Chapter 125

Choi Sung-gu nearly screamed.

'FUCK! I'M SCARED! I'M FUCKING SCARED!'

Just who the hell was Ahn Seohye talking to? No one was sitting in the red chair she was facing.

'Eurgh.'

Why did he feel a cold wind all of a sudden?

'But the window is closed.'

And yet, he felt a cold wind snake past him. The red chair was giving off a weird light. And then, there was a thud behind him.

'Fuck! Scared me!'

The door had closed on its own.

'I'm so fucking scared.'

The things he feared most in the world were ghosts and cockroaches. No matter what he did, those two things were just too terrifying. But he did his utmost not to show his fear. There was no knowing what changes his actions might produce, so he stayed still as a statue, desperately willing his mind into calmness as he stared at Hyukjin.

He watched Hyukjin take a few steps forward.

"You must be Mr. Tycon?"

Hyukjin bowed towards the chair. Sung-gu was shocked.

'What the hell? Does he see something?'

If he was the only one who couldn't see anything, then that, too, was frightening. Hyukjin continued.

"My name is Kim Hyukjin. I have already met Charles, and I was given a quest from the System to find Charles' owner."

It was utterly silent. Sung-gu didn't hear a single voice. It looked like Hyukjin was talking to the empty air.

Woosh–!

A light breeze blew through the room. The candle flickering on the desk went out, and a dreary voice rang out.

[Do you see me?]

Sung-gu nearly scuttled backwards. He was screaming, "Shit! No, we can't see you!" in his heart.

Hyukjin answered calmly, "I cannot see you."

He was invisible, but despite that, Hyukjin knew precisely where Tycon was. He was observing Seohye with Observer's Eye, and picked up on everything, from the direction of her gaze, to where she was talking to, to the strength, the pitch, and even the tiny tremor of her voice. Through the action of 'observation', he reinterpreted his surroundings and pinpointed Tycon's location. That resulted in Tycon speaking to him.

He heard the voice again.

[I do not trust humans.]

Those words meant there was a high chance 'Tycon' wasn't 'human'. Hyukjin slowly started to understand the situation.

This being was someone who didn't trust humans. Someone who couldn't go look for Charles himself. Someone who gave Seohye a quest, but couldn't check the quest Hyukjin was given.

The voice went on. [As such, I will not show myself. But you've located me precisely.]

Hyukjin gazed towards a certain spot.

'A strange… bloodthirst.'

'Tycon' wasn't blatantly trying to kill him. But the energy he felt was far from welcoming. Eye of Perception picked up that veiled intent. This mansion's master was not very happy to see him and was oozing bloodthirst.

"I know where Charles is."

The voice sounded bored. [There have already been five humans who have said that.]

Hyukjin said he found Charles, but 'Tycon' didn't seem very happy to hear it. He glanced at Seohye. She was standing still.

State: -(Cannot be read due to a special power)

He could no longer read Seohye's state. Not just her state, but all her information was obscured. Only her basic info—her name and age—were visible. All the information he had been able to see before was now protected.

In addition, he noticed a 'red energy' coming from Seohye's eyes. Her aura subtly changed.

'Please… don't be my enemy.'

He didn't want to kill someone.

'Please don't be… the Red Demon who lured and murdered people.'

He hoped she wouldn't be the Red Demon he remembered. He glanced around the room with Observer's Eye. He had already classified 'Tycon' as an enemy. It would be great if that weren't true, but acting according to that assumption was far more favorable for his survival.

'After getting all the information out of me, he'll want to kill me.'

He could feel that. It was just his intuition. Hyukjin continued to take in information, never pausing his conversation with 'Tycon'.

"I really did meet the Twin-Headed Black Dog Charles. He had a group of Black Dogs with him. Charles is indeed searching for his owner."

Charles was located on the 1st floor of the U-Plex Dungeon.

[Your proof?]

The bloodthirst suddenly amplified, rushing towards Hyukjin and weighing down on him.

[There's nothing as foolish as believing a human without proof. I would rather choose to hate than do such a thing.]

Hyukjin shrugged. "I have proof."

He took out an item from his Inventory. When he met the Twin-Headed Black Dog Charles, the monster showed his belly and then regurgitated a piece of Black Yak's Lean Meat, giving it to Hyukjin as if it were a gift. Hyukjin put that in his Inventory.

[Black Yak's Lean Meat Chewed by Charles]

He placed the item on the ground. Silence descended on the room. For quite a long time, the room was still. Neither Hyukjin, Sung-gu, Seohye, nor Tycon spoke. The person who broke the long silence was Tycon.

[...There really are traces of Charles on the meat.]

Hyukjin heard a tremble in that voice. Tycon was agitated. But that agitation and tremble wasn't from happiness. He was sure of it.

'He's not the real owner.'

Hyukjin continued. "I know his location."

[And that is?]

Hyukjin obediently told him.

"The 1st floor of the U-Plex Dungeon."

Sung-gu was a little surprised. Hyukjin was a Player who went so far as to exploit his Intermediate Administrator Senia for all she was worth, a Player Sung-gu was truly, truly grateful to have met as a friend and a teammate rather than an enemy. Such a Player would give up the location so meekly?

