Episode 302 [ Maria’s Story (1) ]
Several years have passed since Mt. Baekdu erupted and the dimension shifters disappeared.
The dimension shifter returned to the future and the Overlord was recovering in the magma, but no one knew it.
As the monsters quieted down, people became accustomed to peace.
People coveted power and used each other to become vested interests in the newly started Mana civilization.
Eventually, the monsters began attacking again, but the government blocked the news to prevent chaos, and people continued their normal lives. The day the ceasefire line collapsed due to monsters, Seoul was no different from any other time.
that day. A mother and child were standing in front of the research institute building located in Yongsan.
The sound of passing cars and people’s voices echoed loudly in the surroundings. As always, Seoul was crowded and noisy.
The child, who looked to be about four or five years old, looked at the large door and whined to his mother,
“I don’t like this place… It’s so hard. sick.”
The mother, who still looked young, stroked the child’s head with a pitiful expression.
“Sorry. Just to see if you’re okay. “Can you please be patient for a little while?”
At the mother’s words, the child nodded with a gloomy expression.
“…Yes, I will endure it for my mom.”
“Yes, my son is very good.”
The mother, who had comforted her son, looked back and entered the building with her son.
“Tsk.”
When she turned around, there was a man wearing a low-cut hat.
He muttered, spitting on the floor.
“I’m not a combat awakener, and it’s been a few years since I left the field, but my senses are better than most high-level awakened people.”
It didn’t matter if I got caught today anyway.
He took off the hat he was wearing and headed toward the building where the mother and child entered.
The inside of the building was also very noisy. But the atmosphere was different from outside the building.
The expressions on the faces of people passing through the lobby were not good. People with worried and pale expressions were running everywhere.
It wasn’t like this during the last checkup. The woman’s expression became stern due to the changed atmosphere.
She held the child’s hand tightly and walked through the noisy lobby and deeper into the hallway.
The checkpoint blocking the hallway was more tightly guarded than before.
“Are you here? Please wait a moment and a representative will come out.”
The guard guarding the checkpoint and the awakener greeted her in a businesslike tone.
None of the people I used to work with were visible. Each time the prosecutor came, the person changed one by one, and now they were all strangers.
“Is something wrong?”
She asked about the changed atmosphere, but no one answered.
After a while, people in white coats came up to the checkpoint.
There were researchers who had been examining the child for some time, but the lab director, who never showed up during the examination, was leading the researchers.
Dr. Ha was an authority on awakened research and the general manager of this research institute.
Her face hardened when she saw him.
He was someone I rarely saw when I worked here. There was no reason for this person to come now.
The researcher who had been examining the child spoke to the surprised woman.
“Guardians can wait in the waiting room as before. The experiment is going to be long today, so you can spend some time outside if you want. “I’ll contact you when it’s finished.”
She glared at the researcher who spoke indifferently. It was a ridiculous story to leave my child in my care and do business outside.
Today was not even a routine inspection. It was an unplanned inspection.
I was so worried because they suddenly called me out, but it wasn’t something I could say to my mom.
“What kind of test is this all of a sudden? “I would like to see you from the side today.”
Worried, she tried to speak up, but as always, the other person did not accept it.
“Did I tell you this before? “Proper testing is impossible if an awakened person is next to you.”
I had heard that the measurement values were not coming out properly due to the awakened mana.
Before the researcher could finish speaking, Dr. Ha opened his mouth.
“I’ve been considerate for so long, but it’s difficult if it continues like this. “Keep your promise.”
She fell silent at Dr. Ha’s words.
“Mom…”
“Yes, it’s okay. It will be over soon. Mom will be waiting for you.”
“huh.”
The child followed the researchers into the elevator with anxious eyes.
The elevator door the child got on closed, and the mother stood there, glaring at the closed door.
*
The elevator stopped on the third basement floor, and the researchers took the child to the last lab. Headed to.
The laboratory door was open.
The child hesitated in front of the laboratory door.
It was not the laboratory where he had been tested. Moreover, there were a lot of scary-looking objects in this room.
“Go in quickly.”
Although the child had a scared expression, the researchers pushed the child into the laboratory with a cold expression.
He looked much colder than when his mother was there.
The researchers changed the child’s clothes into a patient gown that was comfortable for research and placed him on a small chair. .
The chair looked like a restraint used to torture criminals. The
scared child tried to get out of the chair, but his limbs were tied to the leather belt connected to the chair.
The child’s mouth was also gagged. The child’s behavior was different from before. His face went white.
The researchers didn’t even care about the child’s expression.
One of the researchers asked the person in charge,
“How far do you plan to go?”
“to the end.”
Dr. Ha answered decisively,
“Are you okay? If we lose this test subject, there will be no replacement.”
