A week passed since then.
I finally had some free time, so I was able to conduct a new magic lesson with Jang Hyundeok.
“Hyundeok, how is it? Can you move?”
“Uh— I’m not sure? This, this thing, you mean?”
Tsstssts—
Thin streams of mana emit from both of Jang Hyundeok’s hands.
“That’s it. Keep it like that a little longer.”
“Huh? Uh? Like this?”
Tsurururururu— tsurururururuk—
“No, not like that! Focus! Jang Hyundeok!”
A vast amount of mana spills from Hyundeok’s fingertips as if a tangled skein of thread were unraveling.
No, it really is thread. The mana released from both of his hands transforms into tens of thousands of filament shapes and scatters in the air.
“Uagh! Mage! What’s happening!? Uaaagh!”
Chwarurururuk— chwararararak!
The countless threads sprouting from his hands dance as if alive, then wrap around Hyundeok’s neck and body. Oh, damn—this is a disaster!
“Kekekekekeke!”
A horrific laughter rings out from somewhere.
“Oh, dear. So it is a curse after all?”
The mana and malevolent energy that had lain dormant in the basement surge violently, and I feel a shock like an earthquake or storm.
“How dare you! How dare you!”
A woman’s voice bursts from Hyundeok’s mouth.
“Red, stop it!”
“Kiiii!!”
Giant Red beats her wings violently (she didn’t actually fly) and emits an abyssal wave to suppress the specter’s power.
Quarrurururuk!
That’s trouble in itself!
I weave magic circles of [Control] and [Constraint] all around, binding the wave Red unleashed and Jang Hyundeok—or rather, Heo Jihyun as I should call him now—restraining her.
“Open the door!”
Kiiiic—
The silver barrier in the corner of the basement opens.
Inside, the high-ranked spiritual entity [Laughing One] jeers at me and reaches out a hand.
“See? What did I tell you?”
“Shut up! Take this!”
Kadradadradradjik!
Heo Jihyun’s spirit is drawn out of Jang Hyundeok’s body. Carried by Red’s wave, he’s sucked into the barrier where [Laughing One] beckons.
—No! Stop! Don’t seal me away again!
Quarrurung! Shiiik!
With a roar that seems poised to tear my eardrums, Heo Jihyun’s spirit is sealed once more.
“Ugh— uugh...”
Standing there, groaning, Jang Hyundeok finally loses consciousness and collapses to the floor.
“Kiiik!”
Red rushes over, wrapping her large wings around Hyundeok in a hurry.
He drifts off to sleep buried in Red’s soft feathers.
“Well done, Red.”
Nice, nice. I high-fived Red’s wing, and [Laughing One], using Cheongho’s dead form, looked at me in bewilderment and asked:
“Kim Sinhwa. What on earth are you doing? Human experimentation?”
“What part of this looks like human experimentation? I’m teaching magic to my disciple.”
“Magic? Don’t talk nonsense. That wasn’t magic.”
“Charyeok술 is magic, too.”
Charyeok술, or Sinchajeol.
A technique that borrows the power of spiritual beings to wield supernatural force.
“Absurd sophistry. By that logic, you’d be better off teaching gangshin술.”
A fair point.
Charyeok술 is more like a secret Daoist technique than magic, and if you push it further... you reach the spirit-summoning rituals of mediums and shamans.
Either way, it’s somewhat distant from the magic I use.
“Do you think a brat who can’t even control his own talent could control such demonic power?”
“I admit I was moving too fast, but he can do it.”
“Do you really think that? His intelligence and mental fortitude are far too lacking.”
...It’s sad that I can’t argue with “Hyundeok is an idiot.”
“I’ve been inside his body before, so I know. He has almost no innate mana—only the ability to amplify the power of any foreign entity he absorbs.”
[Laughing One] chuckles, as if recalling that time.
“Of all the mediums or possessed objects I’ve inhabited, that brat’s body was the best. You call it ride comfort? It gave an unforgettable stability and absurd pleasure.”
“Be quiet. Can’t you shut up?”
“No naturally occurring power is that unbalanced. Surely one of the abyssal entities manipulated his soul for their own convenience.”
It’s frustrating, but accurate.
I reanalyzed Hyundeok’s body once more, and it really is abnormal.
His other magical or medium talents are average or below, but the grotesquely overdeveloped [Living Altar] trait—enhancing a possessed spirit’s power—is sky-high.
Clearly the Yellow-Clad King artificially tuned Hyundeok’s abilities.
“You mustn’t think of that as a person. It’s just a tool shaped like a human. Destroy its personality, hammer pins into its limbs. Then it’ll be easiest to control, like your summoned spectral golems. You’re wasting time on this—”
Bang!
I send mana to close the barrier’s door.
“Now’s your chance, but you just had to yak.”
Ugh.
“Kiiiii...”
Red, holding Hyundeok, looks helpless.
“No, Red. You did nothing wrong. Don’t worry. Let’s head to the living room.”
“Kiiiii—”
“Uh— Mage, my head is spinning.”
Jang Hyundeok opens his eyes after a long time.
“You’re awake?”
“Where am I?”
“The sofa in the living room.”
“This softness— ah, Red. Hello.”
“Kiiiii!”
“Haha— you’re tickling me! Oh, Mage? What exactly happened?”
Hm— I search for an excuse, give up, and just speak honestly.
“I miscalculated.”
“It wasn’t my mistake?”
“No.”
I took a shortcut and blew it.
The issue with Hyundeok’s inability to use magic properly... is complex, but in short, it’s because he lacks mana.
“So I tried to compensate using charyeok술.”
