Chapter 125
I reached out my hand toward it.
The fishy scent of the sea blanketed everything, and hundreds of tentacles lunged toward me all at once.
Just before the tentacles and I made contact.
"Roasted Chestnut."
A large hand reached out from behind and pressed down on my forearm.
I tilted my head back.
A man standing three meters tall behind me looked down at me and spoke.
"You cannot."
Why?
"You won’t be able to digest something of that size."
I can eat it.
The corners of his eyes, containing blue pupils, curved into a smile.
"The young god is quite greedy. Even though you are still this small."
■■■■ had also tried to dissuade me, saying I wouldn’t be able to digest it all.
I was dissatisfied with the way he spoke to me, as if I were a small child.
I was not young.
Upon hearing this, Dominic immediately burst into laughter.
His laughing eyes looked as if they were truly gazing upon something young and tiny.
I softened a little.
It was because I knew what kind of existence Dominic was.
In front of him, everything would simply be young.
"Let’s see. Then shall we do it this way?"
Still positioned behind me, Dominic wrapped his hands around both of my shoulder blades.
I looked back at the thing I had momentarily forgotten.
The creature lying beneath my feet continued to stretch its tentacles toward me.
However, as if blocked by something, they merely slipped through the air time and again.
The writhing movement was disgusting.
As I watched it, a sudden question occurred to me.
Why did I want to eat that?
I just wanted to punish the one who coveted my subordinates.
That was something I could do without necessarily eating it.
But my train of thought was interrupted.
A soft voice, like an enchanting dream, tickled my ear.
"That thing is neither small, nor weak, nor good. It is a suitable existence for Roasted Chestnut to deal with."
He encouraged me, saying that if I just grasped a few tricks, I could sufficiently handle it, and that it was possible because I possessed strong subordinates.
"Once you’ve had your fill of playing with it, I will cut it into pieces small enough for you to eat."
I don’t want it to hurt like ■■■■.
"It won’t hurt this time."
Really?
"Because it will help cool down the heat. It will make digesting ■■■■ much easier."
...
"I promise."
If that were the case, it seemed fine. I gave a small nod.
Dominic moved his fingers lightly. He laughed, tapping me playfully.
"Once you’ve digested everything, you’ll probably be able to take your first steps."
Then, he covered my eyes with one hand. The massive hand seemed to cover my entire face.
"Let’s go back. There is nothing good about staying in a place like this for too long."
Within the pitch-black vision, I heard a certain calling.
It was a mass of corrupted sound, mixed with crushed, grotesque syllables.
It was calling me.
It tried to call my name several times, but it was futile.
Neither ’Roasted Chestnut’ nor ’Lamb’ were names that contained my essence.
Leaving the discordant noise behind, I exited.
***
As soon as I opened my eyes, the dream scattered.
Even as I tried to grasp it, it slipped through my fingers like grains of sand, leaving nothing behind.
I felt my eyes burning.
They were probably flashing gold again.
"An octopus leg approached Roasted Chestnut."
The Pudding Slime was guarding my bedside.
In a half-dazed state, I asked.
"Did it enter my dream..?"
"It is common for gods to dwell within dreams."
Dominic added the advice that it would be better not to try and recall the dream.
He explained that even if I had successfully driven the octopus leg away, remembering the dream could reconnect the severed link.
I slowly pushed myself up to sit.
Then, I waited until the throbbing heat in my eyes subsided.
A god that interferes with the human psyche.
I thought it was peculiar since I first saw the religious broadcasts here, but I didn’t expect it to approach me in this manner.
I could guess why the octopus leg was able to enter my dream.
Unlike before, I had drunk three bottles of Neo in a row.
It seemed to have influenced things in some way, allowing the octopus leg to find me.
I couldn’t remember the dream well.
But... the feeling of enjoyment remained.
It was a joy, as if I had finally discovered something I had been searching for.
As I rubbed my eyes, I flinched at the crusty feeling of dried blood.
It was because I had fallen asleep just as I was, all grimy.
