Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: I Have a Mental Illness That Kills You If You Treat It
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When it was 'Portrait of a Mad Woman', physical contact with the painting had been impossible.
But once it changed to 'Portrait of a Beautiful Woman', physical contact became possible.
As we headed toward the Awakener Association building...
Yoo Euisul tossed a few questions my way.
"Name."
"My name?"
"What's your name?"
"Oh. Lee Jia."
"Race."
"Fervent Devotee of Reflecting Myriad Stars."
"Say my name."
"Euisul-ssi."
"You're out of your mind. It's Euisul-unnie, not Euisul-ssi."
"…"
Got it.
This must be some kind of memory test.
Fair enough.
No matter how normal I might look on the surface...
I had been properly exposed to the Anomalous Phenomenon's mental attack.
So running a memory test like this wasn't unreasonable.
"What's 5 times 9?"
"45."
"What's 45 times 788 divided by 6?"
"How am I supposed to do that in my head!"
"See? You're out of your mind. The answer's 2715.3."
Crazy.
Yoo Euisul truly was a terrifying woman the more you got to know her.
Great at games.
Smart as hell.
Her face was pretty damn gorgeous too.
And her abilities as an Awakener were top-tier.
If you ignored her shitty personality, she was basically perfect.
Was this what they called an alpha female or whatever?
I was stunned by Yoo Euisul's superhuman mental math skills.
Then I pulled up the calculator app and checked the result of the equation she'd just given.
The answer was...
"It's 5910! You got it completely wrong!"
"So what? Your head seems fine. At least on the outside."
Good.
She wasn't a perfect woman if you excluded her personality.
Yoo Euisul let out a sigh, uncharacteristically, and spoke.
"…I was surprised this time too. When you said you were hearing voices, I even broke out in cold sweat."
"You seemed pretty calm for someone who was."
"I've got Awakener experience."
Why was this woman being so nice to me?
Who knows.
Suddenly, Yoo Euisul slowly scanned my face.
Then she said, as if it was ridiculous.
"You, you're really okay, right?"
"I'm fine, I told you. Hit me with another multiplication table question."
"You're not completely immune to mental attacks like I am—they do affect you—so... it just means your resistance is insanely strong."
"This must be the grace of Reflecting Myriad Stars too."
"…"
I wasn't joking.
This time, it really was the grace of Reflecting Myriad Stars.
That hallucination I saw...
It wasn't an illusion.
Those tentacles were unmistakably reaching for me.
If...
I hadn't blocked that tentacle hallucination with 'Reflecting Myriad Stars Shield'...
What happened afterward would have been...
I don't know exactly, but unspeakably horrific.
Suddenly...
I glanced at the cube dangling from my waist.
"Oh, now that I think about it, this cube helped too. Should I give Kim Junghwan a proper thank-you?"
"Yeah."
"What's up?"
"Hey, hand that over for a sec."
I handed Yoo Euisul the cube hooked to my skirt with the keychain.
After examining it briefly, she nodded and said to me.
"It's not thanks to the cube."
"Why not?"
"It's not activated. You saw me swing my sword—you know items always give off a faint glow when their effects are active."
Oh.
Come to think of it, the cube had lost its light at some point.
No way.
Kim Junghwan.
You bastard.
"Did Kim Junghwan sabotage me..."
"As if. Idiot. It just finished its job and went dormant. Kim Junghwan said it has limits."
"Oh, really?"
...Sorry, Kim Junghwan-ssi.
I misunderstood you big time, fellow streamer bro.
Streamers shouldn't suspect or slander each other, right?
Anyway...
About this body of mine...
It wasn't just tough—it seemed to have pretty good stamina too.
I'd never exercised in my life.
My only hobby was watching VTubers at home, so of course I hadn't.
And yet...
Running from the midpoint of Namsan all the way to the summit without stopping, and I wasn't even out of breath.
Thinking back...
Last time, when we resolved the 'Golden Piggy Bank' Anomalous Phenomenon, I'd only caught my breath a few times—no exhaustion.
...Can't deny it.
This body was pretty damn useful.
However...
This hunk of meat had a serious drawback.
"Can't we slow down a bit? We've got time."
"Why, tired?"
"No, not tired, but it kinda hurts."
"You said you weren't hurt earlier."
"I'm not hurt... it's just, um..."
