[Yeo Woo-rim]: You got the quest, right?
[Jung Da-hoon]: I think I got more than just a quest…
[Yeo Woo-rim]: LOL I’ll come meet you for a moment
[Jung Da-hoon]: Yes, Pro.
I shifted my appearance from Jung Da-hoon back to my original form and immediately headed toward the abandoned building. A lot more ghosts were roaming around now, so I had to be extra cautious.
—What the hell? Why is the guy who’s supposed to be hauling water droplets loafing around on our turf?
—Did you even move the droplets? Get to work, lazybones.
Since I was walking around as Yeo Woo-rim, the uptight city ghosts couldn’t help throwing petty remarks at me as they passed.
—Sniff sniff. But he’s a human with a nice scent.
Even with a significantly higher soul affinity than most, I was still getting this kind of treatment. It was obvious what kind of reception other players would get.
Jung Da-hoon, who had been hanging upside down in the 18th-floor hallway with only his face poking out, immediately flapped down and ran over when he saw me step into the corridor.
“Pro! Has Kessler logged in yet?”
“Yes, he says he’ll be on in the afternoon.”
“Man, I’m so jealous. Making money while gaming…”
Jung Da-hoon then detached his bat wings and laid them out like a cushion. We each sat down on one wing, side by side.
“Feels nice and warm on the butt.”
“I warmed it for you, Pro. So, should I go ahead and share the quest details?”
“No need. You’ve read the quest already, right? If it’s okay with you, I think it would be best for you to go in person.”
“Me?”
I handed Jung Da-hoon’s name badge back to him. He was already well-known enough that he wouldn’t need to prove his identity.
“But… do you think I can really pull it off? Anyway, let me show you the quest.”
Neo City is in desperate need of a stable water source. However, the souls that have sealed themselves within the city refuse to contact the water fairies. They want you to resolve this issue.
— Quest Unlock Condition: Title “City’s Delegate” Acquired
After reading through the shared quest, I was confident in my judgment.
“After saving so many souls, I’ve accumulated too much Shadow Resistance. That makes me rather unpleasant to the Water Sprites.”
“Shadow Resistance? Why would that make you unpleasant to them?”
“The relationship between the Water Sprites and the city spirits is… not great. To put it bluntly, the Water Sprites absolutely loathe these nasty soul bastards, which is why they left this place. Shadow Resistance is basically like ‘qi’ or spiritual energy. Da-hoon, do you remember how the ghosts in the Shadow Castle didn’t attack us? It’s similar to that. Since I’ve saved so many souls, my Shadow Resistance has skyrocketed. To the highly sensitive Water Sprites, I might seem… repellent.”
“I… I’m not sure if you know, but I’ve collected quite a few city-related titles.”
“Oh, how many?”
“About ten, give or take…”
“Then that makes you even more suitable. You’re a pure soul with no ghost stink on you, but you also carry a lot of prestigious titles—basically a VIP. You’re the perfect person to negotiate. Besides, you’re a great speaker.”
According to Kessler, Jung Da-hoon was amazing at haggling for fan merchandise. Kessler, who often ended up paying absurdly high prices, said he learned a lot just from watching him.
“…Are you saying you trust me?”
“I trusted you the most back when we were on the ship, too.”
“Oh…”
“With your sincerity and politeness, I think you’ll get good results. From my experience, every single one of those spirits is ridiculously stuck-up. I’m sure the Water Sprites are sick of dealing with those arrogant city ghosts.”
“Understood. I’ll head out right away.”
“Thank you.”
“No, thank you.”
While Jung Da-hoon handled the fate of the city, I planned to stay as Yeo Woo-rim and care for the leftover, neglected souls.
Up until now, I’d been mostly saving the city’s bigshots and their acquaintances, which meant I hadn’t been able to help the marginalized. Truthfully, the little ones had no power and were weak, so saving a bunch of them wouldn’t benefit me much.
‘I’m doing it because it just feels good, that’s all.’
***
You have obtained a hardened, dried egg.
—Peep peep
A cute chick soul was born from it. The way it tapped my finger with its beak was so adorable I reached out and patted its head.
“Undertaker is such a good profession.”
How could it not be? I didn’t put much thought into choosing my class, but in a death-themed game, the Undertaker is the job most closely tied to death.
I saved another chirper, a tiny lizard, and a dragonfly soul. Though, unfortunately, the dragonfly was devoured by the lizard soul the moment I saved it.
