Chapter 161 - The White Ghost King’s Sanctuary 6 (1/2)

But he did not let them walk away alive.

During the day, they were taken as prisoners, and at Harvest Night, they were sacrificed and offered to the White Ghost King.

Thanks to this, Woohyuk was able to get several perks.

[You have made your 100th offering.]

[You have received the protection of the White Ghost King. All stats increased by 50 until the end of the next night.]

[You have acquired the second skill, Immortal Spirit.]

[If you use Immortal Spirit, you will not take any damage for 5 minutes.]

[However, you can't do anything for 5 minutes starting from the moment you activate the Immortal Spirit.]

The first skill was Magic Blade.

An attack spell that shaped magic power into the form of a sharp blade and shot it at the opponent.

Both skills would be helpful if used properly, but they weren’t very practical at most times.

'The skills here are given randomly.'

Obviously, a stronger skill would be granted in proportion to the higher number of offerings.

But whether that skill would be useful in the current situation was purely up to luck.

In Woohyuk’s case, lady luck wasn’t on his side.

In the past, he had received better combinations of skills than his current ones.

'Well, it can't be helped.'

The world would not always grant his wishes on a silver platter.

He just had to wait for Eteria Rodinus to arrive and not pay attention to the skills.

Only a single party could clear the Golden Desert on a first-come, first-served basis, but there was no time limit like the previous stages.

Woohyuk positioned the three demon kings and his undead troops around the pyramid and sat on the stairs that lead to the shaded entrance.

'I haven't eaten a single meal until now.'

The only time the Golden Desert got dark was when the Harvest Night arrived.

However, the Harvest Night’s cycle was irregular, and when it came, he had to offer many sacrifices, and then advance to the pyramid without rest.

The privileges granted by the White Ghost King were only given to people who made sacrifices, and he also had to be the first to reach the pyramid.

Therefore, he didn't have any time to rest until now because if he closed his eyes for even a short while or ate during the day, he would fall behind the other competitors.

Feeling hungry and tired at the same time, Woohyuk took out a pack of rations from the sage's pocket.

Rations didn’t need to be cooked, so it was the optimal energy replenishment food in this situation since he needed to save as much time as possible.

That was why Woohyuk had gathered as many rations as possible in the Primordial Forest and Adventurer's Canyon.

'There is a limit to the stamina I can replenish with Grandia and the Vampiric Dagger.'

Unlike vampires or kazaks, humans needed a variety of energy sources.

Carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals... and many others.

Moreover, humans needed the food to be tasty to stimulate their desire for survival, but Woohyuk was more than satisfied with the rations already.

'Compared to these, Leifina's cooking was absolutely disgusting.'

In the past, he couldn't afford to cook because he was exploring countless ruins and waging war with many different enemies.

That was why he had let Leifina continue to cook despite her terrible cooking skills.

At first, despite her mistakes, he believed that she would get better over time since she was a woman.

'Since I vehemently told her not to learn how to cook this time, she won’t be making anything… I hope.’

She had shown a little interest in cooking before, so Woohyuk had stopped her a few times.

In any case, once he returned after this journey, he would be able to enjoy Hans' special dishes at Leifina’s estate.

Woohyuk happily imagined the delicacy of Hans’ cooking as he ate the vegetable bibimbap mixed with some spicy sauce.

Then,a system message suddenly popped up before his eyes.

[The White Ghost King calls for you.]

[Lower the food in your hands and enter his sanctuary.]

[The current mission in progress is temporarily suspended.]

Clack.

He heard the sound of the door unlocking at the top of the stairs.

Woohyuk turned around with a puzzled expression as he stopped munching on his meal.

'He’s calling me?'

There had never been an event like this in the Golden Desert in the past.

After fighting fiercely against his competitors, he had entered the pyramid, and the White Ghost King was sitting on the throne, waiting for him.

Woohyuk stood up from his seat, feeling slightly nervous.

'It would be a waste to throw this away though...’

It was painful to give up on half of the remaining bibimbap.

Eventually, Woohyuk continued to eat his meal with a plastic spoon as he entered the pyramid.

“I can’t waste valuable energy sources.”

He was talking to the White Ghost King.

It appeared that he had been slightly influenced by Helena.

Soon, Woohyuk reached the large stone chamber, and a pure white ghost sitting on the throne with golden armor greeted him.

“Welcome, Ascetic. I have been observing you for a while.”

“Why did you suddenly call me? Did you change your mind about something?”

Since the mission was suddenly interrupted, something unexpected must have happened.

So Woohyuk had deliberately left more troops by the entrance to the pyramid.

He needed people to protect Eteria Rodinus from other competitors if they reached the location while he was absent.

Sensing that Woohyuk cared about Eteria Rodinus, the White Ghost King struck the floor with his sword in its sheath.

Bang!

Then, a large pillar of light erupted between the White Ghost King and Woohyuk.

As the light slowly faded away, Eteria Rodinus and Catsy stood at the center.

”Huh? What just happened? Our team was just about to win the siege battle...”