Chapter 85: Securing the Base

Chapter 85: Securing the Base

Magical power began to surge from the silver body of the [Butchers Hook].

The magical power seemed to find its own place and naturally formed a special magic circle.

[The unique effects of the S-rank weapon Butchers Hook, Proof of Slaughter have been activated.

// Proof of Slaughter: The power of necromancy spells increases by 100%.]

Necromancy magic was indeed stirring. Therefore, [The Butchers Hook] amplified my spell efficiently.

I plunged the hook into the Hollow Lords body.

Argh Aaagh!

Fizzzzzzzzz!!!

Sparks of eerie green light jumped out.

Through the sensation at the blades edge, I could feel the pattern of magical power flowing through the Hollow Lords body.

Hollow Lord was a non-human being born under the protection of a great old being.

As expected, the pattern of magical power is quite bizarre.

The Hollow Lords magical power moved in an alien and ominous manner.

It would have been a serious challenge if we had faced each other head-on.

Through the Butchers Hook, I began to channel my magical power into his body.

Ah, no! Stop! How dare you!

It seemed the Hollow Lord had realized what I was about to do.

[He Who Comes from the Darkness]

The one trapped in the eternal prison, the eternal prisoner, the lord of the dark night, the king of the night sky, the one with a thousand mouths, the raiser of the dead, the leader of suffocation, the darkest being in the abyss.

A minor one who isnt that famous.

This bastard was also one of the great old beings watching me from the abyss.

Deep within the Hollow Lords body, or rather, in the depths of his soul, was embedded a fragment of this great old being.

I intended to take it from him.

Stop! Stop it! Enough!

Hollow Lord cried out but I quietly continued my task.

My magical power began to resonate and adapt to the form and flow of his magical power and soul.

Swallowing it whole was not an option.

I used the same method I had applied when I removed the blessing of [The Black Goat of a Thousand Young] from Lee Chang-hyeok.

[The unique effect of the S-rank accessory Ring of Corrupted Flame has been activated. Red Element Concentration and Legacy of Fire Knowledge has been activated

// Red Element Concentration: Increases the effectiveness of all fire-type spells by 50%.

// Legacy of Fire Knowledge: Enhances understanding of fire-type magic.]

Whoosh!

A white flame, devoid of heat, started to forcefully purify Hollow Lords body.

The Hollow Lords body, having lost most of its magical power, couldnt resist my magic and crumbled.

Hollow Lords expression momentarily relaxed.

Is this the end?

It was different from the previous distorted voice somehow, it sounded closer to human.

This situation was different from Lee Chang-hyeoks.

Removing the blessing from the monster Lee Chang-hyeok turned into was enough to save him.

But Hollow Lord was a being that was inherently tied to the abyss from the beginning.

A monster that lived for roughly 150 years, give or take.

His body was as abnormal as his lifespan, but as soon as he lost the source of his magical power, he would lose the power to maintain this miserable life.

Now, only a little remains.

Hidden in the deepest part of his soul

A fragment of a great old being

Begins to reveal itself.

Shining so brilliantly its dazzling

Unspeakably malevolent

I channeled all my magical power into the butchers hook and drove it deeper into the Hollow Lords body.

The blade eventually pierced not his flesh but his soul.

!!!

Hollow Lord screamed a bizarre shriek that exceeded the limits of human hearing.

Kwagwagwagwagwagwagwa!!!

The sound of the link to [He Who Comes from the Darkness] being severed echoed.

Three of them had already been sending spam to my dreams every night.

This time, I was determined not to leave any room for ambiguity and to fully absorb and digest it.

The extent of my reach was not going to end merely with being an incarnation of some old being.

To survive in this world to the very end, I had to become a more transcendent being.

From the body of the Butchers Hook, a previous green glow began to emanate.

Through that blade, the small fragment that the being of the abyss had embedded into his familys lineage flowed into me.

[He Who Comes from the Darkness].

His fragment left the Hollow Lords soul and began to take root in mine.

What followed was quite straightforward.

During my time playing the game, I had absorbed magic from characters who possessed even lower and more ordinary talents.

Back then, it was a task I was almost prepared to die for, but now, the task was not as challenging as I had expected.

As expected, an intelligence stat of 30 is remarkable.

Furthermore, the Butchers Hook which was acquired through an unexpected route proved to be of great help here.

I had thought it would at most serve as a high-tier artifact for psychic abilities but this exceeded my expectations.

I meticulously dismantled and melted everything within the Echo of Suffocation and integrated it into my own magical power while maintaining my seated posture.

All around, hundreds of magic circles naturally bloomed and vanished in turn.

The magical power of an alien nature merged with my own, transforming into a more potent form than before.

My mana core, which seemed to have an infinite capacity, was endowed with new properties and newfound strength.

How much time had passed?

I suddenly became aware that the rain outside the window had stopped.

The sky which had been pitch black and distorted has now turned a bluish color.

Is it dawn already?

My body, which was worse than that of an ordinary person to begin with, was already exhausted but my mind was not.

I felt an unprecedented surge of vigor and vitality.

I realized that all my senses and thoughts were now more vividly active than before.

At the same time, a new message window appeared before my eyes.

[You have defeated the master of the Hungry Mansion, who hides behind unspeakable curses and blasphemous secrets. Although you were faced with challenges unlike any you had ever faced before, you were able to overcome them all with every tool and strategy you had prepared. But in doing so you exposed your full power to the beings of the Abyss.]

Hmm?

Just when I thought it would end with some off-topic praise, a slightly different message began.

[The number of abyssal beings who are interested in you is gradually increasing. Especially since He Who Comes from Darkness has had his temple taken away, what will they think of you? How long will the Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young who has been stripped of her blessing remain silent? That is unknown. Soon, the judges who represent the will of the Abyss will]

Ah, the judges.

Its a title for particularly powerful NPCs in [Cthulhu World].

The Hollow Lord also bore this title.

What was it again? A rather long and cheesy name

Was it the judge of the dark cult that worshipped darkness and the void?

Anyway, since I killed the Hollow Lord, who had the title of Judge, its likely that the other Judges would be interested in me anyway.

[You have completed the quest!

<Secure Base Quest: Hungry Mansion> Reward: 250,000XP + Ownership of the Mansion]

Whats this? No more to say? Ends with judges, dot dot dot?

Seems like an attempt was made to create a meaningful atmosphere, but its not the least bit interesting!

Finish what you started!

[You have accumulated enough experience points to advance to the next level. Your level increases by 1.]

[You have defeated Hollow Lord, the Bastard Child of a Great Old Being. Your understanding of the abyss increases.]

[You have defeated (27) Corpse Golems. Your understanding of the undead increases.]

[You have defeated (48) Necromancy Golems. Your understanding of the undead increases.]

[You have subdued Fanatic Heo Sang-hyeon. Your understanding of the undead significantly increases.]

[You have accumulated enough experience points to advance to the next level. Your level increases by 1.]

Ah, fine then, have it your way.

It seems the message window decided to end with a dramatic cut-off and an attempt to set the atmosphere. What an assh*le.

[System: The Hungry Mansion has become your base.]

[Achievement unlocked! You have acquired your first base. You have obtained the General Achievement: My Home!

As a reward for the achievement, you gain the Home Management trait and additional experience points.]

Alright, base acquired anyway.

With the completion of the quest, the ownership of the mansion has been transferred to me.

Had this place been an ordinary residence, that would have been the end of it. However, theres a reason the message window went out of its way to include the Hungry Mansion.