Chapter 154: The Shadow of Insu Village (3)

Just in case, I cast the detection spell again and rechecked the house.

There's definitely something more here.

Various tools, firearms, and keys were scattered around the place.

They seemed to be placed for the convenience of progressing the quest.

But these aren't things a mage would need.

Animal hides and carcasses were strewn about in the rooms I hadn't checked yet. It was probably the true bed of the village chief who was losing his human form. They might have just been placed there to tease the player.

I guess I can just take the ocarina that was in the safe.

Most of the items could be replaced with magic. There was no need to increase the risk by searching further.

I slowly moved to the window. It was the same window the villagers had been peeking through earlier.

"Ugh."

The window was covered with the villagers' handprints. What were they smearing on their hands? Was it greasy oil? Or maybe mucus?

As I got closer to examine the handprints, I noticed something strange.

The five fingers attached to the palm were abnormally long and had sharp claw-like nails. And more than anything else,

There's something between the fingers.

Was it a membrane? Like webbing? They really seemed to be frog-like creatures.

A strange shiver suddenly ran down my spine.

"Huh...?"

The window seemed to be moving away. No, I had stepped back.

Something was wrong. This felt very ominous.

By now, I could make a guess. I didn't know exactly what kind of creatures they were, but they were monsters related to my phobia.

Right. If there are werewolves, then... there must be those were-creatures too.

This was extremely troublesome.

Nothing was certain yet. The past Kim Shin-hwa must have had a way to escape, which is why he put me in this situation.

No, did that past Kim Shin-hwa not have any phobias? How did he come up with such a crazy idea?

After momentarily grumbling and ignoring the fact that the past Kim Shin-hwa was me, I extended my senses to check the state outside the window.

A damp, clammy, and even fishy-smelling magical power surrounded the area.

Surprisingly, this side isn't locked.

I created telekinesis with my magical power and opened the window.

Creeeak...

"Ugh!"

I didn't expect this. A terrible fishy smell wafted in from outside.

I felt nauseous. My stomach contracted and my throat tightened. Unconsciously, I bent over and my hand moved to my mouth.

Damn it, the fishy smell was so awful it made my head hurt.

Creeeak, thud!

Without thinking further, I hastily shut the window.

"Hah, what is this?"

I almost threw up. This is really something. What a crazy village.

I hesitated again.

"..."

Wait, why am I acting so passively?

Is it because of fear?

It's true I need to minimize risks, but this is a bit much.

I could have used a strategy to attack and capture the guys lurking outside.

"Hmm."

I straightened my back for a moment and stretched my arms to the left and right.

Crack, pop.

Having lost my artifacts, my weakened body made a terrible noise. Still, I felt like I had come to my senses.

"Alright."

This wasn't a situation where I could afford to waste time and move sluggishly.

"It's getting annoying to move so passively."

Live or die, I had to act. Time was running out. I moved toward the front door.

[Unlock]

Clank, click, clack. Beep!

The village chief had installed numerous locks, but they were no obstacle for me.

Shoes... Fortunately, the shoes were still there.

A large mirror placed between the inner door and the front door reflected my appearance. Sneakers, a yellow hemp robe that looked like burial clothes, and a mask resembling a frog. A strange-looking mage stared back at me.

What a strange sight.

I walked through the short yard and stepped outside the gate.

Creeeak—

I looked around but...

"Not much to see."

An eerie and milky-white fog covered the village.

"Is it that damned fog of war again?"

The fog was not severe enough to completely obscure visibility. Faint shapes of people and buildings could be seen through the fog.

And shadows of people appeared in the distance.

Those were the ones from earlier.

"Heuh-! Auh-! Haa-!"

"Heuh-! Ha-! Uuh-!"

They were walking while singing a strange song.

There were no lyrics. It seemed similar to the vocal sounds in pansori music, but it wasn't a pleasant melody.

Perhaps it was a language from another world that humans couldn't understand.

"Uuh-! Auh-! Heuh-!"

"Where are they going?"

The sound was gradually fading away. When I looked in that direction, a large shadow of a mountain emerged beyond the fog. Were they heading up the mountain?

Should I follow the villagers?

It's a choice.

If I followed the villagers, it seemed I would head towards the mountain. There wouldn't be a boat in the mountains, so to find a boat, should I go the other way?

"If I had a companion, we could split up and investigate both directions."

But there wasn't one.

No other choice.

I took a red bead out of my pocket.

It was a bead made from the blood I shed while opening the safe. It would have been nice to have a better medium, but this wasn't the time to be picky. I infused the bead with my magical power.

[Blood Tracker]

It was a spell I had learned by playing with flesh.

Squelch, slurp. Squelch.

The blood transformed into a body like a bead with a large mouth and a pair of wings.

"Keeee, keuuuu..."

The red creature wriggled its wings briefly and then settled on my finger.

"Good, good."

I lightly kissed its bright red wings and gave it a name.

"Your name is... Red."

"Keeee..."

The name didn't matter much. It wasn't a creature that would live long anyway. I gave Red a few commands and released it.

Flutter—

"Alright. Red will see what those good villagers are up to."

