Chapter 129
Chapter 129
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 129
Chapter Title: The One Who Laughs (5)
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It's impossible to affect the true form of [The One Who Laughs]. That's way beyond me anyway. But this incarnation right in front of me, existing in the shape of a book? That's something I can handle.
- N-No way! You monster! Horrific demon! How can you act outside of my prophecies? This didn't exist in my foresight! Why? Why can you alone move in ways that defy my prophecies? You're noise that breaks the laws of this world! Monster! You monster! Disgusting noise! Your very existence is ruining my prophecies! Get out! Get out of this world! Vanish!
"Sigh, don't worry, customer. I'll fix you right up."
- No matter how much you struggle, your wishes will never come true! You're a foreign object in this world! An alien monster! A grotesque error! No one will grant your desires! No one! Your wishes will go unfulfilled!
Man, this thing sure talks a lot.
Will I ever run into something this chatty again? As I always say, talk is cheap—it's just momentary shame. Go ahead and yap all you want.
"Alright, alright. Time to start the repairs."
Perfect timing. I have just the tool for this job.
I drew up my mana and activated the artifact's property.
[L-Grade Accessory 'Mask of Carcosa's' unique function, 'Madman's Handiwork,' activates.
// Madman's Handiwork: Attempt modifications to unlock hidden abilities of an artifact or bestow new ones.]
Zzzzap!!
Golden mana tentacles extended from the Mask of Carcosa, wrapping around the spirit bound to the Butcher's Hook.
They then pierced the spirit of [The One Who Laughs], restrained by the mana of [The Living Flame], and bestowed new power upon it.
I said it like a joke, but this is on a whole other level from just sealing it away.
Pressure like my brain might explode bore down on me.
If this were a normal brain, it would've already turned to mush under the strain.
Magic circles of every color bloomed in all directions, manifesting effects and vanishing repeatedly.
"Oh, this is... more complicated than I thought."
It's a lesser being compared to an abyssal entity, but [The One Who Laughs] is still a higher spirit far above any human.
For a metaphysical human to forcibly rewrite or modify such a creature's very mode of existence? Impossible.
"But too bad. You just had to run into a guy like me."
No need to fully understand the structure. The mask's properties will compensate for the fine details.
Even so, my ordinary human brain endlessly repeated calculations beyond its capacity. A few minutes? No, seconds? Time felt fuzzy. Anyway, in that brief span, over 100 million events flashed through my mind.
Even in this state, my thoughts raced at incredible speed with calculations, and I had enough mental leeway for stray thoughts too. ('Ha, how long do I have to keep this up?') Reaching this point made the task straightforward. ('I'll give all the gold bars in Cheongho's warehouse to Jeong Hyun-ah, and keep the artifacts for myself. They'll all fit in Jang Hyun-deok's car, right?') I'd already grasped the analysis, computations, what to change, and how to combine elements. ('That idiot Goo Jin-cheol. Did he die? Not like I'll see him again, but it'd be more convenient if he's alive.')
[System: Exclusive property 'Feast's Offering' activates. 'Abyssal Being: The Living Flame,' 'Abyssal Being: The King in Yellow,' 'Abyssal Being: The One Who Comes from the Darkness' turn their attention to you.]
Right on cue—all my bettors are here.
I'd been through all sorts of crap, but only three abyssal beings bet on me? Oh, right, the Golden King isn't an abyssal being.
I can't stop the abyssal beings from spectating my little stunt, but I can make use of them, right? Come on, pay up for the show—fork over that mana!
From the mask, the ring, and the fragment embedded in my body. All three unleashed tremendous mana.
Zzzzzz...
My left eye's vision blurred. A few burst blood vessels in the eyeball from overconcentration, probably. And at the same moment...
An incredible rush of euphoria hit me.
"This is definitely more power than I can handle."
I drew mana from the fragment of [The One Who Comes from the Darkness] inside me. Routed it through the mask from [The King in Yellow]. The book thrashed. But resistance was futile. [The Living Flame]'s power kept it suppressed.
Like assembling a radio, everything wrapped up easily and simply in the predetermined order.
At some point, the surroundings fell completely silent.
The mana that had filled the underground space and the immense presences from the abyssal beings had vanished entirely.
Let's take a look...
『Kuhuhuhuhu!! Kuhehehehehe!!!』
Hilarious.
Now this book was one that prophesied the future with laughter—and also the universe's one and only [Book That Feels Pain]. Just touching a page or the cover would hurt it.
I'm human, it's a book and a higher spirit, so direct comparison's tough, but forcing a pain sensitivity match...
"How's that, customer? I tuned it so even a light touch feels like having eight molars yanked at once. Satisfied?"
『Kuhuhuhuhu!! Kuhehehehehe!!!』
"Good, good. Glad you like it. Now, time to roast for a bit."
Roooar!!
A barrier of flames would grant it an eternal curse of fire. Normal books burn up in reality, but this one? No worries there. It'll just hurt—a lot—and persist in that state forever.
"Oh yeah, you mentioned something about 'in an instant,' right? This runs on mana left by The Living Flame, so it'll keep burning even after I'm dead. No need to fret."
『Kuhuhu!?』
"You're immortal anyway, so this should be fine, yeah? Oh, wait—you're not truly immortal."
Not even in the same league as real abyssal beings.
