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“Strange, benefactor. The hole we fell through has disappeared.”

The group found themselves in a large, square-shaped room. It was surrounded by stone walls but didn’t feel like a dungeon; rather, it resembled a plain, unrefined storage space.

At Tassid’s remark, Repenhardt frowned and also looked up.

“Hmm, this is….”

Despite falling for quite some time, the hole they had fallen through had vanished, replaced by an intact stone ceiling.

‘What is this? Has the space warped? But this isn’t even a dungeon, so why is this happening?’

Judging by the architecture, it was clear that this place wasn’t a relic of the Silver Age. In fact, it was even less sophisticated than modern constructions made by dwarves.

Puzzled, Repenhardt’s group looked around. Thanks to Russ’s Blade Aura, they had a decent view of their surroundings. Suddenly, Siris noticed an inscription on one side of the room and looked at Repenhardt.

“Repenhardt-nim? Over there….”

“Hmm?”

Repenhardt approached and read the inscription. The writing wasn’t in an ancient language or a forgotten race’s script. It was written in the common language used by humans of the current era.

-To my beloved disciple, whom I shall one day retrieve. Congratulations in advance on your departure. This is a gift left by your master. I hope you find it to your liking. Gerard.

Repenhardt blinked. Judging by the inscription, it seemed they had indeed arrived at the right place…

“But what gift is he talking about?”

No matter how he looked at it, it was just an empty storage room, wasn’t it? Puzzled, Repenhardt’s group continued to search the room. On one side of the square stone chamber, there was a large door. Approaching it, they found another inscription.

-Go forth! My disciple! With the great teachings you have received, you will surely be delighted with this gift!

“…What is he talking about?”

Things were getting more and more confusing. Scratching their heads, Repenhardt’s group passed through the corridor. After walking for a bit, they emerged into a space far larger than the previous stone chamber—a vast area that could be described as a grand plaza.

“What is this place?”

Russ was surveying the surroundings when his expression suddenly hardened. It wasn’t just Russ; Tassid, Siris, and even Sillan sensed the sudden change in the atmosphere and assumed defensive stances.

“Huh?”

“What’s going on?”

A dense malevolent energy began to pour in from all sides of the chamber. It was an immense, overwhelming darkness that even an average dungeon would struggle to contain. Just as Repenhardt was about to frown in response to the horrifying aura, a strange moan echoed through the space.

“Uuuuuu!”

Simultaneously, enormous shadows appeared around the stone chamber. These shadows moaned eerily as they slowly approached. When they finally revealed themselves, Sillan bit his tongue in shock.

“What? What are those ghosts?”

Being a priest, Sillan immediately recognized the nature of the shadows.

Ghosts—earthbound spirits that had harbored their grudges for so long that their forms were nearly opaque, and each step they took produced a heavy sound on the ground. These were malevolent spirits powerful enough to physically impact the living world, comparable to demons found in dungeons!

However, Sillan’s surprise wasn’t solely due to their strength.

“They, they look really familiar!”

At Sillan’s words, Repenhardt nodded with a grim expression. The ghosts, although each with a different face, evoked an inexplicable familiarity. Describing them as ‘familiar’ might not be entirely accurate, yet they unmistakably seemed so. Each ghost was over two meters tall, with bodies densely packed with muscle, leaving no gaps in their formidable physiques. They all looked remarkably like Repenhardt!

“Uuuuuuuu…”

“Aaaaaaaa…”

The ghosts, filled with intense hostility, began advancing towards the group. Repenhardt gritted his teeth and assumed a battle stance.

“What the hell? What are these things?”

“He said he’d leave a gift, but where is it? Instead, there are evil spirits roaming around?” Repenhardt looked up in disbelief and suddenly noticed a large panel hanging above the cave entrance. Written on it, in a familiar language, was a message:

“This is the place where Gym Unbreakable first opened the martial arts hall. And those ghosts are all the ones who couldn’t withstand the great teachings and died. Technically, they are your seniors, but since they didn’t learn properly, you don’t need to treat them with respect. Nevertheless, even those insignificant ones have become quite strong as ghosts. You might find it satisfying to beat them up for training and to relieve some stress. Wishing my beloved disciple the best of luck. Your master, Gerard.”

“……”

For a moment, Repenhardt felt breathless. The entire party was left speechless. No one could fathom what he was thinking when he wrote such a message. Their minds were in utter confusion.

“So, what you’re saying is……”

“……those ghosts are the gift?”

Russ and Siris murmured blankly. The ghosts were getting closer. What had started as faint murmurs became increasingly distinct.

“Unbreakable……”

“Gym Unbreakable……”

The ghosts’ gazes all turned towards Repenhardt. Suddenly, a chilling killing intent emanated from all the ghosts. They screamed in rage.

“Gym Unbreakable!”

“Heir of the Fist Emperor!”

Repenhardt shuddered for a moment. Though he had long since ceased to fear ghosts, the killing intent and animosity these ‘seniors’ exuded were enough to make even him shiver.

“Gym Unbreakable!”

“The cursed name that haunts us!”

“Feel our wrath!”

These were the early disciples of Gym Unbreakable who, dreaming great dreams and believing they would become great martial artists, had died, leaving only their grudges behind. These ghosts, with their muscular bodies now filled with spirit energy, charged towards Repenhardt and his companions.

