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Flap flap

Flap flap

The Reaper flapped its feet excitedly.

Its gaze was fixed on the sky.

The Reaper’s arms were reaching out as if trying to grab something in the air.

Tyrannosaurus!

The Reaper and I were standing in front of a gigantic dinosaur.

Honestly, I thought the Reaper wouldn’t really like this sort of thing, but it was enjoying it more than I expected.

Dinosaurs revived as Objects turned out to be more common than I thought.

However, there weren’t that many living specimens at the moment.

There were issues with lifespan, and quite a few were killed.

Who would have thought the Reaper would like dinosaurs? Maybe I should take it to the ‘Mars Research Institute’ where they’re isolating a bunch of them next time?

I hope to get permission to take the Reaper to the Mars Research Institute.

*

Ahem.

Getting captivated by dinosaurs is unavoidable.

Anyone, young or old, likes them, right?

Yerin’s expression as she looks at me seems a bit irreverent…

I got so caught up in the sightseeing that lunch had slipped right by.

I’m fine without eating anything, but Yerin would struggle.

While wandering around looking for a place to eat, I spotted a research institute booth.

It was decorated like a performance venue you might see at a zoo, and though it was a bit pricey, they had plenty of food prepared.

I sat down, munched on something like a hot dog, and watched the performance prepared by the institute.

Since it was the Object Research Institute, it was a yeti performing instead of a dolphin.

A yeti jumping through a ring of fire.

A yeti swinging on a giant swing.

A yeti getting zapped by electricity while slacking off.

A yeti balancing on a giant ball.

A yeti falling off a unicycle and getting zapped.

A yeti being shot from a cannon towards a target.

There were some strange bits here and there, but it was quite entertaining.

In fact, it was closer to a circus than a zoo, but I had no complaints since it was fun to watch.

After finishing my meal and performance, I started sightseeing again, and there were still many fascinating Objects.

At the Sejong Research Institute booth, there was just one Object on display.

[Indestructible Cube.]
[It makes surrounding objects unable to be physically destroyed.]
[No side effects have been reported.]

“Wow, an Object that grants physical immunity!”

I guess I still had some human emotions left in me, as it was an Object that made me admire it involuntarily.

Just thinking about it for a moment made the possibilities for its use seem endless.

This should definitely be a famous Object, yet it was the first time I was seeing it.

Upon searching for a reason, I found out it was a new Object discovered just a month ago.

Wow, a new find!

I also noticed the isolation facility created by the government, the organizer of the fair.

As the organizer, it was flashy and quite large, but one Object among them looked incredibly dangerous.

[The Thief Who Does Not Steal.]

It was an Object that had limbs like a person but with indistinct features.

It just sat blankly in the center of the isolation room, making one wonder what kind of thief it really was.

[If not within sight for more than 10 seconds, it disappears.]
[If it disappears, it will appear in front of the nearest locked lock or door.]
[And it will swiftly unlock that lock and then disappear again.]
[There have been no reports of doors or boxes it cannot open.]

After reading the explanation, I understood the name of the Object.

To keep it in sight, around 100 employees were taking turns watching it.

Well, if they lost sight of it, a hellish scenario where all the Objects exhibited would be released would definitely unfold, so that made sense.

But wait, this is the kind of Object that should never be exhibited at a fair like this…

Even if they thought there wouldn’t be an accident and allowed it in, it seemed to me a rather careless decision.

*

While I was wandering around with the Reaper flapping its feet, I noticed the booth of the recently popular research institute, ‘Trinity’.

The largest research institute in Korea.
The highest level research institute in Korea.

When you visit the research institute community, you often see the researchers affiliated with Trinity acting all high and mighty.

The Object they exhibited was one that once plunged Korea into fear.

What the general public referred to as the faux Steel Tower.

When it first appeared, it caused damage as great as the Steel Tower itself.

[Self-Gravity.]

Its shape was like multiple hemispherical iron plates clustered together to form a sphere.

Being famous, it was an Object rarely taken out, so this was the first time I was seeing it in person.

The Reaper seemed to find it intriguing since it was also seeing it for the first time.

[Absorbs the electrical current of civilization within a radius of 1km.]
[Rotates rapidly according to the amount of current absorbed.]
[Physically impossible to destroy.]
[If not properly isolated, it will teleport after a short preheating time.]

