I Became a Genius Mage in the Cthulhu Game - Chapter 153: The Shadow of Insu Village (2)

A vast amount of magical power gathered in my eyes.

An overwhelming amount of information pressed against my brain, and a searing heat that seemed to melt my flesh concentrated on my eyeballs.

My vision turned red.

The blood vessels in my eyes burst, which caused blood tears to stream down my face.

If I keep using this spell, my eyesight will deteriorate.

This was a pointless thought.

My target was the safe in front of me.

As expected, the safe had a much weaker and looser structure compared to the treasure chest I had dealt with last time.

If I handle this well, I might be able to open it without destroying it this time.

I raised both hands and concentrated my magical power.

Even without [Carcosa’s Mask], it wasn’t difficult to recreate the magic it produced.

Is this roughly how it goes?

A golden aura shimmered at the tips of my ten fingers. The ten strands of aura formed different shapes according to my will.

To others, I must have looked like a mad doctor with scalpels, scissors, saw blades, and drills attached to my fingers.

I pushed my ten fingers into the weakest and most fragile part of the safe.

Tsssssss!!

The will within the safe formed a repulsive force to push away the hand of the stranger who intruded in without permission.

– You are not my master. The will of the abyss protects me.

Unlike the treasure chest that craved slaughter and blood, this will was calm, steadfast, and devoid of personality.

“Don’t be so picky; I have friends too.”

I awakened the ‘Echo of Suffocation’ residing in my mana core. It was a fragment of the abyss gifted by a being of the abyss to its offspring.

[System: The hidden trait ‘Heir of the Corpse Pile’ has been activated. You can turn otherworldly beings that have submitted to you into your minions.]

Sssssshhh—

This trait wasn’t particularly suitable for the situation. However, I only needed the power bestowed by the being of the abyss. I transformed the power of the [Heir of the Corpse Pile] trait and directed it into the safe.

Crackle!!

Tremendous sparks scattered in all directions.

Rumble!!

The entire building shook as if an earthquake had struck. Though the commotion was concealed by a barrier, it couldn’t be completely hidden.

[‘Magical Repository – Abyssal Safe’ resists your trait.]

[Subjugation assessment in progress…]

[Assessment successful! ‘Magical Repository – Abyssal Safe’ recognizes the ‘Echo of Suffocation’ within you and submits to your power.]

Creak…

A sound like grinding metal emanated from the safe.

It feels somewhat like a teeth grinding noise.

It was in a state similar to Doldol that I had previously subdued.

I wonder if Doldol is doing well. My last memory of Doldol was of him asleep in the corner of the living room like a stone statue.

Ugh, let’s stop wasting time.

I couldn’t bear the pressure in my brain any longer. When I started to feel like I might vomit out my brain through my mouth, I hurriedly deactivated [Perception].

“Ugh…”

At the same time, a clot of blood gushed out from beneath my eye. This was the most difficult situation if you live wearing a mask.

I used my magic to solidify the blood and clots streaming down my face. Leaving blood around here could cause ridiculous problems later on. I gathered the blood which was now hardened like glass beads and stored it in my robe.

“Whew.”

This was the second time I used [Perception]. It always felt awkward. It was completely different from when I used it in the game.

Ironically, both times I used it was to open a box.

If I could simplify and diagram the information this magic provides…

Ah, how should I simplify this?

This magic wasn’t just for opening boxes but was a power meant to achieve greater miracles. It was meant to reach a special realm, to truly reach the abyss…

“Hmm, but.”

The prerequisites for achieving miracles or the special magical realms required to reach the true abyss were just concepts I had absorbed from this world’s settings.

Is this possibly a debug or developer mode?

When I think about it like that, I feel deeply moved.

“…”

No, it might be a pretty plausible approach. If that’s the case, I could use this ability to…

But now wasn’t the time to think more deeply about that. To avoid forgetting the inspiration that had come to me, I mulled it over while checking the safe.

The first thing that caught my eye inside the safe was a pile of gold bars.

What a huge amount.

It felt as if the brightness of the room had doubled because of the gold bars.

Shhhhh…

A sound like waves crashing was heard. No, this was a hallucination. The sound of waves didn’t actually play.

And with the hallucination came an unpleasant fishy smell.

It wasn’t the image of a clear and clean sea. It was the scent of a dreadful and sinister sea that devoured sailors and ships, dragging them into endless darkness.

“Cursed gold.”

This was the magical power of the water ghost that I felt in the village chief’s body.

Did this item come from the sea? It carried a terrible curse and lingering resentment.

“If you leave something like this at home, you won’t live long.”

This item would drain the owner’s lifespan, provoke others’ jealousy, and create conflict and hatred.

“This doesn’t mean I should take it to the Thousand Gold Temple and exchange it for some stuff.”

There were items other than gold bars in the upper compartment of the safe.

A small box the size of a fist and… was the piece of gold beside it a crown?

It was a Western-style crown made of unusually brilliant gold.

“Aaah…”

I was gripped by terrible fear and stepped back.

I wanted to turn away, but my neck was fixed and I was unable to look away from the crown.

It was indeed an astonishingly beautiful object.

A golden crown.

No, it wasn’t merely golden. Such a beautiful glow couldn’t be made with a mere mineral like gold. It was crafted from a blend of brilliantly shining metals from another world.

Its structure was perfectly symmetrical, yet too large for a human to wear. Symbols and icons representing the deep sea were engraved on the crown’s surface.

There were waves, and beneath them was the deep sea and a place deeper than the sea.

A great city slumbering in a place humans could never reach.

Endless columns stood, with deep-sea dwellers standing among them.

A huge and monstrous creature was commanding those dwellers.

Giant beasts, primitive movements, grotesque figures, and strange creatures that were neither frogs nor humans. And the great priest ruling over them.

