I Became a Genius Mage in the Cthulhu Game
chapter-96

The professor and I were walking through the alleys of the Geumchon neighborhood.

On my back, I carried a sack full of cursed jewels I brought with me from the hungry mansion, and in one hand, I held an outdated briefcase entrusted to me by Tudor.

It was an awkward outfit for helping someone in a wheelchair.

However, the professor did not need that kind of help.

Although no one was pushing or holding it, the wheelchair’s wheels were moving.

Nor was the professor himself moving the wheels of his wheelchair.

His hands were busy holding a large jade package that rested on his knees.

The ordinary-looking wheelchair moved as if it were a motorized one.

After all, this gentleman is no ordinary person.

When I thought about it, the scene was quite bizarre.

A self-moving wheelchair, a strange mask with four eyes, and hefty packages.

Should we accidentally encounter the police or the control agency, it would be difficult to slip away easily.

“Walking like this …”

Perhaps he’s thinking the same? The professor suddenly spoke up.

“It reminds me of twenty years ago.”

No, he wasn’t thinking the same as I was.

“Paju isn’t new to you, is it?”

Though I knew the backstory, I pretended not to know as always and asked him back.

“That’s right, Mage friend. Twenty years ago, I frequented this area.”

He casually mentioned “twenty years ago” but it was actually precisely twenty-three years ago.

From seeing the 150-year-old Hollow Lord and the even older Tudor walking around just fine, it was clear that Lovecraftian problems already existed twenty-three years ago.

However, these matters were all hidden within the shadows of this world. They were known only as secret knowledge shared among a select few.

The Great Collapse that occurred in the world of [Cthulhu World] twenty-three years ago was an event that made such secrets not so secret anymore.

There were people like Jeong Eun-taek who made a big score then and quickly declared retirement, but most could not do the same.

They either died, went mad, or completely lost their former purity and became heretics.

The professor was one of those who roamed the darkness of Paju at the time as an “explorer of the unknown world” and he remains one of the very few still active without losing his purity and original purpose.

Furthermore, he was one of the very few NPCs in the treacherous, betrayal-filled, and conspiracy-ridden world of Cthulhu that could be trusted.

We just walked aimlessly without any particular discussion or agreement on direction.

The professor had an expression as if he was out for a leisurely night stroll.

Since I had no particular opinion to offer in the situation, I quietly followed him.

Before we knew it, we had reached the vicinity of Geumchon Market.

It was late yet the night market was still bustling as if it had not ended.

The market was brightly lit.

Surprisingly, there seemed to be more people now than during the day.

Exotic foods and processed goods of unknown origin were being sold at open stalls here and there.

The professor looked at the scene and spoke in a cheerful tone.

“Ah, there are quite a lot of people.”

“It’s the night market. Do you see that banner over there?”

A banner with this information was posted at the entrance of the market.

“It’s better to start where there are a lot of people. Let’s go inside.”

“We look too… I mean this appearance might be a bit strange to go in with.”

“Hmm… Is there any skill we could use?”

“If it’s alright for me to push the wheelchair, that would be fine.”

“Ah, then I’ll ask for your help.”

“Understood.”

With that, the professor slightly reduced the speed of the wheelchair.

I adjusted my pace to match his and stayed behind him.

At the same time, I cast a spell to lessen my presence and created a light illusion.

In crowded places, that was usually enough; people surprisingly pay little attention to others.

“This will be needed soon, right?”

I lifted a bag hanging from the back of the professor’s wheelchair and handed it to him.

Taking the bag, the professor looked up at me with an intrigued expression.

“I heard this was your first time here; was there perhaps a misunderstanding?”

“Huh?”

“Haha, normally, around this point, I’d have to explain how to get to the Thousand Gold Temple. But somehow, you don’t seem like a first-timer.”

It wasn’t my first time, but there was no need to reveal that.

“It is my first time. I just heard some stuff here and there.”

“Is that so? The process of moving to the Thousand Gold Temple is quite simple actually. But what I found amusing was your demeanor.”

“My demeanor?”

“You seem very familiar and comfortable. If you really are a newcomer, you’re pretty bold. The more people know about the Thousand Gold Temple in a half-baked way, the more nervous they tend to get.”

The professor’s remark was not an exaggeration.

The Thousand Gold Temple was hidden in a location that was difficult to accept as real. If you didn’t know how to get there at all, you wouldn’t know, but as the professor said, those who knew it half-heartedly found it to be a place where one could understandably be nervous.

It was located not in this world, but in a land of ghosts and monsters.

“It seems I got so nervous last night that I couldn’t feel more nervous today.”

“Hahaha, that’s interesting. Alright. I’m not doubting you, but there might be errors in what you’ve learned, so I’ll just point out the basics.”

It might be called an occupational hazard, but the professor really started speaking like a professor.

“Alright.”

“Now, take a look at this.”

The professor rummaged through the bag I had handed him and pulled out an artifact.

It was an object resembling a jar made of hardened hanji (Korean paper).

It was roughly the size of a child’s head.

Of course, it was not a jar. The bottom part of what would be a jar was open, and a long wooden handle was attached to what would be the lid.