In response to the researcher’s concern, Dr. Ha shook his head and said,
“It doesn’t matter. If I fail this time anyway, it’s over. Monsters are coming down south now. “In a few days, both the research institute and Seoul will disappear.”
The researchers preparing for the experiment were startled.
“Is it that much? “I heard the situation was bad, but…”
“It’s not that bad. After this experiment, I have to go to Busan right away.
At Dr. Ha’s words, the researchers’ movements quickened.
The equipment lights up and a sensor is attached to the child’s body.
Finally, a pattern was drawn on the child’s arm and lines were connected.
“Ready.”
Dr. Ha nodded.
“Start.”
“Then we will begin the forced awakening experiment.”
The researcher standing in front of the equipment flipped the switch.
Wooooow.
The equipment began to make a heavy sound.
The readings on the instrument panel began to rise, and the pattern drawn on the child’s arm softly lit up.
The child distorted his face.
“No stage 1 reaction. Step it up.”
Buzz buzz.
The sound grew louder and the pattern grew brighter.
And the child twisted his body with a pained face.
Wow! Wow! Wow!
The screams were hard to hear because of the gag in her mouth.
“This is level 3 of mana injection. “There are no signs of awakening yet.”
“The condition of the test subject is not good. “Both blood pressure and brain waves are at dangerous levels.”
The researcher who was checking the child’s body warned him, but Dr. Ha only gave the same instructions.
“Raise it more.”
Squeezing!
Finally, sparks flew out of the child’s body.
The child’s body bounced and the gag broke.
“Aaaaaah!”
The child screamed.
It was a scary sight, but the expressions of the researchers and Dr. Ha became brighter than before.
“The test subject is starting to respond to mana!”
“continue!”
The amount of mana injected increased, and the child’s screams became louder.
*
The mother was unaware of the situation in the laboratory.
She was just glaring into the eyes of the waiting room with worried eyes.
The man sitting next to the door looked at her. I clicked my tongue.
“What difference does glaring make? Just relax.”
She turned her gaze from the door to the man.
He was an awakened member of the group and a guard watching over her and the child.
There were other awakened guards, but he was the only one who was properly combat awakened.
The combat awakener was with her. It seemed absurd to have her as a watchdog for the child,
but it was understandable considering the child’s father.
But like other watchdogs, he never came out in front of her and the child.
Even when he was secretly watching, he was constantly caught by her, but she was like this. She had never stood in front of someone before.
She bit her lip. Today, everything was different from before.
She asked the man with anxiety.
“You’ve been hiding. Why did you come forward today?”
The man chuckled at her words.
“Why is it strange? “Because there is something worth doing.”
“What is that?”
She glared at the man and he chuckled. The man laughed at her.
“Hmm, shall we give you one last service? “Shall I?”
The man took out a dagger from his chest. He continued speaking as he twirled the sharp-edged dagger in his hand.
“Well, it’s the last mission. “I’ll tell you after seeing the affection we’ve had so far.”
The man’s expression was completely different from his words. He continued with a malicious look on his face.
“The mission ends today, and today is the last day of the experiment. “Monsters are coming from the north right now.”
Her expression hardened at the unexpected words.
The man stood up and continued speaking.
“So, it looks like the lab and the company will come to an end today. “Today is not an ordinary test, but an awakening experiment.”
He stood at the door and looked at her.
“Maria you cannot leave this room today. “No matter what happens, under any circumstances.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a small sound was heard.
A sound like a small bird squeezing.
It was a child’s scream.
Maria’s body jerked to a halt.
The man pointed his dagger at the back of the door.
“You have to stay here even if I hear screaming like this. “That was the last mission I received.”
The dagger he was holding glowed dimly.
The man was very excited to see how Maria’s expression would change.
You have to get down on your knees and beg yourself, or you can’t help but rush in.
Either way, it wasn’t a bad final entertainment after a tedious mission that lasted several years.
Maria’s increasingly distorted face suddenly became expressionless.
“Did you trick us? “Are you using my child as experimental material?”
Hearing her cold voice, the man licked his lips with his tongue.
“Is it about fighting? “That’s good too.”
He raised a dagger imbued with mana.
Maria lunged towards the raised dagger.
*
The fight ended sooner than expected.
The man did not really know Maria’s level and did not expect the recklessness of a mother who was worried about her child.
“Huh huh huh.”
Maria leaned against the iron door and gasped. As she leaned against it, blood appeared on the iron door.
I felt dizzy. Since I was blocking a sword loaded with mana with my bare body, there was no way my body was okay.
But I couldn’t collapse here.
Third floor underground. The innermost laboratory.
After defeating the guards who blocked her, she eventually arrived at the place where the child was.
The child’s screams could no longer be heard from inside the iron gate.
“It’s a success!”
Instead, cheers were heard from researchers.
‘What happened to the child?’
bang!
She kicked down the closed iron door and went inside.
