Chapter 91
Chapter 91
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 91
Chapter Title: Cleanup
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[The moment I donned the mask molded from a dead man's face.]
A message window appeared.
[The whispers of the souls trapped in the mask begin to echo.]
[The penalty function of A-rank accessory 'Mask of the Departed', 'Lunacy of Pure Silver', activates.
// Lunacy of Pure Silver: A random madness takes hold, and you become possessed by the spirits trapped in the mask.]
Strange noises definitely started to echo.
'Come down, come into the darkness.'
'Descend to the deep underground.'
'Join us. Shed that uncomfortable flesh and walk the deep underground with us.'
'Down, down, ride the endlessly descending spiral staircase down.]
Unpleasant, creepy voices whispered endlessly at my soul.
[Those eerie whispers may reshape your soul and body into forms more suited to the darkness.]
[Mental Fortitude stat attempts to resist the 'Curse of the Departed' generated by the mask. Sanity check... failed.]
If this failed, I'd be possessed by Heo Joo's father trapped in the mask and turn into a cultist worshiping abyssal entities.
But that had nothing to do with me.
"I can't hear you, I can't hear you, I can't hear you...."
I scratched around my collarbone, waiting for my trait to activate.
[System: Exclusive trait 'Madness of the Abyss' activates. Changes the sanity check result to success.]
"Good job."
The message window vanished without any further messages.
In the old mirror hanging on one wall of the living room, I could see myself wearing the mask.
A mad wizard who had lost his own face and borrowed the face of the dead.
I activated another ability dwelling in the mask.
[The unique function of A-rank accessory 'Mask of the Departed', 'Gift of the Dead', activates.
// Gift of the Dead: Store or retrieve mana and knowledge inside the mask.]
With a dizzying ringing in my ears, sinister mana from another dimension began flowing out of the Mask of the Departed.
Siiiiiiing....
'It's impure, total mishmash mana.'
The previous owner, Heo Joo, had scraped together mana from everywhere, and it was piled up inside.
There was a lot of it, but it was low-purity, crude mana that hadn't been refined properly.
Unlike the other mana I'd absorbed before, taking this into my body could cause internal injuries or, in wuxia terms, something like qi deviation.
'Whatever, I'm not consuming it.'
I grabbed the mana threads extending from the spectral golems and transferred them to the mask.
Clunk.
As the mana pathway shifted, the spectral golems halted in unison.
Then, reset and reboot.
Clatter, click, clatter!
Now, the spectral golems no longer drew mana directly from me; they received it via the Mask of the Departed.
I summoned a few magic circles, then slowly removed the mask.
The Mask of the Departed floated in the air at a leisurely pace.
It had essentially become a sort of auxiliary battery.
The mana dwelling within wasn't infinite, so it would eventually run dry, but the souls sealed in the mask formed a kind of mana core, so it would recharge itself to some extent.
'If natural recharge can't keep up, I can always top it off with resonance stones.'
"Hoo...."
I raised a hand for a moment and touched my bare face.
The sensation of my own skin under my fingertips was indescribably eerie and unsettling.
The disgusting feel of human flesh.
Just exposing my bare face felt utterly horrifying.
I'd probably go really insane at this rate.
I could barely remember what my own face even looked like anymore.
I let out another sigh and donned my original [Cargosa's Mask].
Utter comfort.
Now the mirror reflected the face of a monster with four eyes.
"Alright, time to head out?"
All that was left was to move my important belongings from the one-room apartment I'd been renting monthly. After some thought, I decided to enlist Jang Hyun-deok's help.
He was one of the only two firmly allied NPCs in Paju.
For reference, Tudor was a trustworthy broker, but not a firm ally.
And asking the newly allied Cheongho would mean too many people learning my info.
Jang Hyun-deok grumbled a bit but drove his van to the mansion without complaint.
"Wizard, you know how much my fare is, right?"
"About five hundred?"
"No, I wouldn't charge that much just for transport...."
Last time, when he drove me to Tanheon, he'd boldly taken five million won, but now he trailed off sheepishly.
Of course, Tanheon was one of Paju's most dangerous spots, so you couldn't directly compare fares.
"Anyway, is it okay to load that thing too?"
"That thing...? What the hell is... yooooowaaaah!!"
Clunk, clunk, clatter, thud!
Roller charged at Jang Hyun-deok.
It was a stone coffin, no different from a massive boulder itself.
I knew it was fine, but to Jang Hyun-deok seeing Roller for the first time, it was like a mountain barreling toward him—an insane rush.
