Chapter 64

“Captain Mo seems to have taken a liking to one particular trainee.”

Won Taebeom stood expressionlessly and looked at Director Jang Seokyun.

With his hands clasped behind his back, Jang Seokyun continued speaking while looking out the window of the Chief’s office.

“As you already know, Trainee Han has shown remarkable results alongside the Special Mission Team over the past month or so. He is a talent our Trial Response Agency cannot afford to lose.”

Jang Seokyun slowly turned around.

With his sharp gaze, Jang Seokyun sometimes gave the impression that he was glaring simply by looking at someone.

“Lieutenant Won Taebeom. Make absolutely certain that the Special Mission Team does not close this trial.”

It was an unreasonable order that directly opposed the goals pursued by the Trial Response Agency.

However, given the current circumstances, it was also the most reasonable order.

Won Taebeom silently saluted.

As he left the Chief’s office and walked down the hallway, Samra’s voice came through his earpiece.

—Lieutenant Won Taebeom. Report your current location.

“I am still at the Agency. I will move to the Sla2Plate incubation site immediately.”

Director Jang Seokyun had probably called him there knowing everything.

There was no need to give an order.

He likely knew that Won Taebeom would act according to his wishes on his own.

Won Taebeom thought of ‘Han Goyo’.

To the Trial Response Agency, he was nothing less than an abnormal phenomenon.

Han Goyo, who appeared suddenly one day, had changed many things.

A being capable of closing trials.

At first glance, he seemed like hope itself, but he also carried the terrifying possibility of becoming a disaster at any moment.

And to Won Taebeom, Han Goyo was unquestionably a disaster.

The shock of seeing Mo Haein return from Clean3 was still vivid.

As a member of Field Team 2, he had watched Mo Haein for a long time, but that was the first time he had ever seen her like that.

Extreme hyperarousal caused by a severe trauma response.

Unable to endure the extreme state of alertness, Mo Haein had eventually gone to the special isolation facility herself and requested confinement.

Kwak Hanmuk and Je Hyun-oh, who had closed Clean3 together, also displayed abnormal reactions.

After returning to the Agency, they went to the Chief’s office together with Samra.

At the time, Won Taebeom had been assigned as Jang Seokyun’s security detail in case of an emergency, so he was able to hear part of their conversation.

The Special Mission Team’s request was simple.

They wanted permission to use the Agency’s personnel to search for the missing Han Goyo.

However, this was a request Jang Seokyun could not accept.

An eligible individual disappearing or dying inside a trial was something that happened far too often.

Even Samra had been unable to determine Han Goyo’s whereabouts.

The only conclusion they could make was that Han Goyo was in a state close to death.

No matter how important Han Goyo was, wasting the Agency’s manpower in such a situation made no sense.

The Special Mission Team should have understood that fact as well, yet they were making an irrational demand.

Samra mentioned Han Goyo’s uniqueness, but Jang Seokyun cut off his statement by arguing that Han Goyo’s trait merely caused NPCs and items to react favorably toward him.

Then Kwak Hanmuk stepped forward and tried to persuade Jang Seokyun.

“We closed it, but he disappeared right in front of us. As his team members, we want to take responsibility and find him.”

“Captain Kwak. It is only a disappearance. For now, waiting is also an option. Since Trainee Han causes abnormal phenomena, there is no telling how the situation may change.”

Jang Seokyun attempted to refuse by appealing to principles.

“Director Jang.”

That was when Je Hyun-oh spoke.

A rough, low voice that was not entirely human scraped across the room like something dragging against the floor.

“I found him. Han Goyo is the clue.”

It was a statement that made no sense at all.

Yet Jang Seokyun’s expression immediately hardened.

After letting out a deep sigh, Jang Seokyun eventually gave in and approved the search for Han Goyo.

It should never have happened.

The opportunity cost of wasting time and manpower just to search for one eligible individual was impossible to calculate.

The most significant loss was Samra.

True to the name Samramansang¹, he gathered information from around the world and served as one of the main pillars of the Trial Response Agency.

That Samra pushed himself to the verge of overload, repeatedly searching and searching.

For a single person.

To scan the entire Earth down to the second, Samra stopped imitating a human and functioned purely as a machine.

The sight of him physically connecting with the Agency’s supercomputer network was disturbing.

And it was not only Samra.

Kwak Hanmuk and Je Hyun-oh continued carrying out Agency missions according to their agreement with Jang Seokyun, but they refused any mission that would take longer than a day.

They needed to respond immediately if any clue about Han Goyo appeared.

Director Ham Jiwol collapsed the moment she heard the news.

Then, as soon as she regained consciousness, she broke down crying and demanded that they bring back even Han Goyo’s corpse.

Unfortunately, Kwak Hanmuk witnessed that scene, and a major incident nearly occurred.

“Director Ham. Are you treating another team’s member, who is still alive and well, like a cadaver? Keep acting like this and see what happens, you damn—”

Kwak Hanmuk overturned the entire research department.

After Je Hyun-oh, the Special Mission Team had destroyed the research department for the second time, but the department still could not file a complaint.

Because they knew what the word ‘team’ meant to Kwak Hanmuk.

The Trial Response Agency only began returning to normal after Samra finally succeeded in locating Han Goyo.

Only then did everything slowly, very slowly, begin returning to its original place.

After witnessing that entire process, Won Taebeom was able to reach an even clearer conclusion.

