Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Flameheart Checkpoint
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"Indeed, as expected from a servant handcrafted by an abyssal being—it's enormous."
A beautiful, round gem sparkling with golden light.
A magistone so large it's awkward to hold in one hand.
It holds value beyond compare to the same weight in gold. I could sell it, or extract the mana of the [Yellow King] infused within to craft a new artifact.
Starting with this one, there are thirteen dancers in total, so twelve more massive magistones like this remain.
"And that head."
"Eek!"
Jang Hyun-deok recoiled, his face drained pale blue. He seemed to be undergoing a real-time sanity check. He'd barely passed, but an instinctive revulsion was still constraining his movements.
"I-I'm fine. Money... no, you don't even have to pay me. J-just... just send me back home."
"I appreciate that. But no."
"Huh?"
"I may not know much else, but I'll pay you. So load this into the car and take me to Geumchon."
"Ugh... Load this into the car...?"
"Don't you have a cart or something? With wheels."
"Well, yeah, but..."
"Go get it quick."
"Uh, that's..."
"Now! Don't you want to go home?"
"Y-yes, sir!"
Jang Hyun-deok bolted off—not so much to fetch his gear as to flee the scene. I was impressed he could run so well in the dark, but he tripped almost immediately. A brief commotion ensued when he screamed, mistaking it for me changing my mind and attacking, begging for mercy. In the end, I attached a magical light source to him.
Just in case, I watched his retreating figure for a moment. He shuffled along cautiously in an awkward stance... but at least he wouldn't fall again.
'Well... with our solid alliance, he won't run off alone.'
I turned back to inspect the dancers' corpses.
"Tch... I was gonna make Jang Hyun-deok do this, but with him like that, looks like I'm on my own."
The event prepared at the ruins was over, but I still had plenty left to do today.
I began spreading mana in all directions, using mana vibrations and telekinesis to...
[Touch from Another World]
Crack! Crunch! Boom!
I extracted magistones from the scattered dancers' corpses. Once more, golden scales and gems fluttered through the dark ruins, bathing everything in dazzling light.
* * *
It's been over fifty days since I started spending nights in the world of [Cthulhu World].
Fifty nights, fifty sleeps, fifty dreams—but not a single one granted me peace.
The horrific attention and influence from the outer gods seep into my mind, spawning nightmarish abominations... grotesque and terrifying.
Even now, I'm dreaming.
An endless barren desert, a vast lake, colossal spires visible beyond, the shadow of a great and majestic city.
And high above, two suns fading hazily in the sky.
Ancient spires standing against eternal sandstorms, the screams of fallen cities.
Blue lightning flickering eerily as it swims through the dreadful ruins.
"We are watching you."
Eerie whispers.
Endless rows of nameless tombstones.
Grotesque shapes crawling from beneath the ruins... moans, wails, howls.
A massive form rising from the deep underground, a blasphemous monster radiating malice just by existing.
Drums echo from somewhere.
Golden dancers with masks flipped backward,
Eyeless, mouthless, soulless abominations dancing grotesque steps to spread the gospel of the great king.
A slow, clumsy, ridiculous dance to horrific music.
"I rejected the feast."
At the center of it all, a bloated, repulsive shadow dwells.
Countless boneless limbs writhe on its enormous body.
A colossal nightmare pulsing with boundless power.
"I chose merely to observe you, visitor from the distant abyss."
A great soul beyond the language of any world, bearer of countless epithets, countless minds, countless wills, countless avatars—the truly exalted one, the truly wondrous one, the truly great one, the truly wise one.
Lord of Carcosa, dweller in Aldebaran, the one whose name must not be spoken, monk of the sunset, master of twilight, he who resides beneath the haughty lake, the rampaging one, the singular infinite great mind.
The [Yellow King] is watching you.
The king's yellow robes flutter in the skies of Carcosa.
The song of the Hyades echoes from afar...
Zzzzt-crackle.
[System: Exclusive trait 'Abyssal Madness' activated. Nullifies nightmare effects.]
"Ah, come on."
For a while, the [Living Flame] seemed fed up—its fiery madness nightmares had gone quiet.
Thanks to that, only Cthulhu's [R'lyeh Nightmares] kept repeating, and I'd just started getting used to them...
Now the Yellow King's channel got added to my nightmare subscription list.
This wasn't some streaming service...
Every time I tangle with abyssal beings, a new nightmare gets added.
"I never signed up for this shitty streaming crap..."
[Abyssal Madness] blocks it all, so no major issues... but it still pisses me off separately.
'Ugh, motion sickness...'
Should I hang up a dreamcatcher?
'Raising my mental fortitude stat might block this too.'
