Mutation #3

 

“Ed⋯!”

Mitchell grabbed the child’s shoulder firmly.

With a trembling face, he rubbed his tear-stained cheek.

“I’m sorry… I, I-”

—⋯⋯.

The child made no answer.

A faint smile crossed his lips.

“Uh, Mr. Mitchell?”

“Mitchell, calm down!”

Wagner shouted from behind, but Mitchell was not in his right mind.

‘He really is a dirty guy.’

I quietly glared at the child.

The mutant monster’s tantrum pattern, “Shape of Atonement.”

It is safe to say that this form has virtually no physical combat power.

However, there is another reason why this shape is notorious.

The form of atonement changes its appearance into an ‘unattackable object’.

A strategy to recreate trauma deep within the victim’s memory.

The ultimate goal is mental pollution.

That child must have been more precious to Mitchell than anything else.

A feeling of guilt buried deep in the heart.

A wound that will never heal no matter how much time passes, so you will just have to carry it with you for the rest of your life.

There is nothing more cruel than breaking bones and tearing flesh, but exploiting the minds of others.

‘You fucking bastard.’

That’s why I always hated that attack pattern in games.

Therefore, there is no reason to have mercy in one’s hands.

“Ed, I’ll never be with you again-”

Crunch.

The next moment, the head of the child Mitchell was hugging flew off.

Mitchell’s pupils turned white for a moment—

A black shadow of smoke disperses into the air from the child’s empty throat.

“Mitchell, wake up. He’s not your significant other.”

I spoke quietly, aiming my hand at the child, which I had raised in the shape of a pistol.

“⋯Little one.”

Mitchell slowly turned to me.

Mitchell’s expression was so chilling that it made my heart sink.

“You. What the heck. What the-”

Because the anger has reached its peak, instead of burning hot, it becomes as cold as ice.

There is a clear murderous intent directed at me.

“Wagner.”

“hmm.”

Even without lengthy instructions, Wagner understood his role.

Pabat—

Mitchell, losing his mind, ran towards me.

In a single leap, the gap between Mitchell and me disappeared in an instant.

If Wagner hadn’t hugged Mitchell from behind, I might have been torn in half and killed by now.

“Let go. ⋯Let go!”

“Telling you to calm down won’t do any good right now. I’ll just stay like this for a while.”

“놓으라고, 개새끼야⋯!”

Wagner used all his strength to catch Mitchell, who was running wild like a leopard.

Wagner nodded at me.

“I don’t know what the situation is, but can I leave that little boy over there with you?”

“Uh. I’ll take care of it.”

I walked towards the child.

“Maybe it would have been better to tell everyone in advance. I’m not sure.”

There was no information about the “Shape of Atonement” in the strategy I taught my party members.

It’s not like I didn’t tell you on purpose so you could try to screw me over.

First of all, that unique attack method that stimulates guilt is not something that can be easily resisted even if you know it in advance.

And rather, I would say that it is more frightening because I know what is coming.

If Mitchell had just told me that he would be facing that child at the last minute, he likely wouldn’t have been able to fight properly throughout the boss fight.

So, I thought it was better not to know.

‘I’ll just finish it with my own hands.’

Holding the Frost Sword in one hand, he slowly approached the ugly monster.

The guy looked back at me with a blank expression.

—⋯⋯.

Still no word.

Sasak—

Shadow tentacles stretched out from beneath the bastard’s feet once again.

Am I the target this time?

I won’t waste my time trying to avoid it for no reason.

‘This is all you can do anyway.’

A shadow climbed over my body, and then—

The view went dark.

Neither the eyes, nor the ears, nor any of the senses work.

Like a broken TV, only distorted noise fills my head.

Between the gray cracks like broken glass, dozens of distorted shadows nodded.

—⋯I understand.

The voice, stretched out like a tampered tape, repeats endlessly like an echo.

When I came to my senses, the shadow had already left my body.

The young elf’s eyes gradually narrowed.

It stretches out sideways and stretches out again.

The expression on his face, which seems to be smiling or crying, continues to change like a monster.

It wasn’t just the face that changed.

The small figure grew bigger little by little, and the entire body was covered in shadows and being rebuilt anew.

‘Yeah, come.’

I didn’t turn my eyes away.

I swallowed hard and waited for my guilt to surface.

Surely, facing ‘him’ again would be painful for me too.

However, there is no way to avoid it.

Just accept it.

And just win.

