TFN C61

Chapter 61

『

Due to exceeding the allotted time, a Stage 2 penalty will now be applied.

※ Stage 2 Penalty Debuff: When demonic energy accumulates, you will transform into a beast.

Find Ghostslayer Valley and meet the boy at its entrance. (2/??)

Hint: Go to the place where the bell rings.』

The upper section was identical to before, but this time, a new line had appeared at the bottom—one he had never seen before.

“What’s this about?”

Wonhyo read the lines again and again, frowning, until a faint memory resurfaced. It was from when he’d first gone into a dungeon and received a quest hint as a reward upon leaving.

So much had happened since then that he had completely forgotten about it—he hadn’t even realized something new had been added.

“It says to go where the bell rings.”

After explaining it carefully to Cheongmun, Wonhyo took out his artifact.

He thought it would appear as the divine blade, the form he had last used—

but instead, a small, silver bell jingled softly as it popped into his hand.

“Huh?”

The moment the bell chimed, a glowing fluorescent-yellow arrow appeared in the air right in front of him.

“There’s a direction marker showing up.”

He wondered briefly if it was visible only to him—but since they were in a party, Cheongmun could see it too.

Cheongmun raised his gun and poked the arrow with its barrel.

The muzzle passed straight through the light, stirring empty air.

“At least it doesn’t have a physical form.”

“…What if it did?”

“It would attract monsters. In dark environments like this, plenty of creatures are hypersensitive to light.”

Wonhyo swallowed a groan and glanced around anxiously, but thankfully, no other presence stirred nearby.

“It looks like we just have to follow the arrow. Let’s move.”

Wonhyo nodded, gripping the bell tightly.

Maybe because there was finally somewhere to go, Cheongmun summoned a cube beneath his feet and rose onto it, just as he had in the dungeon.

Wonhyo had worried the arrow might only appear along the ground, but to his relief, as the cube ascended, the arrow climbed as well, gleaming steadily as it pointed the way.

Finding Ghostslayer Valley and locating the NPC had seemed daunting, but with this built-in navigation, it suddenly felt manageable.

If they’d had to wander blindly through uncharted terrain, it would’ve been a nightmare.

‘This might actually be easier than I thought.’

As they flew through the mist, following the arrow’s glowing trail, Wonhyo looked down.

Here and there, faint, drifting figures moved among the trees—ghost-type monsters, their presence eerily real, not illusionary like those in the S-rank dungeon.

His earlier confidence drained away.

He quickly took out the Aura Suppression Device and attached it to the cube’s side.

“Did you sense something?”

“No, just being cautious. There are some patches where the miasma feels thicker.”

Cheongmun immediately understood and scanned the forest below.

“There seem to be other parties nearby. We should rise higher.”

“Okay.”

They climbed until the forest looked tiny and far away beneath them.

Wonhyo felt no fear, only a taut stillness.

Then—something suddenly whizzed past, barely missing them before dropping away into the fog below.

“That was an attack… do they think we’re monsters?”

“They probably thought we were people. But it’s dangerous either way. Someone willing to attack at the slightest movement is someone we should avoid.”

Wonhyo blinked. Attacking another human—even by mistake—felt wrong, but he didn’t argue.

He wanted to say something—something about how a frail, noncombatant Awakener like him had no business being here—but he held his tongue.

He hadn’t expected to come back to the Tower because of a job quest. Who knew what else might happen next?

Thankfully, no further attacks came, and their flight smoothed out.

“This is where the unexplored region begins,” Cheongmun said quietly. “You mentioned you got information on Ghostslayer Valley from the guild?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm. Then it seems those who scouted the outer perimeter avoided sharing their data publicly.”

“To sell it later?”

“Most likely. You paid quite a bit for yours, didn’t you?”

“Yeah. It wasn’t cheap.”

From the northeast where they had entered, they flew southwest over sprawling coniferous forests until the foot of a mountain range came into view.

Wonhyo pulled out his map for comparison.

Cheongmun raised a hand.

“From here on, we should prepare for anything. We don’t know what monsters will appear.”

Wonhyo, who had no offensive skills aside from ghost-type exorcism, decided to focus on defense.

He didn’t have much useful equipment, but there were a few items among his Tower rewards that might help.

“Should I use the ring with the shield effect?”

When he took out the ring that could block up to three attacks, Cheongmun’s brow arched slightly.

