Chapter 109: T's Clock (2)

The mechanical devices began to operate in a way that was too complex to comprehend its structure.

"Is that the T's clock? What does T stand for? Time?"

Creeeak...

Several springs shifted out of place, revealing a hidden dial.

But it was not just numbers.

Chinese characters, Roman symbols, Egyptian hieroglyphs, discs depicting Christian saints, runes, Tibetan script, and languages of civilizations long vanished.

A complex interplay of designs each from different origins and texts.

Though their expressions differed, the symbols and patterns focused on a single theme.

Stars and constellations.

It wasn't accurate to call it a clock.

"Rather than a clock, it's more like..."

An astronomical observation tool created in a very complex way?

A celestial globe for predicting the directions of celestial bodies?

It might also have been a computer created in a very primitive manner.

"Do I really need to lie down in the coffin to see this?"

I wasn't sure if this should be called a consistent concept or a shitty preference.

But soon, I discovered why it was essential for this device to be operated from this place.

A peculiar change began at the window at the center of the machinery.

Click! Creak!

Through the large window, various symbols, golden rings, and meaningful metal rods started to converge.

And against the backdrop of the night sky beyond the window, specific information began to take shape.

It looked like a treasure map marking a special secret location.

"What is that?"

Nine golden rings aligned along a trajectory in the night sky. At first glance, they seemed randomly placed, but they were arranged in a pattern that I recognized.

"So..."

Remarkably, three of the nine rings had stars hanging at their centers. These were stars that shone ominously and vividly in the dark night sky.

And so, there are six empty rings and three rings that are shining because they are filled with stars.

"Ah, is that T?"

T? The shortcut T?!

"Ah! It really is T?!"

That! That is T!

T!

"T!"

I lay in the coffin for a moment while flailing my arms and legs. Just to be clear, I wasn't having a seizure or anything of the sort

"So, that's what's the T of T's clock means. It really was T?"

This scene was not new to me.

No, I had seen it all too often, whenever I was bored or had nothing else to do.

A landscape created by complex machinery hidden in the attic. The scenery created using nine metal rings, rods, windows, and stars was none other than "T".

No, this was one of the special screens you could see while playing [Cthulhu World].

You know, like when you press M and the whole screen shows a map.

Right now, this was the view you could always get by pressing the T button on the Cthulhu World game screen.

I don't know why it was T or what T stands for. But pressing T brought up this very scene before my eyes.

This screen is a crucial indicator in the game.

Cthulhu World is fundamentally an open-world game.

If you play an open-world game absentmindedly, you might spend all your time without even touching the main storyline.

To force players who dabble in other activities to focus on the main scenario, they created this system.

That's the T.

Each time a major event in the game progresses, a dangerous incident threatening to destroy this world approaches, or the end draws near, one of the nine rings fills up.

Once all the rings are filled, the stars find their places and the beings of the abyss that were waiting in the shadows emerge and destroy the world in their preferred way.

Then it's GAME OVER. In other words, a destruction ending.

So the most important objective in Cthulhu World is...

To stop the terrible plans of the beings of the abyss before the nine rings that were commonly called the Doom Count or Doom Track by gamers were filled.

The problem was that no one knew which entity would cause a cataclysmic event, how, or in what way.

Because it was different every time you played the game!

Thanks to that dynamic real-time active quest system!

With the dynamic real-time active quest system, every NPC moves and lives according to your choices! Even if you visit the same place, the situation and appearance will be completely different each time!

"But why does the Hollow Lord have that clock?"

No, that wasn't important. Anyway, secret doors and secret locations had always been implemented haphazardly.

My opponents were surreal monsters capable of shaking the very laws of the world. Foresight was easy for them, and if they wanted, they could travel back in time. Placing that clock in my path ahead of time was a simple task.

"Right, that's not the issue."

The fact that three stars were filled meant the main story was truly about to unfold.

"Maybe that's why various strange phenomena started occurring in Paju?"

Whether the filling of the rings caused the issues or the rings filled in response to the issues, I didn't know, but the sequence didn't matter.

Anyway, having a visible indicator to grasp the game's progress was a significant change.

"Tsk, three filled rings is still a good score."

It had been quite some time since I arrived in Paju.

As many resources as I had used and as much work as I had done, only three rings were filled, meaning this playthrough was truly worth continuing.

It was good to have the goal of preventing the world's destruction before all the rings were filled, but there was a problem.

There were no happy endings in [Cthulhu World].

Somehow reaching the ending only meant my own destruction awaited me.

"So, my task was to find and stop the one who would destroy this world before that destruction counter filled up completely..."

