Chapter 270
Chapter 270
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 270
Chapter Title: Ritual Interference
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The [Great Origin] has two incarnations: the [Source of Corruption] and the [Source of Life].
The [Source of Corruption], which is merely an incarnation, descends, and two hours later, this world ends?
"What a joke."
I laughed briefly, baring my teeth beneath the mask. It wasn't because I was in a good mood.
I've seen the [Source of Corruption] descend several times in the game, but it never unfolded like this.
This is a scam.
A deception in the same vein as the other choices presented to me.
The [Source of Corruption] is just the beginning. The real destruction—
"The main body, the [Great Origin], is slumbering underground in Sokcho, so there's no reason it would end with just an incarnation's descent."
The real destruction will be brought by the [Great Origin] slumbering beyond the door that Kim Sung-hwan is opening right now.
[The defense conditions for the 'Destruction Trigger: Soul Contamination' that you have uncovered so far are as follows.
Defense Condition 1: Unknown
Defense Condition 2: Unknown
Defense Condition 3: Unknown
!Time Limit: In 30 minutes, this world will be destroyed!
Gather clues to decipher the defense conditions and prevent the impending destruction!]
The message floating before my eyes.
In other words, that's what the time limit and defense conditions mean.
"30 minutes left? How thrilling."
Stop the [Great Origin] within 30 minutes.
The incident where the [Predator of the Mountains] rampaged was intense too—but honestly, it was on such an unmanageable scale that it left me numb.
But this time is different.
"This might just work, right on the edge?"
No. Snap out of it, Kim Shin-hwa.
That's just a guess, isn't it?
Besides, this is reckless. An absurd plan. Too much left to chance. Not enough time. Impossible. This is insane.
Even if you stop it within 30 minutes, there are still two defense conditions left!
The voices chattering in my head.
Normally, they'd offer a variety of opinions, but this time they're united, all shouting as one.
"Kim Shin-hwa, maybe you've fallen into grand delusions."
"Pbbbt—that's now a banned word."
Pbbbt my ass. This guy's lost it for real.
The complaints pouring from my mind.
But no.
If I start doubting my perceptions and thoughts, it's over.
Better to just think I was late—or made the wrong choice—or forgot something.
Hallucinations, illusions, delusions, uncertain reality perception—if I keep going down that path, I'll reach something more fundamental.
'Maybe I'm not trapped in [Cthulhu World] at all.'
Maybe I'm sitting in front of a computer in a deranged state, mistaking the game for reality? Maybe the game doesn't even exist?
A game no one plays because of bugs, illogical progression, and brutal difficulty? There are streamers who deliberately play trash games. It would've at least become a meme.
But could it really go this unnoticed?
Delusions brought on along with magic phobia...
The Intelligence stat tempts me, conjuring unpleasant hallucinations in my mind.
[Me, with a dazed expression, groping a pitch-black monitor screen.]
Ah, damn it. Don't think about it.
That's forbidden. Forbidden.
"Damn it. Calm down. Calm down. Calm down. Calm down. No, think about it. There's no way a world this absurd exists. Shut up. Honestly, this isn't the first time you've thought this, right? I said shut up. Wait, who the hell are you? Can't you go down there?"
Crackle—crackle-crackle—
Ominous sparks erupt from all directions.
No, of course I can't calm down.
Grrrrrind—
Kim Sung-hwan is opening the final door in this underground ruin.
A magic circle woven from dazzling light and sinister magic.
Just looking at it sends chills down my spine.
That evil—ma.gi.cal sight stimulates my madness. Yes, that's— the power Kim Sung-hwan is wielding...
[You have entered the deepest core of an ancient, dilapidated ruin that has slumbered here for a time beyond human reckoning.]
A message window suddenly pops up, blocking my view.
[You have navigated the complex maze and traps hidden beneath Ulsanbawi on Seoraksan, defeated the decayed tribes blocking your path, and repelled the surreal monsters approaching to devour you.]