How do I even explain this?
Instead of words...
I cupped my breast, which had been bouncing wildly since earlier, with one arm.
"…"
"…"
"…"
"You rude bitch."
What part of me is rude?
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ As Yoo Euisul said, the Awakener Association was full of opaque cloths everywhere.
After wrapping the painting tightly in five or six layers of opaque cloth...
We watched the Anomalous Phenomenon tensely for a while.
Fortunately...
Even after 30 minutes, the Anomalous Phenomenon didn't trigger its horrific effect.
Just as the wiki said...
Once covered in opaque cloth, it ceased activity.
That seemed to wrap up this Anomalous Phenomenon resolution.
Collecting the remaining items wasn't my job.
Whatever, I'd been exposed to the mental attack anyway.
I had to head to the Association HQ for a proper mental exam.
Eh.
I could update the item wiki anytime.
Later would be fine.
It was 10 PM now.
Late, but I got in the car to head to Association HQ for the exam.
Oh.
Obviously, it wasn't my car. I didn't have one yet.
I stared anew at the woman gripping the wheel.
"…"
"What're you staring at?"
"No... aren't you going home?"
It was unexpected.
Last time, she'd bolted out the second the Anomalous Phenomenon was resolved.
Far from leaving, Yoo Euisul offered to drive me to HQ.
Yoo Euisul spoke in a bored tone.
"It's on my way anyway."
"…"
"Not grateful?"
"Oh. Thank you."
"Not even bowing or anything, jeez..."
This woman.
She wasn't actually rude.
She just sucked at expressing emotions.
Carried me in games.
Resolved Anomalous Phenomena for me.
Drove me around.
She'd done everything.
…
…
…
"Hey, where are we going?"
"Fourth floor, Room B-62, Euisul-ssi. It's already prepa—"
"Got it."
Never mind.
What kind of rude speech is that to the info desk girl?
She was only nice to me.
The Awakener Association HQ info desk girl looked at Yoo Euisul with a weary expression.
Fair enough.
Considering Yoo Euisul's personality, it was warranted...
...Huh.
But why was she...
Looking not just weary but outright terrified when our eyes met?
Oh.
Ah.
"Ah, fuck."
"What? Why the sudden cursing?"
"A bad memory just hit me."
I remembered.
That info desk girl.
The one whose hands shook as she called security when I was banging my head in protest.
"Any items that erase memories?"
"There are. Complicated process to use, though. Want me to snag one?"
"...No."
Why does something like that actually exist?
We reached the fourth floor.
Yoo Euisul didn't get out—instead, she pressed the first floor again.
"Wha... you're leaving?"
"I'll call. Get ready for proper debrief."
With that, the elevator doors closed.
Pretty anticlimactic farewell.
The mental exam consisted of three stages.
First: Precise exam by a psychiatrist armed with modern medicine.
Second: Precise exam by mental ability users.
Third: Final exam by mental ability users using mental items.
With three layers, accuracy was nearly 100%.
The exam took two hours total.
And results were immediate.
The Association's mental ability user told me.
"Lee Jia-ssi, you're normal."
"Yup."
Of course I was.
I'd been telling them I was fine since earlier.
"However."
However?
"If there's anything notable... the first exam showed abnormal, but the second and third showed normal. Modern medicine doesn't really divide people into 'normal' and 'abnormal' binaries... but the Association does for convenience."
"What does that mean?"
"Simply put, by modern medicine standards, Lee Jia-ssi, you're extremely abnormal. They'd lock you up in a psych ward without question."
"…"
Yeah.
This result made sense in a way.
During the first exam...
When asked if something was suppressing me, I said yes.
-> Today she granted me grace, but usually, she does suppress me.
When asked if I sometimes felt intense dread of bad things happening,
-> I answered that I feel life-threatening danger every moment, every minute, every second.
No, if I don't stream once a day, I get dragged off and killed.
When asked if my body sometimes moved against my will, I said yes.
-> Talk? You'll pay the price for blasphemy.
Maybe too honest.
Even I don't seem normal.
Whatever.
"So, no mental corruption from the Anomalous Phenomenon, right?"
"The results say that, but..."
"Can I go then?"
"...Yes."
"Bye."
By modern medicine, I'd be treated as mentally ill.
But this mental illness...
Is one that kills you if you treat it.