Chapter 293
Chapter 293
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 293
Chapter Title: Hope-dong
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“Kim Shin-hwa? Kim Shin-hwa?”
“Huh?”
“Would you happen to need any of these?”
Park Kwang-rim pulled out a few pills and held them out.
[Nirvana], which wards off madness; [Brain Cooler], which blocks brainwashing; [Heart Breaker], which instills courage; [Illusion], which forcibly induces delirium to enhance abilities; [Soma], which suppresses delirium.
All of them were illegal mental enhancers, the kind used by back-alley fixers.
“I don’t need that stuff.”
They call them mental enhancers, but let’s be real.
There’s a two-letter word for drugs like that, right?
Even after my refusal, Park Kwang-rim raised his left eyebrow high and said,
“Didn’t you just stare off in a weird direction and mutter something strange?”
“……”
Yeah, talking about game characters and all that must’ve sounded insane.
“Anyway, I don’t need them, so put them away. More importantly, we’re here.”
We’d arrived in front of the barbed wire fence blocking the [House of Healing] and An-san.
“Hmph.”
[Giant’s Grasp]
Riiip!
The barbed wire tore away easily.
“We’re going in this rough?”
“Then what?”
“Sneak in with magic or…”
“Thanks to your hard work scouting, I know what’s set up here, so don’t worry.”
Plus, if we’re talking about causing a commotion, could anything top lifting the whole building?
That said, there’s one annoying thing here.
I nodded slightly toward Park Kwang-rim and said,
“Sorry, Kwang-rim, but could you go in first? I’ll respond right away if anything happens, so don’t worry.”
“Mm… Understood.”
He looked uneasy for a moment but eventually moved forward with professional caution.
“Is this okay now?”
Park Kwang-rim slipped inside the barbed wire without making a single sound.
“Good. My turn.”
“Got it.”
I couldn’t match Park Kwang-rim’s delicate steps, so I just walked in straight-
[System: Effect of Feast’s Sacrifice]
Whiiir—
The moment I stepped inside the barbed wire, my vision spun 180 degrees.
“Ugh, what a pain.”
Yeah, it’s just targeting me.
Probably a barrier triggered by the [Feast’s Sacrifice].
“What was that just now?”
Park Kwang-rim gave me that look again, like he was doubting my mental health. In his eyes, I must’ve suddenly turned around and gone back.
“There’s a barrier here.”
“A barrier? For real?”
“I’m not crazy, so cut that face. It’s one that blocks wizards.”
Jang Hyun-deok would’ve kept nitpicking and driven me nuts, but Park Kwang-rim nodded with a serious expression.
“Can you break it?”
His eyes showed worry, but also clear trust.
“There is a spell that can pierce it.”
Using [Perception] would leave me defenseless for a bit.
I wouldn’t have used it in front of Park Kwang-rim before… but he won’t betray me now.
I pointed at the pendulum in Park Kwang-rim’s hand and said,
“Block any hostiles that approach.”
“Got it.”
Vrrring—
Crimson mana concentrated on Park Kwang-rim’s pendulum.
With a whir, the thin silver chain it hung from danced like a snake.
“Alright. Let’s start.”
I focused mana into my four eyes and cast the spell.
[Perception]
Vrrrrring—
Bright yellow glows tore through the darkness, and abstract information invisible to the eye flooded my mind.
‘What the hell is this?’
A thin membrane made of surreal energy.
I carefully reached out, avoiding touching the barrier.
It was a transparent aura with no specific attributes or intent, despite being made by an abyssal being.
It only had the effect of sending the [Feast’s Sacrifice] back.
Less like magic or a ritual effect, and more…
“It really does feel like an unimplemented area.”
Similar to the [Box That Never Opens] from [Masquerade].
A space [Just Set Up That Way] for game progression and management.
Normally, finding a way through might’ve been impossible, but expanding [Perception]’s effect, I began searching for vulnerabilities in this bizarre barrier.
Sizzle—
Was that my brain cells burning?
No way, but it hurt so much I wondered if it was.
Hot. Dizzy.
“Kim Shin-hwa, you okay?”
Park Kwang-rim’s voice thundered. [Perception] analyzed his emotions and thoughts through it, shoving them into my head.
Shut up, zip it! I don’t need this info! Don’t think about your family! Don’t think about your sister! Don’t think of her when you look at me! You crazy bastard! I wanted to yell, but opening my mouth felt like my brain would spill out, so I couldn’t.
In the flood of information, I barely found the space’s weak point. I jammed [Sword of the Flesh] into the thinnest gap and activated its effect.
[L-grade weapon ‘Sword of the Flesh’ unique function, ‘Barrier-Cleaving Power,’ activates.
// Barrier-Cleaving Power: Slashes through space.]
Simple description.
A power that only works in specific situations.
Slash—
But with its weak point destroyed, the barrier lost its effect and meaning in an instant—bzzzzt—
The barrier enveloping the entire [House of Healing] collapsed at once.
Prismatic lights burst in all directions. Dazzling noise like a broken monitor.
But only for a moment.
Some will to restore the world’s balance swept it away, and even the noise vanished.
* * *
Whoooosh—
Wind.
Visually, nothing had changed, but the sense that something was gone was definite.
