Chapter 147: For a While

Chapter 147: For a While

To start with the conclusion, the mask obsession mental illness was not resolved.

In fact, I had expected as much.

After all, it wasn’t as if my madness had manifested, and considering that I was acting while wearing a mask amidst the masks placed all around me, I couldn’t say I had overcome the mask.

Instead, there was a slight change in my status window.

Kim Shin-hwa

Class: Mage Gazing Into the Abyss

Level: 43

Magic Order: Fourth Order

Mental Illness: [Mask Obsession (Dormant)], [Ichthyophobia (Fear of Fish)]

Strength: 5 + 4 (Residual Heat of the North Star)

Health: 7 + 3 (Great Justice Tiger Sword (Nokjon))

Agility: 8 + 2 (Winged Robe of the Night Veil)

Intelligence: 30

Mental Strength: 17 + 2 (the Body Snatcher’s Necklace)

Charm: 19

The achievements were rambled on about, and rewards were provided along with experience points.

I gained a level.

Right now, the level isn’t very important.

What matters more is what’s below that...

Mental Illness.

The [Mask Obsession] changed to [Mask Obsession (Dormant)].

“I know what this is, though.”

The dormancy of a mental illness. More precisely, [Dormant Madness].

It’s the stage before madness is cured.

In this state, with prolonged rest, treatment in a hospital, or other diligent actions to treat a mental illness in the real world, it might be cured with some probability.

Of course, that’s what the system says.

“You’re not going to let it heal naturally, are you?”

Since this is attached as a penalty of the trait, it won’t be cured.

If [Mask Obsession (Dormant)] is explained again in a state where there is no possibility of cure, it goes like this.

Temporary alleviation of the penalty.

Even if the mask fell off suddenly like last time, as long as the check succeeded, I could act rationally like an ordinary person.

What if the check failed?

It would be treated as if the check had succeeded in a state of madness.

Like with [Musophobia (fear of rats) ], I would tremble, but if I tried hard enough, I could still move. In exchange, the madness would no longer remain dormant.

So to put it very simply...

Something like, I’ll let you off the hook once?

In other words, an extra life? A shield? A one-time madness exemption?

“Honestly, it’s not bad.”

I had some complaints, but this was a pretty good reward.

It was much better than randomly drawing a mental illness that could produce anything unpredictable.

For now, I had grown quite used to the mask obsession, and having a one-time madness exemption made it easier to prepare countermeasures.

If I suddenly gained a ridiculous obsession at this point, my strategy so far could completely fall apart. Among the madness in [Cthulhu World], there was murder mania or an obsession with flesh as Je Mu Gyeong had shown before.

And above all, the dreadful scatological madness... No, let’s not even think about that.

[Recovery complete]

Huh?

[Achievement unlocked! You have opened the ‘Unopenable Chest’.

You have obtained the ‘Rare Achievement: The One Who Opened the Unopenable Chest’.

As a reward for this achievement, the ‘Mask of the Faceless One’ is bound to you as an artifact, and you gain additional experience points.]

Has the error finally been fixed? The achievement that should have been displayed earlier is only appearing now. The name of the achievement is quite uncreative. Was it hastily created?

[You have shown remarkable resilience in overcoming various challenges. However, this time you used a truly unexpected method. You anticipated and perfectly overcame all hidden traps.]

I smiled with satisfaction. Of course, the smile was hidden behind the mask.

“So, it seems it’s true that I’m beyond your foresight?”

If they could predict my actions, the fight itself wouldn’t be possible.

That’s why I had intentionally taken action several times to confirm whether they could foresee my moves.

[Those watching you likely thought you were being driven by mask obsession. Indeed, it appeared to be a completely uncontrollable situation.]

They were watching me and knew about my mask obsession.

They were likely the beings of the abyss watching the offerings of the banquet.

[But it wasn’t like that, was it? Was every choice, every action and obsession that seemed so precarious, all an act? Were you not driven by mask obsession, but rather waiting for the right moment like a cunning serpent?]