If it'd been a true abyssal being, I couldn't toy with it this easily, even with borrowed power from others.
And this book isn't even [The One Who Laughs]' true body.
That's how it is with abyssal beings and anything above a certain level in this world. They split their will and power into multiple forms, scattering them across the universe.
That's why cults worshiping the same Nyarlathotep have separate heretics devoted to the incarnation called [The Bloodstained Tongue], while others follow [The Crawling Chaos].
Even though [The Bloodstained Tongue] and [The Crawling Chaos] share the same core Nyarlathotep.
Anyway, I subdued this one, but I might encounter another form of [The One Who Laughs] later.
"Still, capturing a fragment of a higher spirit is a huge win."
One minor regret, though...
[You witnessed the outrageous antics created by 'The One Who Laughs' and felt great rage.]
"Like I said—I'm pissed because of you, you bastard."
Yeah. I definitely think this is Nyarlathotep. But it has a thousand faces.
A thousand masks, a thousand epithets, a thousand incarnations.
Each with completely different personalities, so I can't tell which one is screwing with me or why.
[You predicted with astonishing intellect that such events would unfold from the moment Cheongho vanished. Thus, you devised a plan long ago to use Jang Hyun-deok as bait in your trap. A brilliant strategy. Your one and only mistake was...]
"Shut up."
[That what awaited you in this bunker was 'The One Who Laughs.' Not an abyssal being, merely a higher spirit. Your long plan to capture an abyssal being using Jang Hyun-deok failed. And since you've revealed it so openly, the abyssal beings will now be wary of your traps.]
"I said shut up."
[No lengthy explanation needed. But you know this entire affair happened because of you.]
"Enough."
[Eliminate Goo Jin-cheol, and you'll be the only one who knows what was here underground or what transpired. You can claim all of Cheongho's lifelong wealth and artifacts. If you wish, make this bunker your new base. When did you start planning all this? From when you asked Cheongho for the book? Truly astonishing wisdom. Was dragging Goo Jin-cheol here part of the plan too?]
"Get lost, you psycho fuck!"
Rumble!!
Mana burst from my body, shaking the entire space.
I lost track of how much mana I unleashed in that instant, but it made the message windows flicker.
[Con... of the... awaits....]
[Quest completed!
[Search Quest: Find Cheongho.]
Reward: 3,000,000 XP + bonus based on mission performance]
[You have accumulated enough experience to reach the next level. Level increased by 1.]
[You defeated a part of 'Higher Spirit - The One Who Laughs.' Understanding of higher spirits increased.]
[You defeated 'Cheongho, one of the Three Heads of the Triad.' Understanding of the underworld increased.]
[You have accumulated enough experience to reach the next level. Level increased by 1.]
[Achievement unlocked! You sealed a part of 'Higher Spirit - The One Who Laughs.' You acquired the 'Rare Achievement: The One Who Stopped the Laughter.'
As achievement reward, 'The One Who Laughs' is bound to you as an artifact, and you gain additional experience.]
[Experience Bonus: You achieved a total of (1) achievements in Cheongho's secret vault.]
[You have accumulated enough experience to reach the next level. Level increased by 1.]
[Level 40 achieved!
Level-up reward: Gain (1) bonus stat point to freely allocate.]
I dumped the new bonus stat into Mental Fortitude.
Factoring in artifact boosts, Mental Fortitude is now 19.
Nearing human limits.
Even so, sanity checks are probability-based. No matter how high I pump Mental Fortitude, there's still a 1% failure chance.
And that 1%...
'Too high. More than enough for Nyarlathotep to mess with me.'
Can't trust it at all.
[You have accumulated enough experience to unlock 4th-circle magic. Note that to properly use 4th-circle magic, acquire a grimoire containing 4th-circle spells or undergo training.]
[System: 'Spell Mastery' property activates. Automatically acquire basic spells of the 4th circle.]
A list of newly recognized 4th-circle spells floated in my mind.
Their power was on another dimension from what I'd used before.
'But too few.'
The auto-acquired 4th-circle spells numbered fewer than the 3rd-circle ones.
Now I'd really need to decipher a grimoire or find another method.
****
Kim Shin-hwa
Class: Abyss-Gazing Mage
Level: 40
Magic Tier: 4th Circle
Madnesses: [Mask Obsession], [Ichthyophobia]
Strength 5 + 4 (Embers of the Northern Pleasure Sect)
Vitality 7 + 3 (Four Signs Subduing Sword (Green Honor))
Agility 8 + 2 (Wings of the Night Veil)
Intelligence 30
Mental Fortitude 17 + 2 (Necklace of the Body-Seizer)
Charisma 19
****
"Whew, damn. What a shitty quest."
Tch, yeah. This is the Cthulhu world as it should be. Things were too smooth before—that's all. Everything in this world is my enemy.
I never imagined the system running the game would turn enemy too, but I'd suspected it to some degree.
"Ah, fuck. No point dwelling on it."
I turned to survey my surroundings.
The basement's darkness was lifting.
Distorted vision stabilized, twisted space realigned.
Goo Jin-cheol lay collapsed in the room a few paces ahead.
The moment I registered his position, another message window blocked my view.
[You may change your residence to 'Nuclear Bunker.' To do so, kill all remaining humanoid intelligences inside the nuclear bunker.]