…In any case, the city—where survival of the fittest reigned—was growing livelier by the day.
—Hey, human. Hurry up and haul the spirits.
“Me?”
—Who else would I be talking to, dumbass? Move it. You smell nice, so we’re trusting you with this. You should be grateful.
—Yeah, and you don’t even carry water. Useless. Sniff sniff… Just a nice-smelling nobody.
The city’s uptight spirits often came by to sniff me. And then they’d dump all sorts of chores on me.
—Until Jung Da-hoon gets here, we need to gather the deceased spirits in one place.
They might’ve been rude, but they weren’t entirely self-centered. They even took the initiative to rescue nearby souls sometimes…
It was while I was following their orders and transporting a soul that needed saving.
—Be careful with that one. If it gets damaged even a little, you’ll be held fully responsible.
“…Oh, wonderful.”
Just then, a scrawny soul came to me, clutching an even thinner shadow in his arms.
—Excuse me, where do I need to go to save this soul? Please, help my father too.
—We don’t take in paupers. We’re reviving the city district first.
—Please… He’s my precious father.
—Shut it! This kind of scrap soul is useless in this city.
—sob sob…
Crushed by disappointment, the spirit stood frozen, holding his limp father, tears dripping down like droplets of shadow.
—Human! Drop that one off and move on!
“Yes.”
After gathering the soul, I straightened my back and looked up at the birds, butterflies, and flowers that flew across the sky.
—That idiot Jung Da-hoon. He goes around saving trash like that, and now they’re clinging to us.
—Idiot Jung Da-hoon.
‘What the hell are these lunatics even saying…’
No wonder the Water Sprites refuse to deal with them.
By targeting the big names in the city first, I’d inadvertently ended up only saving the privileged and their cronies. That was probably a mistake.
—Get to work! Hurry up!
This bunch… just because I listened to them nicely, they’re acting like this.
—Why’d you stop, slave-human?
I stared silently at the ghost barking orders at me. He snorted and smirked like he was daring me to do something about it.
—Slave-human!
Honestly, I wasn’t even mad. It’s just a game after all. Just preprogrammed characters. But with spirits like this, even if we did seal the deal, the water would get cut off again soon. Hell, just look at the way they treat kids searching for their parents…
—Where do you think you’re going?!
“I’m going to check if there are any valuable spirits elsewhere.”
—You think that stupid head of yours can even recognize a noble spirit if you saw one? Let’s see it, then.
As I passed the sneering ghosts burping and cackling, I thought to myself:
Uprisings and power shifts have always happened throughout history. And history repeats itself.
I approached the small soul, still cradling his father and shedding shadowy tears onto the ground. At some point, I had already shifted into Jung Da-hoon’s form.
Silently, I reached out my hand and channeled energy into the father’s soul.
—……
—……!! Father! My father!
“He’s an old soul. It’ll take at least five more nights before he can rise again. Leave him where the moonlight hits each night—he’ll regain strength faster that way.”
—Thank you so much! Truly, thank you!
From the soul’s pitch-black face, shadows poured down like a flood.
“But… are there more spirits who couldn’t get help?”
The soul quickly wiped away the flowing shadows and nodded vigorously.
“Where? Can you show me?”
—You’ll help us?
“I’ll assess the situation first.”
—Please help us!
I placed a hand on the kneeling soul’s head, and a chill seeped into my palm.
—Please…
Right. Rebellions have always been part of history. I know that when the dominant class is overthrown and a new power takes hold, a different kind of hierarchy will just rise again.
Still, it’s worth severing entrenched hierarchies at least once. And this was the right moment to do it.
It wasn’t something I had to do. But sometimes, it feels good to do what you don’t have to.
I pulled up the map and checked the area I’d already saved. Just under 20% of the city.
“…Hmm?”
The fragile soul clutching his father carefully tugged on my sleeve, and I followed him.
—There’s a whole bunch over that way.
We walked down an old alley in the city. At the edge of the desolate outskirts, a staircase led underground.
***
!!! You have discovered the underground city, ‘Shadowpolis,’ for the first time.
Does a beautiful city remain beautiful even in its hidden parts? The answer lies here.
— +20 Art
— +10 Strength
— +20 Exploration
— +1,500 EXP
— Permanent +10% Affinity with the Underground City
—It’s here.
I followed the soul down the pitch-black passage. And what I finally saw…
A mountain of tattered souls, piled one atop another.
