Chapter 202

There were roughly over a hundred souls in the night market.

'Is this what a dokkaebi night market is like?'

T/N: Dokkaebis are mythical creatures from Korean folklore, similar to goblins and spirits.

- Woah, it's so... mystical.

- There's a bunch of floating lanterns walking around!

- Snowman's a floating lantern too LOOOL

Seol knew a lot about this place.

'The Trial of Bonded Fate. It might look chaotic at first, but it isn't a particularly difficult trial.'

Even so, with Seol possessing five Peerless-quality items, he was at a loss for where to begin.

In times like these, when one was stuck, it was always best to rely on someone for help.

"Ur."

- I'm afraid there's nothing I can do. Shamanism is too far from my roots, and there's nothing I can accomplish in such a short amount of time.

After saying that, Ur fell silent in the Shadow Space, seemingly embarrassed by his inability to do anything.

"Then... Jamad. Would you be able to find them?"

Jamad thought for a moment before saying...

- If it's one by one, I should be able to. Still, it's going to take some time. Also, a few of your items don't belong to you but the elves, so you should let them find those themselves.

"Got it."

Fwirl...

Fwirl...

Seol summoned both Karen and Karuna into the night market.

"You heard Jamad, right? Since you two were the ones who communed with Breath and Flare, it would be faster to find it yourselves."

Fwip!

"Yes, sir!" shouted Karen, jokingly giving a half-hearted salute. "Leave it to us!"

"Yes, master."

Seeing Karen's cheerful attitude, Seol continued.

"If you mess up..."

Jamad stopped Seol.

- She already left. For now, we should leave it to her and take care of our business first.

"...Yeah."

Seol began wandering through the night market, searching for his Peerless items.

A rather large ghostly fire was stuffing its cheeks with all of the snacks at the front of the stall.

"Excuse me..."

As Seol reached out, the ghostly fire quickly gulped down whatever it had in its mouth before responding, "...Yes?"

[[An unknown soul is surprised by you. How do you respond?]

1. Can I have a bite?

2. Have we met before?

3. I really like the way you eat.

4. Have you seen someone like me?

......]

Jamad quickly interrupted Seol.

- Not this one.

Seol nodded.

"It's nothing," said Seol. "I apologize."

"Ah... okay."

As the soul began to stuff its cheeks once more, Jamad gave Seol a signal.

- Up ahead.

Seol immediately hurried forward and looked around.

"S-Stop it..."

"Hahaha... Did we do anything to you?"

"Go away, please... Just leave me alone."

"Tsk... Stop acting like that and..."

A soul was surrounded by many others, unable to escape.

'Which one of them is it?'

- I'm not sure yet. You need to get closer for me to be sure.

Without any other choice, Seol slowly approached them.

'How do I butt in, though?'

- That's something for you to figure out.

"Ah... Let go of my hand."

"Huh? When did I grab your hand..."

Seol thought hard before recalling a line he had definitely heard somewhere before.

"Why don't you hold it right there?"

- LOOOOL The cliche MC saving the FMC.

- Stop bothering her!

- Hurry up and say the next lines! 'Who are you?' 'Me? I'm her boyfriend!' 🤣

A large soul, who seemed to be their leader, quickly closed the distance between them and Seol.

"And who are you?"

[[An unknown soul is irked by your approach. How do you respond?]

1. What are all of you doing, ganging up on a single...

2. They're not interested!

3. I'm their boyfriend!

4. It seems like I need to deal with you.

......]

Seol sighed after seeing the options. As he began to slowly pick one out...

- Found them.

Jamad brought him great news.

'Who? Which one?'

However, every silver lining has its cloud.

- Right in front of you.

Seol then asked the large soul, who seemed to be the leader of the ruffians, a question.

"Haven't you... met me before?"

"Me? And you?"

The other souls behind them began to shout, confused by the delay.

"Hey! What's going on?!"

"Hold on a second! He's..."

The large soul continued to stare at Seol before eventually scratching his head.

"I feel like I've seen you before..."

Seol quickly grabbed their wrists.

"Do you remember me now?"

"Ah... Ah!"

"What were you doing here?"

"I-I apologize... I'm sorry... I wasn't trying to..."

