Gurururung-
A tremendous vibration.
Dull---thud!!
Occasional unpleasant noise and reverberating impact.
The seat, already not very comfortable, bounced the shocks rising from the floor up to the top of my head.
“Ugh.”
I groaned, groping with one hand for the mask.
The mask, attached to my face with a double locking mechanism, couldn’t possibly come off, but it shook enough to make me uneasy.
“Soon we reach Misiryeong!”
Yeom Cheolmin, sitting in the driver’s seat, declared while swinging the metal prosthetic arm attached in place of his right hand.
“All right, everyone, get ready!”
Gwak Daeyong, sitting in the passenger seat, echoed, his face reflected in the rearview mirror flushed with excitement. Had he already taken something?
“As you know, Misiryeong is the third danger zone we’ll face today. But don’t worry—our mage will handle everything as before.”
“Yes, sir!”
A lively response followed Gwak Daeyong’s words.
“Haa...”
It had been six hours of travel in this uncomfortable armored truck. I was exhausted, but they still looked hale and hearty, as professionals should.
“What’s wrong, Mage? Motion sickness?”
Choi Mina, sitting opposite me, spoke, her half-shaved hair dyed bright red, confidence beaming in her smile.
“Want something to drink?”
She reached for the canteen hanging at her waist.
“No. I’m fine. Just a bit tired...”
“Heh—this ride isn’t exactly comfortable, is it?”
Before I could finish, Ahn Hyeonggu, sitting beside me, interjected.
Kriririk-
In response to his words, a thin tentacle-like end with a lens pointed at me.
“Well, we knew this was the kind of vehicle we’d be riding—no room for complaints.”
The armored truck from Yeonam Construction prioritized defense and transport capacity above all else. Passenger comfort was hardly a consideration in its design.
Kriririk-
“Your temperature has risen significantly. Huh—are you feeling worse?”
The mechanical tentacle, acting like an endoscope, was connected to the large VR goggles Ahn Hyeonggu wore.
Of course, that wasn’t the only thing linked to him. A tangle of wires extended from inside the vehicle and plugged densely into his helmet.
Through the endoscope lens, he was watching me while simultaneously gathering external data on the armored truck.
“What’s happening?!”
Gwak Daeyong in the front seat twisted around abruptly, forcing his way toward the back seat.
“You okay? Hey, Kim Pro—we came here relying on you!”
With Gwak Daeyong’s large torso crowding into the already narrow back seat, I could barely breathe.
“Ghk—”
A groan from Yeom Cheolmin in the driver’s seat.
“I told you not to call me Kim Pro! And I’m fine, so stop interfering with my driving and go back!”
“Good grief, worrying is a frenzy in itself. Anyway, Misiryeong—things really happen there, so everyone stay alert!”
“Ah, Captain! Move!”
Eventually, it took Choi Mina shoving his head back for Gwak Daeyong to return to his seat.
“Phew, sorry, Mage. Our captain’s a fool.”
“No worries. We signed up knowing exactly what we were getting into.”
That night, when I was granted a new madness, a day and a half has now passed.
Jang Hyundeok never returned, and while I did feel some worry or anxiety, there was no time to search for him, so I traveled in this armored truck provided by Yeonam.
“Haa...”
What happened to that bastard Jang Hyundeok? Well, even if he had come back in time, I probably wouldn’t have ridden in his car.
‘It’s hard enough to take care of myself now.’
Damn.
Damn. Damn. Damn.
A new madness has settled in my mind.
There had been a few “worst” kinds of madness before, but this is the worst—beyond any level.
It’s proof that this game is trash.
Seriously, how absurd is this? Sometimes problems like this come up.
This isn’t a roguelike genre, yet we get random penalties and madness that make game progress impossible.
You raise a gunslinger, and you get gun phobia; you raise a swordsman, and you get blade phobia; you go all in on magic, and you get magic phobia!
Kriririk-
“Oh—temperature rising again. Let me know if you feel like vomiting.”
“N-no. I’m. Fine.”
“Khehe—”
Ahn Hyeonggu nodded, smiling strangely.
I wish we’d left earlier, but there was no choice.
The moment the new madness hit, I wandered the mansion and the Jangmyeongsan area for about 13 hours in excessive excitement and anger, then spent another 13 hours struggling to adapt to the drastically changed reality.
I barely managed to accept something and begin thinking about the future.
I was dragged to bed by Heo Sanghyun’s illusion screaming, “Please just sleep!” and only woke up after sleeping a full 13 hours.
That’s why I lost a day and a half.
Honestly, I even considered giving up, but Yeonam sent an urgent message—so I boarded Gwak Daeyong’s armored truck without proper preparation.
“Sharp curve ahead.”
Yeom Cheolmin’s voice.
Kkiiiik-
The feeling of tilting to one side as Yeonam Construction’s armored truck turned onto Misiryeong.
Click-clack—grrrumble—
The already severe vibration reached a dreadful level. I might actually get motion sickness.
[System: Exclusive Trait ‘Abyssal Madness’ activates. Suppressing dizziness and nausea.]
Fzzzt—
Sparks popped near my temple. Ah, ‘Abyssal Madness’ even prevents motion sickness.
“Oh? Mage? Did you just use magic?”
Choi Mina asked me, looking puzzled.
I felt a slight aversion and discomfort at the word magic as I answered.
“No. It’s just—well, it is magic.”
It was uncomfortable, but merely saying or hearing the word was fine. Probably a benefit from having raised my sanity score a lot during vacation.
“What magic did you use? Can you tell me in detail?”
“No. Because... talking casually about magic...”
My power, which had protected me and become the only hope in this horrible world, suddenly became ominous and terrible.
