I'm the Only One Who Can't See Ghosts-Chapter 120: Alone in the Cave (5)

And so, the disciples of Ilwol-Oakmoon fled the scene with bloodcurdling screams.

But the other factions had no idea what had happened.

Had they known, no one would’ve been more thrilled than the disciples of Ten Thousand Li Sect, who merely scoffed when they heard distant screams.

“Must be some amateurs screaming over trash-tier wraiths.”

“Right? Absolutely pathetic, Senior.”

Sure, the wraiths looked horrific—probably souls that had been sacrificed and drained.

But that was it.

“Seriously, what’s there to be scared of?”

In terms of strength, they were no more threatening than your average vengeful ghost.

There was nothing terrifying about such weak spirits.

“The only thing cultivators fear is failure to attain enlightenment. Wouldn’t you agree?”

The Senior of Ten Thousand Li Sect snorted and spoke to the disciples.

A chorus of “Yes, Senior,” echoed from behind him.

But then—

Another identical chorus of “Yes, Senior,” echoed from beyond the next chamber.

Of course, the leader of Ten Thousand Li Sect right now was Haejun, their Senior.

There shouldn’t have been anyone ahead of him.

So who just spoke… from up ahead? And why did it sound like multiple people?

“Everyone, battle positions.”

That voice—they’d all heard it. It had physical presence.

And only beings with physical presence can make that kind of sound.

“A mimic-type hyperbeing… Could it be a Jangsan-beom?”

“A Jangsan-beom? In a cave? Not even a mountain? Definitely feels like Deungseon Cave, though.”

“Doesn’t matter. Try not to injure it. That hide sells for a fortune.”

Without hesitation, the disciples of Ten Thousand Li Sect began a professional-level search.

The moment they entered the next chamber, they flung talismans in every direction, sealing the room, and pulled out their sect’s signature cursed tool—fishing rods—and whipped them around the room.

“Tch. Slipped away already?”

But all they caught were faint traces of low-level wraiths.

“Slipped away? Slipped away? Slipped away? Slipped away?”

The same voice rang out from another room.

Mocking them.

Haejun, the Senior, bit his lip.

“If it’s fast enough to slip away like that, we won’t catch it easily. Forget it. We move on.”

“Understood, Senior!—”

A beat later, the same voice echoed from their own room.

“Understood, Senior!”

“Son of a—this damn thing’s toying with us?! Lock down the source of that voice with the net!”

At that single command, the disciples quickly wove their lines into a net—intricate and radiant like a mandala.

The secret technique of their sect:

Indara’s net.

A forbidden technique specialized in capturing living beings, especially divine beasts or hyperbeings.

Even a fully matured Jangsan-beom wouldn’t escape once caught.

The net would home in on its target with lightning speed and engrave a mandala upon it.

“...?”

But it didn’t move.

Why?

Even if the culprit was a being that merely mimicked voices, it was still alive—Indara’s net should’ve reacted.

So why didn’t it?

“What the hell is going on?”

Haejun and the disciples stared at the still-floating net, dumbfounded.

It fluttered uselessly in the air—as if there was nothing alive to catch.

“I clearly wrote the incantation to trap the voice mimic…”

The spell itself was flawless.

So why no reaction?

As the room hung in a strange silence, a familiar voice came from the previous chamber.

“To think something so lowly dares to mock us?”

Then from the next chamber:

“To think something so lowly dares to mock us?”

And from the chamber ahead:

“To think something so lowly dares to mock us?”

Even then, the Indara’s net didn’t budge.

A few panicked disciples swept their lines around, but they caught nothing more than blurry wraiths.

Haejun swallowed and ordered:

“Burn an Eongpa Talisman.”

“But… our supply—”

“Shut up and do it.”

The Eongpa Talisman—a talisman unique to the Ten Thousand Li Sect.

It detects spirits in the vicinity by emitting spiritual waves, much like how whales use echolocation.

While using it would reveal their location, it was the only reliable way to scan the area for souls.

Blue light sparked as the talisman burned, sending out pulses that rippled across rooms.

“Only the wraiths and us here, Senior.”

“Yeah… I felt the same.”

But Haejun’s voice didn’t stop.

It continued—from a different room.

“Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit…”

The real Haejun muttered under his breath.

“Then who the hell is saying all that?”

No one answered.

They simply looked at each other.

Or rather, looked toward where they assumed their comrades were.

“R-Run!!!”

“Wait… isn’t that the voices of the Ilwol-Oakmoon guys?!”

It was.

The same disciples who had screamed and fled earlier.

Now it was their voice shouting: Run!

The disciples of Ten Thousand Li Sect began to back away.

“What the hell… What the actual hell is this? It’s not a living being or a ghost, and it’s mimicking voices? Shit. Shit!”

Even Haejun bolted, fleeing alongside his fellow disciples—

Out of Deungseon Cave.

* * *

“What the hell is this thing? It mimics voices but it’s neither a living being nor a ghost? Shit. Shit!”

