Chapter 98: Jangseungs of the Thousand Gold Temple

The professor was a good man.

In every scenario, he maintained his identity as a typical good-hearted protagonist, and although it may not be solely due to this reason.... his endings were never good.

I refused to listen to him out of a sense of defiance.

"My duty is to escort you to safety and ensure your return."

"The dead have a narrow vision. Seeing the state they're in, they've probably forgotten why they tried to enter the Thousand Gold Temple in the first place."

I paused for a moment to scratch at my mask.

Indeed, this situation was not going to resolve itself easily.

Wasting time watching a fight that might never end did not suit my personality.

Eventually, I sighed and said,

"Understood. However, any additional tasks from now on might require extra payment."

"I would like to ask you to do so in a non-violent way, if possible."

No, rather than another request. You're saying there'll be extra payments, right?

I did not voice my final thoughts and instead reached out toward the Jangseungs.

The distance was considerable, yet my magical power and control were completely different from before.

In an instant, I expanded my influence and made contact with the bodies that the Jangseungs were wrapped around.

- What is this! Who is this!?

- Which one dares to touch us!

Sensing my magic, the Jangseungs shook their heads with a sensitive reaction and I could feel their resistance to magic surge tremendously.

But it was already too late. My magical power had taken root in their bodies.

Let's see, this is earth...

I activated a spell as I punched my right fist into my open left palm.

[Break Stone]

Crack!

The parts of their bodies made of rock and stone shattered all at once.

- Aaargh!! How, how is this possible!?

- Which fiend is this!!

After losing their balance, the Jangseungs began to collapse.

Boom!

It sounded like a mountain was collapsing. Dust and dirt obscured the view.

But they would just reconstitute their bodies and rise again anyway.

I cast the next spell without hesitation.

[Waterfall]

[Spell Enhancement: Maximization]

Whoosh!

As if a hole had opened in the sky, an immense volume of water suddenly poured out.

Underestimating it as just a waterfall or a heavy shower would lead to irreversible damage.

- My body! My body!!

- Stop, stop it!!!

Although it was just water, it attacked with enough weight and speed to demolish buildings and carve mountains.

Once the Jangseungs began to lose their balance and topple, they were quickly eroded by the tremendous water pressure.

The dirt mounds that formed their bodies were nothing more than armor gathered by magical power.

Even if destroyed, they would feel a slight annoyance but no pain.

In the meantime, I turned my magic towards the ghosts.

[Delusional Fire]

Seven purple flames blossomed in the air. This spell possessed the power to attract corrupt beings and draw in the ghosts.

The flames, casting a mysterious light in all directions, began to attract the confused ghosts.

The ghosts had already lost their sense of self and were easily lured by the flames and changed their course.

"Now, I will disperse the ghosts."

I sent the wandering flames in various directions.

The ghosts, having forgotten their original purpose, scattered following the flames that flew in all directions.

Of course, there were still some beings who were not bothered by such magic, but they were few and far between. By then, the mass-like crowd had already dispersed.

"I can't believe this... Mage friend, I did ask for your help, but I honestly did not expect this much. I've seen plenty of destructive magic, but this is the first of its kind!"

"It's nothing special."

This was a spell I had mastered by decoding and learning from the Great Yin Water Treasure Secret Scripture, which I had taken from the Hollow Lord.

There might be mages of higher rank than me out in the world, but few know as many spells as I do.

As we moved forward, a few ghosts that were unaffected by the Delusional Fire started chattering.

- Impressive skills for a mortal.

- You've angered the Jangseungs of the Thousand Gold Temple, so what will you do about this situation?

These were high-ranking ghosts that didn't easily lose their sense of self amidst the chaos. Engaging in unnecessary conversation or meeting their gaze would only invite persistent annoyance.

Therefore, I continued forward while ignoring the ghosts trying to catch my eye.

"Look here, Jangseung-nim. We're just here to sell our goods and leave; could you possibly open the gate for a moment?"

- Ha! How dare this shameless thing try to make fun of us!

- How ludicrous of you to think you can defeat us just because you can handle a few spells!

Crack!

Sounds of stone breaking came from the bodies of the Jangseung, but they were able to rise again.

The rocks had shattered, and the sand and stones were swept away by the water, turning the soil into mud.

Although they no longer possessed the formidable appearance that had knocked down the ghosts earlier, they still looked dangerous.

- But thanks to that, we've found it! The abyssal magic wrapped around your entire body!

- You must be the emissary sent by a being of the abyss to harm the Thousand Gold Temple!

An emissary sent by a being of the abyss?

No, the talk of harming the Thousand Gold Temple earlier... was that all about me?

Somehow, I had a bad feeling that things would unfold like this, but when it actually happened, I was somewhat taken aback.

"Um... Mage friend? Could it be because of that mask?"

The professor seemed just as embarrassed.

"I can't take off the mask. And the mask isn't the only issue."

This is troublesome. There are too many suspicious elements.

Firstly, the persistent trait of being the [Feast's Offering] that has plagued me all this while.

I have far too many connections with the beings of the abyss, which the Thousand Gold Temple despises.

Moreover, the mask belonged to [The King in Yellow], and within my body lay a fragment from [He Who Comes from the Darkness].

If I were to list more, I was also wearing a ring of [The Living Flame], and among my summoned creatures, there was a lump of flesh monster created through the power of [The Black Goat of a Thousand Young]. I was currently raising this flesh monster by feeding it the magic of [The Blind Idiot God].

