Chapter 200: Experimental Record 001. Observation of Reaction to Confinement.
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 200: Experimental Record 001. Observation of Reaction to Confinement.
When I came to, I was in a place I didn’t recognize.
I knew I had lost consciousness again, but honestly, I couldn’t make sense of anything else.
The surroundings were stark white and filled with what looked like medical equipment. Was I in a hospital?
I tried to push myself up slowly, but as I moved my upper body, a metallic clatter rang out and something tugged at my neck.
What the hell is this? A collar…?
I tried to move my arms to check the foreign sensation around my neck, but another metallic clang followed as shackles pulled taut, preventing me from moving freely.
…Wait. Was defeating the villain just a dream? Did I actually lose and get captured by Seo-ha?
No, that can’t be right, can it?
Normally, anyone in this situation would be panicking and falling into a state of confusion. Fortunately, however, I had experience being kidnapped and tortured, so I was able to handle this relatively calmly.
First, let’s assess the situation.
Luckily, it seemed my artifacts hadn’t been taken, but neither my talents nor my artifacts were responding. It was as if these restraints had been specially treated.
On a more hopeful note, the parts of the restraints touching my skin were treated with something that made them painless. Judging by this, the culprit might actually be someone favorable toward me.
Wow. A “favorable” person kidnapping and shackling someone. That makes total sense.
Even I think that’s such a perfect deduction I want to give myself a round of applause.
If my hands were free, that is.
Actually, it was a bit of a crude method, but I felt like I could break free if I really wanted to.
When I tried to use my talent, I noticed my Innate True Qi was slowly depleting. It seemed these restraints were designed to absorb the energy consumed when using artifacts or talents. If I just mindlessly poured my Innate True Qi into them, they would eventually break.
Whether the person was friendly or hostile, they would likely make contact the moment I woke up if they were observing me. Since there was no reaction, there was a chance—if I was lucky—that I wasn’t being watched.
Should I try to escape then?
I was worried about the state of the others, too.
As I was pouring out my Innate True Qi, right around the time I’d expended enough for one person’s worth, a signal came.
“…Stop. Your reaction is interesting, but those are more expensive than they look.”
At the same time, the woman I presumed to be my kidnapper appeared.
“Hmm, you don’t look very well. I suppose it’s natural to be startled when you wake up suddenly restrained.”
She had somewhat faint features and ash-colored hair tied back loosely. Combined with her white lab coat, her impression was quite different, yet I felt she looked strangely familiar.
Ignoring my gaze, she slowly wrote something down, then pulled up a chair and sat.
“First, is your consciousness clear?”
“I’d prefer it if you explained the situation first.”
Ah, I should be acting tougher, but because she looked so familiar, I couldn’t bring myself to be aggressive.
“I’ll decide where to start explaining based on the state of your consciousness. So, answer my questions first. Any memory loss? What’s your most recent memory?”
“…I was attacked by a villain while clearing a dungeon at the beach during the summer.”
“Hmm, really? Then you’ve lost about three months of memory. It’s autumn now.”
“…What?”
“After you returned from the beach in the summer, a knife fight broke out among the women you seduced. You tried to intervene and got stabbed.”
…She’s lying, right? No, is it true? Her expression is so deadpan I can’t tell at all.
“I see. So this is the reaction you give to a joke. I should revise my evaluation that you seem to like jokes.”
Shit, it was a joke. Thank god.
Wait, is it a “thank god” situation? Who the hell makes a joke like that to someone who just woke up from being unconscious…?
“You said it with a face like that. Who would think it’s a joke?”
“Really? Everyone else had a similar reaction. I suppose I have no talent for humor. Anyway, it’s a relief there’s nothing wrong with your memory. To introduce myself properly, I’m the one in charge of the infirmary at the Academy. Everyone calls me ‘Doctor.’”
Ah, I’d heard her voice during the ranking tournament thanks to Lee Yu-na.
“To continue the explanation, we’re still at the beach. Cathy called me in a hurry, and since I happened to be nearby, I came. This is the inside of an artificial artifact I use, called the Mobile Laboratory.”
…Laboratory? I’m pretty sure she just said “laboratory” like it was nothing.
“A laboratory?”
“Ah, I misspoke. Calling it a ‘mobile hospital room’ would probably meet with less resistance.”
…So, in the end, the fact that this place is a laboratory isn’t a lie?
“You might not believe me, but the reason I have you restrained is for your own sake. An experi… a patient needs absolute stability, and things are a bit chaotic outside right now.”
…I’ll ignore the fact that she almost called me an experimental subject, but the part about things being chaotic outside bothered me.
“Exactly how long was I out?”
“Not even a full day. You’ve been asleep for about six hours.”
Ah, that’s a relief.
“Why do you look so relieved? I hate to break it to you, but it’s not a relief at all. To you, it might only be six hours, but if you knew what the people waiting for you outside looked like, you’d never be able to make that face.”
I felt like I’d been hit over the head.
Right. What “relief”? Honestly, even I thought I went a bit too far this time.
Blocking the Black Lightning was unavoidable, but I should have at least hidden myself with teleportation or something immediately afterward.
“Is everyone… that serious?”
“Yes. For now, I’ll send word that you’re safe. It’ll be better for you to stay here and cooperate with the experiments until things outside calm down.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to just go out quickly and show them I’m okay?”
If it was really that bad, I felt I should go out and reassure them immediately, but she shook her head firmly.
“I won’t say deep friendship or affection is a bad thing, but it’s a problem when it reaches the level of separation anxiety. A hero must fundamentally be aware that their comrades can be struck down at any time. I plan to conduct counseling sessions for them on their end.”
…They get therapy, so why do I get experimented on?
