Chapter 122

The medic’s weekly schedule had transformed into something resembling a cleric’s duty roster.

No matter how many times I reread it, the text remained unchanged.

I even took out the operational manual to check.

However, the operational manual remained exactly the same. Only the weekly schedule had become strange.

As I kept checking the schedule, Dominic, who had been watching, chimed in.

“Has your role changed to that of a cleric, Roasted Chestnut?”

“That is not the case.”

After answering Dominic, a thought suddenly struck me.

‘Could it be Octopus Tentacle?’

Octopus Tentacle coveted Je Hyun-oh as a subordinate but failed.

It might be a natural progression for it to take an interest in the owner of that subordinate.

With a slightly uneasy heart, I asked Dominic.

“Dominic-ssi.”

“Yes, Roasted Chestnut.”

“By any chance… if a higher god takes a lower god as a subordinate…”

“Even the subordinates of lower-ranking gods will all become possessions along with you.”

Having heard exactly where I feared, I was left speechless.

A system window popped up, as if mocking me.

Ignoring the system window that was stating the obvious, I began to ponder seriously.

‘This is why I hated registering.’

It was a maddening situation.

I wondered if I could win if Octopus Tentacle approached.

I reached a conclusion in an instant.

It’s impossible.

The only abilities I possessed as a god were things like messages and restrictions that could only be used on those who had been registered.

It would be difficult to deal with other gods using these.

However, that did not mean I could just sit idly by.

In fact, the biggest problem was Dominic.

He would not like the idea of ​​me becoming Octopus Tentacle’s subordinate.

The Octopus Tentacle looked quite strong, so Dominic might have to exert considerable strength to face a god of that caliber, and if he were to regain his memories in the process…

“…….”

I tried not to think too negatively.

Just then, Dominic asked me a question.

“Are you going to the prayer room?”

“I have no intention of going.”

I answered firmly.

No matter what it was a mission, I did not want to perform the four-part set of serving the Octopus Tentacle.

I absolutely hated it.

Feeling my heart burning, I rubbed my chest with my hand.

‘I should go see Lieutenant Won.’

Since he was a cleric, he might be able to give me some clues.

“Ah, and regarding the octopus tentacle items you mentioned before. I think I can find it for you today.”

Dominic, who had seen a piece of the Octopus Tentacle in the prayer room the other day, had asked me to let him know if I found anything similar.

However, for some reason, I received a polite refusal.

“It’s alright, Roasted Chestnut. It’s no longer needed.”

He told me that he had resolved his doubts thanks to a subordinate made of black metal.

I don’t know what he learned after seeing Je Hyun-oh emerge from the seawater, though.

For now, I decided to try communicating with Samra.

“I need to contact a friend for a moment.”

After asking Pudding Slime for permission, I turned on the Hologram Badge.

“Samra.”

After calling out so abruptly, it belatedly occurred to me that he must be very busy.

The outside must be chaotic due to the new meteorite as well.

‘Still, since it’s Samra, wouldn’t he be able to handle work while communicating with me?’

I waited for a moment, holding firm faith in the state-of-the-art android.

Sure enough, not long after, a voice was heard.

—Han Goyo-ssi.

“Do you have a moment? If you’re busy, maybe later…”

—I can handle multiple tasks simultaneously. It is unnecessary worry.

“Ah, yes.”

Having been scolded for worrying about Android for no reason, I started by submitting a brief report on the current situation.

The report stated that everything was proceeding according to plan, and barring any major issues, the True Ending could be cleared within next week at the latest, based on Cell-X time.

I did not mention that there was an error in today’s weekly schedule.

It was because I felt Samra would tell me to use the Escape function immediately.

Since the text in the system window wasn’t broken or anything, I couldn’t use Escape anyway.

I asked Samra before he could ask a question that would be difficult to answer.

“How is it outside?”

—We have established an international organization to respond to the Trials. This is for more efficient international cooperation.

