Chapter 98

I stared blankly at Kwak Hanmuk.

I had heard both Kwak Hanmuk and Dominic clearly, yet the words were difficult to comprehend.

As I stood frozen, Kwak Hanmuk thrust his left arm toward me.

My gaze was drawn instinctively to the forearm he held out, as if inviting me to take a closer look.

A blue lightning-bolt pattern traced its way up to his upper arm.

I was reminded of the time we first entered DeZonDeal.

While the standard attire consisted of a short-sleeved top and military trousers, Kwak Hanmuk had somehow acquired and worn a varsity jacket.

I hadn’t thought much of it at the time, but looking back now, I realized it must have been to hide that tattoo.

Unlike me—who was left half-dazed—Dominic calmly continued his explanation.

His tone was like that of a teacher using a visual aid during a lesson.

“He took a god into his body but failed to assimilate it, managing only to seal it away. Even that proved too much for him to handle, which is why he uses tattoos and accessories to contain it, isn’t it?”

He went on to explain that Kwak Hanmuk was struggling under the burden without gaining any real benefit.

“That is also the reason he cannot hear my voice or touch me. Since he cannot wield the divine power contained within him, only his spiritual sight has been awakened.”

Then, he made a polite proposal.

“If he were to successfully assimilate the god, he would become a powerful subordinate. His status would rise, making him useful in many ways—and I can help him achieve that.”

He was gently enticing me with the offer to help his subordinate assimilate the god.

I couldn’t even muster a response to Dominic’s proposal.

Seeing me speechless, Kwak Hanmuk asked again.

“Goyo, do you have anything like that on your body?”

I parted my lips to speak. “…I don’t have anything like that.”

My mind had been elsewhere, so I’d blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

“You’re welcome to go to the bathhouse with me and check for yourself…”

At my reply, Kwak Hanmuk let out a brief laugh. Then, his eyes crinkling at the corners, he spoke.

“You answered as if you knew exactly what this was.”

I realized I had walked right into Kwak Hanmuk’s trap.

To an ordinary observer, it was just an unusual tattoo.

Yet, I had betrayed a reaction that went beyond mere surprise—it was sheer bewilderment.

It was hard not to be startled when a slime whispered right next to your ear that a god was dwelling inside a person.

Kwak Hanmuk shrugged and sat down. Resting his arm on the chair beside him, he spoke.

“I’m not trying to interrogate you; I just wondered if you were like me.”

He smiled, saying he had wondered if I, too, harbored something inside me.

He was already convinced that I was connected to a divine entity.

In truth, it was a reasonable guess; after all, anyone who could manipulate the System window could hardly be considered ordinary.

I looked at the blue tattoo once more.

Blue Lightning…

Just as with Mo Haein, there was so much I didn’t know about Kwak Hanmuk.

The creator had truly shown me only the curated, appealing parts of the game.

But I wanted to know more.

Everything—even the unpleasant parts.

Without realizing it, my lips moved.

“How did you come to get that tattoo?”

I wanted to know the reason why a god had been sealed within his body.

I was curious about when and how the sealing took place, and which god he held inside.

Perhaps seeing the look on my face, the smile playing on Kwak Hanmuk’s lips deepened.

He slipped his arms into the shirt he had previously taken off. With his buttons undone, Kwak Hanmuk looked like a thoroughly delinquent soldier.

“Goyo, you know…”

He spoke, tilting his chin upward.

“You keep everything about yourself hidden, yet you try to pry into everything about me?”

Then, he clamped his mouth shut.

I felt a sense of unease.

I couldn’t quite put my finger on why the “god” residing within Kwak Hanmuk bothered me so much.

‘Was it also because of that god that the system window tried to stop me from registering Kwak Hanmuk in the first place?’

The thought only made me more impatient.

I felt a slight heat rising around my eyes…

Suddenly, I thought of the status window.

As my ability evolved, a feature had been added to show the current state of anyone registered in the window.

Right now, it only displayed simple things like “amusement,” but perhaps if my ability developed further, I could learn more details?

Like finding out exactly which god was inside him.

I wanted to take a look at my own status.

“Goyo.”

“…Yes?”

“Your eyes are sparkling.”

“Ah.”

I blinked hurriedly.

I didn’t know why, but it felt like my eye color was about to change again.

It wasn’t something I could control at will, so it was hard to hide.

‘I don’t even know what triggers the change.’

Just then, Kwak Hanmuk peered closely at my eyes and said something odd.

