Chapter 145
Chapter 145
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 145
Chapter Title: Deal with the Devil
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“Enough from a mere human! You’re nothing but a lowly beast—do you dare mock me?”
“Well, you caught on quick. I thought I had you hooked since you listened so intently.”
It’s not entirely wrong, but in the end, it’s just meaningless number crunching.
The biggest variable in this equation is the mana from the [Living Flame] serving as the energy source. Of course, I don’t expect the abyssal being to stay on my side until the bitter end.
“Either way, the [Living Flame] seemed to enjoy tormenting you, didn’t it?”
It’ll hold up for exactly as long as my calculations predict.
I made sure to convey that point clearly before continuing.
“Let me make you another offer. You’re a book, so how about fulfilling your role as one?”
Those who seek knowledge and wisdom obtain it through books.
“Kim Shin-hwa…”
A flicker of unpleasant anticipation crossed the hazy face of Cheong-ho projected by the grimoire [Book of Greed and Ruin]. A sinister smile, the expression of a predator eyeing its prey.
“Do you even know what you’re saying?”
Who’s trying to seize control of this conversation? I’m the one in charge here.
“No, you’re the one who’s confused. This isn’t a wish or a plea.”
A bluish glow gathered on Cheong-ho’s face.
It wasn’t his face shining. It was the four eyes pierced into my mask. Blue light poured from those eyes.
“I’m just taking what’s mine. You’re my spoils of war, aren’t you? I’ll extract just the parts I need, no payment required.”
Like skinning hunted prey and carving off the meat.
“You filthy dog…!”
Surprisingly, Cheong-ho’s mind didn’t have much in the way of useful curses?
“If the knowledge you provide turns out helpful enough, I might even feel generous. Who knows—maybe it’ll reduce the quantity or quality of the suffering you’re due.”
“Are you telling me to grovel like some fawning slave for its master?”
“If you don’t like it, then I’ll just leave you here to rot until I decide to end you. Just remember: right now, the only one who can pull you out is me, Kim Shin-hwa, alive and kicking.”
I reached out to seal the barrier’s gate once more.
“…Fine. I’ll help.”
“Good choice.”
“But you seem to be under some delusion, so let me set things straight.”
The face of Cheong-ho projected inside the barrier twisted into something horrific. It was no longer Cheong-ho—it resembled a monstrous demon.
“You said no cost? What you demand is the nectar of abyssal wisdom. Once tasted, there’s no going back. You’ll end up groveling before me, howling and rolling like a dog or a pig.”
“Got it. If that happens, I’ll oink and bark while rolling around for you.”
“Shut your mouth! You think you can mock my curse with that vulgar tongue?”
“Hahaha, so what’re you gonna do about it?”
I laughed out loud, but beneath the mask, my face wasn’t so cheerful.
I couldn’t even complete my deal with the Golden King, and now this—wisdom of the laughing one…
I said it wasn’t a deal, but this is ultimately a pact with a devil.
This book is essentially the fruit of good and evil.
[das Buch der Gier und des Verderbens (Book of Greed and Ruin) Classification: Tome of Prophecy
Author: Unknown
Year of Creation: Unknown.
Language: Unknown. However, the title is inscribed in German on the inside.
A tome of prophecy known by the epithet "The Smiling Book."
Rumors say it was written by a demon from another realm or contains one imprisoned within. Reading it may claim your soul.
Further study is required to assess its true value.
※ Research Progress: 60%]
This is the basic info on the Book of Greed and Ruin.
I’ve never done any actual research, but it seems the system counted the events from my last fight with it as research progress.
With 60% completion, the additional info revealed is as follows.
[The Smiler: This book is the avatar of a higher intellect.
Abyssal Wisdom: Provides the "perfect" answer to the owner’s questions.
Curse of Knowledge: Those who read its contents fall into delusion amid overwhelming pleasure. (Estimated Resistance: 35%) Slave of Knowledge: Imposes "Soul Binding" on the deluded.
※ Enhanced (Kim Shin-hwa)
Torment: "I’ll yank out your molars once every three seconds."]
In short, it boils down to this.
One. It offers a perfect solution to specific problems.
Two. Fail the check, and you get soul-bound.
Three. Effect of soul-binding? You become Cheong-ho. End of story.
But I have a perfect counter for this kind of thing.
“Alright. Then my question is…”
I conveyed exactly what I needed—telepathically, through intent rather than voice. No one but me and the book knows it.
One question and one secret request.
Cheong-ho’s face twisted in disbelief upon receiving them.
“Unbelievable. You’d risk this for something as trivial as that mask?”
“Whether I eat bread or stones, what’s it to you?”
“Fine. As I said before, you’re noise in this world. Not even true abyssal beings can perfectly predict or prophesy your actions—only I can.”
That’s good news.
It means even the one behind the message windows can’t perfectly foresee my moves.
“Enough of that. Now give me the knowledge I need.”
“Very well. Listen closely, Kim Shin-hwa. My answer is…”
A whisper no one else could eavesdrop arrived—secret and intimate.
The book gave me precisely what I needed.
Really? That’s the answer?
[You have obtained knowledge you were never meant to have. You have gained a completely new perspective, allowing you to see certain objects in an entirely different way.]
[But the price of truth is harsh. You cannot explain this knowledge to others—only laughter will emerge. You resist the overwhelming truth with your Mental Fortitude stat.
