Chapter 122
Chapter 122
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 122
Chapter Title: In the Vicinity of Worong Mountain
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“This way… no, that way! Y-yeah, that way, I think.”
“Really?”
“T-this time, I’m s-sure. It’s definitely around here, but something feels off.”
“Hmm…”
“Eek!”
“No, that wasn’t because of you, Director Gu.”
“Wizard? But is this place really okay?”
“We got ten million won, didn’t we? Not enough?”
“That’s just transport fee, not my life insurance! No, more than that, you took the money and you can’t even worry!? Since when did you turn into such a stingy, cold-hearted wizard?”
“No. You should just keep worrying. Oh man, I’m worried too. I’m gonna die, gonna die.”
“N-no, this way! This is the right way!”
“What… getting a little lost around Tanhyeon is unavoidable, Director Gu. The terrain around here changes sometimes.”
“Please, spare me!”
“No, I’m not gonna kill you!”
“Wizard, you know what? We knights have this saying among ourselves.”
“I know.”
“Huh? How do you know that, Wizard? What is it? What?”
“If you see an unfamiliar tree in Tanhyeon, give up and turn back.”
“Gasp, how did you know?”
Aah… my head hurts.
How did this dream team even come together?
I’m sitting in the back seat of Jang Hyun-deok’s fancy van.
Jang Hyun-deok is in the driver’s seat. That’s only natural.
But in the passenger seat next to him is Gu Jin-cheol.
Chae Tae-won must have put in some real effort patching him up, because there’s not a single spot that looks fatally injured.
Gu Jin-cheol has bandages wrapped around his head, an eyepatch over one eye, and a cast on his left arm.
Let me be clear: once we find Cheongho, this absurd situation of dragging Gu Jin-cheol and Jang Hyun-deok around together won’t happen again.
Especially Gu Jin-cheol—I won’t be seeing him after today.
“You said you’re Director Gu Jin-cheol? Is this the right place? Things aren’t even looking like roads anymore.”
“Ah, y-yes. Could you just go a bit further, over there?”
“Through those trees?”
“Ah, no, alongside them…”
“There’s a rock there?”
[Collision]
KABOOM!
“Let’s give it a shot. Geographically, there might be something up ahead.”
“…Since you’re using magic anyway, couldn’t you flatten the road or something?”
“File a complaint with Paju City Hall for that.”
Rumble rumble rumble…
Now that we’re off the road entirely, the van starts shaking violently. It’s not just my back that hurts—my neck and head are killing me too.
“Tanhyeon’s not even considered part of Paju City anymore these days. How does this even happen?”
“You think I’m the mayor of Paju? Why complain to me?”
“Oh come on, a ro-ro-road! Hack!”
Ignoring the vibrations climbing all the way to the top of his head, Jang Hyun-deok kept talking until he finally bit his own tongue.
It’s only natural for Jang Hyun-deok to be on edge. He was the one who dragged me into Tanhyeon last time, but he was under the influence of the [King in Yellow Clothes] back then.
Ever since, he’s been scared of everything due to the trauma from that day… Oh, the ghost phobia—was that my fault? The aftermath of seeing a ghost on the way to the Hungry Manor and getting Madness still lingers.
“You live in a theme park, so maybe you don’t get it, Wizard, but this neighborhood is no joke.”
“I know. I’ve already experienced how incredible Tanhyeon is. The knight who brought me all the way here back then was pretty cool.”
“Oh yeah, I’m a bit cool.”
Jang Hyun-deok is always a good friend who teaches me valuable lessons. Look at this time too. I learned that sarcasm doesn’t work on people with below-average intelligence.
“Ah! There! That’s it! That’s the one!”
Gu Jin-cheol suddenly shouts with energy.
Did we finally arrive?
This place wasn’t originally Tanhyeon. More like the outskirts?
Geumsan-dong, Paju City.
Worong Mountain is visible off to the side. On the map, it might be marked as part of Worong Mountain territory.
But the anomalies happening in Paju don’t follow human-drawn administrative boundaries. Like my last visit to Tanhyeon, you could drive for tens of minutes without issue, or end up in an extremely dangerous spot like this, outside Tanhyeon’s official district.
