118
Chapter 118
The Princess Doll is also a member of the Doll Tribe, just like me.
So, maybe she is also infected with a Virus?
That thought suddenly crossed my mind, so I tried using the Vaccine on the Princess Doll as well.
There was no harm in checking.
Whir-
A light emitted from the Button and scanned the Princess Doll from head to toe.
The Princess Doll tilted her head, not knowing what was going on.
"...?"
The result of the scan was as follows.
[Virus detected.]
[Virus - Incorrect Limit Breakthrough found.]
[Virus - Curse of Communication Restriction, found.]
She was also infected with a Virus.
I had a suspicion, and it turned out to be true.
There were two Viruses affecting the Princess Doll.
These were the same types of Viruses that I had been infected with.
The curses placed directly by the world itself.
The reason she was afflicted by such curses was probably not simply because she was from the Doll Tribe.
It made sense.
Before the Curse of Communication Restriction that was placed on me reached Annihilation,
*The Curse of Communication Restriction placed on you (Reincarnator) by this world faces Annihilation. As a result, acquiring a Language Skill becomes possible.
I clearly saw this phrase in the Evolution race description.
To sum it up.
What this world hates is not the Doll Tribe.
The targets of the curses are also not the Doll Tribe.
It was highly likely that it simply hated uninvited Reincarnators... meaning, the souls of strangers from other worlds, and placed curses upon them. Though I didn't know the reason.
Anyway.
I was certain because of this incident.
The Princess Doll must be a Reincarnator just like me.
I wouldn't need to explicitly ask now, but I should still casually bring it up later when we could talk alone.
If we learned that we were both Reincarnators, we would probably develop a sense of inner closeness and bonding.
For reference, I had been avoiding bringing it up until now because having the others handle Interpretation to ask felt a bit awkward.
Even if she is indeed a Reincarnator,
I don't intend to talk deeply about this topic.
Just acknowledging the fact that we are both Reincarnators is enough.
After all, digging into someone's past life could be considered rude.
Though it's unlikely,
I should just ask if she happens to be from Earth.
Of course, if the Princess Doll wasn't uncomfortable with it and actually wanted to, we could share deeper stories.
In any case,
I should lift the curse first for now.
Helper, is it possible to remove the Princess Doll's Virus too?
[Possible.]
[A Virus with a history of detection and treatment can be easily removed upon rediscovery.]
Incorrect Limit Breakthrough.
Curse of Communication Restriction.
It meant that both could be easily removed.
The Curse of Communication Restriction had never been treated with a Vaccine, but either way, there was a record of removing it through Evolution in the past.
[Would you like to remove it?]
Ponder.
Please do.
[I will begin the treatment.]
Clank-
The Button on my face opened up like a lid.
Something like a Mechanical Tentacle popped out from inside.
The end of it was shaped like a syringe.
"...?!"
The Princess Doll stepped back in surprise.
Hey now, stay still!
I'm trying to treat you, not hurt you!
"......."
There was no way to convey my words.
Should I resort to body language for the first time in a while?
Just as I was thinking that, the Princess Doll stopped stepping back.
Then she looked straight at me.
Her expression seemed full of trust.
She seemed to have decided that I wouldn't harm her.
Her trust in me must be pretty deep.
Right, just stay still like that.
It'll probably be over soon, so don't be scared.
It shouldn't hurt anyway.
Because she was also a member of the Doll Tribe.
Thwack!
The sharp tip of the Mechanical Tentacle dug into the Princess Doll's eye.
Wait, it was supposed to be inserted there?
I panicked slightly, as the Mechanical Tentacle had stabbed her on its own, not by my will.
[Removing Virus.......]
The moment the treatment began.
"Gasp?!"
A dramatic voice rang out.
Turning my head, I saw the Fox staring at us with her mouth wide open in shock.
Our Fox, you're awake.
Good morning.
"A guy who looks like Gom-jjang is killing In-jjang!!!"
"Gom?"
"...Eh? Is that you, Gom-jjang?"
"Gom."
I feel a bit hurt.
My appearance might have changed a little, but still... isn't it too much to not recognize your friend at a glance?
As I was making a disappointed face.
The Fox, with a panicked face, breathed heavily and slowly approached me, reaching out a trembling front paw.
"Gom-jjang, please calm down...!"
"Gom?"
"I'm begging you, don't kill In-jjang! I don't know what happened between you two while I was sleeping, but friends should never kill each other no matter what...!"
"Gom-gom...?"
There seemed to be a misunderstanding.
She seemed to mistakenly believe that I was attacking the Princess Doll with this Mechanical Tentacle.
Then again, it certainly looked exactly like that.
It wasn't that the Fox was stupid; it was a situation ripe for misunderstanding.
Even so, this also made me feel a bit hurt.
There's no way I would attack our Princess Doll, Fox.
"Gom-gom, gom-gom-gom, gom-gom-gom-gom-gom-gom."
I quickly explained the situation.
At that, the Fox breathed a sigh of relief, as if glad.
"Eh? Was that it? I'm sorry for misunderstanding...."
The Fox scratched the back of her head with an embarrassed expression.
Having finally relaxed, she approached me with a bright face and clung to me.
Then, with her eyes sparkling like stars, she stared intently at my face.
"More importantly, Gom-jjang has gotten even cooler! That's amazing!"
While the Fox was observing my appearance.
The Mechanical Tentacle that had been plugged into the Princess Doll's eye pulled out.
