Chapter 44
Spangdal's explanation was horrifying.
"So... there are quite a few bizarre places like Cheongakmeri Hospital."
"That's right."
Apparently, there are more than a few bizarre spaces like Cheongakmeri Hospital. Places like that are almost impossible to solve by force, and you can only barely escape by following rules that defy common sense.
It seems that horrific beings in those places often kill agents in incomprehensible ways or steal body parts, such as internal organs.
Normally, they recover them through dangerous operations in the relevant space, but there are apparently cases where the Tooth Fairies hand them over like this...
"Then what, do they just surgically reattach the organs they found? And where is the agent who lost them in the first place, what are they doing? Do they attach artificial organs or something?"
"Usually, yes. But if something irreplaceable gets taken... we just freeze them and pray, hoping we'll find it someday."
"..."
It was truly a terrifying story.
They steal your internal organs?
Let's say I acquire some powerful ability through the status window.
Would that kind of power even work on monsters?
This is a world where even Department Head Lee Dohyeong gets one-shotted by the hospital director. In fact, Salhyung, the Nun, and Jaaldi were wiped out while fighting nothing more than the Children of the Star's underlings.
Anyway, the fact that the Tooth Fairies find lost body parts seems like pretty valuable information. I don't know how they do it while they're isolated, but it's not something I need to understand.
Lost in those thoughts, I arrived on the floor where the office was.
I checked the lights with paranoid care.
They were on.
Honestly, in a place like this, it probably wouldn't be a big problem even if they were off.
There are windows everywhere.
I followed Spangdal into the office.
"Oh my, Grong's here? You went and tried out quarantine duty, right? How was it? Did you see Dejure?"
"Ah, Senior Jamtree."
As soon as I came in, Jamtree welcomed me with a bright smile. After spending all that time with some strange being like Spangdal, meeting a normal person made me feel a little relieved.
"Yes. I saw Dejure too. I greeted the quarantine team leader, took care of the Tooth Tree, and got a gift from a Tooth Fairy too."
"Simple enough. Was it fun?"
"I don't know if fun is the right word. You never know what you'll run into. But it wasn't difficult."
Could it be.
What if I talk about the Reality Recognition Device here?
"You saw the quarantine team leader. You might think the quarantine team leader is a bit odd, so just do your best to adapt."
Jaaldi added.
"Heh heh heh, he didn't seem all that strange to me."
An ordinary conversation.
The kind you have with slightly odd bosses at work...
That kind of conversation.
So even while talking, I could feel suspicion welling up inside me.
Jaaldi...
Jamtree...
These guys... maybe they're all fake.
Could it all be fake, just as Manager Jo Seongchun said?
"You're the first person I've heard say that after seeing the quarantine team leader. Well, Grong, if you look at it closely, you're pretty odd yourself. And Spangdal. He just got back, but there's work to do. Take this."
"Yes. Team Leader."
Jaaldi handed the documents to Spangdal, and Spangdal left just like that.
I didn't really notice anything strange.
To begin with, it's hard to imagine them being fake.
Jaaldi is pretty trustworthy.
Jamtree is the same.
"It's a bit early, but, Grong, head home for today. It'd be better if you went home and got some rest."
"Huh? Already?"
"Didn't you run into monsters in the quarantine room? You must have been shocked in more ways than one. Go home and clear your head. No matter what, humans can't help but suffer a mental blow when they see monsters."
"You're being so considerate...!"
The company itself really does seem good after all.
"Take care, Grong. Tomorrow you'll probably be doing something with your noona."
"I'll study hard tomorrow too!"
And with that, I made a swift retreat from work.
Let's go home and get some rest.
I could definitely feel my mind getting cornered. I'm scared to take the elevator, and I keep fretting over whether there might be places with the lights off. And the questions popping up in my head... Is this mental illness? They said the Bureau even has a psychiatric team—should I go get counseling?
While thinking that, when I reached the first floor, I saw a familiar man.
"Oh? Rookie! Why didn't you come to the Suppression Team!"
