Dragon’s Name (1)
“Now, look at the next page. Human sociality is formed about five years after birth. We experience and learn about making attachments and trust-building, awareness of others, the endurance of needs, and sharing with others.”
“Of course, building an attachment with parents comes first. The proposition that psychological relationships with caregivers have a great influence on infant personality has already been proven.”
“Only then will infants grow as they learn social skills such as the ability to think from another’s perspective and concessions. All of these are thought to be learned before the age of five…”
-Click!
I pressed the mouse button with a deep expression.
The lecture on the laptop screen paused with a click. A middle-aged female professor, standing in front of the blackboard, solidified with a still picture. What was captured was quite a humiliating and ridiculous look.
In the header of the Internet window I opened, it said:
OO Broadcasting and Communication University, Department of Early Childhood Education-(Major) “Infant Development”
Oh, I was sick and tired of it.
Parvache came behind me and looked at the screen.
It muttered, [You must be going crazy.]
I replied with a pouting mouth.
“I have to emigrate or something. I can’t live like this.”
What I was doing currently was due to the notice of enlistment that was inevitable, as long as I was registered as a resident. To delay the enlistment date, I entered Korean National Communication University that year, and the first semester was almost set to F.
Why was I suddenly taking a class that wasn’t my major that semester? Of course, I wasn’t suddenly trying to become a kindergarten teacher. I didn’t think it was the right choice for the children and me.
It was just that something was bothering me. I was looking through the open class regardless of my major, and that class caught my eye.
So, I was taking that after I roughly sign up for the rest of the courses. However, I didn’t like the professor since she was only saying obvious things. I thought I would take a leave of absence soon.
I rolled around on the sofa and turned on the TV.
“Shall I get a reexamination after cutting a few fingers? If so, I’ll get an exemption, right? I then drink a bottle of advanced elixir and regenerate it. Am I genius?” I said after fiddling with the remote control.
Parvache’s answer was negative.
[I hope you don’t do anything that could damage your mind or body. Elixir is nothing but a catalyst for regeneration, but it’s basically using your body’s energy. You’re already in a condition where…]
I scratched my head.
“No. Maybe this way is better. I have to beat the Korea Telecom.”
[Hmm.]
Parvache’s discomfort was conveyed through its will. I listened to the sound of the TV and started surfing the Internet with my cellphone. In the search bar, I searched for the keyword ‘exemption finger’. How many should I cut? Could I cut 2-3 pieces?
[By the way, Min-joon.]
“What?”
[It seems like most of your age in this country are going to college?]
What was that all of a sudden?
“Most of them also go for the army. But I can’t just throw everything away and run to fulfill my defense duties, right?”
[That’s not what I meant. I am talking after all this has been resolved.]
“Hmm?”
Parvache brought out that topic after a long time and talked about when I was stuck in the defensive barrier and only played and ate all day, after hearing the Dragon’s death from Silver Forest’s Truth-Seeker.
[After stopping the resurrection of the Dragon? Have you ever thought about what to do next? What kind of life will you live?]
That was all nonsense.
“Don’t even say useless things. It’s enough to think about it after I’ve beaten all the ascetic guys so that they don’t even try to resurrect the Dragon again.”
I stood up. I tried to take a break until that day, but I couldn’t do it since it reminded me of my situation.
I transformed my body while making a throbbing sound, then I said bluntly.
“And, do you need to think deeply? There are a few Channels open now. I should practice my magic hard, monitor the barriers in my house, and live while guarding the outside world every day. Who knows when an alien race will come in? What if another Fake God appears again? Then, if the Earth seems to be ruined, it should bounce to another dimension.”
Parvache did not answer. I headed to the basement, and I heard the footsteps of a robot following me from behind.
***
-Flussssh
A shape emerged from a tank full of green liquid.
“Cough… Cough!”
The restraints tied to the hands and feet moved and appeared on the water. The alien race was choked and spat liquid out of his mouth.
Slowly, he flinched to see if his consciousness came back. Eyes sewn with magic metal wires only move finely, while the pupils weren’t exposed outside.
Weak thoughts leaked out as if to indicate a confined mental state.
=Cough! I am alive. Ah… I’m still alive. =
The Fake God, still suffering from fear, trembled all over. Why did he sign a contract with the Demon if he would be like that to begin with? Well, I didn’t need to know why.
=Save me… please don’t kill me. =
I replied bluntly, “Even now, I still keep you alive. Who’s going to kill you?”
=Ah… please send me back to my original world…=
Due to the long-lasting encounter with fear, his mind was extremely weak. Perhaps that time, even if there was no suggestion deep inside his mind, his will only answered the truth.
I wished that horror had spread to his roommates as well. There was no condition, so I couldn’t even plant the suggestion on them. It was really troublesome.
