Chapter 109
Chapter 109
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 109
Chapter Title: T's Clock (2)
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The mechanism began operating in a way so complex it was hard to grasp its structure.
Was that T's clock? What the hell was T? Time?
Kikikik...!
A few gears shifted out of place, revealing a hidden number plate.
No, it wasn't just numbers.
Kanji. Roman symbols. Egyptian hieroglyphs. A disc depicting Christian saints. Runes. Tibetan script. And languages from long-lost civilizations.
Symbols and glyphs from vastly different origins and sources intertwined in intricate patterns.
Though the forms of expression varied, what they all pointed to was concentrated in one field.
Stars and constellations.
Calling it a clock wasn't quite right.
'That's more like...'
An incredibly intricate celestial observation device?
A celestial globe for predicting the positions of the heavens?
Maybe even a primitive computer built in a highly complex manner.
"All good and well, but do I really have to view this lying in a coffin?"
Was it a consistent concept, or just some dogshit taste? Hard to say.
But I soon learned why this device had to be activated right here in this spot.
A strange change began in the window at the center of the mechanism.
Clank! Kikikik!
Various symbols, golden rings glowing with light, and ominous metal rods began converging on the large open window.
And against the backdrop of the night sky visible through the window—not just the window itself—specific information started to form.
It looked just like a treasure map marking a secret location.
"What the...?"
Nine golden rings lined up along some trajectory in the night sky. At first glance, they seemed randomly placed, but they were arranged in exactly the same pattern as one I remembered.
"So that's..."
Perfectly, three of those nine rings had stars at their centers. Stars shining with eerie clarity against the dark night sky.
So, six empty rings and three filled with stars, glowing as a result.
"Th-that's T?"
T? The T shortcut?!
"Uwaaaah! It's really T?!"
That! That's a T!
T!
"T!"
For a moment, I flailed my limbs while lying in the coffin. Just to be clear, it wasn't some kind of seizure.
"T's clock? I wondered what that meant, and it's literally T?"
This wasn't my first time seeing that sight.
No, I'd seen it so often it was boring, whenever I was idle, even when I had nothing better to do.
The view created by the intricate hidden mechanism in the attic. That landscape made with nine metal rings, rods, the window, and the stars—it was none other than a 'T'.
Or rather, it was one of the special screens you could see in Cthulhu World playthroughs.
You know, like how pressing M brings up the full map.
What I was seeing now was exactly what appeared whenever you hit the T key in [Cthulhu World].
I had no idea why it was T or what it stood for. Anyway, pressing T outputted exactly this image.
That screen was a key indicator in the game.
Cthulhu World was fundamentally an open-world game.
Play an open-world game aimlessly, and you'd never touch the main scenario, just wasting time.
That T was a system designed to force players goofing off back to the main storyline.
Every time a major event unfolded in the game, or a dangerous incident threatening the world's destruction approached, or the ending drew nearer.
One of those nine rings would fill.
Once all the rings filled, the stars found their places, and the abyssal beings that had been stirring would emerge, shattering the world in their preferred ways.
Then GAME OVER. The destruction ending.
Thus, the primary goal in Cthulhu World was...
To thwart the horrific schemes of the abyssal beings before those nine rings—commonly called the doom counter or doom track by gamers—filled up.
The problem was no one knew which bastard would trigger doom, how, or in what way.
Because it changed every single playthrough!
Thanks to that damn dynamic real-time active quest system!
'Your choices make every NPC come alive in a dynamic real-time active quest system! Even visiting the same place will show completely different sights depending on the timing and situation!'
"But why does Heo Joo have this clock?"
Nah, that didn't matter. Secret doors and hidden rooms had always been slapped together haphazardly anyway.
My opponents were surreal monsters who could mock and twist the laws of the world itself. Precognition was a breeze for them, and if they wanted, they could rewind time, so planting this along my path in advance was trivial.
"Yeah, that's not the issue."
Three stars filled meant the main story was truly kicking off from here.
'Probably why all those weird phenomena started cropping up in Paju, huh?'
Whether the fillings caused the problems or detected them, the order didn't matter.
Either way, having an indicator to grasp the game's progress at a glance was a major shift.
"Tch, three slots filled is still a good score."
I'd been in Paju for quite a while now.
Despite all the resources and efforts poured in, only three slots filled meant this playthrough was worth it.
