I Became a Genius Mage in the Cthulhu Game - Chapter 157: The Shadow of Insu Village (6)

The old man’s house.

The door was locked, but there was no magically sealed door.

Though not as grand as the village chief’s house, it was still a rather impressive standalone home. How amusing. How could someone build and live in such a house beyond the Great Wall? Is there a TV here too? Does it even broadcast?

Since this place is beyond the Great Wall, there’s no way to escape and there’s no need to worry about the Immigration Bureau. I thought it was a ridiculous location, but now it seems quite plausible.

The setup is that they sell the treasures provided by the deep-sea hybrids through smugglers and procure live sacrifices and necessary goods for the village.

In order to infiltrate this village…. did I have no choice but to become a sacrifice myself?

Ah, I see.

This village was created as a nesting ground to produce new deep sea descendants.

The items here were supplied by the smugglers from Chopyeong Island. Of course, this alone doesn’t completely solve all the doubts and awkward settings, but…

 

Well, if that’s how the game’s setting is, who am I to argue?

 

“Ugh!”

Thud!

“Grrr…”

Had I put him down too roughly? A pitiful groan escaped from the sleeping old man’s mouth.

Though I felt sorry for the old man, there was no time to concern myself with his comfort.

As soon as my hands were free, I locked the door. Ah, locking it alone wasn’t enough to feel secure.

I waved my hands in all directions and cast spells for security and concealment.

[Tangled Identity]

[Sound Wave Distortion]

[Shadow Curtain]

[Evil Gaze]

[Tindalos’ Shell]

[Seal of Light]

Buzzzzz! Creak, whoosh!

The pursuers weren’t just the deep-sea hybrids.

This old man could turn into a pursuer at any moment too.

That’s why I set up a complex triple-layered barrier around the entire house.

The first layer was to eliminate any signs of my presence, and the second was a physical barrier to keep the deep-sea hybrids from creeping in.

And most importantly, the third barrier was to block the interference of Dagon, the being of the abyss.

It’s impossible to create such a formidable barrier in this neighborhood.

At best, it would serve as a temporary measure.

[The unique effect of the S-rank artifact ‘Ocarina of the Deep Sea’, ‘Melody of the Deep Sea’ has been activated.

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

[Wave Curtain]

Swoosh-

It was a barrier imbued with the magic of the sea.

In a direct confrontation, it would be better to summon fire which was its natural opposite or the power of darkness.

But if the goal is to deceive, the same attribute is more advantageous.

For now, it was enough to temporarily distort Dagon’s influence.

“Grrr, grrr. Urk. Urrgh, urgh!”

The old man who had been lying down suddenly started writhing and making strange noises.

Why is this happening all of a sudden? The magical power in the old man’s body was fluctuating. This magical pattern…

“The smell of the sea, and a curse?”

Why? Despite blocking external influences, why is this happening?

Suddenly, his vision became blurry.

It’s like shackles placed on a slave.

If he goes outside Dagon’s influence, the curse of the deep sea is triggered.

The way to stop it is…

Important information came to my mind a beat too late.

It wasn’t that a new curse had suddenly been cast. The curse had been in place for a long time.

When Dagon’s influence faded away, the curse assumed that the old man had escaped from the village and activated the designated effect.

“Urgh… urk! Urgh!”

The old man’s complexion turned red, then blue, and then purple.

“Grkk, urk! Grk! Urgh, urgh!”

He emitted strange groans, unlike anything ever heard before.

Swoosh, crash, rumble!!

Could such sounds come from a human mouth?

The old man began to vomit an impossible amount of seawater from his mouth and nose.

“This is…”

Damn it. It’s a method to dispose of a useless traitor.

Dagon’s magic was transforming directly into seawater which filled the old man’s lungs. If left as is, he would drown while standing on land.

“Fortunately, it’s not difficult to undo.”

I quickly formed hand seals and reached toward the old man’s chest. A sharp pain surged from my middle finger, where the nail had been ripped off.

[Spell Dispersion]

Bang!

