I Became a Genius Mage in the Cthulhu Game
Chapter 126: The Laughing One (2)

Cheong-ho did not react to my provocation.

“Kuh, kuhuhuhuhk, kuhih, kuhuhuhu….”

He just burst into that annoying laughter again.

He keeps laughing.

It was probably laughter that erupted regardless of his emotions.

“Chairman. Even so, you should still have some dignity, right? If you were going to be possessed, it should have been at least by a being of the abyss.”

I had some idea, but now it was clear what was involved. The shadows, the prophecy, and the non-contextual laughter that kept appearing.

Now even ridiculous things are bothering me.

The Laughing One.

The cunning one, the laughing skull, the caller of madness, the shadow in the darkness, the monster in the fog, the offspring of snakes, the evil prophet.

A mad prophet who always foretold an unhappy future, destruction, and despair.

I could name several other impressive titles associated with this bastard, but the Laughing One was not a being of the abyss.

Rather, it was of a lower rank…

A high mental body.

Or perhaps a unique existence, to put it in a derogatory way, just an ancient being.

In the original Cthulhu Mythos, which serves as the basis for [Cthulhu World], such distinctions weren’t clear, but in [Cthulhu World], the hierarchy is clearly defined. This was perhaps for game balance.

In short, it was a candidate for a being of the abyss.

“That book… kuhuhuh, uhihit! Uhuhu… that book contains the truth. I’m glad I read it before handing it over to you, so glad. Kuhuhuh….”

“This is a serious matter. Unlike the lies adults tell children, what’s written in books isn’t always the truth.”

This is especially true for books that appear in Cthulhu World.

Moreover, if it’s an old book written in a foreign language, you shouldn’t just skim through it; you should refuse to touch it altogether.

Cheong-ho had read the book imbued with the Laughing One’s power and became its slave.

“It was originally a book hidden deep inside this shelter… kuhuk, kuhuhuk… the one who lost this place to me said it should never be touched.”

Oh, you didn’t need to tell me such detailed settings… there’s something more concerning.

His condition is too good.

Of course, he was far from normal, but considering the signs that have appeared throughout this fallout shelter, he’s in remarkably good shape.

After all, isn’t he conveying his thoughts relatively concretely and clearly?

No, more than that.

There was something troubling about Cheong-ho’s words.

Cheong-ho’s condition was indeed strange.

He seems more like an NPC that meets specific conditions rather than a human.

I’m becoming unnecessarily cautious. Should I confirm a bit more?

“Chairman, was it you who sent me the message to take the book?”

“Uh-heh! Uh-hehehehet! Uwahahahaha!!”

Cheong-ho laughed loudly again.

He laughed so hard that he looked like he might roll on the floor at any moment.

“That’s right! I went to the trouble of sending the message, but foolish Kim Shin-hwa! You wasted time by going to the wrong place.”

“Thanks to that, I was able to protect your family, and I made quite a bit of money. By the way, how did you send the message without the other directors knowing?”

“I, I am the blue, blue tiger who rules the violence not only in Paju, but throughout this entire Republic of Korea. I am also one of the three heads of the Triad. I still have hundreds of networks that can move without those old fools knowing.”

Seriously?

Cheong-ho has now reached the point where he is explaining what kind of character he is.

It seems like if I asked who his first love was, he would tell an honest love story of a real man who was stern and inexpressive but had a burning heart.

There’s no point in having a conversation with this guy.

He’s just a scarecrow.

I briefly looked away from Cheong-ho and glanced around the room.

Where is the book? It couldn’t be an ordinary book. It must be an artifact in itself or something that could be called an incarnation of [The Laughing One].

[Magic Detection]

[Invisibility Detection]

[Curse Detection]

[Trap Detection]

[Insight]

[Heavenly Sight]

Whiiiiiirr…

Found it.

Amid the unpleasant noise that filled the entire room, no, the entire shelter, I detected an alien gaze.

A sticky and evil gaze that was hard to believe belonged to a human.

