It was eerily quiet. So quiet that one could be startled by their own voice. The silence was filled with human-shaped rocks.
Though there was no sound, I felt like I was hearing hallucinations of hundreds of people shouting at the same time from somewhere.
Although the appearance of Tanhyeon has changed a lot in the world of [Cthulhu World], there has never been a place like this in the game before.
The magical power that I sensed earlier was concentrated further inside the wasteland, probably about 60 meters away by foot.
Jang Hyeon-deok spoke with a flushed expression on his face.
“How about it? Do you see them over there?”
“What?”
“The masks, I mean the masks. Look, there on the ground!”
Beneath the human-like stone pillars, fragments of the mask that Jang Hyeon-deok had pointed out were scattered.
The sight of mask pieces endlessly spread out under hundreds of pillars was strangely unsettling.
It was as if…
“It seems like there are as many masks as there are pillars, don’t you think?”
“It seems so.”
“I had thought about picking up a few to sell at some point, but these fragments turned out to be worthless.”
I took a few steps forward and picked up a piece of a mask that had fallen to the ground to examine it.
It was just like the one Jang Hyeon-deok had shown me earlier, the kind of junk item that shops wouldn’t accept.
“These things scattered here have already lost their meaning. Even if you collect them all and take them away, you won’t make more than what you’d pay for labor.”
“Have you ever gone all the way inside?”
“Ah! Yes, I was just about to talk about that!”
Jang Hyeon-deok suddenly brightened up and pulled me toward him.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})“Come this way, this way!”
It was already well into the evening, and darkness had set in.
We stood on the edge of a gloomy archaeological site where bizarre rocks were endlessly arranged.
Those rocks. They had an eerie shape that somehow resembled a human being, but like most of the mask fragments that had fallen to the ground, they were of little value now.
Although they bore traces of magical power, they had lost their value and had become mere background debris.
But further inside…
In the heart of this quiet and dark archaeological site, I could feel a sticky and ominous magical power.
I didn’t know whether this energy could be divided fifty-fifty, just as Jang Hyeon-deok hoped but it implied that there was something of value or significance here.
“Here, uh… just turn your head at this angle from this spot.”
When asked if he had ever approached the heart of the ruins, Jang Hyeon-deok pulled me over and made me stand at a specific angle.
Beyond the rocks and the darkness of the night… wait, hold on.
[Moonlight Vision]
[Eagle Eye]
Although I was still one level short of being able to use spells outside of the first-order, my extraordinary magical power which far surpassed that of a first-order mage, allowed me to freely cast auxiliary and enchantment spells.
I enchanted my eyes with two types of spells to improve my vision and pierced through the darkness that shrouded the archaeological site to see what Jang Hyeon-deok was pointing out.
“Indeed, I can see it.”
It was a scene only visible from this exact position. A gap that was formed accidentally between the bizarrely twisted rocks offered a glimpse into a deeper part of the archaeological site.
Inside, at the center of the archaeological site where magical power was concentrated, there stood rocks resembling humans just like in other areas.
However, these rocks were different.
On the upper part of these rocks, where a human’s face would be, there were masks in perfect condition.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})Rocks wearing masks. There were roughly three of them visible from here.
“This place, this atmosphere, these, these, these things are arranged so exquisitely. There’s no way these masks are just some flimsy junk!”
“Hmm. It is indeed exquisitely arranged.”
It was truly exquisite. Excessively so, everything.
“Right? Oh…? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“What kind of look are you talking about when I’m wearing a mask?”
“No, but still, I have a feeling, you know?”
“Well, it is true that I’m looking at you with suspicion.”
“Ah, exactly! I knew it, didn’t I? No… that’s not it… um… why is that?”
“Well, I just had a feeling you might be a bit suspicious.”
Jang Hyeon-deok recoiled in surprise.
“You said you trusted me earlier?!”
“When did I say that? I said I don’t trust anyone.”
The reason Jang Hyeon-deok guided me here wasn’t because he trusted me but because of my money and the guarantee from Tudor, who was a well-known broker.
Likewise, I did not trust Jang Hyeon-deok either.
More specifically, should I say I did not trust the safety of this situation?
After all, how many things in this world can truly be trusted? Things I have seen with my own eyes? Tudor, who was programmed in the game to never betray the player?
From the moment this NPC appeared as if on cue, like a predestined event, I could not fully trust Jang Hyeon-deok.
“No, no! I’m for real, for real! It was Mage-nim who suggested coming here in the first place!”
“Who said you were fake? But besides that point,”
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})While Jang Hyeon-deok himself might be completely innocent, there could be a powerful entity behind him that orchestrated these events.
Despite such doubts, I followed his lead and came this far.
Partly because I was determined to follow a narrative that had never existed in the game…
And also because considering Jang Hyeon-deok’s stats and the capabilities he could muster, I calculated that I could easily subdue him should he betray me.
