170. Greetings (1)
Area X, a lung hospital.
thump. thump. thump.
Oliver entered through the back door of an abandoned hospital and walked down a one-way hallway.
It was dark everywhere, but when I lit the front with a lantern, the pitch black darkness lifted and the road was revealed.
An empty hallway with nothing that catches the eye compared to the bright ones.
But as we went inside, things changed.
The first thing that came out were skeletons scattered across the hallway, with dark red flesh attached to them, just like when they first saw them.
It seems to me that the quantity has been increased.
thump. thump. thump.
Going further inside, this time a pile of decaying corpses appeared.
Countless maggots were swarming in the piled up piles of corpses, and eating was in full swing.
thump. thump. thump.
Then came the hallway leading to the right, and Oliver fell into it.
There was a large room at the end of the byway on the right, and I could see more piles of corpses than I had seen in the hallway.
It’s the third time I’ve seen it, but I couldn’t even count.
Oliver approached one of them and bowed politely.
“Long time no see. master.”
The one-armed corpse, leaning against the foundation, was much more rotten and bruised than the last time I saw it.
There was rotten pus on the floor, and countless maggots were swimming all over the body.
“·················ogue.”
The smell was repulsive, too, but Oliver looked at the corpse respectfully, without the slightest resentment.
“It’s been almost a year?”
“········.”
crumble crumble.
Oliver turned the lantern to illuminate the whole area and placed it on one side of the floor, and looked through the paper bag he had been carrying and took out alcohol and snacks. Cups and plates too.
Oliver poured alcohol into a cup as if he was preparing a meal normally, and put the snacks on the plate he brought.
I ordered take-out from a restaurant in Forest, and it smelled very good.
Oliver politely placed the pouring glass and the plate of food in front of the dead Joseph, then sat down across from him, sips his drink, and ate.
“I’m sorry I haven’t been here for a long time. master. In the meantime, things have happened.”
“·················ogue.”
“I went into the beggars. After saying hello to the owner for the first time and leaving.”
“········.”
“After I left my family, I didn’t know where to go. I always feel it, but I think I’m really stupid. After the light that Marie gave off faded, I came out to know the world, and I didn’t even know where I was going.”
“········.”
“But then I met Cant and was able to enter his beggars. Absolutely, there was nowhere to go. Thanks to you, I was able to learn about the world. I could have been a solver… Ah, I have become a solver.”
Oliver emptied his drink and calmly talked about what had happened.
After entering Cant’s beggars and fighting the puppeteer Glyph there, he became a solver at Cant’s suggestion.
He explained step by step and calmly what had happened until now, such as meeting Forrest, taking on missions, and fighting wizards.
The dead Joseph remained silent.
“···· So I am taking a break from the last mission. It seems like it’s been over 2 weeks already, but I’m personally sorry. If I had learned magic from an old man during this time, I would have used my time more efficiently.”
“········.”
“But I can’t help it. He took care of Rothburn and the other children, and he handled Mattel’s case for me. just have to wait So now I am using my time in a different way.”
“········.”
“I am improving my stamina by exercising at the gym in Zone X. We are also repairing invoice dolls. By the way, when I do anything, there is a command.”
“········.”
“Aside from that, we are also educating children these days. You can talk while you are inside the Invoice Doll. He’s gotten bigger these days, and he’s gotten smarter that much. We are paying more for food.”
“········.”
“Aside from that, I am also studying code again. After accessing the World Tree with the Mattel Gun, it made more sense. Are you saying there is no blockage? But on the other hand, basic books about the devil are getting harder and harder to read for some reason.”
“·················ogue.”
“It’s very strange. There is no proper content, and there are no difficult words, but the more I read, the more tired my eyes became and the speed was not good. Still, I’m still reading little by little. It looks like we will be in the final section soon.”
“········.”
“I saw it there. old man on horseback. The devil who traded with his master. He said that he likes to teach people, which is unusual for a demon. Or am I wrong about the devil?”
“········.”
“Are you working as a slave to that demon now?”
“········.”
“Isn’t that what the book says?”
“········.”
“There was work at the end, but… I also feel grateful to the former owner.”
“········.”
“You tried to kill me, but no matter what, you were able to get out of this world thanks to you, didn’t you? Leaving the cramped and boring world of mines here.”
Oliver remembered that time. The moment I was reunited with Cant, who made the poor brothers, when I returned the Bible to Joanna.
“I’m·····. I felt happy and disappointed in the process, but overall, I think I enjoyed it. What is that… I felt alive.”
“········.”
“So I was a little overjoyed when my master told me that I had become a permanent slave to an old man on horseback. Because there is a way to meet. I can’t promise when it will be, but I’d like to see it face-to-face one day and say thanks.”
“········.”
Silent Joseph. After emptying the bottle, Oliver stood up.
“I don’t know when it will be, but I will come back when I have time. Oh, by the way, I haven’t researched the beautiful lights and demons properly yet. I have a lot of work to do, and only things I am curious about keep increasing… Still, thanks to this, the world seems to be happy. Don’t you have a lot to learn?”
With that said, Oliver took the lantern and went outside.
On the way out, I checked my watch to see if I could arrive on time for my appointment.
As Oliver with the light gradually moves away, Joseph’s foundation takes over the darkness again as if nothing had happened.
There was only silence, as if time had disappeared.
And, at some point. The cups and plates in front of the corpse were empty.
***
“one more!!”
Dinklage, a gym plaza in Zone X and an illegal martial arts match trainer.
He shouted next to Oliver lifting the bench press.
“one more!!”
His voice was deafening, and not only did he shout, he shouted, showing off his explosive muscles.
Dinklage shouted in a front double biceps position.
“Last one more!!”
Dinklage shouted in a side-chest position.
“Last one more!!”