In other words, I planned to exploit his prone-to-possession constitution. [Living Altar] amplifies the power of a possessing spirit.
What if Hyundeok could control the spirit inside him?
He could then use that amplified mana as his own.
“I thought, if all went well, he’d become ‘Super Medium Hyundeok.’”
My calculation was off.
The spirit I chose for practice—Heo Jihyun’s—was so weakened I could barely call it near death, and I’d completely removed its poison.
Plus, since he’d been possessed before, I considered that Hyundeok’s soul would have formed some kind of antibody.
Still—
“Maybe it’s because of Monghyang?”
Hyundeok’s [Living Altar] trait grew stronger than before. That trait not only restored Heo Jihyun’s power at will, it boosted it to levels beyond its previous strength.
“Mage, is there like... in web novels, you know? Status windows! Pababababang! Awakening of a miraculous cheat skill no one else has! None of that?”
Cradled in gigantic Red’s fluffy embrace, Hyundeok suddenly starts spouting eager nonsense.
“There’s no such thing, kid.”
Status windows aside, Hyundeok’s already awakened a miraculous cheat skill—[Living Altar].
“Ugh, this is irritating.”
It’s not Hyundeok who irritates me.
Well, he’s # Nоvеlight # partly to blame, but that’s secondary.
It’s [Laughing One]’s taunts that annoy me. The premonition that this power in Hyundeok’s body is part of some grand scheme by the Yellow-Clad King. The predator lurking around Paju outskirts. That message window—probably Nyarlathotep—watching to see what I’ll choose.
“How did the Yellow-Clad King implant such a trait here?”
Is there no way to extract it?
“Actually, there is a way.”
“Huh? What is it? A status window? Wow! A status window!?”
“No, not a status window. Give me your right hand.”
“Ugh, you’re going to do that again like last time?”
“That’s right. Hand it over.”
I grasp Hyundeok’s right hand and draw magic circles all around.
Vrrrrrrrrring!
“Uaaagh!? Ma-mage?!”
Yellow light begins to blaze from the [Mask of Carcosa] covering my face, and Hyundeok’s features turn yellow as well.
[Recognition]
Paahhhhh—
[Recognition] ignites after a long while.
A spell to discern the weak, malleable parts of the forces and laws that compose this world.
And—
If you knead those soft, malleable parts, you can reshape the world according to your will.
‘For now, I can only use a very limited, narrow portion—’
With [Recognition] active, I examine Hyundeok’s body.
Gulp—
Crimson blood pours from my eyes. My head throbs. My brain feels like it’s boiling, as if my gray matter is sizzling.
In [Recognition]’s view, Hyundeok’s body appears as a vast golden throne—waiting for a king to descend and take his seat.
The Yellow-Clad King sculpted his soul into that form.
It’s an “artwork” crafted by a far higher being. What magic must I cast to touch that work?
‘Activating the [Heir of the Corpse Pile] trait to make Hyundeok my thrall would be simple.’
What insane thought is that? Shut that down!
‘Honestly, [Laughing One] has a point. Hyundeok is a danger. Rather than strain to exploit him, it’d be safest to seal him away again. That might even be best for him.’
Wait. Is that the Fox and the Crow arguing?
‘I—I think we should just use [Absorption] to drain Hyundeok’s soul, talent, mana, and blood—everything—away.’
I never gave you permission to speak! Quiet, you nameless fool!
‘Send me into Hyundeok’s body! I’d use his power better!’
Are you the one trying to escape? Stay buried in the subconscious!
‘Just kill him! Why are you dragging around this useless burden? Like you did the other one, kill Hyundeok too! Kill! Kill! Kill!’
And who are you? Do I know you?
Ignoring the mad voices in my head, I pour mana toward Hyundeok’s spirit.
Pajizizizizzk!
Damn, I can’t change that form now.
But still.
I can make a small perturbation—a ripple to ruin his master’s plan.
‘Why are you doing this to Hyundeok?’
‘What’s your goal, anyway?’
‘It’s a waste of power! Steal it! Ravage him!’
‘Do you think he’ll reward you for this?’
‘Just kill him!’
Why am I doing this?
Not for Hyundeok’s sake.
Not for some future reward or benefit he might provide.
I’m just annoyed at the situation the abyssal entity created!
And you all oppose it so I went and—
Just did something you’d hate!
“■■■ ■ ■■ ■■■?”
Hyundeok’s voice.
I can hear it, but I have no bandwidth to parse it.
Mage, what are you doing?
His question loads belatedly. Loading? Oh, shut up! Don’t waste my time—finish this!
[L-grade accessory “Mask of Carcosa” activates its unique feature, “Madman’s Craft.”
// Madman’s Craft: Attempts to unlock hidden artifact abilities or grant new ones.]
“■■ ■■ ■■■ ■■ ■■ ■■■.”
That’s my voice. I’m answering Hyundeok?
This isn’t how the spell is supposed to work.
Likewise, my words load belatedly.
I feel as though I’m watching my actions from just behind myself.
Quarrurururung!
A roar and blinding flash shake the entire mansion, like a golden lightning bolt bursting from ground to sky.
Specters shriek in terror at the unleashed mana.
Heo Sanghyun (the apparition of Hyundeok) stares at me, pale as milk.
Shiiik—
The air that had been pushed aside by the dense mana surges back.
“Uaaagh—”
Despite all that chaos, Hyundeok’s first words are...
“M-Mage, what did you do?”
As always, a clueless remark.
“Hyundeok, you really—”
How can he be so consistently—clueless?
“Huh? What did you say?”
“I don’t know, kid. Ugh... my head’s killing me.”
