Five days passed again.
Although I had resolved three days ago to avoid going out for a while, I found myself frequently venturing outside over the past five days.
I even managed to go out during daylight hours for the first time in a long while, and while my sleep schedule wasn’t quite normal, I was able to adjust it significantly.
This was all thanks to the “Ancient God’s Mirror”, which had effectively shielded me from the nightmares that had been tormenting me.
“Really, there’s nothing like a good night’s sleep.”
Of course, it was evening now, and I was lying in bed as before… But no, it wasn’t quite the same as before. Now, in addition to lying down, I was engaging in another activity.
Flap, flap, flap—
Although I remained lying down, several books, a notebook, sheets of paper, a pen, and ink were levitating before my eyes.
With a simple gesture, the pages of the book turned.
Another gesture, and droplets of ink that floated as if in zero gravity flew towards the notebook before forming letters. It was as if I had taken notes, but a page’s worth of notes and checklists were completed at the speed of a printer printing them out.
“What’s that word again…?”
My health stat remained at 7 points, but there had been significant changes since my sleep improved.
The fog that had been clouding my mind seemed to dissipate, bringing back a sense of clarity, and my brain started functioning properly, not just in life-threatening situations but in everyday activities.
From the moment I regained my physical and mental composure, I dedicated myself to translating and interpreting the [Silent Scripture of the Dreaming Path].
Until then, I had only used my intelligence for magical purposes, which paradoxically made me less aware of its practical implications. However, once I started applying my intelligence in a practical manner, I began to comprehend the true significance of having an intelligence stat of 30.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})The text I was deciphering was in Tibetan, and not just any Tibetan, but a form from the 16th century used in a magical tome. Resources readily available on the market were of little help.
Yet, with just a dictionary borrowed from the library and a few reference materials, I was able to grasp the writings of a certain mad monk who lived in Tibet in the 16th century.
However, this understanding was not complete. The author of the Silent Scripture of the Dreaming Path wrote it based on experiences undergone in a trance-like state. Perhaps during meditation or near-death experiences? I’m not entirely sure if my translation of this part is accurate, but the book was evidently completed based on these profound experiences.
Therefore, the text was filled with oddly connected logic, utterly absurd content, and ambiguous sentences that seemed like the ramblings of a madman. It appeared that a considerable amount of time would be necessary to fully understand the content and make use of the information contained in the book.
However, there were clearly useful aspects as well.
Despite being an old system created before the 16th century, the rituals and magic described in the book were authentic.
“That’s enough for now.”
[System: Your understanding of the Silent Scripture of the Dreaming Path has increased. You have acquired the unique magic ‘Absorption’.]
I was a powerful and unique primal magic that couldn’t be acquired through the [Spell Mastery] trait. In just about a week, I had managed to learn some of these spells.
As my interpretation and understanding of the book deepened, the number of spells I could use would also increase.
“Should I call it a day?”
Flap, flap, flap—
Thebooks, notebooks, and scraps of paper flew towards the desk.
Let’s put this on the desk… but there’s no room left.
The already cramped room had become even more chaotic over the course of three days. On the desk lay a pile of broken odds and ends, while the floor around the desk was littered with wooden shards bearing the marks of scorching as if they were discarded trash.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})I straightened my back strongly, stretched out both hands toward the desk, and focused my mind.
The size, shape, and weight of piled objects are detected at high speed. And the quick spatial recognition ability gained as a by-product of my magical talent conjured up the optimal arrangement and repositioned the items on the desk.
Swoosh… thud, click, click-click!
“Ah, that’s better now.”
But if I let my guard down again, it would soon turn into a hellish mess. Since tidying up wasn’t difficult for me, I tended to mess things up again.
When I was about to get up, a strange sound emanated from a corner of the room.
Turrrrr—
Is that my phone?
I slowly walked in the direction of the refrigerator, and the smartphone flew by itself and stuck to my ear. Since I have overflowing magical power, there’s no need to move much.
There was no need to check who was calling. I had given my number to only two people, and at this hour, there could only be one of them.
– Hey dear, how’s it going? Did I call too late?
It was Tudor.
“No, I was just about to have dinner.”
I said that and opened the refrigerator. In the past few days, the number of pieces of flesh stored in the refrigerator has increased significantly. This was all thanks to my practice with life-creation magic. There were also numerous glass bottles filled with a specially prepared preservative.
It was time to find separate storage for these, or there’d be no room for food.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})– You’re having dinner at this hour? Then I guess I don’t need to apologize for calling late.
“It doesn’t matter at this time.”
– Yeah, I thought you might be nocturnal.
Tudor giggled joyfully for a moment before continuing.
– Dinner… So, can you drop by Vasilisa after you eat? I don’t know where you live, but if it seems like it’ll take a long time, I can send Orb to meet you.
“What’s up? Is it urgent?”
– There’s a request that suddenly came in and it matches the criteria you mentioned last time. But this one is time-sensitive, unlike the usual cases.
“It’s not so far away, so there’s no need to send Orb. I’ll be heading to Vasilisa’s place, um…”
I pulled a carton of milk from among the pieces of flesh in the refrigerator. Looks like I’ll have some cereal before I leave.