This wasn’t an item made for humans.

[This crown is an item blessed by a being of the abyss. You have come to understand the vile and blasphemous will engraved on its surface. These symbols alone possess the power to scar and disgrace the human mind.

Attempting to resist the distortion with your mental strength stat. Mental strength check… success.]

I wiped the cold sweat trickling down my neck and stepped back.

“Damn, what the hell is this?”

Was it a direct gift from a being of the abyss?

Although heavily decorated, the symbols engraved on this crown depict creatures that have adapted to the depths, a horrific hybrid of humans and other species.

And those monsters have forms that triggered my phobia. It’s hard to keep looking at them for long.

I cast a spell with trembling hands.

[Veil of Darkness]

A shadow bloomed from my hand and shrouded the crown.

“Whew.”

A heavy sigh escaped from deep within my lungs.

The message wasn’t about bringing this crown.

The message the past Kim Shin-hwa left me…

Safe, small box, items related to a being of the abyss.

“Then is it this?”

Next to the crown lay a small box. This one had a keyhole as well, but it was just an ordinary metal box.

[Unlock]

Click.

Good. Let’s keep this simple.

Inside the box was a small piece made of gold, ruby, and emerald.

“Well, more than a piece.”

It was a geometrically curved streamlined body with large and small holes here and there.

“Is this an ocarina?”

Interesting. It had far more holes than the ocarinas I remembered.

It looked like an instrument made for someone with twelve fingers. Like six fingers on each hand.

Even without my other memories, there were many ways to confirm the origin or usage of this item.

[Ocarina of the Deep Sea (S-rank Magical Tool): An instrument originating from the deep sea. Only those who inherit the bloodline of the people residing in the deep sea can use it.

This item is a component of another magical tool. It seems it can activate other magical tools through playing.

Melody of the Deep Sea: All water-type magic effects increase by 100%.

Further research is needed to obtain more detailed information.]

Based on the information given by the message window alone, it seemed like a pretty decent item.

However, this item was made of the same material as the gold bars in the safe. It carried an even stronger curse than the gold bars did.

It was a powerful curse filled with malice intended to ruin its owner.

“Well, I’ve been carrying cursed items around so far anyway.”

It didn’t matter. Though, if it turned me into something like the village chief, that would be a problem. But I could probably find a way to deal with that too.

I put the [Ocarina of the Deep Sea] into my pocket and cast a few spells to hide its presence and aura.

I was relieved that I didn’t have to take the crown. Even without considering its terrifying appearance and madness, how could I possibly hide something so large?

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

“Huh?”

Buzzzzz…

At that moment, the alarm magic I had set outside went off.

The village chief? No, it wasn’t the village chief.

It was about the size of a human, but there was more than one. Several figures were climbing over the back wall of the building, not the main gate.

“Ugh, I was too relaxed.”

I quickly put the box I was holding back into the safe and hurried to the living room.

I didn’t close the safe, but now it was on my side.

Creak—Clunk. Creak…

The safe quietly closed and locked itself.

I used telekinesis to close the closet and the bedroom door while lowering my presence and sitting on the sofa.

“……”

And then I slowly lowered my head, as if I dozed off from waiting too long for my meal.

If my guess was right, this wasn’t an assassination or attack. If I quietly suppressed my presence and stayed still, nothing would happen.

I kept my head down and looked at the TV screen.

Through the pitch-black screen of the turned-off TV, I could see the view of the living room.

The first thing I saw was my own figure sitting on the sofa, wearing a strangely shaped wooden mask.

It was a mask that covered the upper part of my face. It hid my eyes and nose but left my mouth and chin exposed.

The mask had large, developed eyes and grotesquely wrinkled skin. It resembled a frog.

Behind me who was pretending to doze off while wearing such a mask, I could see the large window.

And the dark shadows cast on that window.

Are those the supposedly kind villagers?

They looked far from kind.

It was a shadow reflected on the surface of the TV. Although I couldn’t make out their specific features, I could confirm that their silhouette was extremely bizarre and ominous.

Their posture was hunched, and their bodies were bulky. Their faces had lumps that looked like… what? Tumors? Protrusions? Perhaps abnormally developed and bulging eyes.

Are they wearing masks similar to mine?

No, that couldn’t be the case. The bizarre appearance of the village chief came to mind.

It was a grotesque shadow. It looked like something absurdly forced into human skin.

It was quiet.

Due to the Enhanced Vigilance, my heightened senses picked up the breathing of those grotesque shadows lined up outside the window.

“Gruk… Gruk…”

“Gruk, Gruk…”

“Gruk, Gruk, Gruruk.”

The village chief made similar sounds, but what I was hearing now was even more horrifying.

They watched me while making those throat sounds like frogs. They didn’t do anything; they just watched.

Like I thought, they haven’t come to attack.

They wanted a living sacrifice.

Moreover, the part of the ritual where the sacrifice willingly walked around the village and entered the temple was probably crucial.

In order to carry out such a complex and irrational ritual smoothly, they couldn’t reveal their true nature prematurely.

In any case, it seems that the past me wants to follow the ritual up to the point of entering the temple.

I didn’t know what awaited there, but I had no choice but to play along.

After waiting for a long time, the croaking sounds behind me gradually began to decrease.

I sensed that they had lost interest. One by one, the villagers slowly climbed over the wall and disappeared.

I waited for a long time even after their presence had vanished, and then sighed.

“Whew… Damn it. I’m imitating all sorts of things now.”

They must have detected the magical reaction when the safe opened and came to check on what was happening.

“So, what should I do now?”

The village chief told me to stay inside the house, but there’s no need to obey that.

I should probably go out and check the village.

“Alright, so now it’s a village tour.”

The past Kim Shin-hwa told me to find a ship. Let’s see where it is.