Without replying, Cheongmun expanded the cube beneath them. Wisps of black smoke gathered and condensed, thickening the walls like armor.

“This will handle defense. What I meant was, take out your talismans. Since we’re likely facing ghost-type monsters, those will work best.”

Ah. So that’s what he meant.

Wonhyo quietly tossed the ring back into his inventory and pulled out yellow, blue, and black talismans, tucking them into his chest pocket.

The cube glided onward, weaving through a narrow canyon.

Though they were flying, the cliffs were so close that it almost felt suffocating.

Below, beside a stream churning with pale, foamy water—so discolored it seemed poisoned—a horde began to appear.

Not zombies, exactly.

They didn’t stagger or moan—they shouted instead.

“Give me back my leg—!”

“Give me back my leg!”

They hopped after the cube like jiangshi, the hopping corpses from old ghost stories. Wonhyo’s jaw dropped open.

“…You already have legs, though.”

He couldn’t help but wonder what exactly those things thought they were running on.

“Judging from the color of the flesh below their knees,” Cheongmun observed, “they must have stitched on someone else’s legs.”

Wonhyo blinked, staring closer.

“But if swapping legs lets them climb cliffs like that, isn’t that kind of an upgrade?”

He couldn’t see why they were so desperate to reclaim their originals—but regardless, seeing the undead starting to leap toward them, he flung a talisman.

The canyon narrowed further, and they looked ready to jump onto the cube.

“Hey! Before you come after us, maybe check who’s got whose legs first!”

“My leg—what?”

The leading corpse turned back to the one behind.

“My leg!!”

As their formation broke, Wonhyo swiftly burned the talisman.

A puff of white smoke bloomed, clouding their vision.

Using the moment, the cube darted through the narrow passage, following the glowing arrow.

When Wonhyo looked back, the undead were tangled together, grabbing at each other’s legs in confusion.

“At least one or two might actually find their own legs,” Wonhyo murmured.

Cheongmun, holding a deep crimson gun—darker even than the shotgun he’d used on the sixth floor—lowered it slightly and gave a small nod.

“That would be ideal.”

He took out his phone, snapped a quick photo, and began typing rapidly.

“What are you writing?”

“A field report. On newly discovered regions in the Tower. The Bureau of Special Affairs compiles and publishes them quarterly.”

“Oh, I’ve read those before.”

While Cheongmun worked, Wonhyo checked the arrow again.

They’d reached the end of the canyon—it widened briefly, then dissolved into a thick curtain of fog.

The arrow now pointed downward. Cheongmun began descending slowly into the mist.

As they sank lower, the air grew dense, vibrating faintly with unseen power.

It wasn’t that there was any one source—it was the mountain itself, pulsing with ominous life.

『You have entered the entrance of Ghostslayer Valley.』

So this was it.

Wonhyo looked around. The arrow glimmered, pointing toward the depths of the misty forest. The closer they drew, the brighter and faster it pulsed.

At the far end of the fog-shrouded canyon, where no trace of humans remained, the NPC related to the quest had to be waiting.

When the arrow finally stopped, Cheongmun dismissed the cube, and both men stepped onto solid ground.

“Is this the place?”

Cheongmun scanned the surroundings—nothing.

Wonhyo looked too—still nothing. But he felt something.

Drawn by instinct, he found a narrow path hidden between the trees.

“We need to go that way.”

The small bell in his hand jingled softly.

At the sound, the fog shuddered and parted, opening a path.

As they walked deeper, the mountain’s energy grew wild, pulsing like a heartbeat.

It was a feeling close to death—but alive, throbbing with strange vitality.

Wonhyo glanced at Cheongmun.

He seemed not to feel it, only frowning faintly as he watched their surroundings.

Wonhyo shook the bell again and followed its echo.

They slipped through the dense forest, past serpent-like roots and creeping vines, parting the thick fog. The air turned colder.

His breath came out in misty clouds.

He tugged his jacket tighter, but it offered little warmth.

Then, deep within the gorge—

A single tree appeared.

Though snow had not fallen anywhere, its branches bloomed with frost-flowers, each one glimmering like crystal.

Wonhyo gazed up at it.

Even without a prompt from the quest window, he knew what to do.

Quietly, he closed his eyes—

and summoned his divine power.

📝 Notes:

• Jiangshi (강시) = A “hopping corpse” from East Asian folklore, often mistaken for zombies.