I'm the Only One Who Can't See Ghosts-Chapter 107: Soul Art Online (3)

In RPG games, levels meant strength. The higher the level, the more health and attack power one had.

Even the variety of items that could be equipped increased.

Thus, a battle between Lv.6 PaegeonBlood and Lv.1 Heavenly Demon Descends should naturally have ended with PaegeonBlood’s victory.

“But why?”

However, PaegeonBlood couldn’t secure an easy victory. That’s because fights between humans weren’t determined by stats alone.

In battles, spirit was important.

And in spirit, PaegeonBlood was outmatched.

Yoo Hajin charged forward, unafraid of the pain inflicted by the blade. Yoo Hajin was wielding the starter dagger given at the beginning of the game, and if the blade wasn’t dodged, it was more than capable of piercing the opponent.

“Argh!!!”

PaegeonBlood screamed as the blade pierced him.

The injury only reduced his HP by about 5 points—a minor wound—but PaegeonBlood wasn’t looking at his HP bar. To him, the pain was all too real.

And so, he was forced to retreat a step.

“What kind of lunatic is this?!”

PaegeonBlood was an ordinary person.

Someone without experience using abilities.

His entire fighting experience consisted of a few schoolyard scuffles. Even as a member of a clan, he hadn’t participated in proper PvP yet.

“I have abilities here. In this world, I’m one of the gifted!”

And that led to his mistake.

He viewed this sword fight as a battle for ordinary people.

As someone with abilities, he believed he should use them.

So, he formed the casting sign with his hands and shouted:

“Ability Activate!!!”

<PaegeonBlood: Ability Activate!!!>

Watching the screen, I thought to myself.

Ability Activate, huh?

Come to think of it, in Lost Soul, people said “Ability Activate” when using their powers. The classes were divided into Warrior, Mage, and Shaman, though people just called them Fighter, Sorcerer, and Mystic. 𝙍ΆＮＯ𝐛ĘṤ

But none of that mattered right now.

What mattered to me was this notification.

Starting a sword fight and then suddenly casting a skill?

Unforgivable.

Click, click, click.

I pressed the basic attack key repeatedly.

<zxPaegeonBloodzx: S-Son of a—!!! Wait!!! Ability acti—!>

Click, click, click—!

<Level up!>

And just like that, the character PaegeonBlood collapsed.

All the items he carried dropped to the ground.

I even leveled up.

“Ah, this is what K-RPGs are all about.”

Feeling a bit more energized, I examined the looted items.

PaegeonBlood had been carrying the following:

3 Low-Grade HP Potions.

Stale bread and slightly hard cheese.

A map of the surrounding region.

And a small amount of money (gold).

Without hesitation, I looted everything.

Then, I sent a message to Nayu.

<Heavenly Demon Descends: Nayu, why were you hunting in a restricted hunting zone? It’s dangerous.>

<NayuIsNayu: Nayu Question Mark?>

<Heavenly Demon Descends: Oh, you don’t know about hunting zone restrictions, do you?>

It seemed I would need to explain from the start.

So, I briefly explained the concept of K-RPG-style hunting zone control.

It’s a culture where hunting zones are monopolized by blocking access to anyone who isn’t part of the guild, thereby hoarding all the experience points and items from that area.

<Heavenly Demon Descends: That’s why newbies get incredibly frustrated every time they play this game.>

<NayuIsNayu: Nayu Shaking In Fear.>

Nayu’s character trembled for a moment, but then naturally started heading toward a hunting zone controlled by a clan again.

Damn it, did you even understand what I just said?

<Heavenly Demon Descends: I’m telling you, that hunting zone is dangerous!>

<NayuIsNayu: Nayu Desperate Expression For Leveling Up...>

What does a “desperate expression for leveling up” even look like?

I couldn’t figure it out.

But desperate to level up, huh. From the way Nayu seems to suffer while playing this game, it doesn’t look like they’re actually enjoying it.

“Guess I have no choice.”

I’ll just have to help her.

And no, this decision has nothing to do with that post I read earlier about a Lost Soul ranker earning billions by picking up a sock near the cursed Rue building—the final dungeon.

Seriously, billions for a digital girl’s sock?

Has the world gone mad???

Still, I kind of wish I could steal a girl’s sock and make some money too.

No, wait. What the hell am I even thinking? That makes me sound like a total pervert.

<Heavenly Demon Descends: So basically, you want to make your character stronger?>

<NayuIsNayu: Nayu Strong Affirmation!>

Of course, in games like this, there’s only one way to get stronger.

I said the word aloud.

“Status Window.”

As I spoke, I clicked on my status.

===

Heavenly Demon Descends Lv.2

Class: Beginner

HP: 14/50

MP: 12/12

STR: 11

DEX: 10

SOUL: 10

Skills: Haneum Delay (Passive) Lv.1

===

Haneum Delay. That was the name of the tutorial zone I escaped from, Haneum Station. Looks like this is a bonus given to the first person who clears that area.

“This has some serious roots.”

Bonuses and hidden classes.

These are the foundations of games like this.

A few bonuses I can collect immediately came to mind.

<Heavenly Demon Descends: Alright, Nayu. Let’s go sweep up all the bonuses and items we can get from here on out.>

<NayuIsNayu: Nayu Monopolizing In The Game!>

And just like that, the Heavenly Demon Party was formed.

