Chapter 91: Organizing

[The moment when you put on the dead man's mask on your face.]

A message window appeared.

[The whispers of the trapped spirit within the mask begin to echo.]

[The penalty effect of the A-rank accessory 'Dead Man's Mask', 'Pure Silver Madness' is activated.

// Pure Silver Madness: Forces a sanity check when worn. Failure in the check will result in a random mental illness afflicting your mind and you will become possessed by the soul within the mask.

I started to hear distinctly odd noises.

- Come down, come into the darkness.

- Descend into the deep underground.

- Join us. Shed that uncomfortable skin and walk the deep underground with us.

- Down, down, down the infinitely descending spiral staircase.

An unpleasant and disturbing voice continuously whispered towards my soul.

[These strange whispers might also transform your soul and body into a form more fitting for the darkness.]

[Attempting to resist the 'Curse of the Dead' generated by the mask with your mental strength stat. Mental strength check... failed]

If I had failed, I would have been possessed by the spirit of the Hollow Lord's father trapped in the mask and become a cultist worshipping a being of the abyss.

However, that would never happen to me.

"I can't hear you, I can't hear you, I can't hear you..."

I scratched around my collarbone and waited for that effect to activate.

[System: The unique trait 'Madness of the Abyss' has been activated. The result of the sanity check is changed to success.]

"Good job."

The message window disappeared without any additional messages.

In an old mirror hanging in one corner of the living room, I saw myself wearing the mask.

I looked like a mad mage who had lost his own face and borrowed that of a dead man.

I activated another ability embedded in the mask.

[The effect of the A-rank accessory 'Dead Man's Mask', 'Gift of the Dead' has been activated.

// Gift of the Dead: Allows for the storage and retrieval of magical power and knowledge within the mask.

Along with a dizzying tinnitus, magical power from the netherworld began to flow from the Dead Man's Mask.

Ziiiiiiing...

It's a complete hodgepodge of low purity magic power.

The mask had a lot of magical power that the previous owner, the Hollow Lord, collected from various places.

Although it was a lot, it was impure and low-grade magical that was poorly refined.

Unlike other magical powers I had absorbed before, absorbing such energy could cause internal injuries or, in martial arts terms, lead to something like "qi deviation".

Well, it doesn't matter since I'm not going to use it.

I pulled the lines of magical power emanating from the necromancy golems and transferred them into the mask.

Clunk.

As the path of the magic shifted, the golems simultaneously halted their movements and then reset and rebooted.

Creeeek, creak, creeeek!

Now, instead of drawing magical power directly from me, the necromancy golems were supplied with energy through the Dead Man's Mask.

After floating a few magic circles in the air, I slowly removed the mask.

The Dead Man's Mask ascended slowly into the air.

It had essentially become a kind of auxiliary battery.

While the magical power embedded within it was not unlimited and would eventually deplete, the soul sealed within the mask had formed a sort of mana core, which would recharge it to some extent.

If it ever gets to the point where natural recharging isn't enough, I could always fill it up using the resonance stone.

"Phew..."

I paused for a moment and touched my bare face.

The feeling of my face being touched by my fingertips was indescribably eerie and unsettling.

An unpleasant feeling of touching my human flesh.

The very fact of exposing my bare face felt utterly horrific.

Would I eventually go mad from this?

Gradually, I was also beginning to forget what my own face looked like.

I sighed again and put on [Carcosa's Mask] that I had been wearing before.

It was an indescribably comfortable feeling.

Now, the face of a monster with four eyes was reflected in the mirror.

Alright, shall I head out now?

The only thing left was to move my important belongings from the studio apartment where I had been living on rent. After some thought, I decided to ask for the help of Jang Hyeon-deok.

He was one of just two NPCs in Paju with whom I had formed a firm alliance.

For reference, Tudor was a reliable broker, but she wasn't a firm ally of mine.

And if I asked Cheong-ho who had become a firm ally recently, too many people might end up knowing my information.

Jang Hyeon-deok grumbled for a moment but drove to the mansion without further complaint.

"Mage-nim, you know how much my fare is, right?"

"About 500,000?"

"No, I don't usually charge that much just for transport..."

The last time he took me to Tanhyeon, Jang Hyeon-deok had boldly extorted 500,000 won from me, but now he hesitated and his words trailed off.

Of course, Tanhyeon is one of the most dangerous areas in Paju, so naturally, the fares then and now cannot be simply compared.

"And by the way, that needs to be loaded too, is that alright?"

"That...? What is that... Aaaaaahhhhh!!"

Thud, thud, clatter, crash!

Doldol rushed towards Jang Hyeon-deok.

It was a stone coffin that was indistinguishable from a huge boulder.

Doldol's appearance was no big deal to me, but for Jang Hyeon-deok who was seeing Doldol for the first time it was as if a mountain was charging at him.

Jang Hyeon-deok was so startled that he almost fell over. Had the call van not been parked behind him, he truly would have tumbled to the ground.

If that had happened, I might have lost one of my only two firm allies today. Amitabha.

"What is this! What is this?!"

"It's Doldol."

"Doldol!?! Aaaah! Stop, don't come any closer!"

Thud, clatter, bang!

What a mess.

"It's definitely a bit too big to fit in the car."