Han Goyo had to be made subordinate to the Trial Response Agency.

If necessary, he would put Han Goyo in the Agency’s isolation facility again and again.

“Special Mission Team trainee Han Goyo.”

That thought did not change even when he came face-to-face with Han Goyo.

However, it left a bitter taste in his mouth.

The boy looked unmistakably young.

The fact that he had to do something unpleasant to someone ten years younger than himself was not something Won Taebeom enjoyed.

But that was merely personal sentiment.

Once inside the trial, he intended to focus only on completing his mission.

…If he entered the trial.

“Lieutenant Colonel Je Hyun-oh, Lieutenant Won Taebeom has joined. We will enter.”

Mo Haein reported to Samra while placing her hand on the Sla2Plate meteorite.

At that exact moment, Won Taebeom realized something was wrong.

Because the world before his eyes was still completely normal.

Only the members of the Special Mission Team were dissolving into fluorescent colors.

He watched as the Special Mission Team disappeared right before him.

Samra’s voice came through his frozen earpiece.

—Lieutenant Won Taebeom. Did you fail to enter?

“…Yes. I do not know the cause.”

—I will investigate the matter.

“Understood.”

The voice did not disappear like he expected.

Instead, Samra continued.

—I have one more question.

“Please ask.”

—What order did Director Jang Seokyun give you?

A system window appeared before me.

However, I could not properly read it.

I only stared blankly with my mouth open in disbelief.

Completely unaware of my thoughts, Dominic sparkled happily and asked:

“Roasted Chestnut, what is your class? Ah, allow me to guess.”

Even if the four-person entry could somehow be dismissed as an abnormal phenomenon, the dungeon was the real problem.

There were sections that required five people.

‘No, but the slime was counted as a single participant.’

Somehow, it should work out.

And if it was Dominic, perhaps he could use something similar to magic inside the dungeon.

I briefly imagined a pudding slime casting magic before finally reading the system window.

I reread the final sentence several times.

Decreased recognition could be ignored since I still did not know what it was used for.

But—

‘Explosion of Slay to Plate?’

If an incubated trial was left uncleared for a certain amount of time, it would explode.

By transforming the surrounding area into the same form as the trial and spreading the virus on a massive scale, it was the situation the Trial Response Agency feared the most.

I imagined the Gangnam area, including Dosan Park, being transformed into Sla2Plate.

A chill naturally ran through me.

‘We absolutely have to clear the True Ending.’

I had already intended to do so, but now I felt even more desperate.

At that moment, Dominic’s ears fluttered as he spoke.

“Oh, my. I accidentally saw the answer. Roasted Chestnut, you are the Chef.”

It took me a moment to understand what he meant.

Dominic had been looking at my system window….

It was unsettling, but not something completely surprising.

If it was Dominic, it was certainly possible.

I took a slow breath and calmed myself.

‘But in CallOVo, I don’t think Dominic could see the system window.’

I would have to confirm whether he could only see it after entering Sla2Plate, or if there was some specific condition.

I quietly looked around.

Je Hyun-oh and the captains who entered with me were checking their own system windows while standing some distance away.

After confirming that there was enough distance between us, I quickly whispered.

“Yes, Dominic-ssi. I chose Chef.”

Since this was a five-person entry, we had decided on everyone’s classes beforehand during the briefing.

I volunteered for Chef.

Not because I was good at cooking.

It was because it seemed like the most convenient role for managing a restaurant.

When I played Sla2Plate as a game, I always chose Chef as well.

After hearing my answer, Dominic politely asked:

“If it is not too much trouble, may I request a dish prepared by Roasted Chestnut?”

In CallOVo, Dominic only pretended to eat food or drink tea.

I had no idea why he suddenly became interested in cooking.

“Of course, I should prepare something for you too, Dominic-ssi. I’ll make something delicious.”

Since he had been trapped in a trial with a British setting, I assumed he would probably enjoy anything I made.

With my thoughts filled with prejudice, I promised Dominic I would cook for him.

Around that time, Mo Haein and Kwak Hanmuk finished checking their system windows and approached me.

Mo Haein looked at me and muttered in disbelief.

“We really entered with only four people…. This is the first time I’ve seen an abnormal phenomenon like this.”

She had checked several times and confirmed there were only four participants.

Beside her, Kwak Hanmuk stared at the pudding slime.

Under his suspicious gaze, I quietly pretended not to notice.

“The dungeon is the real issue, but we’ll figure that out later.”

Kwak Hanmuk exchanged a glance with Mo Haein.

“Goyo.”

“Trainee.”

Hearing them call me, I cautiously answered.

“Yes, Captains.”

Mo Haein spoke first.

After hesitating slightly, she said in a very quiet voice:

“First… I’m glad you came back safely.”

Immediately after saying that, she moved on to the next topic as if it was nothing.

“And there’s something I want to ask.”

“Yes!”

I waited, prepared to answer sincerely and do my best no matter what the question was.

But I could not immediately answer.

“What is registration?”

“What?”

Mo Haein looked up at me with her arms crossed.

“In Clean3, a system window appeared saying that you registered me.”

…Crazy.

¹Reminder from an earlier chapter, Samra is short for ‘Samramansang’ (his last name is Mansang) or ‘삼라만상’, meaning “all things in the universe.” Basically his name means he’s all-knowing.