Chapter 60
I almost fainted.
I was actually proud of myself for managing to keep my consciousness intact.
The thing flowing out endlessly did not look like something that should come out of a human body.
No, it was something that should not exist anywhere in the world.
The grotesque entity was embedded with countless eyeballs.
Eyes of various colors stared back at me.
Setting aside the fact that it was so disgusting it gave me goosebumps, another thought came to mind first.
’Am I supposed to travel around with that thing from now on?’
I hated the idea of keeping that inside me, but it wasn’t the kind of thing I could just release into the world either.
Laughter echoed from the entity I presumed to be Dominic.
"My apologies. In order to leave Mornveil, I had to mimic an item."
The culprit behind the 9,999 items was Dominic.
Having to fight tooth and nail to clear the True Ending, only to lose my chance to receive the items, it was a bitter pill.
’Wait, was my notoriety also because of Dominic?’
If Dominic, who had turned himself into an item, was judged to belong to me for a brief moment, it made sense why my notoriety had momentarily skyrocketed to an unbelievable figure.
Anyway, that wasn’t the problem right now.
The biggest problem was that I had to travel with this... thing... from now on.
I looked up at it, which was now growing taller than I was.
It looked like it would reach 3 meters in a few moments.
Come to think of it, even if Dominic turned into a human, it would still be a problem.
Call of Void was set in a fictional 19th-century British city, so there were wide and spacious areas, but modern Korean society could not accommodate a 3-meter-tall Dominic.
There would be many places where Dominic would have to fold himself to fit in, and on top of that, he would have to cast brainwashing in all directions.
In Call of Void, Dominic had cast brainwashing over the entirety of Mornveil.
’Since he might be caught on video on Earth, would he have to hypnotize the entire human race?’
The more I thought about it, the more hopeless it seemed. I gave up on the human form and entered negotiations.
"Um... Dr. Dominic. Are you going to change into a human form?"
"I was planning to."
"It’s a shame because your current look is so... impressive. Perhaps you could try transforming into something a bit smaller?"
As I subtly guided him in a different direction, the entity writhed and asked me.
"To what extent?"
I didn’t think a midnight nightmare could be more horrific than this.
After shivering for a moment, I picked up a stray branch rolling around in the corner.
Then, I crouched down and drew a circle of a reasonable size on the dirt ground that had been dug up for construction.
"About this much?"
Since he wasn’t in human form, I figured a drastic reduction in size might be possible, so I suggested it.
Then, surprisingly, it shrank exactly to the size of the circle I had drawn!
Gaining confidence, I decided to attempt further modifications.
"Can you change your shape as well?"
"It is possible," it said, looking up at me.
"I am unfamiliar with this place, so could you give me your opinion, Roasted Chestnut? I will refer to it and change it into a form that fits the environment here."
"Thank you."
I didn’t refuse the offer and accepted it immediately.
"First, get rid of all the eyeballs... and make the shape round... Do you happen to like cats or rabbits?"
"I do not hold any particular sentiment toward them."
It was an answer that would make any cat or dog owner weep.
Deciding that I should keep this to myself, I poured all my soul into drawing on the ground.
For the sake of my own and humanity’s mental health, I drew the cutest and gentlest shape I knew.
The entity watched the drawing I was making with great interest.
I agonized over a color that Dominic would prefer but that I would find less repulsive.
"How about sky blue? Like the sky on a nice day."
Since his eyes consisted of various shades of blue, I figured he would prefer the blue spectrum.
After slithering around my drawing for a moment, the entity suddenly emitted a glow.
Expecting a transformation, I squeezed my eyes shut and then opened them.
And I welcomed the renewed Dominic with deep emotion.
"Mr. Dominic...!"
A small size that fits perfectly in one hand.
A sky-blue body that sparkled as if it contained countless stars.
Two adorable ears and a cute expression.
Even a squishy texture, like pudding.
It was 99,999% cuter and more perfect than my drawing.