Just as I was getting up, thinking I needed to wash quickly, I heard a presence outside.
Because I had practically rolled inside earlier, I hadn’t closed the door properly.
The footsteps were heading exactly toward the medic’s quarters.
As someone whose head had been cracked open a few hours ago, I couldn’t help but be wary.
I gripped the iron pipe I had carefully saved under the bed.
This time, I intended to be the one cracking a head open.
Holding the iron pipe and staring wide-eyed, my lips parted in a small "oh."
"Lieutenant Won?"
It wasn’t an intruder; it was Won Tae-beom.
I had sent a message to Kwak Han-mook, asking him to explain the general situation to CEO Cha.
I had also requested that Lieutenant Won be sent to the medic’s quarters if possible.
I just didn’t expect him to come so immediately.
As I put down the iron pipe, I noticed something strange.
Won Tae-beom was standing frozen in the doorway, looking down at me.
’Is it because I’m dirty?’
I was a mess.
My face and clothes were soaked with the blood I’d shed when my head was cracked earlier.
Moreover, because the Security Chief had smoked so much, I felt like I smelled of cigarettes.
As I subtly put my nose to my sleeve to sniff, Won Tae-beom spoke in a stiff voice.
"Report the situation, Trainee Han."
I quickly snapped into a formal posture.
I wasn’t entirely sure, but I stood and answered in a way that I thought felt most like a soldier.
"There was a clash with the Security Chief."
I reported that he had kidnapped me to turn me into a prison guard, and that I had escaped by selling out CEO Cha.
"Why didn’t you receive treatment?"
"I’m all healed."
I answered that although I was forced to drink Neo because of the Security Chief, I had resolved it using the neutralizer I possessed.
Of course, I hadn’t touched a single drop of the neutralizer; but there was no way Won Tae-beom could know the truth.
Just as I was about to tell him why I had called him.
Something very embarrassing happened.
Gurgle.
An alert went off from hunger that had surpassed its limit.
Now that I thought about it, I haven’t eaten anything since yesterday morning’s cereal.
"Lieutenant Won.... I’m truly sorry, but...."
I spoke, feeling my ears burning with embarrassment.
"Do you have any leftover food? If you do, could you give me a little..."
Won Tae-beom looked at me with an expression of utter disbelief.
I wanted to endure it if possible, but since a Bad Ending triggers if I starve too much, I needed to eat now.
Fortunately, Won Tae-beom immediately pulled food out of his inventory.
"Thank you!"
I bowed and politely received the food.
It was actually a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Having eaten nothing but expired cereal for days, I spent some time enjoying the taste of heaven.
I ate vigorously, but my speed gradually slowed.
It was because I could feel Won Tae-beom staring at me intently.
Perhaps I had been eating too gluttonously. I chewed the sandwich as quietly as possible.
After finishing, I gently brushed the bread crumbs off my lips with my hand.
"Trainee Han."
"Yes?"
I jumped as if I had committed a crime, and he spoke, sounding somewhat like he was sighing.
"Go wash up first. We will discuss the operation after that."
"Uh, but."
"It is an order."
"Yes, sir."
Since I actually really wanted to wash, I was extremely happy with Won Tae-beom’s order.
I took a quick shower in the small bathroom attached to the medic’s quarters.
After changing my clothes, I felt like I had been born as a new person.
I re-equipped the slime that I had left outside for a moment and hurried back to Won Tae-beom.
Won Tae-beom spoke bluntly.
"Dry your hair."
"Yes, sir."
Water droplets were continuously rolling off my wet hair.
Because I was in a hurry, I had only roughly rubbed it with a towel, leaving my hair like wet seaweed.
Following my superior’s order, I took out another dry towel and vigorously shook my hair dry.
Won Tae-beom waited for me quietly.
When I finally faced him again, Won Tae-beom had a complex look in his eyes.
I wondered if I had been too arrogant again, unlike a trainee.
While I was having a brief moment of reflection, he called me.
