『Do you think you can continue to avoid it?』
unpleasant voice.
『Dreams are the true reality. The place you think is reality is just a short dream for one night.』
Disgusting voices rising from the deep abyss. It is an unpleasant noise made by hundreds of snouts all at once.
『Do you think this is just a dream?』
『Now, at this moment, you are connected to us.』
『You can never escape.』
『Did you think you were stopping us all this time with that toy?』
『Not even for a single day have you escaped from us.』
『You just forgot.』
Noises buzzing like swarms of flies. A terrible clamor heard simultaneously, a squishy darkness.
『In the end, what you hold in your small hands is nothing more than a handful of sand.』
『A tsunami is approaching. The great flood will soon begin. The waves rising from the abyss will reveal what you are ignoring.』
The sound of giggling laughter.
『Yes, keep dreaming. Have pleasant dreams that are no different from vain delusions.』
Pachijijijik… … .
[System: The exclusive attribute 'Abyss Madness' is activated. Nullifies the effect of nightmare.]
"This doesn't work either."
I looked at the dream catcher hanging by my bedside.
As expected, all the silver in the core part was contaminated black.
[Silver Dream Catcher (B-Class Magic Tool): A handmade dream catcher made by weaving silver thread into a birch tree imbued with magic. It has the power to ward off evil and prevents the invasion of dream demons.
Dream Curtain: Blocks magic, curses, and unclean influences that access through dreams.
Producer: Shinhwa Kim
Current status: Burst due to overload]
I thought it was holding up well, but after preventing nightmares for a week or two, it finally broke down.
"Hmm… … "Do I need to use more expensive materials to make something as good as Myeonggyeong?"
In any case, the famous scriptures contain the influence of ancient gods.
ancient god
Or old gods, great spirits, pure souls, great ones, those who existed before time immemorial, etc. … .
Everyone calls them whatever they want, but the most commonly used name is Old God.
These are surreal beings who are located at the opposite pole of the existence of the abyss and oppose the existence of the abyss.
As a result, some people think that they are good gods who fight against bad guys, but this is not an accurate definition.
Depending on the situation, even ancient gods can become demons or disasters at any time.
From a human perspective, either way, they are overly powerful and ruthless beings. Should we say that it is something like a storm or a tsunami?
Just as there can be no such thing as a good tidal wave or a good storm, the mere existence of the ancient gods is no different from a huge disaster.
"But, from the player's perspective, the Old Gods are more convenient."
Some of them have appeared several times in human history in a positive form, while others appear when looking back to the origins of ancient religions or folk beliefs created by humans.
Thanks to this, there are a lot of people with whom I can communicate relatively well.
'Besides, the enemy of my enemy is also my friend.'
The ancient gods generally dislike beings of the abyss.
Thanks to this, there are sometimes those who lend their strength or wisdom if you say you will fight against the beings of the abyss.
To put it crudely, both are gangsters.
The difference is that the one who occupied the region first has known each other for a long time, so they can communicate a little.
As it is an item with such origins, the Ancient God's Mysterious Mirror was of low grade, but it had the power to block the influence of the beings of the abyss.
I took off the dream catcher hanging by my bed and looked at the deteriorated part.
There are limits to objects made simply by gathering magical power or natural power.
"Tsk, next time I'll have to make something more authentic."
I threw the dream catcher toward the trash can in one corner of the room.
Tap, tap.
The dream catcher hit the corner of the trash can and fell to the floor.
But there is no need for me to move and pick up the dream catcher again.
Gigi Geek, Giririk… … .
Because the trash can moved by itself and swallowed the dream catcher.
It's been two weeks since we took possession of the starving mansion.
Although he often communicated with Tudor and Jang Hyeon-deok, he rarely went out.
He stopped working as a troubleshooter and spent his time interpreting grimoires or creating artifacts.
"Thanks to you, we achieved some minor results… … ."
I wasn't very satisfied.
In general, there were many forms of stabilizing the current situation or postponing existing problems for a while.
Of course, that doesn't mean nothing has changed.
After briefly washing my face, I picked up my clothes, put them on, and went down to the first floor.
"Are you awake?"
This is Heo Sang-hyeon, who ended up sharing a room with me.
"You woke up early today too?"
"Hey, I woke up this morning."
"hmm. What time is it now? "Do you look familiar?"
"It's 2 o'clock."
"I can finally wake up at a human time."
"… … "I'll prepare a meal first, so please wait a moment."
"All right."
An undead that was unintentionally taken over by Heoju.
Heo Sang-hyeon eventually decided to live a little longer.
Now, my relationship with Heo Sang-hyeon is a firm alliance like that of Cheong-ho and Jang Hyeon-deok.
Of course, my position is a little different from that of Jang Hyeon-deok.
According to the system of [Cthulhu World], he is my summon... … So, it is a state of magical slavery.
'At the same time, it is also a butler NPC that comes with the housing system.'
Although excessive levels of loyalty have been eliminated, it is difficult to say that one is completely free.
Anyway, he is both a summon and a butler at the same time. According to the game system, the titles that such a being can call the player are limited.
Heo Sang-hyeon initially tried to call me by that name.
"Shinhwa, I am ready."
"yes."
