episode_0311

“Woof! Woof!”

“Why are there so many animals?” “Pigeons! And there are puppies over there!”

Doctor Yurik, grunting, carried various cages and boxes. Inside, they were filled with all kinds of animals like rats, dogs, and cats.

“Ahjussi, what are all these?”

“They’re experimental animals! Could you help me?”

While the Violets diligently moved the luggage as instructed, 5543 stepped forward to ask a question.

“Why do you need so many animals?”

Amidst the noise of the experimental animals, a question arose.

I looked at Doctor Yurik with suspicious eyes.

I wondered why Professor Sturges and Doctor Yurik were conducting such experiments.

Their actions seemed somehow familiar.

“Doesn’t it feel familiar? It’s like the atmosphere of a research lab you’ve seen a lot.” “Ah! Now that you mention it, it does. Their gaze and posture feel familiar?”

There was no bad or evil atmosphere.

When I visited the office for coffee errands, I often saw Professor Sturges and Doctor Yurik poring over countless data and papers.

The atmosphere there was that of seekers of sacred knowledge.

It was distinctly different from the ponytail or slicked-back researchers of Laplaxia who only pursued their own interests.

But having burned down numerous research institutions by now, I could quickly recall.

There was a similar place that exuded an atmosphere similar to the Violet Research Lab temporarily set up in our house.

“The Magnabis Research Labs!”

The difference between our temporary lab and the evil Magnabis, which extracted and connected people’s brains, was as vast as heaven and earth, but the two shared one commonality.

Beyond simply exploring knowledge, it was the will to solve a given problem with that knowledge.

I didn’t know exactly what research they were doing, but the attitude of these researchers reminded me of dungeon artifact excavators puzzling over a map laid out before them to find treasure.

What kind of treasure was Doctor Yurik looking for?

I’d vaguely heard something about completing Professor Sturges’ research.

At this point, I thought he might answer, so I should ask.

After all, I was the one funding it.

He said it was for me and that he would explain the research gradually later, but sudden curiosity surged within me.

If he didn’t answer, I’d cut off his funding.

“Ahjussi, want some coffee?”

“Oh, no thanks. I’ll make it myself.”

As the warehouse door closed, the animal noises faded away. Enrica, who was shoveling cereal into her bowl at the dining table, saw Doctor Yurik and discreetly moved aside. Ahjussi Yurik stirred his coffee.

“Ahjussi, why are you researching me?”

“I told you last time. It’s a scholar’s curiosity. Of course, there are other reasons, but I’m not yet certain…”

“I’m curious about those other reasons.”

With Enrica looking on in confusion, I continued speaking.

“As you know, I’m from a research lab. I don’t understand theories or academia because they’re difficult, but I know the atmosphere of researchers. You want to do something, don’t you? By researching me.”

“That, I’ll tell you later. Once Professor Albert arrives, then—”

Doctor Yurik, retreating with his coffee cup, was immediately blocked by 442, who appeared at the dining room door.

442 stuck out her tongue.

“Hehe! You can’t pass!”

“Professor Sturges says to study first, Ahjussi. I saw it when you first brought that crazy Ahjumma Bernike. She was super excited coming out of the office. Even before she went in, she had somewhat grasped my abilities.”

At the time, I just thought it was the usual fuss of a mad scientist, but now, running it through the collective consciousness, there was definitely something more.

“There’s definitely something else. Something that would excite that Ahjumma. You’re not just studying, you’re making something, aren’t you?”

Perhaps surprised by the result our collective consciousness had drawn, Ahjussi Yurik’s eyes darted around.

He was so flustered that it reminded me of how he looked on the first day I kidnapped him to learn about the Polaris underground facility.

“Ahahaha…”

Seeing him laugh hollowly, he was clearly pricked. At this point, given Ahjussi Yurik’s personality as I’d observed him, he would likely open up soon.

“There are two objectives. One, I’ll explain later—”

Doctor Yurik answered slowly, but firmly.

“I’ll tell you the conclusion first. Professor Albert and I are looking for a stable way to turn ordinary people into Awakened ones.”

That answer was somewhat unexpected.

“Huh? Really?”

Doctor Yurik, smiling awkwardly, shrugged and gestured for me to move aside.

“First, I’ll have to tell you about my supervising professor…”

**

Although the number of awakenings has increased in modern times, the number of Awakened ones is small.

Few can perceive and freely control magic, and even fewer possess outstanding talent among them.

“Currently, there are only two stable ways to awaken Ether abilities. Inheritance from parents, or waiting for an extremely rare accidental awakening.”

Modern Trist civilization was built on sloppy, shoddy science and haphazardly acquired Ether engineering.

It was like a patient entrusting surgery to a medical device salesman and a nursing assistant.

The two pillars supporting the world’s civilization, contrary to their appearance, were as precarious as the pillars of a shoddily constructed building built without rebar.