Deeply moved, I cradled Dominic carefully in both hands and lifted him toward the sky.
At this moment, I was the Apostle of the Void.
"Perfect. Let’s just travel like this from now on. You’re really cute, Mr. Dominic."
The words came out without passing through my brain.
I flinched belatedly, but Dominic was not offended by my comment about his cuteness.
He flicked his ears a couple of times and spoke.
"By the way, Roasted Chestnut."
"Yes...?"
Ah.
He wasn’t going to say it was uncomfortable and that he wanted to go back to his original form, was he? I looked at the pudding slime with anxious eyes.
"In this place, my form will not be visible to others. Only you, the contractor, or beings with a rank similar to or higher than yours will be able to see me.
He paused for a moment, and his body flashed.
It was a brief light, but I got the feeling that he had somehow scanned the entire Earth.
"There are not many beings on this planet capable of perceiving me perfectly. You do not need to worry."
In short, he was a slime that only I could see.
That was fine with me.
Because he was a cute slime, far less burdensome than that... thing... or a 3-meter human.
Having solved the appearance issue, Dominic belatedly took an interest in his surroundings.
He perked up his ears upon seeing the collapsed Haewoljeong Pavilion.
"Is that place your home, Roasted Chestnut? How unique."
His tone was polite, but it was clearly a question doubting the level of Earth’s civilization. I hurried to explain before Dominic’s misunderstanding spiraled out of control.
"No. That’s just a construction site. Where I live is far from here. Now, I should contact them for my return.."
I was about to, but it seemed unnecessary.
The loud sound of a helicopter echoed from the sky.
An intense white searchlight blinded me.
I calmly waved toward the helicopter.
The one who sent the TRA Administration’s helicopter was Samra.
As it turned out, the earpiece provided by the TRA Administration had a location tracking function.
So, as soon as my location was pinpointed, he contacted the Busan Regional Office and sent a helicopter.
While being captured on the spot and transported to Seoul, I received very ambiguous treatment.
It was a level of treatment somewhere between a deserter, a recruit, and a monster.
Still, I had no particular complaints since I arrived in Seoul in about an hour and a half.
Dominic, however, felt differently.
He crawled over the suitability-restraint handcuffs fastened to my wrists and gave his assessment.
"Roasted Chestnut. It seems the way they serve gods here is quite peculiar."
Since I couldn’t look like a guy talking to thin air, I replied with a small smile.
Dominic made a dissatisfied "hmph" sound but climbed back onto my shoulder.
He seemed to dislike the helicopter as well.
"An interesting means of transport, but it has some unnecessary elements." I became anxious that he might modify the helicopter mid-air.
Fortunately, Dominic complained briefly and remained on my shoulder with a gentlemanly attitude.
It was a funny analogy, but it felt as if he were observing the etiquette of not touching things in someone else’s house.
For some reason, he seemed to regard the planet Earth as a space owned by me.
The misunderstanding was significant, and I felt overwhelmed thinking about where and how to start correcting it.
Lost in thought, I returned to the Era Administration while enjoying the conveniences of modern civilization.
Samra was waiting for me at the helipad on the roof of the Era Administration. His white uniform and hair fluttered wildly in the helicopter’s downdraft.
It was a wind that would make it hard to even keep one’s eyes open, but Samra, being an android, didn’t even frown as he stared straight at me.
Perhaps because it was dark, his holographic eyes seemed to flash even more brilliantly.
Dominic, who was sitting on my head, looked at Samra and suddenly said something strange.
"What a relief, Roasted Chestnut. Your friend is alive."
For a moment, I wondered what he was talking about, then I remembered the scam I had pulled on Dominic in Call of the void.
’I’m sorry. It’s a memento of a deceased friend..’
It was a lie I had scribbled together when he asked for the holographic badge.
But Dominic had recognized the owner of the badge the moment he saw Samra.
I glanced around.
Everyone was busy and noisy preparing for landing, so my whisper likely wouldn’t be heard.
