HACKED 106

<The Drum that Sounds on its Own> closed the door to the bedroom inside the breakroom and stepped out. The eyes of everyone in the breakroom fixed on him at once.

“What about the Master?”

Asked <Hwarang of Half-Human Half-Ghost>, who was leaning against the wall with his weight shifted to one leg. Even as he asked, he was gnawing at his lips. He seemed to have no intention of hiding his anxiety.

“He is just as he was.”

<The Drum that Sounds on its Own> tried his best to offer a gentle smile. However, he could not hide his dark complexion.

“What does ‘just as he was’ mean? What state is he in right now. Exactly.”

As if making his efforts to soften the atmosphere futile, <Hwarang of Half-Human Half-Ghost> shot back with an irritable sarcasm. Everyone was already in an extremely sensitive state. Had <The Drum that Sounds on its Own> not possessed a calm and refined temperament, it might have escalated into a fight.

Of course, the fact that Hwarang held a slightly higher position was also one of the reasons.

On the surface, Incarnations appear to be equals under one Master, all occupying the position of followers. However, if one looks closely, it is perhaps natural that a sort of hierarchy exists among them.

The criteria for determining rank vary. Rarity, the degree of favor from the Master, the high level of the origin’s prestige, and so on.

Rarity and favor are intuitively easy to understand. However, the concept of the “degree of high level of the origin’s prestige” is somewhat difficult.

What is the prestige of an origin? It can be explained as… the extent of the influence the narrative serving as the motif for that Incarnation has on human culture and history.

For example, an Incarnation with a shaman as its motif cannot treat an Incarnation with a divine general or a bodhisattva as its motif carelessly.

The same applies to modern origins. If there were a high-ranking public official Incarnation of Grade 3 or higher here, <Nameless Star> would have treated that Incarnation with extreme politeness on the outside, regardless of his inner thoughts.

Furthermore, one more standard applies to Korean origin Incarnations. It is “seniority.” It is a standard truly fitting for K-Incarnations.

“Myeong is probably just continuing to be frail. Like a chick that hasn’t been able to peck at a single grain of millet.”

Slowly spoke <Mountain Hero>, who was lying face down on the table in a sprawling, negligent pose. Because his mouth was covered by his own arm, his already low voice was slightly muffled, echoing even deeper.

The time <The Drum that Sounds on its Own> and <Hwarang of Half-Human Half-Ghost> had existed in human history as Incarnations from the Three Kingdoms period was by no means short. However, neither was quite a match for <Mountain Hero>. This was the reason why <Hwarang of Half-Human Half-Ghost>, while clashing with him at every turn, could not completely ignore him and used a form of honorifics, even if only for the sake of formality.

<The Drum that Sounds on its Own> affirmed with a faint, bitter smile.

“You are right. He is struggling a lot. Even while he was unable to wake up properly, he asked for sleeping pills, then for sedatives, and later he begged, please, please just one painkiller…”

He could not bring himself to continue further.

Incarnations descended in response to the origin of their Master, the Compiler, and are beings who live by receiving power from the Compiler. Therefore, they are affected by their Master’s condition to a greater or lesser degree. Just as a fetus is affected by the mother it is connected to by the umbilical cord.

The current situation was exactly like that. No matter if their stamina on the status window was 100 or their pollution level was 0, if the Master was bedridden and unable to even regain consciousness, there was no way the Incarnations’ condition would be good.

“We cannot obtain medicine of this world. I would rather pluck a star if he asked me to.”

<Mountain Hero> muttered while remaining in his slanted, face-down position. He was wearing a black shirt with only the top button undone, and his sleeves were rolled up to around his elbows. With his handsomely straight bridge of the nose and neat mouth hidden by his arm, the only things visible were his eyes, which emitted a brilliant light.

“Do you even have the ability to pluck a star?”

<Hwarang of Half-Human Half-Ghost> shot back bluntly. He didn’t ask because he was genuinely curious; it was a simple provocation.

He hated that tiger consistently. If asked to list the reasons for his hatred, he could recite them for three days and nights, but the biggest one was this.

In front of the Master, <Mountain Hero> acted childishly like an oversized, reckless, immature stray cat. Seeing him refer to himself as “Meow” or whatever, despite being thousands of years old and as cunning as could be, made his face contort with disgust.

Besides, what was with him calling the Master’s name so carelessly, saying “Myeong, Myeong”? Did he really think the Master was his butler? It felt as if the bizarre title “Master Baby” would actually be better.

‘Is it an act or what. If that kind of thing is an act, it would be quite disgusting.’

Then, when only the Incarnations were together, he revealed his true personality. It was an attitude fitting for a top predator of the food chain—suitably bored and suitably arrogant. That made his stomach churn even more.

“What, you brat. Are you picking a fight right now?”

<Mountain Hero> raised his head. His black hair, mixed with yellow strands here and there, was slightly disheveled. After frowning once, he gave a wicked smile.

