Deep into the night, where an eerie chill hung in the air, a man stepped out from the bathroom of an abandoned hospital.
Scuff— Scuff—
The only sound was the dragging of his feet, infiltrating the hospital.
The man, who must have spent a very long time in the hospital, advanced forward without the slightest hesitation.
He soon came to a stop in the ICU. Some of the beds were soaked with bodily fluids.
As if wondering what the problem could be, he turned toward a drawer.
He pulled out a flashlight from the drawer, then slipped on the stethoscope above it and donned a doctor's coat.
He looked every bit the doctor.
From the hem of the doctor's coat rose the fishy, iron tang of blood.
And the man walked on.
Straight ahead, a right turn, straight again, then a left turn.
Passing internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, surgery, and the bathroom.
About ten minutes by the clock had passed when faint sobs began to echo through the hospital, which had been filled only with silence.
"Ugh, my legs, my legs! Blood's flowing! It's flowing endlessly! Ugh, my small intestine, large intestine, kidneys! They're all mush, spilling out!"
"Bugs in my head, eating away at my brain, it hurts so much. Ugh, bugs bursting out through my eyes! Longhorn beetle larva, cockroach nymph, some kind of grub, tiger moth larva? Stag beetle larva?"
The closer he got, the louder the sounds grew, and when they reached a fever pitch, a director's office appeared before the man's eyes.
[Pediatrics Director - Ki■n\%]
The door was half-open, and a voice leaked from within.
"What brings you here, feeling unwell?"
A voice like twisted metal.
And as the door fully opened, the voice rang out again.
"You're no child."
"I'm from surgery next door."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Whew, that's creepy.
Look at that thing.
Of course, it's a tale I've seen plenty of times in the game like it was daily bread, but since the game I played wasn't VR—just a regular computer game—the approaching dread felt different.
A face pieced together from chunks of flesh, a single eyeball bulging out to stare at me, and on top of that, wearing a doctor's coat like it was a real physician. It was exactly the same as in the game.
"Surgery? Hmm. And why from surgery?"
Thankfully, the clothes I'd grabbed earlier made me look like a surgeon.
Seems the strategy method is the same as in the game.
"Sometimes, seeing young patients in such agony breaks my heart. It seemed like you might know a way to fix that, so I came to see you."
I pointed at the students writhing on the floor in torment.
In stark contrast to their wails, there wasn't a single scratch or wound on their bodies.
But that pain is real, no doubt.
"Children's suffering. It's truly heartbreaking. Who knows how much agony those kids have endured. Yes, I'll help them!"
Was it trust in a fellow doctor? Its discordant speech gradually became more human.
In the game, its speech changed as you talked too, but there was no explanation, so I don't know the reason.
Tears flowed from the doctor's eye.
Commonly known as the Pediatrician's Dream. As the name suggests, it's the source of one of the Shop's products: Momentary Dream.
Why come for something that hasn't sold a single time yet?
Because this place is the safest.
I have to buy at least one item anyway, so if this is all that's left later, it'll sell.
Those students moaning in pain look incredibly dangerous at first glance, but in truth, this guy's a tutorial-level tale.
See? It can hold a conversation, and there's no physical threat at all.
Probably the concept is that it's improper for children to suffer harm, so it traps them in dreams to keep them safe?
Of course, suffering in a dream isn't much different.
There's actually another reason I came here.
As a tutorial tale, it gets eliminated by the Tale Management Bureau around this time.
Better reap the benefits while I can.
After elimination, the Bureau starts mass-producing Momentary Dream and related Pediatrician's Dream products themselves, so they pile up like crazy later.
"Take a look at this."
In the doctor's hand was a beaker filled with green liquid that screamed "don't touch" at first sight.
"Oh. So this is the legendary—"
This is Dream Solvent, the raw material for Momentary Dream and all Pediatrician's Dream products.
"Yes, this great invention will free the children from their suffering!"
The doctor extolled Momentary Dream in an exaggerated voice.
"Could you share some of that liquid with me? Every time I see kids coming to me hurt, my heart tears apart. I spend sleepless nights."
The doctor gazed at me with an expression of admiration.
"No! To think there's a doctor who loves children this much! I'll give you plenty... Wait, no. Yes! I can't just send away a great man like you. Why don't you join me in my research?"
