Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Carcosa's Mask
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I’m not planning to annihilate it completely.
It’s a rare item that would be hard to obtain again from anywhere. I’ll seal it away while preserving its power as much as possible.
Even if I can’t use it right now, once my level rises a bit more, I could wield it directly… or it could serve as some pretty useful material indirectly.
I uncork the glass vial containing the wriggling slime. As the suppressive spell confining it unravels, the slime trapped inside begins thrashing violently.
I gesture slowly, guiding the slime along.
“Come on, over here. This way.”
Drawn by my gesture, the slime rises gradually and intertwines with the magic circles I’ve prepared.
“That’s it, good. Over there. Tired, aren’t you? I’ve made a cradle just for you.”
The command infused with mana imparts new desires and direction to the slime.
“Yeah, that crystal. Get inside it.”
Pzzt—
Sparks fly briefly from the mana repulsion, but it’s nothing major.
The slime has already settled into the purified crystal.
I lift the crystal slowly.
The sight of the black slime droplet trapped within looks somehow like a tiny ice pillar.
Now, this slime can’t leave the crystal unless I allow it.
I seal the [Black Goat’s Bodily Fluid] in the same manner.
Since the [Black Goat’s Bodily Fluid] is white, a crystal imprisoning a white droplet soon forms before me.
“Phew… This takes it out of me too.”
I rub the back of my neck for a moment and take a short break.
Thanks to my absurd magical talent, it didn’t take long, but it’s no easy task.
Anyone could just annihilate it or burn it away.
But this? No ordinary mage would even dream of attempting it.
“Anyway, these won’t be causing any trouble now.”
I ponder briefly where to put the two crystal pillars, then just set them by the bed.
It’s something I had to do eventually, but this is just prep work for what comes next.
‘Now, time to examine the mask.’
I pull the mask from my backpack and place it on the table.
Even looking at it again, it’s a bizarre mask.
The texture of raw wood, alive with color.
Twisted, contorted features.
And four eye holes.
Jeong Eun-taek said it was a mundane item with no history or origin, but I can sense faint mana seeping from it.
“Alright, let’s see what’s really inside this thing.”
No need to repeat the purification process.
I’ve layered plenty of magic circles to act as safeguards.
I draw the floating magic circles closer, preparing for any contingencies, and place my hand on the mask.
[?? Mask (??-grade Accessory): A mask of unknown origin.
Research or appraisal is required to identify it.]
Jeong Eun-taek, a professional appraiser, couldn’t appraise it.
Someone had placed an artificial seal on it.
To appraise something like this, you’d need special artifacts or spells.
‘The problem is, this seal doesn’t seem ordinary.’
For starters, I cast a 1st-circle appraisal spell as a test.
[Appraisal]
Fwaaah….
[System: Unsealing the veil surrounding the ‘?? Mask’.]
[Judging veil unsealing….]
[Penalty applied to judgment due to caster’s insufficient level.]
Ping!
[Judgment failed.]
As expected.
The seal on the mask isn’t something a 1st-circle spell can breach.
‘Of course. If a 1st-circle [Appraisal] could do it, Jeong Eun-taek would’ve managed.’
Probably need something like 4th-circle [Clairvoyance]… or at least 2nd-circle [Insight].
My circle is a measly 1.
No spell available to a 1st-circle mage can break this seal.
Naturally, I didn’t prepare all this just to give up so easily.
“Huuu…”
I close my eyes briefly and exhale.
Spell circles are just artificial distinctions anyway.
I’ve already created and cast magic that transcends circles.
I concentrate my finely tuned, high-density mana, then slowly open my eyes.
In the motel room’s corner mirror, my face reflects wearing the mask.
A mage donning a skull-shaped mask.
My eyes now shimmer with intricate, golden magic circles.
The world visible to me has completely changed.
Magic circles orbiting around me, and the mana flowing through them.
Mana, which usually appeared as a stream or gas, now looks like glowing particle clusters and infinitely repeating lines.
