Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Reinforcement
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The underground parking lot was filled with pitch-black darkness, but with a wizard's senses and the augmentation spells on my eyes, I had no trouble seeing around me.
Drrrrrk-.
The skateboard I'd started carrying after my race with those biker punks was proving pretty damn useful.
Sure, my stats and physical abilities weren't up to handling it skillfully, but magic could fix most of that.
[Posture Correction]
[Fox's Agility]
[Chains of Dominion]
[Invisible Hand]
It felt like overkill to use so many spells just for a skateboard, but thanks to all that magic, I could move with more mobility than any normal human could dream of.
Jet-black darkness and identical pillars whipped past me.
'I need a platform.'
[Frost Pillar]
Crack-crack!!
I leaped off the ice platform that shot up from the floor.
I could pull off a few board tricks if I wanted, but I didn't have the luxury for that.
"Uwaaaak!"
A human scream.
I hurled magic at the ghouls closing in on a cornered security guard.
I grabbed the chill from the ice platform I'd just made behind me...
[Blizzard Icicle Spear]
Kwajijik, kwadududuk!!
Massive ice spikes materialized in the air, shredding the ghouls' bodies.
[Achievement Unlocked! You have subdued 100 ghouls.
You have obtained the 'Rare Achievement: Ghoul Slayer.'
As an achievement reward, you gain the 'Ghoul Expert' trait and bonus experience.]
[Remaining Targets: 100/122]
An achievement. Great, achievements are great!!
Uwaak! Don't block my view!
"Ah, move! I can't see!"
I swiped both hands through the air where the message window floated.
The message vanished, but it had been blocking something.
A ghoul corpse sprawled on the floor.
"Damn!"
[Leap]
Paat!
If I were a real skateboarder, I'd ollie or something, but with my physical stats, I had to use magic to forcibly launch myself.
Thud!
Drrrrk-.
I needed another posture correction spell for a clean landing.
"Ugh..."
Tiring.
"That dumbass gorilla because of..."
If that idiot Kwak Daeyong hadn't charged out in excitement, this would've been ten times easier.
"Sigh..."
No, whatever. Blaming Kwak Daeyong wouldn't change anything.
It was the [Cthulhu World] system, delirium.
Kwak Daeyong had been overtaken by the ghouls' grotesque forms, the darkness, the lethal threats, the blood, and the unpleasant evil aura filling this basement. He'd gotten overly excited.
Without realizing it, mild delirium had kicked in, and he'd dragged his men off charging recklessly.
****
[Delirium - Violence]: You become obsessed with blood and the desire to destroy enemies.
Attack power greatly increases, evasion rate greatly decreases.
****
Yeah, that.
At least it wasn't [Delirium - Paranoia] or [Delirium - Masochism]. Better to count my blessings for my mental health.
"One hundred... so the ghouls are mostly cleared out? Hey, watch out!"
I spotted a pack of ghouls lunging at a straggler security guard and fired off magic.
[Crush]
An overwhelming mass of physical force squeezed the lead ghoul.
Kwaduduk!!
[Remaining Targets: 102/122]
One down, the rest around it... ugh... no time.
[Corpse Explosion]
I detonated the crushed ghoul's body on the spot.
Kwaaaang!!
Bone shards and flesh chunks flew everywhere like lethal shrapnel, blasting the surrounding ghouls at once.
[Remaining Targets: 103/122]
[Remaining Targets: 104/122]
[Remaining Targets: 105/122]
[Remaining Targets: 106/122]
New messages popped up every time a ghoul fell, blocking my view again.
"Ah, move!"
"Y-yes!"
A security guard's voice from the wrong direction.
"No, not you! You, over there... that!"
[Dancing Flames]
Paaaah!
I ignited magical flames above Kwak Daeyong's head.
"Ugh, what the hell!"
Kwak Daeyong's scream from afar.
"See that idiot? Stay put there nicely, it's a hassle otherwise!"
At the same time, I sent magic to a group huddled in a corner under ghoul attack.
[Magic Bolt]
[Spell Enhancement: Multi-Cast]
Dudududududududu!!!
Mana bullets sprayed out like machine-gun fire, turning ghouls into meat chunks.
"Th-thanks!"
"Get to one spot quick! I can't use big spells with you scattered!"
"Security team! Over here! Gather here!"
Kwak Daeyong's voice this time. Finally pulling himself together?
Tadadadadang!!
Kwang!
Paaaak!!
Gunfire, explosions, and the massive shockwave from Kwak Daeyong's huge warhammer.
- Kyahaaaaaaa!!!
Fresh ghouls swarming in, howling.
[Remaining Targets: 112/122]
Just ten left now.
- Kieeeek!!
- Kyahahahaak!!!
Scattered ghoul shrieks echoing around.
In the midst of the chaos, madness, and blood-soaked pandemonium, a new sound rang out.
Ting-.
It was faint and clear... a bell chime.
A bell? Not something you'd expect to hear here.
"Looks like ghouls aren't the end of it."
Abyssal beings were targeting me.
With no clue which one was intervening, nothing would surprise me anymore.
Drrrrk.
The underground parking lot brimmed with bottomless darkness.
My hypersensitive hearing picked up the various sounds echoing through this eerie space.
Frenzied ghouls groaning.
Kwak Daeyong's gang panting desperately.
Weapon swings.