A burst of blue magic erupted around the old man’s body.

The curse’s structure had been dismantled, but Dagon’s magical power still lingered in the old man’s body. To deal with that…

[Absorption]

If I absorbed Dagon’s magical power in my current state, I would turn into a frog. I needed something to absorb the magical power in my place. Luckily, I had a friend who could help.

“Red, eat it all.”

Kieeeee—

A faint sound echoed from inside the old man’s body.

The blue energy that was about to scatter in all directions concentrated on Red, who had seeped into the old man’s body. How much longer could it hold on? Just a bit more? Complex formulas swirled in my mind.

Red wasn’t originally made for this purpose. If it absorbed too much, it might burst. Now? No, just a bit more. Yes, now it’s ready.

“Alright, now. Come out!”

Bright red steam escaped from the old man’s back.

At the same time, an enormous noise erupted from the old man’s mouth.

“Uuurgh! Wuurgh! Haa! Haa!”

Splash— Splash!

The seawater that had filled his lungs and bronchial tubes poured out in a single breath. It was a rough treatment, but this was proof that the old man was cured.

I carefully observed the old man’s condition and with my remaining concentration, I sent my magical power to the red steam that was hovering around the house.

“Well done. Rest for a while.”

Kieeeen—

The red steam which had been reacting against Dagon’s magical power concentrated into a single point.

Plop—

It took on the same appearance as before it turned into a magical creature. The blood clotted and became a crystallized red ball.

A truly radiant jewel created from blood.

Some impurities are mixed in.

Inside the ball which was as clear and red as a ruby, a deep blue inclusion formed. It was a strange substance, like a strange creature swimming in a sea of blood, or perhaps like waves or coral reefs.

Can it be used again? It seems difficult for Red to digest.

Nevertheless, its performance was remarkable. It was initially created as a disposable scouting tool, yet it had accomplished so much.

I feel like I’ve done something similar before.

What was this vague memory?

I had a sense that if I used these impurities well, I could make Red even stronger.

“Huff, huff…”

The old man’s condition seemed to be stabilizing. I tucked the red ball into my pocket and spoke to the old man.

“How are you feeling? Any better?”

“What, what…”

The old man looked at me with a pale and bewildered expression on his face.

Was he wondering who I was? I paused to choose my words carefully before answering.

“I’m someone who came from beyond the barrier to save you.”

This seemed the most convincing explanation.

The past Kim Shin-hwa might have disagreed, but for now, this would suffice.

“Ca-Can’t believe it…”

“Believe me. Didn’t I just lift the curse from your body?”

“You, you are…”

“No, being the overseer is just a disguise. I will resolve everything during tomorrow’s feast. By then, I will be able to lift the curse on the other villagers as well.”

At this point, the old man’s expression twisted in shock.

“You, you read my mind…!?”

Oops, it seems he was more surprised by the way I spoke than by the content of my words.

“No, I didn’t read your mind.”

It’s just that what you were going to say was too obvious.

Actually, there’s another reason.

Another image overlapped the old man’s face. It was the old man from a different time. In fact, I met him in a completely different manner back then.

[The old man tearfully tells his story.]

Last year, my son gathered people to resist those monsters.

This was the game screen from [Cthulhu World].

I had just momentarily forgotten. I knew all the information about this quest.

I had experienced all the possible outcomes and encountered every event that could occur here.

Now, I could proceed with more ease.

“Last year, your son gathered people to resist the deep-sea people, didn’t he?”

“How, how do you know that…”

But they failed.

So many people died because of that. So many people…

This was information that kept coming to my mind.

“Because of the shock from that event, you were drinking with the mindset of kill me if you can.”

Unlike the desperate villagers preparing for the Dragon King Festival, the old man was drinking alone.

Though when you consider the actions of the deep-sea people, it was almost a suicidal act.

“No, no…”

“Is that correct?”

“Ah, yes! Yes, it is! Oh, who exactly are you and where do you come from!”

The old man burst into tears and bowed his head.

