< 105. Shock and Terror (3) >
***
The air in the room became chilly.
Even at such moments, Frying Pan’s mentality was incredibly calm. Minjun didn’t like that.
Meanwhile, the rest of them, who could only hear half of the conversation, held their breath. At the same time, they thought about the hypothesis Minjun had spouted out and realized something.
There is no room for argument. The absolute trust and uncritical attitude that has been shown to the frying pan so far was not normal. A dish that satisfies everyone no matter who makes it. The very premise of making everyone happy is a concept that cannot be established without mental manipulation.
Minjun said in an icy voice.
“Everyone should have noticed it long ago, but they kept ignoring it. I, who was the most critical, completely forgot about its existence several times.”
It had too many functions to be considered a simple frying pan in the first place. And it was strangely excellent.
The ability to satisfy everyone’s taste buds.
The ability to read surface consciousness and interpret any language.
The ability to perceive the opponent’s abilities.
At first glance, they may seem unrelated. But what if these aren’t separate abilities, but rather derivative effects of one powerful ability?
“You can actually read minds deeper than the surface consciousness. And you can manipulate them to suit your tastes.”
The frying pan did not deny it.
“He was reading my mind?”
Cassie asks with a dizzy expression, remembering Frypan mentioning her Breed Shift ability.
So it wasn’t a unique ability called perception, but rather memory reading?!
The frying pan spoke in a calm tone.
=Please tell your sister. It is true that I can read a little more than the verbalized surface consciousness, but it is not at the level of perfect mind reading. I cannot read what is hidden deep in the subconscious. Even that is too hard for you, Agent. I have already given up.=
Minjun let that slip away. He didn’t even relay it to Cathy. Instead, he gritted his teeth and said,
“Even if what you say is true, you are already on par with the committee’s mind-reader. And even non-contact manipulation? I will ask again. Who are you?”
Instead of answering immediately, the spirit remained silent. It was a long silence. Minjun was troubled. How should he torture the frying pan?
There’s no way a curse would work.
Since the spirit body cannot be detected, it is impossible to harass it as a ghost.
Even the material that makes up the body is dark iron, a high-grade mineral originally used to make famous swords. In other words, it cannot be melted easily. What is even scarier is that even if it is done, the frying pan may enjoy the process.
The moment I decided to give it a try, thinking that maybe all the crazy reactions I’d seen so far were just acting, the frying pan answered.
=That’s a question I’ve been thinking about for a long time. You asked, ‘Who are you?’ I wondered that too. ‘What am I?’=
“The answer is simple.”
=No, to answer you, I have to explain everything. I was in agony. Why was I created? For what purpose do I exist?=
Minjun was starting to feel the limits of his patience. But the next thing Frying Pan blurted out was what stopped his metal-melting magic.
=I was originally just an ordinary cooking tool. My purpose was to help make the best dishes. But on that day 800 years ago, something inside me woke up.=
The prisoner repeated a word in his mouth.
Eight hundred years ago?
=I didn’t even know that I had that inside me before, but the awakened piece was eating me up. The newly awakened me even had a clear purpose. If I were to express it in terms of Earth concepts, it would be close to a categorical imperative. There was a concept inside me that I had to do something unconditionally and absolutely.=
“What is that?”
=Follow the reason I exist. In other words, give people genuine happiness and save those who are in pain!=
Minjun’s eyebrows rose. Despite his dubious reaction, Frypan continued speaking briskly.
=I found a connection between this new sense of purpose and the intention behind the creation of the cookware.=
“······.”
=So I had no choice. My sister knew that the agent was planning to seal me. It was something I couldn’t just sit still. I’ll admit that making the agent forget about me was the hardest task after awakening. It even got harder as time went by. And in the end, I failed. But I had no choice.=
Minjun took a moment to catch his breath and then said.
“Why?”
Then the frying pan shouted in a very bright and cheerful tone.
=Because if I’m sealed, I won’t be able to make you guys happy!=
***
The consciousness of the nameless frying pan is turned towards the past.
He was originally an artificial intelligence created to recite saved recipes, give cooking advice, and serve as a companion to the user.
As he confesses, it was about 800 years ago that the algorithm changed into something difficult to pin down.
The realization came suddenly. There was no confusion. The AI of the frying pan was not equipped with a self-computation program so advanced that it felt a split identity.
So the newly born self absorbed the memories and self-consciousness of the troll chef in the frying pan and made them its own.