I had intended to brush it off casually, but—
“...[Guide of Dawn] will curse you. A curse that plucks out your eyes, cuts off all your fingers, and melts your entrails. It’s the curse for those who use magic without permission and insult magic—”
My mouth spilled out bizarre words on its own.
“Ah, I see.”
Choi Mina seemed to feel more estranged by the flat, rapid tone than by the content, tilting her head back slightly.
I realized the problem but couldn’t stop. My mouth continued speaking against my will.
“[Guide of Dawn] watches us constantly. Punishing those who use magic in unholy ways—um. Uhm—no. I will stop now.”
I managed to stop speaking. But Choi Mina still looked unsure how to react, so I turned my gaze to the window without saying more.
I’ll go insane for real.
By the way, no entity named [Guide of Dawn] exists in this world. I just made it up. Specifically...
I briefly recalled the conversation from last night’s dream.
“Man, that kills me. Is this delusion now?”
“Shut up.”
“Is it schizophrenia? Or just a delusion disorder?”
“No, there’s no need to invoke psychiatric knowledge. It’s a phenomenon induced by the system rather than a genuine illness. It’s just a phobia that triggers artificial delusions.”
The fox’s taunt and the crow’s analysis.
Thanks to the conversation with them, I could analyze my physical condition more objectively.
“...”
Anyway, our destination isn’t Misiryeong.
We’re traveling the winding road called Old Misiryeong Road to the construction site on the flank of Seoraksan that Moon Seunghee of Yeonam Construction set up.
Looking out through the thick bulletproof glass, I saw the [Misiryeong Tunnel] placed before the road we’d just left.
Strictly speaking, it’s the [Misiryeong Tunnel Site].
In reality, it would simply be called the Misiryeong Tunnel, but here it’s the Misiryeong Tunnel Site. It looks extremely precarious.
“Hey, do you think it’ll collapse again?”
Perhaps thinking the same, Gwak Daeyong muttered while looking at the Misiryeong Tunnel Site.
“Captain, if that collapses again, it’ll be the fifth collapse, right?”
“Oh, really? Whew—that’s utterly hopeless.”
Originally a team composed of people from a construction company, now divided into security specialists.
They’re looking at the Misiryeong Tunnel Site made up of collapsed earth and rubble and wondering if it can be restored.
Clack—
I carefully summoned magic to shift the bundle of bolts in my robe.
Although using magic had become difficult, I wasn’t completely powerless.
I moved a bit of magic at my fingertips.
Hundreds of magic lines danced in a geometric parabola between my fingers.
My magic control was functioning normally.
Thanks to my understanding of magic and excessively strong magic control, I could produce zeroth-class effects without forming concrete spells.
‘Good thing I stocked up on sanity points during vacation.’
Various tests showed that only concrete magic triggered my madness. [Psychic Ability], [Traits], and artifact effects posed no problems.
It ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) would drain my sanity score significantly, but I might voluntarily—be able—to cast magic.
‘Although I don’t want to...’
Moreover, not only was my magic control normal, but my magic perception and detection were also intact. I spoke to Gwak Daeyong.
“Enemy.”
“Enemy?”
Kriririk-
Ahn Hyeonggu’s endoscope quivered.
“Captain! Magical response at three o’clock. Humanoid. Twenty-six. Now at four o’clock!”
Gwak Daeyong headed to the right side of the road opposite the Misiryeong Tunnel Site.
To the right stood Seoraksan, its grandeur radiating powerfully. Towering trees three to four times the height of a person covered the mountain—this wasn’t the Seoraksan I knew.
‘I’ve never seen the real Seoraksan.’
Seoraksan in the Cthulhu World was covered with enormous trees dripping with damp humidity, casting an eerie shadow. A group of people stood in the forest.
An old man wearing a backpack with fluorescent covers.
And an old woman with a bright yellow hat.
An old man in a light blue sporty shirt.
An old woman in a red vest with a large straw hat.
In short, a typical group of hikers in colorful mountaineering gear.
They walked the eerie Seoraksan forest path holding hiking sticks and ropes.
Yet the atmosphere was strangely suspicious.
The elderly stood silently—expressionless—gazing in our direction.
“What are they, old people? Aren’t they hikers?”
Gwak Daeyong exhaled in relief.
Oh, this guy really!
“Why are hikers here? Get a grip!”
One of the old men raised a large slingshot and aimed it at us!
“Ugh—right! Battle stations!”
“Battle stations!”
Braaang!!
Yeom Cheolmin sounded the horn to warn those following.
Braaang!!
Braaang!!
More horn blasts followed.
Whooooosh-
Something loaded in the slingshot flew toward us.
[System: ‘Enhanced Vigilance’ trait activates.]
Of course, it aimed at my side. I extended [Pyroclasm] outside the window to form a protective barrier—and Kwoaaaang!
A tingling shock at my fingertips. But I blocked it.
What the old man fired wasn’t a stone or marble. It was crudely made but carried a dangerous explosive force—a magic crystal bomb!
“Evergreen Mountaineering Club! Battle stations!”
Rat-a-tat-tat!!
The sound of the machine gun mounted on the armored truck firing. But the old people were gone from that spot.
Suddenly, they were in the lush trees above us. “Monkeys? No, birds? How are they moving like that?”
The elderly moved absurdly from tree to tree, pursuing us.
And they aimed slingshots and bows at us—
Kwoaaaang!
Bang!
Explosions blossomed all around.
Crrreeeak!
A direct hit somewhere shook the vehicle violently.
“We heard the briefing! That’s the Evergreen Mountaineering Club! Don’t underestimate old people or we’ll all die!”
