Chapter 1
Chapter 1
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Hidden Ending Privilege
-----------------------------------------------------------------
[Hidden Ending Privilege!
Hidden class, [Mage Who Gazes into the Abyss], has been unlocked.]
A dry message displayed on the monitor.
“Ughhh…….”
I did it!
‘A hidden class! You nailed it, Kim Shin-hwa!’
[Cthulhu World].
The game I’d sunk over 1,000 hours into lately.
[Cthulhu World] was a game set in modern Korea, infused with Cthulhu Mythos elements like the Mountains of Madness, Dagon, and Nyarlathotep.
That’s why everything in this game existed in ways harsher and more gruesome than reality.
The civilizations humanity had built were mere sandcastles, liable to crumble at any moment before cosmic evil.
Humanity’s frail minds and pathetic bodies became prey for surreal beings from other realms,
and knowledge and wisdom turned into curses that hastened doom.
Corrupted religions praised blasphemous wisdom,
and blind science delved into forbidden knowledge.
Humanity’s only weapon was the veil called ‘ignorance.’
Even that was laughably thin and flimsy against entities too vast to describe.
What do you think? Sound fun?
No matter what anyone else says, it was fun to me.
The unique setting and atmosphere hit the bullseye for a horror junkie like me.
And the fun didn’t stop there.
True to its cosmic horror roots, this game was genuinely, really, truly insanely difficult.
Brutal difficulty, deadly traps, bosses that made you question if they were meant to be beaten, and named NPCs that hunted players down.
Of course, for a hardcore player like me who’d conquered every game under the sun, this was just fuel for the challenge fire.
This time, I’d cleared an insanely tough hidden ending and scored a hidden class as my reward.
But……
‘No one to brag to…… This sucks so bad…….’
Just in case, I checked the community, but every post from the last year was mine.
Views: 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1……
There used to be some info sharing, but lately, the place was a total ghost town.
Yeah.
The game flopped.
A total dead game, no two ways about it.
Extreme setting, dark vibe, tough difficulty……
Sure, it polarized players, but that wasn’t why it tanked.
The real killer was the bugs. Way too many.
Getting stuck in structures or clipping through walls? Minor stuff.
But random crashes or losing your carefully leveled character? Who’d stick around for that?
And half-baked traces everywhere.
Take the [Lacrex Grimoire], one of those items you always get every playthrough.
In Cthulhu Mythos, grimoires like that usually hold surreal wisdom or madness.
Even if it did nothing else, it should tie into some event.
But the [Lacrex Grimoire] showed up with flashy effects…… and had nothing written inside. No linked events.
I wondered if Lacrex was a place or person, but no such word existed anywhere in [Cthulhu World].
What else could it be?
They started making it and gave up, or the devs forgot midway!
With crap like that, the game got abandoned by players.
I’m probably the only one who’s played it this far.
‘No, definitely the only one!’
If there were others, there’d be at least one post on the community.
Do people just not like Cthulhu or cosmic horror?
How are they supposed to save the world from mythos beings with such weak minds!
Anyway, if you adapt to the early annoyances and ridiculous difficulty, it’s decent.
Unfortunately, I adapted to the bugs fast.
Even garbage ones become ‘oh, a hidden feature?’ and you can even exploit them.
Some glitches actually help progress, hilariously enough.
‘……Maybe I shouldn’t have gotten used to a game this broken…….’
Ah, whatever.
Who cares if no one notices? Protecting the world from those horrors matters more!
Anyway……
“A character unlock this time, huh.”
[Cthulhu World] had hundreds of multiple endings.
Different routes meant fresh stories every time, and each new ending gave small rewards or unlocked hidden stuff.
If it’s gonna flop, at least be fun……
These varied rewards and secrets kept me hooked without burnout for all those hours.
“Might as well play with this one. I was thinking mage next anyway, and a hidden class should have killer options, right?”
Character creation led to totally different experiences.
The last one was a martial artist who could transform into a beast.