Could it possibly... be a misunderstanding? Would they believe me if I said so?

No, the atmosphere doesn't suggest that. The Jangseungs were already heroically chanting lines full of fiery zeal like "Even if it costs me my life right here", "We will burn our souls if need be to protect the Thousand Gold Temple!"

"Professor, I'm confident I could knock all these Jangseungs down, but... that wouldn't be right, would it?"

"Honestly, it wouldn't matter to me even if it wasn't this time. They'll forget eventually, and we can come back then. But are you alright with that?"

That makes sense.

I had said earlier that I was only here to serve as an escort, but my purpose for coming wasn't solely for that.

Even if I couldn't secure a pass to come and go freely in the future, I wanted to dispose of the things I had brought with me this time.

-What are you all whispering about!

-Take this!

The Jangseungs corrected their stance and began to charge aimlessly. But since I was still undecided on a course of action, I hesitated for a moment before activating my magic.

[Earthquake Strike]

Rumble!!!

-Aaaagh!!

-The ground is collapsing!!

With a tremendous noise, the ground in front of the Thousand Gold Temple began to split open, and the Jangseungs caught in the crevice flailed about.

Turning my head, I saw shadows flocking over the wall of the Thousand Gold Temple. It seemed that the residents of the temple had heard the commotion and come out to watch.

-Raaagh!!

The Jangseungs gathered strength. They started to increase their size enormously by scooping up dirt and rocks from the split ground.

It seemed there was no quiet way out of this now.

Just then, the professor who had been behind me approached.

"Since I was the one who asked to intervene, it's only right that I take responsibility. I'll step forward and try to negotiate."

Before I could say anything, the professor discreetly pulled an object from his pocket.

"That's... understood."

"Oh, do you know what this is? You really are well-informed."

"I've picked up a few things here and there."

"If this fails, I'll leave everything to you."

As he spoke, the professor's wheelchair moved forward on its own.

"Great General of all under Heaven and General of the Underworld."

The professor calmly called out the names of the two Jangseungs, but they had already lost their composure.

- Shut up!

The shout was from the Great General of all Under Heaven.

The General of the Underworld didn't even bother to respond and swung its arms made of mud and gravel.

Baoom!!

[Protective Circle]

[Spell Enhancement: Multicasting]

Crack, crunch! Boom!!

Had it not been for the five layers of protective circles formed in front of the professor's head, his brain which was full of wisdom would have been scattered all around.

But the professor just fearlessly winked at me.

He knew this would happen and went ahead. Well, good. My role is to guard.

I immediately moved to stand behind the professor.

"Hold on. Let's listen before swinging."

- You... insolent fool...!

- Behave!

"Generals,"

The professor said again.

The Jangseungs gritted their teeth as they glared at the professor. Yes, their expressions seemed to say, "Let's hear what he has to say."

The next words from the professor were somewhat bizarre.

"I will apologize on behalf of my disciple for the rudeness he committed."

- Disciple?

- Apology?

The Great General of all Under Heaven and the General of the Underworld made incredulous sounds at the sudden absurd statement.

- That's your disciple? Don't spout nonsense!

- You might as well claim you're Master Xuanzang! How could you have taught such a monster!

Contrary to the hostile atmosphere, the conversation flew off in a bizarre direction.

"Nonsense? Not at all. It's all because of that mask."

The professor raised his hand to point at my face.

- Yes, that mask! It's not something a proper human could wear!

- Yes, that mask! That creature must surely be sent by the abyss!

"No, that's not true. My disciple was deceived by a being from the abyss into wearing that mask. It's been three years and three months since he's been unable to remove it himself."

The professor continued to spout bizarre tales as if he were a main character of a fable. I couldn't see his expression since I was standing behind him, but somehow, it felt like he was enjoying himself.

The conversation that followed was truly absurd.

The professor had spoken at length about the harsh life one must lead when wearing a mask for three years and three months.

Although the Jangseungs reflexively countered his words, the conversation went on exactly as the professor intended.

-Aha, I've got it now!

Suddenly, the Great General of all Under Heaven declared it had realized something.

-It was a lie after all! How could a human eat while wearing a mask!

-Oh, I see! It was a lie!

"No, that's not the case. Because of a curse placed by a being from the abyss, my disciple has been unable to eat or drink anything. It's a truly terrible curse. Don't you feel sorry for my disciple?"

-Really? Is that so?

-No wonder he's so small and weak.

The Jangseungs began to look at me with pity.

It worked better than expected.

The sudden perceived drop in the Jangseungs' intelligence was not an actual decrease.

Everything was the result of the artifact held in the professor's hand.

[Flag of Open Hearts (A-rank Magical Tool): A flag embroidered with magical incantations. Anyone under the influence of this flag becomes compelled to engage in conversation with you. However, this effect does not work on anyone towards whom you have harbored hostility even once.]

The professor intentionally made absurd statements that did not fit the situation.

Before the artifact was activated, he could have been silenced or physically rebuffed, but once the artifact was activated, such actions were no longer possible.

The Jangseungs could either contradict or agree with the professor's words. But since he intentionally said things that didn't fit the situation, the conversation that ensued was oddly absurd.

The Jangseungs are known to have high magical resistance... I was lucky.

Had it failed, I was ready to grab the professor's wheelchair and make a run for it. Luckily, since the judgment was successful, that was no longer necessary.