Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: First Test
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The road leading to a mountain on the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province. The taxi carrying Ian sped along the open highway.
The taxi driver casually struck up a conversation midway.
"Your clothes look really sharp. Heading to meet a girlfriend or something?"
"Huh? Oh, no. Just out for a little solo outing, you know."
Ian responded smoothly to the unexpected question. The driver chuckled and tapped the steering wheel.
"Nice. Man, when I was young, I loved wandering all over the place too. Back in my day—heck, I just drove cars and motorcycles all across the country, no problem..."
"...Ah, I see. Haha."
"You know it? I was handsome like you back then too. Heh heh... girls lined up for me, lined up."
"Yeah?"
Ian gave appropriate responses to the driver's chatter until they reached the destination.
After a long ramble, they finally arrived.
A mountain with a trail prepared for hikers. Being a weekday afternoon, there weren't many people around—just a few middle-aged folks sitting at a makgeolli bar.
Fortunately, it didn't seem like he'd need to dodge prying eyes. Ian nodded, and as the car came to a stop, he pulled out his card to pay the fare.
But the driver chuckled and pushed the card away.
"No charge. Consider it thanks for listening to my stories."
"Huh? No, even so..."
"It's fine, really. Come on, hop out. I gotta pick up the next fare."
The driver patted Ian's shoulder. Ian hesitated for a moment, then bowed his head and opened the taxi door.
"Thank you. If we meet again, I'll pay double."
"Heh heh, polite young man."
Vroom.
The taxi sped off down the road as soon as the door closed. Ian adjusted his rumpled coat and let out a long breath.
*The world still has some decent folks in it.*
Even in times like these, who knew there'd be such kind souls. A bit talkative, sure, but a good person at heart. Ian silently wished him luck as he started walking.
"......"
The wide-open hiking trail. No one climbing up, just people coming down. His outfit wasn't exactly hiking gear, so he drew some stares. No one approached him, but he could clearly sense the curious glances.
As long as they weren't suspecting him of being a mage, it was fine. Ian gave a slight nod to those whose eyes met his and followed the map pinned in the Cartel app up the trail.
By the time his breath was coming a bit short, a side path leading to a cave came into view.
It was an unmanaged area where few people ventured. Ian carefully descended the path, parting the grass while gripping nearby tree branches.
*No witnesses.*
Luckily, no one watching from behind. No gazes at all.
Ian relaxed a fraction and cocked the hammer on his revolver. The cylinder, always loaded with bullets, felt cool to the touch but was well-maintained, ready to fire at any moment. Plenty of oil.
Click, click.
He spun the cylinder idly as he searched for the cave. No signs of wild animals, just a faint blood scent wafting from the cave direction.
Sharp enough to detect with human senses. Ian gripped his revolver and turned his toes toward the smell.
"......"
After a while, the cave came into sight.
Dim cave interior. Amid the darkness, three ash-skinned creatures were visible.
Hunched backs, bulging bellies, bony chests. Long, muscular limbs with sharp claws and teeth.
No clothes. Just scraps of torn fabric scattered on the floor.
The one that had been female in life had subtle breasts, but nothing remotely human about their shape—more like a dog's. Utterly repulsive.
The ghouls weren't moving much. All huddled or lying in the sunlight-deprived depths of the cave, staring blankly into space. Proof they moved on instinct alone, like zombies.
Zombies and ghouls differed in many ways, but to the untrained eye, they were much the same. The main difference? Zombies targeted only humans, while ghouls devoured any living thing.
*The blood smell was from some beast carcass inside the cave. All those clothing scraps suggest they've eaten humans too.*
Freshly fed, they didn't react even to his human scent. Boldly, Ian approached right up to the cave entrance where they lay and looked down at them.
"......Grk?"
"Grk. Grrrk......"
Two ghouls sniffed him from close range and opened their eyes. But even as they turned toward Ian, they couldn't focus on him, just tilting their heads.
Proof the magic was working perfectly.
Ian nodded and summoned a grimoire in his free hand. Two grimoires now gripped side by side.
*No, you're sitting this one out.*
Ian immediately stowed Hand of Recreation in his bag and opened only Deep Sea Chronicles. He felt the bagged grimoire vibrate in protest but ignored it. Today's test wasn't recreation magic.
He skipped the intro of Deep Sea Chronicles and checked the summoning section. He drew the first creature's summoning circle on the ground—keeping a safe distance from the cave.
No need for a pen. He scratched a rough circle in the dirt with a stick and placed two chunks of mystery flesh on it.
Flesh from theme park staff he'd salvaged during the escape—not much, but it would do. The ghost soul from the officetel wouldn't work, so this was the best option.
He pricked his finger for blood and sprinkled it over the flesh. The ghouls reacted to the scent but were far enough away.
