Chapter 53: When You Gaze into the Abyss

Transformed into Cosmic Horror in a Sci-Fi Universe – 53

Park Yujin, filled with joy, registered as a hunter and entered a gate. Naturally, he started at the lowest rank, F-rank, and entered an F-rank gate with other novice hunters in similar situations. Although a D-rank hunter accompanied them as a safety measure, the rest were a ragtag group.

Inside the gate, they encountered goblins. For the inexperienced novices, these goblins were a somewhat challenging opponent.

“Keeek!”

“Kieeek?!”

It was clear that the Fear of the Abyss skill I had given him was working well. The goblins were confused and unable to act properly due to the fear.

Fear of the Abyss. Although the effect was minimal compared to facing me directly, even at level 1, it was enough to mentally disrupt goblins. As the skill level increases, it will eventually affect even top-tier monsters like vampires or dragons, which are typically immune to fear.

After all, the mental corruption caused by seeing an “Outer God” like me cannot be blocked by mere immunities created by the laws of the universe. Unless there are special measures against mental corruption by Outer Gods, like in the original SF universe I was born in, it cannot be stopped.

“What’s going on? The goblins seem off.”

Among the F-rank hunters, one with some gate experience noticed the unusual behavior of the goblins and tilted his head in confusion.

“What is this? This has never happened before….”

The D-rank hunter leading the group was equally puzzled. This was something they had never encountered before, leaving them bewildered.

“It seems to be thanks to my skill. I have a fear status effect skill,” Park Yujin said proudly, attributing the goblins’ behavior to his ability.

He didn’t seem to have any intention of hiding his abilities. In most novels, characters would typically conceal their skills in such situations, but thinking about it, that’s quite strange. In a structured modern society, no one would suddenly capture and kill him. If someone had a special ability, wouldn’t they want to reveal it quickly to gain fame and earn money?

Assassination attempts by those envious of his abilities? Oppression and tyranny from large corporate guilds? Realistically, a major guild would prioritize recruiting him. Joining one would make it easier to earn money and preemptively prevent assassination attempts by jealous individuals.

The notion of wanting to roam alone or disliking restrictions imposed by belonging to an organization is merely an excuse to drive the plot forward in protagonist-centric novels. Park Yujin’s decision to reveal his abilities early and actively appeal to a major guild was a very smart choice in reality.

“Yes, yes… I’m serious. The goblins are running away… Yes, understood. Ahem! Mr. Park Yujin, could we have a word?”

As expected, the D-rank hunter who was leading the group quickly contacted his guild and then called Park Yujin aside. Naturally, the intention was to recruit him into the guild. The fear status effect was not just a simple debuff; it was a top-tier crowd control ability that could render enemies completely unable to fight, making it highly coveted by major guilds.

Having discovered such a valuable ability early on, it was only natural for them to want to recruit him. However, Park Yujin was smarter and more thorough than they anticipated.

“Sorry, but I think I can aim for a higher place with my abilities.”

“Oh…”

While the D-rank hunter might have felt slighted by the rejection, he understood. Park Yujin’s reasoning was sound. Confident in his abilities, Park Yujin boldly headed towards a major guild.

In this world, the guild that prides itself as the best in Korea is the “Awakening Guild.”

“…Hoo. This is where my life turns around.”

Park Yujin’s story was just beginning here. For now, everything seemed fine. However, since I had directly granted him power from beyond the universe, there were signs of gradual erosion. They say, “When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back at you,” right?

In simpler terms, this meant that due to mental corruption, his personality could gradually disappear, and he might go insane. Perhaps it wasn’t wise to recklessly bestow the power of an Outer God upon a fragile being. Moreover, he was just an ordinary human from Earth. The power I granted might have been too overwhelming for him to handle.

Although there might not be any immediate issues, it’s better to make some adjustments just in case. Tweaking the settings slightly to prevent mental corruption should be understandable even to the will of the universe.

Okay, done. This should ensure that even with a weak mental fortitude, he can withstand it. Now, I need to check on other matters for a bit.

#

“Rising Star, Park Yujin!”

“The ‘Fear of Monsters’ Park Yujin, growing at an incredible speed. Who is he?”

