Chapter 51
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: The Strange High House in the Mist (3)
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My body felt light. I felt like I could fly.
A ghoul that saw me flinched, wary.
An attack came from the side. I twisted my body slightly and swung my sword, cutting it down.
“You can trick me once, but not twice.”
I now fully understood that the ghouls could use spatial transference.
A tentacle shot straight at me.
It seemed they weren't even trying to hide it anymore.
Instead of my sword, I swung my foot.
I felt the impact at the tip of my toe.
Watching the tentacles retreat, I readjusted my grip on the sword.
The mist didn't approach the area around the ghoul.
It seemed that going up would have to wait.
“Well then, it's judgment time.”
Now I could slaughter the ghouls to my heart's content.
* * *
I plunged my sword into the floor.
When I pulled the sword out, a strange liquid spurted from the gap.
It looked like blood, but it was so colorless it resembled water.
The tentacles and lumps shriveled up like dried squid.
The crumbling corpse seeped into the floor and soon vanished without a trace.
It was less like they had died and more like they had escaped.
The ghouls weren't the kind of creatures that stayed dead.
As the ghouls began to disappear, the mist grew thicker.
A ghoul that had watched me mercilessly slice through its comrades tensed up and began to inch backward.
I approached swiftly and raised my sword.
The moment the tip of my sword was about to touch its body, my movement stopped.
‘What is this?’
It was a pressure, as if someone was forcibly pulling my body back.
The more I tried to attack the cowering ghoul, the stronger that force became.
I don't know who you are, but you want to have a go, is that it?
[Cease, nameless visitor.]
An unexpected voice echoed through my mind.
In the moment I was distracted, the ghoul before me vanished.
When I retracted my killing intent, my movements naturally returned to normal.
The mist crept in, filling the spot where the ghoul had disappeared.
I belatedly turned toward where the ladder had been, but the place was now filled with nothing but white mist.
There was no guarantee I could find the ladder just by going back.
I lifted my head and looked up.
[Who are you?]
[Come up.]
After a long pause, a reply came from the voice.
Come up? Up where?
The mist receded from the spot where I stood.
The ladder that had vanished into the mist reappeared before my eyes.
A wooden house was floating gently above the ladder.
“No matter how I look at it, that's not the size of a small house.”
If it was that big when viewed from below, it must be a considerably large house.
It seemed clear that this was the 'small house' Randolph Carter had mentioned.
I stepped onto the ladder and climbed.
It truly was a strange house, shrouded in mist.
Just as I'd expected, the house at the top of the ladder was much larger than it had seemed.
The exterior looked like an ordinary cabin, but its enormous size made me feel like a dwarf.
Next to the wooden door was a smaller door.
I had been wondering how to open the huge door anyway, so this saved me some trouble.
I opened the normally sized door and went inside.
The moment I opened the door, a brilliant light greeted me.
The instant I realized it wasn't just a simple light, I squeezed my eyes shut with a deep frown.
‘The sea?’
I heard sounds related to the sea, like crashing waves, seagulls, and dolphins.
As I slowly opened my eyes, the light subsided.
An object bathed in light revealed itself.
It was riding a seashell drawn by sea creatures.
An indescribable pressure made my breath catch, and a cold sweat ran down my back.
A whirlwind of emotions—fear, awe, anxiety, impatience—swept through me.
It had the appearance of a hundred-year-old man, and its skin was overgrown with moss and coral-like sea plants.
A fish that fell from the seashell flopped at my feet.
A drop of water from the seashell fell onto the fish. The fish went inside the droplet.
It was like a scene from a fairy tale. Even I, who wouldn't bat an eye at most things, was a little surprised this time.
But that was as far as it went.
It didn't matter who this being was.
I just had to do what I came here to do.
“Do you know someone named Randolph Carter?”
I spoke, looking up at him. He moved slowly, then looked down at me.
This is going to give me a crick in my neck.
There was no reply.
I figured it would be faster to show him than to explain with words.
I took out the letter I'd received from Carter.
A dolphin that had been sitting on the seashell rushed over, took the letter from my hand, and went back up.
‘But can it even read that?’
In any case, I'd delivered it as asked. Whether it could be read or not was none of my business.
The letter rested on the being's enormous hand.
After a long while, the being opened its mouth.
[It seems he still hasn't given up.]
It sounded like he was talking about Carter, but I had no way of knowing what he hadn't given up on.
[The key to the cellar.]
“What does that mean?”
[What he wants will be in the cellar. Tell him that.]
I nodded at his words.
[Now it is your turn. Nameless visitor. Who are you, and how did you come to this place?]
“Do I have to explain?”
I crossed my arms and looked up at the being with a defiant posture.
My purpose was to find the small house and deliver the letter to this being.
Since I'd achieved my goal, there was no need for us to talk.
[Is it distrust?]
He'd hit the nail on the head, and since he was right, I didn't bother to deny it.
A god-like being of unknown identity. It was only natural to be wary.
[I have no intention of harming you.]
