Chapter 54: Dimensional Species

White foam trickled from the corners of his mouth.

Shrrrrrr...

[System: The 'Enhanced Vigilance' trait has been activated.]

Before I knew it, he was holding a vicious chain in his hand. So much for dialogue; was it straight into battle mode now?

The USB wasn't the issue. I needed to figure out where he got this nonsense from and what had led him to spout such madness.

At that moment, Je Mu-gyeong started to move violently while swinging the chain with ferocity.

Whoooosh!!!

The chain flew through the air as if it were tearing through a wall of air itself.

"Holy shit!"

Crazy, was this the sound a chain was supposed to make?

[Protective Circle]

[Spell Enhancement: Multicasting]

Transparent protective circles formed at a speed faster than the incoming chains.

I already knew he was unreasonably strong. A single layer wouldn't be enough to stop him.

Crack, crack, crack!!!

I managed to form five protective circles, but four of them were shredded like paper.

"Tch, can't we just talk, mask to mask!"

From within the sackcloth wrapped around Je Mu-gyeong, two additional arms emerged.

A powerful body covered with bursting muscles.

Unlike other test subjects, his four arms were symmetrically and proportionately attached.

And each hand had six fingers.

This reminded me of the creature I had seen in the pharmaceutical warehouse, the type D biological tissue sample. He looked like that small creature. Well, It wasn't an exact match, but it seemed like that monstrous creature could grow into something resembling Je Mu-gyeong's current form.

It was inevitable.

If those little monsters were to grow up, they'd turn into Je Mu-gyeongs.

Je Mu-gyeong was the most terrible failure and, paradoxically, the only success among the specimens created in the [Ga-5060 Secret Research Facility] disguised as an abandoned hospital.

And what I had secured in the glass bottle was a clone of Je Mu-gyeong. It might be an unpleasant term, but it wouldn't be wrong to call it his offspring.

Anyway, talking was now out of the question.

I had thought it to be the most cost-effective strategy if it could succeed, but the worst outcome awaited me.

It was time to set aside any notion of dialogue and proceed with what I had originally intended to do.

I needed to seize the USB that was somewhere on him.

To do that...

Use only spells that won't damage the USB while dealing with such an enemy?

I had assured Curtain Call that I could handle it alone, but it was no easy task.

Recklessly unleashing lightning or any other potentially explosive attack could destroy the program contained within the USB.

And that wasn't the end of it.

The sackcloth he was wrapped in was not just for show.

It was an artifact created at the cost of mythical madness and exquisite ritual steeped in the lore of the Cthulhu Mythos.

As long as he wore it, Je Mu-gyeong would possess a strong resistance to magic.

This item was on a completely different level from the local area magic nullification that Leopard from earlier could barely produce.

There are degrees to handicap matches!

I decided to put some distance between us.

If I got caught by that monstrous mass of muscle, I would be instantly reduced to minced meat.

[Leap]

Dazzling patterns of light begin to bloom on my clothes.

Paaa—

I leaped backward.

A long trail of light followed my movement.

The gap between the creature and me widened and I quickly found myself outside the room.

The corridor wasn't particularly spacious, but it was far better than the cramped surgery room, which was no place to fight an opponent like this.

Je Mu-gyeong was momentarily shaking with an uneasy expression before he charged at me while swinging his chains.

On the additional arms attached to his side, a large hammer and a saw somehow appeared.

"Ah, just give me a moment to regroup!"

[Lock]

Crash!

I used my magic to shut the door.

Then, I poured more magical power into reinforcing the door.

[Hardening]

[Protective Circle]

[Metal Heating]

A double barrier was set up on the surgery room door, which began to glow red-hot due to the intense heat forcibly applied to it. Could it hold for a minute? No, perhaps just 30 seconds?

Boom!!!

Damn it, shouldn't he at least stop for ten seconds out of courtesy?

It wasn't just the door; the walls surrounding the door were also torn apart.

Amidst hurling the walls and door, Je Mu-gyeong spouted bizarre words with a deranged expression on his face as if he had gone mad.

"I must escape this world... I must get out... Help me... Lend me that skin...!"

"Ah, yes, that's exactly what I wanted to talk about! Um... but what did you say you wanted to borrow?"

"Skin! The skin! Give me that skin! Give me your skin!"

The sound of chains clattering filled the air as the iron hook flew towards me.

"Thunder... No! [Chains of Domination]!"

[Spell Enhancement: Maximization]

[Spell Enhancement: Multicasting]

Seven strands of iron chains formed in all directions, each emitting a dazzling golden light as they seized Je Mu-gyeong's iron hook.

"Ugh, quite heavy...!"

Stop.

The iron hook came to a halt in mid-air with a grating sound of metal. For a moment, Je Mu-gyeong seemed taken aback by the unexpected turn of events.

"Hey! Je Mu-gyeong! Skin man! Skin!"

Ah, I was so rushed that I couldn't form a proper sentence. Before Je Mu-gyeong could say anything else, I managed to complete my thought.

"You know what it is! Tell me! What is needed to escape this world?"

That's right, Je Mu-gyeong could know. Because...

"Yes... Yes... I know. I can tear through the veil that covers this world and set off beyond that distant sea of stars, to the deep, deep abyss that exists beyond that, to the calm and quiet unknown land beyond that!"

"Ah, well done! Yes, you can do it, Je Mu-gyeong!"