Along with that, Virus removal notifications popped up before my eyes.
[Curse of Communication Restriction removal complete.]
[Incorrect Limit Breakthrough removal complete.]
[Removed the Incorrect Evolution, 'Puppet Tribe', from the built-in Evolution route.]
So the Princess Doll also had an Evolution route to the Puppet Tribe through an Incorrect Limit Breakthrough.
I had the Bear Puppet route too....
Could it be that the world was trying to control us?
It really seemed like a sinister and unpleasant entity.
More importantly, this Module called Vaccine is a seriously overpowered skill.
To think it could detect and remove a Curse of the World this easily....
I thought that maybe the Mecha Teddy Bear was beyond the Elite grade.
The Elite grade is by no means low, but honestly, I don't think it's high enough to lift God's curse.
So there was a high chance that it was an exceptional race even among the Elite grades.
Choosing the Mecha Teddy Bear was the right decision after all.
Anyway.
With this, the Princess Doll's treatment is complete.
"Gom, gom-gom."
"...?"
The Virus was treated, but the Princess Doll still couldn't speak.
She still couldn't understand my words either.
It was obvious.
There was no way she could speak right away.
Only the Curse of Communication Restriction had disappeared; it didn't mean she had acquired a Language Skill.
***
A little more time passed, and everyone woke up.
Upon waking, they all let out exclamations of awe at my changed appearance.
"Yoooong! Parts of Papa's body have gotten hard!"
"Our Bear Baby has gotten cooler. He's handsome but also cute."
The Little Yellow Dragon and Ailee groped my body all over.
"Kuohh! Dongsaeng-Oppa evolved again!"
Jjokkomi looked at me with a surprised face.
I had definitely told her last night that I would undergo a Limit Breakthrough and Evolution, but she seemed to have forgotten everything after waking up.
Her memory is surprisingly bad too.
"A Mecha Teddy Bear... this is quite a fascinating appearance."
The Vampire's eyes were filled with awe.
I was running the Analysis Module, which was originally my Cane skill, to display my information.
"To think your race grade is now the same as mine; isn't your growth way too fast? I should learn from you and work harder."
You'll grow quickly if you stay in our Dungeon.
The reason we were able to grow so fast is all thanks to the Fox.
It's because we receive a Buff when we're near the Fox.
"Oooong, oong!!"
Tosuni loves me no matter what form I take.
It must be unchanging love.
Like this, I was surrounded by everyone for a while, receiving all their attention.
***
After finishing breakfast.
I had the Butler Fake Dolls summon the slave trio to the 2nd Floor where we were.
The slaves were also startled to see my changed appearance.
Anyway.
The slave trio that came up were lining up behind the other Dungeon members.
And the Dungeon members were lined up in a single file in front of me.
Why is everyone doing this, you ask?
Because it's Virus inspection time right now.
I had already finished explaining the Vaccine skill I newly acquired through this Evolution.
Vaccine Module.
This skill wasn't only usable on the Doll Tribe.
It turned out it could detect and treat any living creature.
The Princess Doll already finished her scan at dawn, so she's a pass.
The first subject for inspection was Tosuni.
[Detecting Virus.......]
[Virus detected.]
[Virus - Doll Tribe found.]
A Virus was detected in Tosuni as well.
What the, becoming part of the Doll Tribe was because of a Virus?
By the looks of it, this Virus was more like a contagious disease rather than a curse.
[Would you like to remove it?]
[Upon removal, the Doll Tribe route will no longer appear when the target undergoes a Limit Breakthrough.]
So removing it doesn't mean she gets expelled from the Doll Tribe.
It just means no future Doll Tribe routes will be generated.
Regardless, I decided not to remove it.
After all, it wasn't a harmful Virus.
The next test subject was the Little Yellow Dragon.
[Virus detected.]
[Virus - Doll Tribe found.]
A Virus was detected in the Little Yellow Dragon too.
He also only had one Virus.
He was infected with the Doll Tribe too.
That meant there was a chance he could become a member of the Doll Tribe when undergoing a Limit Breakthrough and Evolution.
Once again, I didn't treat it.
As I said before, it's not a harmful Virus.
The next subject to be tested was the Fox.
[Detecting Virus.......]
[.......]
[Detecting Virus.......]
[.......]
[Detecting Virus.......]
Wait, why is hers taking so long?
[Virus detected.]
[Virus - Curse of the Star found.]
[Virus - Stigma of Curse Multiplication found.]
[Virus - Curse of Frequent Urination found.]
[Virus - Hematuria found.]
[Virus - Internal Organ Necrosis found.]
[Virus - Curse of Anxiety found.]
[Virus - Indigestion found.]
[Virus - Meat Indigestion found.]
[Virus - Curse of Taste Corruption (tastes rotten when eating meat) found.]
.
.
.
.
.
.
[Virus - Curse of Obsession found.]
[Virus - Curse of Delirium found.]
[Virus - Tinnitus found.]
[Virus - Curse of Depression found.]
[Virus - Curse of Disgust Induction found.]
[Virus - Curse of Mana Backflow found.]
[Virus - Doll Tribe found.]
Oh my....
She's a walking ball of Viruses.
Why is she carrying so many of them?
Is it because she wandered around so much before meeting us?
"Gom......."
"Hoeh? Gom-jjang, why do you look so grim? Did the test results come out a bit bad?"
Fox.
I'm going to start treatment right now, so brace your eye.