Chapter 86
Chapter 86
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: Transfer of Ownership (1)
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[Achievement Unlocked! You have made the 'Hungry Manor' your stronghold. You have obtained the 'Rare Achievement: People Live in a House Like This?']
[As an achievement reward, you gain the exclusive trait 'Master of the Haunted House' and bonus experience points.]
[Exclusive trait 'Master of the Haunted House' activated.]
[The magic, curses, and familiars bound to the manor have had their ownership transferred to you.]
Kiiiiing....
The magic dwelling within the manor slowly began connecting to me.
It was a very special perk, one you couldn't get from any ordinary house bought with money.
Now, anyone who wanted to pick a fight with me would have to overcome the same obstacles I'd broken through just to invade this manor.
Of course, with the abyssal entity's influence gone, some things might change or weaken, but I could compensate for or reinforce them with my own magic.
'I'll turn it into a house of horrors that truly no one can enter...'
[Astonishing Achievement Unlocked! You have stolen the power of a great old one from the bastard child of 'He Who Comes from the Dark.' You have obtained the 'Mythic Achievement: Heir of the Corpse Pile.']
[As an achievement reward, you gain the hidden trait 'Heir of the Corpse Pile' and bonus experience points.]
This was the superior trait to [Bastard of the Corpse Pile], which the manor's previous owner, Heo Joo, had possessed: [Heir of the Corpse Pile].
It was a decent ability, but like [Abyss Madness], this trait came with a similar penalty.
[Hidden trait 'Heir of the Corpse Pile' activated. 'Madness - Murderous Impulse,' 'Madness - Bizarre Rituals,' 'Madness - Dual Personalities,' 'Madness - Partial Amnesia,' 'Madness - Grotesque Tastes,' 'Madness - Altar Obsession' have been imposed on your mind.]
Six madnesses as a penalty... This was basically telling players not to bother.
There had been exactly one time before.
I'd subdued Heo Joo and obtained [Heir of the Corpse Pile] in exactly the same way as now.
Back then, without abilities like I have today, I'd suffered endlessly to acquire it. But along with the reward came those six madnesses.
I couldn't handle them and was forced to quit playing. Honestly, if I'd just quit Cthulhu World entirely back then, I wouldn't be in this mess now....
Anyway, it was an achievement trait with horribly poor efficiency. That's why I never repeated the same actions after that.
But things were different now.
Pachijijijik!!!
Blue sparks erupted from my temples.
[System: Exclusive trait 'Abyss Madness' activated. The madness imposed on your mind has been dispelled.]
This was it.
Now I could skip the penalty and reap the benefits.
[System: There are still unexplored areas within the stronghold. Investigate the entire manor to claim the remaining rewards.]
'I can sort that out slowly.'
[Experience Bonus: You have achieved a total of (3) achievements in the Hungry Manor.]
[You have accumulated enough experience to reach the next level. Level increased by 1.]
[You are now level 31!
Level-up reward: Gained (1) bonus stat point to freely allocate.]
I put the bonus stat into mental fortitude without hesitation.
Unless something unexpected came up, I'd prioritize mental fortitude next time too.
My goal was pure 16, then add a +2 mental fortitude artifact later to hit 20.
'Well, if I get other artifacts first, I'll rethink it.'
[Sufficient experience accumulated. 3rd-tier spellcasting unlocked. Note that to properly use 3rd-tier spells, you will need a grimoire containing 3rd-tier spells or relevant training.]
[System: 'Spell Mastery' trait activated. Automatically acquires basic spells in the 3rd tier.]
3rd-tier unlocking added usable spells, but compared to the numbers available in 1st and 2nd tiers, it was pathetically few.
From now on, the number of what could be called basic spells would noticeably dwindle.
But it wasn't a big problem. After level 30, the number of grimoires and unique spells I could acquire would skyrocket instead.
Securing a proper stronghold at this stage was crucial for that.
In the end, my specs looked like this.
****
Kim Shin-hwa
Class: Abyss-Gazing Mage
Level: 31
Spell Tier: 3rd
Madness: [Mask Obsession]. [Ichthyophobia]
Strength 5(+3) (Ring of Fallen Flame)
Vitality 7
Agility 8
Intelligence 30
Mental Fortitude 15(+2) (Necklace of the Body Snatcher)
Charisma 18
****
"Is this finally wrapped up?"
Just settling the quests had taken a while.
Once dawn broke, I'd head to Geumchon-dong, grab the stuff I'd hidden in my one-room, and this hellish moving operation would be over.
"Ah, of course, I still need to handle registration and pay Tudor his fee...."
Magical ownership was mine now, but this world had courts and deeds too.
