The sweet cocoa in the warm mug. A comforting heat returns to my chilled fingertips.
“Ah, today I’ll rest... and start moving tomorrow.”
Rumble...
The torrential rain outside still shows no sign of easing. The Special Officials responsible for the Great Barrier will hold it for now, so it won’t cause catastrophic damage, but I still worry in many ways.
Tomorrow, a flood of new contracts and emergencies will undoubtedly arrive.
“With the Foreigners’ Administration laying low, all manner of non-humans have been pouring in.”
Now Abyssal-cursed seawater has surged into Paju. Ordinary humans risk madness, and those sensitive to the Deep Ones’ influence will suffer far worse.
“Looks like the Foreigners’ Administration will return soon.”
“Is that so?”
At my words, Heo Sanghyeon’s pale face grew even paler.
“They managed to hide it back in Sejong City, but they may well visit this mansion too.”
“...I see.”
Dark shadows linger beneath his hollow eyes. Though he is an Undead revived by magic, his legal identity remains intact. This house is still legally his. In the end, Sanghyeon may suffer one way or another.
“Don’t worry too much. I’ll prepare countermeasures in advance.”
Many ideas come to mind. Which should I choose? I thought for a moment and then asked again.
“You said it’s been three weeks. Any other intruders in that time?”
“A few troubleshooters tried to break in, but they were dealt with without issue. However...”
“However?”
“Yesterday, a man named Jang Hyundeok came by.”
“Hyundeok?”
I have wards around the mansion, but they activate only against murderous intent or above-threshold mana. A courier like Hyundeok can approach unhindered. Why did he come?
“What did he want?”
“Hmm...”
Sanghyeon trailed a gaunt finger along his lifeless lips, pondering.
“I didn’t fully understand him, but he talked about having a sweetheart—or some kind of crush—then left.”
Sweetheart? Crush? What nonsense?
“He boasted about getting a girlfriend, then departed?”
“I’m not sure. He’s terrified of me, so we couldn’t converse at length.”
“Hm. What in the world has that fool been up to?”
I felt a strange unease, but I couldn’t spare attention for Hyundeok’s romantic affairs now.
“Anything else unusual?”
“No, nothing special.”
“Understood.”
I excused myself to the attic. “Time to check the game’s progress.”
Quiet and dust-free, the attic held a stone sarcophagus at its center. I lay upon it, gazing at the open window above.
Whirr...
Hidden mechanisms transformed the window into the T-Clock, the gauge of the world’s fate.
“In-game this appeared at a keystroke, but here there is no shortcut or display.”
Still, its importance is clear: when all nine slots glow, this world ends.
“That moment when the stars find their places...”
Why this device sits here is unclear, but every cult had its own way to consult the T-Clock. The Abyssals in Insu Village waited for that very moment.
“They were probably in the temple...”
Impossible to verify now—the temple was destroyed along with the Sea Well.
Click.
The T-Clock readied itself. Four stars glowed—one more than before.
“The Great Barrier has fallen, so this is inevitable.”
Left unchecked, six stars might already have burned bright. Worse, a star fills automatically with time.
“It’s fine. My score isn’t bad yet.”
Though I cannot block every route to ruin, by addressing urgent threats first I buy myself the maximum time. Which calamities have I already halted?
“First: the Fomalhaut line.” Their cult nearly annihilated—otherwise they would have spread nationwide arson, explosions, and spontaneous human combustion.
“Next: the Parasite War route.” Alien parasites beloved by Yang Seokho and the Foreigners’ Administration—stopped early thanks to Jung Hyunah’s kidnapping.
“Then: the Three-Heads Society.” The worst scenario—three heads corrupted into Nyarlathotep’s minions—was averted because Cheongho is dead and the Red Head’s faction collapsed.
“After that: the Judicators route.” Ended with the Masquerade and Sejong City exploding. Since Dokgokyeom remains wanted, those paths are closed.
“Finally: the Great Flood.” Stopped just now.
Only a handful of pivotal events remain. Disrupting them whenever possible will grant me substantial extra time.
“How much time remains?”
About a year and a half, I estimate. Other special-condition paths exist, but blocking them all in advance is impossible.
“Time to figure out my escape.”
The most direct method: ask the Laughing One. He demands a price I cannot yet pay. I must raise my level further. Just as new areas and factions unlocked at Level 50, reaching that threshold will reveal new options.
“The Great Race.” The Yithians—wanderers of spacetime who uncovered its secrets over eons. They may know a way out or grant me power against other Deep Ones.
“And the Mi-Go.” Not as exalted, but custodians of many secrets. Reaching either requires tedious preliminary quests.
“Then Hellistic.” A lesser cult that conducts inhuman experiments on Deep Ones. They research time and dimension—one path in the game has them accidentally summoning an interdimensional entity leading to doom.
I stood and stretched. In short: “First, level up and clean up the surrounding chaos.” Paju’s flood will spawn countless new contracts. I will choose the most profitable ones to gather funds, levels, and artifacts. “Then, once prepared, I’ll strike Hellistic.” That stops another ruin path and draws out the Mi-Go as well.
My phone rang. Tudor.
“Hey, love. What have you done this time?”
“What do you mean?”
“You vanished, then only now answer my call. And right after a huge incident? The answer’s obvious.”
“I suppose so.”
“Did you cause it or stop it?”
“I stopped it.”
“Ha—our righteous hero Kim Sinhwa. But Dagon’s forces are persistent. Be careful.”
Even if I crushed Dagon, his Abyssal underlings will seek vengeance. Other Abyssal factions may attack in the name of kinship.
“I’ll be cautious. Why the call? Don’t tell me you were just checking in periodically.”
“Hardly. A contract naming you came in—I called to see if you’d accept.”
“A named contract in this # Nоvеlight # downpour? If not urgent, I’ll wait till the rain stops.”
“Heh. It’s not very lucrative. If you refuse, fine by me—I have something more important later.”
“Then I should refuse—”
Wait, that’s odd. Why ask if I’ll obviously refuse? “Tell me the details.”
“It’s a protection contract. Urgent. They want you to safeguard them until they’re safe—someone is targeting their life.”
“Go on.”
“Fee’s only ten million won. You in?”
“Ten million? Hardly tempting. But by how you speak, this must be significant. Perhaps—”
Is the client special, or the attacker?
“It’s your regular security taxi driver.”
“Hyundeok?”
“Yes. He’s the client.”
Rumble! Thunder boomed outside.
“What happened to Hyundeok?”
“He seems infested. Although you flooded Paju with Abyssal-cursed seawater... I don’t know his resilience.”
The deluge of cursed rain covers Paju. Pieces fell into place: Hyundeok came here terrified but insisted on telling me about a crush before leaving.
——————————————————————
Quest Offer
Guardian Quest: Experience True Love
Jang Hyundeok, Paju’s security taxi driver, requests protection from those who threaten his life—those who love him now jeopardize him.
Time Limit: He will experience true love in eight hours.
Reward: 950,000 XP + Hyundeok’s Trust + Performance Bonus (brokered fee separate).
Failure: A new life begins for Hyundeok, having tasted true love.
——————————————————————
This is a Cthulhu world. There are no romantic events here—any such affair must be a prelude to an unspeakable Mythos catastrophe.
