Chapter 124
Chapter 124
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 124
Chapter Title: Nuclear Bunker (2)
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The underground space was dark and damp.
And above all, a tremendous stench assaulted the nose.
“Ughhh…….”
Jang Hyun-deok suddenly shuddered, letting out a strange noise.
He’d been talking big just moments ago, but now he looked off.
“The lights are on, but it’s weirdly dark.”
This was Gu Jin-cheol’s voice. He, on the other hand, looked perfectly calm.
“The atmosphere is a bit strange.”
Looking up, I could see large lighting fixtures attached to the ceiling.
They weren’t modern designs. Unnecessarily bulky lamps. Overly ornate, like decorations from some outdated steampunk genre.
“Lights embedded with mana stones. Using something that precious down here?”
“Mana stones……?”
“Yeah, mana stone lights. They emit light semi-permanently.”
In a post-nuclear apocalypse bunker, nothing could be more fitting.
“I was wondering where those went, and here they were.”
Gu Jin-cheol spoke in a disappointed tone.
“Well, it’s overkill, but considering the design intent, there’s no better place for them, right?”
“No, it’s not that. The chairman flipped out for ages because they’d gone missing. Turns out he’d pocketed them himself and blamed everyone else.”
“Oh…….”
Just some trivial gossip within the Cheongho faction.
It reminded me of the old days when I’d talked to every NPC just to confirm pointless details like this.
‘Too bad. I’d update the wiki if I could.’
No, that wasn’t the issue.
“Ugh…… Something’s off. It’s cold in here, right? Am I the only one? The smell’s weird too…… I feel like puking.”
“I smell it too, but the cold? Seems like just you.”
Jang Hyun-deok’s condition was deteriorating.
Was it the [Living Altar]—his medium talent—causing some weird side effect? I didn’t have anything like that, so I wouldn’t know.
“We go through that iron door, and the real game begins. You good?”
“Ugh, I think I’m still okay.”
“Alright? Anyway, it’s your life, so you handle it. Speak up if it gets bad.”
I said that, but it didn’t feel right to just leave him like this. I cast a few buffs on Jang Hyun-deok’s body.
Anyway, time to move.
‘Past this passage: storage, storage, then the room.’
Each space was separated by heavy iron doors, just like on a submarine, as Jang Hyun-deok had said.
The spot we were in now wasn’t really a passage—it seemed more like a compartment designed to seal off sections in emergencies.
“Hold on.”
Gu Jin-cheol stepped up and opened the door again.
Creeeak.
Beyond the door lay an unnatural darkness.
Looking closely, the room ahead clearly had lights on too.
Unpleasant shadows clung to spots around the room. Like living creatures or sentient ghosts, huddling in the gloom.
Looking back, the space behind the door was filled with pitch blackness. The other-dimensional energy permeating the entire bunker was blocking the light.
‘Ah, so this is it?’
Fog of war.
A common game effect. Unloaded rooms or unexplored areas stayed hidden.
It was implemented this way here.
In games, it was artificial darkness to simulate field of view, but in reality, it caused real problems.
“Gonna get lost. Feels like a maze in this tiny room.”
“Maze? A maze?”
“Supernatural? No, magical’s probably better. Anyway, there’s way too much other-dimensional energy here. In simple terms, the room’s packed with evil magic, blocking the light.”
“Like the stuff demon worshippers make? Those cults?”
Even among folks from Paju, knowledge of abyssal entities varied wildly.
I called them abyssal beings, but most didn’t use that term. Some said Great Ones, Ancient Rulers, Great Old Ones, otherworldly beings, outer gods, death gods, evil gods—or just demons.
“Yeah, that kinda thing. Anyway, stick close. A few steps apart, and you won’t see each other.”
“I-I’ve never seen anything like this. So, Kim Shin-hwa, I absolutely…… absolutely…….”
Gu Jin-cheol fidgeted with an anxious look.
“I know it’s not a trap. No one could set something like this up on purpose.”
Come to think of it, Jang Hyun-deok—panting beside him—had once dragged me into something worse.
Not his fault exactly, but remembering the hassle made me want to smack him.
‘Speaking of, I said I’d hit him twice back then but only did once. Should I now?’
“Worry about yourself more than me, sir. Or if you’ve got spare attention, look after this idiot.”
“Got it.”
“Hey, Jang Hyun-deok, you’re a burden, man? Huh?”
“Ughhh…… Sorry.”
Couldn’t say much more since I’d dragged him here against his will.
“Anyway, let’s go a bit farther.”
I forcibly pulled the frozen Jang Hyun-deok along into the next section.
More expensive mana stone lights continued.
And the dimly lit scene beneath them…… was a total mess.
“I’ve never been this far in either, but this must be the storage room.”
Cheongho’s treasure trove—or secret vault.
All sorts of artifacts, gold bars, artworks imprisoned here just for their value, and personal knickknacks worthless to anyone outside Cheongho.
That kind of room.
Not important right now. What mattered was its condition.