Buffed up, bullets bounced off that tanky body!
Strength to hurl boulders!
No magic, but smashing through everything with raw power and fists was a blast.
This time, the total opposite: a mage.
A ‘hidden’ one, no less—super tempting.
I clicked [New Game] on the title screen to open character creation.
****
[Mage Who Gazes into the Abyss]
A mad mage who studies the abyss forbidden to humans.
The abyss is a monster in itself.
He wields evil magic that can shatter his own sanity,
but his soul, brimming with madness and chaos, will be an exquisite feast for the abyss’s denizens.
Exclusive Traits: [Shattered Mind], [Abyssal Madness], [Feast’s Sacrifice], [Top-Tier Stat Adjustment]. [Abyssal Mana], [Madman’s Luck], [Mana Devourer], [Spell Mastery], [Spell Enhancement: Venom]……
[Shattered Mind]: Gain 2 random madnesses. If these madnesses are removed for any reason, gain 2 new random ones. Delusions from these madnesses cannot be resisted.
/ As payment for peering into the abyss, you’ve gained eternal, indelible horrors.
[Abyssal Madness]: Never lose sanity from encountering monsters or mythos beings, casting spells, or reciting mythos tomes. Gain top-tier resistance to delusions and fear effects.
However, fear and delusions from [Shattered Mind] cannot be resisted.
/ Your mind will never break. It’s already mad……
[Feast’s Sacrifice]: Increased chance of encountering abyssal beings……
****
Other abilities? Skimming’s fine.
The big draw for hidden characters is the occasional [Stat Adjustment] trait.
[Top-Tier Stat Adjustment: Freely adjust stats during creation.]
“Hm? No limits? For real?”
Characters with [Stat Adjustment] let you tweak base stats as desired.
But not arbitrarily—penalties and caps apply.
Penalty first: Boost one stat by nerfing another.
Like tanking Intelligence for Strength on a warrior.
Then caps: Crucial part. Each character has stat floors and ceilings.
No stats over 20, or under 8, etc.
‘But no limits……?’
Let’s check the base stats.
****
Strength 8
Health 10
Dexterity 11
Intelligence 18
Willpower 14
Charisma 16
Remaining Points: 0
****
Classic glass cannon mage setup: frail body, insane magic power no one else can match.
As I said, normally you can’t drop below 8. But this one has no limits……
****
Strength 5
Health 5
Dexterity 7
Intelligence 16
Willpower 14
Charisma 16
Remaining Points: 14
****
“Nice, max dump secured?”
14 points freed up.
Only one stat to pump: Intelligence.
A mage’s core, directly tied to magic power.
18 is ‘genius’ level.
20 is ‘transcendent.’
My last martial artist had 20 Strength—transcendent power to chuck rocks and bend rebar.
This mage……
****
Strength 5
Health 5
Dexterity 8
Intelligence 29
Willpower 14
Charisma 16
Remaining Points: 0
****
Intelligence 29 came with:
[Intelligence 29: Surreal]
I went to hit confirm…… but a hiss slipped out.
Surreal Intelligence.
Good.
Really good.
But……
29 felt oddly imperfect.
Super high, yet…… lacking?
Like drawing a perfect circle but botching the end.
Since I went this far, why not hit 30 over this half-assed 29?
Intelligence 30 was unimaginable in all my [Cthulhu World] time—absurd.
But no more points to dump.
Each stat had a reason, even if it seemed random.
Charisma wasn’t just looks.
Minimum needed to negotiate with mythos beings or charm surreal entities.
Transcendent would be ideal, but items mid-game could patch +2.
So [Charisma 16: Refined].
Can’t touch it.
Dexterity 8 factored in future items/buffs—minimum to survive till then.
Drop lower, and you die before gear.
Same for Willpower, Health……
Tooltip shows [Strength: Feeble].
“Mages don’t need Strength anyway, right?”
I clicked the minus on Strength once more.
