Chapter 279
Chapter 279
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 279
Chapter Title: Lee Sunbin
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“Tell me more grandma stories.”
Lee Sunbin’s whining.
“Grandma stories are over.”
How old is this kid?
Lee Sunbin was originally not supposed to appear alive.
She was Moon Seunghee’s future strategist advisor—basically a specialist aide for resolving the surreal incidents in the [Cthulhu World]. She was fated to die in the underground parking lot swarming with ghouls.
Even compared to the fragmented backstory that suggests her age, she looks younger, but her speech and behavior are on a whole other level of childish.
If you close your eyes and just listen, she sounds like a kid not even ten years old.
‘No way that’s the concept, so it must be regression. Poor Moon Seunghee.’
Lee Sunbin poked my side with the long sleeves of her restraint suit and said again.
“Then tell me a different story.”
“Once upon a time, there lived a genius wizard with a really cool mask.”
“Yeah.”
“One day, he fell into a terrible trap set by the [Faceless One] and suddenly got chased by a psychic grandma who popped out of nowhere.”
“Wow, back to grandma stories.”
The conqueror from the previous loop probably went mad.
That’s why he’d try something ridiculous like a soul-reviving ritual using the [Bongam Scripture]. The [Guardian of Bongam Hall] seemed more worried about the conqueror falling into madness than her own death...
How would he act this time?
He’d probably come after me again.
Since I have the precious [Bongam Scripture].
“But the genius masked wizard stole a time-slicing sword and fled to Buyeo.”
Yeah, no need to bother talking to the conqueror. Just run off to another town.
This is a rational decision.
Absolutely not because I’m scared of [That Beast Of Annihilation Beside Her, The One Whose Mere Existence Destroys World Peace And Wounds People].
To acquire the [Sword of the Flesh] before Moon Kyungnam or the conqueror does something weird—I need Moon Seunghee’s permission.
‘She won’t grant it easily, right?’
I’d considered sneaking in, but if my guess is right, just bringing Lee Sunbin along would solve that problem.
“So what happens to the [Faceless One]? Doesn’t he have to fight the bad guy?”
She’s listening intently even to my random ramblings.
“Well—the masked wizard will probably take him down with the power of friendship soon enough.”
“Friendship? Does Uncle have lots of friends?”
“The masked wizard has lots of friends.”
“What about you, Uncle?”
“Me? Well, I...”
The Jang, Heo, or Seo families briefly came to mind, but can I really call them friends on my own?
“Nah, I don’t have any of that.”
“You don’t?”
“Nope. But I do have 13 special masks, and 39 masks that don’t have special powers but look cool.”
“Wow.”
Lee Sunbin’s face lit up with genuine admiration.
“Yeah, with masks, who needs friends? Masks are the best! Try one on—you’ll see, masks are the best!”
“Masks are the best!”
“Good, full of energy.”
Thanks to my whim, Lee Sunbin—who should’ve been dead—is alive and playing a role she was never assigned in the game.
But what role is that?
The role of annoying me? Already got a headache, and now making it twice as bad?
“By the way, why are you wandering around here?”
“Some big sis called me.”
“Some big sis?”
“Yeah, some big sis.”
“Which big sis?”
“Some big sis.”
This conversation’s harder than Curtain Call.
“Did some big sis tell you to come outside?”
“No, she told me to come down. But I hate down there! I hate the dark underground! I don’t want to go down. Ah—Mr. Wizard? Save me! Help me so I don’t have to go back down! I never want to be trapped in that underground darkness again! Aaaah! Aaaaah! That darkness! Blood! Death! Monsters! Man-eating monsters! Aaaaah! Aaaaah! I can still hear it! Down! Down! No! No! I don’t want to go down! No!”
One thing’s clear: she’s got something like a phobia of underground places.
Keeeeeen!
[System: ‘Enhanced Vigilance’ activates.]
Lee Sunbin clutched her head and curled up.
Ominous runes bloomed from both her hands.
[Eldritch Claw]
Crunch-crunch—
Massive claws erupted from her hands, hidden by the restraint suit.
“Ah, this—”
It’s not a proper spell. No incantation or seals—just forced completion through madness and aggression.
Threatening, but not hard to counter.
[Mana Leak]
Shiiiick—
I shattered the flaw in her rune, disrupting mana concentration, and activated my trait to steal control entirely.
[System: ‘Spell Thief’ trait activates.]
[Binding Chains]
[Exhausting Shackles]
Clatter-clatter!
Her wicked claws decomposed into chains that ensnare targets and shackles that drain stamina.
“KyaAaah! KyaAaAaah!”
Crackle! Crackle!
The physical chains held, but the debuff shackles got repelled.
“Huh? Higher magic resistance than I thought.”
[Chains of Dominion]
Clatter-clatter!
I even manipulated the restraint suit’s belts to bind her movements completely—laying her flat on the ground, immobile.
“Stay still!”
Delirious, so mental manipulation (like sleep spells) would probably get ignored. What now?
Just zap her unconscious?
“Sniff, sob... Big sis, I’m scared...”
