Chapter 322
Chapter 322
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 322
Chapter Title: It Might Sound Crazy, But Bear With Me For A Moment
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Do you know this?
Humans were never originally the masters of this land.
Before modern humanity lifted their cunning heads to gaze at the sky and stood upright on two legs—this world was ruled by dogs.
The dogs of that era were beings with forms utterly different from today's, possessing superior physical abilities, exceptional intelligence, and astonishing power blessed by the gods, through which they governed the Earth.
Humanity was a race created to become slaves to dogs. But many things happened, and humanity reduced dogs to slaves.
But the dogs remember.
The glorious era of their splendor.
And the dogs are waiting.
For the day they sink their sharp, menacing fangs into humanity.
“Wizard! Snap out of it!”
I hear Jang Hyun-deok’s voice.
I know.
That’s Jang Hyun-deok.
Seeing the golden crown on his head, it looks like the real Jang Hyun-deok.
So, what conclusion can we draw from this?
Haha, there’s no conclusion to draw.
Humanity is doomed to destruction anyway.
Look.
Gigantic hands are flying toward Jang Hyun-deok. He made a flashy entrance for a moment, but soon he’ll meet a futile end.
“Kyarrgrrr!” “Kyaaaak!”
Oh? The dogs are charging at me too.
Well, humanity’s downfall isn’t the issue. I’m about to die. These dogs have been waiting only for the day they can exact revenge on humanity.
They disguised themselves as Jang Hyun-deok for a bit to fool me, but now they’ve reverted to their dog forms, so they’ll kill me soon.
Do you know this?
In Egyptian mythology, there’s a god called Anubis.
The god of death with the head of a jet-black dog. Why on earth did the Egyptians think the god of death had a dog’s head?
It’s all connected. They knew.
That death would one day come in the form of ferocious dogs.
“Kim Sebang! Get a grip!”
Ah, Seo Cheon-seul.
She’s attacking the dogs approaching me. As always, Seo Cheon-seul is flashing here and there. By the way, that guy’s pretty impressive?
In Eastern folklore, dogs are said to have the power to drive away evil and chase off malevolent spirits.
A dog’s eyes can see things uncanny that humans cannot, and a dog’s bark weakens the power of ghosts.
That’s why Seo Cheon-seul won’t be able to bring out her full strength against dogs either. Too bad, Golden Captain. We’re going to die together.
No, thinking about it, I used to fear blood before.
Goblins fear blood. Yet Seo Cheon-seul fought bravely anyway. Cool guy. Impressive.
But I’m a weak human. I can’t fight like you.
Kurrrr rumble!
Gigantic hands rising toward the sky.
Wow, isn’t it really cool?
The [Origin of Life] is moving to finish me off.
Right now, I can’t block the flick those gigantic hands are about to unleash, and if that super flick hits me, my head will detach from my body and probably fly all the way over there—to that massive island.
Kurrrr rumble!
Huh? That’s not happening?
Hey, hello! Pretty hands? Where are you going? I’m right here?
But the hands ignore me and surge toward some random direction.
And in that direction...
“Wizard! Snap out of it!”
Jang Hyun-deok’s voice again.
Tudududududu—
Machine gun fire?
Huh? What’s that?
If I’m not crazy, Jang Hyun-deok is riding a colossal owl-shaped kolban with four massive wings.
The kolban has three legs, each gripping a machine gun.
I enchanted them for him. Yeah, Red, looking good.
Kwarrr rumble!
The owl-shaped kolban unleashes machine gun fire and begins casting a spell.
“Kiiiiieee!!”
Red, you bastard. Stop sucking up my mana.
Waves surging up with enough force to blot out the sky.
But even so, I can’t easily deal with the gigantic hands created by the [Origin of Life]. It feels like every single hand in the area has gathered here.
“Iyaaaaap!!”
And super magical Jang Hyun-deok.
Jang Hyun-deok in golden, wearing a golden crown adorned with golden flowers, holds an incredibly cool seven-branch staff in one hand—and in the other, he’s emitting golden mana.
What’s that?
No, wait a second.
That thing Jang Hyun-deok is holding—is it the [Sword of the Flesh],
[Time Stop]
* * *
[L!U!C!A! : Bubble—bubbling—]
No. As I told you last time, that target cannot be the object of the ability.
[L!U!C!A! : Bubble—bubbling—]
The target has priority from [Yellow]. While [Yellow] is exerting influence, no influence can be applied regardless of power hierarchy.
Please activate a suitable effect to persuade the target or use another ability.
* * *
by any chance?
Jang Hyun-deok suddenly appearing out of nowhere. And flower petals scattering around him.
Ah—
Aah... I get it.
Jang Hyun-deok, awakened to the power of love, friendship, and hope, has transformed into a magical girl?
Super magical Jang Hyun-deok, now a magical girl, grabbed the [Sword of the Flesh] and ran—wait, what?
Something’s off?
No way...
They’re not using Jang Hyun-deok to lure me in...
They’re not holding Jang Hyun-deok hostage to capture me...
They’re holding me hostage to capture Jang Hyun-deok who stole the [Sword of the Flesh]?
“Whew, this delusion is really bad this time. What kind of crazy fantasy is this
[Time Stop]
* * *
[Yellow : Strokes the mask.]
Conditions met. Sending a message to the sacrificial offering of the banquet.
[L!U!C!A! : Bubble—bubbling—]
* * *
man.”
Kwaaaaaang!!
But the Jang Hyun-deok in my hallucination is fighting quite convincingly.