“How can I believe that?”
I know nothing about him.
I, whose distrust of gods had reached its peak, had just met a god-like being.
Even if he wasn't an enemy, I couldn't help but be on guard.
[What is it that you fear so? There is nothing to be afraid of.]
The being spoke as if to soothe me.
He couldn't have answered just by guessing, so it was highly likely he was reading my mind.
Without denying my thought, the being continued to speak.
[I am not your enemy, nameless visitor.]
This guy seemed desperate to get friendly with me.
I didn't feel any killing intent, and since he was being so insistent, I figured it wouldn't hurt to hear him out.
But only after my own questions were answered.
“Who are you?”
[I am Nodens.]
It was a name I'd never heard before.
The moment Nodens said his name, a light flashed around him.
It was proof that the name Nodens was real, not an alias.
Since he had introduced himself first, I couldn't just remain silent.
For a moment, I wondered how I should introduce myself to Nodens.
“I am….”
I quietly spoke my divine name.
Even though I had only whispered it, Nodens seemed to understand, nodding his head.
Nodens made a peculiar offer.
[May I take a look?]
His tone held no sense of force or coercion, but the meaning of his offer was clear.
He wanted to see my memories.
Considering he was already reading my mind as he pleased, there was nothing he couldn't do if he really wanted to.
‘I can't win against this.’
Overwhelming power. Even if we were both gods, Nodens and I were on completely different levels.
It had been a long time since I'd felt this way.
Despite being able to crush me with force, Nodens used a considerate tone.
Noticing my hesitation, Nodens added,
[If you allow me to look, I shall give you a small gift in return.]
This guy. How did he know I like gifts?
“Fine.”
What the hell, I've got nothing to lose.
Besides, I tended to trust my instincts.
This being was somehow different from the other gods I had met before.
To be precise, I had a feeling he was a more high-dimensional being.
At my consent, Nodens moved his hand.
Ghouls that had been hiding among the seashell chariot revealed themselves.
The ghouls' tentacles crept toward me.
[There is no need to be tense.]
Nodens soothed me with a warm voice, but it had little effect.
These were the same creatures whose slightest touch could cost me a limb.
Even if I was maintaining a physical form as a soul, I doubted I would be immune to damage.
The tentacles near Nodens wrapped around my body.
The black tentacles began to glow.
The feeling of the slimy tentacles sliding over my body was not pleasant.
My memories flashed by quickly, like a panorama.
By the time I came to my senses, all the tentacles that had been on my body were gone.
[How is it that you are here?]
“What are you talking about?”
I don't get why he's asking such a vague question after seeing all my memories.
The ghouls' tentacles touched Nodens' body.
After reading the rest of my memories, Nodens spoke.
[I see. Are you a traveler of twisted time?]
I didn't bother to deny it.
This dimension, the Tower, was a world that made no sense, so I could understand his reaction.
[Your arrival here may well be destiny.]
“Explain it so I can understand.”
[Follow the path. Then you will come to know the truth.]
Before I could even ask a question, the entire house was filled with a brilliant light.
The light was so intense I didn't dare look at Nodens.
[As promised, I shall give you a gift. And consider this my small favor, traveler.]
[You have acquired 'Sword that Splits Heaven and Earth'.]
[You have acquired the 'Silver Key'.]
When I opened my eyes after his last words, I found myself back in front of Randolph Carter's house.
* * *
[You have cleared the 4th floor.]
[Moving to the space between the 4th and 5th floors.]
“Ha, damn it.”
This time, too, it was a school classroom.
At this point, I didn't care about the location.
After being kicked out by Nodens, I met with Randolph Carter.
I relayed the answer I received after delivering his letter.
He tilted his head in confusion upon hearing the answer I brought back.
It wasn't my business what it meant.
Once I completed the request and received my reward, the 4th floor was cleared.
However, I still couldn't shake the unsettling feeling.
I had received two items as gifts from Nodens.
The Sword that Splits Heaven and Earth. (It's too long, so I decided to call it the Sky Sword.)
And the 'Silver Key'. I didn't know about the former, but the latter looked like a perfectly ordinary key.
Yoo Ji-han hadn't appeared yet.
It seemed our timelines were out of sync.
In the meantime, I opened my status window.
[(Notification) You have unviewed videos.]
Videos? What videos? I don't remember recording anything.
Anyway, I had no idea why there were so many damn useless features.
[Yoo Ji-han (Guardian)]
Viewable List: 1st Floor, 2nd Floor, 3rd Floor
Don't tell me this is what the 'videos' were?
Without thinking, I clicked on the 3rd-floor video.
A video of Yoo Ji-han's 3rd-floor playthrough began to play before my eyes.
It was only then that I realized why my 4th floor had changed so much.
Creeak. The classroom's front door opened, and Yoo Ji-han poked his head in.
“Ah, damn, why are there so many classrooms? Where the hell is that guy?”
Seeing Yoo Ji-han walk through the door, my jaw dropped.
No way, this bastard?
What on earth did you do on that train