Achieving the goal of averting world destruction before it maxed out would be great, but there was a catch.
Cthulhu World had no happy endings.
Reach any ending, and personal doom awaited me.
"In other words, my job is to find the bastard set to destroy this world before that doom counter maxes out and stop them... or..."
Escape this world somehow before it fills completely.
I sat up and climbed out of the coffin.
At the same moment, the mechanisms linked to the ceiling and window retracted to their positions, and the attic returned to its dark, silent stillness with nothing moving.
Anyway, it snapped me out of it.
I'd felt directionless, but this world was marching steadily toward doom in sequence.
That doom counter didn't fill just because time passed.
It filled and emptied based on the abyssal beings and their cultists' successes. If I played my cards right, I could even empty already filled slots.
Whatever else, I needed to maximize my time.
To do that...
"Guess I gotta poke around everywhere?"
It'd be nice if Fomalhaut's descendants could give me a heading.
I left the attic to head downstairs and ran into Heo Sang-hyeon on the second floor.
"There are two people you'd call key figures."
"The leader and vice-leader?"
"Yes."
Ah, so he really was the leader.
"Where are they?"
"Uh, no—the room at the far end of the second floor."
"The taxidermy room? Got it."
The room where Heo Joo had been hiding before. Where I'd taken him out.
"The rest total fourteen, all lying outside."
Looking down through the hallway window, they looked less like subdued prisoners and more like bombing victims or disaster survivors.
No need to worry about them.
Kiiiiik...
The taxidermy room was filled with taxidermy tools, specimens, and bizarre furniture.
Calling them furniture was a stretch; they were more like frames or torture racks. Efficient for torture and restraint, nothing else.
The leader and vice-leader were bound to those with meticulous care. Heo Sang-hyeon's handiwork, no doubt.
The vice-leader, beaten by the lich golem, was completely spent, but the leader was still feisty.
"You heathen bastard! Torturing us won't work! Pain is a holy flame offered to the living fire, and my death will perfect my faith."
"Nah, no plans to torture you."
No torture intended.
These masochists would just rejoice, thinking they were enduring some grand penance.
I wasn't into inflicting pain for fun either.
"Then why tie us up like this...! What do you plan to do?!"
"Hmm? You're emphasizing that part sneaky-like? Sorry, but it's just a communication mix-up. Not my kink."
The leader shuddered with rage.
"Are you insulting me!!"
"I said no..."
Haa... Getting tired fast.
What did I even gain from tormenting a guy like you properly?
Besides, cultists at this level were no different from madmen. Talking long with a lunatic only hurt me.
"Tell your master! Insulting me like this gains you nothing!"
"Hmm..."
Master probably meant Heo Joo?
He'd attacked assuming Heo Joo was alive, not expecting a change in ownership.
"Well, I couldn't extract special info from you lot anyway, and convincing you not to come back wouldn't work, right?"
So, I came prepared.
I held out my palm in front of his eyes.
On it wriggled a tiny lump of flesh in a disgusting way.
A small, maggot-like blob without eyes, mouth, or legs.
"Wh-what... is that...?"
"Go in."
[Witness of the Contract]
Activating the spell, the lump shot up and wormed between the leader's lips.
He clenched his teeth desperately to resist, but that wouldn't stop this magic.
"Heek! Kek! Ack! Blech!"
"Urk, quit it—it's not coming out that way."
"What... what did you... feed me...?"
"What did I feed you? Don't worry, it's not the kind that makes your body heat up or senses go weird."
"You dog bastard, still insulting me!"
"Nah, more importantly, I'll show you what it is, so watch closely."
I drew a magic circle on the taxidermy room floor.
"See the magic circle? It's got growth acceleration on it."
...?
I pulled out another lump and tossed it onto the circle.
Shwaaaaaah!!
The moment it touched the circle, the lump began growing rapidly.
Crunch, crunch, crunch, cruuunch!!!
No, it was more like an explosion than growth. The finger-joint-sized lump ballooned to human size in an instant.
And it didn't stop at just getting bigger.
Random huge tentacles, spines, horns, and claws sprouted across its body.
Yeah, that black lump was made based on a fragment of the [Formless Kin] I'd found in the secret spot at Unjeong Station.
"Grraaaaaawr!!"
Seeing that hideous, gruesome form up close drained all color from the leader's face. It could've triggered madness, but as a cultist, nothing worse happened.
"Get the gist now?"