CHAPTER 51: CHAPTER 51: THE GHOST HUNT HAS BEGUN, HUNTING GHOSTS

[The "Ghost Hunt" has now begun.]

Fwish! BOOM!

The moment the event started, everything inside the ruined cities shifted.

The skies, already gloomy, darkened even further.

A pale, ghostly glow flickered across broken walls, and a chilling wind swept through the air.

It carried the faint smell of decay, something sharp and unsettling that had never been there before.

Across the 100 ruined cities, players stopped in their tracks.

Conversations halted. Even casual farmers felt a shiver run down their backs.

The atmosphere was no longer just eerie.

And then it began.

Shadowy silhouettes flickered into existence.

At first, faint outlines. Then more solid. Until shapes of twisted figures walked among the ruins.

Ding!

[The "Ghosts" have appeared.]

[They will give points based on their "Rank" and "Level."]

Murmurs filled the main squares of the cities.

Low-leveled players panicked, unsure what these strange figures meant.

But slowly, as the ghastly shapes wailed and staggered toward the living, everyone realized the truth.

These were the enemies of the event.

And hunting them was the only way to earn points.

At the far edge of his city, Stark lifted his head.

A towering figure had taken form nearby.

Its body was distorted and translucent, its claws like curved blades, its mouth stretched unnaturally wide.

’So it begins.’

Stark narrowed his eyes.

He knew the rules. He knew what was at stake.

The top ten gets the best rewards. But I only want first place. No exceptions.’

The first-place prize in this event was strong enough to be useful even after leaving the ruined city.

And even to stay relevant until the [First Cataclysm].

That alone made this event more than worth his time.

And to get it, he would crush any ghost who got in his way and score first.

The towering ghost finally noticed him and let out an ear-piercing shriek that echoed across the ruins.

---

[Nightmare Ghost (Level 25)]

[Rank: Uncommon]

[HP: 130,000]

---

"Hm."

Its sheer size and presence might’ve terrified others.

But Stark only analyzed the panel. It wasn’t even a boss.

Just an uncommon-ranked ghost. Its health was high, but not high enough.

In his past life, Stark hadn’t encountered any ghosts like these.

He’d fought weaker ones closer to the center.

But that was the difference: if you wanted to climb the leaderboard, you had to go where the real threats spawned.

This time, he was ready.

He raised his staff.

Fire Meteor!

A ball of searing flame formed overhead, climbing higher until it became a blazing meteor.

With a sharp motion of his staff, it came crashing down.

BOOM!

-93,375!

The ghost shrieked in agony, staggering back but not falling.

Vines of Fate!

Dark-green vines erupted from the cracked ground, twisting upward like living serpents.

They pulsed with violent energy before slamming into the ghost from multiple angles.

-87,300!

The ghost’s scream cut short as its body cracked, splintered, and finally shattered into whisps of fading light.

Ding!

[You have gained 14 Lives!]

Not bad, but the real prize was coming.

Ding!

[You have gained 5 Event Points.]

Stark smirked. Event Points were everything here.

The ranking system only cared about those.

And while weaker ghosts closer to the square only dropped one point each, and mid-city ghosts gave maybe two or three, this one had dropped five at once.

Exactly what he wanted.

He raised his hand, summoning the leaderboard.

---

[Event Leaderboard:]

[1. Oblivion: 5 Event Points]

[2. Ghost: 3 Event Points]

[3. EvilDemon: 3 Event Points]

---

Only three names. Nobody else had even managed a kill yet.

Event Points weren’t shared between individuals.

Whoever dealt the most damage to a ghost got all the points.

That meant "team hunting" only worked if everyone agreed to funnel points into one player.

Otherwise, it was a waste.

For Stark, this was perfect. He didn’t need a team. He was built for this.

In his past life, he remembered how chaotic this event had been for him, Max, and Seren.

Arguments constantly broke out when someone "stole" a kill and the points with it.

But this time, there were no teammates to drag him down. Just him.

One more thing stood out to him: the ghosts didn’t leave behind corpses.

That meant his [Hand of Avarice] skill was useless here.

’I guess it’s good I already that thanks to the [Underground Witch].’

He pushed forward without hesitation.

The city was the same, but everywhere he looked, more ghosts floated into existence.

Some had faces twisted in agony, others clawed the air with skeletal fingers, some crawled on all fours with glowing eyes.

They hadn’t replaced the monsters, the ruins still held regular spawns.

But now, on top of that, the ghosts were layered over the city.

It was chaos.

Stark didn’t care.

Fire Meteor! Vines of Fate! Storm of Lightning!

Boom! Crack! Boom!

-93,375! -87,300! -49,800!

Ghost after ghost shattered under the force of his spells.

Their health bars melted.

Their eerie screeches filled the air only to be cut short in bursts of light.

Whether it was a [Nightmare Ghost] or [Vengeful Ghost], he tore through them all.

He didn’t know most of them, but it didn’t matter.

Their attack patterns were different, some lunged, some tried to phase behind him, some unleashed cursed wails, but not one could get through his onslaught.

Even those that landed a hit did nothing.

Slash!

A [Ghoul Ghost] swiped at his barrier.

The sharp claws scratched against the glowing wall of energy, but the damage barely registered, less than a tenth of its health.

It dissolved under a follow-up blast.

When Stark finally paused to check, four hours had flown by.

He opened the leaderboard.

---

[Event Leaderboard:]

[1. Oblivion: 890 Event Points]

[2. EvilDemon: 533 Event Points]

[3. Ghost: 520 Event Points]

[4. CardMaster: 437 Event Points]

[5. ILoveLasagna: 410 Event Points]

[6. SoulsGod: 373 Event Points]

[7. PrinceLucas: 336 Event Points]

[8. GodOfViolence: 327 Event Points]

[9. Hollow: 299 Event Points]

[10. ZeroGravity: 278 Event Points]

...

---

The rankings stretched down further, but the gap was already obvious.

The deeper you hunted, the faster your points piled up.

The weaker players in the city square couldn’t keep up.

Only those on the outskirts stood a chance at climbing.

And Stark was crushing them all.

Nearly 900 points. Far above second place. His efficiency was unmatched.

’Good.’ His grin widened. ’But I can’t get careless.’

He remembered too many fools in his past life who let arrogance cost them.

Victory was never safe until it was over.

So he stayed sharp, pushing through wave after wave of respawning ghosts.

Until—

"Wooooooo~"

A sound unlike the others rose in the distance. Deep. Resonant.

Stark’s eyes narrowed. He turned, and froze.

"Oh," he muttered, staring at the towering monster that materialized. "So there are bosses, too."

The massive ghost was unlike the others.

Translucent, its four arms stretched unnaturally long.

Its mouth opened to reveal rows of jagged teeth. Its entire body radiated killing intent.

---

[Ghost General, Teeth (Level 25)]

[Rank: Rare (Unique Boss)]

[HP: 250,000]

---

’Unique Boss,’ Stark noted.

That probably explained why he’d never heard of them before.

Once killed, it would vanish for good. Only one player could ever claim the points.

And with that much health, its reward would be massive.

The general raised its arms slowly, teeth glinting as its body shimmered.

Then—

FWOOOSH!

It blurred forward, charging straight at Stark with a roar, all four arms spread wide as if to devour him whole.