“It’s just a superficial imitation. It’s not the real thing. I know it’s just that disgusting monster’s last desperate effort.”

I kept repeating it to myself as if I was suggesting something to myself.

Soon after, the shadow finished rebuilding⋯

A woman appeared.

—⋯.

A woman with long black hair that reaches her waist.

Her slender body, wrapped in the white shawl dress worn by ancient Greek women, was pitiful and beautiful, as if it could break at any moment.

Large, somewhat sad-looking eyes with long double eyelids stare at me.

This can’t be happening.

This person⋯

“Who is it?”

I frowned.

The black-haired beauty tilts her head slightly.

She is a beauty so beautiful that it almost feels sacred, but I don’t know this woman.

“Who are you? Aren’t you doing your job properly?”

One guess comes to mind.

This woman is not my guilt.

It must be the guilt of Estelle Frostwind, the original owner of my body.

For some reason, the transformed monster seemed to have read Estelle’s memories, not mine.

What the heck.

“What do you want me to do?”

match!

He slapped him without hesitation.

A beautiful woman staggers with a red, swollen face.

For the first time, his expressionless face breaks, and confusion spreads across his face.

Oh, zero guilt.

I don’t know him.

I can hit you all day long.

Clap! Clap!

This time, he slapped both sides of the sheep.

—S-stop it⋯!

The woman took a step back, seeming to be in pain.

“Stop it. If you made a mistake, you deserve to be punished.”

The black-haired beauty collapsed on the spot as he kicked her ankle with the tip of his boot.

Aim the frost sword at the bastard’s forehead.

Swish—

“The boss of the polluted sediment, the irreversible transformation monster, has been defeated.”

The shadow of the collapsed hut writhe in pain, then disappear as if in flames.

With his death, the familiar rewards I had longed for were scattered, but I turned away without picking them up.

There are things that need to be done before looting right now.

“Mitchell, Estelle has taken care of the enemy. You don’t have to suffer anymore. Do you hear me?”

“Mr. Mitchell⋯.”

Wagner and Flora whispered with worried faces.

Mitchell was still in shock and couldn’t come to his senses.

You can’t blame Mitchell.

No matter how much you train your body, it will be difficult to withstand the attack of mental contamination, which you will experience for the first time in your life.

It was the same in the game.

If you get caught in the wrong pattern of the mutant monster’s attack, there are many cases where even the best-raised party members end up saying goodbye here.

The fate of a party member who becomes a wreck is harsh.

Most of the time, they are kicked out of the party by the players.

It’s cruel, but there’s nothing we can do about it.

Because you can’t play the whole game with an adventurer in your party who can’t do his or her share and suffer penalties.

I’ve been like that too.

Then, that party member will wander the world with a blank look in his eyes and meet his lonely end in a foreign land, or

At best, all you can do is spend your whole life recuperating in a monastery.

If there’s just one way to hope…

“Mr. Mitchell, it’s okay. Everything’s over.”

Flora held Mitchell’s trembling face in her arms and stroked it.

A command that you rarely use while playing “Nine Stars”.

“Comforting the party members.”

Even if you try, it usually ends with a few lines of meaningless dialogue, so it doesn’t really have much merit unless you’re a player who enjoys these types of character relationships.

This time it’s different.

“Mitchell, cheer up.”

Wagner also patted Mitchell on the back.

As I looked at that sight, I felt something warm forming in my heart.

“Flora comforted Mitchell.”

“Wagner comforted Mitchell.”

 

⋯It was really a trivial command.

It was just a command to say, “If it works, then don’t do it,” or “If it doesn’t work, then there’s nothing I can do.”

Of course, it’s different from a game where you take a step back and watch from the perspective of an onlooker.

I couldn’t treat Mitchell’s pain as someone else’s.

“Mitchell.”

We brought our foreheads close together.

Mitchell’s clouded eyes, his ragged breathing. It all breaks my heart.

I personally chose the party members.

Do you think I’ll let you get left behind in a place like this?

“You’re not weak enough to be played around by that kind of trash.”

“⋯.”

“I’ll be by your side until you feel better again.”

“Party leader Estelle comforted Mitchell.”⋯Will this command be effective?

I also opened my arms and hugged Flora and Mitchell.

And Wagner’s large arms embraced us warmly.

It’s a little stuffy, but still warm.

and-

A sparkling light began to swirl around Mitchell’s eyes, which were covered with small dewdrops.

***

We took our time and rested for a while.

Anyway, the polluted sediment has been cleared, so now all we have to do is return to Garden.

