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The Ghost of Illusion!

His name was unknown, but his skills of Mind Control and Hallucination were renowned.

He employed them to slaughter his party members after clearing a Gate, monopolizing the rewards.

Even the hunters who survived their confrontation with him couldn't recall precisely what he had done.

The most disturbing part was that most of the hunters who survived were young female hunters, and the Ghost of Illusion didn't hesitate to express his depraved and perverted desires, using them as his 'playthings.'

Those women were later abandoned and ended up going insane...

Judging from how Seol-ah suffered from the abnormal conditions attacking the gate, it seemed that she was that bastard's target this time.

Choi Yoo-hwan's atrocities were known by the special forces under the Hunter Management Bureau, who had pursued him during the Third Cataclysm, but he had already vanished.

His identity remained a secret until the end, so I didn't think that Choi Yoo-hwan and the Ghost of Illusion were the same person.

However, with my Insight skill at its maximum level, I could surmise that Choi Yoo-hwan and the Ghost of Illusion were one and the same based on his skills.

'Lust' for Woo Seol-ah was displayed on his status window.

After hearing my explanation, Lee Seong-jin and Yoo So-eun’s faces suddenly darkened.

I couldn't explain everything, so I kept it brief. Since they had directly experienced Choi Yoo-hwan's betrayal, they easily agreed.

Lee Seong-jin couldn't contain his rage at the thought of being betrayed by someone he had recruited for the guild.

"I-Is that true?"

"Ugh… I-I'm sorry."

He acknowledged it as the truth and sat down before he could collapse.

"Because of a bastard like this, Seong-ho is..."

His tears fell to the ground.

Unfortunately, Kim Seong-ho's death could not be undone.

I gazed upon Choi Yoo-hwan, writhing in agony on the ground.

His body was a mangled mess; his limbs were twisted and contorted, and his face was so swollen it was unrecognizable.

"I-I'm sorry... ugh!"

"Quiet!"

I knocked out a few of his teeth to silence him.

"Uuugh... I'm sowy."

"Shall we stop now?"

Seeing the evil smile on my face, Yoo-hwan nodded vigorously, his expression one of terror.

"Okay."

"T-Twank you..."

Swoosh-

Choi Yoo-hwan's head shot up into the air with a fountain of blood.

"Thank you, my ass!"

"M-Mr. Byeong-gi! You didn't have to kill him, did you?"

When I suddenly decapitated Choi Yoo-hwan, Yoo So-eun was taken aback. However, Seong-jin calmly looked down at his lifeless body.

"He was the one who tried to take our lives."

As I spoke, wiping the blood from my sword onto his corpse, she wore a contemplative expression.

[You plucked out the buds that would become evil. But didn't Seol-ah continue to live as a hunter after this?]

'It was likely due to Choi Yoo-hwan's persuasive abilities. Seol-ah was misguided in her affections for him. He must have taken advantage of that to fulfill his greed... and it was only after he vanished and her aberrant state abated that she realized what he had done.'

[And that explains why she hated men?]

'I'm only speculating, but that's probably why.'

[Oh, you've suddenly become smarter!]

'...He was too sure of himself and his level. He was much easier to deal with than I expected.'

[Right. Don't be like him.]

'I'll keep that in mind.'

"Um… Mr. Byeong-gi?"

"Yes?"

"What are you thinking about?"

"It's nothing. I think we should be more focused on Seol-ah."

Although Choi Yoo-hwan had passed away, Woo Seol-ah's condition hadn't improved. She was groaning incessantly after being knocked out by my attack.

With Choi Yoo-hwan's death, her mental shackles were lifted, but fear and confusion still lingered in her status window.

That had to be a side effect of his skill.

[It's like being trapped in an illusion.]

'It sounds like you know a way to help.'

[It's worth a shot.]

The method the Heavenly Demon proposed was to enter Seol-ah's consciousness directly through her perineum.

'Is that possible?'

[I can't guarantee it, but there's nothing else we can do. If we leave her as she is, her spirit will be destroyed.]