“…The color changed a bit, didn’t it? Oh, it’s back to normal.”

The color had reverted before he could get a good look.

But right now, my eye color wasn’t the important thing.

I rubbed over my eyes with the back of my hand, just for the sake of doing something.

Kwak Hanmuk smiled as he watched me.

“My tattoo is a secret, Goyo.” He said that only Director Jang Seokyun, Samra, and a few division heads knew the reason behind the tattoo on his body.

Aside from them, Mo Haein and I were the only ones privy to the secret.

I promised to keep the secret safe.

The conversation on the rooftop was winding down.

But the most important part remained.

I hesitated as I watched Kwak Hanmuk tidying up the table.

Then, gathering my courage, I spoke up.

“Captain Kwak, what if…”

Kwak Hanmuk, who had been stacking empty plastic cups, looked up at me.

In that moment, I realized something.

Throughout our time on the rooftop today, Kwak Hanmuk had asked me plenty of questions about things he was curious about.

Yet, he hadn’t breathed a word about the one thing he would likely be most curious about.

Given the commotion CEO Cha had caused, rumors must have been rife within the TRA that I might sign a contract with Paseong.

I could easily picture countless people gossiping about my future.

And yet, Kwak Hanmuk—the person most deeply connected to me—had remained silent.

He hadn’t even asked for details about the slime…

Perhaps he hadn’t wanted to put any pressure on me.

It felt a bit strange.

“If I were to officially sign a contract with the TRA…”

“Did you sign it?”

Kwak Hanmuk shot back the question the moment I opened my mouth.

“Not yet, but I intend to.”

At my answer, Kwak Hanmuk briefly lowered his gaze.

Seeming to give it a moment’s thought, he asked:

“…Did the Director say something to you?”

“No, it was my own decision.”

It wasn’t that Jang Seokyun hadn’t said anything to me, but I didn’t believe his words had influenced my decision. Besides, I didn’t want to bring up Jang Seokyun; I was afraid that what I was about to say might come across as a demand to Kwak Hanmuk.

“Um, Captain Kwak. If I enlist in the Agency…”

I hesitated a little. It wasn’t easy to get the rest of the words out. Kwak Hanmuk waited patiently for me.

“We’re on the same team, aren’t we?”

Finally, I gathered the courage to speak.

“Could you… keep being on the same team as me?”

Honestly, I wasn’t exactly a great teammate.

Sure, the outcome—clearing the Trials—was good, but I’d given the Special Mission Team a hard time in various ways along the way.

If not for Director Jang Seokyun’s orders, a troublemaker like me might have been kicked out long ago.

Even Mo Haein probably hadn’t enjoyed the time spent with me.

As I thought about it, my already meager confidence plummeted even further.

I couldn’t bring myself to meet his eyes, but then I heard Kwak Hanmuk mutter something.

“A team…”

With my gaze lowered, I stole a glance at him.

Kwak Hanmuk had a peculiar look in his eyes.

Not knowing how to react, I just stared back awkwardly.

For some reason, Kwak Hanmuk was the one to look away first.

Fixing his gaze on the setting sun, he spoke as if to himself.

“A permanent team… that’s a hell of a lot of pressure.”

True enough; he already had Field Team 3. It would naturally be burdensome if the Special Mission Team—originally just a temporary unit—were to become a permanent fixture.

Just as I was thinking I should figure out a way to clear the Trials on my own, Kwak Hanmuk called my name.

“Han Goyo.”

He rarely addressed me by my full name, so I looked up, startled.

“You…” Just as Kwak Hanmuk slowly opened his mouth to speak…

Rumble!

A thunderous roar violently engulfed the sky.

The weather hadn’t suggested rain or lightning.

As the system window popped up, I reflexively looked up at the sky.

A massive, bright ball of fire was streaking down through the heavens.

A blinding flash—enough to sear the eyes—erupted from the fireball as it traced a long arc.

Barely three seconds had passed.

The ground beneath our feet seemed to heave, followed immediately by a deafening crash like an exploding bomb.

The concrete building shook violently, leaving my ears ringing.

A haze of acrid smoke—a mix of burning odors and concrete dust—suddenly billowed out, enveloping everything.

I was nearly struck by flying concrete debris, but a string of prayer beads materialized just in time, erecting a solid barrier in front of Kwak Hanmuk.

Coughing repeatedly, I waved my hand to clear the air.

Kwak Hanmuk immediately dispelled the barrier of beads to see what had happened.

“…….”

