41. Invasion of the Other World

A Gate to the other world had formed in the villa’s semi-basement.

Unnameable aberrations were pouring out from the Gate. No, to be precise, calling them aberrations feels off-it’s better to refer to them as lowly spirits.

For something to truly qualify as an aberration, it needs to be of a certain grade. What’s crawling out of the semi-basement right now are just the lowly spirits of the other world.

‘But don’t let their status as lowly spirits fool you. If enough of them gather, a higher-level entity might crawl out.’

If left unchecked, the Gate would gradually widen, and within two days, these aberrations would swallow up the entire area.

In turn, I’d lose my home and have to wander around searching for a new base.

That’s unacceptable. I’ve already moved a ton of my belongings into this villa. Not to mention, I’ve meticulously cleaned up the surroundings-being forced to vacate now? No way.

‘If I don’t want to give up this place, I’ll have to deal with that thing.’

Right now, I have two options.

Shatter the Gate with the Light Sword, or embed the Fragment of the Other Realm into my palm to gain a means of directly attacking spiritual entities.

Destroying the Gate with the Light Sword would mean no more worrying about lowly spirits or spiritual entities crawling out. But doing so would mean obliterating the entrance connected to the Underworld, which feels like a waste.

On the other hand, even if I could transform my hand to directly strike spiritual entities, the problem is that aberrations would keep pouring out 24/7-I can’t just stand guard here forever.

Since it’s a naturally occurring Gate, I’d have to wait for it to disappear on its own.

‘Having the Gate remain open would allow me to farm the other world, which is great and all. But the real issue is whether I can manage it properly.’

Moreover, if the Gate naturally vanishes while I’m in the other world, I’d have to wander aimlessly through that realm to find another exit back to reality.

I might even get lost.

‘Leaving the Gate open and using it comes with too many risks. Big ones, at that…’

Still, for the sake of stable point accumulation, I decided to embed the Fragment of the Other Realm into my right palm.

It’s about time I acquired a proper means to hunt spiritual entities, regardless of this Gate situation.

And simply smashing it with the Light Sword feels like a waste, considering the hidden treasures still left in the other world.

Yeah, I’ll do some quick farming in the other world today and destroy it with the Light Sword later.

“Huu.”

After mentally preparing myself, I opened the wooden box and pulled out the Fragment of the Other Realm.

Then, without hesitation, I pressed it into my right palm. Overthinking would only make me hesitate more.

I’ve already decided to use this item-no point in hesitating now. There’s no time to waste, either. The lowly spirits in the semi-basement are already trying to burst through the front door.

“Ggggrrrrrrrr!!!!!!”

As the glass-like fragment embedded itself into my palm, excruciating pain surged through me.

No blood spilled, no wounds formed. There was no physical damage. It was just the agony of the fragment slowly being absorbed into my hand.

After about 30 seconds, the fragment had fully settled into my right palm.

[You have acquired Other World Infiltration.]

[You have acquired Monster Absorption.]

“The hell? What’s this now?”

I only embedded it to gain a means of attacking aberrations, but two skills were immediately generated.

The skills were Other World Infiltration and Monster Absorption. Soon, detailed information about both flowed into my mind.

“As expected.”

First, due to the fragment’s basic effect, my right hand is now stuck between the other world and reality, allowing me to directly strike spiritual entities, aberrations, and astral bodies.

That’s just the basic effect. The real game-changers are Other World Infiltration and Monster Absorption…

‘Other World Infiltration is a skill that corrodes whatever I grab.’

Other World Infiltration could corrode not just my hand but also any weapon I held, allowing me to attack spiritual entities while armed.

If I grabbed a living person and activated it, I could inflict excruciating pain on the grabbed area.

A perfect skill for torture. “Excruciating pain,” huh? Torture Training just got a whole lot easier.

‘Next, Monster Absorption is a skill that sucks in aberrations.’

This skill absorbs the energy of various aberrations and the other world. It has a set capacity, allowing for absorption and storage up to that limit.

Simply put, I can suck in aberrations and store them in my right hand. There are roughly three slots, and by storing aberrations in them, I can borrow their powers.

This was no ordinary item, after all. Unintentionally, I’ve acquired an insane skill.

-BAM!! CRASH!!!!

-KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

The lowly spirits grew increasingly frenzied as time passed.

It was time to deal with the rampaging spirits in the semi-basement.

‘Monster Absorption only works on aberrations…’

So it probably can’t absorb lowly spirits.

I immediately drew my axe and activated Other World Infiltration.

A tingling sensation spread as my hand began losing color.

Up to my wrist, it turned monochrome, like someone from a black-and-white film.

At the same time, the axe I was gripping also started losing color. The corrosion was spreading.

With this, I wouldn’t need complex exorcism techniques-I could just smash the aberrations’ heads in. Right?

“Let’s go.”

I opened the door again.

A chilling yin energy gushed out, accompanied by a foul stench, as the residents of the other world welcomed me.

Their enthusiastic greeting was so overwhelming that I swung my axe without hesitation.