I should move to find the boat.

But where was the sea? If this was truly an island... should I move in the opposite direction of the mountain?

Though the fog mixed with sinister magical power was interfering with my senses,

"It's not that thick of a fog."

Besides, Red was providing some real-time information for me.

The density of the fog varied depending on the location. The closer to the mountain, the thicker the fog became. So, if I moved in the direction where the fog was thinner, I would likely reach the coast.

[Footsteps of the Mountain Goat]

After casting a spell to boost my stamina, I walked along the central road of the village.

Squish. Gurgle, squish.

Unlike the rather decent village chief's house, the road was bumpy and muddy.

Moreover, the damp and heavy air was unsettling. Even with magic suppressing it, my skin prickled as if sensing the fishy smell in the air.

A creepy feeling of unease set in.

At some point, an odd sound brushed past my ears.

"Han-guru, gurunama- gukul, rie- ganagul- hadan."

A strange whisper suddenly came from beyond the fog. It was the same tune the villagers were crying earlier.

"Hanglu, gurunama- krulfp, rie- ganagun- pahan."

The mantra was repeated like a song.

"Gapulu hatan, gapulg hatan."

I stopped for a moment, hid myself in a nearby wall, and activated a spell.

[Hazy Presence]

With my presence minimized, I hid within the fog and the wall and peeked in the direction from which the sound was coming.

Squish- gurgle- squish- squish.

They were people. Specifically, they were old men.

They look different from those guys earlier.

They were people who looked much more human. It seemed that not everyone in this village turned into a monster.

However, their appearances were the only thing intact.

The old men sang that strange song and performed incomprehensible actions with dazed expressions on their faces.

Squish- squish- squish- squish-

What are they doing?

Ropes and talismans and mud. Were they blocking the gate?

They wrapped the gate with ropes, attached talismans, and then smeared mud to build a wall.

Although it was primitive and crude, it was a barrier.

Didn't they say they were holding the Dragon King Festival tomorrow?

In the message left by the past Kim Shin-hwa, the expression of "Dragon King Festival" was mentioned.

And the priest would circle the village.

If I get caught by the priest, will I be eaten by that Dragon King?

What a terrifying feast.

As expected, it wasn't a festival for humans.

I couldn't recall specific details about this village, but I had seen similar scenarios enough to guess.

A village of enslaved humans ruled by cannibalistic beings of a different race.

Squish, squish- squish- drip-

Hands desperately moved to stack the mud bricks. And they sang a song repeatedly.

"Hanguru, grunama- gekul, rie- ganagul- hadan."

"......"

Even though I had lost my memory, it wasn't to the point where I didn't understand what those sounds meant.

Ph'nglui Mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh Wgah'nagl Fhtagn.

It was a prayer for Cthulhu who sleeps in the deep sea.

Had it been passed down in this village and turned into a dialect?

Were they worshipping Cthulhu instead of the Dragon King? It was a bit strange, but it was possible. When I reached this thought, a sharp headache surged in my head.

"Ugh......"

My head suddenly hurt. What was this? A memory almost resurfaced but then faded away. There was a huge shadow hidden in the mist. And a peculiar structure of the village.

It was frustrating. It would be nice if the memory resurfaced properly.

Should I kidnap a villager and interrogate them? For example, that person over there...

There are too many people around right now. Let's check the ship and come back.

Leaving the strangely dressed villagers behind, I walked a bit further.

Squelch- squelch-

Even though I was using magical power to adjust, the constantly clinging mud made it difficult for me to walk.

"......"

The sounds that should naturally be heard by the sea were absent.

There was no sound of waves. And it smells really fishy in this place, but... This smell was completely different from the smell of the sea.

Is this village not by the sea?

A feeling that something was fundamentally wrong began to take root in my mind.

The more I walked, the lighter the fog became, but the fishy smell grew stronger. Yet it remained quiet.

It was extremely ominous.

My heart beat for no reason.

I felt as though I had made a completely wrong judgment. There was a strange sense that I shouldn't proceed further.

And finally, I emerged completely from the fog.

The fog has ended?

I saw a clear view.

Barren hills and mountains stretched out in the distance. They were dotted with trees.

How could this be?

It wasn't a sea...

It was the mountains.

Insu Village was a secluded village nestled in the mountains.

Find a ship? What kind of situation was this?

As I walked a bit further, I witnessed an even more bizarre sight.

Along the village boundary was an enormous pit. No, a valley?

No, that was...

"A reservoir? Or a lake?"

Or was it a river? Is this a trace of a river or something?

There was a reason it was hard to recognize immediately.

This is because what should have been visible if it were a river, lake, or reservoir was missing.

There was no water.

Only a deeply dug pit along the village boundary remained; the river had completely dried up.

And in the few puddles scattered on the riverbed, a huge number of dead things were accumulated. They were emitting a terrible fishy smell.

Scales. Tiny. Sparkling. They occasionally wriggled. Disgusting. Swarming. Countless. Horrifying. Tangled. Nauseating. Damp. Repulsive. Decaying. Revolting. Teeming. Terrible.

Fish.