Dinklage shouted back double biceps.
“Really one last one!!”
Dinklage shouted in a side triceps pose.
“I swear to the sky, one last really!!”
“…I’m sorry over there, but there was one more a while ago-”
“-This time, really, one last one more!!!”
Dinklage roared, showing off his muscles like a gorilla.
A shout that makes your head flutter.
Oliver lifted the bench press by forcing his already strained muscles.
Her arms and chest were trembling, but Dinklage did not stop cheering, showing off her shiny muscles that made it burdensome.
“You can do it! I’m not cheering! aa!!”
Then some people shouted in response. I don’t know what to say, but everyone here seemed insane.
Oliver barely lifted it, and Dinklage said it was time to rest.
Oliver raised the bench press and exhaled.
“ha····.”
As Cant told me, I thought that I had gained strength by exercising consistently, but I think I was mistaken. He was barely able to follow Dinklage’s training.
“here······.”
Joe comes over without a word and gives him water.
Oliver took it and drank it with thanks.
gulp. gulp. gulp.
By the time he had finished drinking, Dinklage grinned and slapped Oliver on the back with his wretched hand.
It was quite painful, but surprisingly there was no malice. On the contrary, he even showed interest.
“Great. awesome! ····Honestly, I accepted it to make money, but I’m sure I’ll be able to follow along. I have guts toughness. Unlike the other locals. Ha ha ha ha ha.”
His words were pure sincerity. Acknowledgment, sent a crush to Oliver.
“Let’s just do this for today and rest. You have to beat the iron in moderation to be hardened. Can you come out next time?”
Oliver thought for a moment.
“·····Yes.”
“Okay, except for the lack of enthusiasm in the answer, it’s perfect. You pay a lot of money to go there, so I don’t follow that. Anyway, get some rest.”
Dinklage said so and left smiling. He seemed to be very satisfied with something.
what’s so good Fortunately, the question was answered by Joe.
“I am a person who likes to teach people.”
“Is that so?”
“Oh, I don’t know why. famous in this area. He said he was going to set up a gym, and there are rumors that he stole all the equipment here.”
Oliver looked around.
Apart from the old building itself, there were a lot of exercise equipment, and it was quite good. But did you steal this?
Only one genuine passion seemed certain.
“Well, it seems like that. He taught me really hard.”
“Some of you paid quite a bit of money, and some followed you well. Guys who can’t follow aren’t treated like people, but guys who follow their own training are kind of like everyone… Isn’t it harder than that? Even if the director is good at teaching, he is a very pushy style.”
“It’s quite bearable.”
It wasn’t a lie. It was a pretty old memory now, but it was still tolerable for Oliver, who had been living in the mines.
“You’re very enthusiastic. With a lot of talent.”
A word thrown out of nowhere. Oliver looked at Joe like that. There were small bruises and abrasions on Joe’s face.
“It looks like Joe is working hard. Isn’t that illegal martial arts match very difficult?”
Joe answered, rubbing the scar on his face.
“not really. There are some dangerous guys out there sometimes, but it’s manageable. Especially since I don’t have a job these days. You should do this.”
right. The city was sensitive to the prison escape, and black and gray markets were closed, as well as other criminal organizations.
In addition, the Paterism crackdown on warlocks also surfaced, and the economy of the back world was experiencing a kind of recession.
“How are other people doing?”
The others were none other than Sam and Owen, the guys from Sector X who worked with Joe along during the Kell Freedom Army.
“uh·····. He asked me to say thank you.”
“Me?”
“Whether it was a potion or a job, he said thank you for this and that. Thanks to you, this winter has been a relief.”
“I’m glad you did. Everyone is excited.”
“you·····.”
“Yes?”
“·····not. Are you going to stop now?”
“Well····. Could you please help me out? I practiced the punches, kicks, and tackles you mentioned last time. Can you take a look?”
“Of course, take a look at the black armor and suit again instead.”
“Yes. That will be fine.”
***
Afterwards, Oliver returned to his dormitory after training with Joe.
When I return home, the time shifts from evening to night. It didn’t rest though.
Instead of taking a break, I checked the status of the invoice doll. It always required regular maintenance and repair.
The currently possessed invoice dolls are ‘Warlock’, ‘Duncan’, ‘Sniper’, ‘Rag’, and ‘Assistant 1’, among which the rags were in a slightly damaged state.
It was unavoidable because he was attacked every time he battled, and at that moment, he suddenly attacked an unsuspecting enemy.
Oliver decided to dissect and figure out the structure instead of repairing it right away.
Unlike Warlocks, Duncans, Snipers, and Helpers 1, where the material (corpse) determines the quality anyway, the rags focus on processing technology, so it wasn’t too much of a waste.
I thought it would be better to use it as a textbook and make a new invoice doll.
“It’s more complicated than you think.”
After examining the structure and modification of the rag, Oliver looked at Spider-Parker trapped in a corner of the basement.
Perhaps it was because he had separated from the magician, just looking at Oliver caused a seizure, and he was put to sleep in a deep sleep.
Through various experiments, Oliver was finally able to control Parker, but Oliver decided to disassemble it and use it as a part instead of handling it.
I like the ability like a spider’s web, but it was inappropriate to collaborate with Oliver because of the different combat styles and mobility, so I decided to use only the part that emits the spider’s web.
The problem is that to do that, you need the help of a related technician or book.
“I need to find a book or someone to help me . . . The black market should reopen soon.”
Oliver mumbled sadly as he looked at Parker. He grew weaker and weaker and could die if left like this for too long. Then I can’t use it as a part.
And it didn’t end there. To do that, we needed a more secure laboratory.
With that in mind, Oliver looked at the ad at the back of the newspaper. There was something written on the ad page in big letters.
＜Real estate rental management Eggshell＞