A situation where it could collapse at any moment if someone merely touched it.

In such moments of crisis, the essential beings needed to compensate for it were the Awakened ones.

Trist needed countless combatants to fight magical beasts and be dispatched to dangerous places like encroached zones or dungeons.

Moreover, there were surprisingly many fields outside of combat that required the ability to use magic.

For these reasons, the Federation and countless clans and corporations exerted all their efforts to secure Awakened ones.

Even if it meant resorting to somewhat dangerous and illegal means.

“What about human experiments or drugs? Laplaxia or the Foundation sell awakening-inducing agents, don’t they?”

To 443’s question, Yurik conveyed a negative opinion, almost with firmness.

“They’re useless. I know because I’ve tried them.”

“Oh? You’ve tried them too, Ahjussi? That’s surprising.”

“It used to be popular for parents to give their children awakening-inducing agents. My relatives were hunters, so I begged for some, asking if it would increase my awakening probability.

…I stopped after kids in class started dying from strange surgeries.”

Recalling his innocent childhood, when he admired heroes, Doctor Yurik smiled wryly.

“The usual drugs sold on the market only work for those with a high probability of awakening. People whose parents or grandparents were Awakened but were born ordinary. Even then, the probability is low. And as for surgery, you know about that, CEO-nim.”

Violet quickly understood.

She had constantly witnessed poor test subjects dying during surgeries at the research lab.

She herself had barely crossed the threshold of an extremely low probability.

And so, in his youth, Professor Sturges fell into contemplation.

“The Professor’s early research focused on one thing: how to turn ordinary people into superhumans capable of using Ether.”

Rarely, but it happens, there are people who awaken suddenly while living normal lives.

“Like Grace, for example.”

“Indeed, Daphne was originally not an Awakened one, too.”

Academics inductively derived one possibility from these cases.

While there were no unified commonalities, these cases were sufficient to draw a specific conclusion.

If the necessary conditions could be met…

Ordinary people, far removed from magic, could become superhumans.

“Professor Sturges proposed one method for this.”

Black letters appeared on the whiteboard.

“Cognitive expansion?”

“To be more precise, it should be called improving consciousness and cognitive abilities to align with magic.”

The problem was that the human body and mind were not optimized to perceive magic.

“There are several things that distinguish non-Awakened from Awakened, but one of them is the perception of magic. To borrow Professor Albert’s analogy, ordinary people are not vessels for magic. It’s due to the limits of their minds.”

Ether is an extraterrestrial product, far removed from humanity’s long biological evolution.

“It’s like a computer trying to run a program written in a completely different operating system and machine language without being able to read it. If you want to run the program, you need something to act as a compiler or emulator.”

The network’s collective consciousness slowly formed the big picture.

I gradually understood what destination Doctor Yurik was pointing to.

“So that’s cognitive expansion. Then how do you do cognitive expansion?”

“By injecting the necessary ‘information’ using Ether waves as a medium. Experimental magic, Ether fluctuations generated during gate opening, direct exposure to high-concentration Ether environments, etc., can be used as mediums. Using artifacts can also be a method. For example—”

“Like a Vision Prism?”

Yurik smiled and snapped his fingers.

“You’ve got it right. Speaking of Vision Prisms, you understand the problem with consciousness expansion, don’t you?”

Violet recalled the Federation Army ghouls shambling through the dark alleys of the Vittorio Arcade.

“It can’t be precisely controlled!”

Violet thought deeply. Doctor Yurik, satisfied that she understood the explanation, picked up a rubber band from the desk.

“That’s correct. The biggest problem was output control. We didn’t know what the appropriate output was, and the means to do so were either limited or too strong.

Above all, each individual’s physical constitution varied in its ability to withstand the magic required for cognitive expansion. All attempts to forcefully expand an individual’s cognitive abilities so far have resulted in…”

Yurik’s hand pulled the rubber band too hard.

The rubber band snapped with a *snap*.

“This kind of result. Dying from their entire nervous system burning out, becoming a ghoul, or becoming paralyzed.”

“It’s similar to what Lera did!”

“From my supervising professor’s graduate school thesis to all public data related to cognitive expansion, I’ve reviewed everything. We tried all sorts of methods for consciousness expansion that I listed earlier, but all of them failed. Other research institutions experienced the same.”

With no visible results, let alone the expected profit, academia and corporations researching cognitive expansion methods gradually became skeptical.

The final blow to the research came from Luminex and Laplaxia.

When biological approaches began to show even slight results, people’s interest shifted there, and Professor Sturges’ arguments were buried.

“Ultimately, in his youth, the Professor had no choice but to temporarily put aside his research on awakening non-Awakened individuals. Instead, he changed the course of his cognitive expansion research.”

The Professor judged. It would be easier to enhance existing superhumans than to turn the widespread ordinary people into superhumans.

