The Calamity-Class Artifacts in Ghost Stories Are Obsessed with Me - Chapter 44

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Calamity-Grade Artifacts from Urban Legends Obsess — Episode 44
When Woo Joo opened his eyes again.
He remained frozen with his hand still resting on the Fairy Tale Book.
Staring blankly down at it, Woo Joo belatedly came to his senses and lifted his hand.
Pshhhhhh—
The Fairy Tale Book beneath his palm suddenly crumbled into powder and began scattering.
“Huh?”
“What?”
Startled voices came from beside him at the same moment.
When he turned to look, he saw Baek Ho and Tae Eul standing there with expressions of shock.
Only then did Woo Joo realize he was in the Development Team’s workspace.
The experience inside the Fairy Tale Book had been so intense that he’d forgotten everything from before entering it.
“What’s this? Why did it suddenly break—”
Tae Eul stared in confusion, eyes darting between the powder and Woo Joo.
Woo Joo collected himself and spoke.
“I was just having a vision.”
“You were? While you were in there?”
“Yes? Didn’t quite a bit of time pass?”
Both Tae Eul and Baek Ho shook their heads at his question.
“Quite a bit!”
“You’d only just brought your hand to the book—it was barely a few seconds.”
“Really? Only a few seconds?”
This time it was Woo Joo who looked startled.
From his perspective, at least dozens of minutes had elapsed.
Tae Eul’s eyes lit up as he watched Woo Joo’s reaction.
“But it seems to be working after all! Tell us everything that happened in detail!”
“Ah, yes.”
Woo Joo recounted the vision he’d experienced to Tae Eul and Baek Ho.
How he’d entered and encountered a strangely-appearing deer and a woodcutter.
How he’d moved following the deer’s words, faced the Cursed Jar, and ultimately dealt with it.
“Hmm. So the effect was that powerful. That’s almost surprising.”
After hearing the full account, Tae Eul stroked his chin thoughtfully.
“Normally, the extent would just be a light vision where you confront your own internal issues.”
So it really was a Special Constitution after all, Tae Eul muttered to himself.
Meanwhile, Baek Ho turned to Woo Joo with a grave expression.
“To think you had a curse like that embedded in your body. It was good you got tested. You could’ve been in serious trouble.”
“Yes. It’s all thanks to you, Team Lead.”
When Woo Joo had first seen the Cursed Jar, he’d been quite shocked.
Even after seeing it plainly, he’d forgotten all about it afterward.
The Cursed Jar itself was indeed that kind of curse.
If it hadn’t been something created by Tae Eul, Woo Joo would have carried it unknowingly in his body.
“No, no. It was designed to be extraordinarily thorough in the first place. It would’ve been harder not to catch it at that level.”
Tae Eul shook his head.
“Besides, we would’ve conducted a thorough inspection and even purification. Still, that Rowen fellow certainly does like to be meticulous.”
“I can definitely say from my own experience that it wasn’t an ordinary curse.”
The fact that he’d forgotten even after seeing it with his own eyes was astonishing, but the curse’s power itself was extraordinary.
What if he’d just smashed the jar without knowing anything?
There’s no telling, but the backlash would’ve been severe.
The malice embedded in it was no ordinary thing.
Then Baek Ho spoke.
“But you landed a proper blow on that thing, didn’t you? You said the curse came back on them at the end?”
“Ah, yes. I’m certain of that. I saw it clearly myself.”
As the Cursed Jar dissipated, the malice within it was turned back on whoever had created it.
Made even stronger by Woo Joo’s incantation.
He wondered if the damage might be lighter since it was his own spell, but honestly—even diminished, there’s no way they’d walk away unscathed.
Tae Eul nodded at that assessment.
“I think so too. There are more than a few Curse Magic users who’ve died from the backlash of their own curses.”
“That’s true. Power that strong is inherently hard to control.”
Baek Ho voiced his agreement from beside them.
After that exchange, Tae Eul clapped his hands together sharply and spoke.
“Right then! The most important part is done. Let’s move on to the next order of business.”
