Chapter 294
Chapter 294
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 294
Chapter Title: Typical Omen
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“Looks like he’s not waking up.”
Park Kwang-rim said in a deflated tone.
Jang Hyun-deok twitched a little, but there was no reaction beyond the reflexive jerk typical of someone in a deep sleep.
Strange groans like “uuuuh” or “kikik” came from the other sleepers nearby, but no one opened their eyes.
“Ugh. I figured as much.”
It was the expected outcome.
He wasn’t just sleeping—his body was sprouting bizarre flowers all over. No way it was normal sleep.
“Usually, the solution would be nearby, but…”
“Something like an antidote?”
“Yeah. Normally, there’d be one, but… this doesn’t seem like a normal place.”
In a standard quest, there’d be a way to resolve this right around the corner.
But this wasn’t a standard quest.
Of course, that didn’t mean they’d come here without any backup plan.
“Whew. Twice in one day is a bit much.”
He could use [Perception] to analyze the structure, then force him awake.
“Kwang-rim, step back a bit.”
“Got it.”
I took a short breath, then focused my mana.
Kiiiiiiii—
“Don’t wake him!”
A voice from the hospital room entrance.
Park Kwang-rim and I turned toward it, our gazes dropping a little lower.
Tiny statures. Similar faces.
Various genders and ages, but kids who could pass as [Jang Hyun-deok’s little siblings].
* * *
I let the mana I’d been gathering to wake Jang Hyun-deok subside and approached the kids.
“You guys…”
“Kyaaak!”
“Eek!?”
I hadn’t even finished speaking when the kids turned pale and screamed, backing away.
For a moment, I thought they were freaked out by the eerie scene in the room, but no.
“M-monster!?”
“Your face!”
“Four eyes!”
Ah.
The kids were reacting to my face—no, the [Carcosa’s Mask] I was wearing.
They shrieked as if they might faint or convulse.
Was this mask that scary?
“Kim Shin-hwa, the mask! The mask!”
If even Park Kwang-rim said that, I had no choice.
“Hey, kids, hold on! Just a sec!”
I hurriedly covered my face with both hands, then pulled them away—and my face mask had switched to the disguise [Inpi Mask].
“Ugh, is that your real face? Why the hell do you wear a mask with a mug like that?”
Park Kwang-rim, stunned by my actual face.
“Crazy in the head.”
The [Inpi Mask] created a plausible human face based on my settings.
I hadn’t tweaked the presets in my rush, so I didn’t know exactly what it rendered—but it probably reflected my Charm stat.
[Charm 22: Legendary]
Oh, right, Charm was at 22. A bit overkill.
At this level, just existing could spawn legends like “Long ago, a youth named Kim Shin-hwa of otherworldly beauty lived here~.”
No special spells or charms cast, yet the kids lowered their guards and started approaching me.
“Who are you?”
“How’d you do that?”
They all looked like they wanted to touch my face.
“Hmm…”
Among the similar-looking kids, I spotted familiar shoes and addressed the girl wearing them.
“You’re Hyun-ji, right?”
“Wow! Yeah! How’d you know?”
Jang Hyun-deok had given those shoes to Hyun-ji before, so I recognized them.
“I’m a wizard. I know everything.”
“Wooow!”
Just like that, Hyun-ji became the coolest person in Hope-dong right then. The other kids envied her chatting with me and stared, hoping I’d call their names too.
Easy enough.
I knelt on one knee to meet their eye level and asked.
“You said earlier… not to wake Jang Hyun-deok, right? Anyone wanna tell the wizard uncle why?”
“Me!” “Me!” “Me!”
Hands shot up in unison.
I grinned at Park Kwang-rim, but he returned an awkward smile that looked scared stiff.
“What? What’s up?”
“No, nothing.”
While I glanced at Park Kwang-rim, the kids piped up eagerly.
“The director said not to wake him.”
“The director said if we do, he can’t go abroad.”
“Just wait a little longer, and Hyun-deok oppa will go abroad.”
“The director said once Hyun-deok oppa finishes sleeping, he’ll go abroad.”
“The director said abroad is cooler and safer than here.”
“The director said Hyun-deok oppa’s special.”
“But I wish Hyun-deok oppa wouldn’t go abroad and stayed with me.”
“The director said we can go abroad too when we grow up.”
Murmurs and chatter.
The kids babbling chaotically was cute, but their words weren’t so cute.
“What safe country exists out there?”
Park Kwang-rim, who’d come from abroad, muttered in complaint.
“Shh, quiet.”
Yeah, in this world, no such thing as a safe foreign country.
I’d let Jang Hyun-deok’s ramblings slide to avoid interrupting his dream, but if it was brainwashing, that changed things.
“Good job, everyone. You’re all great kids.”
I cast a minor [Illusion], making tiny fireworks spark from my fingertips.
“Wow!” “Wooow!” “How’d you do that?”
“You’ll be able to do it when you grow up too.”
