In the dead of night, an eerie chill permeated the air as a man emerged from the restroom of an abandoned hospital.
A soft, dragging shuffle—a sound that seemed to engulf the entire hospital—was all that broke the silence.
As if he had resided in the hospital for an eternity, the man advanced without the slightest hesitation.
His footsteps eventually led him to the intensive care unit, where several beds were heavily stained with someone’s bodily fluids.
As if nothing were amiss, the man turned his head and headed toward a drawer.
He retrieved a flashlight from the drawer, then donned the stethoscope and doctor’s gown hanging above it.
He was the quintessential image of a doctor.
From the hem of the doctor’s gown, the metallic, acrid scent of blood wafted upwards.
And then, the man continued walking.
Straight ahead, a turn to the right, then straight again, followed by a turn to the left.
Past internal medicine, past obstetrics and gynecology, past surgery, and past the restrooms.
After approximately ten minutes had passed, faint wails began to emanate from the hospital, which had until then been filled with nothing but silence.
“Ugh, my leg, my leg! Blood is flowing! It’s constantly gushing out! Ugh, my small intestine, large intestine, kidneys! They’re all melting into a pulp and spilling out!”
“In my head, bugs are eating my brain, it hurts so much. Ugh, bugs are bursting out through my eyes! Stag beetle cockroaches earthworms larvae what kind of larvae are they? Swallowtail butterfly larvae? Beetle grubs?”
As he proceeded further, the sounds gradually intensified, and when they reached their peak, a director’s office appeared before the man.
[Pediatric Department Director – Ki■n%]
The door was ajar, and a voice emanated from within.
“Where does it hurt, child?”
A twisted, metallic screech.
Then, as the door fully opened, the voice echoed once more.
“You are not a child.”
“I’ve come from the surgical department next door.”
****
‘Damn, this is nerve-wracking.’
‘Just look at that thing.’
‘Of course, I’d seen this monster countless times in the game, but since the game I played wasn’t VR, just a regular computer game, the sense of dread it evoked was entirely different.’
‘Its face, as if sculpted from layers of smeared flesh, had a single protruding eyeball that stared intently at me, and above it, the doctor’s gown it wore, as if it were a real physician, was exactly as it had been in the game.’
“Surgery? Hmm. Why from surgery?”
Fortunately, the clothes I had hastily put on earlier seemed to make me appear like a surgeon.
‘It seems the strategy is the same as in the game.’
“Sometimes, when I see young patients suffering, my heart aches terribly. I came to see you because I believe you know a way to alleviate their pain.”
I pointed to the students writhing in agony on the floor and spoke.
Despite the students’ desperate wails, there wasn’t a single scratch or wound on their bodies.
‘But that pain must be real.’
“The suffering of children. That truly brings tears to one’s eyes. How much agony these children must have endured. Yes, I will help them!”
Perhaps it was due to the doctor’s trust, but their alien-like speech gradually became more human.
‘Even in the game, their speech would change during conversations, but there was no clear explanation, so I don’t know the reason either.’
Tears streamed from the doctor’s eyes.
Commonly known as 「The Pediatrician’s Dream」, it is, as the name might suggest, the origin of ‘A Fleeting Dream,’ one of the items available in the shop.
‘Why did I come to get something that’s never been sold before?’
‘Because this is the safest place.’
‘Since I have to buy at least one item anyway, it will eventually sell if it’s the only one left.’
While the students groaning in pain there make it seem incredibly dangerous, this entity is actually a tutorial-level monster.
See? First, it’s capable of communication, and at least there’s no physical threat, right?
‘Perhaps its concept was that children shouldn’t suffer, so it traps them in dreams to prevent them from being harmed?’
‘Of course, they still suffer in the dreams, so there isn’t much difference.’
In fact, there’s another reason I came here.
As a tutorial monster, it’s usually eliminated by the Monster Management Bureau around this time.
‘I should make the most of it before then (TL Note: A Korean slang term, ‘ppong ppobaya ji,’ referring to getting the most out of something before it’s gone or becomes worthless.).’
After its elimination, the Monster Management Bureau itself produces items related to ‘A Fleeting Dream’ and 「The Pediatrician’s Dream」, which is why they pile up in abundance later on.
“Look at this.”
In the doctor’s hand was a beaker containing a glowing green liquid that looked like trouble if touched.
“Oh. This is the fabled…”
This is ‘Dream Solvent,’ the raw material for all 「The Pediatrician’s Dream」 items, including ‘A Fleeting Dream’.
“Yes, this is the magnificent invention that will free children from their suffering!”
The doctor, with an exaggerated voice, extolled the virtues of ‘A Fleeting Dream’.
“Would you be able to share some of that liquid with me? My heart feels as if it’s tearing apart when I see injured children coming to me, leaving me with sleepless nights.”
The doctor gazed at me with an expression of admiration.