[The 1st floor of the U-Plex Dungeon. Where is it?]

"It is the name of a dungeon located in Sinchon in the Korean server," Hyukjin responded, paying close attention to Tycon's answer. If he was related to Guardians, he would know about servers. Hyukjin framed his answer to sound out Tycon's identity.

[Server? Sinchon? Which plane is that?]

Tycon wasn't connected to Guardians. He didn't know about servers.

'But he's not a regular NPC.'

If he were, he would have verified Hyukjin through the 'quest' System and asked to go find Charles. Tycon wasn't an NPC.

If he wasn't an NPC and not related to Guardians, then he was most likely—

'A monster.'

It was highly likely he was a monster with extremely high intelligence. But even so, he couldn't leave this place.

'It's odd that Seohye is standing there quietly.'

Because the invisible Tycon was here, Hyukjin couldn't afford to blatantly observe Ahn Seohye. However, his 'eyes' searched and observed her all the same.

'The fact I can't read her…'

That was because the Ahn Seohye standing there right now wasn't Ahn Seohye at all.

'That thing…'

After observing her for a long time, he was certain of it.

'Is a shell.'

It was like a doll with Ahn Seohye's outer appearance.

'Where's the real Seohye?'

His eyes couldn't see the real one. He knew what was happening.

'Stealth skill.'

Darongi had Stealth as well. It seemed Seohye had a similar skill.

'But how come?'

Why did she leave a shell and fade out of sight? Without telling him, no less. Was Ahn Seohye truly the 'Red Demon'? Did the current Ahn Seohye have the same character as the future Red Demon? Was he in a trap?

'No.'

That wasn't the answer. Hyukjin was sure of it. He knew he wasn't in a trap, and that conviction was, again, inexplicable. The energy surrounding Ahn Seohye, her appearance, her tiny, minute movements, her breathing, he compiled all of that into a portfolio of information, from which he then based his conclusion and assessment.

'Ahn Seohye isn't dangerous.'

That was what he decided to believe, at least right now. Actually, he couldn't do much other than trust her. After all, Tycon was in front of him.

Hyukjin extended a map.

"This is a map of the Predator Tree Colony connected to your garden. At the end of the cave is a gate, and you can go through the gate into the Korean server. Inside the Korean server is a place called Sinchon, and there exists a dungeon called the U-Plex Dungeon. Charles is on the 1st floor of that dungeon."

He added one more sentence.

"It is structured so that Charles cannot come out on his own."

That was a roundabout way of saying, 'You have to go there and bring him out yourself'. Hyukjin had to confirm. He had to confirm how Tycon would act after getting all the information, as well as how Seohye would act.

"I see."

A hazy form began to appear on the red chair. It took the shape of a person, the same black bearded man Hyukjin saw in the portrait on the wall going from the 1st floor to the 2nd.

"Then I'll have to kill you now and go get Charles."

The entire room suddenly darkened, as if it were enveloped in darkness. Sung-gu lit a fire.

"Hyukjin!"

The magician fired the flames at the door, reacting quickly because he was ready to move just in case.

The hazy form spoke again.

"You think shoddy magic can deceive me?"

It wasn't shoddy at all. Sung-gu's fire opened a hole in the door, and as long as the path was open, Hyukjin could move quickly.

[Using the special skill Flash Step.]

From point to point, a 2D line formed between two 1D points.

Hyukjin's body surged forward in a straight line towards the gap in the door, so quick you couldn't see him.

But 'Tycon' was fast, too.

"Laughable!"

After using Flash Step, Hyukjin dashed off with all his strength, and Tycon followed hot on his tail. Tycon had no legs, and he floated in the air as he chased Hyukjin with a huge scythe in his hands.

Whumpf–!

Tycon swung the scythe.

Hyukjin ducked and dodged it, feeling the air rush past the crown of his head.

'He's strong.'

He was indeed qualified to 'claim' he was a Twin-Headed Black Dog's owner. However, Hyukjin had already finished figuring this place out.

He knew what 'Tycon' was. Their names differed, but they were categorically called 'Evil Spirit' monsters. Of those monsters, Tycon was a 'Region-Bound Spirit' that couldn't escape a specified region.

The Evil Spirit monster named Tycon shouted, "Halt!"

Black rings appeared under Hyukjin's feet. He couldn't dodge them and was frozen in place.

[You cannot move.]

He was hit with restraint magic, but Hyukjin didn't panic.

'Come closer.'

He was well informed about Evil Spirits. They were very difficult foes for mankind, monsters that drilled insidiously into weak points and dark places. Despite that, they had an obvious weakness.

'Especially if it's a Region-Bound Spirit.'

Hyukjin was someone who hunted a Lycanthrope, an impossible foe for his level, in the Tutorial field. He achieved that feat by using his knowledge from the future. He judged that as long as he had knowledge, strategy, and the courage and ability to put those two in practice, it wasn't impossible to hunt Tycon.

'This time as well… I'll pull it off.'

As he watched Tycon slowly approach while holding a scythe, Kim Hyukjin grinned.

____