Although global cooperation is currently underway to deal with the Trials, there was no central organization to act as a coordinating body.

Establishing an international organization was a good choice.

However, a completely unexpected statement followed.

—I am scheduled to take on a key position within that organization.

“What?!”

Flustered, I ended up asking back in a slightly louder voice.

Samra spoke calmly, as if he knew exactly what I was worried about.

"I will not be leaving the TRA. It will proceed as a concurrent position."

"Ah…"

I wondered if that was really okay, but then I thought about it: Samra isn’t human, so it seemed fine.

He doesn’t covet power, and because humanity comes first, he doesn’t pursue only the interests of the Republic of Korea.

He is an android capable of acting with fairer judgment than any human.

While I was curious about what position Samra would take on, I was also a little worried.

"Samra. Aren’t you overexerting yourself?"

He must be doing a lot of things right now; I worried that if he pushed himself too hard, something like a CPU might burn out.

‘Isn’t he going to get overloaded?’

Since I don’t know Samra’s internal structure, it might not happen, but…

However, Samra answered my concern calmly.

"It is something I have been doing."

"Indeed, considering Samra’s influence, it seemed likely that he were already performing duties equivalent to those of an international organization.

It was simply that now, a position accompanied by honor and power was being granted.

—Han Goyo-ssi.

“Yes?”

— Would you like to transfer your affiliation to the international organization that will soon be established?

I was speechless for a moment. Samra was surprising me several times today.

Samra calmly added a well-organized explanation.

—It will be difficult for Director Jang Seokyun to exert significant influence within that international organization. Furthermore, you will be able to freely enter not only the trials of the Republic of Korea but also the trials of other nations.

I had indeed thought about the trials abroad.

It was merely a thought along the lines of wondering if it would be acceptable to close off only domestic trials, given that my affiliation is ‘Earth.’

However, it was still far too early, and unless a specific region was designated in the quest, I had no intention of going outside.

It was because everyone I wanted to protect was here.

But I felt I understood all too well why Samra had made such a proposal.

He was cooperating unconditionally for my sake, just as he had promised from the very beginning.

Since the TRA and Paseong seemed to be obstacles to me, the alternative he brought was an international organization.

Would it be too arrogant of me to think that Samra’s reason for seeking a position there was also for my sake?

But somehow, it felt exactly that way. I sincerely thanked Samra.

“Thank you, Samra.”

—……

Samra remained silent for a moment. It was because he realized that my gratitude was a rejection.

“Still, I want to stay at TRA. I also have a promise I made to CEO Cha.”

While there would be many advantages to being affiliated with an international organization, I would inevitably drift away from the people of TRA.

The meteorite embedded in Mo Haein, the god contained within Kwak Hanmuk, and Je Hyun-oh’s <Zero>.

As things stand now, with nothing resolved, I did not want to leave TRA.

—…Understood. Please let me know anytime if you change your mind.

Samra didn’t try to persuade me any further.

As always, he ended the communication after leaving only the final words that I should prioritize my safety above all else.

I turned off my hologram badge.

Thinking that many changes would occur once I cleared Cell-X and went outside, I headed toward the prison cafeteria.

Previously, I was supposed to be beaten by the guards for failing a mission, but CEO Cha prevented that.

Since then, I had become arrogant.

I had actually decided to have breakfast at the cafeteria.

Normally, I would have sneaked in around the time mealtime ended and stolen the leftovers.

Of course, I didn’t intend to enter the cafeteria openly; I planned to look around cautiously before going in.

I walked down the hallway with a light heart.

‘I wonder if Captain Kwak is in the cafeteria too. It would be nice to eat together.’

It was just as I was contemplating whether to send a message.

“Little Lamb.”

I ran into the Chief of Security.

The medical officer’s quarters were in the most secluded corner of the prison guard quarters.

There was absolutely no chance of running into other guards.

Unless they came looking for me on purpose.

