"What heck is going on here?" Zaen was confused when he saw what the ghouls were doing.
The moment Zaen entered the chamber, he saw the ghouls fighting each other outside. From a distance, it seemed that they were fighting to decide who should get to get in the chamber first. It was the most obvious conclusion anyone would draw in that situation.
However, upon closer inspection, Zaen noticed that they weren't fighting amongst themselves because they were eager to eat him alive. The truth, however, was far from that. It wasn't that they were fighting to enter the chamber first, it was more as if they were forcing each other to go inside against their wishes.
Zaen was confused. It was the first time he had seen such peculiar behaviour of the ghouls. Not even a minute ago they were ready to rip him to shreds and peacefully share the meal amongst each other and now they were refusing to enter the chamber to attack him?
'Are they afraid of fighting in open spaces?' Zaen thought to himself, 'That should not be the case, though. They already fought against me near the reception area and managed to overwhelm me. This room is comparatively smaller than the reception and hence they can still overwhelm me even in this open space just like they did before. And even a fool can tell they are not scared of me, that's for certain. So if they are not afraid of me or the open space, then what are they afraid of exactly?'
BAM!
While Zaen was lost in his thoughts, one ghoul was thrown inside the chamber. Zaen immediately assumed a battle stance. He wasn't going to wait around for the ghoul to make a move first. He was worried that if he didn't kill the ghoul fast, the others would charge in after it as well.
Zaen charged at him, but rather than fighting, the ghoul ran back towards the gate. For whatever reason Zaen wasn't aware of, the ghouls did not want to enter the chamber. No matter what. It was the first time Zaen had seen a ghoul be scared for its life.
Zaen eventually killed the ghoul before it could reach the gate. But then another one got thrown into the chamber, and then another and another and another. The cycle kept repeating itself.
[Total damage dealt: 1305]
[Hunter Ghoul HP: 0/400]
[Hunter Ghoul killed! Exp +55]
[234/500 souls have been collected and stored with the Bloodlust Dagger.]
Zaen kept killing them but at one point he stopped doing so. there was no reason for him to do so. He just sat down on a chair and saw the ghouls fight amongst themselves while thinking about his next move.
'I don't have time for this.'
He got up from the chair and blocked the gate with tables, chairs, cupboards, whatever he could find. He just wanted to make sure that no ghoul could enter the room while he wasn't looking. And after a minute he started looking around the room for anything useful.
After all, the sole purpose of him being there was to look for clues in order to complete his second mission. An since the ghouls were busy amongst themselves, he decided to look around for some other way to get out of the chamber as well.
He started by looking under the tables and inside the closets. Since this place was the special force's HQ, Zaen was wondering if he could find some kind of a gun there. Because if he had a gun, it would become somewhat easy to take care of the ghouls from a distance. Sadly, all he could find was an old cassette.
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Item: Old cassette
Description: This old cassette holds a secret record left by one of the very first human champions. An important piece of evidence that can be used to unlock some unique information. You can use the artifact to listen to the old recording.
Type: Miscellaneous
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"Okay... pretty weird that the champions simply left a cassette behind like this. Do you mind telling me just how long has it been since someone last visited this place?" Zaen laughed and put the cassette in his inventory, "I mean the cassettes are now considered to be a prehistoric technology. Thankfully the artifact can still use this thing or else I would've been in trouble."
[You have found a Unique clue related to the mission: INVESTIGATOR]
[Mission completed: 20%]
[You can not find any more clues during this visit. Please head towards the nearest return portal to reset the location]
The artifact's ping echoed throughout the room. Zaen was so busy looking around for a clue, that he totally forgot about the ghouls. An Awkward silence had dawned in the room and had long since replaced the screeching noise of the ghouls.
Zaen was alarmed. he quietly drew his daggers out once again. He turned around to see that his makeshift blockade had already been destroyed, but no ghoul was in his sights. He cautiously walked towards the entrance while keeping his eyes and ears open for any unknown dangers.
Soon the door was in his sight, and as he moved in, he saw something unexpected which caught his eyes.
All the ghouls that had been clawing on the barricade, were dead. They had been beaten to the point they looked like rotten tomatoes more than anything else. Zaen didn't know what happened there, but after seeing the innumerable dead ghouls, only one thing came to his mind: Run!
However, by the time he put his foot out of the door, he saw something from the corner of his eyes. Something Gargantuan sitting next to the door. It was ghoul... feasting on the other ghouls.
[You've found #10 slot monster, A-tier Minor ghoul: Depraved ghoul.]