This was a bit strange, but once you start thinking that way, the sky is the limit. 'Shinhwa, I'm your older brother, so I'll call you comfortably.' Are you going to proceed with the development like this? Anyway, we decided to stay like this for the time being.
A restaurant located next to the living room on the first floor.
In the center of the restaurant, there is a large table covered with a pure white tablecloth.
It's a table big enough for more than ten people to sit down and have a dinner, but I'm the only one eating today.
On one side of the table, there was a glass of milk, pancakes, jam, fried eggs, salad, grilled sausage, grilled tomatoes, grilled pineapple, cheese cut into bite-sized pieces... … .
It may sound like a lot when listed one by one, but it's usually just one or two pieces, so the amount is just right.
Rather, this vast table is more of a problem.
It seemed very absurd to see a meal for one person neatly prepared in a large space.
"I've thought about this before, but isn't this restaurant too spacious?"
"The previous owner often had dinner… … "Because we also did it."
Heo Sang-hyeon pronounced the word dinner with a strange nuance.
Heo Ju, the former owner of Heo Sang-hyeon and the owner of this mansion, does not like wasting corpses.
Human corpses are a highly versatile magic material, the raw material for golems, and a catalyst for magic.
And what is left over can also be used as accessories or food ingredients.
Perhaps the dinner was some kind of inhumane and disgusting ritual.
Or maybe it was just a nonsense to satisfy Heoju's sadism.
"okay."
"yes. "Then I'll stay in the living room for a while."
"yes."
Heoju seems to like having dinner parties with people who have the same tastes as him, but I don't like eating with other people.
Eating is not something that can be done with this mask on anyway.
I took out the dining mask I had left in the restaurant and changed it.
It is a mask with an opening for the chin and mouth.
Although my eyes, forehead, nose, and cheeks are still covered, it makes me mentally uncomfortable to have even part of my face exposed.
I removed all the mirrors in the dining room to prevent any part of my face from being reflected in my eyes.
Even metal utensils were removed.
You could say it's the obsession of a lunatic, but... … .
"Well, because he's mentally insane."
… … .
Ah, that sounds like shit. I tried to think positively, but it wasn't easy.
What kind of nonsense is this? I want to cure my obsession with masks quickly.
I ate slowly, spreading jam on pancakes with a wooden spoon.
"Well, the meal was really…" … ."
It's too delicious.
Heo Sang-hyeon said it wasn't anything special, but it was very delicious.
At first, I wondered why I grilled fruit, but some fruits taste better grilled than eaten raw.
The sweet-salty harmony created by the juicy sausage and the grilled pineapple with sugar is artistic. And the fluffy pancakes and the high-quality grape jam that Heo Sang-hyeon made himself fall into your mouth.
It is said that Heo Sang-hyeon continued to make this jam while he was Heo Ju's slave.
To put it in a twisted way, you could say it was a jam created by undead who could neither live nor die while the horrific slaughter and blasphemous rituals were going on in this mansion.
However, it is the only food made by Heo Sang-hyeon's will during his slave life without free will.
It's really delicious jam to force yourself to think bad thoughts.
"I took the Myeong-gyeong away, but I got this meal instead, so it's not a loss."
After falling into Cthulhu World, I had to live alone for too long.
What would you like me to do for you this evening? … ?
Almost finished eating.
The smartphone started vibrating.
'Before I came to this world, I was really addicted to my phone and computer... … .'
Games and web novels. It was my only hobby and the joy that took up most of my life. As I live a life where I feel like I am being chased day after day, trapped in this bizarre world, paradoxically... … .
"Oops, phone call."
I didn't use my phone so much that it didn't occur to me to answer the phone when it vibrated.
- self! Why didn't you come to me when you stopped by the market last time?
It was Tudor. How did you know that I stopped by Paju 15 days ago?
"That's because it wasn't a situation to stop by."
- what? How busy is it here these days? Are you going to keep being lazy like this?
"You're busy? What's going on?"
- Hmm, that's it. Come and see what the situation is like here these days, and now listen to stories about work.
"Seeing as you called me at such an early hour, I guess there's a nomination request?"
- It's early... … ?
It is very early in the morning now. It's 2pm.
- self… … I know that solvers are usually like that, but why don't you live like a human?
To hear something like this from a witch who can work 24 hours a day without sleeping... … .
"You want to talk about work, not my lifestyle habits?"
- Oh yeah. It seems like you've been making a variety of friends and networking these days, even without me knowing? huh? Make me jealous.
Network and this timing. I understand roughly what you're calling about.
"I know what you're calling me for. "Is this an escort job?"
-Hehe... … As expected, it's convenient because I'm quick-witted. that's right. This is a request that came through an elderly person at Geumchon Pawnshop. It's a job to escort a certain gentleman. The place is… … .
"A thousand gold pieces."
- that's right. self! This pretty thing! How did you pick up a thousand pieces of work? They say that a truly sincere broker will be blessed even while he sleeps. I guess I received the blessings of Buddha thanks to my diligent attendance at church.
Of course it's a joke, but for a witch from Europe to say something like that, it sounds a little serious and it's scary.
Tudor explained the general outline of the request, and we hung up, promising to move the next day.
Tomorrow I will be able to go out for the first time in a while.