“This area wasn’t originally classified as ‘Tanhyeon,’ right?”
Tanhyeon’s danger zones are gradually expanding. The distinction is simple: the appearance of bizarre plants that shouldn’t exist in the natural world. That’s the precursor.
Plants are affected first, then animals and people. Not just Tanhyeon-myeon, but the areas Paju locals are forcefully calling ‘Tanhyeon.’
People influenced by that zone undergo strange changes in mind and body. If they’re lucky, they might develop abilities, but most just become lunatics. About one in a hundred might turn into monsters.
In the game, events where ‘Tanhyeon’ spreads this far happen occasionally. Depending on the situation, all of Paju could become ‘Tanhyeon,’ or even bigger things could occur, so in a way, it’s not that impressive an event.
‘But usually, there are precursors and events leading up to it, right?’
Call it a hunch, but I suspect Cheongho is involved in whatever turned the Worong Mountain area into ‘Tanhyeon.’
“Anyway, if you’re gonna build a secret base, why not further south? Why right on North Korea’s doorstep?”
“T-that’s…”
“Ah. No, I wasn’t talking to you, Director.”
Of course, it’s not Gu Jin-cheol’s fault, and as ridiculous as it sounds, it’s not Cheongho’s either.
Cheongho’s secret warehouse location is completely random.
Not just vaguely one of several—it’s truly, utterly random. That’s why it’s hidden in dumps like this; vague info alone can never lead you there.
‘That’s why you absolutely need a guide to reach it.’
Excluding Cheongho, the executives who know the location are the core members among dozens in the Cheongho faction.
In other words, only one of those eight directors from the meeting room knows, and which one is random again.
‘Ah, they really love random.’
In game terms, raiding Cheongho’s secret warehouse is key content in scenarios opposing Cheongho. How do you persuade one of those eight directors, each with different personalities and tastes? That’s the fun part.
Anyway, the guide for this run… as everyone can guess, it’s Gu Jin-cheol.
‘I had a feeling from the way he was acting all high and mighty in the meeting room.’
Anyway, this is one reason Gu Jin-cheol absolutely has to stay alive.
“We can’t go any further from here.”
“Should I smash a bit more?”
“No, any further and the wheels could get stuck, or we might flip. The incline’s too steep, and worst of all, the ground’s too soft.”
“Hmm…”
Guess we walk from here? Hiking up a slope where my feet sink in with every step—it weighs on me.
“No choice. We’ll go on foot.”
“Then, Wizard, be careful out there.”
“What?”
“Yes?”
“What’re you talking about? You’re coming too.”
“Me?”
“You gonna stay here?”
“Yes?”
Maybe I should’ve had Chae Tae-won drive instead of Jang Hyun-deok?
No, even if it’s the outskirts, it’s still Tanhyeon. We only got this far because it’s Jang Hyun-deok; no one else could drive around here.
Finally realizing what I meant, Jang Hyun-deok screamed.
“W-what’re you saying!? What can I even do on foot!?”
“You’re getting annoying, so stop stalling and get out. Can you protect yourself alone here?”
Jang Hyun-deok glanced around with a pale face for a moment.
Bizarre plants, bizarre bugs, bizarre birds, bizarre air, bizarre atmosphere…
“W-Wizard, a barrier…?”
“Wouldn’t it be safer with the Wizard protecting you?”
This is Tanhyeon. Completely safeguarding isolated personnel at a distance is impossible.
“W-well then…”
“Cut it out, man!”
Whack!
Only after I smacked him did Jang Hyun-deok finally grab his gear.
He fiddled with something by the driver’s seat, and a hidden gun popped out.
“They say even elementary kids carry guns in Paju, but do you even know how to shoot that?”
“W-well, I gotta grab something.”
“Do what you want.”
I could just tell him to go back and solve it easily, but this time, I can’t send Jang Hyun-deok away.
There’s too much loot to carry back.
“Alright, Director, get ready too.”
“Understood.”
This is the end of the segments where Gu Jin-cheol needs to tag along.
To smoothly resolve the dispute with Jeokdu, or because of the cultists tied to some of his businesses, or relations with Helistic?
