“Then I will gather up the Duerksini and depart. You handle the rest, Mr. Kim.”
Seo Cheonseul danced and sang, sweeping up the corpses and fragments of Duerksini strewn across Paju Samneung into her basket. She also tidied away animal carcasses and other troublesome debris.
What remained was merely the incapacitated cultists of the Gourmet Expeditionary Corps, which was hardly my concern.
So I waved casually.
“Okay. Travel safely. Give my regards to King Mangom.”
“Bahahaha—yes, but I shall return soon.”
“Huh? You’ll come back again?”
“Didn’t Mr. Kim promise me a gift? I must come back to collect it.”
A goblin’s promise.
Unlike humans, goblins never break their word. They remember forever and will certainly return.
“Besides, King Mangom has other tasks for me. Even without your promise, I must descend again.”
“So this isn’t the end of this business?”
“That’s right. But Cheongeumdang also has tasks for me, so I won’t return immediately. Perhaps—”
Seo Cheonseul paused and muttered, likely calculating a date.
“Sometime tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow?”
“Ah, too soon? Well, perhaps in about thirty years.”
This is a goblin’s sense of time.
They’ll remember the promise, but when it will be fulfilled, no one knows.
“Bahahaha—until we meet again!”
Seo Cheonseul backflipped and danced away.
Dumdumdumdum—
Once more, the beat of drums echoed.
“Yaha—ehee—eho—Butterfly slumbering in blossoms, flying in without a trace—Shadow glimpsed at midnight—Could it be Cheongeum’s jewel that the moon let fall?”
With that song, Seo Cheonseul vanished.
As if she had never been there.
“Koo-kki-oo!”
And again, a rooster crowed.
From the east, the sun rose in golden light.
“Sigh. It’s really over.”
With the flooding light, the sorcery cast by the Duerksini disintegrated completely.
Paju Samneung, which had teetered on the boundary between dream and reality, returned fully to the real world.
The barrier made of animal power, the traces of corrupted Duerksini, the sleeping spirits of the tombs, even the goblin’s loud laughter—all vanished.
For a moment, I almost imagined that the fact I was a mad wizard trapped in the Cthulhu World had disappeared too.
[System: Penalty trait “Broken Mind” activates. You currently have 1 Madness, so a random Madness will manifest.]
“Tch, no way.”
Though Seo Cheonseul bound up the Duerksini and left, the nightmares and Madness surrounding me were not over.
“Since I’ve been given two lousy things in a row, give me something easier this time.”
The blood phobia that followed fish phobia was too painful.
[System: “Madness – Doll Phobia” is bestowed upon your mind.]
“Dolls?”
A somewhat vague Madness has been attached.
At least it’s a keyword I can choose to avoid, so it’s easier—but I can’t let my guard down. I don’t know what might pop up.
Thus, my final status is summarized as follows:
Kim Sinhwa
Class: Abyss-Gazing Wizard
Level: 51
Magic Tier: Fifth
Madness: [Mask Obsession (latent)], [Doll Phobia]
Strength 5 + 4 (Residual of Bukraksamun)
Constitution 7 + 3 (Signing Sword: Nokjon)
Dexterity 8 + 2 (Night Veil Winged Cloak)
Intelligence 30
Spirit 18 + 2 (Necklace of the Body Devourer)
Charisma 20
Nothing has ever been easy, but this time I gained more than the effort I expended.
Now that I’ve reached level 50, not only have I gained new power, but I can access previously restricted locations and content.
Moreover, I’ve obtained new items and forged new relationships.
‘More important than that is information on the other [Banquet Offering].’
In any case, once my body and mind recover from accumulated fatigue, I will investigate that.
“Sigh, then—”
I glanced around.
“Eek! Monster! Goblin! Don’t look at me! Don’t look!”
The Gourmet Expeditionary Corps cultists screamed and flailed at the sight of me.
How should I handle these people?
“Well, this part doesn’t require my worry.”
Without hesitation, I made a phone call.
“Hello, ma’am. Could you please file a report with the Immigration Control Office via an untraceable line? Yes—just tell them that a number of people in Paju Samneung were attacked by aliens. Yes, that’s all—no need for extra details. They’ll handle it once they hear that.”
The informant is Yeomgeumja.
“Excuse me? Cheongeumdang? Hmm—won’t Captain Cheongeum come look for you in person later? Uh, maybe? I can’t guarantee that. But goblins keep their promises, so it will certainly happen.”
A goblin’s promise.
To keep the promise of bringing me to Cheongeumdang, Seo Cheonseul will appear again before Yeomgeumja.
“When do you think she’ll come? Perhaps tomorrow—or?”
A goblin’s sense of time.
Maybe thirty years later?
No need to elaborate further.
A round face free of hair, skin pitted like a grapefruit rind, and a perpetually drunken flush.
He evoked grapefruit in more ways than one. The man squirmed in his ill-fitting suit, clearly uncomfortable, and spoke.
“So—”
At the prompt of one of the “high-ups” in government, the presenter tensed.
“What exactly is this... Kim Sinhwa? What is he?”
“Ah, yes. So, Mr. Kim Sinhwa is the person you see here—”
The presenter, director of the Immigration Control Office, pointed awkwardly at the beam-screen.