After that, Jang Hyeon-deok continued to ramble on, trying to prove his innocence and purity, but I only half-listened as I prepared to enter the ruins.
The protective circle and distortion field were already in place, but how many enchantments should I apply?
I had already cast five spells. Considering the spells required to respond to unexpected situations, casting more felt burdensome, yet I couldn’t just take it lightly.
Honestly, entering a place in [Cthulhu World] with so little prior information felt no different from walking into a nuclear power plant after a radiation leak.
Alien spores could be inhaled, leading to poisoning or the growth of alien plants in the lungs, and undetectable waves could disrupt brain activity, causing forced disorientation.
[Prayer of Protection]
[Gesture of Guardianship]
[Cat’s Reflexes]
Layering more spells on my body felt too burdensome, so I distributed some by attaching them to my clothes and the skateboard I carried on my back.
“Then, let’s go.”
“Ah, great! It’s time to leave.”
Jang Hyeon-deok started walking ahead with an excited expression on his face. Wait, what did he say?
“Hey, what?”
“Huh?”
“Where are you going?”
“You said we’re going, didn’t you?”
“…You too?”
“Of course, right?”
I took a moment to look into Jang Hyeon-deok’s face and then into his eyes. His cheeks were flushed with excitement, and his pupils shone with an unwavering light. It was a look reminiscent of the most dangerous types of humans in [Cthulhu World].
Fear exists as a defensive mechanism to protect the body. Those without it always cause huge problems. For a moment, I considered knocking him down but then I changed my mind.
“Forget it. Do as you please.”
“Yoohoo!”
Let’s see what awaits us then. I wasn’t sure who had set this up, but I decided to go along for the ride.
I split a few spells and cast them on Jang Hyeon-deok.
“Tsk, fine. Let’s go in then.”
“Let’s get moving!”
Jang Hyeon-deok turned and started to make his way between the rocks into the ruins, holding nothing but a flashlight in his hand. This crazy bastard…
[Dancing Flames]
A dazzling cluster of light flickered into existence and it blocked his path as if to stop him.
“Don’t mess around; just follow behind me slowly.”
“Ah, yes. I will.”
We slowly stepped into the ruins.
Although it was surrounded by a forest, the interior of the ruins was extremely dry.
There were no major issues yet. And if any arose, traits like [Enhanced Vigilance] or [Feast Offering] that activated on their own were still dormant, so it was fine.
With each step we took, the brittle ground crumbled 2 to 3 centimeters, accompanied by the clinking sound of fragments of masks scattered densely on the floor.
There are so many rocks, and with them, an enormous number of mask fragments as numerous as the rocks themselves.
It was like the scene of a mad artist’s frenzy who was destroying failed pieces until an impossible work of art was created.
Beyond the bizarre, surreal atmosphere and the physiological revulsion emanating from the human-like rocks, nothing specifically obstructed our path.
However, the presence of the atmosphere and the rocks created an unpleasant pressure that was more difficult than a physical barrier.
Therefore, despite the time spent moving, our progress was frustratingly slow.
Meanwhile, Jang Hyeon-deok looked like he was surrounded by monsters writhing in terrible agony, even though there was plenty of space between him and the rocks.
“Wow… Mage-nim, the further we go inside, the more sinister the atmosphere becomes.”
His attitude was strange. So it was unclear whether he found this situation good or bad.
The interior of the ruins was silent. That is, it was silent apart from the incessant chatter of Jang Hyeon-deok, who was the only other sound in the place.
Jang Hyeon-deok continued to prattle on with unnecessary stories as he followed behind me.
He talked about having younger siblings to support, being from an orphanage, how Mage-nim (that is me) seemed like an amazing and impressive person, how he thought I appeared kind, how he felt it was fate from the first moment he saw me, how he had always wanted to return to this place, how he had dreamed about this location numerous times since discovering it, his desperate need for money, how he had foolishly wasted his time on frivolous pursuits in the past, his plans to move abroad if he got more money because he was tired of Korea and found it a dreadful country, and so on and so forth…
Since there was no real need to focus on his rambling stories, I instead observed his behavior and everything else around us as we moved forward.
The air’s density, the flow of magical power, the smell, the light, the sounds.
It might just be needless worry, but this is no easy passage. Even removing elements like pressure and discomfort, this space has too many blind spots.
Wait a moment? Did I just gloss over something important?
I kept moving forward without stopping and spoke to Jang Hyeon-deok who was following behind me.
“Hey, Jang Hyeon-deok, what did you say earlier?”
“Huh?”
“You mentioned something about a dream, right?”
“Oh, about wanting to live abroad? If I ever make it big, that is…”
“No, not that. You said you kept dreaming about this place?”
“Oh, yes, I did.”
A large rock, positioned as if with its arms outstretched, blocked our path. I instinctively turned to the right to avoid the rock and continued the conversation.
“What exactly did you dream about?”
“I first learned about this place when a fixer told me to come here.”
The direction of his voice was slightly off. Even though he was behind me…
