Chapter 37: Ghost Train

The first to speak was Kim Chan.

He scrubbed at his tear-stained eyes with the back of his hand, hard enough to make a sound.

His bloodshot eyes turned even redder, but he seemed too distraught to care.

“It really was going smoothly at first…”

“That’s not exactly true…”

“Shh.”

As Kim Chan tried to speak, Goo Taehwan—his teammate—was about to refute him but closed his mouth when Kim Chan held a finger to his lips.

Taehwan respected the desperate look in Kim Chan’s eyes and kept quiet.

Still, the thought crossed his mind—’it’s all been captured on camera anyway, so staying silent now probably won’t matter once it’s broadcast.’

“It was scary, but we all worked together to complete the mission…”

Even though it hadn’t happened long ago, Kim Chan’s expression took on a nostalgic glow.

Not only his—every teammate who had fled together with him wore the same look.

The way they looked at each other was full of deep camaraderie.

As if they’d spent years together on the battlefield.

“Ahhh!”

“Be careful. Are you hurt?”

“N-No… thank you.”

Kim Chan bowed his head deeply to the person who caught his arm before he could fall.

They were walking in complete darkness, relying solely on their senses.

He wished he had been placed in the same team as Roy or Lee Doha, but the three of them had all been split into different teams.

From the voice alone, Kim Chan realized the one who had supported him was Shin Minho.

“Can I… call you Minho hyung?”

“Of course.”

Minho was the same age as Roy, though unlike Roy, he had the rugged looks of a tough guy.

“Everyone, can we stop for a moment?”

The oldest member of the team, Shin Minho, naturally took the lead.

Kim Chan was somewhere in the middle in terms of age, and the team even had two members who were only eighteen.

“Why? What’s going on?”

Goo Taehwan, who had been brushing aside obstructive branches with his hand, asked curiously.

Since this was a competitive mission, the sooner the team could defeat monsters and reach level 10, the better.

If the conversation didn’t help with the mission, he was ready to cut it short.

“Right now, none of us can see very well. I thought it might be safer if we moved in a line with each person placing a hand on the shoulder of the one in front. It’ll help us avoid getting lost.”

Minho’s calm explanation made Taehwan nod.

Many of the team members were already visibly scared.

Even Jo Soohyun, standing right next to him, was trembling so hard it was noticeable.

“Then I’ll take the lead.”

Taehwan raised his voice.

His class was Tank.

Kim Hyunwoo, another teammate, was also a Tank, but along with Shin Minho, Taehwan was one of the oldest members on the team.

It wasn’t necessarily the oldest who had to take the most dangerous roles—but hiding behind younger members just didn’t sit right with his personality.

“You will? That would be appreciated. Then I’ll take the rear.”

In a single-file line, the front and rear were the most dangerous positions.

Taehwan and Minho placed the others between them for protection.

Even in darkness, they had all awakened as Hunters, so after a bit of time, they could faintly make out each other’s figures.

From then on, they moved like kids playing a train game.

But something felt off—monsters needed to appear for them to fight and level up, yet none had shown up so far.

“Let’s stop for a second.”

“What’s wrong…? Is something there?”

Hearing Taehwan speak, Kim Chan—whose hand was on Taehwan’s shoulder—spoke with a trembling voice.

His heart was already racing like he’d been running a marathon.

“The insects… they’ve gone quiet.”

“Now that you mention it…”

It was true.

Kim Chan looked around anxiously.

His vision still hadn’t adjusted fully, but the eerie atmosphere was starting to seep in.

His gaze stopped on a patch of darkness that seemed even blacker than the rest.

Then suddenly, like a burst of white flame in the dark, a sheet of white fabric flew into the air.

***

“Kihihihik!”

It was a Level 4 monster—a White Ghost.

The creature wore a white sheet over its body, with two pitch-black holes where its eyes should be.

Its chilling laughter echoed through the silence.

“Aaaaaaaah!”

“Kim Chan!”

Frightened out of his wits, Kim Chan screamed.

He was so panicked he didn’t even think about hiding his fear for the sake of looking cool on the broadcast.

“Huhuhuuung…”

To make matters worse, Jo Soohyun burst into tears.

She was someone who couldn’t even hear the word “horror movie” without flinching.

Even biting her lip didn’t help—her sobs wouldn’t stop.

“Kihik—!”

“Kihihihihi—!”

“Kihihi, kihihik—!”

If only there had been one White Ghost, the team could have handled it together.

But the first one was quickly followed by three more, all floating ominously into the air.

Their eerie cries echoed in the teammates’ ears like a chorus of the damned.

“Everyone, draw your weapons!”

The neat formation broke the instant a ghost lunged at them.

The only small comfort was that the area became a bit brighter thanks to the White Ghosts’ appearance.

