Chick 273
by Cristae273
A space of pure white.
Yulian, the youngest of Gnosis, strode purposefully between rows of bio-culture capsules.
Beyond the reinforced cylindrical glass of each capsule, creatures of various shapes curled up like children.
Yulian smiled quietly to himself as he regarded the failures.
‘I won’t be needing these anymore.’
After all, they’d finally succeeded in creating a “Master.”
Yulian had come to see Han Rowoon to share this joyful news.
But Han Rowoon was on the phone with someone.
‘Is he getting a report on the experiment?’
Yulian paused, waiting for the call to end.
Yet whatever news Han Rowoon received, his expression twisted sharply in an instant.
Yulian had never seen him make such a face before.
What’s going on? For a moment, his heart plummeted.
Then Han Rowoon spotted Yulian and greeted him with a gentle smile.
What is it? Though Han Rowoon’s dimples showed prettily, Yulian watched with uneasy eyes.
“What is it? Has something gone wrong?”
“No. It has nothing to do with our work.”
Tilting his head, Han Rowoon smiled and pressed his foot atop the head of a failed specimen crawling along the floor.
Crunch.
The head burst, oozing viscous blood.
Yulian frowned, but Han Rowoon’s expression remained indifferent, as if it were routine.
Han Rowoon stared steadily at Yulian, who hesitated to look at the test subject.
Sensing the anxiety born from the phone call, Han Rowoon deliberately steered the conversation.
“I heard something about it. You said you have good news?”
“They said the core reacted. For a moment, it linked with someone as Master.”
Yulian clenched his fist, unable to contain his glee at last.
Han Rowoon studied the obviously elated Yulian for a moment and gave a nod.
Chirr—
At his nod, ninety-eight cores rose into the air like stars and encircled Han Rowoon and Yulian.
Yulian’s eyes sparkled as he gazed at each one.
‘The new Tower’s cores.’
They formed the database upon which each floor of the newly realized Tower would be based.
At a glance, it looked nearly complete, but a database alone could not realize a Tower.
A “manager”—an existence that could access, modify, and control the cores—was required.
They had always called such an existence the “Master.”
What Gnosis had been experimenting with all this time was the creation of the cores and artificially linking them to a Master.
After endless research, they had succeeded in fabricating artificial cores and creating a dungeon-like subspace, but only that.
Having a human become the Master of the Tower had proven impossible.
Thus, Gnosis had embarked on experiment after experiment, striving to remake a human who could transcend human limitations and serve as Master.
Even that faced many obstacles—until a small item, created by a Korean genius, changed everything.
Yulian held out the Creatator Reactor in his hand.
The explosive magical power released in the instant the Reactor reacted had made possible, for a fleeting moment, what previously had not been.
Now, they would become something beyond human.
Masters of a new world.
Yulian could not hide the anticipation brimming on his face.
The motives of those who joined Gnosis varied.
Some came seeking fortune; others were driven by pure intellectual curiosity.
But Yulian had only a single reason for joining.
‘I will be reborn as the Master of a new world.’
Han Rowoon gazed at the vacant spot among the cores, then tilted his head and locked eyes with Yulian.
[“What is it?”]
[“All the arrangements have been made. You do have to undergo compulsory education.”]
Was this really the time to talk about school?
Yulian sighed irritably and turned away. He could never tell what the Master was thinking.
[“Was that call earlier about this?”]
Was he really talking about sending him to school?
But instead of answering, Han Rowoon asked another question.
[“By the way, Yulian. Where’s Dominic?”]
[“No idea. Who knows where that clown’s run off to now.”]
[“There you go again.”]
Han Rowoon smiled gently and ran his hand over Yulian’s hair.
[“Go find Dominic. For now, he has to be the Master of the 99th Floor.”]
Being the Master of the 99th Floor was as good as being Master of the Tower itself.
With the research incomplete for now, Dominic, an SSS-class, would need to support the Tower.
Yulian let out a sigh and waved his hand in reluctant assent.
Without Dominic, the plan couldn’t proceed smoothly; he would have to comply, albeit unwillingly.
[“Yeah, yeah, I’ll go find him.”]
As he watched Yulian walk away, Han Rowoon skillfully concealed his expression, but his hand clenched tight around his phone.
Reiji had turned himself in after completing the final contract.
It would be a lie to say it wasn’t surprising, but then, few could ever predict Reiji.
The contract had succeeded; that was, at least, a relief.
In the same breath that he casually announced the contract’s completion, Reiji, to his client Han Rowoon, left a final message.
[- I’ve heard a more interesting story, so as a complimentary service to the last contract, I’ll share it. There are rumors she had a child.]
Reiji’s voice sank instantly into his mind, branded there like a searing mark.
‘A child?’
But Han Rowoon soon gave a bitter laugh.
He knew the truth precisely.
She had never wanted a child.
If it happened, she said she would have no choice but to get rid of it.
And Chloe Han was not the type to speak lightly.
So, even knowing it couldn’t be…
Even knowing hope always betrayed him…
Why did he always find himself hoping in the end?
At that moment, Han Rowoon’s eyes turned a coral shade of red, and a system window appeared before him.
[Title activated.]
Han Rowoon’s title appeared before his eyes.
At the same time, his heart became eerily calm.
As if the blazing heat within had suddenly iced over.