Mental Fortitude check…]
The check result followed.
But I couldn’t register what it said or what effects occurred. Did I pass? Fail?
I don’t know. All that came was laughter.
“Khuh, heh heh heh…”
Now I understand why Cheong-ho laughed like that.
A short but crystal-clear answer. Yet the overwhelming truth it contained.
Indescribable terror and ecstasy, followed by an immense sense of futility crashed over me.
[Achievement Unlocked! You have comprehended a fragment of this world’s truth.
You have obtained the ‘Hidden Achievement: Desire and Ruin.’
As an achievement reward, you gain the ‘Unique Magic: Perception.’]
Screw it!
Tears welled up. Laughter burst forth. I wanted to wail at the top of my lungs. What the hell is this? How can it be?
Ah, whatever. It doesn’t matter anymore.
Forget it all. Just laugh! Laughter ends it. Laugh at my own foolishness thrashing in this empty world. Laugh.
“Ha, hahaha, hahahahaha!”
[System: Exclusive Trait ‘Abyssal Madness’ activated. Changes check result to success.]
Damn it. Just let me lose my mind and keep laughing!
Bzzzzzt!
Blackout.
No. I had closed my eyes.
I barely pried them open again. Somehow, I was still alive. Somehow, I hadn’t gone mad.
“Hah… hah…”
Damn. Looks like I failed the check. It was only for a moment, but I truly glimpsed hell. I planned to bulldoze through with [Abyssal Madness] no matter what, but the effect was too intense.
“Enjoying yourself?”
Cheong-ho’s voice dripped with mockery.
“Hah, hngh. Shut… up…”
“Unbelievable. Such power is too much for a mere sacrifice. That’s how you made it this far, I suppose.”
“Ah, get lost. Please, mister. Leave me alone to play by myself.”
“What a pity. You weren’t prepared as a feast for me. I’ll never become a true abyssal being.”
Cheong-ho smacked his lips as he spat ominous prophecies. His essence was that of a harbinger of doom, foretelling futures of nothing but ruin.
“But hear this, Kim Shin-hwa, pitiful sacrifice. You drove away the madness through artificial means, but you’ve already tasted it once. A fragment of this world’s truth. Now that you’ve felt that emptiness and ecstasy, you can never return to how things were. In the end, you’ll beg me. You’ll kneel before this mere book of knowledge—not even a true abyssal being—howling and rolling like a dog, like a pig.”
“Shut up. Go pull your own teeth in there!”
I hurled mana at the barrier.
Boom!
The silver door slammed shut.
Now, silence surrounded me.
“Ha, damn. I knew roughly what to expect, but experiencing it myself sucks.”
I took a moment to breathe deeply.
“Phew…”
Drool trickled from my mouth, tears from my eyes.
So, what exactly did I learn?
…
“Honestly, no clue.”
I expected some intuitive, linguistic revelation, but what I got was something entirely different.
Forcing that sensation into words I could use yields something like this.
“True madness and terror begin with perception.”
Talk about putting on airs unnecessarily. And I nearly lost my mind completely over that feeling. Without [Abyssal Madness], I really would have.
But thanks to it, I got a new spell.
“‘Perception,’ huh…”
This must be the real answer the [Smiler] spat out in response to my question.
“Ugh. Can’t argue even if it gets ridiculed.”
A spell gained through a deal with a grimoire—a devil.
I took a huge risk for this. Shouldn’t it be something grander?
Like [Hellfire], [Meteor], or [Absolute Command: Death]—cool, flashy stuff.
This isn’t that.
[Perception] is just an augmentation spell that enhances my vision and cognition. If I trace its lineage, it’s like the detection spells I’ve worn out, such as Heavenly Sight or Sensory Scan.
But in this world, the more you know and perceive, the more power you hold.
‘And the more madness and danger, too.’
Excessive wisdom and knowledge are poison.
This is a dangerous spell that must be used as sparingly as possible.
“Best to use it in the safest conditions possible.”
Whirrrrr!!
The mansion already had more barriers than needed. And this basement had the most magical safeguards of all.
Even so, I added a few more spells to prepare for the worst.
“Phew… Dragging this out too long isn’t good.”
I took a deep breath, gazing at the masks hanging on the wall. Masks of all shapes. It calmed my mind.
Then I turned to the table.
Atop it sat a ridiculously ornate treasure chest.
I activated the spell targeting the chest.
[Perception]
Shwoooosh!!
From the four eyes pierced into my mask poured an indescribably bizarre light.
“Definitely…”
The chest looked entirely different.
An ineffable, eerie sensation.
“A completely new perspective.”
Whirrr…
It was clearly a metal chest, set to ignore any blows or spells.
But now, I could handle it as I pleased. Some parts soft, others hard.
“Ah, so that’s what ‘soft’ meant.”
The Golden King said it. This world is soft.
And the [Smiler] possessing Cheong-ho said the same. That he’d make this world even softer.
“So that’s what it meant.”
This is the perspective of abyssal beings—or those powerful enough to approach the abyss.
This is the prerequisite for true miracles, for upending causality.
The power to rearrange spatial dimensions, room layouts, or redesign an entire massive public gymnasium overnight.
My power hasn’t reached that level yet, but at least I can change one small thing.
Now, I can open it.
I can see exactly where to dig in and how to twist to unlock it.