Get In There, Guinea Pig
Clatter. The atmosphere in the laboratory—which doubled as a workshop—was almost identical to my last visit. The first things to catch my eye were Hwang Sumin, looking haggard as she hung half-off a ladle to stir a massive cauldron, and Kesia, who was busy sweeping the floor with bandages wrapped tightly around her self-inflicted wounds. Both were doing their best in their respective roles.
In one corner, I spotted the engineer Jeong Jiyeon, hunched over and wearing a welding mask as she assembled something, and Yoon Hajun, the Alcid-infected, who was busy boiling a concoction and tasting it with a spoon. Both were deeply focused on their craft. Finally, there was Kekere, being used as a lab rat by Hellus.
Seeing everyone from Hwang Sumin to Kekere crowded into one place made it feel like a collection of the most uniquely bizarre individuals in the entire faction. It felt like watching the insane laboratory of a science-themed sitcom. ‘It’s like a research lab at Miskatonic University...’ It was a gathering place for the lunatics of the Cthulhu Mythos. Especially since everyone’s eyes looked half-dead, which only added to the vibe. They had the damp, hopeless expressions of graduate students being worked like cattle by their professor. Wasn’t that the true face of a slave?
‘But that bastard Kekere... why does he have all that junk stuck to his back...?’ Kekere was staring blankly, mouth agape, drooling a substance that could have been saliva or mucus. His gaze, fixed on the window, reminded me of a bear in a zoo longing for the wild.
“Gyaaa!! Master!!!”
“Ugh. What now.”
Kekere, who had been spacing out while looking out the window, finally noticed me. As soon as he saw me, he shrieked and came running. He clung to me, spitting as he poured out his grievances about his unfair situation and the cruelty of a reality he couldn’t accept.
“Master!! Listen to me!!! This! And this too!! That crazy old geezer is doing weird experiments on me!! It hurts!! It hurts like hell!!! I came here as a research assistant!! I came here to be a curse-torture specialist!!! Why am I being used as a lab rat!! Damn it!! Master, stop that crazy old man!! I’m going to die at this rate!!”
“Hey, you piece of... stop spitting!! Get off! Can’t you just get lost!! You’re filthy. Ugh, so sticky... why is this kid so slimy?”
“Augh...! E-even Master... *sob*...”
Kekere collapsed onto the floor like a tragic heroine, shedding tears the size of chicken droppings. Seeing this, Hwang Sumin, who was busy stirring her ladle while brewing a potion, spoke up with a half-soulless grin.
“Haha... you’re here...”
“Yeah... but you look more haggard every time I see you.”
“I know, right... maybe it’s because I can’t sleep properly...? Haha... I don’t think I’ve slept even ten hours this week... haha...”
“Hmph... should I assign you an Awakened slave?”
“Huh? R-really...?”
“Yeah. But they’re American.”
“I-it doesn’t matter... I know some English... I’ll teach them Korean... I need help... Hellus, that crazy human, refuses to take anyone normal, so I feel like I’m going to lose my mind...”
“Got it. Hmph...”
I should send Eila and Bella to the lab. Anna didn’t seem to have much to do either... I’d have to send them here or figure something out. They were Awakened, after all; having them do menial chores like laundry and dishes was a waste of manpower. Above all, since Hwang Sumin was the one making all the communication potions I found so useful, I had to help her out. Ever since she learned the recipes from Hellus, she’d become a slave to simple labor, and if I left her like that, she might just commit suicide one day. Alienated workers usually suffer from immense psychological pain, after all. I don’t want a slave revolution.
“Hey, Yoon Hajun. What are you doing?”
“Ahaha... just boiling the larvae...”
“Ah... I see.”
Yoon Hajun was boiling Alcid larvae. I handed him a book.
“This is...”
“Read it. It’ll help.”
What I handed Yoon Hajun was the Diary of the Dollmaker. If he read this, he would be able to awaken as a Stone Master. I’d been looking for a worker who wasn’t an Awakened but had decent manual dexterity and a strong sense of responsibility... Yoon Hajun seemed perfect. He was the leader of the Alcids and a guy with a strong sense of duty. Of course, Kesia or Kekere, who had drunk the Endless Impulse to boost their talent, could have been excellent Stone Masters, but... Kekere was excluded because he had to become a 'Perfect Being' following me soon, and Kesia was already a high-level combatant. Besides, fish-folk didn’t really suit doll-making.
“A class-change scroll... are you sure I can have this?”
“Yeah. But after you become a dollmaker with that... you’ll have to go on a dispatch.”
“A dispatch...?”
“Yeah... to a place called the Thrill Mansion...”
I told Yoon Hajun about the broken dolls at the Thrill Mansion. If Yoon Hajun awakened as a Stone Master, couldn’t he just hole up in a corner of the Thrill Mansion and fix them all? Just like how he spent all day silently boiling his Alcid larvae. Yeah, Yoon Hajun could definitely do it. Therefore, I planned to awaken Yoon Hajun as a Stone Master and send him in as the butler of the Thrill Mansion. Then he’d fix the dolls on his own. He seemed like the type who liked to hide away and build things anyway. He was a guy who didn’t talk much unless you spoke to him first. Moreover, since he wasn’t human, his sexual and appetite drives weren’t very high, which made him perfect. I could just send in another Alcid-infected so he wouldn’t get too bored.