'This is embarrassing! Why does it have to be the perineum?'

[Because only through that place can you easily connect to the energy center. There is also a way to access Seol-ah's mental world through her brain, but...]

"Umm, are you going to say it's difficult because I don't have enough inner power?"

[That's right. After making an energy center with your and Seol-ah's magic power, I plan to open the blood vessels and move to her brain to enter her mental world.]

'…I guess I have no choice, then.'

The perineum was a sensitive area. But for now, we had to focus on saving her first. I had to do as the Heavenly Demon said.

[First, raise this child's knees and lay her flat, place your hand on the perineum, and prepare to use the Heavenly Demon’s Origin Arts.]

'Seriously... this posture is so strange.'

[There is no other way, is it?]

I carefully placed my hand on Seol-ah. As a result, I was put into a terrible predicament.

"What are you doing?!"

"Mr. Byeong-gi!"

Seong-jin and So-eun tried to stop me. Well, in their eyes, my actions must have seemed very strange and suspicious. Nevertheless, I couldn't abandon Seol-ah in this state, so I employed my energy to overpower them.

"Gasp!"

"Keu... ugh."

They paled and slumped down.

"I apologize. Please don't impede me. This is the only way to assist her."

[That energy affects Seol-ah too. It's dangerous.]

After pulling it back in as the Heavenly Demon had said, I returned my hand to Woo Seol-ah's perineum.

Lee Seong-jin, free from the energy's pressure, became enraged and attempted to tackle me away from her, but Yoo So-eun intervened.

She didn't appear pleased, but she seemed to understand that I was doing something important, as I had not attempted to do anything else.

***

After a while, Seol-ah regained her composure. However, I couldn't take my hands off her yet, as the Heavenly Demon had not yet returned.

Seol-ah, having regained her composure, met my gaze.

"..."

"Kyaaaaaah!"

She pushed me away and slapped me.

Pow- Slap-

The shopping bag I was wearing didn't come off, but my head cracked violently.

Fortunately, before my hand came off her, the Heavenly Demon had returned to my mind.

"Where are you touching?! This pervert!"

"No, that's not..."

The accusation was harsh, but there was no way to explain it adequately.

[Whew, you almost got into trouble.]

'I think I am in big trouble right now.'

"You son of a bitch, die!"

Seol-ah drew her sword and started swinging it at me.

Slap!

This time, Seol-ah's head snapped violently to the side. I had slapped her on the cheek.

[Oops! Still, you shouldn't do that.]

'It's unfair just to get hit.'

Seol-ah stumbled away, but she kept glaring at me. Tears streamed down her face until even I felt a bit sorry. After that, there was some commotion, but Yoo So-eun managed to explain everything, and I was able to calm Woo Seol-ah down.

"To think that Yoo-hwan oppa was deceiving us..."

Although the effect of the delusion had disappeared, the memories from before her mental bondage was lifted remained. Seol-ah seemed to be in great shock. For a while, she sat there and cried silently.

And after she regained her composure, she continued to berate me. She didn’t hide her doubts about my healing method.

"Even so..."

"I'm sorry. It was the only way."

[Kukuku, I guess she'll develop a hatred for men differently than before.]

'Be quiet! Do you have to have that much fun?'

[It is fun.]

Ultimately, I had no choice but to conceal the fact that I had treated her with a particular technique.

After hearing my explanation, Woo Seol-ah seemed to accept that whatever I had done had been beneficial to her, but she couldn't hide her unease.

Of course, I had to double-check to ensure her energy center was functioning properly.

Seol-ah couldn't sense it herself, so I had to place my hand on her and infuse inner power into her energy center.

The fact that I could infuse inner power only further reinforced Seong-jin and So-eun's suspicions.

***

According to the Heavenly Demon, Seol-ah was under a spell akin to a technique he was familiar with. He said she was engaged in a solitary battle against an army of werewolves in the hallucination Choi Yoo-hwan had fashioned.

The Heavenly Demon stealthily infiltrated Seol-ah's mental realm and infused her mind with inner power until she regained her senses.