My mana sensitivity lets me intervene in each tiny particle and mana line.
Now, I peer into the mask again.
The dank mana pooled within it.
And the colorless veil concealing it.
‘Made by an abyssal being.’
No doubt about it. I don’t know the mask’s origin, but this seal itself was crafted by an abyssal being.
‘Very… intriguing.’
An item sealed by a divine entity ruling other realms, the underworld, darkness, and the deep abyss.
What power could it hold?
I focus my mind again, generating new magic circles.
Circles embodying decomposition, analysis, penetration, incision, and release.
The mana particles and lines responding to them converge at a single point.
Kkiiigigigig!
It’s like unlocking a lock with mana movement alone, without incantations.
But this is forcibly twisting open a sealing formula whose origins are unknowable.
It’s an absurd act, thousands of dimensions beyond picking a normal lock—but ‘I… can do it.’
The strongest mage [Cthulhu World] could implement.
Transcending the game and system’s limits… I can become something more.
A strange sound echoes.
A cacophony like dozens of flies buzzing their wings at once—loud and repulsive.
[System: Unsealing the veil surrounding the ‘?? Mask’.]
[Judging veil unsealing….]
[Penalty applied to judgment due to caster’s insufficient level.]
Begone.
I have no intention of relying on probability-based judgments.
A swirling auger, or drill, or blade.
The power and pure will crafted to pierce, decompose, and analyze magic and mana overwhelm the veil covering the mask—twisting, perforating, tearing, and shredding it.
Buzzzzzz…!
[System: An error has occurred. An error has occurred. An error has occ…]
Kwa-kak, kwahyahyahyakh!!
Pitch-black smoke billows from the mask.
‘It’s opening.’
The veil begins to tear. With it, the mask’s information hidden beneath reveals itself.
[Ca?cosa’s Mask(?? Accessory): Great? Old, Great Go? Yellow Ruler??? Level??]
I resist rushing, carefully peeling away the last fragments of the veil.
Srk— shaaaak.
A chilling sound like mana lines being severed.
The mana, once like blades, augers, and drills, now moves with the delicacy of a scalpel and forceps.
Creeeak, crrreeeak…!
Fwaaaah!!!
A blinding flash.
An intense light erupts, enough to erase the form of everything in the room.
‘I did it.’
Without even manifesting a spell—just with my mana control and sensitivity—I’ve broken a seal placed by an abyssal being.
Where the flash fades… the grotesque wooden mask remains.
A sinister form with four eyes.
But now, my eyes can read its new information.
[Carcosa’s Mask (L-grade Accessory): Mask used by the Great Old Ruler, the Unspeakable One, the Great [Yellow Ruler]. Those not of sufficient level cannot fully draw forth its power.
Yellow Seal: The Great [Yellow Ruler] takes an interest in you.
■■■■: ■■■■■ ‘Not activated due to unmet conditions.’
■■■■: ■■■■■ ‘Not activated due to unmet conditions.’
■■■■: ■■■■■ ‘Not activated due to unmet conditions.’
Yellow Madness: ‘Madness - Homecoming to Carcosa’ and a random delusion affix to your mind.
Carcosa’s Oath: You may approach the Great [Yellow Ruler]. Swear the oath. You can become greater, wiser, and stronger than you are now.
Yellow Dominion: Adds ‘Spell Enhancement: Fear Infusion’ effect to certain spells.
Dreamlike Haze: ‘Blink’ spell auto-cast]
“What the fuck… what is this?”
[Monk of the Sunset]
[Lord of the Sunset]
[Lord of Aldebaran]
[The One Whose Name Must Not Be Spoken]
[The Thing Beneath the Lake]
[Great Prince]
[King of Dukes]
[Lord of the Festival]
[The Unspeakable]
[King in Yellow]
All names for one being.
Most abyssal beings’ true names must not be uttered, but the [Yellow Ruler] is the most dangerous among them.
