The Tragedy of Researchers, the Mischief of a Horse, and the Fall of Pyongyang
That bastard goes about everything like it's an art form.
"Aigoo, could you at least explain to me directly why this keeps getting applied to me?!"
Among the countless researchers dragged out of the lab today, there are those who occasionally think things like this. Members of the slave caste at the very bottom of every university—people with no time and no patience for difficult topics.
"...What the hell? Did I finally hit the limit of my mental fortitude by eating and sleeping in the lab until I lost my mind?"
Escaping reality. Hallucinations. The process by which the brain creates mental defense mechanisms to block excessive stress. Is that what's happening?
"Goddammit, how many times have I had to scrap papers because of this shit?! When does it end?!"
Digging and digging and digging again, despairing at the invisible end of research, hoping for a breakthrough.
"We're in deep trouble! The existing paper we'd been using as a premise was proven false yesterday!"
"Goddammit, how much time have I wasted on this up until now...!!"
The project they'd been working on was nearly finished, but it couldn't go forward due to the influence of another researcher.
"Heh... heh heh... I wish the next research would at least have an answer key prepared..."
It would be more accurate to say the desperate hope for even a sliver of luck expressed itself this way.
But, as the saying goes, the world is such that lucky people grab opportunities more often than desperate ones. And a barren field that can barely spare a pinch of fertilizer would be grateful just to have that much—let alone what it actually needed.
Om, om, om...
"Mm! This isn't bad at all. All the biscuits in this era are sweet—truly a delight for the mouth."
Into the fresh new soil that had just begun, a 'pseudo-answer key' appeared out of nowhere, munching on snacks while fielding questions. No matter how pathetic the girl in front of him looked, stuffing an entire emergency ship ration biscuit into her mouth.
"So, basically, the Kim Chomok here woke up for the first time by forcibly sucking the energy out of an intact mountain..."
"That's right, that's right! Not even knowing her own share of the water, stuffing biscuits into her mouth like a—like a—"
The other party was a unique case—a 'sapient ability.' A research subject unlike any other in the entire world. And it had brought an even more unique case along with it. If not now, when would she ever get a chance to have her analytical abilities sharpened? Jeong Ilhwan trembled with excitement, like an undergrad student staring wide-eyed at a professor.
"So, I thought he basically absorbs organisms that perform 'chlorophyll-based respiration,' right?"
Pushing the results of her analysis based on how she approached the ability onto the living evidence standing in front of her.
"Hmm, not a bad approach, but... the scale is a bit small, don't you think."
—What's on land is famine, what's in rivers and seas is drought, and the essence of living things is to dry them out and kill them. Licking an elephant's leg won't cut it—you won't easily score well that way.
As a result, she received a C- grade and heard, "Dammit, I just barely passed!" from the crestfallen Jeong Ilhwan.
Of course, no matter how kindly professors and teaching assistants explain the reality, there are always people who show up with a sour face saying, "Does this grade even make sense?" and demand a grade correction.
"...Wait, if that's true, then why can't I consume anything except 'plant-based materials' right now?"
Just hearing it makes it sound like dirt, water, and living beings are all tasty energy packs for him. But isn't Kim Chomok now at the point where he can cram crude oil down his throat under the logic that petroleum is also plant-based?
This customer service claim, Dark Horse Industry dealt with firmly:
"You woke me up against my will—you're a reserve knight on the verge of failing, and you're forcing me to be conscious. There's no refund or warranty for a product defect caused by the customer, Chomok!"
"What?! That's product fraud! And you—"
"Tch, shut up! If you can't even grasp the topic and just shove random crap in your mouth, whose fault is that?!"
If it had grown gradually in a gentle curve, or at the very least through steps with low hurdles, it would have climbed from the bottom—starting as a herbivore and rising all the way to the apex omnivorous predator.
"You literally puffed up your belly saying, 'When you're hungry, just rip the grass off the mountain like it's nothing!'—isn't that what you said?!"
Maybe because he'd urgently ripped off the amount of a whole mountain in a panic for strength. Even though his stomach stretched, that area could only receive plant-based energy, effectively making him a picky eater.
"Why can you only do physical enhancement? Why would a herbivore need claws and fangs to cut meat?"
—If you press down and trample by weight class, even strong fighters would have to run away bowing their heads!
After hearing that damn foal's words while she ruthlessly jabbed her index finger into this side of the face. The image of some animal flashed through Kim Chomok's mind.
