Chapter 102: Great Justice Tiger Sword (1)
Devote myself to King Man-geum and join the Thousand Gold Temple?
"..."
Well, there are endings that can only be unlocked by being a part of the Thousand Gold Temple.
One notable example was the [Guardian of the Thousand Gold Temple] ending.
Even if it's not such an easy ending, by strategically using your connection with the Thousand Gold Temple, you can also pursue endings like [Master of Treasures] or [Usurper of Dreams].
Perhaps because it reflects the goblins' tendencies, the episodes related to Thousand Gold Temple are generally less bloody.
If one's sole concern was personal safety, it was a choice worth considering.
"Your answer?"
"Of course, I dislike the idea."
"Even though you could receive treatment and rewards beyond what you have imagined and dreamed of?"
"The moment I place my name under King Man-geum, won't he decide what I can imagine and dream of?"
I would live a life for King Man-geum, under the illusion that it was what I had always wanted.
And that would make me a completely different being from who I am now.
"Kukuku... I knew it was a fruit you wouldn't bite, but I thought I'd prod just in case."
"Please let me out now."
"Go then. If you feel you cannot fulfill the task, just return what I have given you."
Once again, I bowed deeply to King Man-geum.
"Thank you."
[System: The 'Feast Offering' trait has been activated.]
[System: The 'Enhanced Vigilance' trait has been activated.]
[System: The 'Enhanced Vigilance' trait has been activated.]
[System: The 'Enhanced Vigilance' trait has been activated.]
[System: The 'Madness of the Abyss' trait has been activated. The effects of nightmares have been nullified.]
[System: The 'Madness of the Abyss' trait has been activated. The effects of daydreams have been nullified.]
[System: The 'Madness of the Abyss' trait has been activated. The effects of intimidation have been nullified.]
[System: The 'Madness of the Abyss' trait has been activated. The effects of confusion have been nullified.]
...
...
[Achievement Unlocked! You have explored the depths of King Man-geum's deep dream.
You have earned the 'Rare Achievement: Dream Within a Dream'.
As a reward for the achievement, a special quest is provided.]
As soon as my vision cleared, an overwhelming number of message windows flooded my view.
"Huh?"
Whoosh!
At that moment, I felt as if something had grabbed my ankle. Huh? Wait, what?! I tried to regain my balance, but ultimately I stumbled back a few steps.
"Stop, don't come any closer!"
It was the professor's voice. He sounded incredibly urgent. Huh??
"Ah! Professor?"
"Oh no!"
It turned out that the professor had been right behind me.
It's difficult for someone in a wheelchair to quickly dodge something. I ended up getting tangled with the professor and we both fell down.
Crash!
Ouch, I can't even tell what I hit.
"Ma-Mage friend, please move aside!"
"Just a moment, this is because..."
I wanted to get up quickly, but it wasn't easy.
New messages were still continuously appearing.
[You have accepted the quest!
You have become the owner of the Great Justice Tiger Sword (Nokjon). According to the fate bestowed upon the owner of the Great Justice Tiger Sword (Nokjon), you are to duel with the owner of the Great Four Tiger Sword (Mungok).
! Time limit: The owner of the Great Justice Tiger Sword will cease to exist in (581) days. !
Rewards: 9,000,000XP + ???
Failure: If you lose the duel, you will die. If you forfeit, King Man-geum will be disappointed.]
Damn it. Move!
I continuously waved my hands to disperse the message windows that appeared before my eyes.
"Bahahaha! You are indeed a diligent my friend."
"Ugh, what does that even mean?"
"Even amidst your busy schedule, to show us such amusing acrobatics, how could one not call you diligent?"
"Commander Thousand Gold... please, help us stand."
"Yes, got it, friends."
However, Seo Cheon-seul did not physically move to help us.
When he clapped his hands, the wheelchair rolling on the ground spontaneously bounced up and righted itself.
I grabbed the wheelchair and stood up, then supported the professor.
After much commotion, we finally managed to be in a state where we could take other actions.
"Hmm, first, first, Mage friend. First, that is, first..."
"Yes, uhh. First, professor, take these."
As we fell, items attached to the professor's wheelchair spilled out.
I quickly summoned magical power to gather the fallen objects and handed them one by one to the professor.
"Th-this is..."
"Why so... oh?"
The last item I handed to the professor was the foot-lighting lantern.
It could serve as an admission ticket to Thousand Gold Temple and was a precious item that could illuminate any path at any time.
"I don't think that's mine."
The problem was that a foot-lighting lamp was already in the professor's hand.
"No, what on earth does that mean...?"
So, the foot-lighting lamp...
One in my hand.
One in the professor's hand.
"Two foot-lighting lamps?"
Amidst the chaos, the foot-lighting lamp had duplicated.
It was as if we were bewitched by a goblin. Ah, a goblin.
"It must be one of the goblin tricks."
"Aha, I see. It seems you've also received an admission ticket."
[Achievement unlocked! You have obtained an admission ticket to the Thousand Gold Temple.
You have earned the 'Advanced Achievement: Dream Curse Shop'.
As a reward for the achievement, you have become friendly with the 'Thousand Gold Temple' faction and have gained additional experience points.]
"Yes, it looks like that."
