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Chapter 100: Commander Thousand Gold
“Since things that should remain hidden ha— huh?”
“What?!”
“!!”
The surprised shout from behind was the voice of Seo Cheon-seul. I was startled too, but it seemed the professor and Seo Cheon-seul were even more shocked.
King Man-geum spoke again.
|Come closer.|
His voice carried a terrible weight and a forceful will.
“King Man-geum!”
Before I could say anything, the professor stepped forward.
He stretched out one arm and positioned himself as if to block between me and King Man-geum.
“Your Majesty, this person is my disciple who followed me here. Any rudeness at the entrance of the Thousand Gold Temple and the items this person is about to present were all done on my behalf due to my physical ailment. If there is any anger, please direct it towards me.”
King Man-geum was silent for a moment.
I could sense Seo Cheon-seul quietly approaching from behind.
It wasn’t the time to check behind, so I couldn’t tell exactly why he was approaching, but one thing was certain. His presence had completely changed from before.
The tense magical power and sharp killing intent.
If anything were to go wrong, I would need to respond to Seo Cheon-seul’s movements first.
The silence did not continue.
|Come closer.|
It was the same tone of voice, but this time, the strange vibrations that shook the soul felt stronger.
It might not be the right comparison, but it was as if King Man-geum had raised his voice.
If any more power were to be infused at that moment, that voice alone could completely shatter a human’s mind.
Had this space not been under supernatural protection, the professor himself might have fainted from the voice alone.
There was no use hesitating any longer.
“Professor, let me do it.”
“No, you… um… alright.”
I intended to move closer, but there was a platform in front of me.
Was I supposed to climb onto this platform? Or should I circle around it to reach the building?
Eventually, I stepped onto the platform.
“Is this enough?”
|Come closer.|
I walked forward.
I felt as though I was walking on a dining table, but King Man-geum did not object.
Now, I moved past the platform towards a hall not made for humans but for a great old god.
“Is this enough?”
|Speak Your Desire.|
“Since things that should remain hidden have revealed themselves in this world …”
|Speak Your Desire.|
Before I could finish my words, King Man-geum interrupted me again.
“……”
I wondered what this was all about for a moment but I finally understood the nature of the feeling that had been nagging at me since earlier.
It was déjà vu.
I had previously encountered a being of the abyss with Jang Hyeon-deok who had said something similar. It was [The King in Yellow],
Thanks to the memory provided by the intelligence stat of 30, I was able to recall what he said without making a single mistake.
I also permit you to express a wish. Speak your desire. Reveal your longing. Bring forth the desire that has been harbored in your soul even before you were born. Speak. I shall fulfill your most vile desire that you have never voiced to anyone.
Yes, he had said exactly that.
In fact, when it comes down to it, they’re all the same, whether it’s King Man-geum or the [King in Yellow]
Is it really safe to reveal my true desires to King Man-geum?
|Speak Your Desire.|
A voice that rings with urgency. Oh, you’re so damned impatient.
“I …”
—
It was then that I realized that what I had thought to be a vague mist was actually a collection of tiny stars.
It looked as though I was observing a vastly miniaturized Milky Way or nebula.
“This is…”
“If that is what it appears to you, then it is so.”
“That’s right.”
Since I didn’t like rhetorical questions, I chose not to say more and surveyed the surroundings.
Beyond the mist, or rather, the cluster of small stars, was a wall filled with drawers.
The drawers looked like those you’d find in a herbal medicine shop. They repeated endlessly and stretched to the left and right with no end in sight.
“What’s all this?”
“This is where I need to store the gifts coming in from all over the world.”
Between something that might be stars or mist, a small old man emerged.
A small old man walked out from between what seemed like stars or mist.
The old man wore an elegant hat, and without it, he would barely reach my waist in height.
This tiny old man was carrying a large jade-colored bundle with his short arms; the bundle looked disproportionately large against his small frame.
“Have I been here all this time?”
“Yes, you’ve been here all along.”
“Hmm… something feels off with my memory. Just a moment ago, I was sure I was in some bizarre goblin’s den conducting a ridiculous ritual.”
“That’s right. You were doing that.”
“But then the middle part is missing, and suddenly I’m here talking to you? It’s like…”
“Ah, that!”
The short old man abruptly lost his temper and cut me off.
“Never mind that, let’s just open this. I’m curious what that professor brought.”
“Hmm…”
I paused for a moment and watched what the old man was doing.
The old man placed the jade-colored bundle on the ground and flopped down in front of it.
As he untied the knots…
“Gurgle!”
“Oh my!”
What emerged from the bundle was a large crane.
After freeing itself from the cramped confines of the bundle, the crane flapped its wings briefly, stretched its neck, and squawked loudly before taking flight.
When I looked up, I saw a sea on the ceiling.
It was a real sea, filled with water and occasionally rippling with waves.
The crane dove into the sea, swam around for a bit, and then gradually dissolved into a jellyfish.
It was a marvelous sea teeming with whales, jellyfish, and all sorts of fish.
Ugh, fish?
Although I could clearly see various kinds of fish, not only was there no [Ichthyophobia (Fear of Fish)], but even the message window wasn’t operating.
What is this? Is this not my mental illness, or is the system of the [Cthulhu World] not functioning?
“Elder, where exactly are we?”
“Don’t you see?”
“I scratched my eyebrow unconsciously as I pondered and then spoke again.”
Hmm… this is really difficult.
Isn’t this an absurdly abrupt scene transition and an illogical development?
“Huh? Something is strange. Am I thinking this, or am I saying it? It feels like things got mixed up.”