"It seems the battery ran out, the power turned off, and then it turned back on."
"Is that so?"
"..Actually, it was a lie. I’m sorry."
Since I would be seeing Samra continuously from now on, I didn’t know what might happen if I kept lying, so I just confessed.
Fortunately, Dominic forgave me generously.
"It is fine, Roasted Chestnut. You are young, so it is natural to make mistakes."
He observed Samra with interest and commented on various things.
"A machine of that level is capable of self-energy generation. Very impressive performance."
It seemed Dominic could see even those details.
I’m glad I retracted the lie.
Dominic’s body sparkled a bit more. Interest dwelled in his voice.
"With that machine, it might be able to perceive me one day." I was inwardly surprised by the expression ’one day.’
I had thought Samra was one of the few beings who could perceive Dominic.
Samra’s abilities, based on infinite information, were close to omniscience and omnipotence.
Even if Dominic was a young god, Samra was a being who fit the category of ’god’ better than I did, given how little I could actually do.
’And yet, he’s still lower rank than me?’ I wondered by what criteria ’rank’ was determined.
Additionally, I felt like I wanted to get Samra some kind of software upgrade.
’Maybe I should bring back an item from a trial set in the near future?’
Since I was inwardly grateful to Samra during Call of the void, I wanted to repay him.
As the helicopter approached the roof, I called out to him happily.
"Samra!"
Samra, who had been expressionless until then, gave a faint smile.
However, the atmosphere was slightly strange.
As soon as I stepped off the helicopter, Samra took me away while I was still handcuffed.
I had assumed that once I met Samra, the criminal treatment would be resolved, so I was a bit flustered.
Other soldiers tried to follow, but Samra refused them.
As soon as we entered a quiet solitary room, the surroundings were dyed in holographic light.
Having entered the virtual space created by Samra, I glanced at my shoulder.
Dominic had followed along even into Samra’s space. It seemed he would be able to travel with me without issue even if I entered other trials.
Samra stood before a wall connected to various monitors, panels, and electronic devices.
He spoke to me.
"Three days remain."
The time I had promised the TRA Administration was one month.
But because I was suddenly dragged into Call of the void, the plan had gone awry.
Although I had closed Call of the Void, that was a trial that hadn’t hatched yet, and it wasn’t a trial of South Korea.
"Director Jang Seok-yoon considers you useful, Mr. Han Goyo. Even if you fail to keep your promise, he will not turn you into experimental material for the Research and Analysis Division."
"But the moment I fail to keep the promise, my position will become disadvantageous."
"That is correct."
Whether I would stand in a position to negotiate from a point of advantage, or be in a position where I was dragged along.
To be the former, I had to close a trial within three days.
I arrived at the TRA Administration around 1 AM.
Even if I entered right now, tight was an understatement, it was an impossible timeframe.
’I don’t want to be pushed around by Director Jang Seok-yoon.
Moreover, I had declared the closure of three trials within a month in front of all the people at the Era Administration.’
I wanted to keep my word.
"According to my calculations, there is one trial that can be closed within three days. Entry is possible this afternoon. Since the flow of time differed for each trial, it was somehow possible if the time inside was faster than the outside. However, when applying conditions such as being inside South Korea, owned by the Era Administration, having a difficulty and personnel count suitable for a special task team, and being enterable today, very few trials remained."
I was struggling because nothing came to mind immediately, but Samra had found one.
Feeling the greatness of Al once again, I asked.
"What trial is it?"
"It is < Slay to Plate>."
Slay to Plate was a game where you ran a restaurant by day and entered dungeons to hunt monsters by night.
The player creates dishes using the monsters caught in the dungeon and sells them at the restaurant.
The goal of the game was to successfully operate the restaurant, earn the title of the best restaurant, and completely conquer the dungeon.
At first glance, it sounded peaceful, but once the game started, it was not like that at all.
This was because there was a daily quota, and if you failed to meet that amount, you were eaten by monsters.