Jang Hyun-deok nearly "fell over in shock." If not for the van behind him, he really would've toppled.
That would've meant losing one of my two firm allies today. Namu Amida Butsu.
"What the! What is this thing!!"
"Roller."
"Rooooler!? Gahhh! Stop, don't come closer!"
Clunk, clatter, boom!
What a mess.
"It's definitely too big for the van."
I gathered mana for a moment and spread my hand toward Roller. Brilliant magic circles unfolded around its massive bulk.
Adjust this, reposition that....
[Shrink]
Giiiing!!!
A spell I'd unlocked with 3rd tier.
As the magic activated, Roller's size shrank. Now it was a small stone box about 50cm across.
As straightforward as its simple name.
But calculating the range and pressure was tricky. After all, it ignored the law of conservation of mass.
Jang Hyun-deok stared in shock at the magic effect right before his eyes.
A mix of admiration and awe, too.
"Wizard, could I learn magic like that?"
"Hmm... Doubt it."
"Huh, why not?"
"You're too dim."
"I'm not dim! I'm quick and...."
"No, your head's dim."
Jang Hyun-deok kept whining after that.
Whatever. I loaded Roller in the back, then sat in the passenger seat of his van.
"Still haven't fixed the car?"
"Ah, no time."
Last time, helping me had wrecked his van a bit. Dents, scratches, and tears still marked it.
"Get it fixed quick and bill the repair costs."
"Yeah, I'll fix it. But I was a big help, right?"
I glanced at Jang Hyun-deok's smug expression. He stared back with that look. Why wasn't he starting the car? Oh....
"...Yeah. You were a big help. Thanks."
"Geez, you don't have to say that... hahaha!"
Geez....
"Alright, let's roll!"
* * *
Clearing out the Geumchon one-room was no hassle.
Just tell Roller to swallow everything inside, and done.
Well, except it gulped down the fridge that came with the place whole.
"Hey! Spit it out, you punk! Why'd you eat that!"
Grumble grumble, crunch.
That was Roller sulking after I forced the fridge back out.
Gluttony? Or hoarding instinct?
Luckily, the one-room had plenty of stuff to tempt Roller even without the fridge.
It especially quivered in delight swallowing the cursed gold trinkets from the Golden Dancer's body.
No clue what the difference was, but it had its tastes.
"Alright, step back a bit, Roller."
As Roller backed off, I gathered mana.
[Memory Wipe]
Fwaaah!!
A spell that erased magical fingerprints and traces left in the space, even the memories of objects.
I hadn't done anything worth that level of tracking, but now even psychics with psychometry or druids reading the earth's memory couldn't find my traces.
On top of that, I scattered magical smoke screens for any unknowns before finally leaving the one-room.
"You're really leaving empty-handed?"
"Like I said, all my stuff's inside Roller."
"Wow...."
Jang Hyun-deok looked amazed.
"Where do you even get something like this?"
"Work hard and raid some haunted house."
"Ugh, too much for me solo."
"I'll help if you lead the way."
Jang Hyun-deok recoiled.
"Nah, I'll pass."
The cramped one-room I'd lived in for a few months was done.
Paperwork left, but eviction was just a phone call on the way.
"Back to the theme park now?"
"No, sorry, swing by the market first."
"The market? See the old man?"
"Wasn't it supposed to be a secret spot?"
"Come on, Wizard, don't underestimate me. Six years in this biz—think I don't know why fixers hit Geumchon Market?"
Fair point.
Only place in Geumchon to snag decent artifacts. Probably fixer gossip.
Market wasn't far; we parked near the pawnshop quick.
Dusk was falling.
Usually quiet as vendors packed up, but today a crowd bustled with unusual energy.
"What's this, so many people?"
"Oh, night market started yesterday. They'll stay open till 10."
"Night market?"
"Yeah. Don't know? They do it long every year around now."
"Hmm... Got it. But with this crowd, no parking?"
"I'll be in that alley. Call when you're done."
Geumchon Market was way livelier than usual.
Temporary stalls sold exotic street food you wouldn't see normally, colorful lights and banners everywhere.
'Trouble is....'
Why a night market?
I knew Paju—Geumchon Market—did them around now.
But that was my original world's schedule.
In [Cthulhu World], no such mundane events.
Not everything matched the game perfectly, sure, but it felt off.
After battling 150-year-old bones last night, this everyday scene felt unreal.
Like I was back in my real world, not some insane isekai with fixers and monsters.
Of course, I couldn't just blend in.
I layered spells to dampen my presence, then strolled the peaceful Geumchon Market.