I momentarily summoned my magical power and stretched out my hand towards Doldol. A brilliant magic circle formed around the bulky body of Doldol.

If I adjust this, and reposition that...

[Shrink]

Whirrrr!!!

It was a spell that became available after unlocking third-order magic.

As the magic activated, Doldol's size reduced. Now, Doldol was about a small stone box, roughly 50cm in size.

As straightforward as the name of the spell was its effect.

However, calculating the area of effect and pressure was a bit complex. After all, it was magic that disregarded the law of conservation of mass.

Jang Hyeon-deok wore a look of surprise at the effect of the magic that had been activated right before his eyes.

It seemed to be mixed with a bit of admiration and awe.

"Mage-nim, can I learn magic too?"

"Um... you probably can't."

"Why not?"

"Because you're slow."

"I'm not slow! I'm very sharp and..."

"No, I mean your mind is slow."

Jang Hyeon-deok continued to whine without stopping.

Regardless, I loaded Doldol into the back of the car and sat in the passenger seat of Jang Hyeon-deok's call van.

"Hasn't the car been fixed yet?"

"Ah, I haven't had the time."

The last time Jang Hyeon-deok helped me, the car was damaged quite a bit. There were still dents, scratches, and torn marks everywhere even now.

"Get it fixed quickly and send me the bill for the repairs."

"Ah, I will fix it. But I was a big help, wasn't I?"

I looked at Jang Hyeon-deok, who was momentarily puffing up his chest with pride. There he was, facing me with that expression. Why aren't we starting yet? Oh...

"...Right. You were a big help. Thanks."

"Oh, you don't need to say that... Hahaha!"

Oh ...

"Alright, we're setting off now!"

***

Cleaning the studio apartment in Geumchon was not a difficult task.

All I had to do was tell Doldol to swallow everything in the room and it was done.

However, there was an issue when Doldol accidentally swallowed the refrigerator, which was included as part of the apartment's amenities.

"Hey! Spit it out, you! Why would you swallow that?"

Grrrrrr, crackle.

That noise was Doldol being stubborn after I forcibly removed the refrigerator.

Should I call it gluttony?

Or maybe a hoarding instinct?

Fortunately, even without coveting the refrigerator, there were plenty of items in the studio apartment that caught Doldol's interest.

Doldol particularly enjoyed swallowing the cursed gold ornaments that came from the bodies of the golden dancers. It was even shivering with delight.

I'm not sure what the difference is, but it seems it has its own tastes.

"Alright, step back for a moment, Doldol."

When Doldol stepped back, I summoned my magical power.

[Memory Erase]

Fwoooosh!!

It was a spell that removed magical fingerprints and traces left in space, as well as the memories of objects.

I had never done anything to warrant that level of tracking, but now, not even a psychic with psychometry abilities or a druid who could read the Earth's memory would be able to find any trace of me.

Additionally, I had sprayed a magical smokescreen as a precaution against any unforeseen situations before I could finally leave this studio apartment.

"Are we really leaving empty-handed?"

"As I said earlier, everything is packed inside Doldol."

"Wow..."

Jang Hyeon-deok wore a look of amazement.

"Where can I find something like this?"

"You should try hard and rob a haunted house somewhere too."

"Ugh, I can't do that alone."

"If you take the lead, I'll help."

Jang Hyeon-deok responded with a grimace.

"No, I'd rather give up."

The cramped studio apartment I had lived in for a few months was now behind me.

There were still some paperwork formalities left, but vacating was something I could manage over a phone call on my way out.

"So, should we head back to that theme park right away?"

"No, sorry, but let's stop by the market first."

"The market? Are you going to see the old man?"

"Wasn't that supposed to be a secret place?"

"Ah, you underestimate me, Mage-nim. I've been in this business for six years; how could I not know why fixers frequent Geumchon Market?"

Indeed, that was the case.

The Geumchon neighborhood was the only place where you could pick up useful artifacts. It must be information picked up from other fixers.

The market was not far away, so we arrived near the pawnshop quickly.

It was getting dark.

It was a quiet time when vendors were preparing to pack up their stalls, but today, there was an unusually large crowd and the atmosphere was bustling.

"What's going on? There are a lot of people."

"Ah, the night market started yesterday. Everyone's going to stay open until 10 p.m."

"A night market?"

"Yes. Oh, you might not know? They do it every year around this time."

"Hmm... I see. But with so many people, there's nowhere to park the car?"

"I'll be in that alley over there, so call me when you're done."

Certainly, Geumchon Market had a more vibrant atmosphere than usual.

The market boasted temporary stalls selling unusual foods that were not typically seen, and there were various bright lights and impressive banners everywhere.

The problem is...

Why does the night market exist?

I know that around this time, there is a night market in Paju, or specifically, in Geumchon Market.

But that schedule belongs to the reality I originally lived in.

In [Cthulhu World], such trivial events do not exist.

Of course, not everything here was exactly like the game, but still, I felt oddly out of place.

The fact that just last night I fought against a 150-year-old skeleton seemed unbelievable given the mundane scene around me.

It felt as though I was not in some bizarre otherworld with fixers and monsters, but had actually returned to my original world.

Of course, I couldn't just blend in immediately.

I layered several spells to minimize my presence then walked through the peaceful Geumchon Market.

*******

TN: Doldol is cute!