Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Mask Obsession
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Names don’t really matter. Among the items that directly boost stats, these gloves are the cheapest and most efficient.
As I tightened the Velcro strap on my wrist, Ye-eun poked her head around and came over.
“Mister, are you in a biker gang?”
Ugh, mister?
“No, I’ve never even been near a motorcycle.”
“Ehh? Then why do you dress like such a maniac?”
What a brutally honest question. I answered just as honestly.
“Hmm… because I am a maniac?”
Was that too honest? Ye-eun’s face went blank, and she stepped back a little. Whoa… don’t move around like that, you’ll cause another accident.
“Hey, hold on!”
Too late. Ye-eun backed into a shelf while retreating, knocking a cauldron off it. The hefty pot tumbled down, spilling other knickknacks everywhere…
[Invisible Hand]
I caught it with magic in the end. I wasn’t about to let the same mess happen again.
Ye-eun’s eyes went wide as she watched the falling cauldron freeze in midair and slowly descend.
“Whoa! Mister, you’re an esper too?”
“Nope. Mage.”
“A mage? Gasp! Is that why you’re wearing a mask?”
“Yeah.”
I had no idea what masks had to do with mages, but I was too lazy to explain, so I just went with it.
“Wow!”
Crash!
Thrilled by my answer, Ye-eun jumped up excitedly, causing more junk to spill everywhere.
Whoa or whatever, just stay still, please.
This shop was way too hazardous for a girl her age, full of boundless energy.
What were they thinking, hiring her for a part-time gig? She said today was her first day, right?
“Mister, wanna check out the masks? There are tons of real ones over there!”
Whether it was from accidentally showing off magic a few times, she was buzzing with excitement and dragged me to a corner of the pawnshop.
They sold masks here too? I’d never really looked for any, so it made sense I wouldn’t know.
The spot Ye-eun led me to was piled high with masks exclusively.
From rustic folk masks like Hahoe to ones that looked Japanese or Chinese, flashy Venetian carnival masks, and even terrifying ones from some African tribe.
‘No wonder I never noticed them.’
Just your average masks.
They might have some antique value, but to me, they were mostly meaningless junk.
‘Still, maybe these would look more convincing than cheap plastic ones?’
Before getting dragged into this world, I’d never cared about masks.
But things were different now. Was it because of Mask Obsession?
These plainly ordinary masks with no functions or powers somehow all looked alluring, one after another.
In the end, I found myself slowly taking my time to browse them.
“What do you think? Pretty cool ones, huh?”
Judging by Ye-eun’s expression, I must have been acting like some hardcore mask otaku without realizing it, looking all serious.
I tried to respond to Ye-eun, but I couldn’t open my mouth.
[System: ‘Madman’s Luck’ effect activates.]
A weird noise came from among the masks.
- El, El, El…… Ugh, Ugh, Y’kaaa…… L’geb. Zackl Va.
It was a seriously bizarre sound.
- Zi, Kur…… Ugh, Ugh…… Az…… Ai!
My mask felt itchy underneath.
Ye-eun was chattering away next to me, oblivious to my state, but I couldn’t make out her words.
‘Where the hell is this sound coming from?’
It was definitely from among the masks. Yeah. That one, right there.
Among the cluttered mess of masks everywhere, one stood out as utterly unique and special.
It was a mask.
Like one modeled after a grotesquely shaped goblin. An oddly formed mask. There were two extra holes below the eye sockets.
Meaning four eye holes instead of two. So utterly captivating.
What was on my face right now?
Oh, right. A crappy plastic skull knockoff.
Wearing something like this…
This wasn’t a real mask.
The real one was over there.
I wanted to wear that one. Some young human female was talking to me. I knew her name… Ah, Ye-eun? Why was she talking to me?
I needed to wear that mask.
-Fhaan cthull, Venyuo aan Gi EL.
That was the true mask.
I had come here to become one with that mask’s body. The Mask Obsession etched into my mind existed for this very moment.
I slowly reached out for the mask…
Crackle!
[System: Exclusive trait ‘Abyssal Madness’ activates. Delusion effect nullified.]
“You buying that one too?”
That was Eun-taek, the pawnshop owner.
“Huh?”
No, wait.
What just happened?
A hallucination? No, a delusion? Since when? Why didn’t the delusion message pop up? Did it show, but I forgot?
Unpleasant sensation. My memories weren’t connecting properly.
Ye-eun stood right beside me, looking like nothing had happened.
Did I chat normally with her and browse the masks, contrary to what I remembered?
In my hand…
Was the mask I’d just seen.
“You into that mask or what?”
