I Became a Genius Mage in the Cthulhu Game
chapter-46

[Tangled Identity]

The second-order magic of stealing another’s face requires a medium like a piece of leather to cover the face for use, but I’m already wearing a mask anyway.

Uuung-

As the sound of the air vibrating around my face reached my ears, the strange shape held by the mask of Carcosa began to twist, and a new face formed over it.

Creating the face was one thing, but the challenge lies in deceiving the person who was looking at me from close range. So I had to erase any sense of alienation in that brief moment.

[Hazy Presence]

[Kind Whisper]

So I hurried to layer on other spells. I subtly diluted the presence of the morphed face to make it less conspicuous and infused my voice with magical charm and a forced familiarity.

“What’s wrong?”

“U-uh… That’s…”

Why did I think this person was suspicious? The officer had that kind of expression on his face.

Human cognitive abilities are more flawed than one might think. Despite having clearly seen a bizarre figure wearing a mask with four eyes just moments before, a simple trick and the right amount of deception made him forget what he had previously seen.

That’s why mages can make a living.

“No, nothing. My apologies.”

The police officer continued to examine my face with a puzzled expression on his face.

I just added a three-dimensional illusion over the mask, so unless he physically touched my face, he wouldn’t be able to detect anything amiss.

Even more, since I had artificially diminished my presence, no matter how closely he examined my face, it would be difficult to find any distinct personality or features.

The police officer felt slightly embarrassed and slightly confused as he seemed to have forgotten what he was supposed to do next.

“Well, then…”

There was nothing to be gained by prolonging this encounter. It was best to get out of his sight as quickly as possible.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you going to check his ID?”

Suddenly, a sharp voice cut in from behind the police officer.

“Did you not understand me? Check his ID.”

At the same moment, a message window popped up.

[System: ‘Enhanced Vigilance’ trait has been activated.]

Why didn’t you pop up earlier you bastard. If it had appeared sooner, I would have just run away.

“Ah, um… Yes!”

The police officer who came to his senses belatedly looked very nervous.

What’s going on?

Looking over the police officer’s shoulder towards the source of the voice, I saw a few people approaching.

There were two police officers and a woman dressed in a suit.

That woman…

What a pain in the a**. The space around her seemed almost warped by the heavy magic I could feel emanating from her.

At this point, a few police officers were the least of my concerns.

It would be ideal to resolve this through talking, but the likelihood of dialogue succeeding was extremely low.

The opponent was just as dangerous and crazy.

“Look! We are in a very dangerous and dark time! How can we ensure the safety of our citizens if you act so carelessly in such a situation?”

A young woman with a sharp demeanor was shouting at the rough and unruly police officers of Paju.

Even at first glance, she had a fierce appearance and voice that suggested that she had a fierce personality.

She gave off the impression of being a swordsman belonging to an organization, and moreover…

A pistol inside the suit she’s wearing. Knives on her wrists and waistband? Or perhaps batons? And a few more items besides that.

It was difficult to identify exactly what those items were, but they were certainly not ordinary weapons.

The objects exuded a more intense magical power than the magical power emanating from her body. Well, they were discernible beneath her clothes by their shapes.

She is carrying around five artifacts.

All the detected weapons were artifacts of A-rank or higher, with two of them being S-rank.

The woman commanding the Paju police officers with a flick of her chin was called Yang Seo-ho.

To think I had run into this woman…

I then realized why my Enhanced Vigilance trait had manifested so belatedly.

That woman was a different kind of danger from the usual enemies. If one could somehow fall within the scope of “our citizens” as defined by her, there were few public servants as trustworthy as she was.

However, if one were to fall outside her personal criteria for “our citizens” there were few monsters as dangerous as her.

The fact that my “Enhanced Vigilance” trait had manifested belatedly meant that I had just become someone who didn’t meet Yang Seo-ho’s criteria for “our citizens”.

Still, there might be room for dialogue.

She looked at me with a feigned smile and said,

“Now passerby-nim? please cooperate with us.”

“Cooperate, you say?”

“Ah, I am an official from the Immigration Bureau. Your movements and clothing are quite… suspicious.”

Although she lowered her voice, her tone was clearly aggressive.

With a nod from her head, the police officers standing behind her slowly approached me.

“Ah, excuse me, sir… but could we conduct a brief check? We would like to verify your ID.”

And there was Yang Seo-ho with a fake smile on her face.

“Lately, there have been too many strange occurrences in Paju. It’s as if things that shouldn’t be in our country are starting to increase again…”

Tudor had mentioned several times that the Immigration Bureau had been intensifying their crackdowns recently. That’s why I’ve been taking secure taxis even for short distances.

The Immigration Bureau.

This is the name of the organization to which Yang Seo-ho belongs, often called the Immigration Bureau, Foreigner Management Bureau, or simply the Management Bureau.

Externally, they are known to crack down on illegal immigrants, but their actual tasks are far more dangerous and secretive.

They are a group of officially recognized people with special abilities operating in South Korea where Cthulhu Mythos disasters occur.

Rather than illegal immigrants from foreign countries, they regulate alien beings that have crossed over from beyond the veil.

And Yang Seo-ho is among the most aggressive and radical figures within this group.

Look how her expression is starting to sour already.

As I hesitated, her smile quickly vanished from her face.