“There’s more?”
“Of course!”
Tae Eul pointed sharply at the Leather Jacket draped across Woo Joo’s shoulders.
“That one. We tested it before, didn’t we?”
“Right, yes. That’s correct.”
Speaking of the jacket Woo Joo wore now—it was an artifact that had stopped both bullets and curses alike.
Clearly no ordinary garment.
It had already passed one round of testing and naturally been classified as an Artifact.
Along with the strong possibility that it was the hide of the Nemean Lion.
“Let’s run one more test. Looking at the data, I think I can figure out what it is.”
“Understood.”
Since there was nothing to lose in understanding his own Artifact better, Woo Joo removed the jacket and set it down.
“Wait over there for about ten minutes. Won’t take long.”
“Yes.”
And so he found himself with a brief ten-minute respite.
Baek Ho settled naturally into the seat beside him and spoke.
“You’ve been frazzled lately, haven’t you?”
“Mm. I suppose I have been, somewhat.”
It would’ve been dishonest to say otherwise.
The Inspection Service’s work had never been particularly normal, but these past weeks felt especially chaotic.
Between the assignments themselves and all manner of other headaches.
Suddenly attacked on his way home. A Cursed Jar hiding in his own body. Unable to even enter his apartment, he’d been eating and sleeping at the office instead.
Oh, and he’d acquired a dog recently too.
All of this had happened within the last two weeks.
When Woo Joo’s thoughts reached that point, Baek Ho spoke again.
“At any rate, you should be able to return home sometime this month.”
“Is that so?”
Baek Ho gave a slight nod to Woo Joo’s question.
“Since there’s a possibility that Rowen could be involved, headquarters has decided to dispatch personnel as well.”
“Oh, headquarters….”
The Inspection Service was an international institution.
The very name made that clear: the International Paranormal Inspection Service.
From what he’d heard, headquarters was located in Europe—specifically in the United Kingdom.
It had originally been in France, but moved to the United Kingdom during World War II.
“The fact that Rowen is British makes it even more relevant. Someone under headquarters’ close watch caused an incident here in Korea, after all.”
“That’s certainly true.”
“Right. And if you’re correct, this incident caused them considerable damage, so they won’t be making reckless moves anytime soon.”
This time, Woo Joo was the one who nodded.
Honestly, Woo Joo found staying and eating at the office quite convenient.
But he didn’t want to remain here indefinitely.
No matter how he looked at it, being unable to go outside and stuck indoors was suffocating.
So the prospect of returning home within the month filled him with genuine relief.
“Though you’ll probably need to move, I’d imagine.”
“Ah, the team leader mentioned that. Apparently the current place is a bit risky.”
“Right. Your location’s already been compromised, and it’s just an ordinary villa after all.”
“That’s fine with me. I wasn’t particularly attached to it anyway.”
In fact, Woo Joo had been considering moving even before all this.
He simply hadn’t managed it with work being so demanding. But he’d earned quite a substantial amount since joining the company.
Just the bonus money alone was staggering, wasn’t it?
“Good then. You can probably just pick one of the Inspection Service’s apartments. They’re near the office, so commuting will be convenient.”
“Oh, the company owns apartments?”
“Naturally.”
As they continued talking to pass the time.
Bang!
“That’s it!”
Tae Eul slammed the desk and shouted.
“I’m sure of it! That’s exactly what it is. No wonder you were drawn to it so naturally!”
“What?”
When Woo Joo gave a puzzled look, Tae Eul pointed to the Leather Jacket and spoke.
“This has the same origin as the artifact you carry around.”
“Ah! Heracles’ Club?”
Woo Joo held up the steel pipe as he spoke.
“That’s right. Heracles’ Club it is. The Nemean Lion’s hide was dragged along it.”
At those words, Woo Joo glanced down at his leather jacket.
“Then it’s possible something similar could happen again later.”
“There’s definitely a chance of that. Artifacts with the same origin tend to draw toward each other. Another artifact from Heracles might well surface.”
Tae Eul nodded in agreement with Woo Joo’s observation.
