Ian knew that the difficulty of the dungeon, based on the Neapolitan ghost story, was undeniably high, and he had no desire to deny it.
Just looking at the patterns alone made it clear. You couldn’t clear it with brute force alone; you had to use your head, which was already a problem.
‘Of course, someone might say it’s no big deal to use your head… but if you can think straight in such a tense situation, then you’re a tough guy.’
If someone tossed you into an abandoned house and said, “There are ghosts wandering around, so check the manual and avoid them,” it’s only natural for your mental state to crack.
‘Moreover, you need a bit of luck to clear it.’
In summary, the difficulty was considerable, and he had no desire to deny it.
However, at least Ian did not harbor fear or lose confidence about tackling the dungeon.
Why? The answer was simple.
‘I’ve been through this a lot.’
Because I had experience seeing the ending of Heroic Academia.
He had experience from seeing the ending of Heroic Academia. To see the ending, he had to clear every type of dungeon, and naturally, he had cleared the dungeons based on ghost stories as well.
The courage he had gained from fighting zombies in the Brookers territory had solved the problem of dealing with abandoned houses and ghosts.
‘Anyway, there are two ways to clear a dungeon based on a Neapolitan ghost story. The first is to avoid areas where a so-called impossible pattern might occur and find the boss. For example, here, that means going in a direction that avoids using stairs.’
He could smash through the dungeon itself, like breaking through the ceiling, as the first method.
‘The second is to just smash through everything, impossible patterns included, while quickly finding the boss. Luck needs to be on your side, though.’
Ignoring the manual completely could also be a viable method.
No matter how strong they were, if they appeared in this dungeon, weren’t they just monsters?
He could defeat them all. However, if he broke too many rules, they would grow exponentially stronger, so it was better to quickly find and defeat the boss.
The first route involved destroying terrain and the second involved handling monsters swiftly.
Ian chose the latter.
‘While the first route is safer, it’s not really practical here.’
As seen in the manual, the method to break the patterns of the Flareon Mansion dungeon mostly involved reducing noise.
But if you were destroying the terrain, wouldn’t that naturally create noise?
‘If I break through and end up meeting someone in a hood, I’ll immediately trigger the pattern.’
To avoid such mishaps, it was better to choose the second route, even if it was less safe.
‘If I didn’t know anything at all, it would be different… but there are ways to find the boss.’
Ian thought of the Demon Sword on his back.
Though he couldn’t wield it due to the seal and the blade’s hatred, using its abilities was still possible.
‘Rebrion will activate its ability as soon as it detects an enemy nearby.’
It had the power to analyze enemy and his combat strength, and if it concluded that he was at a disadvantage, it would grant him a powerful buff.
While the boss of this dungeon might not be strong, he could detect the activation of the ability whether it was an advantage or disadvantage, so finding it should be easy.
‘The Flareon Mansion dungeon has three floors from the basement with the management office. It’s spacious, but it won’t take too long if I run at full speed.’
The plan was already complete. The only remaining issue was Igor.
He was known for his reckless and fearless behavior, so he probably wouldn’t be scared by seeing ghosts… but then again, you never know with people.
‘Well… he could be surprisingly fearful.’
The possibility had to be kept open. Ian didn’t forget that.
As he turned his head to check Igor’s condition, he suddenly heard a scream.
“Help, help me!”
“Huh? Hey Ian, did you hear that? What’s this? I hear someone screaming.”
Igor’s frown as he looked towards the direction of the scream was evident.
It was the moment No. 7, the pattern involving screaming humans, began.
But the problem didn’t end there.
“Heheheh… heheheh…”
From afar, something cloaked in a robe began to approach.
The simultaneous occurrence of patterns 6 and 7. At that moment, Ian’s eyes widened.
‘An impossible pattern right from the start?’
According to the manual, for pattern 7, you should lie down and reduce noise. But for pattern 6, you should keep moving and not stay in one place.
In a life-threatening moment, Ian quickly thought.
‘Given this situation, one side has to be broken. I should leave that woman and search for the other side.’
Having made his decision, Ian tried to call Igor.
Unfortunately, the woman was already approaching.
Igor, who seemed frozen, appeared to be paralyzed by fear.
At that moment, a voice from the cloaked woman drifted through, as if her soul was escaping.
“Why are you standing in front of me?”
“Hm… it’s a scream, but it has a refined, deep voice. She must be at least 13 years older… perfect as a bride.”
“…Can’t you hear me?”
“I don’t know who you are, but it’s best if you just keep moving. I’m quite busy looking for someone. And clean yourself up; even if you’re a vagrant, have some dignity as a human.”
“Hah… really.”
As Igor waved his hand dismissively, the ghost’s demeanor shifted.
Although her expression was hidden by the robe, she was clearly furious.
At the same time, a chilling statement flowed from the ghost.