Mitchell, who had been worried, seemed to have regained some of his energy.

“Haa⋯.”

Mitchell sighed with a blank expression.

I leaned against Wagner’s broad shoulder and slumped there for a moment…

“Uh, that- thank you, but… can we go a little further now?”

“hmm.”

Mitchell blushed faintly, barely perceptible, and pulled away from Wagner.

There’s a bit of an awkward air between Wagner and Mitchell, but…

Still, it’s reassuring to see that Mitchell seems to be doing much better.

Mitchell walked towards the party and bowed at a 90-degree angle.

“Sorry everyone!”

His red hair was slightly disheveled, as if he was under a lot of stress from what had just happened.

“I wonder what happened to me earlier. Did I look bad? I’m really sorry.”

“No, what do you mean, Mr. Mitchell-”

Flora waved her hand vigorously and ran over to hug Mitchell.

“We’re colleagues, aren’t we? Mr. Mitchell, you can always rely on us. We’re a team.”

“⋯Yeah, thank you.”

Mitchell said with an embarrassed look on his face, rubbing the tip of his nose.

The gaze he gave to the party members was filled with a warm light, unlike before.

“Don’t be too hard on yourself. From what I’ve heard from Estelle, it seems like it would have been a tough attack on anyone. It wouldn’t have been much different if it had been me.”

“Yes, Bear. You spoke well. It wasn’t me who was in trouble. You were in the same situation.”

“Ah! But why, why are you hitting me? I was just trying to comfort you-“

“I don’t know what the fuck. You just want to get beat up.”

Mitchell slapped Wagner on the back with a deliberately exaggerated gesture.

I know how you feel.

It’ll be awkward, sorry, and embarrassing.

⋯Anyway, I’m glad it was Wagner and not me.

I gathered everyone’s attention by clapping my hands to lighten the mood.

“More than that, there was loot from the mutant monster. Four, exactly the number of people.”

Four small stone pieces similar to the cores of the Slime series.

Everyone was delighted to see the stone sculpture shining as brightly as an emerald.

“I guess I just need to share them one by one.”

“hmm.”

“Is that a jewel? It’s pretty.”

I already know all too well what this reward is.

But even if you know it, it’s not something you can say straight out.

I swallowed quietly without letting on.

My heart is pounding at 150 bpm, maybe because I’m so nervous.

“How should we divide it?”

I tried to speak as if nothing had happened, but my voice sounded surprisingly awkward.

The flow must be induced.

The perfect flow to naturally achieve the goal I want.

Okay, how do I bring this up?

Since it’s the party venue, I’ll choose first—?

Will our party truly tolerate my dogmatism with a smile? Have we built that level of trust?

Or, how about I just pick it up like it’s no big deal—

Rather, wouldn’t it be more suspicious?

The grass is greener on the other side.

I wonder if the competition is just because the one I chose first looks better.

“Miss, you’re just worrying for nothing and it’s only gotten more awkward. If you keep going like this….”

While I was struggling with my own inner conflict.

Suddenly, Mitchell stroked my head.

“Kid! You’re so small, so do this.”

“⋯Huh?”

“This one stone is broken in half. Doesn’t it resemble you?”

Mitchell said with a playful smile.

Normally, my natural reaction would be to get angry and fight back.

This time, I’m so grateful to Mitchell.

“What are you saying?”

“Oh, why? It suits you. Look, it’s perfect.”

I flicked it slightly and Mitchell gave me a small rock, forcing me to clench my fist.

Mitchell.

This is the best. Thank you so much.

Of course, I can’t say thank you here or in the future, but…

Thanks to Mitchell’s intervention, the distribution was fairly even.

The biggest stone that belongs to Wagner is the “Transformation Stone of Strength”.

Flora is the “Magic Conversion Stone”, Mitchell is the “Speed Conversion Stone”.

This is an item that permanently increases the abilities of each character according to their name.

Even if the increase isn’t huge, it will definitely be a strong support for your future adventures.

But everyone managed to get the transformation stones they needed.

‘The best result.’

I’m sorry I wasn’t honest with the party members.

But, this much is difficult to give in to.

This small, unassuming pebble in my hand is the key to my early growth route in Garden.

A dream item that exists only once in the world of “Nine Stars”.

“The Sage’s Transformation Stone”.

The effects will be evident right away.

After holding the transformation stone, I concentrated my will in my mind.

‘Change your appearance into what I need most right now.’