HVG Ch 10

Episode 10

<Title – Black Child, why are these seaweed-brains^[1] acting like this toward Seo Haewon??>

Content –

So the rumor about Seo Haewon joining Black Child was real???? What the hell are they doing in the Wave? Are they some kind of idiots with only Seo Haewon in their heads, like his name is engraved on their prefrontal cortex or something? Are they out of their minds? Why are they freaking out over someone who’s already in a guild?   

And the freaks who worship Beom Ryeohan, are your brains made of jelly? Is there even a single normal person among the ones who like that guy? What’s so great about a walking disaster? Are you perhaps…?

<Comments>

▶ sdd9**: What the hell, punk.

↳ Are you perhaps…?

↳ Perhaps what.

↳ I’ve heard there are people who feel some twisted catharsis seeing Beom Ryeohan ranked at the bottom…

▶ ppeo**: I heard Seo Haewon is about to be kicked out of his guild.

↳ What the hell is this nonsense? LMAO. Why are you making things up? LOL.

↳ How do you know if it’s made up or not?

↳ LMAO. Is there anyone who doesn’t know Seo Haewon is basically carrying the Red Cloud Guild afloat by himself? Among all the top players in the Wave, in Red Cloud Guild, it’s literally just Seo Haewon. You think the guild leader’s just gonna let him go? LOL. And rumor has it the guild leader’s his older brother. What do you mean, “kicked out”? That’s a joke.  

▶ Roromong**: But isn’t it a bit too much for him to be the only one in Wave?

↳ Nah, there were a few others, but once the Wave level went up, they retreated into their guild. Just means they weren’t good enough.

↳ Yeah, but that’s basically the same thing. Seo Haewon was the one filling in the points again, on his own.

↳ Bro, Seo Haewon’s got what it takes. His stat coefficients^[2] are on another level. So what, are you the type to stick your main DPS^[3] in the back when setting up your deck? Are you brain-dead? And then, when your team gets wiped, you’ll finally start thinking about how to build your deck properly?

↳ “Coefficients,” LMAO. So when you’re forming a party, are you just gonna look at the deck and throw one damage dealer at the front? This is why people say not to team up with strategy-illiterate clowns. You know what a proper party setup looks like? DPS, sub-DPS, support. So why do you think they’re all holed up inside the fortress instead of charging out? Can’t wrap your tiny brain around it, huh?

↳ I don’t care, Seo Haewon is a pushover.

▶ ods**: So what’s the conclusion? Seo Haewon is joining Black Child?? So is he shacking up with Beom Ryeohan now? Damn… That’s the end of Seo Haewon.

↳ Are you illiterate? Reading and writing are basic skills, you know?

↳ LOL, why does everyone hate Beom Ryeohan so much while praising Seo Haewon?

↳ There’s this creeping discomfort with Beom Ryeohan, like he’s gonna take something from you. But when I see Seo Haewon, he seems like a gentle guy, so I feel at ease. And hey, in this country, being good at shooting is like being a soccer star.

↳ Let’s just admit it. Everyone’s just jealous because Beom Ryeohan is ridiculously good-looking. They can’t criticize his face, so they hate on everything else.

↳ Umm no??? Beom Ryeohan is ugly as hell. What are you even seeing? Are your eyes broken?

↳ Are your eyes orbiting in space or something?

▶ aesd**: But what happens if Seo Haewon really joins Black Child?

↳ What happens? The Red Cloud Guild is doomed.

↳ Nah, there’s no reason for him to leave. Chances are, Seo Haewon’s points are linked to the guild, so he can’t just walk out. He earned like 80% of Red Cloud Guild’s points. Do you think they’d let him go? The guild members would cling to his pant legs if they had to.

↳ Seo Haewon is probably treated well in his current guild, so why would he even bother going to Black Child??? Black Child is at the bottom of the guild rankings right now. Their points are in the negative.

↳ How would you know if he’s being treated well or not? He might not be.

↳ LOL. What kind of idiot would stay in a guild and work that hard if the treatment was crap? Seo Haewon basically built the Red Cloud Guild by himself. Of course he’s getting treated well.