The Self-Gravity was an Object hostile to human civilization, just like the Steel Tower.

However, its area was so much smaller compared to the Steel Tower that it was far less threatening.

It selectively removed currents used for civilization without causing any damage to lightning or electric eels.

If such an Object had been teleporting around Korea, it would have been a huge problem, but fortunately, a solution was quickly found.

One researcher discovered that applying a magnetic field could easily seal off the abilities of the Self-Gravity.

You could see that even in Trinity’s isolation room, they had placed magnets all around to prevent any possible accidents.

“Reaper, shall we go to the next booth then?”

When the Reaper showed no reaction, I took its tiny foot and shook it.

But still, no response.

It just kept staring at a corner of the fairgrounds.

The Reaper’s expression seemed unusually serious.

In the direction it was looking, there was a golden tree slowly flickering with golden light.

That’s where the Bucheon Research Institute booth was that we briefly stopped by in the morning…

It was a strange place, occupying an enormous area but with no performances to show.

The tree was getting brighter and brighter?

It started shimmering so brightly that it was irritating.

As everyone stared at the strangely glowing tree, an anomaly occurred.

Brrrr.

Accompanied by a deep rumbling sound, an almost invisible wave burst forth from the tree.

Those touched by the wave started to collapse like dolls with their strings cut.

In the spectator stands, people fell as if they were surfing in waves, all at the exact same moment.

The wave wasn’t that fast, but it was quicker than humans.

As the wave reached us, I began to feel dizzy.

My knees buckled, and my head fell back.

No matter how hard I tried to summon strength, it was useless.

I could only desperately cling to my fading consciousness.

Oh no, if I fall like this, the Reaper will get hurt…

My vision went dark, and the sound faded.

Someone gently caught my head as I started to fall backward.

The last thing I felt was the soft touch of the Reaper’s plush hand on my cheek before my memory cut off.

*

A wave burst forth from the golden tree.

It was a wave that put people to sleep.

When I checked Yerin, who had collapsed headfirst, she seemed to be perfectly healthy.

However, she had just fallen into an unexplained slumber.

Even when I poked her cheek with my palm, there was no sign of waking up.

The situation was serious.

Just like the zoo, the fair could not escape its jinx either.

I needed to return to the Sehee Research Institute booth, but I lacked the strength to carry Yerin.

If I left Yerin here, she’d obviously die.

But if I stayed next to Yerin, the Sehee Research Institute employees would end up dying in droves.

The fairgrounds, filled with sleeping people, were already experiencing an anomaly.

Thud.

With the thud of the circuit breaker tripping, the brightly lit fairground was engulfed in darkness.

The cheerful music coming from the speakers abruptly stopped.

All that could be heard were the growls of biological Objects.

Electricity had vanished from the fairground.

Had the Self-Gravity been released from its isolation?

The exodus of Objects continued.

The first ones to rush out were the yetis, their faces smeared with blood.

The yetis, who were celebrating with the blood of the keepers who had electrified them, poured out onto the streets, seeking new prey.

In the distance, the roar of a Tyrannosaurus could be heard.

Who on earth is the crazy human opening the isolation room door?

The yetis were quietly approaching Yerin, seeking to fill their hungry bellies.

I burst the heads of the silly yetis targeting Yerin.

Without physical immunity or regenerative abilities, the yetis finally saw me and fled in a panic.

If my body were two, I wouldn’t even need to think about it….

Should I have learned a cloning technique beforehand?

Speaking of clones, one ability came to mind.

Mini Golden Reaper.

I didn’t know if it would be helpful since I can’t control it, but with a sense of desperation, I created the Golden Reaper.

One.

Two.

…

I created enough Golden Reapers to fill my surroundings.

The dolls that looked just like me raised their heads all at once and began to look around.

The Mini Reapers looked at me, and one of them hopped over and clung to me.

Just one?

Last time, they all clung to me and the cat?

Another one clung to sleeping Yerin’s cheek.

Then, the Golden Reapers didn’t take any special actions.

As expected, it seems like a useless ability in this situation?

After a few seconds of looking around, the Golden Reapers began to scatter like sparrows.

Like waves of gold, the Reapers started to disperse in all directions.

And the scattered Reapers attached themselves to one person each.

One Reaper per person.

One Reaper per individual.

The Reapers clung to the people who had collapsed at the fairground.