“Of course, we can’t see that in a purely favorable light either. It might already have another owner.”
“Then…what happens?”
“That owner will come looking. To secure the other artifacts as well.”
“That’s hardly welcome news.”
Woo Joo said this with a slightly weary expression.
Then he looked down again at his jacket and the steel pipe.
When he’d first found the steel pipe on the street, he’d never imagined it was the famous Heracles’ Club.
Well, of course not. One was a wooden club and the other was a steel pipe!
Tae Eul must have noticed Woo Joo’s gaze, because he continued.
“Like I explained before, both have likely taken on forms that are far too inconspicuous to draw attention. They’re both artifacts with that level of power, after all.”
“So they can’t just change their appearance freely whenever they want?”
“No. That’s not how this works. The forms they’ve taken now are purely a matter of the artifacts’ own will.”
“I see.”
True enough. If that were possible, he would’ve found out long ago.
Tae Eul tapped the leather jacket with his fingers as he spoke.
“In any case, it seems like you’re going to keep attracting truly extraordinary artifacts. I’m looking forward to it. For now, put this back on.”
“Sure.”
Woo Joo put the leather jacket back on and asked a question.
“Has there never been anyone with a special constitution like mine before?”
“Hmm. There have been similar cases, even if not exactly the same. Baek Ho, you remember someone like that, don’t you?”
“Ah. Baek Geom from China?”
“That’s the one.”
Woo Joo looked at Baek Ho curiously, and Baek Ho kindly offered an explanation.
“There’s a fellow who carries around a ton of swords. Not quite a hundred like the nickname suggests, but still plenty.”
“A good number of the swords he carries are highly unusual artifacts. And I heard that more than a few of them actually came to him of their own accord.”
“Wow.”
Woo Joo nodded as he listened to the story.
It certainly seemed like a fairly similar case to his own.
Though the artifacts that had come to him didn’t appear to share any such obvious common thread.
When Woo Joo voiced this thought, Tae Eul’s expression became meaningful.
“Hmm. That’s not quite true either.”
“You mean my artifacts have something in common too?”
“Yes. The Necronomicon. The Nemean Lion’s hide. Heracles’ Club. And the Original Plate as well.”
Tae Eul counted them off on his fingers as he spoke.
“They’re all things from mythology. The Necronomicon was created by human hands, certainly, but it’s still mythology nonetheless.”
After all, mythology itself is something born from humanity, Tae Eul added.
It struck Woo Joo as a very plausible opinion.
Tae Eul finished speaking and opened his mouth again.
“Well then, you two go on now.”
“What? We’re done already?”
“Yes. I need to analyze and organize the data we collected today, so go find something else to do.”
Baek Ho protested with an aggrieved expression, asking why he’d been called in the first place, but Tae Eul pretended not to hear.
And so Woo Joo and Baek Ho were effectively shooed out of the Development Team.
“If he was going to do this, he could’ve just called the new recruit.”
Baek Ho muttered to himself before turning to Woo Joo.
“Let’s grab something to eat.”
“Already?”
“If we eat early, we won’t have to stand in line.”
“Ah.”
That certainly was important.
He headed toward the direction of the in-house cafeteria with Baek Ho.
But around the midway point down the hallway.
“Oh! There you are!”
Team Leader Hwa Ryeon appeared suddenly.
She grabbed both of them and spoke.
“We need to go right now. There’s somewhere urgent we need to be.”
“Yes? Where?”
“Me too?”
“That’s right. You too. Where else—the scene.”
Hwa Ryeon spoke to the bewildered pair.
“The Backroom Urban Legend.”
Continued in the next episode ▶
Catastrophic Artifacts from Urban Legends Obsess
Author
Lee Se-gye
Publisher
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Published by
Grae Publishing
Contact
[email protected]
Publication Date
May 26, 2026
UCI
G720:N+A327-20260410110
※ This e-book is protected under copyright law. Unauthorized reproduction and copying are prohibited. Violations may result in criminal and civil liability.
※ Pentagram awaits your precious manuscript.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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