Chapter 72
Chapter 72
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: Unexpected Gains
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Over the scorched and excavated ground lingered a sinister purple magical energy.
It was the otherworldly power summoned by those parasites through their ritual.
Normally, it would have scattered in all directions the moment I crashed their ceremony, but this energy clung tenaciously to the earth.
Probably because it didn't come from some run-of-the-mill entity.
'As the saying goes, even farm work's best done on a lord's estate, huh?'
The one dwelling at the universe's origin.
The most innocent and pure being born from the chaos boiling in the abyss's deepest depths.
Just uttering its name curses you with an formless evil.
[Blind and Foolish One]
A strange epithet for what amounted to a final boss.
'Can't be helped. It's less a willful deity and more a concept or law unto itself.'
That's why borrowing its power isn't as hard as you'd think.
For races from other realms not born with special bodies or minds, controlling it or paying the price is impossible, sure...
Even I don't know how to dispel this profound, immense power.
Sure, there's the spell [Banish Authority] that repels outer gods' influence, but that's just a basic incantation with clear limits.
'I might learn something fancier from a grimoire later... but basic magic won't cut it.'
No, wait... what if I don't dispel it?
What if I absorb and control it... or store it somewhere?
Actually, there is a way.
The wriggling flesh lumps still twitching nearby.
Temporary magical creatures I'd conjured with my own mana, short-lived as they were. What if I fed them this power?
Of course, since the ritual cut off midway, the remaining energy's density was quite low.
A mere faint ripple compared to the real thing, but... if I could wield it, the applications would be endless.
'My pet lumps might get wrecked in the process... but they're not long for this world anyway...'
Not my first rodeo.
I'd experimented similarly in the game a few times, so I knew the theory. Granted, back then I had dedicated artifacts or matching traits. It wouldn't be easy.
But on the flip side, it wasn't harder than turning that mutant Lee Changhyuk—back when he was low-level—human again.
Still, safety first.
Fortunately, amid the chaos, the parasites' magic circles and ritual traces remained. I placed mana stones extracted from their bodies around the area, reviving their ritual.
Then I ordered the flesh lumps to merge into one and activated several magic circles.
In an instant, multicolored arrays filled the warehouse interior.
The parasites' circles would serve as safeguards alongside mine.
[Banish Authority]
Not to scatter the gathered power.
The energy was too dense and thick for me to manipulate or assimilate directly—I needed to dilute it first.
Zzzzzz...
My mana overlaid the great being's power.
The magic circles blazed to life in unison.
[Evil Gaze]
I invoked the evil gaze to impose my influence on the malevolent entity.
The direction was a bit off, so I manually adjusted the incompatible parts, reshaping it into exactly what I needed right now.
The power I aimed to control was pure, directionless force, stripped of will.
Obey my command.
From now on, I am your master.
Woooooong...
The purple mana began to churn.
Good, it's working.
I raised the Butcher's Hook in my hand.
[Absorb Essence]
Whooooosh...
The pooled otherworldly mana swirled into a vortex, passing through the dozens of layered magic circles I'd made.
The power flowed in massive rings, slowly transforming before getting sucked into the Butcher's Hook in my grip.
"It's... incredibly... heavy..."
The parasites had worshiped the [Blind and Foolish One] since before humanity walked the Earth.
They possessed innate traits to handle this mana.
That's why they'd used this heavy magic for their reproduction rites. But I lacked such traits. I had to manage it solely with my mana control and affinity.
[The presence of the Great Old Ones shakes your mind. If you can't withstand this influence... you will become someone entirely different from who you were.]
[Mental strength stat attempts resistance against the outer gods' influence. Sanity check... failed.]
That must've been one hell of a high-difficulty check.
Most would've failed outright.
Pachijijik!! Pachijijijik!!! Pachachwajik!!!
Blue sparks erupted from my crown again, fiercer than ever.
[System: Exclusive trait 'Abyssal Madness' activates. Changes sanity check result to success.]
I'd griped about it plenty, but... [Abyssal Madness] was the real cheat trait. It upended the core principles of [Cthulhu World]'s difficulty.
It worked. I could now gather and control the mana around me. If I wanted, I could unleash absurd destruction or miracles that warp physical laws with it.
'But no immediate use for it right now.'
Anyway, I needed somewhere to store this mana.
