Chapter 85

Kudangtang!

The chair toppled backward.

I only realized that I had fallen after my body hit the floor.

Thump, thump, thump.

My heart was beating violently. So clearly that I could feel every single pulse.

A fiery heat surged up from within, and I felt as though my entire body was being burned away.

“Ugh, haa…!”

I curled up my body to endure the pain.

Physiological tears streamed down from my eyes.

I opened my mouth wide and gasped for breath while desperately clawing at my chest with my hands.

I wanted to spit out the burning flames, but no matter how much I gagged, only bitter stomach fluid flowed out.

My entire body was being burned alive.

I feel like I’m going to die.

No, I was definitely going to die.

“Roasted Chestnut.”

Dominic grabbed me. Crying, I begged him.

Help me.

Please help me.

I desperately pleaded, but Dominic did not help me.

He restrained my body as it thrashed as if having a seizure with one hand, and only checked my condition with the other.

“It seems it is difficult for you to digest it all at once because you are still young. I should have divided it into smaller portions, even if the effects became slightly weaker.”

I screamed.

Words soothing me as I suffered through the terrible pain brushed past my ears.

“Even so, you are enduring it well, Roasted Chestnut. Once you digest this, now….”

I felt as though my soul was being torn apart and burned.

No.

It wasn’t just a feeling.

I.

I…….

“…!!”

The moment I regained consciousness, a splitting headache surged over me.

It was such a severe headache that I couldn’t possibly maintain my sanity.

Too many things were tangled together inside my head, making it a complete mess.

“Haa, ugh….”

I groaned in pain, clutching my head with my hands as I suffered for a long while.

Only after the pain subsided was I able to look around.

It was a hospital room in TRA.

Since it was the same hospital room I had been admitted to before, I recognized it immediately.

There was no one else in the room except me.

Every time I opened my eyes before, someone had always been there, so being alone felt slightly unfamiliar.

“…….”

I tried to calmly organize my chaotic thoughts.

It was not an easy task.

“Roasted Chestnut, are you all right?”

Only then did I notice the soft sensation.

I removed the pudding slime pressing against my cheek with my hand.

It was the first time I had ever used physical force against him, whom I had been too afraid to touch carelessly until now.

“Roasted Chestnut?”

I placed the slightly puzzled slime on my palm and stared at him quietly.

‘Why do I want to hit him just once so badly?’

My memories after clearing Sla2Plate were unclear.

I felt like I had talked with Dominic about something.

Everything else was blurry, like covered in fog, but there was one thing I remembered clearly.

“Since I’ll ask you to help when I truly need it, could you only help me at those times?”

It was the moment when Dominic promised to grant my request.

Looking only at this memory, I should definitely have been grateful….

But I had no idea why I kept getting angry at Dominic.

It was as if he had done something terrible to me.

I also had this strange thought that even if I asked Dominic for help, he probably wouldn’t help me.

“Dominic-ssi. After clearing Sla2Plate, did something happen? I don’t remember very well.”

Dominic answered my question sincerely.

“Roasted Chestnut and I enjoyed a meal together at the restaurant.”

I was flustered because I truly couldn’t remember a single thing.

I tried to guess the forgotten memories.

“Did I cook the Flame Dragon for you, Dominic-ssi?”

When I asked assuming the most likely situation, Dominic let out a low laugh.

He gave me an ambiguous answer.

“It was an enjoyable time thanks to Roasted Chestnut.”

“…….”

What had Dominic done to me?

I couldn’t tell whether my lack of memory was because of my condition or because of Dominic.

I wanted to ask Dominic in detail, but from the look of him, he clearly had no intention of answering.

A violent impulse surged within me.

In the end, I committed an absolutely atrocious act.

Squeezeeeee.

I flattened the pudding slime…!

“Roasted Chestnut…?”

To him calling out with a flattened voice, I calmly replied.

“Dominic-ssi. This is a moment when I desperately need your help. I feel so anxious and distressed that if I don’t press something soft, I might get seriously injured.”

“Such…. Is that so? A young god is fragile in many ways.”

The pudding slime quietly allowed itself to be subjected to my touch.

I spent an enjoyable amount of time.

The sensation of it sticking to my palm was incredibly soft and elastic, making me feel like my damaged mind was recovering.

While kneading the pudding slime, a system window suddenly appeared.

I looked at the system window that had appeared for the first time in a while with indifference.

I had no idea what it had been doing all this time before showing up.

‘Has the power charging finished?’

It had said something was lacking back then.

It was saying things I already knew again.

I deliberately pressed the pudding slime harder and argued back internally.

‘If there was a way to keep my distance, I would have done it already.’

Then the system window appeared again.

I’m not exactly… relying on him.

I stopped my hands and looked down at the pudding slime for a moment.

The soft body that had been mercilessly kneaded asked me:

“Are you feeling better now, Roasted Chestnut?”

He was rather kind for an alien pudding slime.

And polite.

Ding!

Then, as if telling me to come to my senses, the system window appeared with a loud notification sound.

It had come.

‘You could have given it to me before clearing Sla2Plate.’

The quest was given exactly one step late like this every time.