As ridiculous as it is, having Gu Jin-cheol alive versus dead drastically changes future difficulty.
Anyway, he committed a crime, but he doesn’t have to pay with corporal or capital punishment.
Gu Jin-cheol will atone through hard labor.
“Alright, let’s go. Oh, and Jang Hyun-deok, if you die, I’m doing whatever I want with your car.”
“No, you gotta keep me safe so I don’t die!”
“Stay strong and hang in there.”
Tanhyeon’s unique—no, saying it that way might cause misunderstandings. The Tanhyeon I lived in was a happy, beautiful neighborhood.
But the corrupted ‘Tanhyeon’ of the [Cthulhu World] is a foreboding forest filled with bizarre plants and anomalies.
The moment I step out of the van, my nerves are on edge.
[System: ‘Enhanced Vigilance’ trait activated.]
Tsk tsk, tsk tsk—unpleasant bug noises from somewhere. Tap, tap, tap—something colliding. Swish, swiiiish, swish—is that leaves rustling in the wind?
Honestly, vigilance is pointless. The entire area is a danger zone.
The trees rooted and growing here are dangerous, the bugs eating those trees are dangerous, the visible bugs over there are dangerous, the birds flying far off are dangerous, the animals prowling the woods are dangerous.
And the air they exhale in this place is dangerous.
“Stay close to me, everyone. Straying away could be deadly.”
I raised my mana to set up protective wards around us and took the lead.
As Jang Hyun-deok said, it was a risky slope where the van could flip; something’s wrong with the ground—the soil was unnaturally crumbly. Every step sank my feet several centimeters.
“Uwaaaah!”
No one did anything, but Jang Hyun-deok suddenly rolls down the slope.
“Uwaaaah, Wizard!” or whatever, tumbling several meters in an instant.
“Should I kill him?”
No, that guy’s got better strength and health than me—why’s he doing that?
“Achilles, go bite him. No, don’t injure him—just bite.”
Zoom zoom zoom!!
A massive black shadow launches at incredible speed.
Kikikik, crunch, grind!!
It’s a silhouette like a big dog, but only the outline looks like one.
Zoom zoom!!
“Uwaaaah!! Monster! Monster!”
“No, that’s not a monster.”
It is a monster, though.
A body made of branches, staffs, glass shards, rice bowls, dumbbells, metal scraps, and so on, covered in a patchwork of animal hides. A kind of spirit golem.
The base is cores from those stuffed animals that ambushed us on Jangmasan. Not the best-looking, honestly.
‘My sewing skills aren’t great.’
The stitched hide seams split open, sprouting extra arms made of dozens of forcibly connected branches.
Gigigig!!
Achilles grabbed Jang Hyun-deok with one of those arms and dragged him back.
Scraaaape.
“Good boy.”
What a mess. Jang Hyun-deok is now covered head to toe in dirt, rotten leaves, and strangely shaped bug corpses—utterly pathetic.
This won’t do.
“For now, Achilles, stick by Jang Hyun-deok.”
Kik, kikik.
“What the hell was that thing even in?”
“Had to look inconspicuous, so it was in the bag.”
“Oh, that duffel bag full of junk? It was in there?”
“No, that duffel bag is him.”
My appearance alone is suspicious enough to trigger a pat-down; dragging spirit golems around openly would go beyond inspection—the Foreign Substance Management Agency’s Yangseo-ho would call in the strike team.
After much thought, I created this spirit golem, Achilles. It’s designed to disguise as a duffel bag stuffed with junk when idle.
“Carrying a jack-in-the-box around—you really are one hell of a magician.”
“Now you’re just calling me whatever. Achilles, bite that idiot.”
“Uwaaaah!”
Achilles just gave a really? look.
After passing a few more markers only Gu Jin-cheol would recognize, we finally reached our destination.
A massive iron door suddenly appearing midway up the mountain.
Cheongho’s hidden spot. A nuclear bunker.
“What’s that written there?”
On the thick, rusty red iron door, ominous letters were scrawled in sticky black fluid. Not painted with tools—smeared by hand directly. The content was…
“If you do not open it, a million will die. If you do, one will die.”