“There was a reason Valefor worked with the Professor on research.”

After the long explanation, Violet felt bored, but nonetheless satisfied that they had reached their destination.

Now it was time to get a definitive answer.

“Okay. So, the core of your research, Ahjussi, is that I’m the Vision Prism for cognitive expansion?”

At Violet’s words, the atmosphere in the room subtly changed.

Perceiving the chilled air, Yurik carefully chose his words.

There was no need to upset this girl, who still carried trauma from human experimentation.

“You could say that.”

“Why me, of all people?”

“You can infinitely and precisely replicate bodies with identical abilities, capable of using superpowers, within a given magic limit. You form a vast collective consciousness capable of communication and interaction on the scale of thousands of people. Furthermore, you’ve even absorbed alien entities and assimilated them with yourself.”

A precise unique ability to create collective consciousness bodies with identical abilities without any error.

The immense amount of information needed for cognitive expansion, to awaken an individual’s mind.

Mental manipulation abilities proven through Apostle encroachment and fusion transformations.

“Moreover, because you are human, you could also help adjust the subtle individual differences. If our research is completed…”

By utilizing the Violet Network, all of humanity could be turned into Awakened ones.

“Wow…”

When the story ended, the Violets exclaimed in admiration.

He had seemed like just an ordinary Ahjussi who didn’t shave his beard, but he was hiding such a grand goal.

“But, is there really a reason we *have* to do it?”

However, Violet’s face suddenly became sullen, as if annoyed.

Upon seeing her reaction, Yurik realized he had omitted something important.

If the person involved wasn’t convinced, this research would be nothing more than a meaningless fantasy.

“That means I have to help, too. It’s a bit of a bother…”

A reason to do it?

A storm of words instantly swirled in Doctor Yurik Pereira’s mind.

It was just regrettable.

His former mentor, whom he had once respected and who was benevolent, had fallen into depravity.

The girl before him was the completed work that his fallen teacher had so desperately sought in his later years, and the answer to the path he had given up on in his youth.

Therefore, he simply wanted to complete with his own hands the right path that his teacher had not taken.

A bitterness filled his chest.

He saw the darkness of society that he had not seen before in the university lab.

Clans that seized power and wealth with force and committed outrageous atrocities under the pretext of a great cause.

A weak and pitiful woman who had followed the path of a researcher like himself but had ended up becoming an accomplice to crime.

On the day Magnabis was attacked, he saw it live on broadcast.

The brutally violated children, and the girl terrorist screaming in front of them.

-Look at them! They’re children! They’re hurting! Don’t you know it hurts? It hurts when you get hit!

This world was wrong.

‘If everyone could use magic, would the great clans have been able to act so tyrannical?’

Suddenly, his heart pounded. A way had appeared to realize that seemingly absurd ideal.

As the white-haired woman who had appeared like a fairy one day had said.

‘Together, let’s change the world.’

An opportunity had been given to him to pioneer a path no scholar had ever trodden, to forge an unexplored territory with his own hands.

‘Any sane person would do this!’

If both plans succeeded, the world would be turned upside down.

A world where everyone became a superhuman.

And humanity’s hope, which would stand tall above those superhumans, to confront the abyss of another dimension.

There was so much he wanted to say.

Honor and glory, hope. The power to overturn this suffocating world.

He wanted to clearly see with his own eyes the ultimate limits of all exploration and the miracle that would follow at its end.

It would be too much to pour out all his inner thoughts, so Yurik decided to choose the simplest and clearest words of persuasion.

“If this succeeds, we’ll be rich!”

“Gasp! What did you say?”

“Now, imagine. Hundreds, millions… no, hundreds of millions of people, right? Even if we only receive 100,000 credits per person as payment for awakening everyone in the world, the total amount will be enormous. It will far surpass the three major clans or most large corporations. We’ll become billionaires!”

As soon as money was mentioned, the Violet Network activated its collective consciousness at an unprecedented speed.

“Emergency Violet Council summoned! Gather immediately!”

After a five-minute marathon meeting, the Violet Council unanimously reached a conclusion.

“If we become billionaires, we can even build our own city!” “What’s a city? It’ll be more than enough for independent military funding!” “Let’s eat all the meat we want every single day!”

Violet made up her mind.

“Ahjussi! Do you need anything else?”

“Uh, what? What?”

“I’ll give you more money! Tell me what you need! We’ll support you fully!”

“Let’s start quickly!”

“9:1! We get 9! You get 1!”

From that day on, the Violet research began to accelerate rapidly.

“What if we encroach on people?”

“We can definitely avoid encroachment. That’s what the animal experiments are for.”

4411 thought. He’s a smart person, so he’ll find a way somehow.

“But Ahjussi, what’s the other objective?”

“It’s confidential.”

“Ugh!”