Chapter 75: The Broker on the Verge of Exploding (1)

The request concerned properties and estates afflicted by spiritual disturbances.

In the end, the request is to find a place that is commonly referred to as a haunted mansion or, to put it simply, a haunted house.

Hmm, a classic narrative indeed. Being a horror game and all, wouldn't it be appropriate to visit a haunted house at this point?

Historically, the Cthulhu mythos and related creative works often featured various haunted mansions.

In the world crafted on the foundation of the Cthulhu mythos, [Cthulhu World], there existed a wide array of haunted properties.

These properties were generally known as cursed houses or abandoned buildings, with most of them not being in a livable condition. However, among them were houses that would be quite decent if one were to overlook the presence of ghosts.

If you invade such a house, drive out the ghosts, and defeat the boss, you will be given a house as a reward.

Of course, it was no easy task. Overcoming the lethal obstacles was imperative, as these were no normal residences.

This is why preparation is necessary.

Tudor was not one to make frivolous comments regarding work.

Since she said that it would be ready by tomorrow, I would most likely find that request the next day.

I needed to have everything ready by tomorrow.

That's why I hopped on my skateboard and sped off to the pawnshop in Geumchon Market, where I could find most of what I needed.

Perhaps it was because I arrived later than usual, but the pawnshop today felt even more calm and quiet. The late hour played a part, but there was another reason.

"No part-timer today?"

"She doesn't work at pitch-black hours like this."

"Fair enough."

I requested a bundle of talismans along with various materials related to shamanism, psychism, and necromancy.

"Someone passed away? Why else would you buy this stuff?"

"Why do you always have to complain whenever I buy something?"

"Who's complaining?"

"Ah, whatever."

Today, there were no special items to dispose of. It was a straightforward purchase, so there was no need for haggling, and just like that, thirty-five million won was spent in an instant.

"So, no tricks today, just paying in cash?"

"When have I ever played tricks?"

"Ah, whatever."

Considering that I hadn't yet decided on a specific request to take on, it was a bold purchase. But at this point, such an amount of money isn't a major issue for me. If necessary, I could simply make a quick round the next day, or I could dispose of some of the oddities piled up at home and recover the costs promptly.

On the way back after I completed my preparations, I met an unexpected person in an unexpected place.

It was a dark back alley in the Geumchon neighborhood, cluttered with scattered flyers and pamphlets.

This alley was so seldom frequented that I, who often used it, had never imagined meeting anyone here.

And the person I met in this damp and dark alleyway was...

"Ahem. Ahem. It's been a while."

The sentence structure was perfectly modern standard Korean, but the voice carried a strange and unfamiliar accent.

It was Park Kwang-lim, one of the brokers in Paju.

"It has been a while, but what happened to you?"

"There was... a bit of trouble with a client... Ahem, ahem. And I ended up like this."

Park Kwang-lim was dressed in an old-fashioned suit similar to the one he wore the last time we met, but its condition was pathetic.

It was torn in several places, with burn marks evident throughout. His white shirt was almost completely blackened with ash. And upon closer inspection, his once cherished bowler hat was nowhere to be seen and in its place was a scattered mess of long hair.

"Ahem, ahem. Cough."

Moreover, his intermittent hollow coughs grated on my ears.

"Seems like a fixer who got paid decided to set your office ablaze, huh?"

"Uhahaha-"

Park Kwang-lim let out a hearty laugh as if amused.

"Not entirely wrong. It wasn't a fixer but a client who started the fire."

"Ah-"

It was then that I fully grasped the ordeal Park Kwang-lim had faced.

No matter how crazy Paju was, there weren't many clients crazy enough to set fire to a broker's office. The reason for his disheveled appearance before me became clear.

"Stay back."

"Cough, cough. You're overdoing it."

"You know why I'm doing this, right?"

Park Kwang-lim bent forward with a wry smile.

These were exaggerated movements reminiscent of those of a magician preparing for a magic trick.

It wasn't a gesture for a 90-degree bow. He was reaching for a flyer that had fallen to the floor. With a slow hand, Park Kwang-lim picked up one of the flyers scattered around...

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

Whoosh!

Suddenly, the flyer burst into flames.

Park Kwang-lim was someone suffering from a condition known as magical hypertrophy. Even in these dark times, he navigates the back alleys of Paju with ease thanks to his extraordinary powers.

However, his ability does not involve igniting flames. It's evident in the way the magic moves when the flames arise and, notably, the unsettling mass that has clung to his left shoulder from the beginning.

"My left hand is cursed with a living flame."

This was a huge declaration that could only be posted on an online community for Chuunibyou middle school students.

I thought of a few jokes, but Park Kwang-lim's overly serious expression made me hold my tongue.

"Did the descendants of Fomalhaut get that angry? How much of an advance did you take to end up with such a severe curse?"

"Really, it's really, really troublesome. Could you possibly lend me a hand?"

While Park Kwang-lim was a competent broker, he was also a very good con artist.

The descendants of Fomalhaut, a cult that worships the [Living Flame], hired him to track me down. In Paju, no one matches Park Kwang-lim's skill in finding people.

Despite having identified me long ago, Park Kwang-lim had not handed me over to the descendants of Fomalhaut.