Hey there, Elder. Can you hear my voice? Am I really speaking right now?
“Kukuku, what does it seem like to you?”
It feels like thoughts have become words, and words have become thoughts?
“I said it, but I can’t for the life of me understand what you mean.”
“Ah, I see. Elder, have I gone mad?”
“Oh dear, this young one really thinks highly of himself… Always acting so smart and arrogant, as if there’s no other way to explain this situation?”
“I’ve realized there is another word to describe this situation. Another dimension that forms the foundation of the Ghost Path, and another realm ruled by the master of the Thousand Gold Temple.”
So that’s it. Now I understand.
This must be a dream.
“That’s a bit closer to the answer.”
[After telling me to come closer, King Man-geum seems to have finally drawn me into his domain. Huh? What’s this now? Have I become the message window?]
[System: Your Majesty, it seems my condition is getting worse; wouldn’t it be better to have this conversation while I am still somewhat sane?]
“I’m fine; what’s the problem?”
[System: I think I’m going to be sick.]
The elder laughed with a clinking metallic sound and grabbed me.
Suddenly, the world spun around.
I felt the terrible sensation of falling somewhere. The boundaries that distinguish space and time, cause and effect, myself and the world, all disappeared. Everything became tangled and muddled until it churned nauseatingly.
“Ah, enough already!”
Crackle, crackle, crackle!!!
I had invoked my magic to impose a forced order in this chaotic space where reality and fantasy, delusion and nonsense were intertwined.
The next moment,
I found myself seated at a table in the center of a large mansion built in Western style.
Was this a reflection of my memory?
It was a stylish table covered with a pristine white tablecloth, grand enough to host a splendid dinner for about ten people if one wished. It was my own mansion.
“This is my house. It’s the table in the dining room on the first floor.”
“Yes.”
“The person who helps out at my house makes an excellent jam. Would you like to try some?”
There was no need to prepare bread or fetch the jam for him.
As soon as I said those words, the old man had already transformed into a scene where he was eating bread with jam spread on it.
“Mmm… You’re right, this is really tasty.”
I briefly touched my face. There was no mask.
The unusual softness of my cheek under my fingers felt refreshing.
“Now… I’ve fully regained my senses. This is a dream.”
“My, that took quite a while. Besides, this damn dream talk has been repeated seventeen times already.”
After telling me to come closer, King Man-geum seems to have finally drawn me into his domain. Hmm… I think I had this thought earlier.
This is a dream. And considering that the Thousand Gold Temple itself was a place halfway through a dream, I was now dreaming another dream within a dream.
“Isn’t it remarkable that I managed to regain my composure without any preparation?”
“Kukuku… You’re not just confident, but insolently so.”
Despite his words, King Man-geum’s expression seems to be one of amusement.
“May I ask why you felt the need to bring me to such a deep place?”
“I wanted to talk more comfortably. Plus, a cunning one like you would probably beat around the bush in a place with many ears, wouldn’t you?”
Well, that’s true. Even though the Thousand Gold Temple is not a part of reality but merely a corner of the spiritual realm, even there King Man-geum cannot speak “comfortably”. The minds of those listening would shatter, and their souls would crumble.
So after telling me to come closer, King Man-geum seems to have finally drawn me into his domain. Enough, I keep thinking the same thoughts over and over again.
“Shall I then answer the question you asked earlier?”
“Yes, go ahead. What is it that you desire?”
The answer I was supposed to give was predetermined.
“Please take away this cursed junk and give me a splendid artifact.”
And I don’t know what Tudor packed, but please exchange this for a decent artifact too.
However, King Man-geum’s question was probably not about these things.
I felt the words crawling up to the edge of my throat.
I want to go home.
But is it right to voice this here?
Could there possibly be a better answer?
After a brief moment of consideration, I decided on what I wanted to say.
“No, I will not speak.”
“You will not speak?”
“That’s right. What I want, Your Majesty cannot grant.”
“You say there is something I cannot grant?”
“That is correct.”
“You claim to have a wish that even King Man-geum cannot fulfill?”
A ripple emanated from King Man-geum’s body and it distorted the space around him.
|How dare you…|
The kindly old man’s form began to enlarge dramatically.
|This King Man-geum… who has existed since before the dawn of time, who has been a dream before consciousness itself existed, who makes even dreams dream—do you say that you harbor a wish I cannot fulfill? Are you saying that a mere wish contained in the small brain of Homo sapiens is greater than the oldest dream’s dreaming?|
Then his body expanded to cover the universe, swelling as if to swallow the stars.
This place was no longer the dining room of my mansion.
Endless void. Blazing flames. The heart of the universe.
Cast into that vast emptiness, I found myself in the grasp of a will as immense as the universe itself.
I wanted to push back against the pressure crushing my soul and respond, but my mouth would not open.
It was an unnervingly powerful force.
After all, the massive shadow before me now, as well as the old man’s body I had seen before, were not the true forms of King Man-geum.
The name King Man-geum itself was a distorted title that reflected only a tiny aspect of his numerous forms.
I could feel cold sweat trickling down the back of my neck.
Crackle—
Blue sparks erupted from my temples.
No message window appeared, but I could sense what had happened.
The oppressive force gripping my entire body lightened and I could move according to my own will again.
The “Madness of the Abyss” trait had been activated.
At that moment, I screamed in defiance.
“Ah, I don’t need it!”
As my mouth began to open, the words burst out uncontrollably.
“F*ck, it’s all the same, these bastards! Stop crawling over here and pissing me off for no reason!”
Haha, let’s just die then.
TN: This was one of the maddest chapters I translated.