The system window continued spitting out text regardless of my mood.

I read the Epic Quest with a dissatisfied expression.

This time, if I failed, the quest would take my eyes.

I was thinking about whether losing limbs or having my eyes extracted would be worse, and was letting out a hollow laugh when—

“Roasted Chestnut.”

Dominic called me. He slowly asked:

“Have you made a contract with another god?”

The displeasure contained in his voice made me immediately snap to attention.

His deeply lowered voice asked me again.

The thoughts that had been troubling me until just now disappeared completely, and I focused all my attention on Dominic.

I knew that he could not see the other system windows and could only see quest windows.

However, when ordinary quest windows appeared during Trials, he had never reacted like this.

‘Is it because Epic Quests aren’t Trials, but something given by the system window?’

I had already suspected that the system window was likely some kind of divine being.

But I never imagined Dominic would interpret this as a contract with another god.

“No. It’s not a contract, this is just…. one-sidedly….”

Dominic stayed silent for a moment.

During the brief silence, I desperately thought about how I should explain the Epic Quest to him.

Thankfully, Dominic soon realized his misunderstanding.

“This is a structure where communication is possible without making a contract. Roasted Chestnut, I misunderstood.”

I was saved.

My heart nearly dropped out of my chest, and I sighed in relief internally.

Dominic asked me in a calm tone.

“How did you end up receiving a request from another god? The compensation offered is also inadequate.”

“It wasn’t something I received because I wanted it.”

Even though I had never made a contract, I told Dominic that it had been forced upon me.

After explaining my situation, Dominic was greatly surprised and his ears perked up.

“To think something like that happened….”

He cursed the bad god who deceived a young god who knew nothing, using refined expressions.

Because Dominic’s voice was naturally so pleasant and low, even though the content was insults, it somehow sounded impressive.

“If you need help, tell me. I will look for a way to resolve it.”

His offer was extremely tempting.

But strangely, I felt resistance.

The system window was also making a fuss.

‘Coming from someone who gives me quests that take my eyeballs.’

I didn’t even know if Dominic had any price he could take from me….

For now, it seemed right to refuse.

“Thank you, Dominic-ssi. But I need to close the Trials anyway, so I will try to solve it with my own strength.”

“Hmm, understood.”

Dominic backed down obediently. Then he moved his ears and said:

“I do not know if this will be comforting, but there is something I can tell Roasted Chestnut after all the hardships you have endured. It is something you were curious about.”

“…!”

He was going to tell me why Kwak Hanmuk could see Dominic.

I looked at Dominic with excitement.

“If I explain while looking at him directly, it will be easier to understand. Let us call him here.”

“…Ah, it’s difficult right now. I will go see him after a little while.”

I wasn’t in a position where I could call anyone.

Nor was I in a situation where I could move freely.

Thinking of Kwak Hanmuk naturally reminded me of what I had done at the end of Sla2Plate.

I had used my abilities recklessly on the captains….

How did I catch the escaping Flame Dragon again? After that, I remembered everything I talked about with the twins.

As I tried to piece together my missing memories, I suddenly felt the strangeness of the current situation.

‘Why is it so quiet?’

If Samra knew I had regained consciousness, he would have come immediately.

Since there were CCTV cameras in the hospital room, he should have seen me wake up, but for some reason, it was strangely quiet.

I peeked toward the CCTV.

I waved one hand for no reason, then lowered my arm listlessly, wondering what I was even doing.

Smack.

The pudding slime in my other hand jumped and stuck itself to my cheek.

Then, like a doctor, it recommended:

“Wouldn’t it be better to rest a little longer, Roasted Chestnut?”

The pudding slime’s jumping ability was considerable.

I nodded and lay back down on the hospital bed.

I had woken up because of the headache, but my body still didn’t feel like it was in very good condition.

It felt like I had been beaten up in Sla2Plate while I had no memory.

The moment I put my head on the pillow, fatigue washed over me.

If I slept a little longer and woke up, wouldn’t Samra come?

He was a busy android, so he was probably doing something else right now, but after a short sleep, I would likely be able to meet him.

‘The lieutenant colonel and captains should have gotten out safely, right?’

Thinking that one final thought, I quickly fell asleep.

“…?”

I woke up to the sound of a loud siren.

What was this?

As I waved my hand around, something soft and short, like a thread, brushed against it.

My vision flashed.

I blinked repeatedly to clear my blurry sight.

And then I realized.

What had brushed against my hand was Samra’s hologram-colored hair.

I also realized I was in a situation that felt very much like a strange dream.

“Han Goyo-ssi. Has your consciousness returned? First, breathe slowly.”

I was being carried on Samra’s back.

A cutting-edge android was running through the hallway while carrying me on his back.

It was so absurd that I couldn’t speak, and the surroundings were also a complete mess.

Sirens rang out, and red emergency lights announcing a crisis flashed.

The Code Red announcement signaling the most dangerous situation continued pounding against my eardrums.

No, at least this seemed to be TRA….

While I was too bewildered to say anything, Samra informed me of the current situation.

“The CEO Cha from Paseong has carried out a terrorist attack on the Trial Response Agency.”