"What the hell? Who navigated, defeated, and repelled anything?"
I skipped the maze by smashing the floor, breezed past the fights with other races, and trapped the pursuing shoggoth up there with a [Repetition Bug] so it couldn't move.
Rumble-rumble-rumble—
I sense the shoggoth's presence beyond that wall, defying physics by rising and falling repeatedly.
A sloppy world built on a sloppy game.
If you hit an object of a certain volume and weight falling from a certain height with precise impact to make it 'rise,' you trigger that bug.
It's not a trick you can pull anywhere, anytime. This underground is filled with the writhing magic of surreal entities yearning to descend, emanating immense will toward the surface.
Grind—
A pebble I kicked spins wildly and shoots into the sky.
[And by combining ancient documents and scant clues, you have unlocked the sealed door in this underground ruin.]
"That guy's opening it too."
As I point at Kim Sung-hwan, another message window blocks my eyes.
['The Great Origin' will soon begin its descent. Are you sufficiently prepared? Various events will proceed consecutively once you enter the door.
[Enter.]
[More preparation is needed.]]
"When did it even ask that? Suddenly throwing choices at me?"
Are you mocking me now? Is it Kim Sung-hwan—that cultist bastard—
Rumble-rumble-RUMBLE!!!
Whoooosh—
A heavy vibration and dry wind.
"It's open."
The door opened.
"I've done it... I've done it... Now our god will descend..."
Kim Sung-hwan, with an exhausted expression. It must've been tough for his level, but he pulled it off.
"Good work, old man. But honestly, your friends are probably already doing that down there."
"Doing... it? What do you mean?"
"It means you can go to sleep now."
I aimed the unloaded [Toy Gun] at him and pulled the trigger. No bullets, but the refined magic stone inside sparked at short range—crackle-crackle-CRACKLE!
"Arghhh!"
Kim Sung-hwan collapses to the floor. Good work indeed. Impressive feat for a pot-bellied old guy.
As I walked toward the door he'd opened, I said,
"By the way, thinking ahead, I need to be able to open this without the old man."
I was too focused on the message windows to check exactly how Kim Sung-hwan opened it.
No, I could've just shoved the message windows aside if needed—why didn't I? Something's off.
Feels awkward.
It's been like this since yesterday—ever since I got [Magic Phobia]. I thought I was making the optimal—best choices, but something keeps going wrong.
Illogical choices, implausible developments, reality perception constantly skewing.
Yes, it's the discomfort of madness constraining my vision and thoughts. Like looking at an out-of-focus photo. Unsettling. Anxious. What am I missing? What have I forgotten this time?
What's wrong? Where do I need to adjust?
When should I turn back?
* * *
An impossibly deep underground, so far in I can't tell how deep.
Beyond the door Kim Sung-hwan opened lay a cavernous space so bizarre, alien, and grotesquely immense it made all the deep underground ruins I'd wandered before seem like nothing.
Whoooosh—
A menacing gale blowing even underground.
So vast. So deep.
A long, long staircase stretching downward.
"Achilles."
Scraaaape—
Achilles twists its body, and the fireballs—kin of the [Living Flame]—scatter with their signature cries.
Fwoooosh—
Their light lets me gauge the structure of this vast underground cavern more clearly.
[System: The trait 'Sacrifice of the Feast' activates.]
It was a colossal city built in ancient times untold.
Buildings of smooth megaliths, flanked by towering obelisks.
Scripts in a style so bizarre and alien they match no human civilization or culture.
A wondrous city harboring immense secrets and eons of time.
Absurd height. No—absurd depth.
All I can see are the tops of the structures. It's impossible to tell how deep underground they rise from.
Absurd as it sounds, judging by the visual info alone, it feels like these underground buildings sprouted from Earth's core.
"A ruin touched by the Elder Things."
One of the personalities in my head borrows my mouth to express awe.
"Yeah."
