Chapter 16: Geumchon Pawnshop

The next item was not an artifact.

It was a pair of handguns.

Yes, guns...

One had been picked up from the secret research facility I had initially escaped from and the other belonged to Lee Chang-hyuk.

At first, my strength was so low that I couldn't even shoot a gun but now I was capable of using them.

Moreover, I could now boost my physical strength using magical power....

Since I had the [Precise Aim] shooting trait, it seemed worthwhile to use my shooting skills alongside my magic.

Of course, like the Red Dragon's Orb, using magic directly would be more effective than relying on the guns themselves.

However, if I could imbue them with some magical power they might become more useful.

In addition, although such enemies wouldn't appear right away, there were some enemies who were immune to magic in [Cthulhu World].

Actually, Lee Chang-hyuk also had magic resistance, although it was at a weak level.

In any case, having one or two supplementary weapons wouldn't be a bad idea. I should probably think about buying some ammunition.

The last items were... the most dangerous of them all.

[Wriggling Slime (SS-rank Catalyst): A fragment extracted from 'The one who lost his form'. Consuming this would grant you immense evolution and cosmic wonder.]

[Black Goat's Body Fluid (SSS-rank Catalyst): This is the body fluid of the 'Outer God — The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young'. It's a miraculous elixir that heals all diseases and bestows unprecedented new powers and a transcendent mind.]

"These claims are surely exaggerated."

Items directly related to outer gods tend to be like this, proclaiming, "Try it once, and something really good will happen".

As Lee Chang-hyuk himself demonstrated, the blessings of these gods manifest in bizarre forms that humanity is not yet ready to accept.

These items are beyond my complete control.

I have sealed them away with magic to prevent any external influence, but the magic circles painted on the jars are fading.

That was quick.

For now, I've reinforced the magic circles by pouring more magical power into them.

This was just a temporary measure. Without finding a proper catalyst or container to seal them completely, there was no telling when they might break free.

In addition to these, there was cash worth 20 million won, including the money stolen from Lee Chang-hyuk and the amount I received as compensation for the request.

The sorting was roughly completed. There were documents belonging to Lee Chang-hyuk, but I just roughly organized and piled them up with the intention of looking at them again later.

Tudor will take care of the ID card and the bank account.

She said that it would take about a month. I could visit again around that time, but I didn't plan to idle away the entire period.

To save time, I needed to get moving, even if just a little.

Ugh... But for now, let's just lie down for a moment.

I ended up lying down again.

Ah, lying down really is the most comfortable...

My body ached all over. My fingertips were numb, and my legs felt weak. Every movement of my shoulders was accompanied by ominous sounds.

I still needed to find an artifact to improve my health. Unlike the [Ring of Corrupted Flame] that boosts strength, there was an artifact that could increase health and could be bought with money.

I needed to go shopping to acquire it.

And I have to deal with some useless items and buy some bullets.

But today, I decided to rest a bit more... As I lay down, my eyes began to close...

***

Today's destination was a secret shop where you could trade items from the Cthulhu mythos.

I had dallied all day, and by the time I set out, it was already dark.

Wandering around at this time with a mask on was better.

Ignoring the surprised stares of the occasional passersby, I walked on. The secret shop was not far from my lodging.

Paju in reality has this tendency, but Paju in [Cthulhu World] is a city of abnormal and extreme haphazard development.

That's why the atmosphere of the city changes completely with just a block or two's difference.

[Welcome. Geumchon Traditional Market, Gate 3]

The area around Geumchon Traditional Market was a typical old downtown. It was a neighborhood where an old market that was formed long ago remained still and the surrounding scenery was either charmingly familiar or ambiguously run-down.

The buildings in the vicinity looked to be generally old as if they were built more than 40 years ago.

My body is still....

I had spent the entire day doing nothing but lying down, yet I could already feel my body getting stiff.

I sighed for a moment and looked up at the building where the [Secret Shop] was located.

It was a three-story building finished with colorful bricks.

The building's walls were covered with signs that had faded from years of weathering...

Starting from the bottom right, the signs read as follows: a shoe store, a dubious-looking coffee shop, an eyewear shop announcing a clearance event, a mobile phone store with numerous Chinese instructions, a recently updated thrift fashion shop, a computer laundry, a boiler distributor, a fortune-telling shop, and a sign with letters fallen off, reading "eumhon awn hop".

That "eumhon awn hop" was the secret shop. Well, it was called the Geumchon Pawnshop.

Of course, the pawnshop operation was a kind of front.

Alongside items typical for a pawnshop, it was a place where one could trade items from the Cthulhu mythos.

I walked up the narrow, dirty stairs and entered the pawnshop.

The Geumchon Pawnshop occupied a large space, almost an entire floor, but the space was cluttered and chaotic because of the miscellaneous and antiques piled up throughout the hall, which made it difficult to take a step forward.

Various odd items were displayed on shelves made of rustic wood. There were piles of Buddha statues, luxury watches, and stacks of old books.

Beside that shelf, cages containing creatures like lizards and parrots were placed, and on the floor next to the shelves lay old jars, radios, air conditioners, and various electronic devices.

Toys, comic books, bottles containing strange creatures, jewelry, incomprehensible magical tools, chakrams, masks, everyday necessities, crumpled clothes, dry herbs, and what appeared to be bone fragments and human remains were strewn about.

