I Became a Genius Mage in the Cthulhu Game
chapter-31

“Dieee!!”

Kwak Dae-yong’s [Berserker] trait came into play.

[When distortion occurs, the distortion inevitably manifests itself as ‘violence’.]

This trait, which was almost akin to a penalty, shone for the first time in a while.

Whether the opponent was stronger or not, while others might turn and flee, Kwak Dae-yong attacked his enemy with all his might.

With a thunderous roar, his battle hammer swung with ferocious force.

Boom!!

But… the ghoul shaman blocked the attack effortlessly.

Even with just one hand.

He held the end of Kwak Dae-yong’s hammer with just one hand.

“Guh!”

“Kukukuku… Why, why so? Can’t you even handle the strength of this tiny, tiny old man?”

“Grrrrr…!!!”

Kwak Dae-yong grasped the handle of the hammer with both hands and pulled with all his strength, but the hammer didn’t budge.

[Flame Eruption]

Although still a considerable distance from the ghoul shaman, I concentrated magical power into the flames, enhancing both range and power.

[Spell Enhancement: Range Increase]

[Spell Enhancement: Maximization]

Kiiiiing!!

The ghoul shaman was taken aback and he screamed upon noticing a bright red magic circle forming right beside him.

“Wh-what is this?!”

Before he could react, a massive flame, comparable to a dragon’s breath, erupted from the glowing red magic circle as if it were about to explode at any moment.

Fwooosh!!!

The enormous blaze illuminated the dark underground parking lot so brightly that it was visible in a single glance.

The surrounding air was distorted, and the heat was so intense that even I, standing far away, could feel it.

The flames, which possessed not only heat but also the physical power to push away enemies, hurled the ghoul shaman’s small body far away.

“Aaaaagh!”

“Sa-save me!”

These were the screams of Kwak Dae-yong and his men.

The flames raged without stopping, reaching all the way around Kwak Dae-yong and his subordinates, causing them to crouch and struggle in an attempt to dodge the fiery onslaught.

But the spell had been activated with all this in mind.

The power of the flames was immense, yet they were released at a perfectly tuned angle and direction, with the spread being completely controlled.

This was thanks to my ability to manipulate every strand of the magic lines scattering in all directions.

Thanks to that, not only the inner walls of the underground parking lot but also Kwak Dae-yong, who had been facing the ghoul shaman in a standoff, remained unaffected by the flames.

“Ughhh…”

“Ho-how did this happen?”

While Kwak Dae-yong’s gang was making dumb noises as they watched the dying flames, I turned my gaze toward the ghoul shaman.

Just moments ago, he had been struck directly by the flames and was hurled far away before crumpling to the ground…

I suppose that won’t be enough, will it?

“Kuha! Kuhahaha! Oh great, great Father of Ghouls! Prowler among the tombs!”

As expected.

Of course, he wasn’t unscathed.

His whole body was blackened, the skin on his face peeled off revealing raw red flesh, and his eyelids and nose had been scorched away.

Such injuries would have debilitated a normal person and robbed them of their ability to fight in an instant.

But to him, driven by horrific madness and twisted faith, these wounds only seemed to heighten his frenzy.

“Come forth! You worms crawling in the underground! Blessings of the abyssal chasm!”

A newly swirling green mist enveloped his body.

His body began to distort.

Although his lost skin and flesh did not return, the exposed muscles and blood vessels beneath the peeled skin writhed, transforming into a stronger and more grotesque form.

The skull, which had begun to develop into a shape similar to that of a ghoul, twisted further and further into the shape of a terrible monster.

This bizarre form could no longer be called human. Yet, it wasn’t a ghoul either.

It was simply a monster.

A monster reborn with the blessings of an outer god, a being from the abyss, a great ancient being.

“Kuhahahaha!!”

The ghoul shaman who has taken on a truly ugly and grotesque form burst into a frenzied laughter before he leaped.

Boom!

From the floor to the ceiling,

Boom!

From the ceiling to pillars,

Boom!

And then back from the pillars to the floor,

He moved with unstoppable force.

He moved throughout the interior of the underground parking lot with such power that the floors, walls, and pillars he touched were destroyed.

On seeing this, an involuntary gasp of frustration escaped my lips.

“Aaah, come on, you’ve got to do it in moderation; what the hell is this?”

Even a monkey couldn’t move like that; it was an absurd level of agility. Despite [Cthulhu World] being a game notorious for its unbalanced nature, I never encountered an enemy of this level at this stage.

“Kukyakyakyakya! Mage of the other world! The feast offering! Become the beacon for the great, great new era!”

The ghoul shaman dynamically rotated his entire body and rapidly closed the distance.

In my vision, I saw his filthy barefoot enlarging at an incredible speed. No, that’s a…

Kick?

What appeared to the eye was a frail old man’s kick, but it was a vicious, high-speed kick laden with malevolent energy.

If such an attack hit my weakened body… I would be shattered into pieces! Dodge it! No, damn it, it’s too fast!

[Protective Circle]

[Spell Enhancement: Multicasting]

[Spell Enhancement: Maximization]

Booom!!

The ground-shaking impact was so powerful that the dust settled on the floor, soared into the air.

A humming vibration echoed from the protective circle formed in front of me.

Had it not been for the multiple layers of enhancements and maximization, the kick with its absurd power, would have utterly destroyed me.

“Blocked? Blocked??? Blocked?????”

The ghoul shaman widened one eye in anger, his head tilting this way and that in the manner of a typical madman.

The ghoul shaman spun around widely in that posture.

Whirl!

This time, a fist flew towards me.

Boom, boom, boooom!!

