I Became a Genius Mage in the Cthulhu Game
chapter-43

“R’haaarrrr……”

It was a very bizarre voice that humans couldn’t pronounce, but it was very low and faint. Rather than articulating any meaningful speech, it seemed more akin to a groan.

“What’s this? There’s one still alive?”

I didn’t expect anyone to have survived that chaos…

When I approached the source of the groaning, sure enough, there was a golden dancer still clinging to life.

However, it appeared it wouldn’t have much longer to even groan.

This dancer held on till the very end only to have its mask taken by Jang Hyeon-deok.

Despite being hit by dozens of magic bullets, it stubbornly proclaimed the true name of the [King in Yellow] to the very end.

And here it was still alive.

Its condition was gruesome, with only its head and the upper part of its chest remaining intact, but it was alive nonetheless.

“Hey.”

“rrrr……”

“You’re really something, aren’t you? To have survived through all that chaos not once, but twice?”

“rrrr…… wrhiigh.”

“What are you trying to say? Say it clearly so I can understand.”

“……”

Perhaps it was its last bit of strength, but the dancer could speak no more. It wasn’t breathing, yet it wasn’t dead either. Although it was capable of making sounds, it was not a being that required breathing in the first place.

Its face was literally crafted from gold. Its smoothly polished face appeared to resemble a human at first glance, but upon closer inspection, it was clear that it was the face of a creature far removed from humanity. It was alien and grotesque…. A truly monstrous beauty.

“I came here to retrieve the mask, but it seems that’s no longer an option…”

I slowly gathered my magical power as I continued.

“I don’t want to leave empty-handed, so it looks like I’ll have to take you with me instead.”

The dancer blinked its four jewel-like eyes in shock and tried to speak but its mouth was empty and devoid of tongue or teeth. There was just a pitch-black empty space.

“K’haaa!!!”

“Just stay still. At this rate, you’re going to die soon anyway.”

[Binding]

[Evil Gaze]

[Cold Bone Prison]

The spell I used was the same as when I had extracted the [Black Goat’s Body Fluid] from Lee Chang-hyuk’s body.

Dododododo….

After hardening it to prevent resistance, I severed its bond with its master, the [King in Yellow], and trapped it within a magical barrier. While it was impossible to keep a living creature alive in such confinement, this being was more akin to a mechanical device. As long as my magical power was supplied, it could be maintained in a quasi-living state.

The task didn’t require much time. While I had struggled to remove the influence that fused with Lee Chang-hyuk’s soul before, dealing with a being with a definite physical form turned out to be much simpler. For a moment, it felt like I was skinning a hunted animal and making a taxidermy of it.

It’s too easy. Did the [King in Yellow] lose interest after what happened earlier?

As soon as the work was finished, new messages began to appear.

[You have completely destroyed the ruins created for the descent of the ‘King in Yellow’.]

Descent? Ah, so that’s why the dancers were there.

The servants prepared for the king’s descent. They were beings one would normally encounter only in Carcosa, in the other world. They either came here waiting for the King in Yellow to descend or were spawned as a harbinger of that descent.

[You have eliminated all the golden dancers you encountered in the ruins and destroyed the masks they were wearing. Now, the only ‘Mask of Carcosa’ remaining on earth is the one you possess. The first mask, which was inherently more powerful than the other ‘Masks of Carcosa’, will gain even stronger power. If you can destroy other objects bearing the yellow sign, you will experience even more amazing miracles.]

[System: You have met the specified conditions so the hidden power within the L-rank accessory ‘Carcosa’s Mask’ is now activated.]

“What’s this? The mask has been strengthened?”

I briefly felt the mask covering my face to assess its condition.

There was a definite change. The sections that were previously displayed as ■■■■ : ■■■■■ on the Carcosa’s Mask had started to show correctly.

[Invitation to Carcosa: You can visit the grand and beautiful Carcosa through your dreams.

Madman’s Dexterity: You can unlock the hidden abilities of an artifact or attempt modifications to bestow other powers. You get a +100% success rate in invention, repair, research, and development.

However, each use of this ability requires a sanity check. Failure in the check will result in a random mental illness afflicting your mind.]

“This is….”

Isn’t it great?

The Invitation to Carcosa might seem like a meaningless trait in most cases. Carcosa is the dimension where the King in Yellow resides. Visiting such a mad world in a human body would only yield the special culture and habits unique to Carcosa, along with madness.

However, Madman’s Dexterity was an incredibly beneficial trait that couldn’t be obtained with a regular build. But in exchange for its excessively good effects, it came with the penalty of acquiring a mental illness at a certain probability, but this penalty could be erased with [Madness of the Abyss].

The ability to modify artifacts… It was a trait beyond my wildest dreams and it was just too good to be true.

I was pondering where to use the dancer I had just secured, but now it seemed I could try various experiments with it, whatever it turned out to be.

Then, the message window began to display the standard experience gain messages.

[You have completely destroyed the ruins for the descent. Experience points gained.]

[You have accumulated enough experience points to advance to the next level. Your level increases by 1.]

[You have defeated ‘Fanatic—Jang Hyeon-deok’. Your understanding of the King in Yellow’s cult has increased.]

[You have defeated the golden dancers (13). Your understanding of ‘Creatures of Carcosa’ has significantly increased.]