Lee Sunbin suddenly stopped thrashing and started crying like a little kid.
“Ah, driving me nuts.”
I sighed and extended my hand toward her, casting a spell.
[Golden Sands of Ka]
Golden particles that induce sleep rained on her face.
It’s weaker than other debuffs, but this should work.
It’s the spell I used to save her in the underground parking lot.
“Big sis, help me... Big sis, help... Big sis, help... Big sis...”
Not fully asleep, but the hysterics stopped.
“Ah—got enough on my plate without this.”
I sat beside her and sighed.
How much time passed?
“Uncle, I’m okay now. Let me go.”
Lee Sunbin spoke in a surprisingly steady voice.
“Lie there a bit longer.”
“Ah, don’t wanna.”
Delirium over, but back to regression mode.
She mumbled in her restraints but didn’t resist further.
What’s gonna happen to this girl?
“Just so you know, if you get kidnapped or whatever, I’m absolutely not saving you.”
No point telling her that.
“Hey! Hear that? I ain’t saving you! Got enough with the murderous grandma! Don’t pile on useless subquests to my already messy events!”
Lee Sunbin, watching me yell and punch the air, spoke in an oddly clear voice.
“Why? You saved me before.”
That came out of nowhere—kinda creepy.
“So you remembered it was me who saved you?”
“Yeah. Big sis talked about you a lot. But when are we going home? I wanna see big sis soon.”
Moon Seunghee talked about me a lot?
The time I met Moon Seunghee before was short, and we didn’t have any special conversations.
Rather than me being irresistibly charming, it means Lee Sunbin is that special to her.
“Let’s get up. I’ll take you to big sis.”
I want to head back too.
* * *
Around 4 a.m. now?
Nearly 5.
It’s shifting from ridiculously late night to ridiculously early morning, but the construction site was bustling.
Wondering what was up, I looked around and asked a nearby guy.
“What’s going on?”
“Gah! Oh, it’s Kim Shinhwa? Geez, don’t pop up like that. Your mask is scary.”
A fixer who works with Curtain Call. The guy who trails him despite getting beat daily.
Fixer name: Vauclak (ваўкалак). Usually called Bauh. Who calls a five-letter nickname anyway?
“Now that you know it’s me, spill. What’s Vau-clak mean? Nah, forget it—you’re delirious without your meds. Anyway, Bauh, what’s up?”
Bauh scratched his bushy beard connected to his mutton chops.
“Dunno. They’ve been keeping us out of the loop, panicking among themselves. We’re outsiders, they say.”
“Ah?”
“But you can’t hide everything. Word is, that beauty director’s here?”
“Hm, Director Moon Seunghee?”
“Yeah. Seems the pet monster she keeps went missing. Whoa—!? Shinhwa? What? Why’d you go over there?”
“Nah, I can hear fine from here.”
Looks like this phobia’s locked to fleeing no matter what.
Any madness is a pain, but better than mindlessly charging in and dying pathetically.
I returned to my spot and asked.
“So what happened?”
“See that? Something changed while you were gone.”
“That? Ah.”
Easy spot-the-difference.
One thing different from when I left the site.
Vast walls piled up to block intruders.
The ground widely excavated not for construction but ruin exploration.
Containers, prefabs, and tents on a scale to house a whole village for the crew.
Disciplined heavy machinery, armed trucks, weapons.
Impressive already, but one thing totally changed since I left.
“Something escaped from there, huh?”
“Yep.”
One container completely smashed.
Not just smashed—must’ve been special before too. Thick iron bars reinforced it, and scattered magistones suggest barriers were up.
Could’ve held a bear or beast, but...
“By any chance, did you escape from there?”
“Yeah.”
Lee Sunbin answered brightly.
“Sigh.”
“Huh? Who’s that girl? Sniff. And this smell.”
Bauh sniffed Lee Sunbin’s scent.
“Ah, got it. Shinhwa. Must be the one the director’s looking for.”
Quick on the uptake. Or good nose? That’s what Vauclak means, right? Shut up.
“Probably. So where’s Director Moon Seunghee?”
“Over there, with Kolli.”
Couldn’t see Moon Seunghee amid the jumble of containers and prefabs Bauh pointed to, but Curtain Call’s mana is distinctive.
“Thanks.”
“Hey, Shinhwa. Don’t you smell a corpse anywhere?”
“Corpse? Hm, no idea.”
Could be—been at places crawling with fresh bodies hours ago. I shrugged it off innocently and parted with Bauh.
‘Anyway, from the vibe, bringing Lee Sunbin to Moon Seunghee will make everyone happy.’
Easily solves needing to negotiate with her for underground ruin access.
I headed briskly toward Curtain Call’s mana when someone in my head grabbed my ankle.
Wait, wasn’t that last bit suspicious foreshadowing?
What?
The corpse smell Bauh mentioned.
Corpse smell?
Did the new madness make me forget something?
That’s unsettling.
But reviewing... the phobia I just got is...
[Madness – Cynophobia]
Yeah, that one?
Any monster in [Cthulhu World] that shows up with a corpse stench—like <whatever>?
“Hm...”
Nothing came to mind.