Three days had passed since I holed up in my room recovering after the mess with Jang Hyun-deok.
I'd considered resting one more day, but today was my meetup with Tudor.
I decided to get up.
Deciding... didn't mean I'd done it yet.
'Can't escape this bed.'
I'd barely secured a health stat of 8, but I'd wasted it, and now it was back to 7.
Below 8, you're short of the bare minimum for normal human activity. I need at least 8 to keep up this extreme, death-defying fixer life.
Even hitting 8 wouldn't flip the world upside down. It'd just bring me back to my pre-isekai self—that gaming shut-in Kim Shin-hwa, lying around playing games all day.
Why'd I have to enter as a wizard...? If I'd come in as the martial artist I was playing last, overflowing muscles and stamina would've let me do anything.
"Might as well close my eyes and dump all bonus stats into health from now on?"
No way.
I've never seen a wizard character with health or strength in the double digits.
'What am I thinking? If I have spare stats for strength, pump intelligence even one point higher.'
Realizing all things stem from muscles was enlightening, but defying the set schedule or flow was tough.
Maybe stumble on a good artifact by chance... would be nice if one just dropped from the sky.
The room looked a mess from my slanted view.
Glittering corpse chunks and cursed gems we'd gathered from the ruins three days ago littered the place amid junk and clothes.
A gruesome sight.
'Need to dispose of those soon too...'
But before getting up and changing, there was something more important to prep for going out.
Still lying down, I extended my hand.
Fizzzzzz...
A riot of colorful lights burst from my fingertips, scattering everywhere.
Doors, windows, walls, ceiling.
Hardening the flimsy door and windows, silence, detection jamming, concealment on artifacts and gems, electrocution and flame spells on instant activation upon approach.
Temporary security measures I could set right away.
A week of delivery food had my stomach churning.
On the way out today, I should grab something proper.
I grabbed a few gems and magistone chunks scattered around, then headed out—not through the downstairs front door as usual, but to the rooftop.
Outside, it was already late evening, the sun dipping low.
Around the building I stood on stretched others of similar height. Beyond them, the Paju skyline.
'Is this really another world?'
Every time I came up here, the same thoughts hit me. Really fake? Too real for virtual, too like reality for another world.
As if mocking my doubts, far off past the buildings, the edge of Hwaryeongsan and the giant bronze seated Buddha's head at Hwaryongsa peeked out.
'Real Paju doesn't have a creepy mega-statue like that.'
The distant Buddha wasn't the issue anyway.
The mask covering my face was where the unreal began.
"Haa..."
Yeah, what's the point of thinking like this. Time to head out.
[Leap]
A masked wizard under a curse rides a enchanted board into the air. I'd surpassed level 20. Unlocking tier 2 let me wield more spells, adding finer details to posture correction and leaps.
I spun 360 degrees mid-air with the board... no, just felt like it. Suddenly adding a few more spins, I landed.
No need to kick off—I entrusted myself to the skateboard gliding forward, weaving through Paju's dark back alleys.
'Today...'
Tudor messaged last night. Had a job worth my interest, asked me to stop by Basilissa. I could guess what it was.
I'd cleared five requests already.
If things followed the game's story beats, that quest would pop.
Brokers offered varying jobs, but fixed ones cycled regularly. High-level [Cthulhu World] players picked brokers not just by personality or trust, but by fixed quest quality and type.
Lost in those thoughts en route to Basilissa... something unexpected happened.
"Hey, hold up a sec."
Someone called out to me.
'Behind. Who?'
Suppressing mana to evade detection while prepping spells for instant cast, I turned my gaze.
A illegally parked car nearby.
I checked behind via its side mirror.
...A cop.
Even if Paju's a wild town, I'd gotten too complacent cruising around.
Bound to happen eventually.
Wandering back alleys in a mask? Suspicious as hell to anyone.
'Was just planning to sort the mask issue soon... talk about shitty timing.'
Rev the board and bolt?
No. More presences in detection range. Some weren't normal humans—like Lee Chang-hyuk or Kwak Dae-yong, with freakishly bulging mana.
Paju cops were tough enough. One with irregular vibes mixed in.
Starting a chase could spark unknown trouble.
To buy time, I pretended not to hear, hid my masked face, and turned direction.
Not expecting to slip away with such a cliché move.
Tier 1, maybe running was the only option—but tier 2 had usable spells. Still, can't cast them face-to-face.
Just one second with the mask out of that patrolman's sight.
"Hey, you! Stop right there!"
My attitude provoked him, it seemed. The politeness vanished, voice rising.
But simultaneously, I twisted sharply, fully breaking line of sight.
Now. I triggered the prepped spell.