We were both struck dumb by the scene before us.

A crater had been gouged into the rooftop.

Right in the center of the shattered crater, embedded deep within the melted flooring, lay a stone the size of a fist.

The stone, which had been hissing and radiating an ominous heat like a living creature, soon returned to its true color.

Shimmering with a mix of neon green and charcoal…

It was the Meteorite of Trial. Just as I stood there, dazed, staring at the meteorite lying a mere few steps away…

The world melted into fluorescent colors.

Flash!

White fractal patterns were etched across the stormy night sky.

A deep rumble of thunder followed instantly.

A heavy, low-frequency mechanical drone began to blend with the sound of the rain.

Exposed to the ferocious wind and rain—so intense I didn’t even dare open my umbrella—I looked up at the building before me with trembling eyes.

It was a maximum-security prison.

Situated on an island in the middle of the ocean, the place resembled a colossal tomb of gray concrete.

Its outer walls, darkened by the elements, were encrusted with moss and salt, while layers of barbed wire wrapped tightly around the structure.

Beams from searchlights cut through the pouring rain, sweeping outward until they found me.

A facility built to confine both the perpetrators of heinous crimes and the creatures that walked among us.

…was the situation.

I had been assigned here as a Medic.

Having been forcibly sent away to this place, I was filled with nothing but dread.

Soaking wet, I walked toward the heavy iron gate.

A camera in the control room looked down at me, and soon, accompanied by a mechanical whir, a small iron door opened.

A heavy drum kick blended into the music as the beat began to fragment and accelerate.

The raw, massive noise felt as though it were crushing my heart.

As soon as I stepped inside the prison, a suffocating chill wrapped around me.

A distortion synth let out a deafening roar.

Amidst an ear-splitting, high-pitched sound, five prison guards stared at me.

I had heard plenty of notorious stories about them—men clad in black uniforms so crisp and stiff they seemed sharp enough to cut.

They were figures who seemed more like monsters than human beings.

Masks made of black metal obscured the upper halves of their faces, leaving only their mouths visible.

The guards, all identical in height and build, looked down at me.

I met the gazes of these men—who appeared to stand around two meters tall—with fearful eyes.

One guard, distinguished from the others by a gray metal mask, spoke in a low murmur.

“Little Lamb-nim?”

He was likely the chief of security. Gasping for breath, I nodded.

“Yes, I’m Little Lamb, the newly assigned Medic. The weather is much more…”

“This way.” There wasn’t a shred of respect for the greenhorn doctor in the Chief of Security’s voice as he cut me off.

I walked toward the security screening room where they were leading me.

In the center of the cramped room—enclosed on all sides by wire mesh—sat a cold stainless-steel table.

“We’re going to search your belongings. Come over here.”

I could hardly believe my ears at the stern command.

“Pardon? But I came here as a doctor…”

“This isn’t the mainland, ‘Little Lamb.’”

The Chief of Security spoke while tapping the baton he held against his other palm.

“No matter how distinguished a doctor you were out there, once you step onto this island, you’re nothing more than a potential smuggler.”

I shrank back at the undisguised contempt in his voice.

Another guard standing nearby roughly snatched my bag and dumped its contents onto the stainless-steel table.

My doctor’s coat, stethoscope, personal notebook, and a few medications tumbled out with a clatter.

“It’ll be easier for both of us if you just cooperate according to the rules.”

With a face drained of color, I was subjected to a search just like a common criminal.

Once the search was over, a guard poked me with his baton as I stood there trembling, sneering as he spoke.

“Hey, Doc. Just keep behaving yourself like this from now on—if you want to survive here without any trouble.”

Afterward, I was shown to a small room designated for the Medic.

Soaked from the rain, I sank to the floor.

I couldn’t stop trembling.

Left all alone, a system window appeared before my eyes.

“…….”

Although I had regained my free will, I couldn’t move for a moment.

A system window appeared, informing me of my role.

Lying prone on the ground, I tried to steady my ragged breathing.

Why did a Trial Meteorite suddenly fall? Is Captain Kwak okay?

My mind was a chaotic jumble of thoughts.

Just then, the air split open, and a slime dropped out.

Landing softly on the floor like pudding, the slime looked at me in surprise.

“Roasted Chestnut, are you alright?”

The sudden appearance of the slime helped calm me down a little.

I steadied my trembling body and managed to gather my thoughts.

Fortunately, Cell-X was a Trial I was familiar with.

But…

I didn’t really like this game.