The location of the gaze was…

Damn it, this just keeps getting worse.

I definitely detected something, but its location was a blank wall.

Another secret door and hidden room? No, there wasn’t even a door.

What kind of structure is behind that wall? This magical pattern is probably…

“Krhhh… That’s an interesting expression. Do you sense something? Krhhhhh…”

Another fellow commented on my expression. Can he see the face under my mask?

I looked back at Cheong-ho.

Ah, this is such a pain. Should I just burn everything down and be done with it?

No, it was still too early.

It wasn’t appropriate to push with force without clearly knowing the form of the book that embodied the power of [The Laughing One]. If I hit it clumsily, it might just flee, or an entirely unexpected event could occur.

Tch, it might be better to let this event progress a bit further.

“Chairman—.”

Even though I knew it was meaningless, I spoke to Cheong-ho.

“Anyway, it seems you understand what I’m saying?”

“Understand? You think I understand? Hahaha! Ahahahahak! Wahah!”

“Well, if you can respond that much, it’s quite an encouraging sign. You might recover if you receive treatment.”

“Really? Haha, haha, haha, so?”

I knew this was meaningless.

Even if I tried hard to persuade him, Cheong-ho couldn’t return.

It was already too late for Cheong-ho.

“How about it? Rather than staying here, why don’t you return to the Triad, or rather, your home?”

“Return? What would happen if I returned?”

“Well, you might be able to see your family’s faces.”

“Hehehe… Family, subordinates, colleagues, organization, all, all, all meaningless and pointless. Here in this place, in this darkness, amidst empty deaths and meaningless laughter, I have realized the truth between the hollow, scattered laughter!”

“Aaah, the truth?”

I sighed as I replied.

Cheong-ho continued speaking without hiding his openly sarcastic tone. He either didn’t sense my sarcasm or simply ignored it.

“This world, this world exists solely for the great minds that dwell in the deepest abyss, beyond the farthest galaxies, where our spirits cannot reach!”

“Wow, that’s quite an enlightenment. Does it follow the typical apocalyptic theme of destruction and whatnot?”

“Our world, this universe, is nothing but a meaningless joke, a fleeting jest for those great minds’ brief amusement. It’s something they glance at out of curiosity, then soon lose interest and discard as a mere diversion.”

“Huh? So it doesn’t end in apocalypse or destruction?”

“Why, why are you still sane? You, you’ve gazed into that deep, dark, meaningless abyss too, haven’t you? Why haven’t you gone mad? What makes you different from me?”

“Haaah, what’s different? We’re the same.”

Why am I still sane?

What nonsense is that? I’m already mad.

I’m just pretending to be sane because I can’t go any crazier.

“The chairman hasn’t completely lost his mind yet.”

“What? What? What?”

“Either fully embrace that madness and become a cultist, or reject the knowledge entirely and become a truly insane madman. Lingering in this unstable state will only prolong your suffering.”

“No! It’s too late for me. But Kim Shin-hwa, my brother! You are entirely different from us. You live a completely different life! You are different from us, the structure of your soul, your mind, and your body are completely different. I realized it the moment we crossed magical powers last time. You come from a different world.”

Though I wanted to put an end to it with a punch, it wasn’t the right time yet.

Attacking at a clumsy time with an awkward method would only let the bastard hiding behind the scenes escape with a sly grin.

Patience was needed now. Just a little longer, just a bit more.

He would soon reveal his own weaknesses.

“No. The chairman is suffering from delusions right now. The things the chairman is recalling aren’t your own thoughts but delusions forcibly implanted by someone else.”

I knew that Cheong-ho’s words weren’t complete nonsense.

Nevertheless, I deliberately denied Cheong-ho’s words.

The [Laughing One] spoke only the truth.

But there was only one reason he spoke the truth.

Because the truth could shatter a person’s mind more effectively than any magic or curse.

“You can escape this world, right? But you lack the knowledge and the power! I can provide you with the knowledge you lack and the power you need!”