Cthulhu, Yog-Sothoth, take my body! Grant more Intelligence!
****
Strength 4
Health 5
Dexterity 8
Intelligence 30
Willpower 14
Charisma 16
****
Strength 4 shifts to:
[Strength 4: Sickly]
But it’s fine.
Look at that Intelligence!
30!
30!
Everyone, check it out! I made an Intelligence 30 character!
……Ah, damn. Community’s still dead.
Meanwhile, the Intelligence tooltip popped a never-before-seen line.
[Intelligence 30: Mythic. You possess wisdom bordering knowledge and madness beyond human reach.]
Huh? What’s this? First time seeing that. Hidden trigger?
My heart raced—another secret activated?
“Yeah, now that’s the madness for a true crazy mage.”
Balanced stats are safer for survival than this lopsided mess.
But this run’s extreme madness concept!
If it sucks, delete and remake……
Next, traits.
The [Mage Who Gazes into the Abyss] gets extra traits, but like stats, you trade bad penalties for good ones.
Since I sacrificed Strength, I loaded up extreme penalties.
[Reduced Vitality]
[Weakened Strength]
[Frail Health]
[Melee Weakness]
[Increased Damage Taken]
[Vulnerable: Disease]
[Cannot Use: Heavy Weapons]
[Increased Injury Chance]
[Vulnerable: Poison]
Hmm…… [Stamina Drain] means short walks tire me out—okay?
[Healing Halved] too?
And……
More……
In trade, I crammed useful magic traits.
What’re good mage traits again……
Been a while since I made one……
Whoa! Abyss Mage gets [Spell Mastery] free.
Top class for sure.
Unlocking [Spell Mastery] normally costs a fortune with crazy prereqs.
Lets you cast base spells of any tier without learning—without it, you make a mage who can’t cast because they don’t know spells.
Free top-tier trait alone makes this class amazing.
Plus…… [Esoteric Lore Comprehension], [Spell Enhancement: Maximize].
[Spell Enhancement: Power Boost]
[Spell Enhancement: Range Extension]
[Swift Casting]
[Dual Chant]
[Omit Incantation]
[Catalyst Substitute]
[Spell Thief]
……Not a mage specialty, but always handy: [Precise Aim], [Vigilance].
Huh, points left?
Upgrade [Vigilance] to [Enhanced Vigilance],
and……
More……
11 penalty traits for 11 killer ones.
End result: my most mythos-drenched, ultimate mage ever.
At the cost of offering my body and life as sacrifice, sure.
Fits the concept perfectly—love it.
“Okay, set complete. Mana! You’re all I’m banking on!”
Click [Game Start]. Cursor vanishes, screen goes black.
PC freezes.
“Damn bugs again……!”
The dark monitor screen ripples unnaturally.
Character-specific opening?
No way.
The LCD itself warps grotesquely.
Center splits horizontally with a crack—like a beast’s maw yawning wide. No longer the monitor I knew.
A dark swamp churning. Filthy sludge-filled sewer. Decaying chaos, warped reality’s refuse, nightmare shards never to remember.
A starving abyssal pit.
From that foul chasm, ominous black slime gushes—writhing like living monster fragments.
Body won’t move. Tongue and lips frozen.
I have a mouth, but can’t scream. Arms and legs, but can’t flee. Horrific malice approaches……
Can’t escape.
Cold, vile slime engulfs me in indescribable, alien ways.
Can’t escape.
Want to scream.
Want to scream!
Can’t scream!
I want to scream!
In a fleeting instant,
I……
That is, I……!
No closing eyes or averting gaze.
I can only watch the horror erode my flesh. Can’t breathe. Mind clouds. Death nears. No—in this twisted abyss, even death dies.
At fading consciousness’s edge, a voice echoes.
Not one mouth, but hundreds, thousands gushing in unison—grotesque chorus.
Not ears, but brain—soul—struck directly with force.
“The feast’s sacrifice…… is prepared.”