He smeared the bloodied flesh with his finger and closed his eyes. Grimoire in one hand, revolver in the other, he chanted.
"Creature of the Great One. Child of the divine. Son and daughter, slave and sacred. I, proxy of That One, command you: manifest here."
Creeeak...!
As the chant ended, red blood oozed from the grimoire, and the circle lit up.
The glowing circle absorbed the mystery flesh and blood. As the light faded, a blood mist spread, and a grotesque creature emerged atop the circle.
[Kikigik......]
Jet-black body. It resembled a flower or a jellyfish. No eyes, nose, or ears—just a gaping mouth at its center, flapping open and shut.
Three sharp tentacles functioned as legs, propping it up from the ground.
Commonly called a Messenger.
The head-sized creature turned toward Ian and waved its tentacles upward in greeting.
[Kiiik......!]
No direct transmission of its will, but Ian intuited its meaning. Confirming the smooth summon, he nodded and pointed at the ghouls.
"Eat."
[Kikigik!!]
The Outer Sea creature spun its three tentacles like wheels, rolling toward a ghoul and latching onto its face. Its maw gaped impossibly wide.
The ghoul's upper body vanished into the mouth, several times the creature's own size.
And then.
Crunch-crunch!!
With a gruesome sound, the upper body was swallowed whole. Blood sprayed, organs and exposed bones spilled onto the floor. The headless lower half staggered before collapsing.
[Kikik!]
The Messenger didn't stop, targeting the remaining two. It rolled up swiftly, latched onto another's face, and stabbed tentacles into its shoulders.
"Graaaargh!!"
[Kikik!]
Mocking the ghoul's agonized scream, the Messenger wrenched its body apart. Split down the spine, the halves flopped to the ground. The last ghoul charged.
But the Messenger denied it approach. It thrust all three tentacles into the head, twisting until the skull shredded.
Spluuurt!
Brains, flesh, and chunks sprayed everywhere like ground meat. The Messenger shuddered in laughter, then devoured the scattered remains greedily.
Ian watched from afar and let out a hollow chuckle.
*Stronger than I thought.*
He'd expected it—an Outer God creation—to handle ghouls easily, but not this quickly. Absurd that this was the weakest one.
[Kikik.]
As he thought that, the Messenger's head turned toward him.
The friendly vibe was gone. No thanks for the summon—just a blood-and-flesh-sated predator standing there.
"......Still hungry, huh."
The summon cost flashed in his mind: attack the summoner if not sated. He pointed to a beast carcass in the cave and licked his lips.
"There's a body over there. Eat that too. That should be enough, right?"
[Kik!]
The Messenger nodded its tentacles. It rolled to the cave, shoved its head in, and gorged on flesh and organs.
*The weakest anomaly needs more than three to satisfy. Can't imagine how much the others eat.*
Great power, but fuel efficiency sucked.
Still, excellent as an attack option. Not as instant as recreation magic, but unmatched when time allowed.
Satisfied, Ian closed the grimoire and collected ghoul blood in his bag.
Time to head home.
*
Thankfully, the Messenger turned to blood mist and returned once fed—the apparent dismissal condition.
What would happen if left hungry? Probably devour nearby lifeforms, starting with the grimoire's owner.
Ungrateful, but powerful magic demanded steep prices. Recreation magic was the outlier; spamming it seemed impossible.
*Classic high-risk, high-reward spell. Only worth it against fleshy or numerous foes—otherwise, a loss.*
Good thing he'd tested it beforehand.
Back home, Ian showered lightly and laundered his bloodied clothes. Black fabric hid stains well, but the fishy stench demanded cleaning.
He hung the laundry on the veranda and sat on the bed, eating takeout dinner.
Chicken. Faith in chicken hadn't betrayed him.
After eating, he placed both grimoires on the table. Having confirmed their distinct magics, time to study again.
*Start with the familiar one.*
Hand of Recreation brimmed with alchemy and spells—vast even after constant reading. Unlike Deep Sea Chronicles' destruction focus, its versatility warranted endless exploration.
"Hmm."
Determined to pull an all-nighter, Ian chugged an energy drink and opened Hand of Recreation.
"Huh."
It wouldn't open. Panicking, he tapped the cover.
"What's wrong all of a sudden?"
[Bzzz!]
The grimoire vibrated in his arms, as if annoyed: *You really don't know?* Ian chuckled wryly.
"No, come on? Just let me open the cover. I wanna read."
[Bzzz! Bzzzz!!]
"What, you refusing?"
[Bzzz!]
It shook affirmatively, then snapped open—clamping shut on Ian's finger.
"Ugh."
As pain throbbed, he dropped it. Hand of Recreation slithered pathetically across the floor and hid in the corner.
Ian frowned at it.
"......No way."
Utterly ridiculous.
The grimoire was sulking.
He could only laugh.