Yang Seo-ho assumed a posture with her hand on her waist.

While it might seem like an arrogant stance designed to intimidate, she was actually always ready to pull out the artifacts hidden in her waist.

If I made any unnecessary or suspicious movements, she would likely attack without further questioning.

What should I do then?

Someone of Yang Seo-ho’s caliber would have sensed that I possess more magical power than an average person.

But that was all.

The extent of magical power she detected was only what I had intentionally revealed.

To Yang Seo-ho, I might seem like a mage or a person with special abilities of moderate level, but she had not grasped the full extent of my capabilities.

There’s no need for pointless mind games.

I calmly pulled out my ID and showed it to the officer.

The officer took out a device that resembled an old-fashioned PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) and began to go through some verification processes. After a while, he approached Yang Seo-ho and whispered something to her.

“Hmm, is that so?”

The kind and pretentious smile typical of an official appeared on Yang Seo-ho’s face again.

Just moments before, her expression had been that of a murderer as if she was on the verge of killing me at the slightest provocation.

“Oh, my apologies. It turns out you are a citizen of South Korea.”

“……”

Even though I felt displeased with all these attitudes, I reminded myself that it was just a passing storm.

Moreover, at this moment, getting into a conflict with this woman would serve no good purpose. I decided to endure it a bit longer and I simply kept my mouth shut.

“Do you know that it’s currently a period of intensified crackdown on illegal residents? If you happen to notice anyone acting suspiciously, please contact us.”

After saying this, she handed me a pamphlet that mentioned something about emergency reporting.

The old-fashioned design and font typical of promotional material produced by a government office stood out.

Most of its content resembled guidelines for identifying spies from the ’70s, but it also included some utterly bizarre statements. These were warnings that seemed relevant only in a world where surreal incidents occur.

[1. If a door suddenly appears on a previously blank wall, do not open it under any circumstances and report it to the authorities immediately.

Do not touch the door or put your ear against it to listen for sounds from the other side.

2. If a group of people with whom you have no social or age commonality offers you a chance for a better life, suggests enhancing your intelligence, or proposes immortality, life extension, or a cure for incurable diseases, ignore their offers and report them to the authorities right away.

3. On a rainy day, if a person (often a woman) who is not wearing an umbrella or raincoat suggests walking together, never respond. Facing them or making eye contact can also be dangerous.

4. If a person who was long presumed missing or dead suddenly shows up without any prior contact and knocks on your door…]

In the end, I couldn’t hold back and ended up speaking out.

“It reminds me of a collection of urban legends that used to be popular back in the day…”

Even after hearing what I said, Yang Seo-ho didn’t make any kind of reaction. In fact, she adopted a more serious demeanor.

“The illegal residents these days are far more dangerous than that.”

It’s something I couldn’t say to others, but… this woman seems quite off her rocker.

“Anyway, take care.”

“Yes, I hope we don’t meet again in any strange circumstances.”

Her words were polite but her tone implied a threat, as if encountering her again under unusual conditions would have dire consequences.

She didn’t wait for my response and continued speaking.

“I didn’t bring my equipment today, but usually I carry much more with me.”

Yang Seo-ho’s gaze was cold and detached as she scanned my face.

It was an obsessive and persistent look as if she was trying to etch my face into her memory.

It seemed she had noticed I used some kind of magic but was frustrated not knowing what it was.

Go ahead; memorize this face well.

The presence of this unremarkable face was fleeting; even if someone committed it to memory, changing it would be simple.

I turned around and checked the consumption of magical power and concentration, as well as other factors.

Considering it was a spur-of-the-moment attempt, the performance was quite satisfactory.

If it could deceive someone as skilled as Yang Seo-ho, it was unlikely anyone other than a fellow mage would notice the illusion cast over my face.

This should allow me to maintain my appearance without hindrance, even during combat or other complex activities.

There was no need to show a false face to those who already knew me by the mask, but it seemed I could finally abandon the lifestyle of only moving about unseen at night.

I realized I hadn’t wandered outside during daylight for almost two months. For the sake of my physical and mental well-being, it would be beneficial to see the sun occasionally.

“Haah… But I doubt I’ll manage to get up during the day.”

Now that the tension was easing, hunger set in. I glanced at the fully darkened sky for a moment before making up my mind. I’d deal with Vasilisa first, then head in to eat something.

I got on my skateboard once again.

To avoid the possibility of Yang Seo-ho tracking me, I chose not to use magic and instead moved stealthily, rolling my feet quietly as I traveled. I intentionally took the longer route, meandering through the complex back alleys of the Geumchon neighborhood to buy time.

After about 20 minutes of skulking in the shadows, once I was confident I wasn’t being followed, I finally dispelled the magic on my mask.

Now, I was no longer the person with an unremarkable fake face, but Kim Shin-hwa the remarkable masked man.

“I’m a little worried that my attachment to the mask is getting stronger…”

I started wondering if there was a way to cure my obsession with masks as I leaped over several buildings, making my way to the alley where Vasilisa was located.

“Huh?”

Something about the atmosphere around Vasilisa was off.

A great deal of magical power was pulsating inside. The magical power was moving as if a great commotion was taking place inside. This wasn’t a normal situation.

[System: ‘Enhanced Vigilance’ trait has been activated.]