"What are you sorry for?"

"Well... So... I... I'm sorry for everything."

"Let's go."

"Yes..."

As Seol dragged the large soul away, the other souls watched with confused, absurd expressions on their faces.

"Wh-what just happened?"

"Huh? What about me? Why am I..."

* * *

Translator - goguma

Proofreader - Karane

* * *

Nom... nom...

Karen was thoroughly enjoying the night market.

"This is pretty good..."

"Right? It's tasty, huh?!"

"What is this made out of?"

"Poison Umbrella Frogs."

"......"

"Don't worry, all of their toxins were removed!"

"N-No wonder it tasted so good!"

"Want more?"

"Yeah!"

Karen felt as though she had been assigned something important, yet she couldn't recall what it was.

It was both a characteristic of the Trial of Bonded Fate and an insidious trap.

Those who traversed its night market fell into a dream-like state, gradually losing their memories until they eventually forgot everything, including themselves.

The master of the Ghost Door created this trial with the belief that if an item holds true value to you, you should be able to instinctively recognize it.

Regardless, this trial was beginning to affect Karen now as well.

"Woah... this tastes amazing."

"Yeah, that's the dish I'm most confident in!"

Poke poke...

As Karen was beginning to enjoy her meal more and more, she felt someone poking her thigh.

"What the hell? Who is..."

"......"

"...Kids?"

She noticed a couple of kids, ones she felt oddly familiar with.

With a sense of déjà vu, she posed a question to the two children.

"What? You want some as well?"

"Y-Yes, please..."

Nod nod...

"Haah... I'm way too nice for my own good, really..."

Karen handed the two kids a skewer.

The two children, who appeared to be siblings, split the skewer in half and shared it evenly between them.

Poke...

"Urgh... Want more?"

"Y-Yes, please..."

"This is going to be the last one, alright?"

She continued to hand out skewers, one after another, despite her earlier promise to make it the last one.

A while later...

There was a mountain of skewers at the side of the stall.

"What is all this... Did you guys really eat all this?" asked Karen.

"Y-You ate more than us, though!"

"That's because I'm paying for it myself!"

"W-We just ate what you gave us, though..."

"...Hah? Why don't we have a talk after I pay for all this."

Karen began rummaging through her pockets, her gaze shifting to the stall owner as she searched.

"How much is all this?" asked Karen.

"Oh wow, you really ate a lot. Let's see... In total, it's 2 million ghost souls."

"Ghost... souls?"

"Yup! What's wrong?"

"By any chance, do you take... gold coins?"

"Gold coins? Where would we use that?"

"Hahaha... Just one second. The kids are being so rowdy..."

She quickly ducked down.

"You two," Karen said to the children. "Are you guys fast runners?"

"Us?"

"No... we're not really that fast."

"That's unfortunate," Karen remarked with a cold expression. "I'm pretty quick."

"...What?"

"Unni?"

Fwip!

Karen swiftly bolted away.

The startled shop owner pointed frantically at her, shouting to the crowd, "S-Someone grab her!"

"Unni!"

"Noona! Take us with you!"

Though the two children managed to barely keep up with Karen's lightning speed, the stall owner quickly lost sight of her.

By the time Karen finally met up with Seol, she was gasping for air.

"Haah... Haah... Is anyone chasing after me?" asked Karen.

"Yeah."

"We need to run!"

"They're just... little kids, though?"

"What?"

Karen turned around and spotted the two young kids from earlier, their doe-like eyes fixed on her.

"See?" said Jamad. "I told you she would find them."

"Yeah, you were right," responded Seol. "She did a good job finding them."

"...What?" said Karen, completely confused by the situation.

"Don't you remember? I asked you to find your items."

"Ah! But... what about that?"

"You found them, didn't you? In fact, you found two of them."

"...Huh?"

As Karen honed in on their energies, she realized that the young girl had an aura similar to the sword that she wielded.

"They have similar energies, maybe because they're both related to Magra?"

Which meant that the young boy was likely Fire Monkey.

Karen awkwardly laughed.

"I-I told you to leave it to me, didn't I?"

At the same time, Karuna approached from afar, accompanied by another soul.