Its epithet is literally [The One Whose Name Must Not Be Spoken].
“Anyway… so this is one of the Yellow Seals?”
The [Yellow Ruler] scattered symbolic items infused with its power and madness to spread its influence.
Those who encounter an item bearing the Yellow Seal gain immense power and corrupted inspiration in the short term….
But as these tales always go, they inevitably go mad and become the [Yellow Ruler]’s slaves.
‘And such an item was floating around a pawnshop with no known origin?’
Absurd.
This is a trap. No way it ends up in my hands without reason.
“Hmm… but…”
I shift in my seat and gaze at Carcosa’s Mask.
“But… couldn’t I make use of this?”
The protagonist, overconfident in his power, ends up using the forbidden artifact he shouldn’t touch.
‘…That’s the narration I’d get.’
But the options are too good to pass up.
[Dreamlike Haze: ‘Blink’ spell auto-cast]
It’s an artifact that provides Blink, no less.
A survival tool, right?
“Ah, screw it. How do you pass up a survival skill?”
In the brutally difficult [Cthulhu World], you need survival skills to evade the worst situations.
This isn’t optional. It’s essential, mandatory.
I tap the plastic skull mask on my face with a finger.
‘Better than this cheap plastic toy by a million times.’
“Screw it! Just wear it. The trait’ll handle it somehow!”
I remove the plastic mask from my face and slowly don [Carcosa’s Mask].
Some information,
or will, flows into my mind.
It’s a bizarre noise akin to a voice.
『Splurchsplurchsplurchsplurchsplurchsplurchsplurchsplurchsplurchsplurchsplurchsplurchsplurchsplurchsplurchsplurchsplurchsplurchsplurchsplurchsplurchsplurchsplurchsplurchsplurchsplurchsplurchsplurchsplurchsplurchsplurchsplurchsplurch…』
A nauseating, meaningless retch of a voice.
『Tangled chitinous massive blood-soaked swaying resplendent Byaunya Ain Ain… Chulu, Cul… Kha- Qua Mu… The light beyond. Beautiful… beautiful Carcosa…』
The noise begins forming meaning.
『Gigantic pyramid. Yellowed withered leaves. Lakeside pooled with rotten water. Reeking black mass. Gleaming moon. Ominous yellow light. Squishy hills.』
[L-grade Accessory ‘Carcosa’s Mask’ penalty function ‘Invitation to Carcosa’ activates.
// Invitation to Carcosa: ‘Madness - Homecoming to Carcosa’ and a random delusion affix to your mind.]
I didn’t put it on without precautions. The Yellow Seal’s penalties are madness-based anyway.
『Crawling insects. Maggots larger than human torsos. Rolling skulls. Decaying corpses. Eyeballs. Eyeballs. Eyeballs.』
Pachijijizzt—
Blue sparks erupt around the mask and my head.
[System: Exclusive trait ‘Abyssal Madness’ activates. Nullifies effects of ‘Invitation to Carcosa’.
The madness and delusion attempting to affix to your mind vanish.]
With madness already secured in my mind, no new ones can enter.
[System: L-grade Accessory, ‘Carcosa’s Mask’, is now bound to you.]
Meaning I can use this artifact freely, without penalties.
As the sparks fade, the bizarre noises in my head vanish completely.
“Phew… Did it work…?”
The wooden texture is softer than expected, and the fit feels stable.
I test a few more spells to check the mask and my condition—no anomalies detected.
My body feels great, in fact.
Seems fine to keep wearing this mask going forward.
It has usage limits, sure, but with high-end mobility like Blink? Gotta use it wisely.
Finally, I grab the backpack I’d tossed in the bathroom and pull out the money.
Bundles of 50,000-won bills, eight stacks of a hundred each. Total: 40 million won.
It looks like a lot at a glance, but it’s laughably insufficient to secure a base and operate stably.
In the perilous [Cthulhu World], buying safety demands a fortune.
‘Guess I’ll rest a day or two more, then meet Tudor…’