Chapter 37
Chapter 37
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: Tanhyeon Ruins
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It's excessively quiet. So quiet that even my own voice startles me. The space is filled with human-shaped rocks.
No sounds can be heard at all, yet it feels like the hallucinated clamor of hundreds of people shouting in unison from somewhere.
Even though Tanhyeon looks very different in the [Cthulhu World], there's never been a place like this in the game.
And the mana I detected earlier is concentrated deeper in this wasteland, probably about 60 meters ahead on foot.
Jang Hyun-deok said with an excited expression.
“How is it? Can you see it over there inside?”
“See what?”
“The mask, the mask. Look, on the ground!”
Somehow, beneath the stone pillars resembling humans, I could see fragments of the mask Jang Hyun-deok had shown me scattered about.
Countless mask shards endlessly scattered under hundreds of stone pillars. Just looking at the scene makes me feel uneasy.
It's as if...
“There were as many masks as there are stone pillars, right?”
“Seems like it.”
“I tried picking up a few to sell before, but these fragments have no value.”
I walked a few steps in and picked up a mask shard from the ground to examine it.
It was in the same condition as the one Jang Hyun-deok had shown me earlier. Junk that no shop would accept.
“They say the ones scattered here have already lost their meaning. Even if you gather a ton, you barely get enough to cover labor costs.”
“Have you ever gone all the way inside there?”
“Ah! Yeah, that's what I was about to tell you!”
Jang Hyun-deok suddenly brightened and pulled me along.
“This way, come this way!!”
The sun had set long ago, leaving it dark.
We stood at the edge of this eerie ruin filled with grotesquely arranged rocks stretching endlessly.
Those rock lumps. They resemble humans in a creepy way, but like the mask fragments on the ground, most have no real value now.
Traces of mana remain, but they've exhausted their purpose and devolved into mere background clutter.
But deeper inside.
At the center of this quiet, dark ruin, a sticky, ominous mana is detectable.
I don't know if it's something we can split 5-5 as Jang Hyun-deok hopes, but it at least means there's something of value or significance.
“Here, um... turn your head at this exact angle.”
When I asked if he'd ever approached the center, Jang Hyun-deok dragged me to a specific spot.
Rocks and more rocks, and the darkness of night... Wait.
[Moonlight Vision]
[Eagle's Eye]
My level is one short of using magic beyond 1st rank, but with my absurdly vast mana surpassing a 1st rank mage, I can spam auxiliary and enchantment spells freely.
I cast two vision-enhancing spells on my eyes, piercing the darkness shrouding the ruins to confirm what Jang Hyun-deok mentioned.
“Indeed, I see it.”
It's a sight visible only from this precise position. Through a gap accidentally formed between the bizarrely twisted rocks, I could peer deep into the ruins.
There, in the center where the mana concentrates—like elsewhere—a human-like rock stood.
But this rock was different from the others.
At the upper part of that rock, where a human face would be, an intact mask was affixed.
Rocks wearing masks. I could see about three of them from here.
“A place like this, an atmosphere like this, these things arranged so perfectly. Those masks can't just be worthless junk!”
“Hmm. It really is exquisitely arranged.”
It truly is. Excessively so, everything.
“Right? Huh...? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You're wearing a mask, and that's the look you're giving?”
“No, but there's a vibe, you know.”
“Well, yeah, that's exactly how I'm looking at you.”
“Ah, see! Nailed it! Wait... no, that's not... Um... Why?”
“Nah. Just thinking you seem a bit suspicious.”
Jang Hyun-deok recoiled in shock.
“You said you trusted me earlier?!”
“When did I say that? I said I don't trust anyone.”
The reason Jang Hyun-deok brought me here wasn't trust—it was my money and the endorsement from the famous broker Tudor.
Likewise, I don't trust Jang Hyun-deok.
More precisely, I don't trust the safety of this situation.
In this world, how many things can you really trust? Things I've seen with my own eyes? Tudor, programmed in the game never to betray players?
From the moment this NPC popped up like a scripted event, I couldn't fully trust Jang Hyun-deok.
“No, no! I swear, it's real! You were the one who wanted to come here in the first place!”
“Who said it's fake? Something else.”
Jang Hyun-deok might be innocent, but there could be some massive entity behind him orchestrating this fate.
Despite that suspicion, I followed his lead here.
Partly because I'd resolved to pursue developments that never existed in the game...