"Did you find it?" asked Seol.

"Yes, master."

"Where did you find her?"

"Near the lake..."

Having communed with Breath for an extensive duration, Karuna was able to locate its presence instantly.

Immediately after receiving Seol's orders, he began chasing down a soul that resonated with a similar energy.

At the end of his pursuit was a woman perched in front of a large lake.

Karuna carefully approached her before opening his mouth.

"What are you looking at?" asked Karuna.

"Nothing... I'm not looking at anything."

"......"

"I think I... was waiting for someone."

Karuna placed his hand on her shoulder.

"I see..." answered Breath. "It was you."

Unlike Karen, Karuna found his weapon quickly and quietly.

With Karuna's assistance, Seol had successfully retrieved Breath as well.

Now in possession of four Peerless items, Seol only needed to recover the last one.

As Seol began to think about where to search next, Karen quickly tried to hide.

"D-Don't tell them I'm here!" shouted Karen.

"What?"

"U-Us too..."

Fwip!

Fwip fwip!

The three hid behind the other party members.

Not too long after, a stiff-looking soul approached Seol.

"Have you seen a careless-looking soul around here?"

"A... careless-looking soul?"

They were clearly referring to Karen.

"Yes, they immediately ran away after eating without paying. I received a report from the stall owner to come find them."

"Ah..."

It was definitely Karen.

However, Jamad laughed after hearing their conversation.

"Hey, you found them all," said Jamad.

"What?"

"He's the last one."

Seol turned to the soul after Jamad's words and laughed as well.

"It's you, huh?"

"...What?"

Seol then placed his hand on the soul's body.

"Wh-what are you... huh?"

"Let's get out of here."

"Ah... okay..."

Karen and the children quickly revealed themselves and began harassing the Crown of Order.

"What the hell! You scared us!"

"Grgh..."

"You scared us! You scared us!"

"Dummy! Dummy!"

With his items' souls materializing, Seol now appeared to be traveling with a large family.

Nonetheless, he had completed everything he needed to do here.

"All we have to do now is get out, so... let's ask around."

Seol then approached a stall in a corner.

"Excuse me... Do you perhaps know the way out?"

"Over there... Just go that way."

"Thank you."

"But... Are you going to take that with you as well?"

"...What?"

Seol, shocked, quickly glanced at his right arm.

His eyes trailed down until he noticed that he was holding a young child by his collar with his hand.

"......"

Wobble... wobble...

The child was struggling to escape.

- What the hell is this? LOOOL

- Kleptomaniac!!! AGAIN!!!

- He looks away for one second, and there's something in his hands lmfao

While the other souls that Seol had seen were a myriad of colors, this soul was the only one he saw that was completely black.

"N-No, I'm not."

Seol slowly put the child down.

You weren't allowed to take items that didn't belong to you during the Trial of Bonded Fate.

'It would be going against the relationship they built up with their owners. You'd also be penalized heavily for it later.'

Seol nodded to himself as he decided to leave the child behind.

However, the stall owner laughed.

"Again..." she chuckled.

Seol looked at his right hand once more.

Wobble... wobble...

Before he realized it, he was holding the black soul again.

"It seems like you two are a good match," she smiled.

"...What?"

"The child clearly wants you to take him as well. What do you think?"

"But if I do..."

Seol then looked at the black soul.

He paused for a moment before letting out a deep sigh.

"Haah... Would you like to come with me?"

Though taking an item that didn't belong to you was already a problem, forcibly taking such an item was an even bigger issue. Even Seol wouldn't be able to deal with the consequences of that.

However, for some unknown reason, the black soul began to rapidly nod his head happily.

Nod nod...

"Then I guess I have no choice," said Seol. "Then... Haah... I need to find a way to deal with Kleptomaniac..."

Seol then began to walk toward the door the woman pointed at earlier.

Creaaaak...

As Seol stepped through the door with his items, the soul who owned the stall next to the female stall owner quickly came running.

"I can't believe you recommended him to take Yahum's item... Are you out of your mind?"

"Hehehe... I doubt he could take it with him anyway. Lord Yahum will punish him for it!"

"Ah... So you were aiming for that, haha! I see... It's going to be quite fun to watch."