Come to think of it, at some point, the laughter had vanished from Cheong-ho’s words.

Instead, his expression, voice, and gestures were now filled with bizarre desire, pathological joy, and abnormal conviction.

Ah, had something finally satisfied the conditions? It was about to begin.

“This way! Follow me this way! This space is still too solid! We need to break it more! Come here! We can change this world even more! My God! The voice of revelation that granted me true wisdom, I will show you the language of truth!”

“Chairman. There is nothing over there.”

“Foolish Kim Shin-hwa! My brother! Open your eyes! I have seen the truth! This world is not fixed and is so fragile! Everything you see is not the entire truth!”

Cheong-ho ran towards a wall shrouded in thick darkness.

It was undoubtedly the spot where he had sensed something earlier.

Yes, this is the usual pattern.

I had been waiting.

This was the only reason I had forced myself to continue this dreadful conversation.

There was originally nothing beyond that wall.

It was definitely where a wall should have been.

Even beyond the wall, there should have been a space filled with soil and rocks.

However, just like Cheong-ho had said, the physical laws and cause and effect of this world were extremely fragile and unstable.

How ridiculous.

The structure and setting of the space were changing. It was as if they were saying, ‘Even though it isn’t visible due to the darkness, there is actually a space here.”

Just as the wall was opening and the truth inside was about to be revealed…

[At the end of your long journey, you met Cheong-ho, whom you had been desperately searching for. But surprisingly, what awaited you at the place where Cheong-ho should have been was not Cheong-ho. It had merely stolen Cheong-ho’s appearance, embodying a surreal entity connected to the abyss. However, with your remarkable intuition, you sensed this fact in advance. You deliberately concealed your true intentions and conversed with that alien entity to draw out the presence lurking behind it. Your extraordinary patience paid off. In the end, the entity, which called itself Cheong-ho, decided to reveal its true form.]

Suddenly, after remaining silent the whole time, what the hell was this? Move aside!

The message window that suddenly popped up displayed an overwhelming amount of text, blocking my view.

No, wait. Why was it obscuring my vision at this precise moment?

I tried to extend my senses, but the noise intensified. I couldn’t detect anything.

Cheong-ho’s voice could be heard from beyond the message window.

“Eiaia! Aaaah!! Look at this! Kim Shin-hwa! Look at this! Although they came in the form of a book, this is my god! The one who sees everything! The one who laughs at all the emptiness in this world! Truly wise! The great prophet!”

[The wall covered in darkness instantly transformed into a vast space shrouded in deep darkness. Inside, there was a large book made from the bones of creatures, darkness, and a horribly empty laughter. This book is a great existence that has been in the universe for billions of years, even before humanity invented the concept of writing. You thought it was inferior to a being of the abyss, but it is not. The ‘Laughing One’, the ‘Great Prophet’, the ‘Book of Greed and Destruction’, it has the potential to one day ascend to the ranks of the great ancient beings…….]

“Get out of the way!”

Fizzzzzzz!!

I attacked the message window that was obstructing my view with electricity.

Whether the attack worked or not, the message window disappeared as if repelled by the sparks.

What appeared in the barely cleared view was…

A book?

No.

Contrary to the message window’s description, what emerged from the darkness was a grotesque spirit with a humanoid silhouette.

A huge skeleton draped in a pitch-black cloak, a monstrous entity composed of thousands of bones.

An ancient and old evil spirit that has existed since before humanity invented the concept of writing.

“Oh… I understand! I understand your will now! It was Kim Shin-hwa; it was a feast of my brother that you needed! I understand! I understand your will that prepared me for this day! A feast! I will become the feast for Kim Shin-hwa, for Kim Shin-hwa! It will be me! Me! Me! Me! Enter through my flesh! Please nourish the feast offering through me! I will gladly offer myself!”

Cheong-ho suddenly raised his large hand and grabbed his own head.

A brutal movement.

Crack.

The sound of bones shattering.

Cheong-ho was now… tearing off his own skull!