“Heh heh heh… Don’t you know? I know the people you’re looking for!”
“If that’s true, it would save me some trouble.”
“But what’s this? You will never find that woman. Do you know why? Because I…”
“I told you not to open your mouth because it stinks, didn’t I? And you said I couldn’t find her? Then I’ll beat you until you spill everything.”
“What?”
In an instant, the ghost’s expression turned to one of bewilderment.
What kind of person was this? He had seen countless people who tried to sneak past in silence.
He had seen people trembling and running desperately countless times, but what on earth was this person?
There were sometimes people who babbled without knowing their place, but that was as far as it went. Most would shrink back at the slightest hint of aggression.
But this person was different.
“Come here! I’ll twist your neck!”
“Gah!”
The intensity in his eyes as he charged was unmistakable.
An endless abyss of madness and thoughts unreadable!
“Aaaah!”
It was genuine! He was a madman who intended to beat the ghost into submission.
This was no time to be dawdling. The decision to flee immediately was made, but.
“Sa-Bak-Gwe!”
“Kaaah! What is this! Let go! Let go, I said!”
“Do you want to live? Then tell me! Where have you hidden her?”
“Guh! I… I need to be… released first…”
Igor had already grabbed her from the back with terrifying speed.
With his forearm and biceps pinching like pincers, he applied intense pressure to her neck.
The ghost’s cries of pain emerged.
Seeing this, Ian let out a derisive laugh.
‘I was worried about all sorts of things.’
It was the moment he realized Igor was crazier than he could have imagined.
***
“…Has he taken care of it? It’s a pity we didn’t extract any information.”
Despite the ghost’s valiant resistance, it was no match for Igor, who was like a runaway train with a broken handle.
The ghost was left in a pitiful state, with a shattered neck.
Under Igor’s choke, the ghost lost consciousness and began to dissipate. Ian approached, watching the ghost being swept away by the wind.
“Sa-Bak-Gwe, huh… Why use such a name instead of just saying choke?”
“Didn’t you tell me and now you’re flaunting it?”
“I’m pretty sure I said it was just a joke back then.”
Sa-Bak-Gwe, despite its grand-sounding name, was essentially nothing special.
“It’s just a rear choke… If I had known it would end up like this, I should have just told you it was a choke from the start.”
Eri, who was recently learning jiu-jitsu, Ian had shared a few techniques with her when she begged for useful ones.
At that time, he had jokingly called the basic technique a ‘Sa-Bak-Gwe’.
Even though he had corrected it, Igor seemed to have taken quite a liking to the name.
For a moment, Ian considered pointing out the correct technique name, but… it didn’t seem necessary.
‘If he likes it, what does it matter?’
Whether it’s a rear choke or Sa-Bak-Gwe, what difference would it make? No one in this world would know that technique anyway.
He probably wouldn’t think it odd if the name of the technique changed. He would just deal with it.
Deciding it wasn’t worth worrying about, Ian turned his head.
‘Still, I didn’t expect to defeat it with just a choke.’
Ian stared intently at the spot where the ghost had vanished.
He still couldn’t understand how it had happened.
‘Was it really possible to kill with just a simple choke without using mana?’
Even though it was a ghost, as a dungeon monster, it should have been capable of dying after taking a certain amount of damage.
What Igor had used was simply a rear choke.
It wasn’t an attack infused with mana but pure physical force… and it worked on a ghost?
It wasn’t even a human, but something already dead that didn’t need to breathe!
Just how much had Igor leveled up during the break to reach the point where he could kill a monster with just a rear choke?
‘Could it be that Igor has a talent for divine power?’
The idea crossed his mind briefly.
There were indeed people with such traits.
Some had a latent attribute that was so weak it went unnoticed, or they didn’t even bother to investigate because they thought it was impossible from the start.
Igor might be one of those cases. In the original, he was an additional random enemy, not a playable character, so there was no specific information about him.
‘His personality fits Dark attribute better than the Holy attribute … but attributes are innate, so it’s hard to say.’
Divine power grants beings the ability to inflict severe damage on demons or monsters.
If he possessed a sufficient amount of it, it would indeed be possible.
Maybe it was something to look into at some point? That thought crossed his mind.
“Aah… maybe it’s because I’m marked, but this hurts like hell.”
Whoosh!
“What’s that?”
“Huh? Why are you staring so intensely at my pendant, Ian?”
Igor pulled out a pendant he had hidden in his clothes.
It was a pendant with an old-fashioned design that seemed out of place for him.
It had a white base adorned with gold and featured a hinge in the center, presumably for inserting a picture.
Of course, it wasn’t unusual for Igor to wear a pendant. It wasn’t even noteworthy if he wore a wedding ring.
The real problem was that Ian recognized the pendant.
‘That’s… an item worn by high-ranking members of the Erisian Church. Why does he have it?’