“Well, to be honest, I won’t deny I have a personal interest. As a test subject, you possess very attractive qualities. Also, there’s something I need to verify personally.”
Saying that, she walked over to a machine in the corner of the lab, flipped a switch, and asked me:
“This might take a while. What would you like to drink? I have almost everything.”
“…Green tea.”
“Hmm, you like quiet things, I see.”
After preparing coffee for herself and green tea for me, she perched on the edge of the bed where I was restrained.
* * *
While repeating various casually constructed questions, the laboratory used the power of the artifact to grasp his psychological and mental state, transmitting the predicted answers directly into the Doctor’s mind.
Once a certain amount of information had been gathered, the Doctor reached a conclusion and calmly affirmed that her predictions were correct.
To describe his condition in the shortest and simplest terms: he was already a madman.
In other words, a lunatic, a psychopath. His symptoms were so severe that they would be difficult to correct without medication.
He suffered from a severe lack of affection, craving it while simultaneously believing he was unworthy of receiving it—a basic masochistic symptom. Because this self-loathing had intensified, he had no hesitation in sacrificing himself.
What was worse was that he understood that such actions caused worry or discomfort to others.
He had learned that people hated it when he got hurt, so he made sure it didn’t show on the surface during normal times.
…Up to this point, it was what she had already suspected.
However, upon performing a direct examination, she discovered a state that was even more absurd.
‘He is aware of all these symptoms and has the will to fix them.’
Usually, patients of this type are unaware of their own condition unless it’s a very special case. Or, they typically attempt to rationalize it and create defense mechanisms through their past to comfort themselves.
Yet, this boy showed the bizarre result of being aware of his illness and trying his best to fix it.
Well, for the sake of argument, let’s say that’s possible.
But the final result was something she couldn’t understand at all.
Has a tendency not to view others as human beings, but makes an effort not to do so.
There are mental illnesses where one occasionally doesn’t see others as human, but since these are mostly symptoms arising from a sense of superiority or hatred for others, there were no cases where someone tried to view others as human after the symptoms appeared.
‘…What a truly fascinating subject.’
His psyche was so twisted that she wanted to see for herself what kind of upbringing he’d had.
Well, anyway, now that the results were out, she could create a course of action for the ones waiting outside based on this.
Now, it was time to start the personal experiment she had been waiting for.
She should probably get permission first.
“Hmm, the psychological survey seems to be mostly over. Can you cooperate with a personal experiment now?”
“It’s not a dangerous drug or something that causes physical loss, right?”
“As interesting as that would be, I can’t do that to a cadet. Cathy would never leave me alone.”
“…So you are interested?”
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t. Anyway, it’s nothing like that, so don’t worry.”
She slowly reached out and grabbed his cheek. It felt soft for a boy his age.
“Hmm.”
It was a squishy, soft sensation, making her want to touch it more, but it felt like something was missing.
Next, she stroked his hair.
She had heard his body scent was like flowers and wanted to experience it once. Indeed, even his hair, which would normally smell bad if left unwashed for a long time, gave off only a faint fragrance.
“Um…”
“Ah, be quiet for a moment. This is a more important experiment than you think.”
“Ah, yes.”
Hmm. His hair was soft and nice to touch, but she didn’t feel a sudden spark.
Is this what a nephew is supposed to feel like?
* * *
She continued to stroke my hair with a rustling sound, wearing a puzzled expression.
What kind of experiment is this? Is she testing how much hair-stroking it takes to make me angry?
“I’m not sure.”
“Me neither. What exactly are you doing?”
“Ah, actually, I only found out recently, but your mother is my older sister. We were separated when we were young, so I don’t have many memories, but since I don’t really have any family left, I wanted to see if I could feel familial love from a nephew.”
Ah, I see. Then that makes sense. It must feel like a nephew suddenly dropped from the sky.
Wait, what the fuck kind of bombshell is that?
“Hmm? Are you surprised? Yu Ha-na. That’s your mother’s name, right? In terms of family relations, we’re blood-related sisters.”
No, just like that…? Out of nowhere…?
The Academy’s infirmary doctor is my aunt…?
* * *
Meanwhile, the atmosphere outside, where they were waiting for their conversation to end, could only be described as the absolute worst.
The Doctor, by nature, never minced words.
Therefore, she had calmly delivered her opinions based on the facts she had examined, and this was naturally enough to throw those who were already in a state of panic into even deeper shock.
Each of them knew for their own reasons that Kang So-hyun was in a significantly problematic state, but even so, none of them had ever thought he had crossed into the realm of mental illness.
The only silver lining was the sentence stating that he was aware of his own symptoms, and thanks to that, the possibility of improvement was very high.
Upon receiving this report, they each reached similar but slightly different conclusions.
Someone began to crave the power to ensure their friend would never have to be hurt again, while someone else showed interest in his methods.
There was one who resolved to hold him by his side until he was satisfied, and another who resolved to stay by his side until the very end.
However, their solemn atmosphere was shaken in the next moment by a single word from a girl who woke up rubbing her eyes.
“…Uwoong?”
The black-haired girl stood up slowly, walked over to Cathy, and tugged on her pants.
“Where did Daddy go?”
“Huh…? Ah, um.”
No one there could answer easily.
Because they had all seen her save So-hyun and turn into a child, they had guessed that her true identity was no ordinary being.
But suddenly, “Daddy”?
“Who is your father?”
Ha-ni, who was relatively used to children, stepped forward, but the words that came out of the girl’s mouth completely shattered the already wavering atmosphere.
“He has black hair and red eyes. And he’s pretty. Oh, he said his name was So-hyun.”
Most of the people there had the same thought.
Is that so? Then who’s the mother?