"...Goddammit, me being an African elephant?!"
Seeing the pinnacle of large herbivores that no predator could touch unless it was her size.
"Good, hand over the biscuits or carrots over there. Oh, that spot hasn't grown yet, has it?"
The black horse, not bothering to hide her exasperated expression, extended her empty plate.
While the dejected Kim Chomok rummaged through his friend's emergency energy bag for snacks...
"When will that damn elephant ever grow into a great knight... sigh."
Fix her pickiness, teach her how to fight against those stronger than herself, teach her combat techniques, and even application skills...
"...My body is sorely lacking even four of everything."
Whether the blood sugar spike was making her head hurt, or whether the difficult road ahead was making it hurt. The black horse, pressing down on her throbbing temples, let out a sigh.
The world never stops, and the clock's hands flow on unhurriedly. Starting in winter, spring arrived, and before anyone knew it, the scorching air...
"GRAAAAH! What the hell is this insane sun?!! Weather Bureau—!! When is the rain coming?!"
"You really love outdoor activities, huh? That's why those brats who popped out the door are running away with their heads down, isn't it!"
While countless people were suffering in the sweltering heat with various causes, on the other side... perhaps because they'd accounted for the heatwave all year.
FWOOOOSH!
"Aaargh...!! Why does it only hit me even though we both got the same enhanced body?!"
"Now do you understand how inefficient it is to dump all your energy into physical enhancement?!"
Kim Chomok rose from the violent chaos that would make ancient ancestors weep at his protein cooking methods.
"Being strong, tough, and fast—there's nothing better than that... HURRRK!!"
"If you want to be stronger and tougher, you need to concentrate your power. Compress it!"
The method of learning better power distribution techniques—using similar force but getting one-sided results. How to strike harder with the same effort.
"You're already using similar force, aren't you! If you don't want to accumulate more injuries, you have to learn whether you like it or not!"
It was all he'd been grinding away at all day—might get boring, but...
"If there's even a little progress by today, I'll consider letting you go outside again!"
"Dieeee—!!"
SWOOOOSH! The carrot hanging from a string, too big and beautiful to resist, swung before his eyes.
If there's a sentient being watching from inside your body, coexistence and symbiosis are fine and all, but what a exhausting life that would be.
"I'm putting an end to the 24-hour live stream of stat-play—!!"
A life where your own existence is monitored in real-time by someone else—even in movies, you'd try to escape once you realize it. Naturally extending two fingers toward the eyes, while simultaneously stomping the foot to pin him down so he couldn't pull away...
'If he closes his eyes or tries to retreat, that means the real attack is aimed at the torso, huh?'
Seeing him focus energy on the opposite hand he'd extended behind him, he definitely had talent. The guy who'd charged in without even thinking that much when he first started was now capable of anticipating his opponent's response. For someone who'd only been throwing his body into fights for about two years, that was an excellent sample of judgment.
But that wasn't a reason to hand him the carrot.
"Not bad! Now I can seriously call you 'Reserve Knight Candidate'!"
"Ow, I hate the way you slap me aside so lightly...!"
After sending the extended hand aside with less than half the force, he thrust his foot up to strike the solar plexus...
CRACK!
"...Wh—?! When did you start carrying something like this?!"
The clear sound of metal ringing made the horse girl's eyes go wide with shock.
"I figured one hit would be enough, so I pre-layered steel plates and stored energy nearby!"
They said they taught practical martial arts—eye gouging, solar plexus strikes, ear chewing. If that's the case, hiding armor secretly is beyond even the realm of cheap tricks.
Whether he'd been stabbed in his opening, or whether he couldn't hide his dumbfounded expression. The rigid horse, finally pouring out the frustration built up over a long, long patience, swung a finishing blow at the black horse's side.
"If you keep getting hit like this and knock out for 24 hours..."
KA-RAAAANG!!
...Well, more accurately, he imagined himself swinging the blow. A variable he never could have imagined appeared—armor automatically forming around his body!
"You cheating bastard—!!"
"Horses fundamentally wear mare armor. Next time you pull some stupid stunt, study up in advance."
A few seconds later, Kim Chomok was kicked by a horse's hoof, launched high into the sky, and crashed back down to earth. As always, it was his own fault.
"Ughhh... Goddamn it, I thought I was finally going to get hit this time...!!"
For Kim Chomok, who got launched by the horse's hoof hard enough to knock him out again, the small comfort was...