No matter how sudden the situation was, it seemed unlikely that someone of the professor's stature would be completely taken by surprise by such an event.
Furthermore, I felt something grab my ankle before we fell. This was clearly a prank by King Man-geum.
"Congratulations on obtaining an item not easily acquired. But you didn't just receive it; perhaps the King himself..."
The professor wanted to say more but was interrupted by Seo Cheon-seul.
"Wait, masked friend. Sorry, but this place is important to us, you know? Moreover, other guests are starting to arrive. Understand?"
Seo Cheon-seul repeated "Understand? Understand?" a few more times before gesturing toward the back.
While I was detained by King Man-geum, it seemed that the passageway of the Thousand Gold Temple had been restored and I could see ghosts gathering over there.
"Yes, it seems like you should resume business here as well."
"Then, Commander Thousand Goldr, excuse me."
"Yes, I will tidy up here and follow soon, so friends and company, please rest over there for a while."
Seo Cheon-seul pointed to a hanok situated closest to this area, where King Man-geum's altar was located.
It was a hanok with a sizable wooden front porch.
"Sit there; it will be comfortable and nice. It's also good for me to have the guests in sight."
"Ah, thank you."
"Bahahaha, don't wander off to strange places and stay within my line of sight. I have something to pass on to you."
"Professor, let's move now."
With that, the professor and I moved to the wooden front porch.
As soon as I arrived at the porch, I felt a slight relief and immediately sat down.
Of course, I couldn't completely let my guard down here but it was inevitable that my legs would weaken.
So much had happened unexpectedly in just a short time.
"What did King Man-geum say?"
The professor who was still seated in his wheelchair asked with a serious expression.
Hmm, how far should I go with the story?
I habitually tried to gloss over the details, but I realized that such tactics would not work well with this gentleman.
Eventually, I muttered, "Oh well, let's just go with it" and then told the professor.
"King Man-geum has given me a task."
"A task?"
"Yes. Take a look at this."
I showed him the sword that had been hanging at my waist since some point.
The straight black blade slid out from its sheath.
The blade gleaming like obsidian was engraved with the Big Dipper and various constellations of the East and they were all shimmering in silver.
Wearing a mask was already more than I could handle, let alone having such a flashy ceremonial sword. I couldn't even imagine how ridiculous I must look to others.
"Is this a Tiger Sword, or rather... a Great Four Tiger Sword?"
A Great Four Tiger Sword is forged in the year, month, day, and hour of the Tiger.
Apparently, specifying such times during its creation is supposed to imbue it with the tiger's spirit?
The Great Four Tiger Sword was enhanced with special procedures to infuse it with a sharp and clear energy. A sword meant to cut down the corrupt.
It's more of a ceremonial tool or a magical tool than a weapon.
"No, this is—."
But this isn't a Great Four Tiger Sword.
"—a Great Justice Tiger Sword."
"Justice? A sword meant to cut down what is right?"
"Yes, this is the cursed sword that was entrusted to me by the broker of Vasilisa."
"Was the curse intentionally imbued during its creation? But why has it come back to you?"
"I also find it difficult to comprehend King Man-geum's intentions. It seems there is another sword that pairs with this one. He told me to defeat its owner."
"Huh."
The professor stroked his chin and opened his mouth wide as if amazed.
"I've brought famous fixers and powerful fighters here before, but I've never seen anyone receive such a request."
"It's not because I'm remarkable. It just happened that he needed someone for this task at the right time."
"No, if it were that simple, he would have assigned it to Commander Thousand Gold or another under his command."
With that, the professor handed me back the Great Justice Tiger Sword and continued,
"It seems there's something special about you after all. I don't know what lies ahead, but I'd like to see you around for a while longer."
With those words, he looked at me as if he were seeing someone who had just won the lottery.
But receiving that look, I felt a mix of emotions.
King Man-geum was known as the god of wealth and fortune, who ruled over goblins and had the power to ward off disasters and curses.
Just like the professor suggested, if my connection with King Man-geum could continue in a favorable way, I might receive unmatched blessings.
...That's the usual perspective, anyway.
The reality was more complex.
King Man-geum was actually an avatar of a more complex and dangerous entity.
The ancient god, [Lord of the Ancient Dream].
The first offer for me to state a wish stemmed from the will of [Lord of the Ancient Dream] behind King Man-geum.
Since I had declined that offer, a lesser task was assigned in the name of King Man-geum.
The problem was that I could not guess how completing this task would relate to the true form of King Man-geum.
This was a hidden quest unlike anything I had experienced in gameplay before.
And so, I couldn't predict what the outcome of the quest might be.
There was also far too little information about the target I was supposed to defeat.
As I focused for a moment, I was able to recall one of the messages that had flooded in and then disappeared earlier. Having a good memory certainly made this easier.
[You have become the owner of the Great Justice Tiger Sword (Nokjon). According to the fate bestowed upon the owner of the Great Justice Tiger Sword (Nokjon), you are to duel with the owner of the Great Four Tiger Sword (Mungok).]
Confront the owner of the Great Four Tiger Sword?
The Great Four Tiger Sword was merely a title. In [Cthulhu World], there are quite a few artifacts bearing such names.
Including those that appeared trivially, just the ones I had actually seen and remembered were... well, don't be surprised.
Exactly forty-four.