Chapter 87
Chapter 87
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 87
Chapter Title: Transfer of Ownership (2)
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They'd reverted to junk, but the spectral golems weren't completely destroyed. Normally, they stayed scattered around the house as miscellaneous items, reassembling and activating only on command or when enemies intruded.
That said, the parts fused into the walls were still embedded there. The central wall now had random ornaments and saw blades jutting out awkwardly.
'No helping that.'
I couldn't extract the fixtures stuck in the walls.
Even in [Cthulhu World], there were hardly any ways to retrieve items jammed into walls.
"The easiest fix would be a reboot, of course."
If I could reboot, I would've done it already.
The remaining options were loading from a previous save point or deleting the character and starting over from scratch....
None of which I could attempt right now.
So I decided to abandon the wall-stuck parts.
I'd leave them locked in the walls and reconstitute the rest using only the salvageable pieces.
This method wouldn't work for golems whose cores were trapped, though.
"Whatever, ditch those ones."
The numbers would drop a lot, but I wasn't running some mobster wizard build that dragged around hordes of summons anyway.
'Before reconstituting, fix this inefficient spell formula that's draining mana like crazy.'
I tinkered with a nearby magic circle, resetting the spell formulas that formed the spectral golems' bodies.
Touching and manipulating the glowing magic circles floating in the air, I couldn't help but recall an SF movie I'd seen before getting trapped in this world.
It really was similar.
I dragged the magic circles to resize them, spun them, flung them, pulled them back.
I'd never learned how to handle and reconstitute these spell formulas.
But it wasn't hard. I'd master them in no time.
"It's basically like coding, anyway."
It felt like code for operating robots.
Of course, I'd never even seen robot code, let alone any programming.
But reading these spell formulas made me think I could understand how real-world robots were controlled and managed.
'A bit of practice, and I could probably code myself.'
I'd only toyed with the formulas briefly.
Just infusing them with mana and tweaking the structure slightly let me grasp how to wield, control, and adjust them.
"Like this, roughly...."
Guuuuung....
The spell formula warped at my will, and mana began flowing along the newly forged paths.
"Oh, it works. Now I get it for sure."
High intelligence really let me do anything.
If I'd maxed strength instead.... Well, that'd be convenient in its own way, but this was the kind of task no other stat could touch.
"Even if I return to the original world, I hope the intelligence stat sticks."
Honestly, I wasn't even asking for magic.
Even if I lost my magic powers going back to reality, wasn't there a way to keep the intelligence stat?
This ability to never forget anything I'd seen once and comprehend anything instantly was incredible.
The speed of understanding, analyzing, and learning was unreal.
I quickly pinpointed the issues in the spell formulas.
But instead of just patching the obvious spots, I decided to review a broader scope.
The spell formulas animating the spectral golems looked like intricately functioning machinery.
Each formula and mana pattern moved organically, forming a complementary structure....
But as the saying goes, knowledge reveals flaws. The higher my comprehension, the more improvements I spotted.
No, it was worse than that....
"What the hell? This is total garbage."
It only looked decent on the surface.
In reality, it was wildly inefficient, patched-together nonsense riddled with meaningless ritualistic decorations and useless flourishes that hampered efficiency.
No wonder they moved so sloppily.
The contingency patterns for emergencies were pathetically underdeveloped too.
There were pre-scripted responses, but they were as rote and rigid as some old-game NPC.
"What the hell did they do for 150 years?"
A few tweaks could've made them way more efficient and intelligent, so why leave it such a mess?
'I was just gonna fix the arbitrary mana-guzzling parts, but....'
In the end, I spent more time than planned overhauling the spell formulas.
Each check and improvement sparked new ideas.
Inspiration kept flowing.
I ended up rebuilding everything except the basic framework.
It took effort, but it was worth it.
And this wasn't the end. The knowledge I'd gained could apply to other fields too.
I could probably create something entirely new, never seen in [Cthulhu World] before.
No need to stick to this form either—something lighter on resources....
"Tch, but I can't spend all day on this...."
Anyway, I'd achieved my goal. Fixed the glaring errors, improved safeguards, and completely redesigned the inefficient parts.
Mana consumption dropped to a tenth, and golem intelligence nearly tripled.
"For now, that's it."
I extended both hands, pushing the magic circles outward.
The floating arrays synced with my gesture, scattering toward the junk strewn everywhere.
And reboot.
No—awakening.
"Rise."
Krik, krririk. Kaduduk.
The crumbled spectral golems began reassembling in perfect unison, standing tall.
Quite the spectacle.
The count was down sharply.
'Thirteen, huh.'
Of all numbers. It meant nothing now, but the trauma from my ordeal lingered, so it didn't sit well.
The reduction wasn't a big deal. I could make more if needed.
That said, unless something urgent came up, I probably wouldn't bother with this golem design again.
