Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Unique Poison Mastery #1
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I opened my eyes to see a brightly lit corridor.
While reading the status window message still floating in front of me, I felt a mix of extreme joy and confusion.
A survival message had appeared, so it seemed I had somehow escaped. I had finally broken free from that hellish nightmare.
But... how?
The rising questions prevented me from fully savoring the euphoria.
My initial guesses had mostly failed, and the new method I was prepared to risk my life on had ended before it even began.
What had caused the lights to go out...
And how exactly had I escaped?
It might seem absurd to seek logical cause and effect in ghost stories or anomalies, but based on my experiences so far, even these bizarre phenomena had a clear "reason." That was why the status window issued resolution or survival judgments.
My last memory was diving out the window at Gognija's shout. I had no idea when that window had appeared there.
Why had the correct answer I had desperately searched for suddenly materialized?
There had to be a reason.
"Grong?"
"Gah!"
The voice made me jump, nearly standing on my tiptoes in shock.
"Hmm? What's wrong?"
"Spandal, Senior..."
Turning around, I saw Spandal. Wavy purple bobbed hair. An expressionless face. It was unmistakably her.
Wait.
Being in the elevator with Spandal meant this was the moment right before containment duty.
Why had I returned to this point?
If I had survived... shouldn't I have woken up after the underground had overflowed with madness? Or was I here because I escaped through the window?
Either way... I had escaped, so this Spandal was real.
A real person, not some monster or freak!
"What's with you? Suddenly fidgeting like that?"
Spandal began speaking.
"Scared now that we're actually going underground? Heh, what a scaredy-cat."
Her words were teasing or threatening her junior as usual, but in this moment, I felt an inhuman urge to hug her.
Would she accept it if I let my emotions burst here?
She had accepted it when the lights were out. I wanted to test it. The reasons for the test were varied. Would the reaction be completely different, or the same? Knowing that seemed crucially important. It wasn't for any weird reason.
"But when it comes to survival, being a scaredy-cat is actually better..."
"Urk!"
Whoosh!
I couldn't hold back and hugged Spandal.
"Wh-what?! Kyah! What are you...!"
A soft sensation enveloped my face, and her scent spread instantly.
I had practically memorized this perfume smell.
"G-get off! This isn't allowed...!"
"Just a moment! I'm not calming down! It's scarier now that we're actually here!"
Time felt stretched out endlessly.
Would she push me away?
The next moment.
A familiar hand rested on my back.
"Th-this is troubling... If you're scared, suddenly doing this... Even if I'm your senior, this kind of thing..."
Even as she said that, she was stroking my back.
Ah.
Yes.
This is it.
The exact same reaction.
That meant the fundamentals were the same even when the lights went out. It was the surest proof that what I experienced wasn't a complete illusion or distortion.
"Will you let go soon...? How long are you going to rub your face...?"
Spandal kept stroking my back even as she said that. Her words and actions were a bit off, but at her core, she was a kind senior.
I had suddenly worried if her speech pattern might change.
"I'm okay now. Thank you."
"Sigh... Why are you wiping your tears on my chest... A timid junior has arrived."
That didn't happen.
"Then let's start the containment duties. I'll warn you in advance: no more babying. That's like helping a chick or turtle hatch from its egg."
"The egg has to break on its own. Wise words."
"Hmm, you get it."
Spandal took the lead and began explaining.
"This underground containment facility holds a wide variety of anomalies. The Containment Team manages them and extracts resources. That's what we're doing today."
It was an explanation I'd heard before, but I nodded and chimed in.
"Resources from such bizarre entities? Doesn't sound normal."
"It depends on how you use them. Of course, one mistake and you're dead. If a scaredy-cat like you even trembles..."
"Spandal Senior. That's scary. Don't say that."
"Uh, yeah. Just don't mess up."
Her face shifted as if to look down on me, but it softened immediately at my words.
"Let's get started."
"Yes. But this place is?"
"Where the Tooth Tree is contained."
Starting with this, as expected...