'Is it really the same principle as the technique you know?'

[Hmm. It was an adventure even for me, but my experience cannot be ignored. It happened when I met the people of Jegal Sei in Yongzhong Mountain, that’s in the Hubei Province. There, a really unusual….]

It was okay to talk a lot, but there were too many useless explanations.

I felt sorry for him, but it looked like I had to cut off this story early.

First, I decided to look at the Warrior Armor set I had just received.

I was eager to take off the ill-fitting top and the ripped skirt.

[Warrior's Armor Set]

[Grade: Rare]

[Warrior's Armor (Upper, Lower): Defense 150, Endurance: 80/80]

[Warrior's Gauntlet: Defense 30, Endurance: 40/40]

[Warrior's Boots: Defense 30, Endurance: 40/40]

[Set effect: HP increases by 10.]

[This is just cumbersome if you can use martial arts for self-defense.]

"Martial arts are very diverse. I want to learn that quickly."

[Just train harder.]

This relieved my worries about having armor for the time being. It offered significantly more protection than what was available on the market. In addition, the set effect increased my vitality by 10.

When I put it on, I discovered it was leather armor, so my mobility was not restricted or uncomfortable.

There was only one issue...

"..."

[Khaahaha! Does that make a difference?]

It couldn't cover the most essential areas.

The upper part of the armor set was designed to protect the chest and shoulders, while the lower part could only protect the thighs.

"Shit! Do I have to wear this again?"

Even wearing the armor, I had no choice but to cover my precious parts with the skirt.

I didn't have to look in the mirror to see how absurd it was.

[Are his pants too small for you?]

The Heavenly Demon suggested I take the clothes off Choi Yoo-hwan.

Again, I was 185 cm tall, and I had broad shoulders. Although not as much as me, Choi Yoo-hwan was also tall and well-built.

I tried them on just in case, and the result was a failure.

No matter how hard I tried, the trousers wouldn't go higher than my thighs.

There was no need to try Kim Seong-ho's trousers since he was smaller than both of us.

[You aren't just tall. I guess having strong thighs helps you as a warrior?]

Now he was even joking like an elderly person.

"Phew! I gotta collect these mana stones."

Seong-jin and his group gave me the mana stones, saying they were able to make it out alive thanks to my help.

A while later, as I was rummaging through a Werewolf's corpse, I heard a faint murmur.

"I really can't get used to that look."

"I know, right? But what is that terrifying energy Byeong-gi emanated?"

"I don’t know. The pressure was so immense that I couldn't breathe."

"I feel like he has too many secrets. Still, I'm glad that Mr. Byeong-gi saved us. The same goes for Seol-ah..."

"He looks like a real pervert and a psychopath... the skirt keeps flapping..."

"Seol-ah, we're not talking about that right now. Stop gawking."

[Kukuku, it appears you don't even care about what's dangling out anymore, huh?]

Even with the armor on, I couldn't prevent the skirt from fluttering.

'Damn...'

"You're really taking them all."

When I was almost done, Yoo So-eun started talking to me.

"It's all worth money. From now on, you should take it too."

"I don't think I can do it because it's gross."

To be honest, slicing through monster corpses didn't feel good. That's why, in gate hunting, an assistant who specialized in this task sometimes accompanied the party.

'Then why the hell did you ask?'

I wanted to say something, but So-eun was staring at me, so I shut my mouth.

It was the look of someone wondering what I looked like inside the shopping bag.

Ignoring her gaze, I hurried back to the party.

"Now, let's move to the Summoning Stone’s location."

At my prompting, the party stood up.

"The Summoning Stone?"

In response to Woo Seol-ah and Yoo So-eun's question, Seong-jin explained instead.

"Seol-ah and So-eun may not be aware yet, but after defeating the Boss monster, the whereabouts of the Summoning Stone will be revealed. If you break it, you can obtain a Clearing Reward and leave directly from that spot."

"What about the corpses of the dead hunters, then?"

At Yoo So-eun's follow-up question, Lee Seong-jin's face darkened. They had to recover Kim Seong-ho's body.

