Chapter 7: Nightmare

It was a terrible nightmare I had.

I was aware that I was merely dreaming of this nightmare yet I couldn't escape from it.

The pouring rain and the chilling moonlight.

The ground split open as massive pillars rose up. Even though this was a place where there shouldn't be a sea, huge waves crashed in, and the dark sea water covered everything.

The mud and stench, the horrifyingly turbulent rotten and fishy smell.

In the bizarre sky radiating an indescribable light, stood a gigantic—enormously large—green giant.

That massive—great—terrifying—being gazed down at me with its strangely eerie eyes.

Those empty eyes that contained darkness and the abyss! looked down at me!

Crackle-

[System: The unique trait 'Madness of the Abyss' has been activated. The nightmare effect has been nullified.]

It was the "Nightmare of R'lyeh" event that randomly occurs when dreaming.

It was like a fun broadcast sent randomly by the great Cthulhu buried in the deep sea, but if you got caught in it, you could be forced into losing your sanity.

[Madness of the Abyss] protected my sanity and mind, but it couldn't prevent the feeling of disgust from rising up.

Such a rare event on the first day! What luck! Shit, it must be because of that trait, right?

[Feast Offering: Increased probability of encountering beings from the abyss]

"Haah..."

I couldn't help but sigh.

The tacky wallpaper of the cheap unmanned hotel caught my eye. I had escaped the nightmare, but not this unfortunate reality.

I could shove aside the damp, sticky bedsheet, but I couldn't bring myself to get up.

Ah, this is driving me crazy.

It's not like I've developed [Mental illness — Lying Down is Best], and I don't want to waste time lying around when every moment counts.

I wanted to escape this hotel right away but my body wouldn't move.

It's only natural that I need a warm-up, but really, this body is too much.

Ultimately, this was the consequence of my own making.

I thought, "It's not really my life anyway", and carelessly loaded myself with penalties, which have now boomeranged back to become my life.

It's not just a matter of stats. I couldn't see my HP bar, but due to [Weakened Health], my HP must be extremely low.

Because of [Weakened Strength], my actual physical strength was probably lower than the 5 shown on my status screen.

[Weakened Stamina] meant I had to struggle immensely just to walk a short distance.

And then there was [Weakened Close Combat], [Weakness: Disease], [Weakness: Poison]. I really set myself up for death.

The worst part was the combo of [Increased Damage] and [Reduced Healing]!

Any damage I take is always critical, and any healing I receive is halved.

"Ah, forget it; forget it."

Starting a quest in this condition was too risky.

A single mistake could be fatal.

If it were just a game, I could laugh it off and play again, but I only had one life here.

Hmm... do I really have only one though?

The thought of maybe respawning even if I died crossed my mind, but I couldn't bring myself to experiment with such a terrifying thought using my own life.

For now, let's assume I only have one life.

Right, I've played plenty of hardcore modes where you can't resurrect once you die.

For now, it was difficult to offset the penalties attached to my traits immediately. It wasn't impossible, but I needed to go to places that were currently out of reach at my level.

On the other hand, there is a way to address the stats issue right away.

I couldn't operate at maximum efficiency due to my penalty traits, but my stats were terrible anyway. So, I needed to boost my stats first.

That meant... grinding was the way to go.

I could immediately get items like the [Corrupted Flame Ring] and the [Slurping Gloves].

Both were cursed items, but they were the most cost-effective ones among what I could obtain now.

The [Corrupted Flame Ring] had the effect of providing the wearer with the power of fire and granted a +3 strength boost.

The [Slurping Gloves] ... despite their funny name, they were equipped with multiple magical effects and a +2 to health.

Ugh... I need to get up first.

I tried to rise, but my back just wouldn't support me.

Ah... shit...

Despite my efforts, managing to dangle my legs off the bed was the best I could do. It seemed better to lie down while I still could.

If only I could move, nothing else would be a problem. I remembered almost everything about this [Cthulhu World].

The various dungeons, hidden doors, secret quests, and numerous tricks and bugs to reap rewards without effort.

I also recalled a few useful bugs related to item trading.

If this wasn't a crazy world full of otherworldly gods and Great Old Ones, I could have made a fortune by trading.

But for that, I needed some initial capital.

Money... how much did I have right now?

I stretched out my leg to pull the wallet rolling on the floor towards me. Ouch, a cramp! A cramp in my foot!

When I suddenly flexed my toes, a cramp shot through my calf, and I had to massage it for a while. Anyway, I got the wallet. Kim Shin-hwa-ssi, let's use our hands next time.

The money I snatched from the thugs was around 200,000 won. After paying for food and accommodations, I had used about half of it and I guess I had roughly one day's worth of living expenses left...

I could probably beat up a few more thugs a couple of times, but at my current level, I risked encountering someone too powerful to handle, or worse, becoming the target of a retaliatory assassination.

Moreover, the efficiency of such actions was poor to begin with. Since [Cthulhu World] was based on a modern society, fewer people carried cash than I expected. Who carries cash these days, anyway?

This was a problem that applied to me as well. I needed a bank account and a card, and also an ID.

Perhaps the "fixer route" was the way to go. It was one of the various money-making methods available in [Cthulhu World].

If I struck a deal with a savvy broker, they would take care of the money, get me an ID, a burner phone, and sort out various tasks, even scouting for suitable items.

Of course, to receive such services, I had to endlessly complete annoying requests.

Moreover, brokers varied in their skills, and so did the types of requests. Some were almost con artists, and others would betray you the moment they made a decent profit.

If you wanted to play the game for a long time, it was best to work with a trustworthy person even if the pay was less.