Conveniently, I had just the thing. The flesh lump that had absorbed the parasites' bodies, genetic info, mana, and unique traits.
It had every chance to develop organs or traits to accommodate the [Blind and Foolish One]'s mana.
I broke the concentrated mana back down and slowly infused it into the flesh lump.
The lump absorbed the new life force and mana, beginning to break down.
It turned into flowing mana itself, scattering into frothy bubbles of light... then reconstituted into physical flesh.
It was... an egg the size of my palm.
"An egg?"
Looking closer, it wasn't something to dismiss as just an egg.
It resembled a tiny mass of tangled, compressed human body parts. A small ovoid body with what looked like crumpled, embossed human features in a grotesque relief.
And it was a small creature with warm body heat, harboring vast potential—an egg after all.
...Fancy words, but yeah, an egg.
First time making one of these?
No tooltip either. What the hell did I just create?
...Beats me.
I'd have to investigate properly back home.
"Anyway, that's that?"
Time to head out.
Stepping outside the warehouse, Chae Taewon was waiting.
"Where's the young lady?"
"In the car."
Chae Taewon replied with a troubled expression.
Peering into the car, I saw Jeong Hyeona in the back seat. Checking her state, I understood his look.
Jeong Hyeona stared blankly into space, hypnosis unbroken.
"Ah, that's nothing serious."
"Could you possibly help?"
Plenty of ways to wake her. But that'd lack drama.
"Too tricky here. Let's head back to the chairman first—might get dicey otherwise. I have a method once things settle."
"Mm... Understood."
No harm to her body. It was like deep sleep mentally, so another 30 minutes wouldn't hurt. I'd wake her in front of Cheongho.
We returned to Cheongho's countryside villa on Paju's outskirts.
Yang Seoho and the police were still in standoff with the Triad's goons. Looked like a few clashes happened while we were gone. Both sides seemed drained.
Yang Seoho, though, was still full of pep. Amid the exhaustion plaguing everyone else, she bellowed steadfastly.
"Ah, Cheongho! Give it up already!!! You think I'm doing this for fun?!!"
Truth be told, if Yang Seoho had gone all out, they wouldn't have lasted five minutes, let alone held. Hell, if serious, she could've demolished the whole villa.
Mobsters or not, they were Korean citizens—ultimately under her protection.
Chae Taewon approached the melee's heart.
"The young lady's back! Stand down!"
Yang Seoho tilted her head at his words, then aimed her megaphone at him.
"What?!!!"
The blaring shockwave rattled the car windows.
Chae Taewon winced and faltered slightly but held his dignified poise.
"It means the situation's over. The young lady's returned, and we no longer require your services."
Yang Seoho turned impassively toward the car—where Jeong Hyeona and I were.
"Ah, I see. Someone's in there? Mind if I take a closer look?"
"No."
"Really?"
Yang Seoho scratched her chin, scowling. Scary lady. I got Chae Taewon's stance, but bad call.
It'd just create another deadlock. Ugh, no good... Before she escalated, I cast the spell I'd fooled her with once before.
[Tangled Identity]
[Fuzzy Presence]
[Gentle Whisper]
An illusion mimicking another's face overlaid my mask. Once the magical mirage settled, the rearview mirror showed a stranger's face.
A bland, unremarkable one—no standout features even if you squinted—fine-tuned via magic into a hazy image. With my hoodie pulled up, I stepped out.
"Who's that?"
"Supervisor, wouldn't it be best to head out now?"
"Why should I?"
"Because we rescued the young lady—which means we subdued her kidnappers."
"...Where are those bastards?"
"In a warehouse by the old publishing district. Stand down, and I'll give the exact address."
"Tell me now."
"After you stand down?"
Yang Seoho scowled again, then yelled at the cops behind her.
"Looks like our great Republic of Korea's little darling made it back safe!!! Let's celebrate this joyous occasion with some applause and withdraw!!!!"
Clap clap clap clap clap.
The cops' sour-faced clapping nearly brought tears. The people's shield suffering under that madwoman...
Once they began withdrawing, I gave Yang Seoho the address.
"I'm swamped today, so I'll let it slide... but third time's not the charm. You might actually get wrecked."
Yang Seoho grumbled a mix of formal speech, slang, and threats as she retreated.
That "third time" bit suggested her grudge was with me, not Cheongho.
"Do whatever."
No plans to meet again anyway.
...But if we did, better craft a new face.