But as the saying goes, you should measure your bed before stretching your legs. It seems the impatient cultists have resorted to cursing Park Kwang-lim for his reluctance.

"Sounds like poetic justice to me."

"Poetic justice? Isn't this because I protected Kim Shin-hwa and ended up like this? Cough, ahem!"

The longer he drags it out, the more he can bill, right? I have a rough idea of the games Park Kwang-lim plays with his gullible clients. Given the nature of detective work where fees increase with time, solving cases quickly was actually counterproductive.

Moreover, he probably planned to leverage the fact that the descendants of Fomalhaut were after me to make additional demands.

"Cough, cough! Ack!"

Whoosh!

The dark alley briefly lit up before plunging back into darkness.

"Wow! Hahaha! Damn it, did you see that?"

I certainly did.

Flames had burst forth from his mouth unexpectedly.

This is no joke. It seems the curse isn't just spreading to his hand but to various parts of his body as well.

"Ah, this is indeed serious."

"Huhu... Kukukuku... Ah, it really is severe. Please, help me. Cough, ahem."

An abnormal laughter began to mix with Park Kwang-lim's words. No matter how tough someone is, it won't be easy to stay sane if symptoms like that appear. By now, his brain must be marinating in dopamine and adrenaline.

"Kwang-lim-sshi, let me say this again: I really don't know anything. Even if you were to betray me, your Fomalhaut friends would be disappointed. I'd feel wronged too. Besides, Tudor, who's been excited to use me for various things lately, would be heartbroken if something were to happen to me, right?"

In Park Kwang-lim's world, a disappointed Tudor would be the greatest danger.

"Ah, I understand. That's why I'm asking for your help, isn't it?"

Now, with a look of desperation, he began to slowly approach me. The level of the curse was indeed severe.

A curse of this magnitude isn't something that can be triggered just like that. It would require at least one human sacrifice to the [Living Flame].

How to lift it, though? Destroying, burning, and exploding things are simple, but lifting a curse is not my specialty.

If I had a ticket to the Thousand Gold Temple, perhaps I could solve it easily, but I'm not at that level yet.

Moreover, although it's possible to borrow the power of the [Living Flame] through the [Ring of Corrupted Flame], the situation is different now.

It's a curse formally requested by cultists who even offered human sacrifices. Would they lend their power to undo such a curse?

I visibly sighed and activated the magic.

[Insight]

[Curse Detection]

[Magic power Detection]

[Trap Detection]

[Lifeform Detection]

"It seems there are no watchers around. Did you manage to shake off any pursuers?"

"Hmm, I'm not such a trivial person."

"Well, that must be why such a severe curse was placed on you."

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Whoooooosh!

Once again, flames burst forth with a cough. His situation was getting more and more dangerous It seems Park Kwang-lim has less than 48 hours to chatter like this.

There are three options before me now.

The first is to simply walk away, which, frankly, is not a good decision. Leaving him be might lead to his own demise, but before that happens, he might rush to the cultists and betray me.

If I want to stop such a loose-lipped fool from blabbering, making him unable to speak forever could be a solution. After all, the dead tell no tales.

But then again, is it really worth it to waste a high-level NPC like Park Kwang-lim?

Although he was a vulgar swindler, his skills were unmatched in certain limited fields.

Choosing the third option seems best. Granting him a favor now might lead to repayment later.

I spoke to Park Kwang-lim while scratching my head.

"You should know how lucky you are. If it weren't for today, I wouldn't have been able to help even if I wanted to."

"Ah! So there's a way? As expected from the rising star of Paju, the enigmatic genius mage, the dark horse of Vasilisa rapidly gaining fame, the secret weapon of the Triad."

"What's with those ridiculous titles?"

And what about the Triad?

"Ahem, ahem. Kuhuhum. These are the stories that are circulating these days. There are rumors that you are a biological weapon created from Helistic, and there are also stories that you are an incarnation of a god summoned by mistake."

"This is madness, really."

Tudor had promised to make me famous, and it seemed she was working hard at it.

Under normal circumstances, I might not have had a solution, but this was not a regular day. If it hadn't been right after a shopping spree for a visit to a haunted house, why else would I have been wandering the back alleys of the Geumchon neighborhood with a bunch of exorcism-related items in hand?

"So, how much can you pay?"

"...How much do you require?"

"Just quote an amount you'd equate with the value of your life."

"........"

"No, I don't take pleasure in bargaining over human lives. Let's just say ten times the cost of materials. The materials roughly cost about 35 million so that makes it 350 million."

These were items I had just acquired from the pawnshop today. I wasn't entirely sure how things had gotten to this point, but those items would be used as materials.

"Cough, ahem. Haah... Thank you."

Observing Park Kwang-lim's expression, it seemed I had quoted less than he had expected. Even though he looked like this, he was a broker of the underworld. A figure like him could easily manage two or three hundred million as if it were nothing.

"Alright, I'll take on the task."

[You have accepted the quest!

<Mini Quest: Broker on the Brink>

Cultists worshiping the 'Living Flame' have cast a deadly curse on Park Kwang-lim. Remove the curse afflicting him.

! Time Limit: Park Kwang-lim will die in (29) hours. !

Reward: 150,000XP + Trust of Bak Kwanglim + 350 million won]

Failure: Boom! Bak Kwanglim will explode.]