I need you to find a gate for me.”
– Another gate?
“Is that a problem?”
– No, it's not that... You know why I’m reacting this way, right?
“This time, just one gate.”
– ...Really?
“Yes.”
– Hm, in that case, I can find one for you quickly. But is that really all the conditions?
“Yes, that’s all.”
– Alright. I’ll contact you by tonight if I can find it, or by tomorrow noon at the latest.
“Thank you. By the way, have any of the gates I previously asked about been found?”
– You mean the vampire, poison, and full moon gates?
“Yes.”
– Not yet. I’ll contact you as soon as I find any of those.
“Please, I appreciate it.”
– I’ll look for them along with the new request.
The call ended.
Su-ho nodded and put his phone away. He then activated the Library of Memories after a long time, thinking to himself:
‘Choi Yun will take care of the gate, but the remaining issue is with the person...’
When he saw the newly activated characteristic quest, Su-ho immediately figured out the perfect strategy to complete it.
That's why he had asked Choi Yun for help.
However, to complete the quest, not only the gate but also a suitable person was required.
As Su-ho browsed through the Library of Memories for a while, his gaze stopped at one entry.
‘This person?’
A smile appeared on Su-ho’s face.
He had found someone perfectly suited for the conditions of this quest.
Su-ho organized the person’s details and then immediately started preparing for tracking.
It was Su-ho's car.
Having completed his preparations, Su-ho drove to Gwangju, Gyeonggi-do, specifically to Gonjiam.
He parked his car at the designated address after following the navigation.
The address led him to Shin Daeri in Gonjiam.
This area was classified as a rural town, so there wasn’t much foot traffic, but there was an old landmark that had been famous for a long time.
That landmark was the Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital.
Frequently used as a setting in ghost stories and horror films, the Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital had been demolished for years, but it still attracted visitors as a kind of eerie tourist destination.
However, such visits had become rare now.
The reason was the appearance of a massive gate that had torn the Gonjiam area to shreds long ago.
‘It caused a lot of casualties before it was finally cleared.’
Anyway, the gate had been cleared.
But perhaps because of the huge number of casualties at the time, or because of the aftermath of the Gate Shock that followed, people had started leaving the area.
Now, Gonjiam was almost deserted, with no one to be found.
However, the person Su-ho was looking for was here.
Su-ho reached a point where it seemed impossible for cars to enter anymore, so he got out of the car and began to slowly climb the hill.
The Gonjiam hillside was quiet.
Although birds should have been heard, the area had an eerie atmosphere, with a chill in the air even though it was still before sunset.
Su-ho didn’t mind this at all.
After climbing the hill for a while, he finally found what he had been looking for.
Su-ho smiled as he saw a massive wall in front of him.
The tall wall, reminiscent of a wealthy neighborhood in Seongbuk District, was clearly man-made.
Su-ho walked along the wall, searching for an entrance.
But no matter how much he searched, the entrance was nowhere to be found.
At this point, it was clear there was no entrance.
So, Su-ho simply decided to climb over the wall.
Climbing over wasn’t difficult.
The wall was high, but that didn’t matter.
Like a ninja, Su-ho lightly scaled the wall and finally landed on the other side.
At that moment...
Kugugugu...
The ground trembled slightly, and the sound of dirt crumbling was heard.
It was a faint noise that would be hard to detect unless one was very sensitive, but Su-ho clearly heard it.
Turning his head toward the sound, Su-ho smiled in satisfaction at what he saw.
"I found it."
Emerging from the broken dirt were skeletons.
Upon seeing them, Su-ho used his Blood Weapon to summon his Blood Sword.
“Can you see me with the shared vision? You won't be able to stop me with just these. If you know who I am, just come out quietly.”
But no response came.
Only the skeletons, each holding a weapon, slowly approached Su-ho.
Su-ho rested the Blood Sword on his shoulder and nodded.
Well, he hadn’t expected them to come out so easily.
Anyone hiding in a place like this wouldn’t just appear on the first try.
So, Su-ho decided to force them out.
After speaking, he secured his Blood Sword at his waist and assumed a stance.
[Cloud Cut activated.]
Swoosh!
The Blood Sword swung, creating a red arc.
Simultaneously, every being within the path was split at a sharp angle, showing clean cuts.
[Rising Skeletons defeated.]
[Rising Skeletons defeated.]
[Rising Skeletons defeated.]
[Rising Skeletons defeated.]
...
A flood of notifications filled Su-ho’s view.
Seeing the notifications, Su-ho became more convinced.
The skeletons he had slain were not regular skeletons, but ‘Rising Skeletons.’ These were summoned minions, not monsters provided by the system, but ones summoned by a player.
‘Let’s see how long they last.’
Su-ho swung his sword and moved forward.
*
How much time had passed?