"The gate doesn't just disappear. The system will inform you of how much time is remaining. It varies for each gate, but if the Summoning Stone is destroyed, monsters won't be summoned for a certain duration. It usually takes several days for the gate to dissipate. During that time, the guild or the corpse disposal team from the Hunter Bureau will take care of it."

"I see. What if we don't destroy the Summoning Stone?"

"Monsters will be summoned again after a period of time has passed. People sometimes don't destroy the Summoning Stones in the gates created around the outskirts of the city in order to obtain mana stones."

"Does Mr. Byeong-gi know all of this?"

"I'm very interested in this field, too."

"Really? The way you fight... It's like someone who's been a hunter for a long time."

"..."

This woman talked a lot. I didn't feel the need to answer, so I turned away.

"Let's go quickly."

***

Destroying a Summoning Stone granted additional experience. Occasionally they would drop items or Skill Books, but only in rare cases.

Attacking the stone would start a timer, and the Summoning Stone could only be destroyed within that time.

<SYSTEM: Attack succeeded. Remaining time is 20 minutes and 7 seconds.>

<SYSTEM: The Summoning Stone has been destroyed.>

<SYSTEM: Acquire 94,268 EXP.>

<SYSTEM: The Gate will disappear after 24 hours 00 seconds.>

Whirl-

The space around us distorted with that system notification, and a portal leading outside was created. We went straight to the gate entrance.

We were all pretty tired after everything we’d been through.

[The Heavenly Demon's Origin Arts are said to be effective against physical fatigue.]

'Are you selling drugs?'

[Your speaking habits are getting worse.]

'I'm sorry. It's because I'm tired, Heavenly Demon. You get some rest too.’

[I don't feel any fatigue.]

It was only at times like this that the Heavenly Demon didn’t share his senses.

After returning, Seong-jin reported the gate clear to the Hunter Management Bureau and contacted the body disposal team.

He invited me to join their guild again, but I declined. Seol-ah also decided not to join the Luna Guild, probably because of the Choi Yoo-hwan incident.

Yoo So-eun announced she would return to her unit immediately.

If she returned, she would most likely be assigned to a particular unit of future hunters.

After a while, the hunters from the Hunter Management Bureau and other guilds rushed in for the new recruits, so I bid farewell to the party and left.

[Is it because you're embarrassed of your face looking like that?]

"I want to go home quickly. I have to take care of my parents."

[How are you going to get there?]

Due to the Second Cataclysm, traffic around this area had been restricted.

Lee Seong-jin offered to give me a ride in his car, but he also recommended I join their guild, so I decided to decline.

It took more than two hours to walk from Hyehwa-dong back to my house.

"I'm going to go to Seongbuk-dong."

[Even if you say that, I don't know where that is.]

Unless I consciously shared it, the Heavenly Demon wouldn’t know the geography of this world.

My home was sparsely populated and surrounded by mountains, so I took the shortest distance over the hills to reduce my travel time.

"I’m learning new skills as I go."

[That's something admirable. With your physical abilities and inner energy, you should be able to imitate them as you go. Still, you need to get the basic idea right. The footwork and the moves you've learned are all different in terms of the fundamental concept behind them.]

“None of those sound like martial art terms.”

[Ha! Do you think authentic martial arts are the same as those you’ve read about?]

"It's not like that."

[Then don't talk, and listen. Of course, it's possible to combine your footwork with those techniques in training. However, you must focus on lightening your body to run faster, increasing your jumping power, and establishing balance in unstable places. When I first entered the Heavenly Demon Cult and learned it...]

"That sounds just like parkour."

[Huh?]

That's how I headed home, learning the new skill as the Heavenly Demon had taught me.

On my way home, we noticed damaged cars scattered on the streets and shell casings and bullet holes pockmarking the walls of buildings, as if a war had just rolled through.

However, not all the streets were like that; as we got further away from the Gate, we found more peaceful streets without any damage.

Fortunately, there were no monsters, only soldiers and police barricades.