Mana threads created by Heo Ji-hyun, Hyun-seon’s aunt, trace golden arcs as they fly everywhere—
“Left! A bit higher!”
Park Gwang-rim, activating her [Dowsing] ability, directs where Jang Hyun-deok should move.
“Kiiiiieee!”
“Bahahaha! I’m here too!”
Kwaaaaa!
Seo Cheon-seul and Red make up for the lacking firepower. It’s an odd combination no matter how you look at it, but the results they’re producing are pretty solid.
Hmm... Guess I have no choice but to admit it now.
[System : Inspired by your comrades’ heroic actions. The effects of delusion are temporarily weakened.]
“Kim Shin-hwa! Cast a spell right now!”
I can feel the delusion easing a bit. But the phobia hasn’t vanished—nor has the delusion fully lifted.
Right now, I’m trapped in this bizarre symptom where everything feels unreal. How to describe it? I don’t know. I just don’t feel like I’m really here; my mind is numb.
I can see things with my eyes, but it’s like watching through a screen from far away—and I can move my limbs, but it feels like forcibly controlling some distant object instead of my own body.
That’s why even the immediate danger rushing right at me doesn’t trigger any sense of urgency or how to respond.
“Shin-hwa! Hurry up and cast the spell!”
Ah, right. Is this depersonalization? Fascinating. Feels like an out-of-body experience.
But why keep telling me to cast a spell?
“Kyarrgrrrruk!”
The beasts Seo Cheon-seul sent flying come bursting back out.
“Oh no!” “Get out of the way!”
Next up, alien hand syndrome?
No—someone in my head has hijacked control of my left hand. Probably the fox—and my left hand starts moving on its own—
Ting—
[S-grade magic tool ‘Silver Bell of the Underworld’ unique functions ‘Silver’s Allure’ and ‘Silver’s Dominion’ activate.
// Silver’s Dominion : Automatically casts ‘Voice of Authority’ on designated target and increases ‘Mental’ spell effects by 100%.]
What? Trying to control someone? Ah... The control target is me?
Suddenly, my consciousness snaps into sharp focus.
“Kueeeek!”
A massive maw right up close before I know it.
“Uwaaak!”
I scream and gather mana—
[Fire- ? A? /null]
Pajijijijik—
Fingers exploding sensation.
A spell cast sloppily through forced manipulation. It should’ve failed outright, but thanks to the [Spell Mastery] trait, intelligence stat, and the dizzying pain surging to my fingertips, I somehow shaped it into an offensive spell.
Kwarrrung!
Bang!
My left hand shatters to pieces along with the head of the mass-produced NPC resembling a dog.
“Kuuh— damn it.”
My mind clears in a flash.
[You have overcome your phobia and defeated the object of fear.
As reward, the overcome phobia naturally heals, and you gain additional experience.]
[System : ‘Madness: Cynophobia’ has been removed.]
A message announcing the madness is gone.
“Kim Sebang!”
Seo Cheon-seul approaching from afar.
And the massive amount of blood pouring from my wrecked left hand. Damn, what curse is on this? My left hand’s busted again.
[Crystallize – Blood]
[Euphoria] [Berserker’s Rage]
I forcibly solidify the gushing blood to staunch it while force-generating adrenaline to dull the pain.
But my detached fingers...
Damn, this is bad. I have regeneration, but it can’t reconstruct missing body parts.
[Soul Gathering]
[Summon – Blood Golem]
[Summon – Flesh Golem]
Using necromancy and golemcraft, I cobble together a hand substitute from the remaining blood and flesh.
Blood mutated into ruby-like minerals and dead flesh tangled into a grotesque left hand.
“Uuugh— impressive how I thought of this right now.”
It’s a monster unto itself. Still, it has three finger-like things—
Click—
Good, it moves.
Kwarrrruk—
[System : ‘Enhanced Vigilance’ trait activates.]
“Damn it, my hand’s smashed. This is a key moment—can’t you give me a break?”
No matter my complaints, my traits sensing danger expand my awareness broadly.
“Yahoo! Wizard!”
Jang Hyun-deok waving at me.
And a gigantic hand flying toward Jang Hyun-deok! Park Gwang-rim screaming.
“Ah, that idiot!”
A wizard’s blood is the most efficient medium for casting spells.
I didn’t mean to spill it, but my blood is splattered everywhere around here. I extend my golemized left hand—and cast.
[Wave of Destruction]
Kwarrrrrrung!!
A scarlet lightning wave combining necromancy, curses, and potent elemental power destroys the gigantic hands surging toward Jang Hyun-deok.
Higher amplification than I calculated. I pour more power into the swirling destruction, sweeping everywhere.
Now, the weakness that dulled my power and clouded my mind is gone. I spread perfectly tuned strength in all directions.
[Spell Enhancement: Maximize]
[Spell Enhancement: Multicast]
Kwajijijijik!!
“Uwah!?”
Jang Hyun-deok yelling in belated surprise.
“Wizard! It’s dangerous!”
Is he really that dumb?
Giiiiing—
I gather my spilled blood into shining crystals—yeah. Guess I have to admit it now.
Not sure if it’s the mana density, but my blood turns to magistones with the slightest touch.
The magistones derived from my blood begin orbiting around me in unison.
One, two—hm. 13 again, of all numbers.
Just as I prepare a new spell—
Kurrrr rumble—the gigantic hands retreat. The endlessly expanding forest of hands contracts.
‘They’re gathering at the spot where Cure Medical Care was.’
The [Origin of Life] can’t use unlimited power. Probably concentrating its scattered forces into one point—for some next move.
“Anyway, did I win round two?”