Chapter 103
Chapter 103
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 103
Chapter Title: Four Signs Pure Blade (2)
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[Four Signs Pure Blade (Green Lord) (SSS-Grade Weapon): A sword forged through ritualistic procedures at a specially chosen date and time. It contains the spirit of a tiger.
However, an impure curse has taken hold, turning it into an evil blade that cleaves the righteous rather than the wicked, against its creator's intent.
Mark of Premature Death: The owner of Green Lord is afflicted with the curse of premature death. Lifespan decreases dramatically with each use. This effect is sealed.
Mark of Opposition: The owner of Green Lord will clash with the owner of its twin blade, Moon Gou, culminating in a duel to the death. Merely possessing it ensures you will eventually meet Moon Gou's owner.
Mark of Fortune in Misfortune: All judgment success rates increase by 400% based on luck.
Mark of Nobility: Owner's Health +3
Mark of Heavenly Flames: All fire-type magic effects increase by 100%.
Mark of the Evil Demon: Damage from all attacks targeting good or virtuous subjects increases by 400%. However, each time this effect triggers, 'Madness - Murder Obsession' afflicts your mind.]
Green Lord—that's the name of this sword. Someone must have given it that name. To think there's a named blade I didn't know about, among all those with proper titles.
As someone who fancies himself a veteran of [Cthulhu World], this pisses me off to no end.
'But damn, this thing is a killer.'
It's the classic cursed sword: powerful abilities in exchange for eating away at the owner's lifespan.
Fortunately, the lifespan penalty seems to have been sealed by King Mangeum. Some abilities got nerfed in the process, or outright sealed alongside it.
But I don't need any of the other abilities.
Luck boosts? Fire magic enhancement? Extra damage to good guys?
Nice to have, sure, but who cares if they're gone.
'Health +3!'
Hey, Health +3!
Just for that stat boost, I decided then and there to keep this sword for life.
I'd only just gotten my health stolen back, scraping by bit by bit. This whole ordeal has really driven home how vital health is in a human life.
"Ah, Mr. Kims, sorry to keep you waiting so long."
Seo Cheonsul returned with a booming 'bahahaha' laugh.
"You know how it is—King Mangeum just wouldn't stop nagging."
"No, it wasn't that long. Did the king have any other messages?"
"Nothing much, just told me to give this to you, Mr. Kim."
With that, Seo Cheonsul shrugged off the dark robe he was wearing.
"Jeez, if you're giving a gift, at least make it new. Who hands over their own worn clothes?"
"Uh, huh?"
Seo Cheonsul said it like it was no big deal, but this was far from ordinary. Even the usually composed professor's lips twitched, mumbling 'No way? Huh? No way?' under his breath.
"Here you go, mask guy Mr. Kim. Take this."
When Seo Cheonsul raised the hand holding the robe toward me, it floated up on its own and flew straight at me.
"Tell the king I said thanks."
"He sees everything that happens in Thousand Gold Hall anyway."
The robe fluttered through the air, then slowly unfurled and draped over my shoulders, practically helping itself onto me like it had a mind of its own.
Seo Cheonsul looked me up and down, then burst out laughing.
"Bahahaha! It suits you perfectly. With that mask, you look just like a goblin."
Spot on.
I was already in a simple black hoodie and jeans, topped off with this grotesque mask. Now I'd thrown on what looked like a black hanbok robe.
Goblin fashion, in every sense of the word.
I lightly touched the robe that had 'clung' to my body.
It weighed next to nothing. Hell, I could barely even feel it under my fingers. Made from celestial nymph hair for the warp threads, woven with shadow, illusion, hope, and flights of fancy for the weft?
That snapped the professor out of it. He gaped in shock.
"Th-this... what is this? Wings of the Night Veil? Isn't this basically the emblem of the Thousand Gold Leader?!"
That's right.
Frankly, who cares about the Four Signs Pure Blade—this robe is the real treasure.
The Wings of the Night Veil is an L-grade artifact imbued with the power of [The Ruler of Ancient Dreams], one of the Elder Gods.
It's also the symbolic garb given to the Thousand Gold Leader who guards Thousand Gold Hall.
"You've stumbled into some absurd stroke of luck, haven't you?"
The professor had already been eyeing me like I'd hit the lottery. Now he looked at me like I'd won it three times, then scratched off a scratch-off for fun and hit the jackpot again.
It was envy mixed with a hint of fear.
Even the dignified professor was losing it, which was starting to embarrass me.
The Wings of the Night Veil truly is an incredible item, packed with abilities and buffs too numerous to list.
But the real reason this robe matters goes beyond that.
'I'll never have nightmares again.'
That was the only reason I'd gone after the Shoes of Silent Steps in the first place. Sure, they offered great mobility, but they also warded off their owner's nightmares.
Who is King Mangeum? One of the Elder Gods who rules over dreams, that's who.
The Wings of the Night Veil is a top-tier artifact that surpasses the Shoes of Silent Steps in every way—and the ultimate sleep aid to boot.
Hell, with this, I've gotten more than I came here for.
That's when Seo Cheonsul spoke up again.
"But this isn't just a pretty gift from Mr. Kim's perspective. Our king is awfully sensitive about costs and benefits."
What a thorny way to put it. Best not to respond to that one.
As the professor said, this was basically taking away his own emblem.