[You have accumulated enough experience points to advance to the next level. Your level increases by 1.]

[Discovery: You have acquired (2) secret items from the ruins. Experience points gained.]

[Discovery: You have found a secret space. Experience points gained.]

[Achievement unlocked! You have freed a human from the control of an abyssal being.

You have earned the ‘General Achievement: Are You Awake Now?’.

As a reward for the achievement, you gain a firm alliance with ‘Driving Expert—Jang Hyeon-deok’ and additional experience points.]

“…. Is that kid still alive?”

It’s still too early to be certain.

The game [Cthulhu World] is notorious for its numerous bugs and shoddy optimization. In fact, during gameplay, it’s not uncommon to see relationship information for NPCs that should be dead or shouldn’t even appear.

And what’s with this kind of reward? Give me an artifact or a special ability.

What’s the benefit of forming a solid alliance with a secure taxi driver? Maybe I’ll save on taxi fares in the future?

[Experience Point Bonus: You have achieved a total of (2) achievements at the ruins for the descent.]

[You have accumulated enough experience points to advance to the next level. Your level increases by 1.]

[You have reached level 22! As a level achievement reward, you receive (1) bonus stat point to distribute freely.]

[For you who have accumulated enough experience points, you have unlocked the use of second-order magic. Please note that to use second-order magic effectively, you need to obtain or learn a grimoire containing second-order spells.]

[System: The ‘Spell Mastery’ trait is activated. You automatically learn the basic spells of the second tier.]

Finally, second-order spells are unlocked and I’ve received a bonus stat point.

After pondering where to allocate the bonus stat point for a moment, the loss of the Slurping Gloves, which had previously boosted my health, came to mind, so I allocated them to my health. Though this slightly complicated the schedule I had in mind, there was no other choice.

There was simply no easy way to obtain an artifact that could increase health by two points. For future progress, securing at least 8 points in health was essential.

****

Kim Shin-hwa

Class: Mage Gazing into the Abyss

Level: 22

Magic Order: Second Order

Madness: [Mask Obsession], [Ichthyophobia (Fear of Fish)]

Strength: 5(+3) (Corrupted Ring of Flame)

Health: 7

Agility: 8

Intelligence: 30

Mental Strength: 14

Charm: 17

****

There must be a way to secure at least one more point in health…

[Your accomplishments were truly amazing. Although the abyssal being had not fully descended in its complete form, it was an endpoint created by the entity’s own will. It was an absurd being, one that seemingly could not be defeated. Yet you overcame such a being with nothing but your own wisdom and skill. This is a truly an amazing event! Your remarkable feat is echoing through the deep abyss. More beings from the abyss will be watching you from now on.]

…Is that supposed to be a good thing? I just want to beg them to lose interest in me.

[What could the words left by the King in Yellow mean? When will the deluge occur? Can you prevent the impending doom? And can you overcome the fate of becoming a feast offering at the banquet?

A chaotic future awaits you.]

Damn, there’s no wiki and no other veteran players to ask, so I have no idea what’s going on.

Then again, who would know about a situation like this? There has never been anyone who knew more about [Cthulhu World] than I did. There’s nobody to ask in this world, nor in the reality I used to live in.

If I want to understand what’s happening, I have no choice but to check it out myself, even if it means getting bruised and broken.

It seems there are no more messages coming through now.

“Ugh… Damn it, let’s go home.”

After muttering that to myself, I tried to put the dancer’s head into my backpack… but it was too big.

It wouldn’t fit. Moreover, my backpack was already filled with the silver bell from the underworld and various other artifacts… there was simply no room for this large, shiny head. Damn, I was carrying too much.

Ah, but there was still more to gather.

I turned my head to look at the pile of golden dancers’ bodies.

The scene was ambiguous, teetering between horrific and beautiful.

They glittered as if dusted with gold powder.

“It’s almost blinding.”

It was like a bizarre reflection of the night sky’s brilliance.

Thirteen golden dancers lay shattered; their bodies’ golden scales spilled out. And the brightly colored jewels that adorned their bodies were not in short supply either. There was enough to adorn thirteen humans.

Because of this, the amount of gold and jewels scattered and spread around was absurd. Just witnessing this scene could drive many to madness.

In addition, the completely motionless fragments of the dancers’ bodies… still retained their sensual forms, turning the barren ground of the ruins, where not a single blade of grass had grown, into a beautiful yet filthy wasteland littered with golden sculptures of corpses.

“If only this were real gold…”

Too bad, but this was not real gold.

The split and cracked bodies of the dancers, the golden scales scattered on the ground, and the brightly colored jewels that adorned their bodies… were slowly turning black. They might maintain the appearance of treasures for a week or two, but it would be difficult to find a foolish enough merchant in Paju willing to buy such items.

However, if I could find the right buyer, there might be a way to dispose of them.

These items were crafted from materials from the depths of the abyss, and they were imbued with the magic and alien thoughts of another world. They possessed a lethal and profound danger and magical effect that was as deep and deadly as the stories they held within.

Should I take these with me… Hmm… Looking up, I saw stars embedded in the high night sky, shining as if they were about to spill over, and looking around, the dense forests of Tanhyeon could be seen beyond the ruins turned to rubble.

How do I make my way back from here anyway?