****

Lost Soul Fantasy had a map design where the real world and the spirit realm were mixed together. It felt like a blend of Korea’s geography with fantasy landscapes.

Every fantasy-styled Korean region was implemented.

There were even mysterious phenomena like the DMZ, which were also recreated.

Of course, places like these were called dungeons.

“That means that place must be implemented too.”

And so, the Heavenly Demon Party arrived in front of a gym.

<Heavenly Demon Descends: I knew it’d be here.>

An unnamed gym. Some people called it the “Hell Gym.”

This was a place said to appear only to those who craved strength. Training here was rumored to grant superhuman physical abilities equivalent to a spirit warrior.

To be precise, it was said that your soul would grow stronger, making you no different from a spirit user. But honestly, to Yoo Hajin, who couldn’t see either, it was all the same.

“So in this game, training here probably increases stats.”

Stat-grinding, huh?

Perfect for someone like Yoo Hajin, a time billionaire like Bill Gates.

However, a few minor downsides about this place crossed Yoo Hajin’s mind.

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freёnovelkiss.com.

First, the trainers here were incredibly brutal and strong. They were the type who could casually squeeze someone’s head to make a high-protein juice.

Actually, whether they were trainers or not was debatable.

They didn’t teach you how to exercise.

If you dared to quit training out of exhaustion, they would cruelly torture you to motivate the remaining “members” to train harder. That’s the only reason they were called trainers.

Of course, as they were referred to as trainers, they wouldn’t attack while you were actively training.

The second downside was that the strength gained here didn’t last long. It was volatile, so if you wanted to maintain it, you had no choice but to keep coming back to this gym.

On top of that, the strength you built up would naturally be absorbed by the trainers, making them even stronger.

The third downside was that if you didn’t return to the gym for a week after visiting, the trainers would come after you. They would destroy everything you had and drag you back to the gym.

Of course, once dragged back, no one ever came out again.

This was the White Gym, an A-rank supernatural phenomenon. In gaming terms, Yoo Hajin thought it might as well be classified as an A-rank dungeon.

<NayuIsNayu : Nayu Slightly Nervous Statement.>

<Heavenly Demon Descends: So you’re a little nervous, huh…>

But Yoo Hajin confidently sent another message.

<Heavenly Demon Descends: Don’t worry. This gym is a phenomenon that’s already been cleared and disappeared in the original world. Nayu, as long as we stick to the plan, we’ll be fine.>

Then, Yoo Hajin began explaining the plan.

****

<Celestial-Slayer: I get the plan, but I’d recommend you give up.>

That’s when it happened.

A character named Celestial-Slayer suddenly appeared, quickly sending messages in the chat.

<Celestial-Slayer: Aren’t you guys here in virtual reality because you failed in the real world? Do you really think weaklings like you can endure the training in that gym?>

Celestial-Slayer’s words were filled with genuine warning.

That gym was a phenomenon that only those who had reached the extreme limits of willpower could clear. To Celestial-Slayer, it seemed absurd that gamers who escaped the real world to hide here would ever succeed in clearing such a challenge.

But the one called Heavenly Demon Descends responded arrogantly.

<Heavenly Demon Descends: Who says I can’t endure it?>

<Celestial-Slayer: Lol. Are you only trying because it’s a game and you can’t actually die? Let me tell you something—those trainers are sadistic monsters. If abilities could work against them, it wouldn’t be classified as an A-rank phenomenon. And once you’re in pain, you can’t log out, you know that, right? Even if your real body doesn’t die, a few weeks of torture in VR would break your mind.>

<Heavenly Demon Descends: Not my problem.>

Yoo Hajin sent the message with a hint of irritation.

The sudden insult about being weak-willed had annoyed him.

Celestial-Slayer, on the other hand, was also irritated.

They couldn’t believe someone would ignore such a well-meant warning.

<Celestial-Slayer : So, what’s your plan? To conquer the gym by nonstop training for over 24 hours to drain its spiritual energy and cause its collapse?>

<Heavenly Demon Descends: That’s exactly the plan.>

<Celestial-Slayer: You’re insane. You really think you can pull that off? You’re the kind of guy who would fall asleep if someone told you not to sleep for 24 hours.>

Now even more annoyed, Yoo Hajin shot back.

<Heavenly Demon Descends: And what if I do pull it off?>

<Celestial-Slayer: If you manage it, I’ll become your slave in this game. But if you fail and run away, delete your character and never log in again.>

A character deletion bet, huh?

Though, technically, only one side was risking deletion.

Yoo Hajin grinned and replied.

<Heavenly Demon Descends: Okay, deal. Thanks for the motivation.>

<Celestial-Slayer: Are you insane?>

And with that, the Heavenly Demon Party ended the conversation and entered the gym.

Inside, the trainers silently stared at the party, as if evaluating them.

Both the trainers and the outside players seemed to think the party would fail. They were saying, without words, that they lacked the willpower to succeed.

Honestly, Yoo Hajin wasn’t sure he could click a mouse and keyboard nonstop for over 24 hours either. So, he activated his programmed perseverance.

“Heavenly Demon Ma—uh, no. Heavenly Demon Perseverance Mode Activate.”

Some might call this a macro, but those people clearly lacked the sensitivity to appreciate art.

– – The End of The Chapter – –

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