“Impossible!”
A shout rang out from an unexpected direction.
An old sorcerer-monk with vivid green skin mottled with black spots—resembling a toad—stumbled out of the temple and scread.
“That can’t be! No way! How dare—how dare a re human!?”
“Right. That’s not normally a spell you can trigger so easily.”
But not now.
I have the pillar stone—the conduit embossed with the Abyssal Entity’s influence.
“Stop! Stop! How dare you mock our faith! Our god! Our master!”
“Stop what? It’s already done.”
I relished the screams in my ears as I shifted the magic circles.
Kwad-d-d-deuk!
“Grrr—grgrgrgr—grgrrgk—”
[“Abyssal Entity: Gajashirah Buddha”’s descent is cancelled.]
The giant brass statue, prepared to serve as the vessel for [Sangdubul]’s arrival, went motionless.
Though traces of [Sangdubul] remain in the statue, it is now nothing more than an immobile relic.
[The lingering influence of “Gajashirah Buddha” dissipates.]
Wheeeee—
A sudden breeze began to flow.
Cool, clear air sweeping through the gorge.
The dampness and oppressive miasma the frog monks had artificially gathered— in short, [Sangdubul]’s power—vanished.
My noxious gas cloud faded too, but that no longer mattered.
“The god’s power is gone...?”
“How could a human, a human undo a god?”
“I—I can’t believe it’s just a human!?”
The frog monks—no, now rely frog-beings—could not accept reality and wailed in despair.
“All right, it’s over now. Release the humans reserved as offerings.”
“Not yet! Not yet! It’s not over!”
The old sorcerer-monk who’d scread earlier clung to the brass statue with suction cups on both fingers, pouring every ounce of his strength into the gesture.
“Grrr—grgrgrgr—grgrrgk—”
“The god has returned!”
“Our Sangdubul yet stands!”
The frog-beings burst into jubilant cheers. Their fading morale rekindled.
“Well, well. I see soone left to pull off tricks.”
[Sangdubul]’s descent was cancelled.
Though the statue moved before, it was only the puppet show of a long-practiced sorcerer.
“No need for an overpowered spell... but to utterly crush their spirit, a proper demonstration is in order.”
[Gravity Control]
[Elental Focus]
[Cold Convergence]
Kkri-kik—grgrrgk—kik-kik-kik—
[Gravity Control] drew the scattered rock fragnts together.
Then [Elental Focus] and [Cold Convergence] fused those fragnts into a singular form.
“That—that is!?”
“Ali-absurd! It’s absurd!”
Ice and stone now coalesced into a massive serpent poised to strike.
“After all, a frog’s natural predator is a snake.”
[Chains of Dominion]
“Move!”
Gugugugugugugu—
The colossal snake began to writhe, dwarfing the brass statue the sorcerer had tried to animate.
“It moves! That enormous thing is moving!”
“Gyaaaah! Gyaaaaaargh!”
“Calm yourselves! Sangdubul’s blessing—”
The sorcerer-monk had tried to contest power with his brass idol, but even that pantomi was impossible now.
KRAAAANG!!
The brass statue shattered instantly.
Undeterred, I cast another spell.
[Fear Infusion]
[Words of Authority]
“Frog bastards, begone!”
I had no intention of ending with re words.
Grumble—KRAAANG!
I unleashed the serpent on them—
“Gyaaaaargh! Flee! Flee!”
“Monster! Monster!”
“Spare ! Spare !”
I watched the frog-beings scatter, then sent my will to Jang Hyundeok.
“Hyundeok, it’s done here. Summon Yeonam Trading.”
—Oh, that was you conjuring it, wizard? Understood!
It wasn’t truly a summoning—just a forced assembly of elents made to move—but details matter little.
A sleek suit reinforced with tal plating at every seam.
“Impressive. I knew I could count on you. Truly the best fixer!”
And a chest so broad it blocked my view.
“You were the one who said you’d co?”
“Oh? Such gruff tone. After so long, you aren’t glad to see ?”
His rippling muscles strained against the suit, as though ready to tear the fabric at any mont.
“Well, it has been a while.”
“Not glad, then?”
He lowered his head and pressed his face close to mine.
Ugh—needlessly persistent.
“Ugh, fine. Good to see you, Team Leader Kwak Daeyong.”
“Hahaha! Indeed, you’re still remarkable.”
This ti I’d completed three contracts.
[Quest Complete!
Defeat the cultists occupying Yeonam Construction’s resort site and secure the Jawungsan Gorge.
Reward: 4,000,000 XP ₩150,000,000 Yeonam Group Trust]
[Quest Complete!
[Quest Complete!
All tied to Yeonam Group.
So the security chief from Yeonam Construction, Kwak Daeyong, showed up to oversee the relic recovery and HR protection.