Seeing me hesitate, Eun-taek must have thought something else.
“How much?”
“Hmm… Let me see it.”
“Here.”
Eun-taek took the mask and peered at it through bizarre glasses fitted with dozens of lenses, then made a ting sound.
“This… isn’t something you’d be interested in.”
Meaning it wasn’t a magic-imbued artifact or tied to any abyssal entity—just ordinary junk.
“Is that so?”
Weird.
My eyes saw something different.
[?? Mask (??-Grade Accessory): A mask of unknown origin.
Requires research or appraisal to identify.]
This was definitely an unappraised artifact.
Something whose true value could only be confirmed with a proper appraisal.
‘But Eun-taek can’t appraise it?’
Eun-taek was an NPC with appraisal skills.
In [Cthulhu World], you’d bring unappraised artifacts to him for identification.
The things he couldn’t appraise were usually mythic or legendary tier. SSS-rank or higher.
‘This mask is one of those? Then why didn’t I know about it?’
I’d never seen this artifact before.
‘Come to think of it, a trait activated earlier.’
[‘Madman’s Luck’: If you possess madness, increases ‘Hidden Artifact Discovery Chance’ and ‘Crafting Success Rate.’
Holders of this trait are treated as possessing ‘Unexpected Success,’ ‘Flashes of Creativity,’ and ‘Serendipitous Encounters.’]
‘Ah… That’s it. An artifact undiscoverable without this trait?’
Anyway, a hidden artifact I’d never encountered. I wanted to take it and check its powers.
I spoke carefully, keeping excitement out of my voice.
“Even if it’s just boring junk, I want it. As you can see, I collect masks.”
“Hmm… Is that right?”
Still wearing his weird glasses, Eun-taek peered into my face.
Like he was appraising me, the product itself.
Then he suddenly grinned generously.
“Well, if you want this trash, it’s yours. A gift.”
He handed me the mask. I took it and replied.
“Thank you.”
He probably thought he’d scored big selling that bead at a good price. He must figure he could squeeze five or six grand out of a sucker like me. And considering what he paid for the stuff he sold me, yeah, it was his lucky day.
“Anyway, good deal for both of us. Come back anytime.”
“Will do. I’ll drop by often.”
“Hope I see you around for a long time.”
Fixers in Paju’s demon-infested hellholes had shockingly short lifespans.
Retiring intact like Eun-taek was a rare feat.
I stuffed the cash into my backpack and left the pawnshop.
Ye-eun yelled something about coming back, but I also heard Eun-taek telling her not to show up starting tomorrow.
All in all, a solid transaction.
‘Hurry to the motel. Gotta inspect this mask properly somewhere alone.’
* * *
Back at the motel, I quickly tidied the room.
Not a big prep, but I was about to perform a magical ritual.
Better safe than sorry—time for basic purification.
I sprinkled salt from the pawnshop into each corner of the room.
Unnecessary junk went into my backpack or the bathroom.
Two tasks.
First, seal the [Writhing Slime] and [Black Goat’s Fluid].
Then investigate the mask from the pawnshop.
‘Seal first before inspection. If I get deluded mid-examination and drop my guard, who knows what these things might do.’
No matter how strong I was, complacency was dangerous.
These weren’t mere objects.
They held the power of abyssal entities.
Direct conduits to them, fragments of them—perhaps even their avatars.
They possessed their own wills and desires, with the power to manifest them.
They always emerged to shatter or corrupt human souls.
Special measures were needed to contain their power.
On the small round table by the bed, I laid out a black cloth and placed a 10cm crystal pillar on it.
I lit incense sticks. All from the pawnshop.
Cloth made from a hungry ghost’s flayed belly skin, crystal purified under a hundred days and nights of sun and moonlight.
The incense was corpse wax mixed with cedar and hardened.
I closed my eyes briefly, inhaled, then channeled mana and moved my hand.
Kiiiiing…
A fluorescent trail formed in my hand’s wake.
‘Now, form the magic circle.’
Usually, they were circles with triangles or squares, designed for symmetry, symbolism, and aesthetics—beautiful and mystical.
Truth was, none of that was necessary. Magic circles were just circuit diagrams.
As long as they handled input, computation, amplification, and output, the shape didn’t matter much.
Magic academies and towers enforced pretty manual-friendly designs for visibility and teaching.
Like how an equilateral triangle in a circle boosts fire mana.
‘Me? No need to teach anyone or memorize rigid shapes.’
I ignored symmetry and symbolism for the most efficient, practical forms.
It ended up looking like messy graffiti.
‘Good. A few more like this.’
Magic circles for sealing, weakening, confinement, and purification began to rise.