“I need Jang Hyundeok.”
More precisely, I need Bboong-bboong 2.
I scattered a complaint into the empty air where no one would hear it, then pinged Tudor.
“Call me a car.”
— What’s the destination?
“Jeokdu’s nightclub in Yadang. You know it? Redhat.”
— Huh? Why not just whoosh over with magic?
“Who sprints to work at full tilt just because they have legs, abandoning a perfectly good car?”
I can fly, but I’m not Superman.
Flight burns mana—and even if I’ve got mana to spare, I don’t feel like wasting it when nothing’s urgent.
— Hee-hee-hee, you’ve got other spells besides flight, you know?
“I didn’t mark it.”
— Huh? Didn’t you drop by there yesterday?
“I did. But I had to erase as many traces as possible to set a trap.”
— Ahhh, got it. Anyway, babe, you cooked up a fun little plan overnight.
“Fun, my ass. Just send me someone who can maneuver in a fight rather than a pure security driver.”
After taking two hits in a single day, Hyuna—and the [Scaled Schemer] backing her—will have snapped to attention.
We might see a move we didn’t anticipate.
I got the request two days ago.
And I met Jeokdu yesterday.
“That disgusting mage. When I think of what I’ve lost because of you...”
That was the first thing Jeokdu said when he met me.
Yesterday he greeted me much the same way he did today.
Meaning: he set up monitors in a dockside warehouse and tried to shoot an exciting real-variety show.
He really does like that kind of thing. Honestly, he should have gone into television.
Of course, unlike today, yesterday Jeokdu wanted to run something like an escape-room game—
And I just answered by crafting a magic arrow with maximum penetration and sending it straight into the monitor room where he was hiding.
“Y-you raving maniac! How the hell—!?”
Realizing he’d nearly died, Jeokdu screamed and spewed the standard lines—but I’d already enjoyed enough of [Jeokdu’s Test] as a game.
Jeokdu was an idiot for thinking he could trap a mage who can punch through a few walls without breaking a sweat.
Anyway, the moment he realized he couldn’t dominate the opening, he pivoted and cleanly asked for my help.
Which brings us to today.
Since I’d shouted about Jeokdu at Vasiliisa, it was bound to spread that he and I would make contact, so we decided to flip that to our advantage and...
Set up that double trap just now.
“Well, not bad.”
We spirited Chae Taewon out, and with minimal damage we confirmed who’s behind Jung Hyuna.
“That [Scaled Schemer], though...”
I may be the only one here who’s a [Cthulhu World] fan, but even a decent [Cthulhu Mythos] fan might not know this ultra-minor thing.
Shrrrrr—
I opened the notebook from the mansion basement and checked what I’d scrawled in a hurry right after the madness crystallized.
[Poison... damn it, the venomous one, you know? Venom! Of course the father of it will show up! The race that serves him is... right. The one tied to the new phobia. They steal a person’s face and wear it. So be careful! You know reptilians, right? Those horrible reptile aliens who slip in wearing human skin! It’s them! They’ve already burrowed into our society! Politics! Yeah, if a politician suddenly appears, watch out! It’s definitely politics! Politicians! Hey, you know why this country is like this? The country is actually under reptilian control! Over half the politicians are aliens! That’s why Yang Seho and the Foreigners Control Agency are suffering so much! The conglomerates have reptilians already too! In Yeonam Group as well. Ah! I get it! Mun Seunghee! Mun Seunghee will be attacked! Tell Curtain Call to protect Mun Seunghee! There are reptilians in Yeonam Construction already! They’ll brew a plague and spread it! When the river turns to blood, flies explode in number, and livestock sicken—it’s already too late!]
“Truly terrifying...”
A hideous, ghastly record. For the record, it’s all true. This world is actually under the dominion of scaly reptile aliens.
‘Wait, hold on. Is it true? Ah, I’m going to lose it.’
Because of the madness lodged in my skull, I can’t tell where the truth starts and ends here.