I've felt it lately—these guys are my alternate personalities, right? So why do they have memories and info different from mine?
"Can we break through in 30 minutes?"
"The only thing we need to worry about in this place is that."
At the bottom of the endless stairs, I spot light that isn't mine.
A structure you could call [the rooftop of some building]. The tallest in this abandoned rock city.
But it's too damn far.
Only by maxing my detection did I get a proper look.
"Reminds me of the Bongam Hall setup."
More precisely, the reverse.
In Bongam Hall, headless bodies were arranged in a ritual pattern.
There, hundreds of headless bodies are piled up.
My magic-enhanced senses transmit not just visuals, but smells—and, annoyingly, tactile info too.
Cold, squishy, hard, slimy—
Overwhelming stench of blood, rotting corpses.
The sight, feel, and smell are so vile and profane they don't just induce vomit—they carve horrific wounds into the human mind and soul.
What did they experience before death?
All stare wide-eyed with faces twisted in terror and agony—one and all, mouths forcibly pried open, biting their own hearts.
And one lone figure.
"That bastard."
A man in a sorcerous robe wields a bizarre sword with seven prongs, performing eerie rites.
His right hand, not holding the sword...
Holds the head of a 'mountain sacrifice.' The ritual isn't done. 30 minutes left, right? Or about 25 now?
Damn—too far away.
"Hey, you!"
I had to see that nauseating sight, but at least it proves my prediction was right. I haven't gone mad yet.
That's the ritual for the [Great Origin]'s descent.
The robed man conducting it pauses, looks my way.
A chilling smile. Blurry memories snap into place—I remember who he is.
"Moon Kyung-nam, the executive director. Doldol, let's go. That fucker's the real mastermind."
Groooowl—
Doldol charges down the stairs like it'll smash them.
KABOOOM!!
Whoa—shaking bad!
"Stop that crap right now!"
Even from this impossible distance for talk, Moon Kyung-nam points his sword at me and speaks.
『So you're the fixer that bitch Moon Seung-hee called in, the bastard child.』
Voice transmitted not through air, but magic.
Hm, I can't do that yet. Not to convey intent—just to gauge his range, I mutter low.
"Yeah. And my hobby is ruining other people's plans."
『Hahaha—how amusing. But it's too late. This is an ancient plan. I deceived everyone, prepared for this over endless time. And that bastard child Moon Seung-hee—』
Give him an inch, and he starts spilling his life story.
Sure, you have your own backstory and ambitions.
"Shut up! No time for pointless exposition! I already know you're irredeemable trash!"
Skip the event dialogue! Skip! Real-time clock's ticking under 30 minutes—what's this cutscene? Straight to combat!
Whish—
I tally the resources spent getting here, toss a few magic stone bombs. Not much left, but no choice.
『You lowly lawless scum—』
But he raises the seven-pronged sword, chants a spell. Complex gestures, magic flows. Magic circles form around him.
"Yeah. That was the setup!"
That's one reason I've been making weird choices, bad calls, stupid moves.
Like the [Flame Undying] made of martial artists or the [Blood Demon Cult] of feng shui masters—each cult gathers similar types.
Magic from Moon Kyung-nam channels through his left-hand sword—composing a foul, evil force that shakes reality's fabric.
The [Ancient Voice] is a cult of sorcerers who delved into Western occultism and awoke to magic.
Whiiiine—
『No time, you say?』
Moon Kyung-nam's mocking voice.
The power blooming from his sword tip—
That's— in other words—
[Time Stop]
"Ah, shi
* * *
t."
[Fireball] [Gust of Wind] [Blast]
Death's grasp assaults from all sides simultaneously.
Did time really stop? Shorter than I thought? Wait, no 'time' to think that!
Fwoooosh—
Blasts of gale and flame roaring toward me.
And no Doldol underfoot. No—I'm falling from dizzying stairs.
[The cultist's 'magic' stimulates the madness embedded in your mind.]