The air was reshifting.
“W-what did you do?”
“Told you. I’d break the barrier— kugh!”
Spurt—
A massive amount of blood poured from my mouth.
The [Mask of Carcosa] hid it, so the blood ran down my face and neck, soaking my front in pitch black.
Ah, I’m gonna die.
My head spun, and the ground rose to the sky.
What barrier is this now? No, I’m the one collapsing?
“Kim Shin-hwa!”
Park Kwang-rim rushed over in shock.
“No, kuhk. Hoo— I threw it all up. I’m fine.”
I barely came to.
I stopped Park Kwang-rim from getting closer and cast a spell to gather all the spilled blood.
Szzz—
I’d planned to make [Blood Orbs] like before with Reddie, but what crystallized was something a grade higher.
This… this jet-black glowing gem is…
‘Damn, it’s a magic stone?’
My blood’s mana density too high?
Wow, Kim Shin-hwa, you’ve grown into a real monster. Wonder what kind of boom a bomb from this would make?
“You okay?”
Park Kwang-rim looked at me worriedly.
I tucked away the black magic stone made from my blood and stood.
“I’m good. Clean as can be, right?”
“Must be nice not worrying about laundry.”
“Jealous? Learn magic, Kwang-rim.”
“I wanna live a long life.”
Magic is convenient and powerful, but it ain’t free.
Some spells in [Cthulhu World] destroy sanity and twist the mind just by using them.
That’s why wizards go mad faster and break quicker than others.
‘Well, I’ve got [Abyssal Madness], so I’m fine.’
Thinking that, I felt the hidden magic stone.
A magic stone made from my blood. Something only found in monsters’ bodies or sites of supernatural events.
I’m really fine, right? Totally okay?
“Looks like Hope-dong’s managers are bolting.”
Mana from Hope-dong scattered in all directions. Anyone could see…
“They’re abandoning the kids and running?”
“Might be ritual anchors outside the building.”
Good point from Park Kwang-rim.
Jang Hyun-deok would’ve just gone, “Eh? Running?”
Anyway, solid observation.
“Nah, no sign of that. Hmm, joining up with the others? Makes this easier in a way.”
Makes sense. This place wasn’t designed for player intrusions. No special countermeasures, I guess.
Thanks to that, we entered Hope-dong without resistance or interference.
* * *
No resistance inside either.
There was other people’s mana in the building, but no notable movement.
Probably the Hope-dong kids or managers too weak to escape secretly.
Or…
“There are others under sleep therapy besides Jang Hyun-deok.”
Finding Jang Hyun-deok’s spot wasn’t hard.
Creeeak—
Door sound from Hope-dong’s dark hallway.
Like the Healing Wing, abnormally wide and dark hospital rooms.
“This is where the delirium hit, right?”
“Y-yes…”
Park Kwang-rim trembled as he slowly followed behind me.
Definitely a creepy, unpleasant space that could induce delirium.
It looked like a standard multi-bed room forcibly stretched out.
Beds lined up on both sides.
Shelves for personal items. Trash cans.
Beds again.
Shelves.
Trash cans.
Beds. Shelves. Trash cans.
Identical furniture repeating at exact intervals.
Grotesque-colored flowers blanketing the obsessive room layout.
Crimson petals that couldn’t exist in reality.
Bright and vivid colors shining even in the room’s gloomy darkness.
“Urk—”
Park Kwang-rim’s groan, like he was holding back vomit.
His notebook missed this.
The sickly-sweet, nauseating fragrance from those grotesque flowers filled the room.
So thick you feared breathing.
Those eerie flowers dominated the room with haughty grace.
And people sleeping as the flowerbeds for those overly vibrant blooms.
Their serene faces were as chilling as corpses dressed for a funeral.
Anyone stumbling in by mistake would’ve been struck speechless with vertigo-inducing terror.
Even worse, all their faces were eerily identical. Like recreating a madman’s nightmare.
[System: Exclusive trait ‘Abyssal Madness’ activates. Removes surreal discomfort flooding your mind.]
Crackle—
Sparks popped around my temples.
Maybe from the spark’s light and noise, Park Kwang-rim caught his breath and approached slowly.
“Who’s Jang Hyun-deok? Can you tell which one?”
Fourteen people lying there.
“Yeah, they all look pretty similar.”
I slowly looked around both sides as I walked to the room’s center.
No real need to search hard, though.
Ear pierced all over. Faded cheap blond.
The Jang Hyun-deok who looked most like Jang Hyun-deok.
Visually, the flowers around his body were crimson like the others, but…
‘The flower that extracts talent, right?’
Maybe that’s why.
To my mana-seeing eyes, the flowers on Jang Hyun-deok gleamed surreal gold.
I scratched my head and grimaced for a sec.
“What’s this? Super rare or something?”
Probably the lingering influence of the [King in Yellow] on his body.
Surrounded by glowing golden flowers, Jang Hyun-deok stood out specially even here.
‘How’d this guy end up in this position?’
Not that I came just to save him.
There’s definitely still a secret here. That’s what I came to check.
I shook Jang Hyun-deok’s body and said,
“Hey, Jang Hyun-deok. You bastard, we need a driver. Get up now.”