And considering Jang Hyun-deok's stats and capabilities, I calculated I could overpower him easily if he betrayed me.
After that, Jang Hyun-deok kept babbling uselessly to prove his innocence, but I half-ignored him while preparing to enter the ruins.
I'd already set up protective barriers and distortion fields. How many enchantments should I add?
I already had five spells active. With spells reserved for emergencies, activating more would be taxing, but skimping felt risky.
Honestly, entering a place in [Cthulhu World] with so little intel is like strolling into a nuclear reactor with a radiation leak.
Alien spores could invade your lungs, causing poisoning or sprouting extraterrestrial plants in your chest. Imperceptible waves could disrupt brainwaves, inducing forced madness.
[Guardian's Prayer]
[Warding Gesture]
[Cat's Reflexes]
Stacking more spells on my body would be too much, so I distributed some to my clothes and the skateboard strapped to my back.
“Alright, let's go.”
“Ah, great! We're off.”
Jang Hyun-deok eagerly took the lead. Wait, what?
“Hey, what the hell?”
“Yeah?”
“Where are you going?”
“You said let's go?”
“...You too?”
“Of course?”
I stared into Jang Hyun-deok's face and eyes for a moment. Flushed cheeks from excitement, unwavering shining pupils. The gaze of the most dangerous type in [Cthulhu World].
Fear is a defense mechanism to protect the body. Humans without it always cause big problems. I considered ways to knock this guy out but changed my mind.
“Whatever. Do what you want.”
“Yahoo!”
Fine. Let's see what awaits. I don't know who's behind this setup, but I'll go omakase-style.
I split off a few spells and cast them on Jang Hyun-deok.
“Tch, good. Then we're heading in.”
“Let's go!”
Jang Hyun-deok turned and started toward the rocks. He held only a flimsy flashlight. That crazy bastard...
[Dancing Flames]
A cluster of flickering lights bloomed, blocking his path.
“No fooling around. Follow slowly behind me.”
“Ah, got it. I'll do that.”
And so, we slowly stepped into the ruins.
Surrounded by forest, yet the interior felt excessively dry.
No major issues yet. My [Enhanced Vigilance] or [Feast's Offering] traits, which activate on their own in trouble, remained dormant.
Each step sank the powdery ground 2-3 cm, accompanied by the clattering of densely packed mask fragments.
So many rocks, and an immense number of mask shards matching their count.
It felt like the scene of a deranged artist's rampage, smashing failures until creating an impossible masterpiece.
Beyond that perverse, bizarre atmosphere and the visceral revulsion from the human-like rocks, nothing actively blocked our path.
But that atmosphere and presence created a pressure more oppressive than any real barrier.
Thus, our progress was far slower than the time suggested.
Meanwhile, Jang Hyun-deok, despite ample gaps between rocks, wore the expression of someone surrounded by writhing monsters in agony.
“Man... Mage, the vibe gets more sinister the deeper we go.”
An ambiguous attitude, unclear if he liked it or hated it.
The ruins' interior was quiet. Or rather, quiet except for Jang Hyun-deok's nonstop chatter.
He trailed behind me, rambling nonsense.
He had young siblings to support, he was an orphanage kid, the mage (me) was amazing and incredible, the mage seemed like a good person, he felt destined from first sight, he actually wanted to come back here, he'd dreamed of this place multiple times since discovering it, he needed money badly, he'd done stupid things chasing pipe dreams before, with more money he'd move abroad, Korea sucked, it was a horrific country, and so on...
No reason to focus on his jumbled stories, so I observed everything—his attitude, behavior, the surroundings—while advancing.
Air density, mana flow, smells, light, sounds.
It might be overthinking, but it wasn't easy going. Even stripping away the pressure and discomfort, too many blind spots.
Wait. Did I miss something important?
Without stopping, I pressed on and called back to Jang Hyun-deok.
“Hey, Jang Hyun-deok. What did you say earlier?”
“Huh?”
“You mentioned dreams?”
“Ah, wanting to live abroad? Once I make a big score...”
“No, the dreams about this place. You kept having them?”
“Ah, yeah.”
A large rock loomed ahead, arms outstretched. Habitually, I veered right around it and continued.
“What exactly did you dream about?”
“Some fixer told me to come here before, that's how I first learned of it.”
The voice direction felt off. He's behind me, but...