Chapter 146
Chapter 146
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 146
Chapter Title: Trap
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Vibrant lights of every color bloom in the perfectly sealed basement.
I deliberately avoid forming a complete magic circle. Maximum effect for minimal cost.
'The target is that box.'
It's a box that can't be opened by any means outside the designated event.
No magic or spells under the game's system can unlock it.
I abandon the automatically calculated spells and incantations, handling every calculation and movement manually.
"Well, it's always been like this anyway."
Dozens of masks covering the basement walls feel like they're staring at me.
They're already in all sorts of shapes.
Now dyed in lights and shadows of every hue, they create a truly grotesque scene.
Eeeeeeng...
Mana lines trace geometric paths at my command.
Runes recombine in a way that any other mage would call fraudulent.
It used to be trickier, but the [Perception] equipped on my eyes now provides massive corrections to this bewilderingly complex task.
'Still. Couldn't use this in real combat.'
Dizziness surges over me.
[Perception] isn't some simple spell.
Just the info packed into this one box feels like it's scorching my eyes and brain. Any normal person would've melted theirs already.
'It's activating here because this is the safest spot. Too vulnerable to try anywhere else.'
No more wasting time. I can think after it's done.
I manipulate what I can control.
[L-Grade Accessory 'Mask of Carcosa' unique function, 'Madman's Handiwork' activates.
// Madman's Handiwork: Attempt modifications to unlock an artifact's hidden abilities or imbue new ones.]
Shwaaaaack!!
Pale yellow tentacles lash out in all directions.
Kik, keekeek, kuhuhuhu...
Laughter echoes from somewhere—is it a hallucination?
Rattle, rattle, rattle, rattle...
The dozens of masks on the walls twitch, fidget, and shake each in their own way.
Crunch, crackle.
Unpleasant scraping as the tentacles claw at the box.
I draw up mana.
I probe the box's weakest point.
Puk.
Yes, it's in.
Through the golden-glowing tentacle, the box's will transmits to me.
- Blood, more blood. More chaos.
The box utters its creepy desire in its ridiculous design.
- More death, more ruin, more despair.
No matter what nonsense the damn box spouts, I pour in my will.
You won't get what you want. No more chaos. Spit out what you're holding. That's my mask.
Gugugugugu!!
The entire dark basement shakes.
The unopenable box opens.
I've twisted the game's settings and ignored this world's laws. I've opened this box.
"Urgh..."
Exhausting. Holding it longer might really burst my brain.
I release the [Perception] on my eyes.
Foul blood trickles down my cheek. Blood from my eyes? No time to wipe it.
In my blood-red vision, something incredible appears.
Pzzt, pzzzt! Pzzzzzt!
Unreal noise.
The box was definitely a tangible object. But now it's no longer a thing.
Pzzzt! Pzzzt! Keegeeging!!
What I just did wasn't simply opening a box.
I've forcibly shaken the reason this box exists in this world—in [Cthulhu World] in this form.
Having lost its existential purpose, the box has now lost its material identity too.
So now the box flickers violently, spewing sharp sparks of flashing light.
Pzzt! Pzzt! Pzzzzzt!
'This is...'
A graphics error?
It looks like a glitch—where the physics engine breaks and the visuals shatter.
I speak toward the most plausible direction.
"How about that? Forced it open, ignoring the event entirely."
Right now, it's empty air.
"Come on, say what you want to say."
A very brief loading.
No—wait—a message window appears in the empty air.
The message window's words are...
[Achievement unlocked! /Nulled /Null.
「Unexpected Command」
「Unknown Command」
「Cannot reference ?縯잆徇삵偃겗풰.」
The system?
Is restoring?
Restoration N% complete]
"Doesn't look like you're in great shape?"
The corner of my mouth twitches up. Looks like I landed a hit.
This was probably the message window's second trap.
The first trap was Masquerade itself.
And the second trap was...
'It expected me to open this box with some blood ritual?'
Saying I wouldn't do that is pointless.
If I'd truly succumbed to madness, I might've done it regardless of my will or common sense.
[Restoring]
[「Event path reset.」
Initializing irregular object.]
For a split second, the box emits something like a vivid tangle of green and purple? Indescribable.
Anyway, it spews that light and vanishes.
And what's left in its place is...
"Ugh, what the hell is that?"
It was... an utterly bizarre object.
At first glance, a white mask emitting its own blue glow from empty sockets—but then a hypercube projected into 3D space, then violent undulating waves, then particles too small for the naked eye, then blinding light, then a crown of death woven from some horrific death rattle...
[System: Exclusive trait 'Madness of the Abyss' activates. Nullifies ■■■ effects.]
Pzzzzzzt!!
"Ugh."
Something happened, damn it.
Staring too long would shatter my mind. It's a mask with power beyond even the L-Grade [Mask of Carcosa]—utterly insane.
It throbs with primal power infused by the most capricious of abyssal beings.
If its creator intended it, it might've become an avatar manifested as an artifact, like the [Book of Greed and Ruin].
"So, how long you gonna keep twitching? Skip to showing your form and info already."
I'm too drained to stand, but the surreal writhing thing seems to respond, slowly stabilizing.
'Feels like it really skipped.'
Soon, the mask's form solidifies.
A plain mask with a mouth drawn in an agonized, twisting expression. A crude mask retaining wood grain.
Rough, primal, grotesque.
It floats in the air like that.
[Mask of the Faceless One (L-Grade Accessory): Shimmering darkness. Endless void brimming full. The wearer receives the Faceless One's blessing.
Wear the mask: Receive the blessing!
Further details require study.]
"Hey, who wouldn't spot the trap with that written like this?"
Probably the third trap.