[Madness: Ophidiophobia.]
Yeah, that one.
Strictly speaking, not “reptilians”...
There it is, written among the chaos—in shaky, trembling script.
[Father of Vipers]. And his servitors, the [Serpent Men].
Ughhh...
Just thinking about it makes me want to snap.
An Abyssal being that precisely jabs at my snake phobia, and snake-themed monsters.
“Anyway, it says I don’t have to fight these ones yet, right?”
Maybe it’s premature, but—this time the phobia might be solvable at the [Scaled Schemer] tier.
The basis?
I don’t remember his abilities clearly.
That’s the basis.
Some parts I recall, some are foggy as if veiled. Probably the bits where I’m supposed to be careful.
Which means I need to be extra cautious when I fight [Scaled Schemer].
Ssssslide—
A cold, damp sensation like something licking the back of my neck.
“What the—?!”
I spun around, but nothing was there.
Damn it. Just stay sharp. That vile beast could pop out anywhere, in any way.
“Alright~ we’re here!”
“Whew, thanks for the ride.”
“Hahaha, it’s been a while since I had that much fun!”
The cabbie’s deep scar at the corner of his eye crinkled as he smiled.
“I’ve escrowed the repair bill with Vasiliisa, so you can collect it from them.”
We were ambushed twice on the way.
Nothing too strong, but one guy clung to the car like a tick, so the vehicle got a bit banged up.
“Sure, sure. Happens all the time—don’t sweat it. Call me again!”
With a hearty laugh, the cabbie pulled away.
This is Yadang-dong, a bit off from central Paju.
Compared to old-building-packed Geumchon, the bigger blocks are laid out wide here, making for a passable downtown.
Walk a little farther from here and you’d reach Park Gwangrim’s office, but that’s not the destination—we’re headed to the flashy nightclub tucked among the buildings: Redhat.
It was already dark, so the club was buzzing and blazing.
In music loud enough to rupture eardrums, nicely dressed people danced like mad—rubbing up against each other—drinking hard.
‘They really do everything.’
Living in a town where monsters could show up any moment, how do you even feel like clubbing like that?
If you say they’re just moving as the game dictates, I’ve got nothing to add, but this world is truly strange.
Some parts are excessively contrived, and other parts are absurdly realistic.
“This way, please.”
The thug working club security saw me and led without any extra explanation.
The people packed into the nightclub? Their look was a weird interweaving of real and unreal.
The way they party isn’t far from reality, but their outfits and faces are such that a mask-wearing madman with a sword and grappling hook at his belt wouldn’t look too out of place.
Following the guard’s lead, I pushed through the ruckus and reached where Jeokdu was.
A VIP room inside the club.
With the haze of cigarette smoke came a cloying reek of booze.
“Ha, brother—you finally made it!”
“Brother?”
“Hm? What? We’re in this together now, aren’t we? Unlike Cheongho, I’m solid on this kind of thing.”
Different how? Cheongho tried to swear brotherhood with me the moment he saw me too.
But there’s no need to say that out loud.
“So you decided to run business after all?”
Luckily, no one else was with him.
I took a chair by the table and checked Jeokdu’s condition. Maybe it’s excessive suspicion, but with cases like this you always have to worry the client’s gone mad or been brainwashed.
He seemed fine.
He’d had some drinks and looked looser than yesterday, but aside from taking off his jacket, he still wore a suit.
Jeokdu brushed back his red hair and bit a cigarette.
“Your boys took a beating like that—can you still move right away? Gotta hustle and make money.”
“Do as you like. I advised you not to operate if possible.”
“Yeah, yeah. Brother, how old are you anyway? You’re legal, right? Want me to pour you one?”
With a clatter, a glass slid toward me.
Jeokdu shook a flashy-labeled bottle of whiskey.
I sighed.
“I’ll pass.”
“Yeah? Shame.”
He filled his own glass.
“By the way, one of the ones who stormed in earlier had a mask, right?”