It was Kuras, the dependable senior from the Suppression Team.
He turned to me cheerfully and came over.
Looks like he's usually paired with Gorgodio. Is he not here?
"Aren't you Senior Kuras? But this is the first time I've seen you since I joined, right? My codename is Grong."
"Grong? What, like Pororo's Crong, but Grong?"
So everyone thinks the same thing?
"Don't make fun of my name."
"Can't you even remember names like Roy Mustang?"
"Heh heh heh, fair enough."
Hearing that made me laugh.
"Anyway, I keep telling them to send you to the Suppression Team, but they keep taking you away to the General Response Team. The Suppression Team needs talent like you! So hurry up and file a transfer request!"
Kuras grabbed my shoulder and argued his case.
"You wouldn't want to work with a scary senior like Spangdal, would you!"
"No, seriously, what is Senior Spangdal even?"
Just how far has his bad reputation spread?
"Looks like even Dejure from the Quarantine Team is scared of him."
"Pretty much everyone is scared of that guy."
"He does seem like it."
Crazy gossip.
Spangdal's bad reputation seems to be pretty huge.
He does kind of feel like some weird sergeant, if you compare him to the military.
"Still, how can a rookie request a transfer? It's a shame, but I guess there's nothing to do."
I said it lightly, and Kuras let go of me.
"Well, the Suppression Team's door is always open. From what I can see, you're built for fieldwork. You seem like the type who'd rather go out than sit around doing all sorts of things in the General Response Team. Anyway, if you get bored, come by and try some suppression duty! Well then!"
Kuras held up his index and middle fingers and spun on his heel.
Maybe Kuras is the nicest person in this Bureau.
What on earth is Spangdal, then...
* * *
On the way home.
There was nothing strange.
There were no problems, and the world didn't seem to have changed.
I thought maybe the world had gone abnormal, like when I fled Cheongakmeri Hospital... but at least to the naked eye, nothing seemed different.
I arrived home.
After showering with hot water, I sat on the sofa.
"..."
Then I checked the status window.
——————————
[●Status Window]
Name : Kim Geunhong
Age : 24
Title : One who activated the Reality Recognition Device
.
.
Cycle : 2
Death Count : 13
[●Death Counts by Cycle]
[●Collected Endings]
[●Functions]
[●Resolution List]
[●Owned Abilities]
[●Point Shop]
[...]
——————————
As I read the status window, I sorted out my thoughts.
For now, I have no clue what this title is. Why the hell does the status window even have a function like this? What good is a title supposed to do? In RPGs, titles can boost your stats, but whether this status window has that kind of function is anyone's guess, and even if it could boost strength, agility, vitality, intelligence, and the like, it probably wouldn't mean much.
But it doesn't seem like it's here for no reason...
"Reality Recognition Device."
I activated it and got an achievement and a title. Which means this Reality Recognition Device is definitely something significant.
An achievement is something that can't be erased.
The fact that I activated the Reality Recognition Device will never disappear.
"What on earth does it mean?"
I know it's something important.
But right now, there's no way to know.
"And that red door..."
Why did the red door disappear?
Would Team Leader Gognija know anything about it?
I keep wondering whether I can even ask about it.
Both about the Reality Recognition Device and about the red door.
But if I ask about it... what if something ominous and horrifying happens?
Because of that thought, I can't bring myself to speak.
I let out a sigh and pushed the thought aside.
Come to think of it, the points...
[●Owned Points : 2,001]
"What the hell."
Are you kidding me right now?
No matter how I think about it, I can't understand it.
After all that shit in the Management Bureau's basement, they only gave me 10,000 points?
This is beyond my comprehension.
"Haa."
My head feels like it's about to split open.
How much of what I saw in the basement of the Management Bureau was real? Was Manager Jo Seongchun a real person, or was he just an illusion shown to me by that bizarre mouth-lung? If so, where did his words come from? If he was a monster, why didn't the status window's detection alert go off? The ghost that grabbed my neck did trigger a message, though.
