Chapter 353
Chapter 353
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 353
Chapter Title: Rechallenge
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In the heart of the desert stood a massive pyramid, exuding majestic grandeur.
This was no ordinary structure.
It was an altar completed by layering abyssal magic over a framework of solid rock—a symbol designed to manifest the presence of an abyssal entity into reality.
No half-hearted blow could damage it, let alone destroy it. It was a surreal construct.
But—
"Wahahaha! Don't underestimate the ingenuity of the Deep Ones!"
I let out a booming laugh as I unleashed my magic power.
Rumble rumble rumble!!
The [Dragon King's Ship] was no ordinary vessel either.
Crafted by the Deep Ones of Insuma Village using hyper-arcane engineering to summon the [Lord of Murky Waters]—it was, in essence, an altar for a god's descent.
Comparing whose craftsmanship was superior was pointless, but a pyramid hastily thrown together in three days couldn't match the power of the [Dragon King's Ship], meticulously prepared over decades.
And now it wasn't even in the desert—it was at sea. Terrain bonus for extra effect!
Kwarrrumble!!
In the end, the [Dragon King's Ship]'s magic power breached the makeshift pyramid's magical barrier—
Rumble! Crash!!
Boom!!
One of the pyramid's corners collapsed.
But it wasn't enough.
"Urgh—can't topple the whole thing with a single ram, huh?"
I'd brought it down some, but the enemy's losses were about 20%? From afar, it probably just looked like a big hole punched in the pyramid.
It was still functioning perfectly as a structure and ritual anchor.
Well, with Blue Tiger Gang thugs held inside as hostages (or living sacrifices, or maybe cultists), blowing it all away in one shot would be problematic anyway.
"Alright, time for close-quarters combat!"
I tossed pre-prepared masks into the air and activated my spells.
[Mirror Image]
[Identity Imprint]
[Mass Hallucination]
Zzzzt—
The masks, infused with magic, latched onto the spectral golems hesitating on the deck, altering their appearances.
Thirteen [fake Kim Shin-hwas], each wearing a differently designed mask, completed.
'They look convincing enough...'
But since I'd made them even more hastily than last time, they couldn't exceed the base spectral golems' power.
Eh, as long as they caused a brief distraction, that'd be plenty—
"Alright! Kim Shin-hwas from across the nation!"
I formed hand seals with one hand and issued commands.
"Listen up! Infiltrate the interior, maximizing your individual functions. No preemptive strikes. Counterattacks allowed. Lethal force allowed. If you encounter Jung Hyun-ah, execute [Designated Action 8]. If I'm within 5 meters, execute [Designated Action 9]. Mana is limited, so no regeneration. I'll recover and repair you afterward. Commence action."
Klikirik—
The [fake Kim Shin-hwas] leaped toward the pyramid in unison as soon as the orders ended.
"Ddol Ddol, clear the ship."
Grrrk!
Ddolyi gleefully swallowed the ship whole. I patted the pleased Ddolyi and said,
"Good job. Now hide for a bit."
[Shrink]
I tucked the now ring-case-sized Ddolyi—under the shrink spell's effect—into my pocket and turned.
"And Aga, climb to the top of the pyramid and do what I said earlier."
"Going—" "Going—" "Going—" "Going—" "Going—" "Going—" "Going—" "Going—" "Going—"
Whirrr—
The [Children of the Dark], scaling the pyramid's outer walls with dozens of tentacles.
Preparations complete.
Now I just had to move...
"Sigh, but I really don't want to."
My confidence evaporated sharply as I approached the pyramid entrance.
The euphoric thrill that had been forcibly propelling my body was vanishing like a cup of water poured into the desert.
Could tricks like this really overcome my phobia completely?
"Damn. After all this chaos, am I really gonna run?"
I closed my eyes for a moment.
Darkness.
"Hoo—"
I opened them again.
Yeah, not yet.
Just hold on a little longer. It'll be over soon.
* * *
A pitch-black, shadowy passage stretching on like the deepest abyss.
Shrrrk—chirrrik—
Unpleasant presences from all directions.
The dizzying stench of pitch.
Even as I felt like I was crawling through a beast's guts—I pressed on without stopping.
'Hmm... but where do I go?'
Lost direction again. The phobia was overly suppressing my senses and judgment.
[System: Penalty trait 'Feast's Offering' activates.]
Crunch—the horrific sound.
A spectral golem—i.e., [fake Kim Shin-hwa]—destroyed.
Surging terror.
And with that terror, a massive influx of information.
"Over there."
This time, really close.
The info from the destroyed [fake Kim Shin-hwa] flooded my mind, processed in various ways, forming plans and routes.
'These thoughts will soon be devoured by the phobia and vanish too.'
Ziiing—
Before that could happen, I converted the revised routes and plans into magical records and loaded them into the [Silver Bell of the Underworld] in my right hand.
Just focus on reaching the destination for now.
"Anyway, that way, right?"
I advanced boldly once more.
Spells activating additionally for extreme escapism.
[Euphoria]
Don't worry about unnecessary things. Forget the pointless stuff. No need for plans.
And at some point.
I realized I'd reached my goal.
"Here it is."
The space suddenly widened.
Pits densely riddled across the floor.
Shadows of people lying in each pit.
"No, these are graves."
