[The Unclaimed Rewards of the Abyss]

The tentacles, having finished their feast, retracted as if satisfied, having sucked away even the last drops of semen I’d spilled on the floor. Alone in the tent, I caught my breath for a moment. Then, a sudden curiosity struck me: why was Kashnakas so obsessed with my semen? I had been taking SensePush, a drug purchased from a black market dealer, which effectively halted my sperm activity. In other words, pregnancy was impossible. Yet, Kashnakas drained me as if she were hell-bent on conceiving.

There was no other conclusion: my semen must simply suit the Evil God’s palate perfectly. Or perhaps... ignoring the effects of the drug entirely... she really was trying to bear my child. Well, she was a god, after all. It was highly likely that the drugs of a mere mortal wouldn't have any effect on her. I asked, half-expecting a strange answer.

"Kashnakas-nim... no. Why on earth are you so obsessed with my semen? Is it... delicious...?"

"W-wait a minute...! Kashnakas-nim!!! What is with that sinister laugh!?"

Without answering my question, Kashnakas simply laughed. What on earth was happening in the world of chaos that I knew nothing about? 'I'm getting dizzy...' I shook my head violently to clear my thoughts. I had no idea what was going on in Kashnakas’s mind. Thinking about it any deeper would only give me a headache. Besides, I really needed to handle the backlog of tasks now.

'Let's see... just the pending rewards... twelve of them... plus two I forgot and missed.'

I still hadn't claimed the rewards I’d intended to collect after clearing the Forest of the Missing. I’d put them off because I was busy with various things, but since time in the Narak flowed much faster than in reality, I should claim them all before leaving. Even if I spent all day here agonizing over which rewards to pick, only 24 minutes would have passed in the real world, so I could take my time.

'First, the rewards for clearing the Forest of the Missing...'

'Ah... right. These were the ones...'

Only after seeing the list did I remember why I hadn't chosen them back then. Right, they were all strange rewards. A will written to a family, an addressee-unknown letter... and a journal recording the Forest of the Missing, which I had already escaped. Just from the descriptions, it wasn't easy to grasp what they could be used for.

"Hmm..."

None of them looked particularly useful. I had a feeling the will would lead to a quest related to the missing person's family... I didn't know why the journal was given... and judging by the name 'Straggler,' the letter sounded like it would be full of curses against those who abandoned them, so opening it carelessly felt like it would lead to some bizarre linked quest. Whatever I chose, they all smelled like trouble. True to the Forest of the Missing, which was boiling with the malice of dead spirits, the clear rewards were just as shitty. That was why I hadn't picked them and kept forgetting about them.

"Hmm... come to think of it..."

There had been a God's Idol at the U.S. Eastern base as well. Then surely, the person who contributed the most to clearing the Forest of the Missing must have achieved this feat. 'It must be Michael... or Nick.' I thought that if it were Erickson, Michael's right-hand man, he might know something about the rewards. If so, I wouldn't have to pick a duplicate reward. I could pick one of the remaining two options while knowing the identity of one reward in advance.

I immediately used Yoo Hye-ji's guild chat to call Erickson. Fortunately, Erickson, who had entered the Narak, replied that he would come running as soon as I called.

'Then, before that...'

Before Erickson arrived, I had to claim the achievement reward for 'Distorted Idol.' This was also an achievement reward obtained after clearing the Forest of the Missing.

'Why didn't I claim this back then...'

There must have been a reason I put it off without claiming it. Of course, since I had absolutely no memory of why I hadn't claimed it, I opened the information window to claim the achievement reward.

"Ah..."

I remembered why I hadn't claimed these either. These were rewards that turned the God's Idol, which drove away the ten thousand demons, into a monster spawner.

"Hmm..."

Back then, there was only one God's Idol... but now there were two. Sacrificing one idol to mass-produce Oni ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was... quite tempting. For one month, that is 30 days, three per day... a total of 90 Oni could be churned out like a factory and turned into slaves...

'But... it's not the time yet. At least when there are three... it'll be worth trying...'