A being that’s neither alive nor dead... mimicking voices?

That kind of thing is everywhere these days.

I muttered to myself while still holding my phone.

“Do these so-called cultivators not know what a Bluetooth speaker is?”

Scratching my head, I grabbed a snack from the bag in front of me.

As expected of a top disciple from a high-ranking sect like Ilwol-Oakmoon—even the snacks they picked were top-tier.

My cheap Chinese Bluetooth speaker.

An absolute gem that worked as both a recorder and a speaker.

All I did was play back a recorded voice using this thing—

And boom, they bolted like terrified rabbits.

Man, what a bunch of amateurs. I’m honestly speechless.

Folding the snack bag into a triangle, I got up.

And right away, I felt amazing.

Like my brain had been dunked in ice water—fresh and clear.

“If I use Negative eyes in this state, I probably won’t even get a headache.”

Hoo…

I wonder if leveling up my Heavenly Demon skills reduces the mental strain when casting?

If I mess with their enlightenment just a little more, maybe I’ll finally be able to pull off that ultra-badass Heavenly Demon’s Step.

In that case—

There’s no reason to hesitate.

That’s how I started playing harmless pranks on the cultivators who entered Deungseon Cave.

Like luring two girls who clearly didn’t get along with a shiny treasure I planted, then locking them in a room with a mysterious rule:

They couldn’t leave unless they did “that.”

“Hey, what the hell? Didn’t you say you could read this ancient writing?”

“Y-Yeah, but… uh, it says if we want to leave, we have to…”

“Ugh, you’re always like this. So timid. No wonder you get ignored in your sect.”

“To leave, we have to… um… do that.”

“Do what, exactly?”

“T-That…”

I mean, obviously they’re not actually going to do it.

They’ll argue, wonder if it’s real, get flustered—that’s the fun part.

Eventually, I’ll just open the exit once I’ve had my fun.

But, uh… what the hell are you two doing?

It’s barely been ten minutes?

Didn’t you two hate each other earlier?

What the hell is going on?!

The South Pole has melted.

The North Pole is heating up.

This is a full-blown Heavenly Demon Polar Bear Slaughter!!!

Screaming internally, I quickly switched screens and forced myself to focus on my actual task.

“Ughh… is this how you’re supposed to use it?”

Using a translation tool, I converted Korean into what I liked to call Ancient Oblivion Language—whatever that meant.

Then I carved that gibberish into the wall of a certain room.

That same room was where a girl and a scholar party eventually ended up.

“More ancient writing. Hey, Doc, can you read this?”

“Let’s see here. Hmmm? Hmm?? Huh???”

“Why are you dragging it out like that?”

“Ah, it says… ‘Anyone who enters this room will fall into corruption unless they exit quickly.’”

The younger woman immediately started packing her things.

“Corruption? I don’t care what it means—if that’s not a curse, I don’t know what is. Let’s go.”

“N-No, I think I’ll stay. As a scholar, I want to test whether this room’s curse actually exists or not.”

“What the hell are you saying?! Are you possessed or something?!”

And just like that, after getting thoroughly beaten up by the gifted girl, the scholar was half-dragged out of the room.

When I overheard that conversation…

Chills ran down my spine.

What exactly had I written when I translated Korean into “Ancient Oblivion Language”?

It meant this:

“Once you enter this room, if you don’t leave Deungseon Cave quickly… you’ll experience ‘Amta’.”

Yeah.

A truly terrifying curse.

So scary, in fact, that I would’ve run out crying if it were real.

And yet that scholar… what the hell was he doing willingly trying to get cursed?

Good thing the inscription was just some nonsense I made up.

Honestly, most scholars and PhDs are a little crazy anyway.

One by one, all the adventuring parties fell victim to my pranks and ran away.

Now, only one group remained: The chick and her crew.

What were their names again?

I think it was… Seonghwa Jinga sect or something like that.

Time to play a little trick on Seonghwa Jinga, then.

Except… nothing worked on them.

The chick—was terrified, squealing out things like:

“P-Peep!”

“Should we retreat and regroup for nowww?!”

“PPIII! PPIII! S-Sorry, that’s just a reflex cry… can’t control it!”

“Sniff… I miss him. Even though I know he wouldn’t be here at a time like this…”

But her subordinates didn’t flinch. Not even a little.

They simply watched the trembling chick and calmly responded:

“Miss, we came here prepared to die. Even in death, we will protect you and help you ascend to the seat of Deungseon. Please rest easy.”

“Don’t say such foolish things. If you die, who’s going to take care of me in the morning?”

“…Others, younger and more capable than me, will be by your side. You won’t need to worry about a thing, Miss.”

“I said, don’t talk like that.”

And just like that, Seonghwa Jinga and her group marched straight toward the room with the jar.

I couldn’t believe it.

There was actually a group my pranks didn’t work on?

They were basically death-accepting zealots!

“Well, crap…”

In the end, I decided to follow them.

– – The End of The Chapter – –

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