[You have finally reached the pyramid's core. What greeted you there was a truly bizarre and inscrutable sight. A vast space filled with endless burial pits. In each pit lay things reminiscent of Egyptian mummies—'humanoid somethings' wrapped in bandages. The number? Dozens, no, hundreds.]
"'Egyptian' my ass."
They were wrapped in bandages, sure, but this had nothing to do with ancient Egyptian funeral rites.
Well, not just Egypt—Christianity, Buddhism, Tibet, all distorted willy-nilly like this.
Ziiing—
I activated several spells for ambush defense and slowly entered the eerie necropolis.
"Wait, these are alive?"
And these...
[You realize they are alive and are plunged into great shock. Your quick judgment also reveals they were originally Blue Tiger Gang members. Probably, through the 'Spell Mastery' trait, you figured out where 'Scaled Schemer' sourced its mana.]
Yeah.
Wondered where the mana came from—they sacrificed the entire Blue Tiger Gang as living offerings. Similar mindset to Heo Joo.
A few living believers are enough.
The rest get drained of mana as batteries until death—then probably raised as undead.
The sorcerous aroma wafting from all sides.
"Incense and herbs from the pawnshop. And pitch."
Stuff Jeong Eun-taek at Gold Village Pawnshop had prepared.
Basic ritual materials, so I hadn't thought of it then, but yeah, ordered by Hyun-ah.
Ingredients for 'mummy-making.'
"So where'd the silver ingots go?"
A hefty amount. Unrelated to mummies.
Ziiing—
I cautiously extended my senses—tracking the flow of mana extracted from the mummified humans...
* * *
"Is this the real Kim Shin-hwa?"
Hyun-ah's voice.
"Yes. Nice to meet again after just three days."
Summer event exclusive skin?
Would've been better in swimwear suitable for diving into the sea, but Hyun-ah wore a beautiful dress reminiscent of a mountain azalea butterfly.
Click—
She has legs.
Critical detail.
But why were Hyun-ah's legs so important?
"I ran into people who looked just like you earlier."
Ah, that's why she asked if I was real.
"Those were fakes."
"I see. So you are the real Kim Shin-hwa?"
Philosophical question.
Am I the real Kim Shin-hwa?
"Yes, I'm the real Kim Shin-hwa."
"Why'd you come here?"
"To rescue you, miss."
Hyun-ah's reptilian eyes fixed on me.
"You're too late."
"Like three days ago, sorry for being late."
"Just like with Dad. You're always late."
"No words for that. But this time, I'll turn it around, by force if needed."
"Not biting off more than you can chew? Confident against fear and madness?"
"No. Prep doesn't matter. Scary is scary, no matter what. Hateful is hateful."
Hyun-ah smiled gently and extended her hand to me.
"You're right. Some things ordinary humans can't overcome. You're ordinary. Impossible to fight cosmic powers. Give up and rest now."
Sweet, irresistible whisper. Doing as she says would solve everything. Yeah, why was I even doing this?
"I can't."
Jung Hyun-ah tilted her head slightly.
"Why?"
Hyun-ah gazed at me with huge, red eyes lacking sclera.
Shrrrk—
A horrific presence manifesting to break my will.
"Because I'm a wizard."
[System: Pre-set spell trigger condition met. Spell activates per pre-configured setting (Designated Action 1).]
[Auto-cast: Euphoria]
[Auto-cast: Lightning Bolt]
Confidence surging with euphoria's effect.
But lightning bolt?
Who was that targeting?
Pzzt!!
"Arghhh!"
It was me.
* * *
[System: Physical shock temporarily weakens delusion.]
Whoa! My mind cleared right up!
[System: 'Enhanced Vigilance' activates.]
A massive tentacle flying at me. No, a snake tail!
"Urk!"
[Leap]
Whoosh—my body shot up unsteadily. Barely dodged. I added auxiliary spells to adjust posture.
Ziiing—
Gorgeous magic formulas unfolding in myriad colors.
Where'd Jung Hyun-ah go?
She'd vanished somewhere. Where? My senses, crippled by ophidiophobia.
"'What have you done?'"
Hyun-ah's voice mixed with a grotesque metallic rasp.
What else? Something insane enough to shock an abyssal entity.
Voice from... the ceiling? Hiding upstairs, huh.
Shrrrk—shrrrk—
[System: 'Enhanced Vigilance' activates.]
Vigilance suddenly jerking in a random direction. Wait, Hyun-ah's above, right? Why below—argh!
Countless cobras crawling out from the floor's burial pits.
Ah—got the pattern. Powerful melee after, she slips out of map bounds, hides—summons minions?
Then AoE to clear minions, she'll reappear?
Yeah, it's a game. A game—game—
[Countless snakes fly at you. Your mind cannot accept this. Sanity check...]
Huge eyes on hoods at neck sides. Blunt human front teeth instead of fangs. Human fingers instead of tail.
Really creepy-looking.
[Failed!]
Why keep failing?
Where'd all my helpful clone buddies in my head go?
[System: Penalty trait 'Feast's Offering' activates. Tentacle of 'Abyssal Entity – Scaled Schemer' crawls into your mind... Strongly influences your psyche.]
Yeah, using that ability to manipulate my delusion form.
Stupid crocodile. Think I'll fall for the same trick twice?
[System: Delusion occurs.]