Three hundred cultists clung to get this, but wearing it turns you into a higher monster called [Faceless Servant].
Without my intervention, the next event would've been a fight with the [Faceless Servant].
It's a blessing from an abyssal being. Even I wouldn't be exempt. Wearing it turns me into a monster too. In short, a mask I can't and shouldn't wear.
'Doesn't matter. I didn't go through all that to wear it on my face.'
[Mask of the Faceless One].
The [Faceless One] is an avatar of the abyssal being Nyarlathotep.
In other words...
The surest clue to grasping Nyarlathotep's power.
'And that message window's tied to Nyarlathotep too.'
Ultimately, this mask is my first lead to track the bastard imprisoning me and having its fun.
Tough for now, but I'll chase it to the end.
"Now, if I just reseal this..."
Done.
But at that moment.
Pzzzzzzt!
Sparks blast with light searing enough to burn my optic nerves.
"Urk, what?"
My eyes were already bleeding. I hurriedly focus mana to protect them.
[Study complete!]
The mask's study finishes on its own.
With sparks, the message window glitches, then new info on the mask outputs at blinding speed.
[Wear the mask: Supreme bliss and pleasure will be with you.
Wear the mask: You will become stronger, wiser.
Wear the mask: We grant the power to escape this world.
Wear the mask: Your wishes will come true.
Wear the mask: You've wanted this from the start, haven't you?
Wear the mask: Wear the mask.
Wear the mask: You don't really need a face.]
Wear the mask. My heart races.
Not madness manifesting. But I want to wear the mask.
I know this is the trap. But I want to wear the mask.
I mustn't wear the mask. But I must wear the mask.
Calm down. I've already got a mask on my face, right? Masks everywhere. So, the mask?
[Wear the mask.
Wear the mask.
Wear the mask.
Wear the mask.
Wear the mask.
Wear the mask.
Wear the mask.
Wear the mask.
Wear the mask.
Wear the mask.]
No need for other thoughts.
'I want to wear the mask.'
My heartbeat's so loud it might deafen me.
[You've overcome every trial and hardship to reach here. And you opened a box that required a blood ritual with a completely different method. You've proven your uniqueness once more.]
I slowly reach for the mask.
My hand trembles visibly.
[Yes. This is your reward. Wear the mask. With this, you won't suffer anymore.]
"Ah, really..."
Is that really my voice? Feels weird.
[What are you thinking? Wear the mask. No need to think more. No need to suffer more. True freedom awaits you.]
The instant the mask touches my hand.
A horrific laugh echoes from somewhere.
『Kuhuhuhu, kuhahahaha!!』
With that laugh, my pre-prepared effect triggers.
Ting-
[S-Grade Magic Tool 'Silver Bell of the Underworld' unique function, 'Silver Dominion' activates.
// Silver Dominion: Auto-cast 'Voice of Authority' on target and boosts 'mental' spells by 100%.]
[A-Grade Magic Tool 'Keystone' unique function, 'Mind Spike' activates.
// Mind Spike: Random chance to recover a delirious target. Failure worsens delirium.]
Artifacts set to act directly on my mind.
My mind clears in an instant.
'I can move.'
Yes. Not delirium.
The mask's mana just stimulated my Mask Obsession lodged in my head. I can ignore this much.
Dozens of masks line the basement walls, catching my eye.
Plus the one already on my face.
Right, I've got more masks than I know what to do with.
"So!"
I draw up mana, forging powerful binding force.
"I don't need to wear something like this!!"
Eeeeeeng!!
Crimson pentagram blooms on the floor.
Runes with clear meanings float around.
Seal, bind, suppress, oppress, restrain, weaken, silence.
Kudududuk!
Multilayered barriers dozens deep ensnare the [Mask of the Faceless One].
But.
Pachizizit!
Immense repulsion—massive sparks erupt from the [Mask of the Faceless One].
[Your sudden attempt to seal the 'Mask of the Faceless One' won't work. Your level isn't enough to seal an artifact consecrated by an abyssal being.]
Mocking message window text. Cracking sounds—magic circle crumbles instantly, runes lose meaning and drift.
I can't hold back my rage and yell.
"Help me quick! This bastard's talking shit!"
Kiiiik!
Door opens. The barrier holding the [Book of Greed and Ruin] parts.
Massive doors gape like a starving monster's maw.
『Kuhuhuhu, kuahahahaha!!』
Horrific laughter.
Black mist and bone phantoms from the barrier neutralize the power from the [Mask of the Faceless One].
Eeeeeeng!!
At the same time, I alter the crumbling magic circle and runes' meanings.
Transfer, reinforce, flight, move, accelerate, rush, hurl.
Comma-second influx of dense formulas and calculations. Brain-bursting pressure, but I handle it all.
[Stop, wait...]
Message window tries to output something—ignore it. I yell.
"Shut up and get in there!"
The [Mask of the Faceless One] flies helplessly.
『Kekekeke, wahahaha!!』
Kududuk, rattle, crackle!
Bones and black mist from the barrier swallow the [Mask of the Faceless One].
A gulp sound? Or not? Not sure.
Cheongho's voice from inside the barrier is certain. So...
"Kuhuhuhu, looks like a new cellmate."
Yeah, that's what it said.
The [Book of Greed and Ruin] speaks to me through Cheongho's voice.
"I kept my promise. Keep yours, Kim Shin-hwa."
Kwaaaaang!
Barrier doors slam shut with deafening noise.
Now, silence all around.
"Haa."
Used too much power. Legs give out—I collapse onto the basement floor.
"Whew. Seriously."
If I'd come down yesterday, it'd have been disastrous.
Without prepping all this in a day, I'd have gotten caught wide awake.