“We will avenge our resentment!”

Hastily assuming a combat stance, Repenhardt cursed loudly.

“Ah, damn that master! He left something like this as a gift?”

* * *

The ghosts were strong.

And they were resilient.

In life, they had lacked the talent to fully absorb the teachings. But their grudges had turned them into spirits, manifesting in the reality of the levels they had once aspired to reach!

Russ extended his blade aura like a whip and struck one of the evil spirits.

“Take this!”

At that moment, the spirit puffed out its chest and shouted.

“Spiral Guard!”

A golden whirlwind spun around, deflecting Russ’s blade aura. It wasn’t life energy or aura but the malevolent energy of the dead, manifested as a golden hue. The spirit immediately followed up with a powerful punch.

“Energy Blast!”

A golden projectile shot towards Tassid. He blocked it with Dakar, but the force pushed him back several meters. Tassid groaned.

“Ugh!”

Siris summoned the lower spirit of wind, Sylph, wrapping it around her sword, and launched a flurry of thrusts.

“Take this!”

With the spirit’s power, her thrusts could penetrate even steel. Despite these sharp strikes, the ghost’s chest muscles, as tough as steel, deflected the attacks without a scratch.

“Die!”

“Die!”

“Die! Gym Unbreakable!”

The ghosts pressed on the group like a tidal wave. Each one wielded Gym Unbreakable’s secret techniques with terrifying proficiency. While they fell short of Repenhardt’s level, their resilient bodies and unwavering spirit forms made even the aura-user Russ momentarily at a loss for how to handle them.

Swinging his sword frantically, Russ shouted in frustration.

“Damn it! Just how many disciples did your school beat to death?”

Repenhardt replied, somewhat embarrassed.

“More than two digits…”

Siris, deftly maneuvering among the muscular ghosts, clicked her tongue and asked.

“So, you’re saying over a hundred were beaten to death?”

“Probably?”

The ghosts were undoubtedly incredibly durable, but their movements were not up to par with aura-users. Their attack speed and movements were merely at the level of unawakened masters, so Siris managed to keep up with them somehow.

Siris, exasperated, shouted again.

“Are you saying there are a hundred of these spirits?”

“That… that might be the case…”

Russ counted the ghosts in front of him with a feeling of despair. Though their size made them seem numerous, there were actually only about twenty. Did that mean there were still nearly eighty more of these “seniors” to come?

“For the sake of humanity, how about we end your school’s legacy in your generation?”

“I’m seriously considering it right now!”

Forming a circle with their backs against each other, Repenhardt and his companions fought the ghosts fiercely. Perhaps because these spirits hadn’t properly graduated, their attacks weren’t particularly strong. Of course, “not strong” was only relative to Repenhardt; they were as powerful as high-ranking demons from most dungeons. The group barely held their ground, their faces full of anxiety.

Repenhardt repeatedly struck at the ghosts in front of him.

“Ugh! Energy Blast!”

“Spiral Guard!”

“Gastrigen!”

“Spiral Guard!”

“Chain Energy Blast!”

“Spiral Gu…!”

“Why is that technique so damn overpowered!”

He launched a barrage of energy blasts and kicks, but the muscular ghosts deflected them all. Repenhardt shouted in frustration. From behind him, Sillan let out a small laugh.

“Repenhardt, you shouldn’t be the one saying that…”

“This isn’t the time for criticism! Are you done yet?”

“I’m almost finished with the prayer.”

Sillan’s voice was steady, despite the chaos. Repenhardt focused back on the fight, hoping their ordeal would soon end.

It is well-known that the natural enemy of ghosts is a powerful cleric. Sillan had been preparing a Turn Undead spell, under the protection of the group, to eradicate all the ghosts at once. Given the strength of these spirits, it had taken her quite some time to complete the prayer.

Sillan clasped her hands and made the sign of the cross, clicking her tongue.

“How deep must their grudges be to become such strong ghosts?”

Russ, standing in front of Sillan to protect her, gave a wry smile.

“If I’d been beaten to death by a master I trusted, I might become a ghost too.”

Russ, who had been stabbed by a brother he trusted, seemed to deeply sympathize with the ghosts. Sillan raised her hands high and shouted.

“Philanence! Let your holy light shine upon the unclean and erase them!”

A dazzling light filled the cave. Like a rising pink sun, the immense radiance swept through the ghosts. They screamed as they began to dissolve in the light.

“Aaaargh…”

“This is unbearable!”

“Infuriating!”

“Gym Unbreakable! Curse you!”

Like morning dew under the sunlight, all the ghosts slowly vanished in Sillan’s holy light. Russ and Tassid stared at Sillan, tongues clicking in amazement. They knew he was a powerful cleric, but seeing his instantly annihilate twenty spirits they had struggled with was truly impressive.

“Amazing, Sillan.”

“Thank you, Tassid.”

“But why does your healing magic hurt so much?”

“Hey, that was just that one time! Honestly…”

Thanks to Sillan’s Turn Undead spell, the tormented souls of Gym Unbreakable’s disciples were finally laid to rest. Repenhardt looked around the now-empty cave with a bitter expression. They had attacked, so he had no choice but to deal with them, but still…

‘Damn, this leaves a bitter aftertaste.’