Shin Minho, a swordsman, drew his beginner’s dagger and swung it.

The blade grazed one of the White Ghosts, but it didn’t do much.

Among the team, the only ones managing to stay composed while facing the White Ghosts were Shin Minho, Goo Taehwan, and Kim Hyunwoo.

The other three, including Kim Chan, were still struggling to snap out of their panic.

“It’s pointless to fight one ghost per person! We should combine our strength and focus on taking down one at a time!”

Shin Minho made a quick judgment call.

No one had leveled up yet, and on top of that, their weapons were barely effective.

“I’ll try to hold one down!”

At Shin Minho’s words, Goo Taehwan kicked off the ground and launched himself into the air.

“Kiihik!”

One of the White Ghosts was tackled mid-air and slammed to the ground, wrapped tightly in Goo Taehwan’s arms.

“Ugh…”

Goo Taehwan let out a pained groan.

Searing pain spread across every part of his body in contact with the ghost—like touching a live wire with wet hands.

If it wasn’t just his imagination, his clothes were starting to give off a burnt smell.

The pain was similar to getting scalded, and soon, his grip on the ghost began to weaken.

“Hang in there a little longer!”

Shin Minho quickly rushed to Goo Taehwan’s side and drove his dagger deep into the White Ghost’s body.

“Kiiiih…!”

The ghost’s gauzy form wrapped around Shin Minho’s hand.

Sparks flew from the dagger’s blade, and his entire palm was instantly burned.

“Khugh… Just die already…!”

Jo Soohyun was technically the team’s healer, but right now he was sitting on the ground with his hands over his ears.

In a situation like this, the best way to recover from injuries was leveling up.

“Here… use this.”

Goo Taehwan handed his dagger to Shin Minho.

As the team’s tank, Taehwan figured it would be more effective for Minho—the team’s swordsman—to go on the offensive.

“Thanks.”

Minho grabbed the dagger and drove it straight into the White Ghost’s eye.

The pain that shot through his palm was worse than before.

“Kiiihii…”

But the pain came with a reward.

Both Minho and Taehwan let out heavy breaths of relief.

Their wounds began healing rapidly—proof they had leveled up.

“I’m sorry… I’ll try to take one down too…”

***

Around that time, Kim Chan had finally pulled himself together.

Though his body still trembled, he picked up a dagger and stood.

He realized that his own panic had only worsened the fear in the team’s youngest members, Jo Soohyun and Choi Eunhyu.

Instead of boosting morale, he had been dragging the team down—and that realization gave him a surge of courage.

He raised his dagger and slashed at the nearby White Ghost.

“Kiiiii!”

“Ah…!”

A jolt of pain shot through his hand, and the ghost’s shrieking scream pierced deep into his nerves, amplifying his fear.

“I—I’ll h-help… sniff…”

Choi Eunhyu stepped up beside Kim Chan.

His chubby cheeks were wet with tears, and he trembled every time one rolled down.

***

After that, the team became too absorbed in the battle to think clearly.

Just as they finished off the first group of White Ghosts, another swarm charged at them.

“Huff… huff… Is everyone okay? Any injuries?”

Shin Minho gasped for breath as he scanned the team’s condition.

“We’re okay.”

Kim Chan wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.

It wasn’t just lip service—everyone had leveled up, and their injuries were healed.

“I think our average level is around 5 now, right?”

“Yeah. I’m level 6.”

In response to Goo Taehwan’s question, the team members reported their levels one by one.

After everything, Kim Chan had managed to reach level 5.

“Looks like the White Ghosts won’t be appearing again. We’ll probably have to seek out monsters ourselves now.”

At Shin Minho’s words, everyone stood up and dusted themselves off.

At the start of the mission, they’d all cared about looking good on camera—but now, they looked more like refugees, disheveled and dirty.

Kim Chan especially tried hard not to look toward the cameras.

Thankfully, the more they fought, the less he cried.

He quickly wiped the lingering salt from his face and hurried to follow behind Shin Minho, who was already moving.

“Good thing we got a torch as an item drop.”

Kim Chan raised the torch in his right hand high.

It had been obtained after they defeated their second White Ghost.

“Hey, doesn’t it look like there’s something over there?”

He pointed the tip of the torch toward a spot that gave off an eerie vibe.

They’d been walking for what felt like over ten minutes.

They hadn’t run into any other teams or monsters—just walked.

Now that the adrenaline had worn off, the team began feeling impatient.

It was a race against time, and they were desperate to take down more monsters as fast as possible.

So when Kim Chan spotted a cave, it didn’t look like something they could afford to ignore.

“I’ll go first. Everyone grab your weapons and stay close.”

Shin Minho took the lead.

The weapon he’d earned from defeating the White Ghost shimmered with a sharp glint in his hand.