Chapter 89
Chapter 89
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 89
Chapter Title: Starving Stone Chest (2)
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I drew a mana line from the mana core in my body and connected it to the hammer.
[Mana Weaponization: Recklessness]
A single strand of mana line grew rapidly, extending roots inside the hammer.
A complex mana circuit quickly took root within the hammer.
This, too, was a third-circle spell.
It had the effect of forcibly turning an ordinary tool into an artifact by infusing it with mana.
Of course, it couldn't be used forever like this. Since it was made by brute-forcing mana into it, the enchanted tool would eventually break down over time.
But that brief moment would be enough.
[Forged in Glacier]
Kwaduduk! Paddududuk!!
The mana infused in the hammer soon turned into a massive block of ice.
The resulting pillar of ice became the hammer's handle, and then its massive head.
Kuuuung!
In an instant, the ritual tool transformed into a weapon similar in size to the giant battle hammer that Gwak Dae-yong had wielded before.
"And..."
[Power Enhancement]
[Hardness Reinforcement]
[Attack Range Increase]
[Critical Hit Rate Boost]
[Explosive Strike]
[Vital Point Strike]
Kkigigigik...
It no longer resembled an ordinary hammer.
Due to the excessively concentrated mana, the hammer had grotesquely mutated, and magical formations that weren't originally there rose to the surface.
"Alright then..."
The stone chest thrashed about with undiminished ferocity, trying to escape the wraiths.
Its tenacity was such that more than half of the arms wrapping around it had already dissipated.
Now, as for routes I could take against that bastard...
There were about five.
Smashing it outright, sending it to another dimension, removing the lingering spirits to turn it into a normal artifact...
But the most useful long-term option was this one.
"First, smash!"
Even with the enchantments, my strength of 8 had clear limits.
So, I pulled in a few of the wraith arms tangled with its body and made them swing the hammer alongside me.
Kwaaaaaang!
A massive ice hammer swung like a flash of light.
The stone chest, entangled in the wraiths' grip, couldn't dodge and took the hit dead-on.
The impact must have been tremendous, as the hefty stone chest rocked and floated into the air.
'Yeah, with all those buffs on my body, it has to pack at least this much punch.'
The stone chest, bounced back by the single blow, sprang forward again to attack me, but...
Paaaak!
Kwang! Kwagwak! Kwajik, Kwaaaaaang!
After that, it was just indiscriminate pummeling.
Every time I swung the hammer, it sounded like a mountain was collapsing.
The stone chest couldn't put up much resistance and rolled around inside the basement multiple times.
Yet, with unyielding tenacity, it charged at me again.
"Then take some more!"
Kwaaang!! Kwageok! Kwang!
"Huff... huff... Yeah, this body's not cut out for this kind of thing."
Even with all those buffs, it was this exhausting... Truth be told, part of it was testing out third-circle buffs.
I concluded that I shouldn't do this kind of thing even if other buffs appeared.
But amid all that, the stone chest kept flying at me without tiring.
"Too tiring! Inefficient too!"
Kwaaaaaang!!
Kwajangchang! Warureuk! Wararak!
"Oh, crap..."
The flung stone chest crashed right into a shelf stacked with potion bottles.
The bottles tumbled down, clattering loudly and spewing multicolored, unpleasant smoke. And then...
Kwang!! Peong! Kwakwang!!
I didn't know what effects they had, but some of the potion bottles started exploding.
"Whoa, what a mess. Want more?"
It seemed the stone chunk was finally realizing it couldn't beat me.
Instead of charging again, it took a different action.
Padduduk... Ppudukppuduk...
Unable to make a voice, the stone chest grated its lid against itself, producing a stone-grinding sound.
It was similar to a beast growling.
"What're you gonna do, growl at me?!"
After a few more hits, the stone chest was completely cowed.
It had lost the will to resist and become docile, but that wasn't enough.
If I just wanted to subdue it, there were plenty of ways without the hassle of beating it.
I extended my hand toward the stone chest and activated my trait.
[Hidden Trait 'Heir of the Corpse Pile' has been activated.]
This wasn't magic.
It was a hidden trait I'd gained by absorbing 'Echo of Asphyxiation' taken from Heo Joo.
****
[Heir of the Corpse Pile]: You can turn aberrant beings that have submitted to you into subordinates.
/The minions who follow the Leader of Asphyxiation shall obey you.
****
Chwarararuk- Shwiriririk-.
Magical reins and chains extended from the 'Echo of Asphyxiation' nestled in my soul, wrapping around the stone chest.
['Magical Storage - Starving Stone Chest' resists your trait with mental strength.]
[Submission judgment in progress...]
[Judgment successful! 'Magical Storage - Starving Stone Chest' recognizes the 'Echo of Asphyxiation' within you and submits to your power.]
Paaat-.
The magical formations on the stone chest's surface writhed and began to change shape.
Ultimately, they transformed into patterns reflecting the form of my soul and mana signature.
Now, this stone chest was mine.
[Achievement unlocked! You have subdued 'Magical Storage - Starving Stone Chest'. You have obtained 'Achievement: Magic Box'.]
[As an achievement reward, you obtain all items stored inside the chest and gain additional experience.]
Now, the emotions I sensed from it were fear, submission, frustration, mild anger... something like that.
"What, it's not like I'm taming a wild horse..."
But this stone chest was fully tamed. I'll use you as my safe.