“No! To think there’s another doctor who loves children this much! I shall give you plenty… Wait a moment, no, that’s not right. Yes! I cannot simply send a great person like you away. Would you consider researching with me?”
“Pardon?”
‘Something feels wrong here.’
‘This wasn’t an option in the game?’
“Let us work together to create a world where no child suffers! As a pediatrician, I am not as specialized in that field as a surgeon. Therefore, if you join me, there will be nothing we cannot achieve!”
‘Well, actually, I’m not a surgeon.’
“I—I apologize, but I cannot neglect the patients who come to me. Once all my patients have fully recovered, I will return to you then.”
“Hmm. Yes, in that case, it’s regrettable, but it can’t be helped.”
The doctor extended a hand and offered me the beaker.
“Thank you for bestowing this Dream Solvent upon me. I will certainly!—“
“Wait a moment.”
“Pardon?”
“I never told you the name of this product, did I?”
Ah.
Suddenly, crimson tears streamed from the doctor’s eyes.
“You came to steal my research! I thought you loved children! I was deceived, utterly deceived. Ah, the sorrow of losing a colleague, ah. Save the children! Kill the one who would use my research for nefarious purposes! More children! Kill the villain!”
Thump—snap—
The doctor’s body began to distort, the gown tore apart, and the sound of flesh twisting emanated.
“Ah! The doctor I trusted! The fraud! Die!”
Immediately, their arms, transformed into needle-like spikes, split into dozens and rained down upon me.
Bang—!
And the doctor’s head was severed.
This was because I had pierced their head with a tentacle.
‘Hmm.’
As I mentioned earlier, that was a tutorial monster.
In other words, it was designed so even a newbie playing the game for the first time could defeat it, thus, tentacles, which even guns couldn’t pierce, were more than sufficient to take it down.
‘In the game, people even subdue it with guns.’
The ‘Dream Solvent’ is intact, and since the monster is gone, the children should be fine now.
‘Okay, then let’s go back.’
“Aargh! My ears! My nose! My lips! They’re all gone! Where are they? I can’t see anything. Please, save me!”
What?
The children’s condition remained unchanged.
“Wait!”
“Ah, no, the children. I must protect the children! Those ashen tears flowing, swallowed by pain! Stop! Give me the children’s dreams!”
The corpse, whose head had clearly exploded, began to squirm.
Thump—
The doctor’s body underwent a mutation.
“Veinsburstingmusclestearingrearrangingthenscatteringagain.”
“Legsbecomingarmsarmsbecominglegseyesstickingtothewallhearingeverythingbutwherearetheears?”
The students, who had been lying on the floor groaning, suddenly rose and voiced my own thoughts.
Perhaps, even unconsciously, they had felt the monster’s influence.
‘Actually, that reaction is probably normal.’
‘Since monsters affect the mind simply by existing.’
And this state, at the very least, is not that of a tutorial monster.
Something was wrong.
‘This wasn’t in the game.’
‘Why, for heaven’s sake?’
If I weren’t a monster myself, I would surely have gone mad by now.
“Give me my dream!”
With that declaration, the director’s office filled with flesh.
It was an unsettling sensation, as if all the walls surrounding me were staring.
Splosh—
With a sudden sound, the masses of flesh surged.
“Oh, hell.”
The masses of flesh opened their eyes.
****
“So the kid and the police officer over there are the new victims?”
“Yes, a report came in about thirty minutes ago, and comparing the details, it’s presumed to be the same monster.”
“Haa. Well, that’s a monster with an unusually frequent activity cycle, isn’t it?”
Park Se-jin couldn’t help but sigh.
New victims had appeared less than a day after the first ones.
What’s more, the relocated site this time was a police station.
“And another peculiar point is that this time, they came out with the purchased item.”
“What?”
“It’s this.”
In Kim Do-hyun’s hand were five moving pieces of flesh.
“What, why are there so many?”
“The child said the Merchant called them over and gave them three more.”
“Hmm… right. For now, collect them and send them to the research team.”
“Ah, but the child absolutely refused.”
“Huh? Why? Did someone put honey on those pieces of flesh? And what, are you just going to give them to the kid then? Will you take responsibility?”
“No, it’s not that, they said they had to feed their younger sibling. Given how bruised their entire body is, it seems there’s a situation.”
“Aish, tsk. Speak to that police officer over there about that family and investigate them together.”
Se-jin instinctively pulled out a cigarette.
“And damn it, I almost forgot. That’s not what’s important right now. How did they manage to bring it out this time?”
“Apparently, there was no rule stating it had to be consumed inside.”
“So that means the old man tricked us last time?”
“Since the products are different, it’s possible different rules applied.”
“Do you think that makes sense?”
“Given that it’s a monster, I suppose.”
Se-jin started to argue but then stopped, realizing it made sense.
“What about the investigation I ordered into that old man?”
“We were about to start when this incident occurred, so we haven’t been able to yet.”
The hazy cigarette smoke drifted far away on the wind.
“Then let’s go see that old man right now.”