"Pardon?"
Something's off.
There was no such option in the game.
"Together, let's create a world where no child suffers! I'm a pediatrician, so I'm not as specialized in surgery. But with you, we could do anything!"
Uh, actually, I'm not really a surgeon.
"S-Sorry, but I can't neglect the patients who come to me. Once they're all fully healthy, I'll come back then."
"Hmm. Well, that's a shame, but unavoidable."
The doctor reached out and handed me the beaker.
"Thank you for bestowing this Dream Solvent. Definitely—"
"Hold on."
"Yes?"
"I never told you the name of this product."
Oh crap.
Suddenly, red tears flowed from the doctor's eye.
"You've come to steal my research! I thought you loved children! Fooled, utterly fooled. Ah, the sorrow of losing a colleague. Save the children! Kill the one who would misuse my research for evil! Kill the villain to save more children!"
Crunch— Crack—
The doctor's body twisted, the coat tore, and the sound of mangling flesh echoed.
"Ahh! Doctor I trusted! Liar! Die!"
Soon, its arm morphed into dozens of spikes raining down on me.
Bang—!
And the doctor's head flew off.
Because I'd pierced it with a tentacle.
Hmm.
As I said earlier, this is a tutorial tale.
In other words, it's designed so even a total newbie playing the game for the first time can take it down, so tentacles that bullets can't pierce are more than enough.
In the game, you can suppress it with a gun too.
Anyway, the Dream Solvent is intact, the tale is gone, so the kids should be fine now.
Okay, time to head back.
"Argh! My ears! My nose! My lips! They're all gone! Where are they? I can't see. Please, save me!"
What?
The kids' conditions haven't changed.
"Wait a second!"
"Ahh, no, the children. I have to protect the children! Those gray tears swallowed by pain! Stop! Give back the children's dreams!"
The corpse whose head had clearly exploded began to writhe.
Crunch—
The doctor's body underwent mutation.
"Blood vessels bursting, muscles tearing, rearranging, then scattering again."
"Legs becoming arms, arms becoming legs, eyes stuck to the wall hearing everything, but where are the ears?"
The students who'd been groaning on the floor suddenly stood up, voicing my exact thoughts.
They must have unconsciously sensed the tale's influence.
In truth, that's the normal reaction.
Tales affect the mind just by existing.
And this state? It's no tutorial-level tale anymore.
Something's wrong.
This wasn't in the game.
Why?
If I weren't a tale myself, I'd have gone mad already for sure.
"Give me back my dream!"
With those words, the director's office filled with flesh.
An unpleasant sensation, like every wall surrounding me was staring.
Squelch—
Sudden noise, and the flesh surged.
"Fuck."
The flesh sprouted eyes.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"So the kid and the cop in there are new victims?"
"Yes. A report came in about 30 minutes ago, and cross-checking suggests it's the same tale."
"Haa. Yeah, this tale has an unusual activity cycle."
Park Se-jin could only sigh.
It hadn't even been a full day since the first victim, and now new ones.
And this time, the location was a police station.
"Another odd point: this time, they came out with purchased products."
"What?"
"This."
In Kim Do-hyun's hand were five wriggling chunks of flesh.
"What, why so many?"
"According to the kid, the merchant called him over and gave three extra."
"Hmm... Fine. Confiscate them and send to the research team."
"Ah, well. The kid absolutely refuses."
"Huh? Why, did they slather those chunks in honey? And what, you're just gonna give them to the kid? You taking responsibility?"
"No, it's not that. He says he needs to feed his little sister. Given how bruised he is all over, seems like he's got circumstances."
"Tch. Whatever. Tell that cop over there to investigate the family together."
Se-jin reflexively pulled out a cigarette.
"And damn, almost forgot. That's not the point right now. How'd they bring it out this time?"
"No rule saying it has to be consumed inside."
"So the old man tricked us last time?"
"Different product, so maybe different rules apply."
"You think that makes sense?"
"Well, it's a tale, after all."
Se-jin started to retort, then realized it did make sense and shut his mouth.
"The old man investigation I ordered?"
"We were about to start when this case blew up. Haven't yet."
White cigarette smoke rose, carried away by the wind.
"Then let's go see that old man right now."