↳ Uh… Try watching Red Cloud Guild’s Kim Il-hong’s stream. It’s not as great as you’d think…

▶ 988**: Kim Il-hong just posted a broadcast notice… What’s going on? Is something actually happening?

↳ Right now, half the people watching Kim Il-hong’s stream are asking about his connection to Beom Ryeohan, and the other half are asking if Seo Haewon is switching guilds.

↳ Look at the Seo Haewon stans changing usernames and spamming. Now he’s saying he’s gonna stream later. LMAO. This bastard is a master at pulling aggro.  

↳ There’s a notice? Where? I was just on the channel and didn’t see it.

* * *

Clack—

A pale hand lifted the brim of a worn-down cap, revealing black eyes beneath a mess of jet-black hair. The man lowered the mask he had been wearing slightly and scanned his surroundings.

“Just as I thought… It hasn’t reset yet.”

A landfill littered with all manner of trash and corpses. The stench of gas seeped from the tangled heaps of garbage and stung his nose, and every step he took brought waves of foul odor. Haewon quickly began prodding around with the barrel of his gun. It wasn’t long before he felt something solid press against the end.

Clearing away the trash, he uncovered a body that hadn’t been dead for long. Most likely someone who had died in today’s Wave.

[Would you like to change your skill tree? Yes / No]

[Changing skill tree to First Class Advancement: Necromancer.]

<Rite of Eternal Rest LV.6>

[Activating skill < Rite of Eternal Rest LV.6>.]

[A spirit responds to your call.]

A dark crimson mist whirled around them as the corpse’s body began to twitch in small, jerking movements. A mass of pitch-black smoke gathered atop the protruding bones of its back, writhing as it thickened. When it finally took form and lifted its head, it was no longer human. It had become a grotesque shadow of wailing sorrow.

Its limbs stretched unnaturally long, and its torso, along with a narrow waist, revealed an exposed spine, making it look grotesque at first glance. When the creature raised its head, its slick, blood-red eyes gleamed ominously as they turned toward Haewon.

—Kki… kkiae…

What’s its position? Defense? Offense?

The creature strained to open its clenched jaw, trying to express something. The moment Haewon stepped into the spot where it had been standing, a tangled rush of emotions gripped his throat. Grief, pain, rage, envy, and bitterness crawled out from within the black shadow, trying to swallow him whole.

[The spirit expresses its grievance! It questions the circumstances of its death! Rage engulfs the summoned spirit!]

—Kkiiiiii—

A bone-chilling shriek erupted from the gaping, pitch-black maw stretched to its limit. The grotesque creature bent its elongated neck and dragged its distorted limbs as it approached, thick black tears streaming down its face.

[Warning! The spirit’s alignment has been identified as “Evil.”]

[Opening status window]

Haewon quickly retreated and opened the spirit’s status window. Lines of text rapidly filled the space before his eyes. But most of the data was garbled, making only a few fragments legible, which made it far from easy to read.

#&*$

Age: &@!

Attributes: Iron(鐵) / #&(?) / Light(光)

Type: □#&系

Stats

HP □ 28,924

MP □ 9,394

ATK □□ 2,638

DEF □□ 198,375

Of all things, the most crucial, its “Type”, was obscured. But from what he could infer from the attributes and its defense stat, the picture was clear enough.

Looks like a defense type.

With an Iron attribute and exceptionally high defense, this spirit was most likely a defense-type when it was alive. It was also the attribute Haewon desired the most.

[The spirit writhes in sorrow!]

—Kkiiieeeek!

“Ugh!”

Its shriek rang through the air, making Haewon’s ears ring. If it rampaged any further, he’d lose his chance to suppress and retrieve it. The only way to absorb the spirit completely as his own power was to subdue it before it went berserk.  

Normally, Haewon would have canceled the rite as soon as the spirit was identified as “Evil” and let it return to eternal rest. But now, with the defense-type he had long been waiting for right in front of him, he couldn’t see anything else.

“Hey, hold on a second.”

[If you don’t release the rite, the spirit will soon become a vengeful ghost!]