“Bring it on. I do not avoid a fight that is brought to me.”

‘Is he not? Is it not an act, but his original personality is just childish?’

<Hwarang of Half-Human Half-Ghost> became confused.

“No matter who the opponent is, I always give my best when I have a showdown. Even if it is a Silla middle schooler.”

‘…Has he really gone senile.’

The confusion of <Hwarang of Half-Human Half-Ghost> intensified. Regardless of that, <The Bloodless Dokkaebi>, sensing the energy of fun, cut in mindlessly and brightly.

“A fight? Wow! Me too, me too! I can’t be left out of a fight!”

<The Bloodless Dokkaebi> was one of those whose emotional fluctuations according to the Compiler’s state were relatively small. He was true to being an Incarnation who maintained his optimistic personality even when his pollution level hit 100 and he suffered from a status ailment.

He was also an ancient Incarnation who was not inferior to <Mountain Hero> in terms of age. However, he acted unreservedly and friendly toward everyone. It seemed his innate personality was just like that.

In any case, if he fought that tiger at close range in physical combat, he would 100% be pushed back. <Hwarang of Half-Human Half-Ghost> chose a strategic retreat.

“Wait a minute. Let’s not do that and use dialogue instead?”

“Dialogue? We are doing it. To me, this is dialogue.”

<Mountain Hero> showed a clenched fist. Veins stood out on the back of his hand, where thick and long knuckles were prominent.

“…….”

While <Hwarang of Half-Human Half-Ghost> was at a loss for words, he stood up abruptly. As he leisurely rolled up his slipping shirt sleeves, the buttons on his chest area became taut. It was a sight that even felt intimidating.

“Ah, great! Dialogue shared through fists! Working up a sweat and preventing muscle loss—how wonderful!”

To make matters worse, even <The Bloodless Dokkaebi> chimed in excitedly. This one and that one were all equally out of their minds.

‘What are they saying, these crazy bastards.’

The blood pressure of <Hwarang of Half-Human Half-Ghost> rose so much that the back of his neck felt stiff. If only the Master were here, it wouldn’t have gone this far. He felt the Master’s absence poignantly once again.

“Are you really going to fight in this situation? Are you both insane, really. No matter how much you can’t pick the right time and place. You’re not beasts, are you going to wrestle here?”

Then San Gun looked at him and sat back down nonchalantly.

“Did you think I would really fight? There is a sick kid inside right now.”

“You looked like you were going to fight quite seriously?”

“So what. It must have been your misunderstanding.”

Leaving the flabbergasted <Hwarang of Half-Human Half-Ghost> behind, <Mountain Hero> stubbornly played innocent. Only <The Bloodless Dokkaebi>, who still hadn’t grasped the situation, tilted his head.

“Huh? We weren’t fighting?”

His innocent face and his heavily angry muscles were truly a contrast.

Screeeech!

What quelled the commotion was a sound heard from beyond the opposite wall. A terrible noise, like scratching a wall long with fingernails, rang out sharply.

<The Drum that Sounds on its Own> frowned slightly with his fine eyebrows, and even the <Twin Longswords that Saved the Nation>, who were playing well among themselves in the corner, were surprised and their eyes grew wide. <Mountain Hero> was a beast, so his hearing was particularly sensitive, and his expression became endlessly grim after being subjected to a sudden auditory attack.

Click.

The breakroom door opened and <Nameless Star> entered. As always, he was dressed neatly in a suit with his hair combed back perfectly, but signs of fatigue were evident on his face.

“A complaint has come in from the next room. They are asking you to be quiet.”

He announced in a businesslike tone. <Hwarang of Half-Human Half-Ghost> showed his annoyance.

“A complaint? Why this time?”

“I will deliver the words spoken by the complainant.”

Maintaining an expressionless face, <Nameless Star> began to recite the words he heard exactly as they were.

“He said that he was trying to stay quietly in self-quarantine while managing his mind and body, but the next room was so noisy that his status ailment might unintentionally flare up, and if that happens, he will not be held responsible.”

<Mountain Hero>, who had exercised his ultimate patience to listen to the “complainant’s” words until the end, answered heartily.

“Oh, is that so. Tell him to fuck off.”

“…….”

“He throws a fit periodically once every hour. Does he think he’s a cuckoo clock instead of a nine-tailed fox. Status ailment? Tell it to flare up. Hey, Dokkaebi. If that bastard’s eyes flip, you go out and fight him.”

“I’d welcome it! I haven’t been able to properly fight that fox yet. So, when did he say that status ailment would activate? Now? Or a little later?”

“How should I know. Go and ask him yourself.”

“Ah, should I?”

Listening to the conversation that was flowing in a hopeless direction, <Nameless Star> pressed hard on his brow. A sigh escaped him naturally.

It was a mess.