At first glance, its silhouette somewhat resembled a handbell.

However, this object had nothing to do with sound. It was a lighting device made using traditional techniques.

“This lantern is essentially the entry ticket to the Thousand Gold Temple.”

“I see.”

“Haha, people usually get quite surprised here. Seems there’s no fun in it this time.”

“I’ve heard quite a bit about it, but this is the first time I’ve actually seen one.”

“Even if it wasn’t an artifact, it’s not something that people would easily see today. It’s called a ‘foot-lighting lantern’. It resembles a traditional object that has been used since the Joseon Dynasty. Aside from its abilities as an artifact, it can function just like a traditional foot-lighting lamp.”

Essentially, if you light the candle inside, it can be used as a lantern to illuminate the path beneath your feet.

However, this object was an artifact. It haf powers beyond just providing light.

[Ghost Path Foot Lighting Lantern (Thousand Gold Temple): A lantern with the power to illuminate the Ghost Path.

As long as the candle placed within the fire window remains, it can be continuously used.

On a dark night, if you light the candle of the foot-lighting lantern and walk the main road, you will soon find yourself on the Ghost Path.

If you stray from the set path, you cannot reach your destination.

Destination: Thousand Gold Temple

Enhancement: The more crowded the place you start from, the sooner you can reach your destination.]

“There’s no need to push the wheelchair, but it might be good to hold onto it with one hand.”

I casually held onto the handle attached to the back of the wheelchair. Letting go could mean losing my way.

“Got it.”

“Then, let’s light this lantern and… oh, could you light it for me?”

I extended a finger toward the candle in the foot-lighting lantern and sent a small flame toward it.

The foot-lighting lantern was lit, and the professor lowered the lantern to illuminate the path as we moved forward.

“Good. Now, all we need to do is follow the path illuminated by this lantern. That alone will lead us into the alleyway.”

“It seems it has already begun.”

Perhaps due to the large crowd, the change came swiftly.

Foreign substances started to appear in the surrounding scenery.

“Have you already noticed? It’s not easy to detect so quickly; you must be very sensitive. Quite sharp indeed.”

Walking through the alleyway was, in a way, akin to a dimension shift.

However, it didn’t require the stereotypical black hole or flashing lights one might expect.

It was more like gradually seeing things previously invisible as they slowly blended into reality.

As the professor said, it started with minor discrepancies: small specks, misplaced déjà vu, awkward gestures from passersby, and slight optical illusions.

These were subtle changes that only the sensitive might notice.

We continued walking through Geumchon Market which was slowly transforming into an alien space.

Soon, even those who weren’t sensitive couldn’t ignore the significant changes.

For example, people wearing clothing from the wrong era started to appear.

In the bustling heart of the market, a woman walked by in a traditional hanbok.

A man in an old martial arts uniform passed by her.

An elderly man wearing a tattered durumagi that resembled a rag.

Faint eerie music echoed softly in the distance.

Shadows that seemed to dance flitted here and there.

A parade of the dead moved in a consistent direction.

We entered the path frequented by the dead without any hesitation.

“There’s no need to explain what a ‘ghost path’ is to a mage, right?”

“I am aware that one should not talk with those who walk the ghost path.”

Naturally, those who walk this path without any special items are not among the living.

“It’s also wise not to make eye contact or look directly at their faces. In that regard, you’re fortunate to be wearing a mask.”

The professor continued speaking in a tone as if he were dealing with a student he liked.

Unlike the usual professors I knew, his voice was so perfectly modulated that listening to him never became tedious.

While most still attempted to mimic human forms, increasingly bizarre creatures began to appear.

For example, a ten-meter-tall giant peering over a building.

Creatures resembling dragons raced through the alleys, beings with only one eye, others whose faces were covered with hundreds of eyes, and some with no faces at all…

Under normal circumstances, this would have been a sight too strange to comprehend.

Though the issue of madness had nothing to do with me, those who enter the ghost path in a normal way do not undergo a sanity check.

This space was a reality that could be touched physically. It was a different dimension that existed in a different phase, and at the same time, it was like a vague illusion from a night’s dream.

When faced with an unacceptable reality, a mind overwhelmed by shock manifests madness.

But since this place was like a dream… well, there’s some kind of setup like that, although I don’t know the specific mechanics.

In any case, it meant that in such a space, the annoying process of constantly triggering sanity checks, popping up message windows, and sparking traits was omitted.

Of course, as with any nightmare, if you do not realize that this is such a space and mistake it for reality, you may be shocked.

In the same way, being forcibly expelled from the ghost path or receiving a strong attack from someone is like waking up from a nightmare.

But that wasn’t an immediate concern right now.

“Mage friend, do you see those lanterns over there?”

Suddenly, dozens of shield kites were floating in the dark sky beyond.

“I see them.”

“You have good eyesight. Or should I say good sensitivity? Those are the curses gathered at the Thousand Gold Temple and hanging there. They’re invisible to the untrained eye.”

To me, along with those kites, I could also see the bluish will-o’-wisps flying through the sky and the strange magical powers radiating in all directions.

“And there lies the Thousand Gold Temple. It seems quite distant visually, but we’ll arrive sooner than you think.”