Chapter 108: T’s Clock (1)

Chapter 108: T’s Clock (1)

[Adhesive Fluid]

Squish!!

Did I really need to use that spell? A sticky, viscous liquid erupted from my fingertips.

“Argh! Gack! Urgh!!”

The slime aimed for his open mouth. As the gooey substance filled his mouth, he was unable to complete his desperate plea. Yet even in the midst of this, he continued to struggle and move frantically.

“Just stay still!”

Squish!! Swoosh!! Squelch!!

“Ughhh! Cough! Ughhh!!”

I unleashed more magical power into the erupting slime and completely covered his entire body. Eventually, the cultist collapsed under the pressure and became a large lump of slime, dirt, and leaves.

It’s a sorry sight, but life is precious you know.

Namo Amitabha.

[Achievement Unlocked! You have defended against your first raid.

You have earned the ‘Basic Achievement: First Defense’.

As a reward for the achievement, you receive the ‘Beacon’s Staff’ and additional experience points.]

[You have successfully defended your residence from pillage. Experience points gained.]

[You have defeated cultists (Descendants of Fomalhaut) (52). Your understanding of the ‘Living Flame Cult’ has increased.]

It seemed that I could no longer level up with such minor efforts.

The Beacon’s Staff had been in the possession of the cultist I had just dealt with.

Upon inspection, I discovered that the staff granted a few fire-type spells and the ability to summon the burning ones, even to those without an understanding of magic.

It was a decent item, but not something I needed. Maybe I could attach it to one of my necromancy golems and create a fire-breathing golem?

“Alright, let’s see what we can clean up here.”

I needed to find out how these cultists had learned about this place. It may seem like I’m repeating myself over and over again, but it’s impossible to convince these many cultists.

I didn’t fought with everything at my disposal this time, but if things don’t go well, I might have to engage in an endless battle until I wiped out the entire cult.

“If they’re the Descendants of Fomalhaut, they must have at least a hundred thousand followers...”

I could fight, but fight a hundred thousand-strong army at such a chaotic time? For no pay? No thanks! Too troublesome!

Grrrrrrrrik! Creak!

A necromancy golem that looked plain in design approached and delivered a message.

“Is everything taken care of?”

It seemed that all the resisting foes had been subdued.

“Let the ones who can escape, escape moderately, and give emergency treatment to those who look like they might die. Ideally, make it so that those who run will take them along.”

Creak, creak, creak.

I had issued the command, but instead of executing it immediately, the necromancy golem made another move. If it were human, it might have been equivalent to a hand gesture pointing somewhere.

“Over there? What’s there?”

There was no one there except for the cultist covered in slime and lying defeated...

“Ah, if we leave him like that, he might really die.”

[Create Clean Water]

Squish!

I doused his face with water.

“Haak! Khaak!!”

The slime covering his entire face was completely blocking his breathing.

“Phew, almost killed someone.”

Now that I think about it, what that man mentioned is bothering me. T’s clock? What is that?

Could it be the clock in the attic that King Man-geum mentioned?

“Hey, throw that guy covered in slime out in the yard too.”

Creak, creak, crack.

When I went out to the front yard of the mansion, I saw about ten cultists lying at regular intervals.

Those who were relatively unharmed were tied with ropes, while those who were not were receiving basic first aid from the necromancy golems.

“No one died.”

“Ah, thank you.”

It was just a dusty, spacious attic.

The atmosphere seemed right for spiders or bugs to roam, yet strangely, there were none to be seen.

Apart from that, there was just one window punched through the ceiling. Was there something about that window?

It seemed impossible to solve just by peeking from the doorway.

“Surely, it’s not something that requires solving a mini-game puzzle to appear?”

I walked up to the side of the coffin but after looking around for a while, nothing special caught my eye.

The only thing in the attic was the coffin placed directly under the window. Just that.

But the placement of the coffin was as if...

“Could it possibly be meant for stargazing while lying in it?”

If one were to lie in the coffin, they could look up directly through the window.

“Oh...”

I found it.

The moment I raised my head beside the coffin, I realized what the clock discussed by King Man-geum and the descendants of Fomalhaut was.

Hidden in the attic ceiling was a complex and dense arrangement of machinery.

The mechanism was concealed by the rafters and beams of the ceiling. It was invisible from any other angle unless one turned their head.

Dozens of gears, springs, rods, pendulums, and chains around the attic window composed a sort of mechanical device.

It resembled the interior of an old-fashioned analog clock.

“But it’s not moving?”

Others might call it a clock, but to anyone looking, it hardly resembled one; it lacked numbers and any hands to indicate time.

If it had been found under different circumstances, it might have been dismissed as mere excessive decoration.

There can be no negotiation with this thing.

“What is this thing, anyway? Should I just tell them to take it apart and remove it?”

And what about this coffin?

Is it part of the set?

A coffin was positioned so that if one lay in it, they could look directly out of the window.

And a mechanical device arranged as if to frame the window.

“......”

Aish... I have a feeling that if I just lay down here, I can find out something.

“But it’s an incredibly unsettling setup.”

The moment one lies down, a trap could be triggered and something terrible might happen.

“Who would be crazy enough to break into someone’s house and lie down in a coffin,” is what one might ask, but never underestimate the Cthulhu World.

Regardless of context or plausibility, there are countless traps laid just to toy with those driven by curiosity.

I cautiously activated my magic.

[Trap Detection]

Keeeeeeng...

“Ah, look at that.”

There was really something beneath the coffin.

Let’s see. There is a mechanism attached under the coffin. It was designed to activate something when a certain weight is placed upon it.

“It’s hard to call this just a trap.”

Nonetheless, it seems that whoever placed this here wanted someone to lie in it. Though I’m not sure whether it would trigger the clock or a trap.

“Hmm... Still, there’s no use in delaying any longer.”

[Agility of the Fox]

[Brilliance of the Eagle]

[Eagle Eye]

[Protective Circle]

I cast spells to prepare for any traps that might activate at an unexpected moment and lay down on the coffin.

Click.

At the same time, the coffin seemed to sink slightly, triggering something.

Thump, click, screeeeech...

The gears hanging from the ceiling began to move with a heavy noise.