He's a goblin, so he's grinning about it. If Seo Cheonsul were human, one wrong word and it'd be collar-grabbing time.
"Fair enough. In any case, that task the king assigned you seems like a big deal. Of course, setting that aside, considering how goblins appear in so many legends... No, this isn't the place for that talk."
The professor glanced at Seo Cheonsul and trailed off.
"I know what you're getting at, Professor, but it's not something we can spin positively."
I could guess what the professor meant to say. Something about how goblins appear in legends and folktales, right?
They might remove a wart for singing a pretty song, or repay a small kindness with mountains of gold and jewels.
Just like King Mangeum handing over treasure in exchange for buying a curse.
But goblins aren't idiots or blindly kind—that's not why these things happen.
They're not human.
Their sense of money and trade is completely alien to us.
They might gift vast riches for a minor good deed, but demand something as precious as life for a trivial request.
Hell, they might just take your life outright.
Optimistically, I'd be the lucky guy who struck it rich. But somehow, I had a feeling this deal wouldn't end on such a happy note.
"Hmm, is that so?"
"Yes. It's going to be tough."
"Well, you've spoken to him directly, so you would know best."
"Shall we head out now?"
"Ah, yes. We can talk on the way... Thousand Gold Leader, mind guiding us again?"
"You're leaving? Right this way!"
Seo Cheonsul cheerfully shoved a few buildings aside to lead the way.
A goblin who'd been napping on one of the displaced rooftops tumbled off in the commotion.
"Argh, you damn goblin!"
"Bahahaha! Then why sleep on the roof?"
Whatever worries I had about him, Seo Cheonsul kept up his jolly demeanor. Was I overthinking it?
Curious about something anyway, I decided to prod him.
"Hey, Thousand Gold Leader."
"Yeah?"
"By the way, what got those guardian totem poles so riled up earlier? Did you find whoever was out to harm Thousand Gold Hall?"
"Oh, that... Looks like the king was just messing around."
Ah, damn. Knew it.
See?
In the end, King Mangeum is just like the rest of them.
Just like [The King in Yellow] tested me, so did King Mangeum.
At least he went easy on me.
It ended on a friendly note because it was just totem poles. If Seo Cheonsul had gotten involved, it wouldn't have been pretty.
"But it was pretty fun, right, Mr. Kim? Even the king seemed satisfied."
"Fun...?"
Yeah, right.
"Bahahaha!"
We chatted a bit more after that, but it was mostly small talk. Seo Cheonsul's jokes, the professor's questions.
I was lost in thought about the Four Signs Pure Blade and King Mangeum, so I half-listened and gave token replies as we walked.
By the time we reached Thousand Gold Hall's entrance, Seo Cheonsul spoke up again.
"Hey, Mr. Kim."
"Yeah?"
"Oh yeah, the king had one more message for you."
"From the king?"
"Whoa, almost forgot to pass it on. Man, I'm in deep if I mess up."
Seo Cheonsul put on a show like it'd just occurred to him.
As if he'd forget something from King Mangeum. He's saying it now on purpose—or the king told him to time it this way from the start.
"I've already gotten way more than I deserve."
"Don't worry, Mr. Kim. This one's not an item."
"Not an item...?"
A message, then?
Please let it be some light pep talk.
I've already got this vague, major task hanging over me that's no easy fix.
No thanks to weird curses or errands on top of that.
"Well, it's like this—"
I could see Seo Cheonsul's eyes gleaming under his half-pulled-down hat. The goblin had spotted a chance for mischief, his face lighting up with glee.
"If you don't spit it out soon, I'm just gonna go."
We're already at the exit. One step and I'm out.
"Huh?"
"If there's trouble from whatever you forgot to tell me, that's on the Thousand Gold Leader pulling some stupid prank."
"Whoa, no! Hold on, I'll tell you. Geez, touchy Mr. Kim."
"Alright. Out with it."
"The king said: Check your house's attic. You'll find an interesting clock."
"Attic? Clock?"
Seo Cheonsul held up a hand to cut me off.
"Not done yet. It's from the one with mouths all over. Watch that clock closely and keep to its time."
"Hmm... So that's what he said?"
"Yeah. Any idea what it means?"
"Not a clue."
"Ehh? For real?"
For real. A clock?
The one with mouths all over has to be [He Who Lurks in Darkness], the abyssal entity that sponsored Heo Ju.
He has epithets like [The One with Thousands of Mouths], [The Hungry Maw], [He Who Whispers Through Countless Lips], and he manifests as a darkness covered in thousands of mouths.
[He Who Lurks in Darkness] left a clock for Heo Ju? How did I miss something like that?
"No idea. Must be some riddle."
"Ah, a riddle. Yeah, could be."
That wrapped up our talk. The professor and I stepped through Thousand Gold Hall's main gate.
Seo Cheonsul saw us off right to the outside, beaming ear to ear.
"Take care, mask Mr. Kim! And wheeled Mr. Kim too!"
"Thanks for the guide. Hope we meet smiling next time."
"Oh, for sure. But next time, bring someone more fun than mask Mr. Kim here."
"Haha, that's not up to me."
I'll be back soon enough. Got the Nine-Feet Clogs as entry tickets, and I need to lift Park Gwang-rim's curse at some point.
Seo Cheonsul kept up his flawless cheer,
but...
What’s he really thinking?