=Please, send me a bag! =
His original self begged through telepathy, but other memories mixed in were also affecting his mind.
“Please kill me! Kill me!”
The Fake God cried out the words opposite to his will. That was what the memory of human apprentices implanted in him said, and…
“Huh… huaaaaaa! Huaaaaaaa!”
There was also a strange sound that seemed intermittently scratching his vocal cords. The memory of the Ashpim Giants caused that phenomenon. Even though the vocal organs were different and couldn’t be pronounced as it was, they tried to make the sound according to the habit of life.
In the case of the Ashpim Giants, only part of the memory was cut and planted. Still, the large capacity seemed to have a significant impact. Come to think of it, how many years’ worth of memories were stored in that mind?
“From now on, I’ll open only one of your eyes. Don’t think about making a fool of yourself. Just do what you’re told.”
He responded simultaneously through mind and voice.
=Yes… okay… please don’t kill me…=
“Kill me! Kill me… Ahhhhhh! Ugh!”
He asked me to save him and then to kill him. He really went crazy.
Still, among the mixed memories, the Fake God’s original memory took the initiative so he couldn’t commit suicide. The words of the soul recovered by the Demon were obvious.
I flicked my fingers and shot Mana. One of the wires stitched through his twenty-three eyes broke. Since there was a high possibility that he had already lost his sight, I applied recovery magic to his open eyes. The alien race wept and blinked his eye.
“Look at the tank over there.”
I pointed in one direction.
The Fake God’s eyes shook for a moment when he saw me looking like him but soon moved his gaze along my finger without asking anything.
He judged that it was more important to do what I asked than to ask questions. Yes, very good.
The Fake God trembled at the two tanks placed in the corner of the room.
=Ahhh, this again! =
“Okay. You seem to see them well, so I’ll ask.”
I moved my finger.
“That ugly man.”
I pointed my finger to the other side.
“And that girl the size of fingernails. Look carefully.”
I then lowered my hand and looked at the Fake God.
“Those two, can you manipulate their mind?”
He found an answer in his mixed memories.
=Ah, that man is in human memory! =
“It’s an executive! Mr. Hessler! Who is the woman?”
I shrugged.
“It seems like it remains in the memories of the apprentices, huh? That man is Hessler, and the woman is Alice. So? Can you brainwash them?”
The best thing to do to get information was to brainwash them. I didn’t know if they had the seeds of domination, but I thought it would be good to check.
The Fake God responded telepathically. It seemed that it was possible to visualize the other person’s mental world and judge how high it was.
=Impossible, impossible! Sorry… don’t kill me! The man has seeds, but it is impossible for me because of the size of the mental world! Sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry!=
Hmm, I scratched my chin. I thought there would be a high possibility of that. It said that Fake God was about a thousand years old.
=In terms of his mind’s size, the time he has lived is similar to or more than mine. However, it isn’t normal… there are many holes in the ego, abnormal impulses, and sexual desires, desire for destruction, perversion… ah. I can’t see the surface psychology, but just looking at the revealed color is not sane!=
I said, cutting off his will.
“If there are a lot of holes, can’t you try brainwashing him?”
The Fake God shook his head hastily.
=Impossible! Even if it is destroyed and crumbled, its size is absolutely…=
In any case, that meant no.
“How about the woman?”
The Fake God turned his eye.
=That woman…=
He hesitated, and the will continued.
=That woman has no seeds of domination. What’s more, an existence that has lived at least two or three times longer than me… how do you kidnap such a long-living species? You’re scary. Are you… are you human? Or are you a demon, too…? Or something uglier?=
“Noisy. Are you saying that that woman doesn’t have the seeds and is even older?”
=T-That’s right.=
I nodded and muttered.
“It would be impossible to transplant the memory of such an existence to the Fake God. No matter how much I cut off a part of the memory…”
The Fake God who guessed my thoughts poured out the original horror idea that wasn’t verbalized: emotions reflected from one’s painful experiences.
Currently, that external hard drive had an overload capacity and couldn’t be used anymore. The basic capacity was small in the first place. The body of Fake God floating in the air fell back into the tank through my gestures.
=…Please!=
With a brief will, he lost his consciousness. I put concealment magic on the Fake God’s tank.
I confirmed that the brainwashing wasn’t possible with Eraser’s ability. Parvache’s suggestion was also not possible since it wasn’t conditional. The only remaining means were the most traditional methods.
Parvache told me from behind.
[I don’t know if they are going to confess.]
I answered by following the memories at Hun-neung.
“Fortunately, they both seemed to have a common sense of pain.”
[Which one first?]
I answered back, “Starting with the one whose mind goes back and forth.”
Hessler’s body floated in the tank with my gestures.