He had never tried to tame a spirit this far into the “Evil” alignment before, but at this point, he figured he had nothing to lose. Haewon gritted his teeth, then relaxed his stance and activated a skill.

“<Third Rite LV.8>”

It was a skill that allowed him to ask the spirit three questions. However, if he answered any of the spirit’s questions in return, the backlash would deal damage directly to him. A reversal skill.

<First Rite>

The system text flickered and warped as a shackle formed around the spirit’s wrist. The massive shadow collapsed under the weight with a metallic thud as if weighed down by an iron club. Haewon caught his breath and asked, “You… What’s your name?”

—Kkiiieeee! Kkiiiee!

The spirit thrashed, trying over and over to break the shackle. The entire landfill was engulfed in a black mist, suffocating and filled with a dreadful aura. It was becoming harder and harder to breathe, but Haewon endured it with a will just as venomous.

After several spasms, the spirit’s strength finally gave out. It slumped back down with another thud. When it lifted its head again, its face was streaked with black tears.

—Kki… kki… Baek… Won… Hwi… I… I died… didn’t I…?

“……”

Don’t get swept up. There’s no need to be swayed.

There was a time when he used to feel guilty every time a spirit looked at him with those eyes full of tears. But after doing this again and again, it all just felt like a calculated act.

One of the rules of <Third Rite> was to never answer the spirit’s questions.

<Second Rite>

“Baek Wonhwi. I won’t ask how you died. Most people who end up here died just like you. They were dragged in without even knowing why, fought tooth and nail, only to meet a death as miserable as it gets. It’s driving you mad with resentment, doesn’t it? You want revenge on the bastards who did this to you. Don’t you?”  

The red glow in the spirit’s eyes, which had been fading, flared up again like an explosion. With both arms shackled, the creature thrashed like a lunatic.

—Kkiiie!!! The ones… who killed… me! That bastard… them… Those bastards… They… killed…!

“If you become a vengeful ghost now, I won’t be able to help you. But… maybe you can use that resentment for something else.”

—Kkiiie…?

<Third Rite>

Clang! Massive shackles snapped onto both of the spirit’s legs. There were five minutes left. If it didn’t answer within that time, the Rite would fail.

“If you come with me, I’ll release you. I’ll help you settle your grudge. So come to me. You want to kill those bastards, don’t you? Let’s screw over that bastard Administrator for once. You want to live just a little longer, don’t you?”

—Kki… Kkiie…

The creature sat frozen for a moment, its glowing red eyes blinking. Lowering its head, it looked down at its shackled limbs and then slowly turned its gaze toward the landfill, as if staring into the distance. The people were buried under heaps of trash.

This place, reeking with rot and leaking noxious gas, was “cleaned” once a week by the Administrator. When the Awakened dumped trash, dead bodies, or the remains of monsters into designated areas, the Administrator would teleport the waste to some unknown part of the continent for disposal.

Without that process, the plague would have already broken out on Seonak Island.

“So, what’s your decision?”

—Kkii…

The creature slowly raised a hand to wipe the black tears from its face. It let out a trembling sob, groaning with grief, before its body sagged and its head lifted once more. The red glow in its eyes had dimmed noticeably.

—G-Go… Kkiee… I’ll go… Take… Take me with you…

“Good… That’s a smart choice. But you won’t be able to return to your original form. Is that okay?”

The creature glanced down at its discarded body in the landfill, then slowly nodded. What was left of it wasn’t much to begin with; one arm was completely torn off and beyond repair.

Haewon lowered his mask and stepped toward the spirit. He reached out, placing his hand on the shifting, shadowy form. When the swirling miasma seeped into his palm, he felt a faint sting.

<Spirit Absorption LV.6>

[Using skill <Spirit Absorption LV.6>.]

Pssssss—

The pitch-black miasma began to sink beneath his skin. The oppressive energy that had cloaked the area like a black curtain gradually lifted, revealing the starless night sky above. Haewon flexed the hand that had absorbed the spirit, then looked down at the black mark that had appeared on his wrist. He gave a satisfied nod.

Just then, a loud sound echoed in his ear.