Chapter 364
Chapter 364
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 364
Chapter Title: Remodeling
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A dramatic remodeling had taken place in [The Famished Mansion].
All the walls dividing the second floor had collapsed, and most of the first floor's ceiling and second floor's flooring had vanished.
"Wow, the living room got so spacious!"
Everyone, take a look at this.
Turning the living room into a loft really opens up the view, doesn't it? Feels so refreshing.
"Junior! It's collapsing here!"
[Right Hand of the Creation God]
Rumble rumble rumble!
Walls and pillars surged up in an instant to reinforce everything.
Greeeeee!
Spectral golems anchored at the building's key points, sucking in my mana to hold it steady.
Damn, considering everything that happened in [The Famished Mansion] during that short time, it should've collapsed ages ago.
"Shin-hwa, not the kitchen! The meat I was prepping!"
Heo Sang-hyeon's desperate shout rang out.
"Ugh, don't worry! Hey— mutts! You hear that? No touching the food for today's guests!"
At my shout, spectral golems rushed to Heo Sang-hyeon's side.
Kiririririk—
The other spectral golems could only handle physical attacks, so I'd assigned them to building defense—but exactly two could use magic.
"Kyaaaaaaa!"
A golden spectral golem let out a scream infused with necromantic runes, striking a graceful ballet pose.
And—
Kiririririk—
[S-grade magic tool 'Beacon Staff' unique function, 'Binding of Fire's Kin' activates.
// Binding of Fire's Kin: Grants the owner the ability to summon and control kin of the 'living flame.']
"Uhryyyyyyyyyy!!!"
"Uhraaaaaaaaaa!!!"
Flames rampaged wildly.
The dog-shaped spectral golem, Achilles.
"Ah, this is total chaos."
"It's always been like this around you, Junior. Always."
"And whose fault is that right now!"
One fortunate thing: these things only targeted [Time Travelers] or [Regressors].
More precisely, anyone with the [Prey of Tindalos] penalty trait.
So, except for accidental involvement, Heo Sang-hyeon or Jang Hyeon-deok didn't need to worry about direct attacks.
But.
"Krueeeek!"
A horrific tongue and grotesque teeth lunged at me.
[Blink]
Flash!
Right. I also had the [Prey of Tindalos] trait.
I'd time-traveled to resolve the Sokcho incident.
"Let's see—looks like they're all gathered now?"
My detection sense captured the number of monsters rampaging through [The Famished Mansion].
Thirty so far.
And just now—one more joined.
Thirty-one!
Ah, that was exhausting.
"Now we can finally move to the next phase."
"Junior, sending that guy up to the attic—was that really part of the plan? Not just insanity? A real plan. A real one."
"Ah—have some faith! Don't I have a trust built with future me?"
"That's exactly why I can't trust it! Ugh! Grab me!"
[Fireball] [Eerie Strike] [Summon Deathworm]
[Chain Lightning] [Icy Breath]
[Invisible Hand]
I launched attacks in five directions while yanking Gong I-su toward me with telekinesis—he'd failed to dodge.
"Gyaaaaak!"
The [Hounds of Tindalos] screamed.
Boom!
Ah, damn it. My vintage sofa!
"I didn't expect Senior to show up like this, so things got a bit off-track, but I've got everything prepared."
Just needs some fine-tuning.
"Guess I'll have to play along again."
"Yes! Fooled you! Ugh! No, joking—don't lightning me!"
I fended off the incoming [Hounds of Tindalos] while sending my will to Jang Hyeon-deok, who'd reached the attic.
"Hyeon-deok, how're you feeling right now?"
- Pissed at the wizard for tricking me. You should've warned me! Got my hopes up for nothing!
Jang Hyeon-deok now knew what was going on. I'd sent him up fully aware.
"Haha, that was the surprise. Shocked you, right? Anyway, can you do it?"
- Auntie's explaining it to me now. Hmm... I think I can manage...
"Hey, I told you to practice!"
- Ah, I did!
"Then do it! No rehearsals—gotta nail it first try!"
"Junior! What are you doing?! Don't just stand there!"
Gong I-su placed his right hand on the floor and activated his ability.
[Right Hand of the Creation God]
Rumble rumble rumble!
The floor beneath me instantly transformed into a tall platform and rose up.
"Eek! Whoa, that startled me."
A [Hound of Tindalos] smashed headfirst into the platform.
Boom!
"Got you, bastard!"
[Sanctuary]
[Flame Step]
Fwoosh!
Light and flame erupted from my toes.
"Quirrrrrruk!"
As the [Hound of Tindalos] screamed, another message pierced my mind.
- Ready! Kkumul!
"Good. Perfect timing with this stage."
Standing atop the platform, I switched my left hand holding the Sa-in Sword to tentacle mode.
Shlorp!
Serpentine tentacles lashed out in all directions with the Sa-in Sword. But that alone wouldn't cut it.
"Senior, poke a hole in your space!"
"Where and how big?"
"Somewhere nice, make it pretty, just right!"
"Why do you always—!"
Gong I-su grumbled but seemed to grasp my intent.
Kiiiiiing—
A dimension rift of just the right size tore open in midair.
"Perfect! Exactly what I wanted!"
I slashed the rift with the [Sa-in Sword] and cast a spell.
[Sword Realm: Sa-in Sword]
Shlorp!
For things that ignored reality's laws, exceeding them was best.
The sword realm's power poured from the spatial rift.
Normally, its slashing and cutting would suffice—
'But these guys have [Ignores Physical Attacks]. Need something else.'
So I infused the concept of [Sword] with [Tiger], [Soul], and [Flame].
Grrooooowl!