Just looking around this cluttered place was enough to make one's head spin.

Among this chaos, a small girl who looked to be of middle to high school age was seen dozing off while leaning against a large metal gong.

She was dressed in a bulky school gym uniform with an old apron inscribed with "Geumchon Traditional Market Prosperity Association". Her hair was tightly pulled back and her round face looked cute.

I recognized her. It was Jeong Ye-eun, the part-time worker at the Geumchon Pawnshop.

"Whew... Ah, welcome, heh?! Kyaaak!"

Startled by the sound of my footsteps, Ye-eun tried to rise and greet me, but upon seeing my face, or rather my mask, she screamed in surprise.

Unfortunately, her flailing arms caused a precariously stacked tower of rice cookers to collapse.

Warrrrr-

The cylindrical rice cookers rolled noisily across the already cramped pawnshop, knocking over several jars.

Crash!

The impact unsettled the shelves loaded with various animals, and several cages tumbled to the ground.

Bang, crash.

Ah, why on earth did this pawnshop keep such things? Among the broken boxes, one, unfortunately, contained white mice. They were probably used as food for reptiles?

Dozens of mice scattered in every direction.

Squeak, squeak.

I was relieved that I no longer had a fear of rats.

"Kyaaak! Catch them! Catch them!"

That was Ye-eun's scream. She was asking me to catch the mice?

"What's happening!"

A short old man burst out from the back room of the pawnshop. It seemed like it would have been better not to run.

"Uaaak!"

The old man tripped over a rice cooker rolling on the floor.

Crash!

He fell so dramatically that I was worried he might have broken something. Ah, and due to the impact of his fall, a nearby shelf began to tilt...

Crash, bang, boom!

What... what the hell is going on...?

***

The pawnshop was already dirty and cluttered and now it looked as if it had been bombed.

The old man who had fallen earlier was now wrapping a bandage around his arm and casting a glance at Jeong Ye-eun.

"I called you to help clean up, and on your first day, you turn the shop into this mess?"

"No, but I was really surprised!"

At the same time, Ye-eun subtly pointed at my mask.

"Look at that; isn't it scary?"

It was partly my fault for coming wearing a skull-shaped mask. But can it really be said that this commotion was caused by me? If you want to blame me, you should at least make some effort to tidy up.

"Ah, my apologies. My granddaughter is rather absent-minded."

Fortunately, the old man seemed to have decided to treat me not as a rogue or an intruder but as a customer.

"No, it's fine."

"Anyway, you seem like a customer who purposefully chose this time to visit. What can I help you with?"

The old man's name is Jeong Eun-taek. Those who know him usually refer to him as Elder.

Now, he might seem like a shrunken and short elderly man, but he once had the reputation of being a renowned fixer.

He had resolved numerous Cthulhu Mythos events, some of which were horrific enough to threaten human extinction.

But now, he has retired and runs a secret shop.

I took out the [Red Dragon's Orb] and showed it to him.

"I'd like to dispose of this. And there are things I want to buy as well."

"Hmm..."

Jeong Eun-taek wore strange glasses with several small lenses and slowly examined the orb.

"Hmm... The craftsmanship is average, and it's imbued with murky magical power. Not old... No, it was made recently. It's not something that could have been made by normal means."

He looked up at me. It's tricky to reveal its origin.

I avoided answering by gesturing that I didn't know, but he nodded his head as if he understood something.

"Well, I can dispose of this for you. Are you selling it?"

"How much will it fetch?"

"Religious artifacts often have questionable origins... let's say 3,000."

"You're buying an artifact with a survival feature for that price?"

Jeong Eun-taek grinned slyly.

"It seems you know what it is. Alright, 4,000."

"...How about you throw in those gloves and make it 3,000?"

He frowned and turned his head in the direction I pointed.

[Slurping Gloves (B-rank Armor): Bike gloves with a modern design. It is an item that has been given magical power through the hands of a craftsman. Enhancement: Health +2]

"That item alone is worth two thousand."

"How about fifteen hundred? I'll buy those and the items listed here. Just give me a change of 20. I'm willing to take a slight loss."

I handed him a note I had prepared earlier.

I knew from the beginning that this store would be such a messy place, so I wrote down the necessary catalysts and small tools in advance.

"Hmph..."

After reading the note, Chung looked at me for a moment with a look that said, "What the hell is this guy doing?" and then tossed the gloves to me.

The amount was surprisingly exact, wasn't it?

"I'll get the other items ready for you; just have a look around for a bit."

"That's fine."

"Just don't knock anything else over."

"That's something you should be saying to your granddaughter, not me."

"Hmph!"

He picked up the orb and disappeared into the back room of the pawnshop.

I spent a moment examining the Slurping Gloves.

They were motorcycle gloves made of black leather.

Each glove featured a rugged carbon knuckle on the back of the hand and robust protectors on each finger.

I liked the design because it was quite cool.

Kind of... it stirred the middle-schooler inside my heart.

I tried them on and the size was perfect They clung to my hands in a pleasing way.

But why are they called Slurping Gloves?

There are so many better names, aren't there? They're not even gloves for eating ramen, so why such a name? It's not like I know everything that exists in [Cthulhu World], though.

How could I possibly know the details of things that the game itself glossed over without explanation?