Eyes sparkling, begging for more.
“Hmm, more than that… Anyone know where the director is?”
“Me!” “Me!” “Over there!” “Third floor!”
The kids pointed at the stairs in unison.
Simple.
“But the director’s name isn’t Gug-hyeol, is it?”
“Nope. Hyeol-oppa’s a teacher.”
“Teachers and the director are different.”
“The director has a beard like this.”
“Ah, got it. Okay. The one who told me about the beard gets…”
I patted my pockets. Anything to give?
A pure white feather tumbled out. Red Owl’s feather?
“An owl feather as a gift.”
I handed over the Red Owl feather from my pocket.
“Waaah!”
The kids jumped around clutching it.
Cute.
I stood, pondering what to do with them after smashing this place.
Paju Central Hospital had something like an attached daycare, but still.
“Alright, like good friends said, let them sleep. Time for you kids to hit the hay too.”
I soothed Hyun-ji and the others, sending them back to their rooms.
“What now?”
Park Kwang-rim asked.
“Switching things up. If the top dog was Gug-hyeol, no need for interrogation. But if there’s a separate director, better meet him first.”
This place had more quest structure than expected. Best to follow the flow.
I layered some contingency spells around Jang Hyun-deok and headed to the third floor.
* * *
The second floor had nothing unusual.
Not devoid of people.
Some rooms had presences, but they just held their breath quietly, waiting for me to pass.
No reactions.
Park Kwang-rim must’ve sensed them via pendulum movement, because he asked.
“You okay with that?”
“Fine.”
“Capture and interrogate?”
“Interrogating small fry’s just tiring.”
But maybe their presence grated on him? Scanning around with an uneasy look, he said.
“Don’t you find it creepy, Kim Shin-hwa?”
“What?”
“I do. This place is horrifying. People with the same faces speaking in the same voices, moving the same way, singing the same way, dancing the same way. Just seeing it makes me sick and grossed out. You not scared?”
“I’m good.”
It creeped me out a little too, but [Abyssal Madness] kept my reason intact—no mental collapse.
“What if I’m like that?”
“Huh?”
“Like in that game earlier—uh… what’d you call it?”
“NPC.”
“Yeah. NPC. Looking at those kids gives me that vibe. Like, what if there’s someone just like me somewhere? What if I’m artificially made like them?”
“Kwang-rim, that’s…”
I started to brush it off casually—but Park Kwang-rim was staring at me.
The fear and confusion in his eyes were too deep, too dark. I paused.
“You heard the kids, right? And in that leg-weakening hospital room, they were laughing and chatting fine. Seems like they’re implanted with warped common sense from childhood.”
“Looks that way.”
“What if my memories of my siblings, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins—they’re all copies made like that? And Public Security—no, someone around me—fed me twisted ideas since I was a kid? If that’s true, how would I even know?”
“Kwang-rim, calm down.”
Park Kwang-rim gazed at me with hollow eyes.
In the dark, quiet stairwell, his voice echoed ominously.
“Kim Shin-hwa, Kim Shin-hwa.”
“Kim Shin-hwa, this place is truly horrific.”
“Kim Shin-hwa, since coming here, I’ve lost all certainty about myself.”
“Kim Shin-hwa, Kim Shin-hwa.”
“Kim Shin-hwa. Am I human?”
“Kim Shin-hwa, I’m human, right?”
“Kim Shin-hwa, right? Right?”
“Kim Shin-hwa, I’m not some made-up thing, I’m human, right?”
“Kim Shin-hwa, Kim Shin-hwa?”
Getting dangerous.
I stopped, grabbed his shoulders.
“Kwang-rim, snap out of it. You were bragging earlier, and now this nonsense again?”
“Kim Shin-hwa, are you really human? Not some artificial creation—really human?”
“Of course—”
“You’re certain?”
“Yeah. So sit down a sec.”
I raised mana, forcing him to sit on the stairs.
Muddled words in several languages spilled from Park Kwang-rim’s mouth.
“That pill you showed me earlier? Where is it?”
I rummaged his pockets, found Nirvana, and shoved it into his hand.
“Swallow it. Kwang-rim. Swallow.”
“Kim Shin-hwa, you’re amazing. How are you so sure?”
After swallowing, his expression calmed a bit.
“Good. That’s it.”
[Lion’s Courage]
[Eagle’s Glory]
[Euphoria]
I cast mind-stabilizing spells and told him.
“In dumps like this, don’t overthink—just go in simple and brutal. Forget the rest, think about what to blow that money I gave you on. Once this is done, pick a decent hospital and rest up.”
“Hospital, yeah. Hospital. Bring my family here, settle in a safe spot.”
“Hey, Kwang-rim, you never seen a movie? Say that in a place like this, and you’re dead.”
“Hahaha.”
Park Kwang-rim let out a dry laugh at my joke.
With his gaunt face, he said.
“Guess I gotta avoid becoming that stereotypical character.”