Against the dark backdrop of Sejong City’s buildings, a black humanoid silhouette. The image was grainy and unclear.
It looked like someone extending their body—but whether flying upward or leaping down was ambiguous.
Hovering beside the shadow were dozens of masks, chattering in the air.
“No, no. So I get that’s Kim Sinhwa. But what is he? Some urban legend? A previously unseen paranormal entity?”
Grumbling, the grapefruit-faced “high-up” asked again. The director sighed and replied softly.
“......It’s unclear.”
Murmurs rose from the other “high-ups” seated beside the grapefruit-faced one.
Unclear? What do you mean you don’t know? Again with this. What kind of briefing is this? Do you know how much we pay you? Are you joking? You never do anything right.
Amid the murmuring, someone spoke up. A tall, skinny figure—cucumber-shaped, if one were to compare.
“At least he’s not a hostile entity, right? You mentioned testimony about fish-people earlier.”
“Yes. Specifically, testimony that a person named Kim Sinhwa rescued someone abducted by fish-people. Please refer to attached file C-12 for details.”
The “high-ups” groaned or muttered as they rifled through towering stacks of documents on their tables. Then the curly-haired “high-up,” whose hair resembled broccoli, spoke.
“If fish-people are risk level 6, why does this say otherwise?”
“That’s correct. Code CD-2-35. A paranatural entity commonly called Deep Sea Folk. Since they appear in clusters, regulations require raising their risk to level 3.”
“But what do you mean reports from all 17 municipalities nationwide?”
“Our data confirms Deep Sea Folk abducted over sixty civilians nationwide, and the person named Kim Sinhwa rescued them.”
Again, the “high-ups” murmured in unison.
Still, can we call him an ally? Negotiating with cultists is headache enough—now we have to discuss urban legends? Is there any more concrete intel?
“Anything more... you know? Something certain? Anything like that?”
The director thought, “What does ‘something like that’ even mean? Damn.” and switched the screen.
“Please look at «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» this.”
On the screen appeared a front-facing photo of a cowardly-looking man in a bowler hat.
“Name: Park Gwangrim. A China-born broker. He once operated around Paju and Gyeonggi but has moved his operations to South Gyeongsang. Recently, he claims to be the exclusive agent of a fixer named Kim Sinhwa. This is the ‘fighter’ Kim Sinhwa he represents.”
The image of Kim Sinhwa appeared on screen.
The picture was unclear; I could only make out a bright red muffler around his neck and a blue dobok.
“The picture is blurry, but isn’t his head disproportionately large?”
“That’s because he’s wearing a mask and satgat. Next screen, please.”
The screen shifted.
“This is the most ‘reliable current appearance’ of Kim Sinhwa, captured in Daejeon. Expert analysis confirms the footage is genuine.”
A smartphone-length vertical video played: Waaah! Kiaaaa! Bang bang bang! Kaang kaang kaang! Kraaah! Noises of chaos.
The camera shook wildly, then the video cut off.
“What is he doing? What’s coming out of his hands?”
“Guns.”
“But he has four arms.”
“Likely a mutation or cybernetic augmentation. He was seen wielding eight firearms with four arms.”
“Heh heh heh, a mutant gunslinger, huh?”
“The Mayor of Daejeon announced a ₩30 million bounty per arm on Kim Sinhwa.”
Murmurs erupted once more.
What? Did the Daejeon mayor lose his mind? That was announced through unofficial channels. You know that big observatory on a mountain in Daejeon? They say it collapsed recently because of Kim Sinhwa. Ha, ridiculous.
“And now, observe this individual.”
The screen showed a middle-aged woman in a heavy coat.
“Who is she?”
“She is Yeomgeumja, leader of one of the crime syndicates operating in southern Paju.”
Some of the “high-ups” recognized her face.
Ah, that woman! The Bong Ilcheonpa drug trafficker. A pain in the neck. Is she also connected to Kim Sinhwa?
“Yes. Beyond drugs, she’s suspected of orchestrating first-degree crimes like contract killings and human trafficking. Recently, she’s claimed she can command a goblin named Kim Sinhwa.”
Goblin? Where did goblin come from? Is she just on drugs, spouting nonsense? That area is known for such rumors. Well, Paju is that kind of place.
Endless rumors, unsettling tales, bizarre modern legends continued.
“This is laughable. Any other testimony? If someone spotted a golden Kim Sinhwa with three heads and six arms in Wonju, it wouldn’t surprise me.”
“In Wonju, a figure glowing gold was seen flying—”
“Stop! Enough! Now it’s a golden bat? You lot are a mess—just stop!”
“How disappointing.”
A woman’s voice cut in.
Despite her lower rank, everyone went silent.
The grapefruit-faced “high-up” waved a hand and asked,
“Team Leader Yang, what’s disappointing?”
By merely speaking, Yang Seoho silenced the entire room. He continued slowly,
“We’re about to hear more interesting sightings.”
“Team Leader Yang! Team Leader Yang!”
The director pleaded, but Yang Seoho ignored him and said,
“Recently, a new religion devoted to Kim Sinhwa has emerged in Paju.”
“Religion?”