If I used the idol at the U.S. Eastern camp as a monster spawner right now, four thousand people would suffer from ghosts all night and commit mass suicide. Or I'd have to bring them to Hyoseon Girls' High School... but that seemed like it would cause quite a lot of trouble. And putting them all into the Narak wasn't an option since the Narak wasn't stabilized yet... So, for now, it was a skip. Later, when there were three or more God's Idols, I would move all the survivors I wanted to enslave to the U.S. Eastern camp and use them then. Of course, I might be too busy again and forget about the existence of the rewards...

Just then, Erickson rushed into the tent.

"You called?"

"What?"

"Oh... not this?"

"Hey... who did you learn Korean from?"

"Uh..."

Erickson couldn't answer. When I stared at him, Erickson broke into a cold sweat and replied.

"Seo, Seo Ha-rin-ssi..."

"Ha-rin...?"

"Yes."

"Uh... hmm. You learned it well."

"Thank you!"

Since Ha-rin taught him, well... what could I do? It would get better gradually... Still, in this state, long conversations seemed quite difficult, so I handed Erickson a potion for communication.

"Ah, now we can talk a bit more comfortably."

"Hey, I have a few things I want to ask... did you go into the Forest of the Missing?"

"No."

"Is that so? Who went in?"

"That... Nick and Michael... and Anna and Helen went in."

"I see..."

You could only get one ticket to the Forest of the Missing if your intimacy with the peddler was quite high, and even then, only two people could enter. At that time, I had enslaved another survivor to get one more ticket, and the four of us—Ha-rin, Eunji, me, and Hee-sun noona—entered the forest. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Perhaps Nick and his party were able to enter with two or more people using a similar method. Moreover, since there must have been a separate U.S. server, only Americans must have gone into the Forest of the Missing in droves.

"Then Erickson... do you know who received the achievement reward for clearing the Forest of the Missing?"

"Uh... I know that Anna made the greatest contribution."

"Is that so? That's unexpected."

"Yes... Nick said Anna achieved the feat..."

I had thought it would be either Nick or Michael... but unexpectedly, Anna had made the greatest contribution and taken the reward for clearing the Forest of the Missing. Well, her combat ability was a bit low, but she was a class with high utility, not to mention healing and tanking... and since she had a sealing skill, she might have re-sealed the Yokai King that would have awakened in the center of the forest. Anyway, this was good. Since Nick and Michael were dead, the achievement reward might have gone missing, but it was fortunate that Anna had achieved the feat.

"Bring Anna."

Erickson immediately called Anna via guild chat. It was so convenient that communication was possible even at a considerable distance if Yoo Hye-ji was nearby. Of course, she had almost no other abilities besides this... but this alone was amazing.

'Hmm...'

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Anna was living in the U.S. while being watched by Bella and Ella, so she would be here soon. While waiting for Anna to arrive, I used the remaining time to check the other achievement rewards.

"Uh... should I keep waiting here?"

"Ah, you can go back."

"Yep... then...!"

"Ah, right. The roads are mostly made, so go out and send down a few cars."

"Yes! Understood!"

The two days I was in the U.S.... that is, 120 days, the Narak had changed quite a lot. Should I say that quite a lot of roads had been made, even if they weren't asphalt level? There were roads where it was possible to operate if I put cars inside the Narak.

'Then...'

After confirming that Erickson had run out, I checked the first achievement reward among the 12 liberated thanks to Sataniel, the 'Conquest of the Thrilling Mansion.' It had been ages since I cleared the Thrilling Mansion... I never thought I would receive this only now. It was highly likely that I wouldn't have obtained this if it weren't for Sataniel. My hatred for that Loki was growing even more. If only I could find him, I could absorb him right away...

'Like the reward for clearing the Forest of the Missing... are these ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠also strange rewards?'

The Thrilling Mansion was a place where four time zones were twisted. It was divided into the Master's Reign, the Cannibal Immortal Occupation, the Modern Era, and the Alien Invasion. I wondered if rewards related to that would appear.

"Huh..."

The Mad Master must refer to the master who made dolls like crazy to revive his daughter... and the Rude Guest must mean the cannibal immortals in animal masks who took over the mansion after the master died. The Relic Thief must mean the aliens who came to steal the dollmaker's items in the distant future...

"This..."

It seemed like an entry pass that allowed me to enter the mansion that had already been closed, like a dungeon. And it was for mansions in completely different time zones, at that.