episode_0021

Caw, caw, caw

Although the sun was high in the sky, the reason why colors could not be seen anywhere in the city was not simply due to the weather.

Ten years have passed since the end of the war, but the city, where you can still feel the pungent smell of ash when you breathe in, is shrouded in gray fog, creating a gloomy atmosphere.

haam

Philip, who was working at the city hall located in the center of the city, suddenly yawned due to drowsiness and looked at his surroundings.

Fortunately, it seemed like no one heard anything and the only people around were colleagues who were absorbed in their work.

Tiririririn

When an alarm sounded like hitting dry metal, employees working at City Hall all stopped what they were doing and took something out of their pockets.

An unidentifiable green pill. People swallowed it all at the same time.

Philip, who was watching from the side, also swallowed the pill in his hand. The only difference from others was that his pills were fake.

A green medicine that has been consistently distributed to the people three years after his homeland, the Kingdom of Halem, was defeated, so seven years ago. The drug was a way to suppress emotions and make them easier to control.

It was a method designed as an extreme drug prescription at a time when the government was almost overthrown again due to huge war reparations, but it was surprisingly effective, so people still take the medicine compulsorily at certain times.

Click

Of course, there are cases where people fake their intake, like Philip who is now closing the cap on the medicine bottle, but most of the time, it doesn’t end well.

Refusing to take medicine was treated as the same as refusing one’s civic duty and was punished very severely, and in severe cases, people were summarily executed under the pretext of being rebels.

If you happen to get caught by the agents…

Suddenly

Step by step

Breaking his thoughts, a man opened the door to the city hall and placed a card in front of him.

“Halem National Academy Admission Processing and a set of EDP-427 required.”

“Please wait a moment.”

Philip looked at the card that looked like an identification card.

‘Experiments from the Moralis Lab…. Were they also conducting this kind of research?’

When I put it in the reader, I found out that it was being processed for admission to the academy for record cleaning.

After confirming that there were no computer problems, Philip quickly went through the process and issued the documents.

He didn’t want to have anything to do with whether this test subject in front of him went to the academy and was used as a target or a killing machine.

As he watched the man’s back silently taking the documents and the medicine bottle, he sighed deeply inwardly at the thought that he had survived this day.

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Suddenly

‘It’s bitter… it’s not tasty.’

I headed to the academy while chewing a medicine called EDP-427.

Unlike the powerful effects described in the original work, this medicine, which has a bitter and astringent taste that matches the city air, only had the effect of Cheongsimhwan for me.

Although I was a little reluctant to eat it, it was as promised in the guidebook.

‘This is the effect of [World Tester].’

A title with a vague explanation that it always maintains a subjective perspective.

I didn’t know what it meant so I just skipped it, but now that I see it, it’s a pretty useful effect.

‘They are spraying this kind of medicine on the entire population. Oh my, that’s terrible.’

This world was an original American cartoon set in a dystopia.

This is a work about a country that lost a war and is squeezing its citizens to pay compensation.

As is usually the case in these types of works, the superiors are bad guys and the main character rebels against them and becomes the people’s savior.

‘I’m not really interested, though.’

I am of the opinion that I am satisfied as long as either side sucks the honey.

fluttering

When I arrived at the academy’s main gate, I checked the documents in my hand once again.

‘You’re sure about this, right?’

[The placebo ID card worked properly.]

So, the answer seems to be to stop asking and go in.

It was certainly an ingenious idea to disguise himself as a test subject from the Moralis Laboratory.

In addition to EDP-427, the Moralis Institute is known to have developed a drug called ‘Telos’, which is used to train agents within Haylem National Academy.

It is rather strange to think that there is no human experimentation in such a place.

It was easy to camouflage it because it felt like a lab demanding security and that it was the lowest class with no human rights as an experiment subject.

I walked confidently into the academy.

“There, stop.”

As soon as I stepped inside, the guard waiting at the entrance blocked my way.

“What is it for?”

“I came here for the academy admission process.”

After checking the documents, he rang the bell next to him. After waiting for a while, a person wearing the same security uniform opened the door from inside and came out.

The guard said, handing over the documents without even looking at him.

“Guide to the dean’s office.”

“Yes.”

I followed the guide and looked inside the academy.

Students were training in the academy grounds, which had a dull interior and did not have anything that could be called a garden.