"Still, that was a pretty good idea. I didn't expect you'd be hiding something like that."
Thanks to the combat master who treats cowardice on the battlefield as a virtue. The fact that she'd secured a full day alone tomorrow.
The girl who stepped out in a light white dress, fitting the suddenly hot weather...
"Grow up like this, Chomok. There's nothing as boring as a knight waiting for a knight to grow up."
Looking at him with a gentle expression was a little tingly but also put her in a good mood.
Whether from a body too exhausted and painful to stand, or just collapsing—Kim Chomok slumped down.
"...Now that I think about it, why was it me?"
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"Do other people also have a sentient entity living inside their bodies like you? Or am I the weird one?"
Naturally bringing up a topic she'd been thinking about who knows when. Even after reviewing countless cases worldwide, this 'personification of an ability' had never appeared even once. Given the information-spreading power of the social media age, she'd at least expected someone similar to show up somewhere...
"Did intelligence agencies hide it? In this era? When we should be promoting strong ability users?"
No matter how much she searched, the only results were gossip like "Which ability is the strongest?" General ability gossip was all that came back. Even in countries where ability users had reached the level of heads of state—like Mexico—or in countless nations that couldn't maintain public order, nothing came up?
"Obviously, my case of having you living inside me is a special one, isn't it."
Either most ability users in the world don't have creatures like this inside them... or they just "haven't woken up yet." One of the two, wouldn't it be?
"Hmm... well, let me tell you a few things. Similar creatures are probably sleeping somewhere."
The ability's answer key, looking at this side with an amazed expression, nodded her head.
With that single action, Kim Chomok confirmed for the first time that he was the first person to have extracted a sentient entity from inside his body.
"...Then I need to ask the fundamental question. Why did only you wake up?"
At the same time, rising from the depths of his heart—the unease of "Why am I the only one who's strange?" began to surface.
"Because you, without even thinking, did something similar to my essence, didn't you?"
"...What?"
This whole thing circling back as "You're the weird one"—wasn't the answer he'd expected.
—Wait, what did she just say? Something similar to my essence?
Who the hell is this creature?
"A black horse. Famine. The metaphor of economic panic spreading and the weaponization of food..."
"...Huh?"
Didn't someone, somewhere, say something and do something that sounds familiar? "Let's go around rice paddies sucking them dry! Ugh, wash that thought away! Sign here at the department store!" "Wow, from now on we gotta suck up petroleum! If we seize the rice of industry, we can deal a bigger blow."
The countless reckless things he'd said—now Kim Chomok finally realized they'd all been aimed in this direction.
"Wait, so that thing where I shouted I'd suck up all the rice paddies..."
"That's right, that's right... that's exactly the spirit of the knight of famine—screaming 'a penny makes a barley, a stock makes a—'!"
The black horse, the sole horse of the Knight of Famine, nodded with a smile covering her entire face.
"Even if your power is weak, you're the most mentally sound knight candidate there is. How exciting!"
If she reached the level of Knight of Revelation, she'd be among the most honorable of the most dishonorable gatherings.
"Ughhh—!!"
"Wh—what?! Where are you going while talking?! I'm watching you for the next 24 hours! I said I'm watching you!!"
The top prospector in this field, who'd heard "That reserve knight candidate has a strong mental constitution!" from the people of that gathering, denied all her natural talents and burst out the door before long.
WEEEEEEEEE—!!
"What the hell is this now?! Why is the air raid siren going off?!"
The bulletin that was supposed to heal the wounded heart during rest time...
—Flash bulletin! It has been reported that North Korea fell today at 11:30, unable to defend Pyongyang!
"...Huh?!"
—North Korean leadership attempted to flee but were reportedly devoured by monster swarms that suddenly emerged from a newly opened gate. Unlike other nations where the death of heads of state causes only economic problems...
"Now then, everyone! This is the actual situation! Report to the nearest military unit within 3 days..."
They happened to be in a ceasefire state, occupying unreturned territories—and the leadership of that rogue group was covered in monster scales? Suddenly, someone has to clean up the monster nest and plant a flag. That's the obligation of any nation.
"...No way."
And any nation in this situation activates 100% mobilization—active duty, reserves, civilian defense, all of it.
"No waaay—!!"
The countless black-and-white color techniques he'd forced himself to learn through getting hit—now the time to shine had arrived. Of course, it wasn't entirely voluntary.