“Hoho... you’ve arrived.”
“Ah, Hellus.”
Just then, Hellus, who had been scribbling something in his private room, took off his glasses and stepped out. I shook his hand and talked about the Fusion Coffin.
“Indeed... to think such an item exists...”
“So, I’m thinking of installing it here. What do you think?”
“I’m all for it. Do as you wish, Master...”
“But Hellus, what’s with that thing stuck to Kekere’s back...? He’s been crying and screaming, saying it hurts like hell.”
“Ah... that was a slight imitation of the slime jar we saw last time.”
“What?”
What Hellus told me was truly shocking.
“So... you’re saying you were turning Kekere into a drug-receptive organism...?”
“Yes. Due to the nature of the Slaughter Beast, he has little resistance to accepting foreign substances... so I was maximizing that. I wanted him to be able to absorb the full effects of the decomposing drugs without any loss... so I was creating a flexible and sturdy constitution to hold that power in his body... but then, Master, you brought this new artifact, the Fusion Coffin. This... is fate.”
“Wow...”
How could we be so in sync? As expected of Hellus... he was already preparing to use Kekere in a way similar to what I had envisioned. He was the only old man I truly acknowledged. This guy was something else... well, he was an alchemist who ruined his own world for the sake of revenge, so his area of thought was bound to be a bit different from normal people.
“Then let’s experiment right away!”
“Hohoho. Excellent! It seems he’ll be switching bodies into a completed doll soon... but before that, let’s have some fun with one last experiment!!”
Hellus’s smile was exactly that of a mad scientist. I was probably the same. There was something strangely compatible between me and this crazy old man.
“Reward selection. Servant Fusion Coffin.”
I summoned the Fusion Coffin into the corner of the lab. The coffin consisted of three cylinders; the targets placed in the two on the sides would be fused and emerge through the middle one.
“Hehehe. Get in there, Kekere!”
“W-wait!! I don’t want to!!! Master!! I’ll be a good boy!! I’ll take the drugs properly!! Please, spare me!!!!”
“You’re not going to die, so get in there!! Hold on!! Endure it!! If you endure, you can come out alive!!!”
“Kyaaaa!! Nooooo!!!!”
Clunk.
We shoved the struggling Kekere into one of the cylindrical coffins. Meanwhile, Kesia, who had been sweeping the floor, had already fled in terror. That girl was quick-witted...
“This is why I like quick-witted ones...”
“Hmm... is there any good fusion partner, Hellus?”
“Let’s see... hmm...”
Hwang Sumin was obviously out, and Yoon Hajun had just been given a new position. Jeong Jiyeon was already pulling her weight. No, using a human weaker than a Slaughter Beast as a fusion target would be a loss anyway. I needed someone other than a human. I needed a fusion target that was my slave... and yet perfectly suited to be mixed with the Slaughter Beast Kekere.
A mushroom-man? A parasitic tree? Or... a parasitic human?
“Yes, that would be good.”
“What?”
“Let’s fuse the Dragon-Blooded something-or-other you caught the other day with Kekere...”
“Ah... the Dragon-Blooded Knight... Aran...”
“Yes, that guy.”
“B-but it might fail... isn’t that a bit of a waste?”
“Fufufu. Since ancient times, those with dragon blood have been valuable catalysts and lab rats. I don’t know if Kekere’s ego will remain... or if the Dragon-Blooded Knight’s ego will... but a monstrous being will be born.”
“Good... proceed.”
The combination of an amphibian and a reptile. Would the bullfrog Kekere devour the Dragon-Blooded Knight... or would the self-proclaimed dragon-kin Aran crush the Slaughter Beast? We laughed and summoned the Dragon-Blooded Knight, Aran. Soon, Aran was brought into the lab, completely oblivious.
“Hm? What is this. I came because you said there was a strong opponent... no, wait, when can I fight Pharus again? Answer me!! You said you’d let me fight!!! You lying bastard!!!”
“Hehe... wait, Aran. I’ll let you fight Pharus. This is the final measure we need to take before that.”
“What...? Final measure...? Is that true? Finally... finally, can I fight Pharus with my life on the line...? I’m sure... I’ll be one step stronger. I feel like I can reach a new world if I defeat Pharus.”
“Yeah. I told you I’d make it happen. Now, hurry up and take off your clothes and get in here.”
“W-wait... what is this container? It smells... dangerous...”
“Ah, it’s nothing like that, I told you.”
“B-besides... I think I hear screaming from the other container...”
“Ah, you heard wrong. It’s just your imagination. Imagination.”
“My senses... do not make errors...”
“You really talk a lot. Don’t want to fight Pharus? Should I just call the whole thing off?”
“T-that’s not it, but...”
“Phew... if you get in here, I can accurately grasp your physical condition. They asked me for data so they could be sure of your level before Pharus fights you. Do you have any idea how hard I’ve been working behind the scenes to set up this match between a Sword Saint and a Dragon-Blooded Knight? You wouldn’t know.”
“Oh... is that so...? I thought... you were just holed up in the Abyss... I didn’t know you were working so hard for me. Thank you.”
“Hehe. Don’t mention it. Now, get in.”
“Yes. I will. Fuhahaha! I’ll be able to fight Pharus soon!!!”
Completely taken in by my honeyed words, Aran entered the Fusion Coffin with a wide grin. Somehow... I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was combining a fool with a fool.