“Yes, it was all an act.”

For a moment, the message window remained silent.

The door of the barrier closed.

Once he reached the level he desired, I wouldn’t be able to control him anymore.

But that wasn’t a big issue.

I had already taken that into account when I made my plan.

The time he needed to reach his desired level was...

“Anyway, he will have to gather strength until my son’s grandson’s great-grandson dies.”

I could think about the problems he might cause later, slowly.

He had to be exploited to the fullest “for a while”.

“...”

It’s horrifying...

My emotional state was dreadful.

He had mocked me, killed Cheong-ho, and committed those atrocious acts.

The memories hadn’t faded but the emotions tied to those events had almost evaporated.

It hadn’t even been a few days.

Now I could joke and negotiate with him as if nothing had happened, even though he spoke with Cheong-ho’s appearance and voice, the one he killed.

Everything besides the madness lodged in my head is becoming trivial.

Madness, fear, and mental shock no longer affected me. Events that the previous [Ordinary Kim Shin-hwa] couldn’t handle were mere jokes to the [Crazy Mage Kim Shin-hwa].

I climbed the stairs slowly while struggling to hold onto this dreadful feeling.

Quite a few days had passed.

A few more days had gone by since I told the [Book of Greed and Destruction] to leave me alone.

From the day Cheong-ho died to the Masquerade.

I had hardly rested for a single day, but this time I allowed myself to relax and take a break for a while.

Of course, I didn’t completely rest. I worked on various trivial tasks to prepare for the future and continued deciphering the magic books I had put off.

Thanks to this, I acquired a few additional spells, though most of them were rather mediocre.

Oh, but that wasn’t all.

Although I said I rested, it’s more accurate to say I was lying low.

My schedule would change depending on the outcome of the incident in Sejong City.

It seemed that Dokgo Gyeom had finally shaken off the pursuit of Yang Seo-ho. Dokgo Gyeom’s bounty had appeared on the fixer network.

“That’s interesting.”

The person on the other end of the smartphone answered in Korean with an awkward accent.

– The amount is... quite surprising. Don’t be shocked.

“Come on, how much is it?”

– 400 billion won.

“Huh, that’s quite a lot. Does the city have that much budget to spare?”

Well, it was understandable given the situation.

– No, the bounty wasn’t posted by the city but by the Hunter Association. Though, Sejong City probably nudged them to do it.

“I see.”

The Hunter Association was an organization for bounty hunters. Still, 400 billion won was a ridiculous amount.

– So, anyway, it’s a really chaotic situation right now. The Immigration Bureau announced a statement declaring war against illegal criminal activities and deceptive pseudo-religions.

“Officially?”

– It’s under the name of the National Police Agency for now. In any case, they’re determined to round up all the cultists who caused trouble in Sejong City.

“I see. Could it be that the descendants of Fomalhaut got involved as a result?”

– Tsk, it would have been good for both me and Kim Shin-hwa if that were the case. But it wasn’t. They never showed up in Sejong City to begin with.

“I see. That’s a shame.”

– Ah, but there was another incident instead.

“What is it? Is it related to Fomalhaut?”

– Yes. Recently, there was an explosion at a business operated by the descendants of Fomalhaut.

“Was it Yang Seo-ho who did it anonymously?”

He spoke slyly, but it was probably Dokgo Gyeom. The man with a 400 billion won bounty sure was diligent.

And there would likely be internal strife following this. It seemed safe to assume that the routes related to the judges had disappeared.

– That could be the case. Anyway, that’s about the gist of the current situation. So then, shall we...?

“Shall we?”

– Let’s wrap up the small talk and get down to business. You didn’t call just to hear about these rumors, did you?

Ah, right. It was time to talk business.

I didn’t call Park Kwang-lim out of simple curiosity about the rumors.

“Alright. Actually, I called because I have a request.”

– A request? From Kim Shi-nhwa to me?

“Yes. Make a few more Kim Shin-hwas for me.”

It was time for me to start implementing some serious safety measures.