A confident smile appeared on Tudors face.
You were curious about Collie, werent you? Instead of digging for her information from behind the scenes, how about eting her in person to see for yourself? Tudor didnt say a word, but her expression seed to convey that very suggestion.
It didnt feel like she was trying to manipulate the situation from a higher position. The thought crossed my mind that maybe I was being overly generous in my interpretation because of Tudors high charm score, but I decided to let it slide this ti.
Its not just talk. Ever since Collies tastes changed, the nature of the requests she takes on has shifted too.
What do you an the nature of her requests has changed?
Since she arrived here, or rather After Lee Chang-hyuk went on such a rampage, Collie has sohow beco obsessively interested in taking on any request related to the Helistic company, regardless of the type.
Related to Helistic?
Yes. She started accepting all requests related to Helistic without considering whether they were beneficial or harmful for Helistic.
Hmm
Thats interesting. If her goal was simply to harm Helistic, there would be no reason to take on this request. But she wants to participate just because its related to Helistic?
If we bring her along this ti, we might be able to find out what triggered this change in her.
I tapped my mask with my finger for a mont before responding.
Understood. Ill discuss it with Curtain Call.
Ha, good. Then Ill make preparations for that.
What about the day of action?
Helistic seems to want us to go imdiately, but we need to coordinate with Collie How about in two days?
After considering what I needed to prepare, I replied.
In two days then. Contact once the arrangents are finalized.
***
There was a mountain of things to do in preparation for the quest, and it wasnt easy to handle everything swiftly due to my accumulated fatigue and my deteriorating health.
However, I managed to finish the preparations without any major issues and arrived at the eting place near Gamaksan mountain.
Gamaksan mountain is so vast that its counted among the five great mountains of Gyeonggi Province.
Its also known in the real world for its strong spiritual energy.
This is why its considered an important location even in [Cthulhu World].
There are as many as four main event-level quests related to Gamaksan mountain.
If you include the passing-through chain quests and side quests, theyre too nurous to count.
Tudor had casually ntioned stopping by Gamaksan mountain to find sothing beneficial for a mage, but the quest we were about to undertake [The Abandoned Hospital of Gamaksan mountain] was rely a brief exploration of the mountain.
I rember there was also a quest to beat up a fanatic trying to summon an outer god at one of those peaks of Gamaksan mountain.
That was a dreadful quest that required climbing up and down the mountain several tis.
Haah, I really dont want to do that quest But if left alone, they end up summoning an outer god called the [Predator of the Mountains] which would cause complete chaos.
Its sothing that Ill eventually have to deal with at so point.
Maybe I should go ahead and smash them up like I did with the [Descendants of Fomalhaut]?
Well, thats a problem for another day.
Today, theres no need to venture deep into Gamaksan mountain.
The location of the abandoned hospital was toward the southwest of Gamaksan mountain, in the direction of Mugeon-ri. A short climb up the mountain trail leads right to it.
Because we intentionally left late at night, it was already completely dark.
The grass grew densely around the unpaved road and the damp scent of wood tickled my nostrils.
The noisy cries of insects and the chilly air contributed to the atmosphere.
And there, the eerie sight of the abandoned hospital completed the horror-genre ambiance.
It was indeed a spine-chilling place.
Just by walking around with a cara, you can easily film a B horror movie.
And the silhouette of the fixer standing in the darkness halfway to the hospital would definitively mark that film as the epito of Bs.
I had thought this before, but her character design was still incredibly unique.
A short stature, short limbs proportioned to that height, and a youthful face. This information alone was nacing. Yet she did not stop there.
Her long hair was bleach-blond, she wore a shiny red leather jacket, and in one hand, she casually held a huge zanbato sword (a horse-slaying sword).
For today, just this one day, I was partnered with a temporary ally known as Curtain Call.
Ah, Kim Shin-hwa. Youre late! Late, Kim Shin-hwa!
Im not late. Youre just early.
Shouldnt you have co earlier?
Maybe. But that thing
That thing?
What Curtain Call was holding in her other hand that wasnt holding the zanbato sword was a large piece of tal that I think used to be a spoon And the reason I said I think it used to be a spoon is
Are you eating that?
Yes.
Crunch, munch. Gnash, gnash.
Ill say it again: this is a very temporary team. I have no plans to work with Curtain Call after today. Therefore I need to gather as much information as possible today.
Why?
Why?
Why are you eating that?
Because I can eat it?
I wanted to stop asking questions. What kind of conversation was this, anyway?
Though Curtain Calls responses were devoid of any real substance or aning, the movent of magical power around her body provided much more information. The flow of her magical power was peculiar.
It seed rely eccentric behavior but she was actually absorbing energy rapidly from the spoon that is, from the tallic organic material.
Even though her seemingly specific design choices in the ga were targeting a certain audience, the Curtain Call I knew was a strong warrior. She possessed great strength and a few support abilities, but she had never displayed this type of power before.
It seed difficult to ascertain her abilities in this state. I wished I could see her in action.
Tudor seems to like you a lot, Kim Shin-hwa.
What?
All this talk of dual contracts and such, I would have been fine with the usual people I worked with. But she kept making excuses and eventually paired you with .
Though she was talking casually, her expression was full of dissatisfaction as if she wasnt pleased with the current situation.