-CRUNCH!!!!

“GAAAAAH!!!!!”

The axe lodged itself into the skull of a lowly spirit, its eye sockets blown open. Normally, the axe would’ve passed right through, but this time, it stuck. Perfect. The bastard’s body exploded into pieces.

A yellowish liquid splattered onto me.

Some kind of pus-like fluid covered my face, making me feel disgusted, but I had no time to wipe it off.

I continued pushing forward into the semi-basement, hacking, cleaving, and slicing through the necks, chests, arms, stomachs, and heads of the lowly spirits reaching for me.

Though they relentlessly stretched their hands toward me, my axe always met them first.

-CRASH!!!!

“KIIIIEEEE!!!”

The nameless lowly spirits crumpled and dispersed, leaving behind only pools of yellowish fluid.

I advanced toward the inner room where the Gate was open, sweeping away every lowly spirit that tried to possess, mesmerize, or curse me.

At one point, I tried activating Monster Absorption, but as expected, it didn’t work on lowly spirits.

[20 Points Acquired]

[44 Points Acquired]

[36 Points Acquired]

Just as the spirits’ appearances varied wildly, so did the points they dropped.

Some gave 22 points, while others gave up to 47.

By the time I’d killed about twenty of them, I realized these bastards dropped between 20 and 40 points. Never below 20, never exceeding 50.

Maybe the point value corresponds to their spiritual energy?

Since none exceeded 50 points, it’s likely that lowly spirits with over 50 points evolve into higher-level aberrations.

‘Come to think of it, that Akumane I encountered on the stairs last time was exactly a 50-point aberration.’

Not to mention, Hisaruki was also a 50-pointer. It seems lowly spirits that exceed 50 points evolve into aberrations. A pretty plausible theory.

“Whew.”

Anyway, I wasn’t expecting much, but I earned a substantial amount of points. It was easier and faster than killing people. In just 10 minutes, I’d killed about 32 of them, amassing 1,116 points.

This is insane. I’m losing my mind. Keeping the entrance to the other world was the right call. Just 10 minutes of swinging my axe, and I’ve already earned over 1,000 points.

My current total is exactly 2,600 points. Enough to buy the Purification Badge and Mandrian Seed I hadn’t purchased yet, and even reset my stats.

“Yeah, this is it. This is the honey farming-Ugh. Bleh. Fuck. Cough. Ugh…”

Overwhelmed by joy, my excitement peaked-only for me to vomit everything I’d eaten.

The aftermath of battle. The debuffs from the lowly spirits’ random attacks had stacked up, causing status abnormalities.

“This is driving me crazy.”

Though I killed them insanely fast, it wasn’t flawless-wounds covered my body, my stomach churned, and my head throbbed violently.

Even if these lowly spirits couldn’t use proper psychic powers, their attacks inflicted plenty of status ailments.

Meditation would heal me later, but right now, it was hard to endure. Maybe I pushed myself too hard.

Gulp. Gulp.

“Pwah. Ugh, bitter and sweet.”

I took out a Healing Potion from my Inventory, chugged it, and sprayed some on my wounds.

Too much medicine could strain my liver, so I had to drink in moderation.

Still, the potion soothed my stomach, and the pain from my wounds gradually faded.

“Hello? Any more? Is this it? If you’re hiding, come out now!”

I called out in case any spirits were hiding, but there was no response. The darkened semi-basement was now truly empty.

Every lowly spirit in the semi-basement had been wiped out.

Thankfully, they were all low-tier spirits, so I could handle them easily. If a higher-level entity with psychic powers had appeared, things wouldn’t have ended this smoothly.

Like that pale, egg-like ghost with a physical body I encountered at the stationery store last time.

“Sigh. So, what now?”

Standing before the Gate connected to the Underworld, I pondered. I’d dealt with the spirits that had emerged, but I couldn’t just leave the Gate open indefinitely.

Should I have Number 1 and Number 2 take turns guarding it? Tell them to call me if anything comes out?

No. I’m often out and about. If a higher-level entity emerges while I’m gone, it’d be a disaster. I want to keep using it, but without a proper management method, it’s too risky. Maybe I should just farm it once and destroy it with the Light Sword.

“Hmm. If only I could open and close it at will… Wait, hold on.”

The Gate to the Underworld. In a way, isn’t this also an aberration? A bizarre phenomenon, after all.

“Eh, no way.”

With a “what if” mindset, I reached my hand toward the Gate.

“Whoa! Wha-?!”

Instantly, the Gate was sucked into my right palm.

Simultaneously, one of the three slots filled up.

“It-it actually worked?”

So the Gate connected to the Underworld was an aberration after all? Holy shit.

[Gate of the Underworld: Can open a Gate connected to the Underworld.]

“Ha, hahaha.”

Embedding the Fragment of the Other Realm into my palm was worth it. Enduring that pain paid off.

“Yeah, this is it.”

Peace has returned to my villa.

And I’ve gained access to a prime farming spot.

Absolutely perfect.