Following the kick, a barrage of punches came indiscriminately.

Crack, crack, craaack!!!

Eventually, the impact exceeded its limit. The protective circle was unable to withstand it and began to disintegrate.

“This…crazy old man…!”

“Such a feeble shield!”

Crackkk!!

Oh no, this is crazy. The ghoul shaman then put his hand through the hole in the protective circle and began to tear it apart, thrusting his face into the interior of the circle.

His dreadful face, melted and disfigured by flames, drew extremely close.

“Kyaaak!”

The creature, with a mouth elongated like a dog’s snout, opened it wide to bite at me. The grotesque, unevenly placed fangs in that hideous mouth gleamed menacingly.

I shifted my body slightly, narrowly escaping his attack range, and activated the spell I had prepared.

[Thorn Trap]

Kwajijiji!!

Dozens of blades conjured out of thin air impaled the ghoul shaman’s snout, tongue, and head.

“Argh!”

Blood spurted from his arm, but a green mist quickly enveloped him, destroying the blades lodged in his face.

“Hahaha! See? My lord protects me!”

“Be quiet, you dog-faced brute!”

[Lightning]

[Spell Enhancement: Maximization]

Fzzzzzzt!!!

Blinding white electric light enveloped his body.

“Aaaaargh!! Aaaaaah!!”

I maximized the output not just to stop his reckless charge but to completely incapacitate him.

Blood boiled and flesh melted, emitting a foul stench.

“Graaaargh!”

Yet, even in such a state, the ghoul shaman forced his limbs to move and continued his attack.

Boom!!!

Holy shit.

[Impact]

Kaboom!

Right in front of me, the overwhelming physical force of the explosion sent the ghoul shaman flying.

His body which was suspended in mid-air twisted in a grotesque manner.

The movement was too bizarre to be of any living creature.

It wasn’t his will or strength, but the green mist enveloping his body that was forcibly moving him.

“Aaaaah…! Glory to the darkness and decay of the underground! Glory to the worms and the flesh-devouring death of the underworld! All hail, all hail the great darkness!”

Damn, he’s too sturdy. This isn’t working.

The abyssal entity that backs him, [Father of All Ghouls], doesn’t grant the power of regeneration.

It only provides a madness that allows movement even if the limbs are decaying and crushed.

Despite what must have been excruciating pain, he continued to charge at me like a demonic entity.

Damn, this approach is futile.

But that doesn’t mean there are no other ways. It just requires a completely different tactic than the beating, crushing, and burning I’ve been using.

I hopped onto the skateboard lying next to me and activated a new spell.

[Invisible Hand]

[Spell Enhancement: Multicasting]

What I invoked this time was a zero-order spell that exerted a simple form of telekinesis.

The goal was not that insane ghoul shaman.

A transparent and gigantic palm-shaped magical field grasped me and pushed me backward.

Rrrrrrrrr—

The sound of the board rolling echoed as I quickly increased the distance between myself and the ghoul shaman.

This board, aided by magic, could reach speeds capable of outrunning biker gangs in a chase, but…

“Kuhu. Kuhuhuhaha!”

The ghoul shaman, now emitting incomprehensible, bizarre noises, charged at me.

These were the words of a fanatic who had accepted the support and gifts of an abyssal entity.

A monster that had lost its self. Merely a tool moving only to represent the will of a god.

To destroy such a being, conventional methods were ineffective.

Yes, there’s one magic spell perfect for creatures like you.

I kept my distance by channeling magical power into the telekinetic power that moved the skateboard, and at the same time, I began preparing a spell that I had never used before while playing [Cthulhu World].

[System: The hidden trait ‘Secret Knowledge: Life Creation’ has been activated. Life-type spell effects enhanced by 100%.]

“This is the result of days of research and practice.”

I activated the spell with both hands together.

[Living Flesh]

Squelch… squelch squelch…

My palm split open.

It wasn’t like it was cut with a knife, but rather as if there had always been an opening there, akin to eyes opening that had been previously shut. The center of my palm parted.

Within it, a strange interspace of intertwined darkness and light revealed itself.

Then, the interspace closed and opened again…

Gurgle… gurgle… squelch…

An unpleasant, pinkish lump poured out.

It was a fist-sized piece of flesh.

This was a spell created by using my own blood and flesh as a medium, turning my physical body itself into a magic circle.

For some time, I had experimented and played with [Black Goat’s Body Fluid] and [Wriggling Slime] to create this entirely new spell.

I bestowed new properties and power onto this piece of flesh.

[Devouring]

Creak… creak…

The quivering flesh on my palm absorbed my will and magical power and transformed into a being with entirely new characteristics.

A grotesque creature with the writhing body of an octopus and an unbalanced beak trembled as it exhaled its first breath.

“Grrr… Gwawaa…”

If only it had been a bit more majestic, or at the very least cute, but no, this was just a monster.

Well, it didn’t matter. I issued a command to the newly born artificial life form, the Beast of Devouring.

“Now, Beast of Devouring, consume your master’s enemy and the source of power that animates him.”

“Kweeeeeeeg!”

The Beast of Devouring flew towards the ghoul shaman with incredible speed.

“What a trivial move!”

The ghoul shaman charged forward and threw a punch without slowing down.

He probably thought to easily swat away the flying flesh and then attack me, but that was exactly the development I had hoped for.

Splat!

“Wh-what is this!?”

Gurgle…

The flesh that had attached to his arm, the Beast of Devouring, started to tear into his body and the green mist enveloping him with a voracious intensity like that of a gaping maw.

Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch…

The green mist surrounding his body began to diminish rapidly.

[The unique trait ‘Magic Devourer’ has been activated.]