Just as I sensed a sense of foreboding, Dominic spoke to me.

“Roasted Chestnut. Be careful. Look behind…”

But he couldn’t finish his sentence.

I felt a presence behind me.

I reacted immediately and turned around, but seeing is different from avoiding.

Thump!

With a dull, painful thud to the head, I lost consciousness.

When I woke up after the lights went black, as if I had lost my memory.

The first thing I noticed was the smell of cigarettes.

The smoke made me cough. Coughing, I slowly regained consciousness.

It was the prison interrogation room.

The white light from the lamp hanging in the center of the ceiling fell onto the table in the center.

It was a gray steel table firmly bolted to the floor.

On the surface of the table, along with scratches, there were burn marks from cigarettes and traces that looked like fingernail scratches.

I slowly raised my gaze, which had been scanning the table.

I saw a man whose shadow was cast even deeper by the lighting.

He was smoking a cigarette and slowly exhaled the smoke.

I swallowed a curse inwardly.

It was the Chief of Security.

Two prison guards stood behind him.

First, I checked to see if the pudding slime was sticking properly.

Dominic was on my shoulder. He spoke to me in a low voice.

"There is blood."

Only after hearing Dominic’s words did I feel the damp sensation.

It seemed my head was cracked open.

Blood was flowing down my temples, soaking the medic gown and the neckline of my clothes completely.

Still, the bleeding seemed to have almost stopped, as there was no sensation of new blood flowing.

However, being tied up with ropes was a bit uncomfortable.

I offered a greeting with an awkward smile.

“Good morning, Chief of Security.”

The man in the gray metal mask looked at me with a cigarette held between his fingers.

“One of the prison guards has disappeared.”

“…Yes?”

“The CCTV footage we needed to check is gone, and the Warden told us to just let this matter slide.”

“…….”

“Did you do this, Little Lamb?”

“Me?”

I said, looking bewildered.

“I didn’t even drink Neo… How could I possibly deal with guards who possess enhanced bodies?”

When I quickly feigned ignorance, the Chief of Security smirked.

“That’s right. Little Lamb is just an ordinary human.”

Could he be acting this way because he lost the power struggle with CEO Cha?

I did suspect that the Chief of Security wouldn’t just sit idly by.

But it didn’t make sense for him to act this way toward me, a mere medical officer.

‘Unless I hit CEO Cha on the back of the head.’

Just as I was speculating why he had brought me here, the Chief of Security spoke again.

“It’s clearly impossible…”

He continued speaking slowly.

“But there are those who make the impossible possible. And I know such a person.”

Just as I was feeling puzzled by these vague words, which seemed completely out of character for the Chief of Security, the lips beneath the blinding metal mask moved.

“I once had a dream in which you appeared, Little Lamb.”

“…!”

The Chief of Security dragged his cigarette slowly and exhaled gray smoke toward my face.

“In that dream, your name was not Little Lamb.”

He chuckled and said.

“It was Roasted Chestnut.”

I showed no reaction.

I suppressed my emotions as much as possible to avoid showing even the slightest sign of surprise.

But it was all in vain.

Because of the Chief of Security’s subsequent words.

“In my dream, you were a perfect colleague.”

I couldn’t help but be completely shaken.

“You dealt with the creatures in cruel ways I hadn’t even imagined… Ah, it was truly amazing.”

The Chief of Security had been dreaming about the time I played as a prison guard.

A dream in which, in order to collect various endings, I faithfully followed the Chief of Security’s orders as a guard and abused the creatures.

Looking into my wavering eyes, the Chief of Security displayed a notification regarding a stat change.

“I felt so disappointed when I woke up from the dream. Since then, no matter which prison guard I’ve trained, they haven’t turned out like you in the dream.”

The Chief of Security stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray.

“It doesn’t seem like it was just my dream… What do you think?”

Then, smiling at me, he said:

“We had fun, didn’t we, Roasted Chestnut?”