A dark sword shadow spread from the rift in all directions. Flames bloomed like flowers. A tiger's soul extended branches, growing.
Clawing, tearing—burning and devouring—the Sa-in Sword's power engulfed [The Famished Mansion]'s interior.
"Kruueeek!"
"You know this ain't right, don't you?"
Necromantic and flame power layered onto the sword's nature.
The [Hounds of Tindalos] sensed its might and dodged in bizarre ways—but that was the reaction I wanted.
"Nicely bunched up!"
I shifted my stance on the platform in a specific direction and activated a spell from the [Precious Stone Scriptures].
[Immobilize]
[Spell Enhancement: Multi-cast]
Crackle crackle!
The thirty-one monsters bound to space in surreal fashion. Couldn't hold them long.
What was Jang Hyeon-deok up to?
I extended my detection sense to check the attic.
* * *
The attic was still dark, but new items had been arranged.
A wide folding screen. A makeshift table with ritual offerings. Vibrant multicolored fabric.
Heo Sang-hyeon had hastily prepared the altar last night.
Jang Hyeon-deok faced it, lifting a fan and bell.
"Ugh— I really have no confidence."
After muttering a bit more, Jang Hyeon-deok adopted a serious expression and let out a long incantation.
"Huuuuuuu—"
Greeeeee!
Golden mana radiated from his body. Abstract petals bloomed with the mana. His hair grew long in an instant.
"Azure Emperor of the East— Crimson Emperor of the South— White Emperor of the West— Black Emperor of the North— Yellow Emperor of the Center. I offer my devotion to the court of the Eighty Thousand Four Hundred Sea Emperors. Hmm—"
Jang Hyeon-deok blanked on the chant for a moment but continued.
"Behold— I'm not much of a scholar, don't know much— might be a bit lacking, but isn't my sincerity here off the charts, waking up to do all this? The altar— this— hmm, Sang-hyeon prepared it, I bet. Wow, impressive. Looks delicious, right? Couldn't get a pig head, so whole roasted suckling pig instead. Give it up for that. Graciously accept this sincerity— descend— descend— descend—"
Ah, this is maddening.
[Anti-Demon Barrier]
What? It's activating?
* * *
Greeeeee—
The [Anti-Demon Barrier]'s mana spread in all directions.
"Junior, that Jang Hyeon-deok guy's something else."
"You've met him before, right?"
"Yeah, but not in that state."
Hmm, another question to add to the list.
But Jang Hyeon-deok's [Anti-Demon Barrier] was unstable.
No possession by the [Guardian of Bongam Temple] like last time—just his own power, and a botched chant to boot.
Without the [Living Altar] trait, it probably wouldn't have triggered at all.
To stabilize the sloppy [Anti-Demon Barrier], I channeled my own mana.
Greeeeee—
An Eastern-style magic circle of runes and hanja.
[Anti-Demon Barrier]
[Spell Enhancement: Maximization]
[System: 'Anti-Demon Barrier' has activated. Set the sealing medium.]
"Kkumul!"
Rumble rumble rumble!
A massive hole tore open in the attic floor, revealing something enormous.
"What the hell is that? You were raising something like that?"
Kkumul, now nearly dragon-sized, opened its gigantic maw.
While I focused on the [Anti-Demon Barrier]—
[Left Hand of the Destruction God]
[Right Hand of the Creation God]
Shzzzzt—
Gong I-su's head morphed into a large camera.
Click! Flash!
A shutter snap with the flash.
"What'd you take a picture of?"
"Precise observation. Hmm— stuffed that worm with part of an abyssal being? Attributes don't match."
I'd fed neglected Kkumul the [Camouflage] from [Scaled Scheme].
Giving it the power to swallow anything.
I designated Kkumul's stomach as the sealing site and completed the ritual.
Whooooosh—
The [Hounds of Tindalos] got sucked into Kkumul's mouth like a vacuum.
"Kruueeeeeek!"
"Kiriririruk!"
They thrashed desperately, but it was a dual [Anti-Demon Barrier] plus the [Intestines] and [Stomach] from [Scaled Scheme]—a massive ritual.
Crackle crackle crackle!
[Quest completed.
[Escort Quest: Head Protection]
Reward: 1,000,000 XP (per hound) + Critical Information + Favor from '/null Head'.]
[You have sealed all pursuers from Tindalos. The residents of Tindalos will remember your name.]
Hmm, sounds like my popularity's rising daily.
Ignoring the messages, I looked at Gong I-su.
"We did it. Tindalos'll send more hounds eventually... but thanks to this, I can stretch out and sleep easy for a bit."
"Kim Shin-hwa, repaying the favor."
Anyway, Gong I-su's issue was resolved for now.
But thanks to that...
Thud!
Furniture toppled over.
Whew. What a mess.
The house was utterly wrecked.
"I'll fix it."
"No. I can do it."
"Junior, we each have our specialties, right? I can do the frame with a tenth of the effort you'd need. And... it's thanks, too."
Hmm— can I trust him?
He'd just said something about repaying favors, but Gong I-su's behavior felt off...
I spotted Heo Sang-hyeon with a lost expression.
"...Just the framework for now, please. Furniture and stuff has restoration magic—they'll fix themselves if left alone."
"Sure. That's easy."
"Thanks. By the way, can you eat?"
"I can, but— wait, dinner?"
"Yeah. Kitchen was defended to the death."
"Nah. I'm good without."
Saying he was good without meant he could eat.
"No."
"No?"
"Yeah, this is [The Famished Mansion]."
"So?"
"Can't send guests away hungry— our butler'd scold us. Eat properly."
"Hmm..."
Gong I-su stared at me for a long while (no idea what senses he was using) before replying.
"Fine. Thanks for the invite."
"No problem."