“Um…”

I can take a hint. The old man wasn’t asking for my address and name. He thought I was some special and divine being.

To clear up the misunderstanding, I answered in my usual manner.

“Didn’t I tell you? I’m a fixer from beyond the barrier. My name is just Kim Shin-hwa.”

“Oh! Shin-hwa! Shin-hwa-nim! Oh, please! Help us! Please! Save the people trapped here!”

Ah, maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned my name?

Well, I can only blame my parents for giving me such a name.

(TN: Here, it seems like he is embarrassed of his name. I searched, and “Shin-hwa” is the name of a boy band. Though I’m not sure if that’s the actual reason.)

“Elder, you don’t need to do this. Please stand up.”

I lifted the old man and said,

“Tomorrow, I will…”

Tomorrow, I will go to the temple with the priest.

“…go to the temple with the priest.”

And when I give the signal…

“And when I give the signal, gather the villagers …”

Gather the villagers at the village entrance.

“…at the village entrance.”

Yes, this was the plan that Kim Shin-hwa had made in the past.

Was it certain?

Honestly, I wasn’t sure. Perhaps I was recalling a completely wrong memory.

The old man bowed his head again and said,

“Understood! I will definitely do as you said!”

I had done everything I needed to do here.

I was about to leave, but the old man stopped me and brought something quite unexpected.

“Take this, please… use this to…”

It was a bomb. Made of magic stone.

A magic stone fixed in a metal frame, with some circuits and wires.

[Magic Stone Bomb (B-rank Explosive): An unstable homemade bomb crafted with amateur skills. Due to the use of a top-grade magic stone, its explosive power is equivalent to A-rank.]

In truth, I could easily generate the explosive power of this bomb with my own magic. However, I accepted it without unnecessary comments.

“Thank you. I will use it for an important purpose.”

Information related to the bomb surfaced in my mind.

You can find magic stones easily around here. Rather, it was more difficult to find the other components connected to the magic stone.

My son made this over several years.

To kill those scaled monsters!

But he never got to use it and failed.

Revenge, please take revenge. Please! Please avenge him!

I left the old man and stepped out of the house.

So many things have happened.

The sky was gradually darkening.

The milky white fog had turned into a menacing gray and formed a bizarre vortex.

Those frog bastards are still lurking around.

It’s getting dark; they should go back in quickly.

[Hazy Presence]

[Leap]

I felt my body wear down, but I had no choice. I moved by jumping over roofs to avoid the frogs’ sight.

Anyway, I’m moving well along the predetermined route.

I chose this old man because he acted completely differently from the other villagers.

Sure enough, this old man was the key figure in this quest.

Everything was moving according to the plan set by the past Kim Shin-hwa or according to the design intention of this quest.

If I hadn’t thought of Dagon at that moment and gotten tracked, I might have just left the old man alone.

Was that part of the plan too? No matter how I think about it, does that make sense?

It’s too much of a stretch.

On second thought, given my personality, I would likely have reached this point even without the incident related to Dagon.

It must have been something like, “Future Kim Shin-hwa will manage.”

It’s better to think that I almost missed it but didn’t, thanks to coincidence and luck.

There is still unfinished business.

I need to go to the place where the ship is.

I couldn’t remember it during the day, but now I know.

There is a temple for Dagon in the mountain behind the village.

And between the temple and the village.

It sounds absurd, but there was a ship in the mountain.

“Is that it?”

I had to climb a mountain with this body. It was a tough situation. It wouldn’t be too far, but at times like this, having that… guy would be convenient.

That guy, you know.

The one who drove the call van… the blonde.

The tall one…

What was his name again?

“…”

What was the name of Tudor’s business?

Who was the person Curtain Call liked? That guy with the peculiar trait?

Who was Heo Sang-hyeon?

I briefly turned my gaze to check my status information.

[Status: Partial Amnesia]

“Damn it. I get it now.”

Was my memory returning?

No.

My memory wasn’t returning.

My memories were getting tangled.

In exchange for remembering what I had forgotten, I was forgetting what I knew.