Bang!
Bang—!
Kwang—!!
After Su-ho had climbed over the wall, he started tearing up the area, cutting down skeletons and disabling traps by the hundreds.
Yet, despite all of this, the master of the skeletons never revealed themselves.
‘This is really annoying.’
Normally, if things had escalated to this point, it would be expected for the owner of the skeletons to reveal themselves out of anger.
But the owner remained hidden.
After some time, Su-ho finally discovered what the wall had been guarding.
A mansion.
No, rather, it would be more appropriate to call it a grand mansion.
After advancing for a while, Su-ho found a massive mansion that seemed out of place in the Gonjiam hillside area.
“Guess they’re not called hikikomori for nothing...”
Su-ho shook his head as he stepped into the garden of the mansion. At that moment, skeletons that had been hidden throughout the garden began to reveal themselves.
“Hah, the audacity...”
With a sigh, Su-ho swung his sword.
[Rising Skeleton defeated.]
[Rising Skeleton defeated.]
[Rising Skeleton defeated.]
[Rising Skeleton defeated.]
...
None of the skeletons could stop Su-ho.
After cutting down all the skeletons in his path, he confidently approached the mansion’s large door and opened it.
The interior of the mansion was dark, quiet, and eerie, resembling an abandoned haunted house.
However, the darkness wasn’t much of an obstacle for Su-ho.
[Due to the Original Vampire effect, you are not affected by the limitations of darkness.]
With the effect of his skill, Su-ho’s vision brightened as if it were daylight, and he activated another skill.
[Mana Detection activated.]
By activating his mana senses, Su-ho detected skeletons and traps hidden all over the mansion.
He clicked his tongue.
‘They’ve really made this a hassle.’
He decided to suppress his frustration.
‘Let’s be patient. The only thing I lack right now is time.’
He decided to speed up a bit.
At this point, the one hiding wouldn’t come out anyway. It would be faster to force them out directly.
With that, Su-ho increased his pace and started locating all the mana-detectable targets in the house.
If it was a skeleton, he slashed it. If it was a trap, he destroyed it.
By the time he searched through the first floor and down to the basement, he was almost done with the second floor of the mansion.
‘Only one place left.’
There was only one room remaining.
Located at the farthest corner of the second floor, this room was the most distant from the mansion’s entrance.
Su-ho approached without hesitation and opened the door.
It was a library.
The room, reminiscent of a small library, was filled with books. At the farthest end, there was an intense mana aura emanating from the area.
This must be the mansion’s master.
Su-ho squinted, trying to gauge the height of the energy source.
Then, without any hesitation, he swung his sword.
Swoosh!
The blade struck the bookshelves in the room.
At that moment—
Kugugugu—! Bang!
The bookshelves, slashed at an angle, collapsed, sending a cloud of dust into the air.
Su-ho used his swordwind to blow the dust away.
The room was still dark.
The master of the mansion remained crouched in the shadows, but for Su-ho, unaffected by the darkness, everything was visible.
Su-ho spoke while keeping his distance.
“Gong Da-won, I can see you crouching there. I won’t get any closer. Let’s talk for a moment.”
Gong Da-won.
He was the very reason Su-ho had come to Gonjiam for this characteristic quest.
A level 100 necromancer player, Gong Da-won was someone Su-ho needed for unlocking the Dragon Blood feature as part of his quest.
“...”
However, there was no reply to Su-ho’s question.
Su-ho asked again.
“Gong Da-won?”
“I— I don’t want to...”
“What?”
“I—I don’t want to!!”
Suddenly, Gong Da-won screamed.
At the same time:
[Player Gong Da-won activates Necro Field.]
Kugugugu—!!
Gong Da-won activated Necro Field.
Necro Field was a wide-area skill that, as long as the caster’s mana supported it, continuously summoned undead in a set area. It was a terrifying skill.
As a result:
Shudder, shudder...
The sounds of rattling bones.
In the library, hidden skeleton soldiers began to rise, grabbing their weapons and standing at attention for their master.
Su-ho sighed, placing a hand on his forehead.
“Hah, this is crazy...”
This was why necromancers were so troublesome.
That’s why Su-ho decided it was time to stop playing nice.
He had acted gentlemanly enough. The refusal came from their side.
“I gave you plenty of chances.”
Having made his decision, Su-ho swung his Blood Sword with force.
[Cloud Slash activated.]
Swoosh—!
With one slash, the summoned undead were instantly decimated.
And...
“Gahh!”
Gong Da-won himself was struck by the Cloud Slash, falling forward, bleeding.
[Necro Field is deactivated.]
The Necro Field was dispelled.
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The situation was over.
Of course, Su-ho didn’t kill him.
He had deliberately controlled his strength.
Su-ho approached Gong Da-won, who was lying on the floor and squirming.