Chang Chae Jae Changㅡ

Inhale

Some students were sparring with their bare hands or with weapons, while others were practicing shooting, and the sound of gunshots could be heard at intervals.

Eventually, the receptionist arrived in front of the dean’s office and knocked.

“We brought in a new student.”

“Come in.”

Squeak

There was no furniture in the dean’s office other than a desk and chair for work.

Even chairs for guests.

He looked so stubborn that he was more apt to be called a soldier than a dean. After reading the document I handed him, he took out a lighter and burned it.

Hwareuk

“……!”

I was so embarrassed for a moment that I barely held back my voice from coming out.

“……Has Moralis also become complacent? I can’t believe they sent these details to just one test subject. I don’t know who is going to be held responsible if the country’s assets are lost.”

Fortunately, the dean quietly observed me to see if he had noticed anything. Looking at his rock-like, untrembling expression and his scalpel-sharp eyes, it seemed like this person didn’t need EDP-427.

“Are there any special matters? It doesn’t say what kind of experiment it was.”

“……I underwent a physical strengthening experiment.”

“Body strengthening… It’s a technology studied during the war. There will be no more test subjects left due to the rapid decrease in lifespan compared to the effect. Looks like there was a weirdo.”

He thought for a moment and said.

“In that case, you can use it for 5 years at most. We will provide training quickly and put it into the field. Do you have any objections?”

“No.”

“From now on, your name is Minho Moralis. Telos will be administered in two days, so be prepared.”

Considering that they even burned the documents, it seemed like they thought I would soon die as a side effect of the experiment and were planning to use them up and throw them away quickly.

‘Rather good.’

There is no reason to refuse an opportunity to make a contribution.

Leaving behind the dean who gave the order to congratulate the guests, I followed the guide to the dormitory.

Squeak

“Here. Then I’ll go back.”

The guide disappeared without listening to those last words.

I looked around the room.

The dormitory was designed for two people, with beds on both walls and a desk attached to the head of the dormitory.

I lay in bed and thought about my future plans.

‘First, you are injected with Telos and awaken your special abilities.’

Those who receive training at Haylem Academy are all injected with a drug called Telos and awaken their superpowers.

Those who acquired useful skills there were gathered together to form a group called agents, which could be said to be a paramilitary organization that was mobilized for everything that required force, from maintaining public order to suppressing rebels.

In addition, there was something called the Alvaroi fighting technique that was learned while excluding emotions using the effects of EDP-427.

‘Tell me about Alvaroi’s fighting techniques in detail.’

[Alvaroi fighting is a martial art that prepares for all possible situations using the body and weapons. The goal is to perform perfect attack and defense by observing and comparing your own physical durability, attack ability and the opponent’s ability.]

Originally, Alvaroi fighting was a martial art created based on the premise of consuming EDP-427, but I have the ability to think at high speeds, so it would be possible to learn it.

First of all, the gist of the plan is to use these to rise to a high position among agents.

In this world, the class that controls the people is very free, so the higher your status, the more you can do.

Squeak ㅡ

At that time, the door opened and a man who appeared to be an academy student came in.

After looking at me lying on the bed for a while, he opened his mouth.

“Who is it?”

“Minho Moralis. I just entered school.”

“……I am John Peralta.”

After making a loud noise, John sits down at his desk and begins to write something.

I groaned and thought about the name as if I had heard it somewhere before asking the guidebook.

‘Is there a character named John Peralta?’

[John Peralta is an agent who becomes the protagonist’s partner and a spy who acts as a rebel executive.]

‘Oh, I remembered.’

In the original cartoon, when the main character was acting as an agent, the person next to him who encouraged him to come to his senses and rebel against his superiors was John Peralta.

‘hmm…’

According to my little memory, John had probably already stopped taking EDP-427.

He must have been injected with Telos and has learned some Alvaroi fighting techniques.

I made up my mind.

‘If it were to detect impure molecules, wouldn’t it be an appropriate form of reporting?’

I quietly walked up behind John and pulled out the pistol from his waist.

“What are you doing now…!”

Tangㅡ

There was a hole between John’s eyes as he stood up and looked back. Red paint is spray-like on his desk and bed.

Suddenly

“Drop the gun! Put your hands up!”

The instructors nearby opened the door, came in, and subdued me. I did not resist and obediently followed their instructions.