Chapter 55

"Sorry, but – Lean, I need you to watch this.

I'll try to handle this alone for now.

But if anything goes wrong… please help me.

I'm counting on you."

With those words, the teacher kicked off the floor and dashed at the massive creature with outstretched limbs that loomed before him, moving so fast it was a blur.

The eerie white monster floating in the darkness – what was it?

It was a creature I had never seen or heard of before.

The idea that such a thing could be in the underground of the capital's warehouse was unheard of.

But then, I suddenly realized something.

Perhaps I had read about it somewhere.

"– Could it be –"

The massive white body floating in the darkness, with eyes appearing all over its body, and limbs that split and stretched endlessly like tentacles to attack its prey.

There weren't many beings with such characteristics.

"– The Gray Phantom"

A legendary monster called the "Gray Phantom," described in old documents chronicling the long history of dungeon exploration in the Kingdom of Crease, named for its white body blending with the darkness to appear gray.

It was said to have suddenly appeared deep in the dungeon centuries ago, instantly killing over a thousand people.

The powerful adventurers of the time united to fight it, but even they couldn't defeat it. They formed a large force of clerics with the "Cleric" class and, after many sacrifices, managed to seal it deep underground, a monster of such magnitude that it was classified as "Disaster Level."

The monster that caused such devastation was sealed in an altar of "Dungeon Relics" with multiple barriers, deep in the "No Return Dungeon," where no one could touch it, and all entrances were sealed off.

Now, the massive altar visible in the darkness.

The magical runes carved on it were familiar.

They were a type of "Sealing Magic" used to powerfully seal undead creatures.

Yes, it was almost certain.

This was probably the altar of the Dungeon Relic mentioned in the historical records.

However, the magical runes on the altar were partially collapsed, and the altar itself looked damaged.

It might have been damaged by the shock of the imperial attack.

As I focused on the darkness, I noticed something odd.

Faint "ghosts" were floating around the damaged altar, being drawn into the "Gray Phantom" and becoming part of it.

"– So, this is what was happening."

I understood.

The recent surge in ghost sightings.

The cause was unclear, but it was probably related to the dungeon.

But now, it was clear.

This was what had been drawing them all.

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