"Hey, open up."
The stone chest flinched. Its shape wasn't easy to anthropomorphize, but... I felt surprise, or rather, a guilty start.
"Open it. I'm your master now."
The stone chest trembled for a moment before slowly opening its lid.
Squeak...
Inside the gaping maw... no, the lid, there was a large space big enough to cram two or three people if needed.
And the items stored within radiated dazzling light, welcoming me.
"Hmm, yeah, this is definitely to my liking."
The bone old man's 150 years of accumulated wealth was now all mine.
Come to think of it, didn't I once ramble about achieving financial freedom after saving up a few hundred million or something?
"Hey, past Kim Shin-hwa. Shame on you. Be ashamed."
Tonight, I could sleep like a baby dreaming of counting money.
* * *
A day passed.
[System: Exclusive Trait 'Madness of the Abyss' is activated. Nightmare effects are nullified.]
"Ugh... my head hurts..."
I hadn't slept properly, and my head throbbed.
"Ah, feels like I got hammered last night."
I'd tossed and turned because of the horrific nightmare that returned after a long absence.
It was because I'd lost the Ancient God's Bright Mirror to Heo Sang-hyeon, which had been blocking the nightmares.
I'd tried not to think about it deeply, but recalling it now brought a flicker of irritation.
I glared up at the second floor where Heo Sang-hyeon was sleeping.
"Tsk..."
Yeah, it wasn't Heo Sang-hyeon's fault.
From the moment I'd decided to save him, this nightmare was as good as my choice.
I let out a short sigh and started on the plan I'd made last night.
Kiririk! Kkigak! Kkigik!
Eerie noises echoed from all directions.
They came from the death spirit golems cleaning the mansion.
Today was big cleaning day.
[Gloriously Starving Mansion], my new base since yesterday.
This was the living room on the first floor.
"Yeah, move that over there. Hey, that won't work. Get a rag and wipe the floor first."
Kiririk, kkirik, kyak, kkiruruk.
As soon as I'd shaken off the nightmare, I'd awakened all the death spirit golems in the mansion.
Monsters born to attack mansion intruders, but now they were workers improving the living conditions.
For efficiency, I'd even readjusted some golems' bodies.
Like that one over there, with a feather duster and broom instead of a hand.
The four-armed death spirit golem was rearranging a decorative shelf with scattered trinkets, while the large-bodied one moved the sofa.
Others were cleaning windows, waxing corridors, mending curtains, and so on...
Nearly half a day of cleaning, but the living room and corridors still hadn't fully escaped their gloomy atmosphere.
"Well, it's a ghost house that's been festering for 150 years... No, that's not an order. Keep at it."
The Gloriously Starving Mansion was an evil space brimming with 150 years of accumulated madness and阴 energy.
No amount of one or two days of hard cleaning would turn it into a cozy country home overnight.
Taking that into account and lowering expectations, if I looked around again... I could barely say the mansion was starting to look somewhat clean.
Death spirit golems of various shapes bustled inside the mansion.
And as they moved diligently, unpleasant noises produced by the golems echoed from every corner.
Kiririk, kkigik, kkigigik! Kkigik kkigik!
'Not exactly music to the ears.'
Given their junk-built bodies, it seemed impossible to eliminate the noise without major fixes.
Maybe tweak the drive system? Or add bearings to the joints...
But there were still mountains of things to sort first.
For example... the second floor.
I climbed the stairs to the second floor.
There were four rooms total on the second floor.
And stairs leading up from there.
Those led to an attic that was barely a third floor.
But the attic was meaningless in the game too.
'Just one infiltration route above the attic?'
Above the attic was the roof, with a window leading there somehow.
I'd used it once infiltrating the mansion in the game. Probably just for varied play experiences.
Anyway, no spare effort for that irrelevant attic.
Prioritize the first floor, second floor, and basement. Those alone were nearly 200 pyeong.
Plus, I'd crashed roughly yesterday, but to sleep comfortably today, I needed to clear the second floor fast.
Bugs with human-face patterns on their torsos, lingering wraiths making creepy noises, fully skeletonized corpses under the bed.
Honestly, even without abyssal beings, it wasn't a place for normal sleep.
"Hmm, doing good here too."
On the second floor, two or three death spirit golems bustled, tidying each room.
I was checking the space I'd mentally claimed as my room when I glanced at the next one.
"Hmm... but what to do with this guy..."
Heo Sang-hyeon was sleeping in this room.
One death spirit golem was busily cleaning, but Heo Sang-hyeon lay utterly still.
To the point... he wasn't even breathing.
Deathly pale complexion, deep shadows under his eyes, an instinctive aura of death.
I circulated mana briefly to check his status.
[System: Heavenly Pure Essence effect is active.
// Heavenly Pure Essence: Automatically casts 'Healing Meditation' on the designated target and increases rest effects by 100%.]
In truth, he was long dead.
A soul forcibly bound to the body by necromancy.
Now, the bright mirror around his neck was forcibly preventing his soul from passing on.
Not alive, but not fully dead either—an ambiguous state.
"I can't sleep without that thing."
The bright mirror blocking Heo Sang-hyeon's passing.
To sleep comfortably, I needed that, not room cleaning.
It wasn't made to keep Heo Sang-hyeon like this in the first place.
It was to block the recurring nightmares every night.
What to do? Just tough out another nightmare tonight?
Or start hustling right now to make a replacement?