Chapter 93: New Job

Chapter 93: New Job

|Do you think you can keep avoiding this?|

An unpleasant voice.

|Dreams are the true reality. The place you think is real is just a short dream of one night.|

Voices rise from a deep abyss. A nauseating chorus from hundreds of mouths. An irritating cacophony.

|Do you think this is just a simple dream?|

|Right now, at this moment, you are connected to us.|

|You can never escape.|

|Did you think you could stop us with that toy?|

|Not for a single day have you escaped from us.|

|You have merely forgotten.|

Noises buzz like a swarm of flies. A simultaneous horrific cry. The slime of darkness.

|In the end, what you clench in your small hand is nothing more than a handful of sand.|

|The tidal wave is approaching. The great flood will soon begin. The wave rising from the abyss will reveal what you have been ignoring.|

A snickering laughter.

|Yes, keep dreaming. Keep dreaming your delightful, yet futile dreams.|

Crackle

[System: The unique trait Madness of the Abyss has been activated. The effect of the nightmare has been nullified.]

It seems this wont do after all.

I looked at the dreamcatcher hanging by my bedside.

As expected, the silver core was completely stained black.

[Silver Dreamcatcher (B-rank Magical Tool): A handmade dreamcatcher woven from birch imbued with magical power and silver thread. It possesses the power to ward off evil and block the intrusion of dream demons.

Dream Veil: Blocks magical and cursed influences that approach through dreams.

Creator: Kim Shin-hwa

Current Status: Ruptured due to overload]

It held up well. It blocked nightmares for about two weeks, but eventually, it broke.

Ah To make something as good as the Ancient Gods Mirror, should I use more expensive materials?

In any case, the Ancient Gods Mirror contained the influence of ancient gods.

Ancient gods.

Or the Old Gods, Great Spirits, Pure Souls, the Great Ones, beings existing since before the dawn of time, and so on.

People call them what they will, but the most commonly accepted name was ancient gods.

These were surreal beings who existed at the opposite pole of the existence of the abyss and opposed its existence.

As a result, there were those who thought of them as good gods opposing the evil ones, but that wasnt exactly the case.

Depending on the circumstances, even the ancient gods could turn into demons or disasters at any moment.

From the human perspective, they were entities far too powerful and merciless. Should I say that they were akin to storms or tsunamis?

Just as there can be no benevolent tsunamis or kind-hearted storms, the very existence of the ancient gods was nothing short of a massive disaster.

Still, from a players perspective, dealing with ancient gods is somewhat easier.

Among them, there were some who had appeared in human history in a positive light a few times, and if one traced the origins of ancient religions or native beliefs, they would find these entities.

Thanks to that, many of them were relatively easier to communicate with.

Besides, the enemy of my enemy is my ally.

The ancient gods generally despised the beings of the abyss.

Thanks to this, there were times when they would lend their power or wisdom if one decided to fight against the abyssal beings.

If one were to put it bluntly, both sides were like gangsters.

The difference was that whoever had the first claim to the territory had been there longer and could communicate better.

It was an artifact with such origins, and although the Ancient Gods Mirror was of low rank, it had the power to block the influence emanating from the beings of the abyss.

I removed the dreamcatcher that had been hanging by my bedside and examined the deteriorated parts.

A simple item crafted by gathering magical or natural energies had its limitations.

Tsk, next time I need to make something better.

I tossed the dreamcatcher toward the trash can in the corner of the room.

Thud, thunk.

The dreamcatcher hit the rim of the trash can and fell to the floor.

After all, one cannot eat while wearing this mask.

I took out the dining mask I had left in the dining room and switched it.

Its a mask with openings for the jaw and mouth.

The eyes, forehead, nose, and cheeks are still covered, but having even a part of my face exposed makes me uncomfortable.

To avoid accidentally catching sight of any part of my face, I had all the mirrors in the dining room removed.

I even got rid of the metal utensils.

It might be called the obsession of a lunatic but

Well, I am a lunatic after all.

Ah, this is fu*king ridiculous. I tried to think positively, but its not easy.

What is this mess, really? I wish I could get over this obsession with masks quickly.

I spread jam on pancakes with a wooden spoon and ate slowly.

Ah, this meal is really

Excessively delicious.

Heo Sang-hyeon said it was nothing special, but it tasted fantastic.

At first, I wondered why anyone would cook fruit, but I learned that some fruits taste better cooked than raw.

The combination of juicy sausages that burst with flavor and pineapples grilled with sugar created a delightful sweet and salty harmony. Fluffy pancakes and the fine-quality grape jam that Heo Sang-hyeon claimed to have made himself followed suit.

He said he had continued to make this jam even while he was enslaved by the Hollow Lord.

To put it in a twisted way, you could say it was a jam created by an undead who could neither die nor live while the horrific slaughter and blasphemous rituals were taking place in this mansion.

However, it was the only food Heo Sang-hyeon made by his own will, amidst a life devoid of freedom.

Its hard to dwell on negative thoughts with jam this delicious.

Though he took the Ancient Gods Mirror from me, I gained a meal like this so its not a loss.

Life in the harsh conditions of the Cthulhu world after falling from my usual self-sufficient life had been too long.

What will they prepare for dinner tonight?

Just as I was nearly finished eating,

My smartphone began to vibrate.

Before coming to this world, I really lived glued to my phone and computer

Games and web novels. Those were my only hobbies, the joys that filled most of my life. But now that I was trapped in this bizarre world and living as if being chased every day, ironically

Ah, right, a phone call.

I hardly ever use my phone, so I forgot that I needed to answer it when it vibrated.

Dear! Why didnt you come to see me when you were at the market last time?

It was Tudor. How did she know I had been to Paju fifteen days ago?

Well, it wasnt really a situation where I could stop by.

What? Do you know how busy its been here lately? Are you going to keep lazing around like this?

Busy? Whats going on?

Hmph, never mind. You should come and see what its like here these days, but right now, listen to what I have to say about work.

Calling this early, must be a request for a job, right?

Early?

Its the crack of dawn right now. It was 2 PM.

Dear I know fixers tend to be like this, but how about living like a normal person for a change?

To be scolded like this by a witch who could go without sleep and work 24 hours was indeed something else .

Lets talk about work instead of my lifestyle habits, shall we?

Ah, right. So, I see youve been making friends and networking in places I dont know about? Making me jealous, huh?

Networks and the current timing. I roughly understood why she had called.

I see why you called. Is it a bodyguard job?

Hehe your quick thinking really makes things easier. Yes, its a request that came through the old man from Geumchon Pawnshop. Its to guard a gentleman, and the location is none other than

The Thousand Gold Temple.

Thats right. You! My pretty thing! How did you manage to snag a job at the Thousand Gold Temple? They say a diligent broker finds good fortune even in her sleep. Must be Buddhas grace for all my church-going.

Though it was clearly a joke, when it came from a witch who had crossed over from Europe, it sounded serious enough to be a bit scary.

Tudor explained the rough details of the request, and I agreed to move out tomorrow. We ended the call with that plan in place.

Tomorrow, it seems, I will finally have a chance to go out.