I'd leveled a necromancer character before; replicating these took massive time and resources.
Especially the engine, or whatever—the core required specially refined human souls.
Plus other horrific materials that society wouldn't tolerate.
Why bother when I could run something better with less cost and risk?
Besides... thirteen was already overkill.
They'd just guard the house for the foreseeable future anyway.
"Alright, mana drain looks stable now...."
Movements normal too.
"Good. No need for you right now, so scatter."
Waruruk...! Urrr!
The golems disintegrated again, reverting to furniture and fixtures throughout the mansion.
I surveyed the now-silent living room once more.
The golems were cleared, but the room was still a disaster beyond that. Singed ceiling from the flame magic. Eyesore junk protruding from walls. Furniture scattered haphazardly.
Those were issues, but bigger problems loomed.
Dust piled up over years of infamy as a haunted house, yin energy, malevolent mana, lingering spirits.
Fine for an undead den, but not yet livable for a breathing, eating human.
"I'd love to clean, but there's still stuff to handle."
I stirred my mana and snapped my fingers.
[Invisible Hand]
Booooong!
Invisible hands materialized around me.
They flew to a corner of the living room, dragging a slumped figure back to my side.
"Hmm...."
Some humanoid thing, clutched by the transparent hands.
Heo Sang-hyun.
Heo Sang-hyun was unconscious, limp as a rag.
I checked the [Mirror of the Ancient God] hanging around his neck.
[Mirror of the Ancient God (A-rank accessory): A mirror made for communing with divine beings, now infused with an Ancient God's influence. It suppresses evil energies and wards off calamities.
Heavenly Thunderbolt Insight: Blocks possession effects and reduces otherworldly influences.
Heavenly Rights Foresight: Grants vision in darkness with 100% enhanced eyesight.
Heavenly Immortal Essence: Auto-casts 'Healing Meditation' on target and boosts rest effects by 100%.
Heavenly Devil's Whisper: Auto-casts 'Powerful Hallucination' on target and heightens sensitivity to mana or divine power.
*Maker: Kim Shin-hwa
*Further enhancement possible]
Who'd have thought this stopgap for deep sleep would pull so much weight.
The moment Heo Sang-hyun attacked me, it triggered Heavenly Devil's Whisper, injecting hallucinations.
That let me fool Heo Joo, who was getting intel from the first floor.
"What do I even do with this guy?"
This wasn't in the plan.
In [Cthulhu World], he'd automatically ascend around now. No need to agonize—just wish him well.
But with the incident wrapped up, Heo Sang-hyun was still alive.
And....
"Ownership and control? Over this guy?"
Just like the golems and the mansion, I'd gained rights to command and control Heo Sang-hyun.
Analyzing his status, the message windows, and mansion data, I pieced it together.
"So... the mirror's way more OP than I thought, huh?"
Heo Sang-hyun was originally dead.
He'd come to Paju from out of town after inheriting the mansion, met Heo Joo, and died.
Heo Joo, needing an assistant for his rituals and a social facade, revived him as an undead by shoving his departed soul back into the corpse.
That's why he ascended when Heo Joo died and the spells unraveled.
The problem? The mirror's anti-possession power was now preventing his soul from leaving the body.
And the lingering spells on his flesh kept running, automatically transferring ownership and control to me.
"So structurally... removing the mirror kills him right away?"
Keep it on, and he lingers longer.
One more wrinkle: he wasn't made like the golems.
"This... isn't creation—it's more like contracting a familiar."
The contract formula let me control his will and thoughts, but basically, he operated autonomously on his own consciousness.
Meaning Heo Sang-hyun had been aware this whole time.
He'd been luring in fixers on Heo Joo's orders.
Evil deeds, sure... but did that make Heo Sang-hyun evil?
Forced to drag in victims without choice, then watch them disassembled or sacrificed.
I scratched my head, then issued a command to a nearby piece of furniture.
"Hey, get up. Just one."
Furniture around me flew into motion at the order.
Kaduduk, paduk, kiririk!
One spectral golem swiftly formed a humanoid frame and approached.
"Take this guy and tuck him into a bed upstairs."
I pointed at Heo Sang-hyun.
Kiririk.
The golem nodded silently, hoisted the limp body, and headed to the second floor.
"I'll chat with him when he wakes up, I guess."
Might as well keep him around; he could be useful.
That about wrapped up the urgent cleanup?
I strolled slowly through the first floor again, eyeing the living room, hallway, parlor.
'The old-school interior's a downside, but that's fixable with some redecorating.'
The mansion suited me fine.
'Should check the basement too....'
I headed toward it, thinking that.
Then....
[System: There are still unexamined areas inside the base. Investigate the entire mansion to claim remaining rewards.]
"Well, well?"
It was the message from right after the achievement.
The once-displayed prompt had reappeared.
As if urging me on.