“…I’ll be there in 30 minutes.”
***
The value of the items stored in my house is becoming alarmingly high. The number of protective spells I’ve had to place around the house has reached a somewhat exhausting level.
It’s getting to the point where I needed to think of a better security solution since the current method was inconvenient.
After setting up the security spells, I killed some time wandering the back alleys of the Geumchon neighborhood before making my way to Vasilisa.
Tudor was a reliable broker, but I couldn’t place the same trust in the various fixers coming and going through Vasilisa’s doors. Upon seeing my face—or rather, my mask—Tudor didn’t bother with greetings and immediately pulled me into her office.
“You said it would take 30 minutes, and you arrived right on time.”
“As I mentioned earlier, I live nearby.”
“Ah, I see. How are you feeling? You’ve been laying low these past few days. Are you ready to start right away?”
“How soon are we talking?”
“Tonight, or maybe tomorrow during the day?”
“Is it urgent? Similar to the previous task at Munsan Apartment?”
“Well, it’s urgent. Not for me, but for the client.”
That meant it was urgent, didn’t it? The fact that she could joke in such a situation made me wonder if it wasn’t as serious as I initially thought.
As I hesitated, Tudor gave me a slight mysterious smile and continued.
“Urgency aside, there are some details you need to be briefed on, so listen up.”
“What is it? Let’s hear it.”
“It’s about the Triad.”
“The Triad?”
The naming might have evoked associations with the Triad, which was a renowned criminal organization in China but it bore little relation to it.
A criminal organization that exerts extensive influence in the back alleys of Paju in a narrow sense and in the darkness of Korea more broadly…. It was essentially what one might refer to as the mafia.
Given that this was within the realm of [Cthulhu World] where monsters from other dimensions, mutants, and those with supernatural abilities could be used as human resources, the harm they could inflict was on a completely different scale from anything in the real world.
“Last time, it was about building connections with a large company, and now it’s ending up with the mafia?”
“This matter is more than that. If you handle it well, you might establish some very impressive connections for yourself.”
“You’re making it sound complicated. What’s it all about?”
“I’m not sure how much you know about the Triad but it’s an organization run by three leaders.”
The conversation seemed to be going in circles. It was fine to strategically pretend to be ignorant of the political situation in Paju, but it became problematic in situations like this.
It seemed like Tudor kept giving grandiose explanations because of her desire to convey to me how great this event was.
“I’m aware of that much. I even know that the names of those three leaders are Jeok-du, Heuk-wang, and Cheong-ho.”
“Ah, right, you’ve been in Paju for about two months now…”
“Yes. So, there’s no need to explain the Triad to me.”
“Okay. Then let’s get to the main point. One of the three heads of the Triad, Cheong-ho’s daughter, has been kidnapped.”
“His daughter?”
“Yes. There’s a bold and skilled crazy guy who infiltrated the house of a man at the top of the underworld and kidnapped his daughter. The request is to catch this person.”
Twenty years ago,
Ever since it became known that monsters descending from North Korea carried magic stones, treasures more valuable than gold, people from all walks of life flocked to Paju, as well as to Gangwon and northern Gyeonggi provinces.
Among them were criminal organizations, wearing the badge of the mafia… and among these, three of the most powerful joined forces to form the Triad.
If Korea had still boasted the dense public authority of its past, perhaps it could have contained them. However, in the aftermath of the Great Collapse, Korea was too preoccupied with dealing with Cthulhu monsters to pay any mind to the mafia.
Thus, in the shadows of Paju and across South Korea, the Triad grew by devouring the abnormal and crazy interests that were moving rapidly in the darkness of Paju and the Republic of Korea.
It had become a huge criminal organization that could no longer exist in the reality of South Korea.
As such, even within the realm of [Cthulhu World] it was one of the significant forces to reckon with.
Of the various possible destruction endings, 20% involve the Triad, either directly or indirectly…
This was a request that could place one in a position to bestow a personal favor upon one of the three heads of the Triad. Though Tudor had planned to abandon it due to the lack of a suitable person, it seemed she was inwardly hoping that I would take it on.
The quest proceedings were swift, and soon a quest acceptance message appeared above my head.
[You’ve accepted the quest!
<Search Quest: The Tiger’s Daughter>
The daughter of the Cheong-ho, one of the three heads of the Triad, has been kidnapped by someone. Locate Jeong Hyun-ah and ensure her safety.
! Time Limit: Jeong Hyun-ah will die in (2) hours !
Reward: 450,000XP + Cheong-ho’s Trust + 300,000,000 Won + Bonus depending on mission performance
Failure: You will have a hostile relationship with the Triad.]
The compensation was 300 million won.
If efforts were made to increase the bonus, it was possible to receive up to 540 million won, as I recall.
However, more important than earning an extra sum of money was gaining the trust of Cheong-ho, who held a 30% stake in the Samdoo Association.
Securing his trust would grant me access to restricted infrastructures such as black markets dealing in genuine grimoires or exclusive places like the Thousand Gold Temple.
It might require a bit of luck, but if things go well, there would be no need to rack my brains over translating ancient Tibetan texts from the medieval period.
