Chapter 36: Tanhyeon Picnic

Chapter 36: Tanhyeon Picnic

Here it is.

What was in Jang Hyeon-deoks hand was a worn mask. Or to be exact, a fragment of a shattered mask.

Look. Its quite similar to the one Mage-nim is wearing, isnt it?

Indeed.

To reiterate, this was a fragment of a mask. The chin part is missing, and the forehead part is cracked, leaving only just enough to cover near the eyes, and these eyes are quite unique.

Four eyes, I see.

Even without its distinctive appearance, there are other ways to tell that this item is not mere trash.

[Damaged Mask (Junk) Part of a certain mask.

Research or appraisal is necessary to identify it.]

Not just any item triggers a message window. If that were the case, even the dumplings I ate today would have displayed something. It must hold some special secret.

Let me see it.

You have to give it back!

Understood.

After being reassured multiple times, Jang Hyeon-deok finally handed over the mask.

Hmm.

I turned the mask fragment over and examined it closely. It was a faded gray, almost tinged with blue but it must have originally been white.

The remnants of magical power are still present, but its so deteriorated that its hard to make anything out of it.

I struggled to appraise Carcosas Mask that I was currently wearing, but it seemed that appraising something as damaged as this might actually be easier.

[Identification]

When I activated a first-order appraisal spell, a dry sound effect accompanied a burst of light.

[System: Unveiling the veil surrounding the Damaged Mask.]

[Unveiling Judgment in Progress]

Beyond the fragment of the mask, I could see Jang Hyeon-deoks face.

The fluorescent glow emanating from the mask and the purple dusk falling from the sky intertwined, creating an indescribable and bizarre color that made his handsome face appear as if it belonged to an ominous mythical being from the abyss.

Kiiiiing

[Judgment successful.]

The appraisal was unexpectedly successful.

At the same time, new information appeared in the message window.

[Carcosas Mask: Damaged (Junk) Although it is now completely destroyed and has lost its power, this object once contained the power of the Great Old Ruler, He Who Must Not Be Named, the mighty [King in Yellow].]

Holy sh*t, its real.

I told you, didnt I? I told you, there are many more things just like this in Tanhyeon!

***

Tanhyeon is a neighborhood located northwest of Geumchon neighborhood, and speaking from the perspective of the real world I inhabited, it is one of Pajus tourist attractions.

It houses the Heyri Art Village, a folk museum, and a decent-sized theme park, and its also home to one of only two Unification Observatories in South Korea.

Since I have lived in Paju in the original world, I have visited Tanhyeon a few times in reality.

To be honest, the atmosphere of Tanhyeon was closer to the countryside than a tourist destination.

The landscape was a monotonous repetition of forests, mountains, and factories punctuated occasionally by tourist spots, with the Imjin River flowing alongside the road, and beyond it, the land of North Korea in view.

However, in [Cthulhu World], Tanhyeon held a special significance.

Are we going hiking?

No, its not that serious just past that tree and were there.

Jang Hyeon-deok got out of the car. It was difficult for me to get out of the car because I was still suffering from the throbbing pain of the vibration that seemed to be going up to the top of my head, but I gritted my teeth and got out.

If only my health were a bit better, this might have been easier but I guess I cant improve it here and now.

Just like Jang Hyeon-deok said, the destination didnt seem far. Ahead, I could sense an unpleasant magical power pooling in a way that was hard to detect elsewhere.

I did some light stretching to straighten my back and activated my spells.

[Trap Detection]

[Magic Detection]

[Invisibility Detection]

Aside from the unnatural gathering of magical power, no particular dangers were detected.

In the meantime, Jang Hyeon-deok was sneakily moving ahead.

Hey, Jang Hyeon-deok. Wait for me.

Ah, yes. Please hurry. Its right here.

Slow down a bit.

[Protective Circle]

[Distortion Field]

[Mountain Goats Step]

To be honest, my condition wasnt very good because I hadnt fully recovered from the aftereffects of the quest I had undertaken three days prior. As a result, I had to activate not only basic defensive spells but also supplementary magic to bolster my stamina.

Maintaining a high number of spells at the same time isnt ideal.

No matter how vast ones magical power pool might be, there is no benefit in maintaining multiple spells at the same time. Theres the issue of each spells power and precision diminishing, and maintaining focus also becomes increasingly taxing.

Apart from the drain of spellcasting, the surrounding environment was sapping my concentration.

First, there was the strange fishy smell emanating from the trees. It was different from the typical musty scent of the forest and more akin to the smell of sewage stagnating in a sewer. Then there were the bizarre insects with grotesque forms hanging from the trees. Bugs with spiny shells or patterns resembling human faces, scurrying around on eight or nine legs.

Nothing here seems normal.

The fact that this place was unfamiliar territory also unnerved me. While Ive encountered deviations from expected scenarios before, none were to this extent. Im familiar with the worlds both outside and inside the game, yet I had never visited such a place.

Suddenly, I realized that I had arrived at the very spot Jang Hyeon-deok had mentioned.

What is that?

It was a landscape unlike any I had ever seen before.

The forest, dense with trees upon trees, abruptly gave way to an excessively wide clearing.

And within this clearing were what appeared to be hundreds of rocks placed at intervals.

Although they were made of stone and thus referred to as rocks, I questioned whether it was appropriate to call them such.

These rocks had a bizarre lifelike shape as if they had sprouted from the ground instead of trees, and there was a disturbing malevolence about them that seemed to defy the idea they were formed naturally.

Even thinking such thoughts soured my mood, but these formations were roughly the size of a human and bore a vaguely human shape.

It was as if as if

[The ruins spread out before your eyes are eerily quiet. The usual sounds of insects and birds that tickled your ears until now are absent in this land of silence. It is a barren land where not a single tree or flower can bloom.

Across the vast landscape, bizarre stone pillars stand endlessly, their ominous shapes seemingly beyond description. As if humans writhing in agony and pleading with a cruel deity have been petrified in their distress.

Everything in sight appears as if it was crafted by an artist possessed by a dynamic and destructive madness, resulting in a horrifying and blasphemous spectacle.]

[The ominous silence and malevolent aura that hovers in this space have a negative impact on your psyche.]

[System: Attempting to resist the malevolent influence with your mental strength. Mental strength check Success.]

Although the check was successful and I suffered no harm, the place still felt profoundly unsettling.New novel chapters are published on