Spandal entered.
Wait.
Together?
She had definitely pushed me in alone at first.
Had it changed?
Because the lights were on in this normal state?
No.
Whether the lights were on or off, her personality was the same. She was just doing it together because I said I was scared at first.
The differences came from my actions.
"This is something with teeth that keep growing. Grotesque, right? You have to pull them periodically as they grow. Like this."
Spandal pulled a thorn from her fingertip and expertly extracted a tooth.
"Understood. I'll give it a try."
"Good."
I grabbed the tool and pulled the tooth myself. Since I'd done it once before, it was simple.
"Well done. Now carry it and follow me."
"Yes. Wow, there are so many monsters like this in the world."
"Right. But something like the Tooth Tree is just too safe and ordinary. The Containment Team handles much more dangerous ones."
"So this is just the tutorial?"
"Yeah."
Who knew how much I'd regressed just to clear this tutorial.
"Next is the Tooth Fairy... I think you can do this one alone."
Spandal pondered, tapping her finger to her lips.
"Go ahead."
"Really, by myself?"
I stared at her face.
"Maybe I should join...? Do you need help?"
"No. I acted too much like a scaredy-cat earlier. If Spandal Senior judges I can do it alone, it should be fine. I'll show you what I can do."
"Good. That's the spirit. I would've been disappointed if you asked for help again."
In my memory, she had made some nasty joke here too. So the kinder Spandal didn't say that kind of thing.
With that, I entered the Tooth Fairy's containment room alone.
Before passing the double doors, the familiar Rulebook greeted me. Her gift box had Spandal's head in it last time. What was that about? Not even Hooperman.
"Alone, huh."
A brief moment alone.
Time to use this gap.
Status window.
Flash!
[●Status Window]
Name: Grong
Title: Activated the Reality Recognition Device
.
.
Loop: 2
Death Count: 15
[●Loop-by-Loop Death Count List]
[●Collected Endings]
[●Functions]
[●Resolution List]
[●Acquired Abilities]
[●Point Shop]
[...]
Fifteen deaths... I really died a ton.
And the reward was only 2,000 points? As the confusion subsided, intense anger surged.
After all that suffering, just 2,000 points...!
On the other hand, it meant it was that difficult. Enough to give this many points just for the survival judgment.
Anyway, what was that title?
Still no clue.
In any case.
[●Held Points: 4,001]
I had 4,001 points now. The extra 1 made it awkwardly precise, but with this much, I could do a lot.
Reduce death count by 2?
Or draw a new ability.
"..."
I still didn't know how the death count affected me. And I'd died too many times this round. You'd think there'd be some noticeable effect... but nothing yet.
Should I reduce it?
Even a new ability wasn't all that appealing.
The detection ability? I didn't even know the criteria for detection, and I couldn't control it at will. Was it wise to spend 3,000 points on something equally useless?
Even so.
"Yeah."
Let's draw one more.
Something good might come up.
I'd still have 1,001 saved even after.
Use ability draw!
Flash!
[...][...][...]
[...][...][...]
[...][...][...]
The same random boxes greeted me. Which one? Last time, the center. So first slot this time.
Ding!
[You have acquired a new ability.]
[Now you can act the same as in the past.]
What?
Act the same as in the past?
What did that mean?
No detailed explanation like before. Just inference. Being able to act the same as in the past... Did it mean I could replicate my words or actions from previous loops exactly?
Let's test it.
The moment I willed the ability to activate, memories sharpened vividly. With that, I perfectly prepared for the Tooth Fairy task, entered past the double doors, and performed the duty exactly as before.
I received the gift box and came out.
Clap clap clap. "Well done. Congrats on completing the two safest tasks in the Management Bureau's Containment Team."
"It was simple."
"Low-risk containment entities anyone can handle. Still, I was on edge. Thought you might thank me gratefully."
The conversation from memory.
I fully understood the new ability. So it's used like this... Not sure how useful it is, but at least it's more reliable and intuitive than detection.
No limits on the ability?