I saw a lot, but because I don't know anything, I can't interpret it.
So I decided on a course of action.
"Manager Jo Seongchun."
I need to find out whether he really exists or not.
If I can confirm just that, I'll have made progress.
It may be hard for now, but in the end I'm already in a position where I'm clashing with the fake Bureau bastards. If I keep fighting them, maybe someday I'll get a chance to learn about Manager Jo Seongchun.
If not, going back to the quarantine facility and getting friendly with Dejure while learning about the contained entities would be fine too... come to think of it, that's not bad either. Should I ask Dejure what the quarantine facility has in it?
If I hint that they're imprisoning agents from the fake Bureau, or that there might even be a 'ghost,' that should work.
I'm still a rookie agent. If I say I'm interested in the quarantine facility and want to learn more about it, they'll probably send me there a few more times.
"Yeah. I do have options."
Thinking about it like that, I do have choices.
Even if I don't know much, I can still gather clues based on my own choices.
I reached a conclusion and turned off the status window.
"..."
When I turned my head, I saw the window.
The window.
For some reason, I felt an urge to jump out of it.
Let's sleep with the lights on tonight.
* * *
The next day.
I went to work like usual.
"Hi, Grong. Good morning."
As soon as I entered the office, Jamtree welcomed me with a bright smile. As expected, Jamtree is more comfortable to be around than someone as dangerous as Spangdal.
"Yes. I've clocked in. It's a very good morning, Senior Jamtree. By the way, where are Team Leader Jaaldi and Spangdal?"
"Who knows? They do disappear from their seats from time to time. They'll come when the time comes."
"Is that so?"
"Yep. So, Grong. What are we going to learn today?"
Things to learn.
"There are so many things to learn that I honestly don't know where to start. What should I learn first?"
"Hmm, there's no real order to it. Since we've got an organization chart here, tell me if there's anywhere you're interested in."
Jamtree handed me the organization chart.
My honest feeling was that I should go back to the Quarantine Team and dig up the truth.
I'm obsessed with whether Manager Jo Seongchun really exists.
Is he really locked up in the basement of the Management Bureau?
Or does Jo Seongchun not exist at all, and it's just that lung?
But what if something weird happens again when I go?
I don't think I'd be able to handle it.
"..."
"Would it be safe to go around with Dejure?"
"Chok chok chok."
Lost in thought, Jamtree poked my back with her fingertips, chok chok chok, and said,
"Why? Having trouble choosing? Then how about you and noona do some computer work here?"
"Computer work? Like when we checked the shopping mall last time?"
"That's right. There are a lot of bizarre phenomena that spread through or arise on the internet too. There's a lot to check, in many ways. You went to Cheongakmeri Hospital after seeing that job posting, didn't you? That was a bizarre phenomenon too."
"Ah! Really?"
Come to think of it!
There was no way that kind of posting would just be there!
"I'm motivated! I'll look into it today! Ah, but Senior Jamtree. There's a site I've personally been suspicious of."
"Hm?"
"Do you know the World Politics Board? I'd like to check that out once."
Maybe this could tell me a bit about the fake Bureau.
I'd sneak in a post there. Like, 'Free Manager Jo Seongchun...!'
Or 'Department Head Lee Dohyeong legend.jpg' would be fine too.
"Hmm, that's..."
It was then.
"Everyone was here."
The door opened and Jaaldi came in.
Spangdal followed right behind.
"Good morning!"
As I greeted them energetically, Jaaldi waved and said,
"Jamtree. Emergency situation. General Response Team, all personnel move out."
"What? An emergency? Then what about Grong?"
"Grong is... as a rookie, it'd be better to keep Grong on standby."
Wait a second.
"Team Leader Jaaldi! What's going on!"
"..."
Since I asked out of curiosity, Jaaldi stared straight at me.
"I don't think it's something worth telling you."
"No, come on! Tell me too! We're on the same team!"
"Haa... then I'll tell you."
After letting out a sigh, Jaaldi said,
"A vampire has appeared."