“Ah, I told them to keep that. Hey, Hyeongsik! Bring the mask!”
The mask arrived fast.
“Good. That’s all I needed.”
“That’s all you needed?”
“It’s a fairly symbolic item.”
Saying that, I also took out the mask I’d picked up earlier... Hm. Nowhere to put them.
“I’m clearing this.”
I meant the liquor spread.
Jeokdu lifted his glass and pantomimed a toast to me.
“Have it your way, brother.”
Shrrrrrk!
I flicked up a bit of telekinesis, slid everything on the low table over to Jeokdu’s side, then set both masks on the table.
“Looks like a real crocodile head.”
“It is a real crocodile head. It’s made from skinned crocodile hide.”
“Kills the taste.”
Without asking permission, I sent my mana out and drew a magic circle.
Fwoooooosh—
The circle spread, radiating light strong enough to brighten the dim room.
Two of them? I’m certain there are three or four more out there.
[Unique function of L-grade accessory ‘Mask of Carcosa’: ‘Mad Artisanry’ has activated.
// Mad Artisanry: Attempt to open an artifact’s hidden ability or graft another ability onto it. Also, +100% success rate to invention, repair, research, and development.]
G-g-g-g—
Golden tendrils sprouted from the Mask and wrapped the two masks, weaving them together.
They looked similar, but as separate items—now they began overlaying into one, ignoring physical law.
“What are you doing right now?”
Oh come on, I need to concentrate—don’t talk to me.
“Ever play games?”
“Games? I play a lot.”
Right, you’re a pervert who likes locking people in weird places and tormenting them.
“Not that. Ugh—never mind. If you’ve never played games with enhancement, you won’t get it, so please don’t talk to me.”
“Enhancement?”
Combining two artifacts with the same function to make one better one.
There is a chance of failure... I drew the Fourfold Execution Blade.
[Unique function of SSS-grade weapon ‘Fourfold Execution Blade (Green Zone)’: ‘Aspect of Fortune and Calamity’ has activated.
// Aspect of Fortune and Calamity: Based on luck, increases the success rate of all checks by 400%.]
Flaaaash!
A blast of light bright enough to devour my whole vision.
Of course there’s a penalty. This astounding power. Light! You know this, right? Fusing atomic nuclei implies the presence of neutrons? If you interpret this scientifically, it’s sublimation, you see? It makes no sense for material objects to occupy the same space like this, but I will be the ruler of a future world that transforms, innovates, and reforms such things. When you think about it, that and this and the other thing are all the same story. If you want this and you want that, why not just merge the two worlds into one? I can do that!
[System: Exclusive trait ‘Abyssal Madness’ has activated. Negating the effects of madness.]
Bzzzzzzt!
“Gah!”
Jeokdu’s belated scream.
“Ow-ow-ow—”
“W-what were you babbling just now?”
“Hmm?”
“You were going on about merging two worlds or whatever.”
“Mm...”
It’s the forced delirium penalty attached to [Mad Artisanry]—how do I explain that?
“Sometimes when I cast, I flip out a little.”
“Ah—”
Jeokdu made a face that said he roughly got it.
Anyway, prep complete.
I gently stroked the crocodile mask, now changed into something more stylish and adorable than before, and checked the adjusted details.
A mask imbued with the [Scaled Schemer]’s power.
He grants such masks to his believers to strengthen them—
“Come to think of it, he’s kind of a nice guy.”
Being a mask-themed entity does bump his affinity with me. No—focus.
Anyway, aside from crocodiles, he also crafts other animal masks that can reshape a human body, or absorb mana, and can twist people into vicious, brutal things.
“Wait. That reminds me...”
Mm. Through the information in the crocodile mask, more of [Scaled Schemer]’s abilities surfaced. Besides those, he can make mummies, or use living sacrifices to resurrect the dead...
“Resurrection?”
Damn. So that’s the temptation she fell for?
At last I found the overlap between this out-of-the-blue Egypt theme and Jung Hyuna.