Explosions.
Ting-.
The bell again.
'What the?'
The thick, damp evil aura filling the parking lot surged violently.
A ghoul might use magic, but this was different. Not ghoul sorcery. Something from another layer.
Arrogant, repulsive incantations—human wieldable spells.
[Quest information updated.
Target count to eliminate changed from 122 to 167.]
"What?"
The ghoul numbers suddenly got reinforcements.
I'd sensed ill omens, but this was out of nowhere.
'Not something we can just brute-force by killing more ghouls.'
If tunnels connected like Kwak Daeyong said, they wouldn't spike like this.
My mana detection covered the whole parking lot. No tunnels beyond my range anywhere.
Which means...
'Summoning magic.'
That human wizard I'd detected earlier. A mage summoning ghouls somewhere in the parking lot.
Acting this boldly, they might start flexing real power beyond summons soon.
Right as my thoughts reached that point, a new problem arose.
The churning evil aura surged toward one spot, and a horrific scream erupted from the darkness.
"Uwaaaaa! My hand! My haaaand!!"
Not a ghoul. Pretty far off, but...
[Remote Detection]
I triggered the remote detection spell at near-reflex speed.
Piercing the distance and darkness, I saw the situation at the trouble spot.
Human, male, suit of armor, a dropped sword on the floor.
One of Kwak Daeyong's men—the agile single-edged sword guy.
No time for intros, but I knew his name.
'Yeom Cheolmin, was it?'
A bit more thought and I could recall his exact stats and full-body illustration, but no need. He was a named NPC with solid stats among Kwak Daeyong's crew.
Yeom Cheolmin's one arm was turning black and rotting.
Black tumors bloomed from his fingertips, oozing bright yellow pus that corroded his flesh further.
Magical virulent poison was rapidly eating away his arm.
"Ah, damn. Why that of all things?"
Weak version, but same effect as my poison spell.
If things went wrong later, it might get chalked up as my screw-up killing him.
"Cheolmin!!!"
Kwak Daeyong's bellow. I sensed him and his men moving toward Yeom Cheolmin.
Why's this guy suddenly going hero mode?
Better beat Kwak Daeyong there and sort it out.
Drrrrk-.
I rolled on the floor to change the skateboard's direction while activating magic.
[Hardening]
[Impact]
The magic circle embedded on the board's underside activated, unleashing a [Cthulhu World] wizard-exclusive board trick... explosive acceleration.
Kwaaaang!!
Shiiiiik-.
My joints felt like they were snapping from the unnatural speed boost, but I reached Yeom Cheolmin in a flash.
[Human X-Ray]
[Remote Detection]
[Mana Detection]
[Transparent Detection]
[Curse Detection]
[Trap Detection]
At the same time, I extended invisible mana threads everywhere, scanning his wound, the situation, threats, solutions, variables, traps, curses—observing, analyzing.
Ah, this wound's done for.
"Mr. Cheolmin, sorry!"
[Wind Blade]
Slice-.
A razor-sharp air blade flew out, severing Yeom Cheolmin's forearm.
"Kruk!"
He'd be startled, but the blade was hyper-focused. Probably no pain or even sensation of being cut.
[Hardening]
[Euphoria]
[Lion's Courage]
I instantly hardened his wound to stop the bleeding and layered buffs on his mind to calm him.
And the wind blade that severed Yeom Cheolmin's arm...
Sliced through a ghoul corpse on the floor.
Puk!
"Guh!"
This bastard. A dead ghoul screaming?
First strike wins. Combo time.
[Bone Prison of Cold]
Kwaduk-.
A massive skeletal hand erupted from the floor, seizing the sliced ghoul...
[Burning Spear]
Shrrrrk!!!
Kwajik!
I plunged a flaming spear into it.
Then, unbelievably, the clearly dead ghoul twitched and opened its mouth.
What it said...
"Y-you little punk...!!!"
Eh, no need to hear this.
I decided I didn't need to listen and yelled at Kwak Daeyong instead.
"Team Leader Kwak Daeyong, check that! Whoa! Ghoul corpse is talking! [Fireball]!"
[Spell Enhancement: Maximize]
Kwak Daeyong, not grasping the situation, blurted dumbly.
"Wh-what?!"
Whether he got it or not, the massive fireball in my hands hurtled toward the ghoul.
Shiiiik!!!
Kwaaaaaaaaang!!!!
Oops, forgot to control the heat... Walls a bit scorched, floor cracked, but not the issue now.
The fireball-struck ghoul corpse shattered, scattering everywhere.
Kwak Daeyong arrived late, staring blankly.
"What the hell? What was that?"
"Weird one, no—looks like a wizard's involved?"
"A wizard!?"
Yeom Cheolmin, clutching his wound and staggering, chimed in.
"Ugh... yeah. Boss, that ghoul corpse spat weird slime!"
"Then..."
Kwak Daeyong's eyes darted frantically.
To Yeom Cheolmin, to me, to the ghoul chunks, back to Yeom Cheolmin, to me, to the chunks, to me, to the chunks... ah, stop!
"Ah, enough! Can't you figure it out?!"
"N-no, I get it! Something popped out but we took it down, right?"
"Hmm... nice summary, but a bit off."
"What? What's wrong?"
Ting-.
The bell chimed again from the darkness.
"We haven't taken it down yet."