"Trainee Han. How have you been eating until now?"
"I ate the cereal in small portions. But I ran out of food yesterday morning... I survived thanks to you, Lieutenant Won."
After a long silence, he handed me five energy bars.
"From now on, if any problems regarding food arise, discuss them with your superior immediately. Do you understand?"
"Yes."
I obediently took them and put them in my inventory.
Feeling like I had become rich, I began to think seriously about the operation.
The plan I had originally established was a ’Prison Riot Centered Around the Creatures’.
Setting a date to overturn the prison all at once, pouring Neo to turn the guards into scraps, and then feeding them to the creatures.
This was the standard True Ending strategy.
Accordingly, I had discussed it with Orca and hidden Creature No. 1 in the basement.
I had asked Kwak Han-mook and CEO Cha to perform quests to raise their Guard and Warden abilities as much as possible.
I had entrusted the underground maze to Je Hyeon-oh, but since the situation had changed drastically, I had to pivot in a different direction.
The new operation I established was a ’Prison Riot Utilizing the Security Chief’s Coup’.
Racking my brain, I asked Won Tae-beom.
"Lieutenant Won. Have you completed the Correctional Clergy quest?"
"Yes. I have raised the ability to level 3."
The ability of the Correctional Clergy is brainwashing.
One can use brainwashing on a desired target to turn them into a fanatic.
The labor productivity of a human prisoner who becomes a fanatic, and the Neo production of a creature, increase significantly.
It is an ability that compresses the effect of the religious broadcasts.
As the level increases, the effective duration of the brainwashing increases; at level 3, it was about two days.
I nodded and checked something else.
"Have there been any anomalies in the mission list?"
"Today’s mission on the pastoral schedule was to brainwash the medic."
That crazy octopus leg.
I expected it would reach out to the Correctional Clergy first, and as expected, it did.
"The missions of others have all changed as well. What is happening?"
"That... the god in this place wants me."
Since Won Tae-beom’s role was the Correctional Clergy, it was difficult to lie about this part.
When I spoke honestly, his eyes narrowed.
"Are you saying that an existence called a ’god’ actually exists?"
"I think you can just think of it as a boss."
In reality, it was similar.
Cursing the octopus leg inwardly, I recalled my weekly schedule, which had become quite bizarre.
At this rate, no matter what operation I planned, it seemed destined to fail because of the missions.
Failing the same mission twice results in a Bad Ending.
Even if I escape by failing the mission today, if the same mission is given tomorrow, I’ll be trapped.
In the end, the one the octopus leg was targeting was me.
While pondering a solution, I thought of a plausible method.
A very good way to stop the octopus leg’s tyranny and bring the Security Chief’s suspicion level down to zero.
However, there is something I want to ask Dominic....
Unconsciously, I opened my lips.
"Mr. Dominic."
Gasp.
I flinched, surprised by my own voice after speaking.
The moment I thought I wanted to talk to Dominic, a strange voice suddenly came out.
As I flinched, Won Tae-beom looked at me curiously.
Dominic smiled and reassured me.
"It is alright. Your eyes haven’t changed; they remain as they are. You can now handle ordinary conversations comfortably, so you don’t have to worry."
He squished his body as if he found me admirable.
"The insignificant creatures cannot hear you, so speak freely."
Indeed, Won Tae-beom across from me was not recognizing my voice.
It felt like a whisper function often used in online games.
Using this strange but useful voice, I carefully asked Dominic.
"Does the octopus leg need to make a contract to take me as a subordinate?"
"That is correct. Bringing a god in as a subordinate is quite tricky."
"Then it should be fine if I praise the octopus leg for a few days, right?"
Realizing what I wanted to do, Dominic answered like someone talking to a child about to cause trouble.
"Roasted Chestnut, really.... I cannot take my eyes off you."
Anyway, it meant it was fine.
I reached a conclusion.
"Lieutenant Won."
"Speak."
"Please brainwash me."
To become a fanatic of the octopus leg.