* * *

[You have reached the end of the Ghost Door.]

[The Linked Adventure continues.]

[This Adventure is very dangerous.]

[You can only collect your rewards after all Adventures have been cleared.]

[You begin your next Adventure.]

[Your 28th Adventure is starting.]

[Adventure 28. The Master of the Ghost Door]

As Seol stepped through the door, he was greeted by Yeo-myeong, drenched in blood, and Filia with a shadow cast over her face.

'They've obviously been through a lot.'

Yeo-myeong and Filia couldn't welcome Seol back; they weren't in their right minds.

However, being strong individuals, they did their best to hide it from Seol, not wanting to let him worry.

Thud...

Thud Thud Thud...

"Is that... a drum?"

Clap!

"And a bak?"

T/N: Baks are a Korean instrument made from six wooden boards tied together at one end, like a clapper.

The sound of traditional Eastern instruments felt like a marching band, steadily advancing toward him.

Hum...

Hum hum hum hum...

The surroundings slowly began to grow brighter as lit candles were lined up evenly on both sides.

And then...

"Hehehehe..."

"Kuahahahahahaha!"

"It's been a long time... since I've sensed a living being like this."

Ghosts began to line up, revealing themselves. Though they looked similar to humans at a glance, they looked much, much more sinister.

"Greed. You have brought such hideous greed."

"What do you desire?"

Raise!

Raise!

Yeo-myeong and Filia both raised their weapons and placed them forth.

"Such greed!" shouted one of the ghosts. "But greed, too, is one of the greatest powers."

"Greed can make you do anything, after all! Hehehe, good!"

"But... What do you desire?" a ghost asked Seol.

Float float...

"I have no plans to answer you," responded Seol.

Clap!

"Y-You foul..."

"It doesn't matter! Hehe..."

A ghost then stepped forward before pointing a finger at Yeo-myeong.

"You! You will face Hwinin, the Tornado!"

"Okay."

Another ghost then stepped forward, pointing at Filia.

"And you... Gozom, the Steel, will face you."

"...Okay."

Thud thud thud...

Multiple ghosts stepped forward to point at Seol.

"And you..."

Clap!

Suddenly, a heavy, thunderous sound erupted from behind the ghosts.

"All of you, step back... Hehehehehe!"

"Y-Yahum!"

"All of you are annoying... fuck off already!"

"Y-Yes!"

Thud thud thud...

Clap!

The sound of drums and baks.

The ghosts swiftly retreated in fear.

And then... the darkness gradually began to recede even further.

Faaade...

"Huh...?"

"Th-that's..."

Yeo-myeong and Filia both gasped in fear.

A ghost, the size of an ogre, laid on their side, chuckling at Seol.

"You arrogant human... Did you think that you'd be able to leave with my item?"

Seol looked at the black soul before laughing as if it was ridiculous.

'This was... Yahum's item? No wonder...'

Yahum slowly stood up.

Thud thud thud...

While he was definitely massive, the energy he emitted was far more terrifying.

Clap!

"You... won't be able to receive any reward."

"...Why not?"

"Because you can never defeat me! Hehehehehe!"

Those who took items that did not belong to them in the night market had to face Yahum themselves, the master of the Ghost Door.

He was as strong as all of the ghosts here combined.

"Thieves like you... deserve to get punished! Hm... Alright! I will crush you and turn you into a weapon as well!" said Yahum while pulling out a spiked club.

"What do you mean by thief?" asked Seol. "You should get it straight."

"...What did you just say?"

Thud thud thud...

Seol was not afraid of the situation at all. In fact, he knew that he would've had to face Yahum in the first place.

"I'm not stealing from you, I'm robbing you."

"You insolent little...!"

Clap!

Fwiiiirl...

The souls beside Seol all returned to their original item forms.

Thud thud thud...

The black soul had turned into a pair of black gloves. Seol quickly tossed his original gloves aside and equipped them.

"Still, I'd take armed robbery over sneaking around and stealing behind people's backs any day."

Clap!

As the shadows enveloped Seol's body, he saw a new message.

[Haunted-Peerless: Yahum's Dokkaebi Gloves activates.]