Naturally, finding a good broker in a cosmic horror-themed world like [Cthulhu World] was almost as likely as winning the lottery.

But that's a story for beginners who play blindly.

Roughly speaking.... perhaps heading to "Furmil" would be a good idea? Or maybe "YB" or "Ko Kyung-soo", though a bit far, "Tudor" wasn't a bad choice either.

Each NPC had their own pros and cons. Whoever I chose to make a contract with would greatly influence the atmosphere of the game. Considering my current situation and the stats I needed, the best broker would be...

Alright. I'll go to Tudor.

Tudor offered a fixed quest, "The Abandoned Hospital in Gamaksan". If I was lucky, I could find an S-rank item or something higher over there.

Getting such an item early on would make progress smoother in the future.

Tudor was known for his bad temper, entry restrictions, and the numerous bugs in related events, but he provided opportunities to face mythical creatures from the start, so I often used his services.

Considering the entry restrictions, it seemed best to grind on the way there, starting with the necessary base stats.

The plan was set. Time to get up.

Hmm... I'll just lie down for 5 more minutes...

In 5 minutes, I'll really get up.

I wonder if there are any quests I could solve while lying down...

***

In the end, I had no choice but to pay an additional fee because I exceeded the check-out time of the unmanned hotel by more than 2 hours.

It was around 3 p.m.

Unlike Paju City at night, full of madness and revelry, daytime Paju was relatively calm with most of the night businesses closed.

As a result, people who looked blatantly like relatives of criminals weren't around, and the sight of a madman like me wearing a paper bag was bound to stand out.

It just had to be mask obsession... I can't take it off because I'd go mad for real...

But wearing it makes me look mad anyway.

Maybe it was Nyarlathotep who dragged me here? Isn't that guy the real mask-obsessed one?

Among Nyarlathotep's nicknames was something about wearing a thousand masks...

Considering he's one of the few Outer Gods who would enjoy such pointless antics, it's almost certain.

No, no, can't jump to conclusions just yet.

I still lack enough clues.

Anyway.

This paper bag was not only flimsy but also uncomfortable to wear. I need a replacement in case it gets torn off or ripped during a fight and I fall into delirium.

I need to buy a proper mask. Later on, I'll enchant one and make it myself...

Suddenly, a general store caught my eye. The sign read "All that you want". Well, with a name like that, they should have masks as well.

Such stores were merely background elements during gameplay and couldn't be accessed, but now I could enter them. The game itself doesn't seem to be fully implemented.

"Heek!"

Upon entering the store, the clerk let out a gasp. However, since the city itself was rife with odd characters, they refrained from any further reaction.

First, let's go to the party supplies section... good, there are plenty of masks here. I'd prefer to avoid anything that looks too much like a toy, though... Surely, I'm not planning to stick with this paper bag on my head, am I?

In the end, I bought several party masks and, just in case, picked up some bread bags that could be quickly flipped over and worn. I tucked them away as I left the store.

As soon as I stepped out, I hid in a secluded spot to change masks. I chose a plain white mask labeled something like "Halloween Night".

Then, I bought an oversized hoodie from a nearby stall. I couldn't keep stuffing things inside my clothes, so I also purchased a large backpack.

It was a black backpack with a sporty design. Although it had a famous brand's logo on it, it was probably a counterfeit because it was sold at a street corner, right?

It was a waste of money, but I had no choice as I had a lot of luggage to take care of, like the shoes and watch I had taken from the thugs.... And I even carefully stuffed the straitjacket I was wearing inside.

Since there were already status and message windows popping up left and right, shouldn't there have been inventory storage or something of the sort....

Anyway, I was ready.

Now, I looked somewhat decent.

Still, I ended up looking like a character playing a criminal in a dramatic reenactment for a current affairs exposé show.

No more dallying needed. Since my destination wasn't nearby, let's take the bus....no it was better to hail a taxi rather than a bus.

I worried about not being able to get a taxi but it was surprisingly easy. The driver even joked around, asking if I was headed somewhere fun. To survive as a taxi driver in Paju, which was no different from a den of thieves, one must have at least this amount of guts.

I arrived at.... Unjeong Station, which was arguably the heart of Paju City.

Paju in [Cthulhu World] was more populated than its real-world counterpart. Therefore, the number of people coming and going through Unjeong Station was exceptionally high. It was almost as comparable to the bustling density of Hongdae or Gangnam Station at their peaks.

I carefully observed my surroundings before activating a spell I had prepared.

[Hazy Presence]

Sssssss

An invisible mist made of magical power began to surround me.

[Hazy Presence] was a minor zero-order spell designed to reduce one's presence and make them less noticeable.

In essence, it didn't render me invisible to others; rather, it made them less likely to pay attention to me.

Ideally, I would have preferred to use a fourth-order spell like [Invisibility] or at least a second-order one like [Shadow Walking], but those were beyond my current level.

However, thanks to my magical talent and powerful traits, even the zero-order[Hazy Presence] worked as efficiently as the second-order [Shadow Walking].

This meant that as long as I wasn't wrapped in hundreds of LED bulbs while shouting "Look at me, everyone in the neighborhood!", I would be fine.

After blending into the crowd, I made my way to the platform inside the train station. It seemed that a train had just arrived.

The timing is perfect.

The train stayed open for a while, waiting for people to board, but I did not get on.

My purpose at Unjeong Station was not to take the train.

Eventually, the train doors closed and it departed with a prolonged noise.

I looked down at the empty tracks for a moment then stepped down onto them.

My goal lay within the station itself.

Inside the tracks of Unjeong Station, there was a hidden passage.

I proceeded along the train tracks as if I was chasing after the departed train.