Or I had to find a way to escape this world before the rings were filled up completely.

I stood up and exited the coffin.

At the same time, the mechanical devices connected to the ceiling and windows returned to their places, and soon the attic reverted to being dark and silent, with nothing moving.

Anyway, this helped clear my mind.

I had thought I was aimlessly lost, but in any case, this world was steadily advancing toward its destruction.

That destruction counter didn't fill up just because time passed.

It filled up and emptied based on the achievements of the beings of the abyss and their cultists. If I did well, I could even empty the already-filled rings.

For now, I didn't know much else, but I aimed to extend the time I could keep moving as much as possible.

To do that, as expected...

"Do I have no choice but to poke around and wander?"

It would be great if the descendants of Fomalhaut could give me some direction.

After I left the attic and went down the stairs, I encountered Heo Sang-hyeon on the second floor.

"There are two people who can be considered key figures."

"The captain and the vice-captain?"

"Yes."

Ah, so that one really was the captain.

"Where are they?"

"In the taxi, I mean, in the outermost room on the second floor."

"The taxidermy room? Got it."

That was the room where the Hollow Lord had hidden before. I had taken him out there.

"The remaining people total fourteen, and they're all lying outside."

Looking down through the hallway window, they looked less like subdued captives and more like refugees or survivors of a disaster.

No need to worry about them.

Creeeak...

The taxidermy room was filled with taxidermy tools, stuffed animals, and strangely shaped furniture.

Though I called them furniture, they were actually racks and torture tables. They had no other purpose than efficient torture and restraint.

The captain and vice captain were meticulously tied to these pieces. It must have been Heo Sang-hyeon who bound them.

The vice captain who was surrounded and beaten by necromancy golems was in a critical condition, but the captain was quite lively.

"You heretic! Torturing us is useless! Our pain will fuel the living flame, and my death will complete my faith."

"No, I don't intend to torture you."

I had no intention of torturing them.

Even if I tortured these masochists, they would just be pleased and think they were undergoing some great ordeal.

I didn't particularly enjoy inflicting pain either.

"Then why are you tying us up like this...? What do you intend to do?"

"Huh? You're oddly focusing on the wrong part of this. Sorry, but it's just a communication error. I'm not into that sort of thing."

The captain trembled with anger.

"Are you trying to insult me?!"

"No, I'm not..."

Haah... I was getting tired.

What would I gain from tormenting an old man like you?

Besides, cultists of this level were no different from madmen. Engaging in a long conversation with a madman would only be a loss for me.

"Tell your master! Insulting me like this won't gain you anything!"

"Hmm..."

By master, he probably meant the Hollow Lod.

They attacked thinking Heo Sang-hyeon was still alive and didn't realize the owner of the building had changed.

"Well, there's no special information to extract from you, and persuading you not to come back won't work, will it?"

So, I had prepared something.

I spread my palm and showed it to him.

In my palm lay a small lump of flesh that writhed in a disturbing manner.

A tiny caterpillar-like lump of flesh with no eyes, mouth, legs, or anything else.

"W-What is that...?"

"Go in."

[Witness of the Contract]

As I cast the spell, the lump of flesh jumped up quickly and forced its way between the captain's lips.

He clenched his teeth and tried to resist with all his might, but this wasn't the kind of magic he could stop that way.

"Ugh! Cough! Gah!"

"Stop it, it won't come out just because you're doing that."

"What have you... what have you done to me...?"

"What did I feed you? Don't worry, it's not the kind of thing that will make your body hot or give you strange sensations."

"You bastard, are you still trying to insult me?!"

"No, let me show you what it is."

I created a magic circle on the floor of the room.

"See the magic circle? There's a growth acceleration spell cast on it."

"......?"

I took out another lump of flesh and threw it into the magic circle.

Swoosh!

The moment the lump of flesh came into contact with the magic circle, it began to grow rapidly.

Crack, crack, crack, crackle!!!

It wasn't just growth; it was more like an explosion. The small lump of flesh that was barely the size of a fingertip suddenly grew to almost the size of a person.

It didn't just become enormous.

It randomly sprouted huge tentacles, spikes, horns, and claws all over its body.

Yes, that pitch-black lump of flesh was created based on a part of the [Wriggling Slime] found in the secret location in Unjeong Station.

"Grrrrrrrrrr!!"

Witnessing its monstrous and terrifying appearance up close, the captain's face turned completely pale. It was a sight that could drive someone mad, but since he was a cultist, he managed to avoid a complete breakdown.

"You get the rough idea, right?"