Test it whenever there's a gap.
"Then let's head to the lab."
"Yes."
I followed Spandal to the lab.
The lab...
Gognija and Dejure would be there.
Would there be a red door?
Or not?
Or maybe a window?
Feeling that anxiety, I entered the lab with Spandal.
Right away, the mad scientist appeared.
"Oh! You're the newbie agent! Nice to meet you! I'm Research Team Leader Gognija!"
"Hello. I'm newbie agent Grong."
"Grong! Looking forward to working with you!"
As we greeted.
I checked that spot tensely.
"...!"
A window...!
It was there!
Something window-shaped!
Fixated on it, I immediately asked Gognija.
"Yes. But... what's that? A window in such an odd spot. Not something you'd expect underground."
"Ah, that's the emergency escape device!"
"Emergency escape device?"
"The lab's underground! Hard to flee if something happens! So we have that emergency escape!"
"..."
"Of course, never used it! Kahahahahaha!"
This...
Impossible to know for sure.
After that, the conversation proceeded similarly to before, and Dejure appeared. I checked the Tooth Fairy's box with her. The same animal bone came out.
"B-but, Junior, you listen well..."
She was just as timid.
"Well, I have to listen to my seniors. I'm the one learning."
"Th-then, want to join Containment Team...?"
The invitation to Containment Team went exactly as before.
"H-honestly, Spandal Senior is weird... B-better run... Scary... That woman..."
Her fear of Spandal was the same too.
Seeing this sparked many thoughts.
Our Dejure was extremely timid. Her cowed demeanor, her shy attitude. Born a scaredy-cat.
That Pink Slime was definitely Dejure.
So scared.
Yet she threw herself to help me back then.
That made Dejure feel incredibly approachable. Despite her extreme fear, she showed sacrificial spirit.
A senior I could trust.
"Thank you for the kind words. But I just joined, so I can't request a transfer yet."
"I-is that so...?"
"Yes. Still, Senior Dejure."
"Se-senior...? Ehehe... Yeah."
"Different departments, but I'd like to ask for your advice often. Would that be okay? I desperately need help from someone like you to get used to the Management Bureau."
"My help...!"
Dejure trembled.
"O-of course! I-I'll teach you better than Spandal...!"
"Thank you."
We wrapped up the talk and left the lab.
On the way back.
Spandal spoke first.
"Surprised by the weird bone?"
"Yes. Very surprised."
"Can't figure out why we keep a Tooth Fairy locked up just for bones?"
"Yeah."
"Actually, beast bones are duds. Jackpots are... agent organs or bones."
She revealed this first.
Spandal explained that agents sometimes had organs taken by anomalies during duties, reason unknown, but the Tooth Fairy brought them.
So I asked.
"That's terrifying. So is there an agent who lost organs now?"
"Yeah. Two in Suppression Team right now."
"Two? Who?"
"Dakanto, Jequion."
Dakanto, Jequion?
I'd heard those names... Ah!
"They got hit during a mission. Currently in cryostasis."
Part of the Gorgodio trio Section Chief Jo Seong-chun mentioned. Something about combining, but those two got taken? So Gorgodio couldn't combine and always split in half?
Thinking that, we returned to the office.
"Oh, Grong's back? Did containment duty? How was it? See Dejure?"
"Ah, Jamtree Senior."
Jamtree greeted me with a bright smile as soon as I entered. Feels like ages since I saw her face... Or maybe because I just rubbed against Spandal?
I could smell perfume from Jamtree too.
After similar talk with Jamtree as before, Jaaldi approached. Last time, she lightly encouraged me and sent me home.
Probably the same this time.
"You've safely completed your first duty. Now you're a full-fledged agent."
"What?"
Full-fledged agent...?
She didn't say that last time.
"How was it? The highly suspicious underground containment facility?"
Jaaldi approached and grabbed my shoulder.
Come to think of it, Jaaldi was the Section Chief.
She probably knew...
A great deal.
"I'd like to hear your impressions."