“Fits a guy with no survival skills holing up alone for over a month. What a disaster.”
“Our chairman wasn’t the type to clean or cook for himself.”
Just a joke.
The scene before us was beyond that. Even with lights, the warehouse—shrouded in eerie darkness—was in bad shape.
Might cause misunderstanding, but nearly everything in the room was smashed, shattered, crumpled, or soiled.
Small safes split in half and rolling on the floor. Gold bars tumbling on the filthy ground. Artworks blackened by what looked like small explosions or fires. Shattered pottery, collapsed iron shelves, huge cracks in the inner walls.
The shelves even had clear handprints crushed into them.
“Crushed by hand? Guy’s got some strength.”
“Kim Shin-hwa, the chairman’s state seems…… dangerous.”
“Yeah, looks pretty dangerous to me too.”
Gu Jin-cheol was staring at one wall.
A huge solo portrait screaming narcissism, a family photo beside it, a group shot with Cheongho faction executives.
Meaning those photos had been there.
Now, it was impossible to tell what they showed. Rubbed out with charcoal or something—like scavenged charcoals or charwood—smeared over every one.
Cheongho’s portrait was the worst: a massive black skull drawn right over his face.
Cheongho survival score: +1. Cheongho sanity score: -10.
“Ah, headache.”
He’d embarrassed himself last time, but Cheongho was a strong NPC.
I’d taken him down once, but that was just tripping a distracted guy.
If madness-driven Cheongho came at me seriously…… I wouldn’t lose, but capturing him intact? No confidence.
Hee hee hee hee……
The laughter echoed again. Not human—like wind or some object creaking.
“Starting again?”
[An ominous laughter echoes.]
A sudden message window.
That’s all the explanation?
[A horrific laughter that can shatter sanity just by hearing it. You undergo a sanity check using your Mental Strength stat. Sanity check…….]
Ah, damn. Here it comes.
[Success.]
Success or failure didn’t matter to me. Glancing past the window, I saw Gu Jin-cheol’s face. A bit pale, but no big issue. Good.
[You instinctively know the voice is Cheongho’s. At the same time, you sense his mind and body have undergone a change beyond mere madness.]
The message’s tone felt different from usual. What? Why so serious?
Creak, creak, crunch.
Achilles’s signal. Looking back, he nodded toward Jang Hyun-deok. Who…… ugh, not good.
“W-Wizard…… I messed up. I wanna go back now. Ah, no good.”
Face paling to gray, hands shaking violently. Legs buckling like he’d collapse any second. Gu Jin-cheol steadied him.
“You okay? Going back alone’s not smart. I’ll stick by you.”
Looked like Jang Hyun-deok failed his sanity check. Mild madness rising. Probably [Abnormal Status – Fear]?
“I-I was wrong! There’s a monster in there! Don’t you hear it? Whispers! Weird whispers nonstop! Aagh! Ugh!”
Now hallucinations and paranoia too.
“Hmm, no good.”
“You’re going in alone?”
“Nothing major so far, so in a way, it’s secure. You wait here too, sir.”
“Huh?”
“Best that way. Achilles, protect these two. Use your judgment. If connection cuts—.”
I pulled two mana stones from my backpack. Tossed one to Achilles.
“—eat this. Priorities: 1, protect VIP target. 2, secure escape. 3, self-preservation. Stay within 2m of VIP. They might give weird orders, so obey only if it doesn’t violate 1, 2, 3.”
Click, crunch.
I pulled another mana stone and handed it to…… not Jang Hyun-deok, but Gu Jin-cheol.
“If the dog blows the mana stone, big trouble—run. Give him this if he stops moving; he’ll restart.”
“I……”
“I don’t trust you that much. But the contract? Yeah.”
Gu Jin-cheol sheepishly rubbed his belly.
His mind had shattered once and been rebuilt—seemed reformed, but who knew?
I wasn’t dragging him because I trusted him.
Like with the cultists before, I’d made him swallow a contract enforcer before we left.
Showed him what happens if it bursts, so he’d behave.
“See you later.”
Leaving the two behind, I headed deeper into the bunker.
Short passage.
A device to seal sections if trouble hit.
I extended my magic and opened the opposite door.
Creeeak……
The door opened. Pitch-black darkness beyond. Magic density rising.
[System: ‘Enhanced Vigilance’ trait activates.]
As I stepped into the dark.
“Brother.”
A voice signal carrying meaning through the air. I halted my step and peered into the gloom.
“Hmm…….”
Nothing visible. Just dark. I fiddled with my face mask briefly before replying.
“We’ve chatted, sure, but I don’t recall swearing brotherhood.”
The thing lurking in the darkness beyond let out a bizarre, indescribable metallic screech of disgust and horror.
Ehehehehe, heheheheek!
Ehehehehehehe, heek, heek.
Ah, laughing?
“Isn’t that so? Chairman. Laughing this much—you seem much brighter than before. Anyway, coming in now.”
I stepped toward the darkness.