[You have gained sufficient experience to advance. Level increased by 1.]
With ssages cluttering my view, I reluctantly dealt with Kwak Daeyong.
“I expected soone else, not Team Leader Kwak.”
“Huh? Why’s that?”
Because in the ga—
“Well, I thought soone from Yeonam Trading would co.”
“Ah—I see. Because of the relics? Normally, yes, but I’m no longer with Yeonam Construction’s security.”
Kwak Daeyong had long served as security chief for Yeonam Construction and bodyguard for Supervisor Moon Seunghee—then faded out. Now things seed different.
“So where are you assigned now? Should I call you sothing else?”
“Hmm, still team leader... but my position’s changed.”
He pulled a crisp business card from his pocket and handed it to .
Ha, I never thought I’d receive Kwak Daeyong’s card.
It read: Section Chief, Security Team 1, YA Security—Kwak Daeyong.
“YA Security?”
Jang Hyundeok’s voice piped up behind , having read the card over my shoulder.
“No, it’s said as W-A. From Yeon-Am Group’s W-A.”
Kwak clarified.
“Oh.”
Hyundeok’s halfhearted murmur.
“Hmm...”
I tapped the purifier canister on my gas mask, thinking.
‘What is this? Sothing new.’
“This is the integrated security firm Yeonam Group just launched. They transferred each subsidiary’s security teams here and....”
“So they operate by redeploying personnel?”
“Exactly. We handle not just guarding but also work for fixers like you. Things have been rough lately, right?”
“Uh—wizard, isn’t this like when a big corporation... invades mom-and-pop territory?”
“Well, I get it. But they still subcontract in the end.”
“Hmph—they haven’t built the infrastructure yet.”
So this is how big corporations work.
They ddle as middlen, skimming fees rather than doing the job.
“So, what do you think?”
Kwak Daeyong suddenly asked.
“What about it?”
“We talked before. You were with Yeonam Construction’s security, but now you have more authority.”
He grinned confidently.
“Any interest in joining a big corporation?”
“No.”
“No? Even the biggest company everyone admires?”
“No.”
“With the current job market—”
“No.”
“Our company benefits—”
“Don’t have any.”
“Hmm. Fair enough.”
“How’s Supervisor Moon Seunghee doing these days?”
“Ah, Supervisor Moon?”
“You still see her?”
In so story routes, you can assist Moon Seunghee in challenging Yeonam Group’s succession and uncover the dreadful family curse—the “Queenmaker” path.
I skipped the drama, but Moon Seunghee remains a top-tier ally.
“Hm—she’ll call once this project’s done. She’s on a long assignnt in Sokcho and needs a bodyguard. Probably our team will go.”
“Sokcho? That’s an interesting place too.”
In Cthulhu World, Sokcho, Inje, and Goseong are as interesting as Paju.
I wrapped up the handover with Kwak Daeyong.
“Well, if you change your mind, let know! I’ll be expecting it!”
He waved from the passenger seat of a fully armored heavy truck, flanked by five ard escort vehicles.
“I won’t change my mind, but go ahead and expect whatever you like.”
I waved back and moved to the spot where Jang Hyundeok’s call van was hidden.
“Are we doing more today?”
“Let’s call it here. This thing is less stable than I thought.”
That “thing” ant the large stone apparatus beside the van.
“Ugh, that doln was unstable?”
Doln...
A human-shaped boulder combined with tal plates, arcane devices sealing spiritual power, and high-purity mana crystals—all crudely fused.
At a glance... it did look like a trash-covered doln.
“Don’t worry, it won’t explode.”
It won’t explode.
If this device malfunctions, I die—and the world roughly collapses.
[Portable Barrier Generator].
A magical tool I crafted using pillar stones over the past days.
This device inversely calculates [The One Who Waits]’s influence and emits disruptive waves that jam the entity’s magical pattern.
‘It doesn’t work on everyone, though.’
With this, I’ve hindered the descents of [Predator of the Mountains] and his avatars across Paju alongside Hyundeok.
Just like undermining the descendants of Formouth Hound—sabotaging their sanctuaries before proper rituals—then exploiting or previewing associated quests.
That’s my current work.
[Predator of the Mountains]?
Whatever entity, they need diums—shamans, rituals, or offerings—to manifest and exert influence here at minimal cost.
They could brute-force using sacred artifacts, but try—before they use the artifact, I’ll have already plundered it.
“No matter what nonsense they try, I’ll make sure they can never descend in Paju.”
“Wizard, you’re talking to yourself again.”
“Tch!”
“Haha—so where to next? Vasiliisa?”
“No, I’m tired. Let’s go ho first.”
Quest rewards can wait. And this isn’t my only accepted quest.
User Comments
0 comments from readers