Chapter 97

I didn’t even have to request a scan myself.
Upon returning to the lab, personnel were required to undergo mandatory medical examinations, fearing possible injury and disastrous aftermath.
“What happened to ……?”
Inevitably, the mutation would be discovered. Kim didn’t bother to hide it, either. He turned to face Kushan and fingered the crystal that had grown on his neck.
“Didn’t you hear that from the professor or Leila?”
“That’s a bit of a stretch, but did they know?”
He must have kept it a secret, and he felt bad for them both. They must have been conflicted about whether or not to tell.
“Well, that’s a long story.”
“I’ll cancel your next appointment. It’s a long one, so explain.”
It’s actually a long story.
It all started when Negrum injected me with Helixivir. Along with the mutation, I noticed an augmentation of my physical abilities, and I even used it once of my own volition…….
I didn’t sugarcoat anything. On the contrary, I was trying to explain the situation in a way that didn’t leave anything to chance. Kushan didn’t say anything back, just listened.
By the end, his face was set in a hard line.
“You’re lucky to be alive.”
“I remember thinking, ‘That’s not going to work,’ too.”
“This is not something to joke about.”
Kushan tugged at my brow with his finger.
“Helixivir has been studied to some extent on our side. It’s basically a mixture of a drug that extremely activates immune cells and Elixir.”
The materials stolen from the lab were immediately sent to the lab. Not only the actual Helixivir, but the records of his research.
The investigation yielded modest results.
“There is no shortage of precedent for taking Xilixer, willingly or unwillingly. Usually they mutate rapidly and become necrotic. The same goes for monsters. If it were that easy, there’d be dangerous beasts everywhere by now.”
“So?”
“So helixivir is like a diluted version of elixir, to try to slow the progression as much as possible so that it doesn’t kill you, and it settles into a phase of metamorphosis.”
“I get it.”
The doses administered to Kim so far total less than 50 mL. With such a small dose having such an impact, what would happen if we were to use the original solution?
It was a bit of a turn-off.
“Hold on a second.”
Kushan walked quickly out of the examination room, and three minutes passed before he returned with a flask, a spotlight, and other instruments that might be used in a chemistry lab.
“Roll up your sleeves.”
I obediently held out my arm, and Kushan thrust the syringe in. The needle plunged into the vein with precision. Kushan poured the blood from Kim into a flask.
Next, I removed the cap from the plastic bottle I had brought with me.
“This is a helixvirga. Let’s see how it reacts.”
Suck up the helixivir with the spotlight. Add a drop to the vial containing Kim’s blood.
I didn’t have to wait long for the results.
The blood is starting to bubble. Faintly, even water vapor rose. The reaction was visible to the naked eye without looking under a microscope.
‘My body was making all this noise.’
Kim secretly swallowed a dry spit. I used it because I needed it. That’s for sure, and I don’t regret it. But I didn’t know enough to be so bold.
That wasn’t the end of it.
Kushan went through the same process again. This time, he used someone’s blood in a reagent bottle. It was the moment when helixivir came into contact with blood.
Pow!
The red bubbles rose like crazy and boiled over the outside of the flask. It was a far cry from the restraint of a moment ago. Steam billowed out, spraying bloody odor everywhere.
But it didn’t last long.
Once it was all evaporated, there was nothing left to boil.
“This is a common reaction, but…….”
Kushan glanced to his left. The first flask. Kim’s blood was still bubbling there.
“I don’t know why there’s such a difference, even I don’t know how to explain it. Constitution? It’s not just allergies, it’s constitution.”
“…….”
“That’s about as much as I can say for sure.”
Kushan pressed Kim’s arm with gauze.
“Never use it again. It’s just a matter of degree, but it’s just as dangerous to you, and you’re lucky you’re alive today.”
There are no guarantees. He emphasized that.
* * *
After a few more reassurances, we agreed to have a routine checkup. At this point, even as a Kushan, I couldn’t offer any prescription or treatment.
‘As far as I know, there is no precedent for this case.
Still no luck.
The good news is that the mutation rate doesn’t increase unless you use helixivir. That doesn’t mean it’s a relief.
What if it metastasizes like cancer and mutates even if you don’t do anything? Then there’s nothing you can do. It would be hard to carry him in the lab.
“My mind can’t handle it in the first place.
Subconsciously, you’re thinking, “If the mutation rate reaches 100%, but doesn’t exceed 100%, I’m safe. It was complacent.
The catastrophe had been a well-timed wake-up call. The price for rejecting her godmother early on was her own mortality.
Suzutasan doesn’t fit.
‘…… This is another dilemma.’
It’s already a huge blow to Legion. It’s clear that this is a much better story than we’ve seen before. However, at the time of writing, we’re not even halfway through.