Yes, Je Mu-gyeong possessed a unique ability.

Originally, he had the ability to glimpse beyond the veil that enveloped the world of [Cthulhu World]. Helistic's crazy scientists had infused his body with the DNA of various species and the fluids of abyssal beings, transforming Je Mu-gyeong into a being that was no longer human.

"They revealed it to me. Those who walk between dimensions and have the wisdom of the abyss and the power of the other world told me! They accepted me as one of their own, as part of their kin. They whispered to me the way to escape this world! A way to escape from this world where destruction is approaching, where even death itself will perish in the approaching abyss!"

So, what the hell is that supposed to mean?

The answer that came after such a long wait was... fu*k. It was just absurd nonsense.

"A mage who gained infinite wisdom, magic, and madness after gazing into the abyss. The only way is to skin that mage and wear his skin. That's all there is to it!"

At that moment, Je Mu-gyeong's form began to blur. The tension in the chains slackened. Oh, shit!

Before I could react, Je Mu-gyeong had completely vanished.

Reborn through the modifications of Helistic, Je Mu-gyeong became a monster who could hear the whispers from beyond the dimensions, tear through the veil on his own, and move to the other side of dimensions at will.

A dimensional species created by human hands. That is what Je Mu-gyeong is.

He hasn't moved far.

However, Je Mu-gyeong who was merely a prototype, lacked the energy and magical power to freely leap between dimensions and depart for other worlds. I retrieved the magical power contained in the chains of domination and expanded my senses.

Behind the wall?

I detected his magical power along with the sound of clanging chains right beyond the wall behind my back.

Crack! Crunch!

Before I could do anything, Je Mu-gyeong burst through the wall behind me. He was charging at me with a creepy large saw that emitted a flashing light.

It was a headlong rush with a large saw leading the way.

"Aaah, piece of shit...!"

With a body boasting a mere agility of 8, it was an attack of absurd speed and force that was simply too fast for me to properly react.

To naively trust in a protective circle and face it head-on would be fatal!

[The unique effect of the L-rank accessory 'Carcosa's Mask', 'Dreamy Blur', has been activated.

// Dreamy Blur: Automatically casts 'Blink' spell]

I felt a strange feeling of the mask covering my face pulling me away.

The space around me twisted. The magic imbued in the mask teleported me to a different location in an instant.

The activation of Blink, a top-tier survival spell that allowed for short-distance teleportation in dangerous moments, had saved me.

[Blink complete. Cooldown: 864,000 seconds]

His attack sliced through the air in vain.

In the next moment, I found myself appearing right behind Je Mu-gyeong.

With his intended target suddenly vanished, he lost his balance and stumbled forward.

It was an attack launched with tremendous force.

He could not overcome the momentum that pushed him onward and crashed into the wall....is what I thought would happen, but instead, he swung his four arms and pounded the ground.

Boooom!

This recoil stopped his charge in its tracks.

What kind of monster was this?

No, that's not right. He didn't move like this in the game. He wasn't this strong, nor did he attack so recklessly.

Something's different from the game.

It reminded me of my last encounter with Lee Chang-hyeok. In the game, Lee Chang-hyeok transformed into an absurd monster by opening the bag that couldn't be opened within the game.

A strength and madness far different from his game settings.

This guy must have opened something that couldn't be opened in the game, or seen something that couldn't be seen in the game, right?

And then there were the other recent incidents: the ghoul shaman, Jang Hyeon-deok, and now Je Mu-gyeong alongside Curtain Call.

NPCs deviating from their game settings. It's not certain, but Je Mu-gyeong's complete breakdown probably occurred around the same time as the other NPCs.

"Je Mu-gyeong, you crazy bastard! Stop obsessing over your damn skin and tell me the real way! How can I escape this world?"

"You need to hammer a hook into the top of the head, carve a slit in the chest, and start from the mouth to peel off the skin. All these must be done while the subject is still alive."

What are you saying? Are you going to skin me alive?

"What are you saying! Be reasonable, you lunatic!"

Whooosh!

With utter disregard for dialogue, he suddenly hurled a hammer at me. This damned bastard.

[Arrow of Destruction]

[Spell Amplification: Maximization]

Crash! Baang!

With no time to dodge or block, I launched an energy arrow enhanced with explosive power.

Thanks to my precise control over my magical power, the Arrow of Destruction exploded at the perfect timing and angle and managed to alter the trajectory of the hammer.

"Agh..."

Conversely, it could be said that barely altering its course was all I could manage.

But the hammer wasn't the end of it. Before I knew it, he leaped forward with tremendous physical force, creating an impact that was enough to shatter the floor.

Boooom!

"Good grief..."

Je Mu-gyeong's massive body, armed with a saw flew towards me. Wait, this timing is off; this could be dangerous. This attack carried even more destructive power than the previous charge. Blink was already used up. I had to choose the fastest spell I could activate despite the potential loss...

"Heaaaaaad!!"

At that moment, a bright red flash came out of nowhere and flew towards Je Mu-gyeong's head

White hair stained and mottled with blood, a cool leather jacket that still managed to shine with a red gloss, and a zanbato sword larger than the giant saw that Je Mu-gyeong was holding.

It was Curtain Call. Just as her overhead strike was about to impale Je-mukyeong's head, he grabbed the hammer lying on the ground and blocked her attack.

Claaanggg!!!