With the previous owner dead, there'd be some tricky legal loose ends, but brokers or shadow merchants lurking in Paju's back alleys could sort that out.
As the message windows cluttering my view finally cleared and I could shift my gaze elsewhere, a new message appeared.
[System: Familiars - 'Spectral Golems' request mana. Per the established contract, the requested amount of mana is automatically transmitted to the familiars.]
And my mana was automatically sucked away.
[System: Familiars - 'Spectral Golems' request mana. Per the established contract, the requested amount of mana is automatically transmitted to the familiars.]
With Heo Joo's possessions transferred to me, problems I hadn't needed to manage before cropped up.
My mana kept draining away.
"Right, the magical ownership transfer isn't fully done yet."
The direction my mana was flowing to was....
The first floor.
[System: Familiars - 'Spectral Golems' request mana. Per the established contract....]
"You crazy bastards, stop taking it!"
I hurriedly dashed down to the first floor.
* * *
Kkigik.... Kkigigigik....
The state of the first floor was a sight to behold.
Traces of battle remained untouched, but the biggest issue was right there....
[System: Familiars - 'Spectral Golems' request mana.]
Kkigigik.... Kkigigigik....
The spectral golems.
With the manor's owner, Heo Joo, gone, everything left in the manor became mine.
That naturally included the spectral golems he'd commanded.
The problem was that ownership transfer didn't change their current state.
Kkirik.... Kkigik.... Kkik.... Kkigigik.... Kkik.... Kkajik, ppajak! Kkwajajak, wajajak!
"Ah, so damn noisy!"
These spectral golems were made of random junk, furniture, and fixtures.
Every movement came with creaks and crunches.
All of them were jammed into a single wall beside the living room, attacking each other in unnatural poses.
Most even had fireballs stuck to their bodies, burning away.
So even left alone, they'd destroy themselves.
Once damaged beyond a threshold, the spectral golems began self-repair procedures per protocol.
Naturally, it wasn't free.
[System: Familiars - 'Spectral Golems' request mana. Per the established contract, the requested amount of mana is automatically transmitted to the familiars.]
Another huge chunk of mana drained away.
"Haa...."
Who was to blame?
I'd created this situation myself.
'First, put out the fires.'
Snap!
I snapped my fingers, extinguishing the magical flames on their bodies.
That alone drastically cut the reckless mana drain.
"Now to get them out of the wall...."
I'd doused the flames, but the spectral golems were still stuck.
Kkigik, kkigik.... Kkik.... Kkik....
Regrettably, impossible.
They weren't physically embedded in the wall.
Wall clipping.
That classic 3D game bug.
In this manor—and in the [Cthulhu World]—there were walls and objects that looked solid but could be passed through as if intangible for some reason.
Veteran players memorized those spots to shortcut paths.
But overuse was forbidden.
Among those 'glitches,' some could trap you midway, rendering you immobile.
Kwak! Kkwajik! Kkwajajak!
Struggling to escape the wall, they collided with each other, wrecking themselves further.
Then self-repair.
[System: Familiars - 'Spectral Golems' request mana.]
Stop taking it!
"What the hell was Heo Joo thinking, using trash like this....?"
Including the downgraded corpse golems, there were thirty of these things.
His patron [He Who Comes from the Dark] had supplied endless mana, sure....
"He maintained this insane system somehow."
This was why, in the recent fight, Heo Joo couldn't fight properly even with mana from an abyssal entity like [He Who Comes from the Dark].
From his perspective, it must've seemed like an inexhaustible well.
That's how he kept this inefficient setup running.
But any minor issue turned it into this mess.
"Anyway, enough commentary."
I had to solve the problem of these spectral golems draining my mana nonstop.
I channeled mana toward the spectral golems and formed hand seals.
Paaaat!
Dozens of large and small magic circles floated up around me.
Intricately complex symbols and blasphemous runes combined into magic circles that orbited each other or spun independently, interacting in myriad ways.
I surveyed the dazzling display and directed my mana.
Ziiing....
Several magic circles flew to my side.
They synchronized with my will.
"Let's see... connected?"
I touched a nearby magic circle with my finger and issued a command.
"Stop."
Tap.
The spectral golems, thrashing in their awkward ways, halted all at once.
A scene that could be called eerie.
But facing it, I felt only delight.
Like getting a massive toy box.
I examined the magic circles further and issued a new command.
"Disassemble."
The instant the order went out, the bonds holding the spectral golems' components together unraveled.
Meaning all the junk clinging to the wall came crashing down at once.
Warruruk!! Crash clang! Ding clatter....
"Good, simple enough. Though some broke."
Now for the fun reassembly time.