Are you unhappy because its ?
No. I dont care who I work with, as long as I can feast on those things.
Those things? Are you talking about the test subjects or Helistic? Which one are you talking about?
It seed my response was not to her liking, as Curtain Call furrowed one brow and glanced up at briefly before stuffing the remnants of her spoon into her mouth and starting to walk in the direction of the abandoned hospital.
Everything that Helistic has touched.
Im going to destroy it all. Everything, everything, everything.
Her reaction seed to carry a personal vendetta, but it was too intense to be simply chalked up to a re grudge.
Hmph. Anyway, Kim Shin-hwa, the information you talked about yesterday, that was true, right?
Of course.
So, are we really going ahead with that bullsh*t plan you ntioned?
Bullsh*t plan, she said I had a separate conversation with Curtain Call when we t yesterday.
This hospital, or more precisely, Helistics secret research facility harbors a secret basent unknown to others.
Well, its akin to the secret research facility I was part of before. There, they held human samples in cryogenic sleep. And I think one of those samples might have been
Such a place exists here as well. And Im interested in the items that are going to be there.
And while I wasnt exactly sure what she was interested in, Curtain Call showed an interest in that place too.
Well, if you dont like it, you can still turn back now.
No. Tudor said youre soone to look forward to, so Ill give you a chance, Kim Shin-hwa.
I found her logic hard to follow, but it was a relief she was sohow convinced.
Curtain Call continued moving without pause, and I had to accompany her to the planned destination as well.
The distance wasnt long, but I quickly grew tired due to the penalty trait [Decreased Stamina].
Moreover, it was a dark mountain path without any reliable lighting.
The weather was chilly, yet before I knew it, the back of my neck was damp with sweat.
Phew, damn it. I can already see that my health has decreased.
I wanted to ride the board I was carrying, but moving stealthily with it on an unpaved path would be difficult. At least I was sowhat fortunate that the magical power wrapped around my body kept the bugs at bay.
Even for a mage, dont you think you neglect physical exercise too much?
Its not like youre healthy because of exercise anyway, right?
If you werent born lucky, you should at least exercise.
No coback for that. Damn it.
Were almost there.
Finally, we reached our destination. The front of the hospital was blocked by a tall fence, yet the main gate had been completely destroyed.
Well, here we are at the abandoned hospital we were aiming for.
Curtain Call, hidden in the shadows beneath the fence, was slowly drawing her oversized sword from its sheath. Given that the sword was disproportionately large compared to her arm length, her thod of drawing it was less like a swift unsheathing and more like clumsily fishing it out.
In the anti, I raised my head to survey the area beyond the fence.
The hospital was a large three-story building.
It was strangely situated in the middle of a forest with no human habitation nearby, but it had been constructed under the guise of serving as a hospital.
The building was a typical square-shaped structure, white in color, with a green cross emblem on the sign.
What kind of na is that?
I hadnt paid much attention when I saw it in the ga, but there was a sign next to the hospital that read [Gamaksan Hospital].
However, the outwardly old-fashioned and neglected appearance was all a facade.
The official na of this building was [Ga-5060 Secret Research Facility] and it was a dreadful place where Helistic conducted human experints.
It had now beco a site of conflict where the subjects of those experints had risen up and were staging a sit-in protest.
Except for the first floor all the lights were off, casting the building in deep darkness and the atmosphere was as silent as a grave.
The dark night sky covered in clouds that obscured even the moon, the lukewarm breeze andering through the air, and the fishy sll of blood mixed with the wind.
Look, there are still signs of the team that ca before us.
Curtain Call who was hidden in the shadows of the fence pointed towards the parking lot beyond the barrier.
A 1-ton truck and two cars were left abandoned inside the hospitals walls.
W.G., thats the Wild Guns sub-team, right?
Idiots relying on sheer numbers. They probably barged in without any real plan and got wiped out.
Well, their fate doesnt really concern our mission.
It didnt matter. Curtain Call seed to agree with my words and nodded her head nonchalantly before gesturing toward the interior.
Alright. Lets get moving, Kim Shin-hwa; lets go.
She had a peculiar way of speaking.
Though the details were largely omitted, we had already laid out a rough plan back at Vasilisa, so I began to carry out the actions desired by Curtain Call without much hesitation.
In truth, it wasnt that we had devised an extraordinarily elaborate plan.
[Trap Detection]
[Magic Detection]
[Invisibility Detection]
[Infrared Vision]
[Remote Detection]
These detection spells had almost beco habitual for to activate. Checking for traps was a necessity. Like a radar, my magical detection abilities spread out in all directions. Though there was a risk that enemies capable of using magic, albeit at a lower level than mine, might detect my spells.
Well, theres no one among the test subjects here capable of that.
Nothing particularly unusual was detected by the spells.
First, I assessed the condition of the hospitals first floor.
A barricade had been set up at the entrance of the hospital.
It was a makeshift construction that was hastily piled up with hospital equipnt, chairs, and desks.
Though it was a crude construction, the barricade was bristling with sharpened tal pipes protruding aggressively through its gaps.
Beyond the barricade and windows, the test subjects who had taken over the hospital were hiding. However, my enhanced senses detected their positions more accurately than sight could have.
Each of the subjects caught by my detection spells bore bizarre forms.
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