“Defense Penetration, Fear Status Effect, Stat Increase. All in one? The world is watching this hunter.”

A year had passed since Park Yujin debuted as a hunter. With his incredible skills, he directly contracted with Korea’s top guild, “Awakening,” and received their enthusiastic support to grow stronger.

In just one year, he had become an incredible star hunter, not only in Korea but also globally. With his stat-increasing skill, he achieved A-rank in just one year.

Park Yujin brought immense fear to monsters, causing chaos, and crushed enemies with overwhelming destructive power that penetrated defenses. He received numerous offers from top guilds worldwide. There were even rumors that China’s number one guild, “Xiao,” had offered a contract worth 100 billion won.

Despite these offers, Park Yujin remained with the Awakening Guild, staying as a Korean hunter, which made Koreans even more enthusiastic.

“He’s a patriot, a true patriot.”

“What is the government doing? They should be giving him a reward.”

“That’s how you bring honor to the nation.”

Other hunters also envied his incredible status and praised him.

“I’m so jealous. I should have had at least one crowd control skill.”

“Even if I have one, it’s just a slow.”

“Having one at all is something.”

“And defense penetration? That’s a top-tier skill for a damage dealer.”

Park Yujin’s life seemed to be on a continuous upward trajectory, with nothing but a path of roses ahead.

…Or so it seemed.

“Ugh, haah, haah…!”

Everyone envied and praised Park Yujin. But now, he was writhing in pain in the penthouse of the luxurious apartment provided by the guild. The reason for his agony was the relentless headaches and dizziness.

When his abilities were weaker, he was fine. But as his skill levels increased, his physical condition began to deteriorate. It wasn’t that he was sick or weakened. His abilities had indeed grown stronger. However, he started experiencing unexplained headaches and nightmares featuring horrific, unidentifiable shapes. Sёarch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

And that wasn’t all.

It wasn’t just his body that was in pain; Park Yujin could feel his mind gradually transforming. Recently, he found himself getting angry over trivial matters. People who once seemed ordinary now appeared insignificant, and he had an overwhelming urge to crush them all.

“Ugh… Why is this happening?”

He had visited the hospital multiple times. The doctors attributed it to fatigue from the numerous changes and events he had recently experienced. So he tried resting. He took complete breaks, doing nothing but resting, yet the symptoms showed no signs of improvement.

It was an obviously strange situation. Rumors began to spread within the guild. People whispered that Park Yujin’s condition seemed to be deteriorating. They speculated whether he had contracted some sort of illness.

“Damn it… Why is this happening? Answer me, damn constellation.”

The root cause was undoubtedly his abilities. The stronger his powers became, the worse his condition grew. Park Yujin questioned the Being from the Deep Abyss that had granted him his powers. Why was this happening?

But there was no response. In fact, the more he tried to communicate with the entity, the stronger his symptoms seemed to become. It felt as though he was being increasingly consumed by the abyss.

‘Why is this happening? Is it because the god who granted me power is evil?’

However, he had never heard of people being corrupted simply because the deity was malevolent. Even evil gods aimed to protect Earth from external dimensions, so they wouldn’t deliberately torment humans. Despite being labeled as evil gods, they needed humans to live normally and transmit energy to exist.

This was something different.

The Being from the Deep Abyss that granted him power was something alien.

“Ugh… haah, haah…!”

As he tried to think about it, another headache surged. Simultaneously, fear began to creep in. Each time the headache struck, it felt as if something was being chipped away, leaving him with a chilling sensation. It was as though the persona of Park Yujin was gradually crumbling, being replaced by the power of the abyss—an indescribable terror.

‘I’m being consumed. I’m being eroded.’

The horrifying fear of losing himself while still alive overwhelmed Park Yujin.

“Damn it… stop. Please stop… I don’t need this power anymore, please. Please take it back. I was wrong…”

Had he erred by desiring power? Had he sold his soul to the devil for a chance to turn his life around? Tears began to stream down his face at the thought.

He was being consumed by fear. The tears that flowed turned black.

“…Huh?”

And then, in that moment of terror, when Park Yujin realized that black tears were streaming from his eyes—

Click—

Everything went dark, as if someone had turned off a TV.