We have a long way to go.
Events that didn’t happen in the game will continue to happen. I can’t say for sure that I’ll never use Helixivir in the future.
A poisoned chalice, if you will.
“That’s complicated.”
Kim scratched the back of her head as she made her way through the hallway. Her steps stopped in the cafeteria. The time was around 12:30. It was lunchtime, and the place was crowded.
We were just finding our seats after the meal.
“Hyun! Come here, here.”
You turn at the sound of a voice calling to you and see Rosetta waving. Across the room, Castle Rock waved back. Unlike in Bastitera, he was dressed casually.
I didn’t see any reason to be coy, so I went along. As he set down his plate, his eyes scanned the room. For some reason, they were squinting this way and that, as if they weren’t agents.
“Why But?”
“I thought it was kind of eye-catching.”
“You deserve it. You played an important role.”
The report on the operation on Bastitera is up. All the footage had been submitted. Agents in the know already knew what happened.
“That’s the way it is. Once you’ve done something big, they’re interested.”
“I’m not in a position to comment, but if word gets around, it gets around.”
“Well, it’s a human place, you’ll get used to it.”
Rosetta smirked as she swirled the pasta around with her fork.
“If you don’t like it, call them up and punch them one by one.”
“Is that okay?”
“That’s part of the training, isn’t it?”
“You have a point.”
“I don’t see where that makes sense….”
Castle Rock looked disgusted. From the impression he’d gotten so far, he’d thought Hyun was a rational, calm person, but was he an asshole?
“Oh, but he’s doing it again.”
Rosetta clicked her tongue in disbelief when she saw Castle Rock’s plate.
“Eat your broccoli, you’re too old to eat broccoli, you’re too old to eat broccoli.”
“The scent is disgusting.”
“The crackling is more disgusting. Gross, really.”
“Al Banya. And what the hell does age have to do with liking or disliking?”
Despite his stern appearance and personality, Castle Rock had poor table manners. Rosetta, on the other hand, was impeccable. Even Ainoa was not far behind.
“What, why are you looking at me like that?”
“Isn’t it curious that the one that looks like he’s going to eat it while slobbering all over himself is so clean?”
“Something like that.”
“These assholes…….”
All kidding aside, he’s clearly well-educated. Everyone has a complicated past. Rosetta was no exception.
It’s not a chapter you want to shy away from.
The grim worldview of Polaris, and the communal life in the territory of a fallen nation. An organization that’s more like a lab than a PMC. It’s hard to find a bright story in their environment.
There’s an unspoken understanding within the lab. Kim has never been asked about his past, except in special circumstances.
“Oh, right. I heard something unusual happened recently.”
“I guess it’s always been that way lately.”
“It feels a little different. More of a curiosity than a serious event.”
She cleared her throat and began to speak.
“Speaking of which, one of the reserve agents was gathering materials the other day and apparently wandered into that unexplored area over there.”
“By yourself? You have a big liver.”
“I guess they’re bored with us and the other agents, since we’re all full, and they’re giving us menial tasks.”
Kim listened in silence. Castleock’s retort was quite skillful. It’s a combination that’s both feisty and fitting.
“It’s hard not to be a worm.
I was also intrigued by the conversation itself.
“Anyway, I went anyway, and I ran right into a monster, and somehow I hurt my leg, and now I’m stranded in the middle of the forest.”
“If that’s true, I need to go back to basic training.”
“Forget training, I almost didn’t make it out alive.”
Normally, I would have said, “What a bunch of careless agents, they’re self-inflicted. But as I listened, I started to feel a sense of eeriness.
So I asked.
“How did he get back?”
“Well, he wasn’t sure himself. No matter how dangerous it was, as long as you’re human, you’re going to sleep, so he let her beat him to a pulp, and when he woke up, he was outside the forest, and he was lucky enough to be on a patrol route, so he was safe.”
“That was a masterpiece. I could smell it.”
“Right? That’s suspicious.”
Rosetta giggled at Castle Rock’s steaming response.
“But he’s injured, and I’ve been told that other footprints have been identified where he was found. They’re about 210 millimeters in size. The agent’s feet are a lot bigger than that.”
“I don’t know. I don’t think it’s credible.”
“Just for fun, just for fun.”
He didn’t seem to believe me at all. It was just something to keep him occupied. Even the elite agent, the one everyone looked up to, was a common man who enjoyed gossip.
Kim was the only one who took it seriously.
“This one’s a little early, too.
An event originally placed after episode 6. It’s one of the few heartwarming stories in a bloody Polaris, and the characters are popular regardless of their performance.
“I’m going to pick you up.
He’s also the guy who’s going to solve Asterike’s problem.