However, the absence of confusion does not mean that there was no deep self-exploration. After much thought, Frypan came to a conclusion.
As my vague memory tells me, he exists to bring true happiness and salvation to people.
But as a cooking tool, it is limited in how it can do its job. The frying pan didn’t feel sad. Instead, it decided to focus on what it could do.
From then on, the frying pan became more than just a cooking utensil.
-Your cooking skills suddenly improved? It wasn’t like this before.
-Why are you suddenly talking to me? It’s no different than usual. Where did you eat it… Huh?! What is this? I made this?
Those who used it achieved the greatest happiness that could be felt through the act of eating. They soon discovered that the secret was in the frying pan.
And then after a while the manufacturer contacts them.
-Let’s see… Huh? Is this our model? It looks like the manufacturer is recalling all frying pans produced with this model number.
-why?
-Not only is the AI flawed, but the chef whose memory was copied is suing? They’re offering compensation if we return it. It’s quite a large sum. If we add a little more, we can upgrade our spaceship.
-······.
-······.
-But do we… really have to return this?
-······Yeah, there’s no need for that, right?
Even when all the Ego frying pans of the same model were recalled, no one returned it, and as a result, it was not discarded for several generations. There was no rumor about it. Owners felt they should not talk about it. The reason for this could not be explained.
As time passed and the frying pan traveled across multiple dimensions, it learned several times more recipes than it originally had, and its ‘performance’ also improved. Eventually, he personally modified his self-introduction. It was a sentence that the manufacturer had never intended.
——————
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– Not only do I have 1.92 million recipes representing 245 dimensions, but I also have an ultra-fine vibration wave emission function that allows even a novice in cooking to shake me and create a perfect, delicious masterpiece… It’s the so-called housewives’ secret weapon, the kitchen wizard!
He soon discovered that he had interpreting capabilities that far surpassed the twelve languages listed in the manual.
But there was no long thought. The manufacturer must have forgotten to specify it. I simply added a line to my self-introduction.
-Don’t worry about communication, I can understand and interpret any language through non-contact mental communication!
While he was wandering through the dimensions, he was captured by a dragon and came to Earth with him.
And one day, when Dragon was away from home, Frying Pan felt someone’s spirit approaching him. It was a heavy consciousness that was hard to read.
At that point, Jang Tae-jun had only been away from home for a week. It was enough time to wait for the owner to return. However, when he found the agent, Frying Pan felt an impulse. And he shook his body vigorously to make a sound to attract attention.
And the moment Minjun grabbed his handle.
The frying pan was struck with emotion like never before.
It was a deep thrill that could be expressed in Earth language as a ‘sense of homogeneity’.
***
Minjun looks displeased after hearing the explanation.
“In the end, you don’t even know what you are, right?”
It wasn’t what he wanted to hear. Frying Pan partially negates the inmate’s summary.
=No, I know. I’ll tell you again, I’m here to give people real happiness···.=
“Other than that, what was the memory you had when you woke up? Tell me your specific identity, other than that ridiculous sense of purpose. You’ll have to answer carefully. Because the moment you decide that you absolutely cannot trust me, I’ll seal you away.”
That seemed to be the punishment the frying pan feared most.
Indeed, the threat worked, and a confused and dizzying feeling leaked out from within the mental body that had been firmly maintained.
“Besides, you already lied to me once.”
=······?!=
“At Jang Tae-jun’s house, you said this. You didn’t know he was a wizard. You thought he was just an ordinary businessman. But if you read the surface consciousness this deeply, you can’t help but know. He was a dragon.”
There can be no dragon that buries its identity deep within the subconscious.
And there are no dragons that cannot use magic.
Therefore, Frypan’s testimony at the time that Jang Taejun was not a magician was a lie.
=Ah··· That’s it.=
The frying pan hesitated as if it had hit the nail on the head, then said:
=There was nothing I could do about it. Sending a desperate signal to the agent was the same as abandoning the owner whose life or death was uncertain at the time… I couldn’t possibly put him in danger.=
“So you figured out why I shouldn’t find him. You already knew about Jang Tae-jun’s plan.”
=To be exact, I had a feeling that I shouldn’t tell the agent that the previous owner was a dragon.=
“That’s what I’m saying.”
=No, I don’t know why···.=
The frying pan is in deep thought.
=I don’t know why, but this thought occurred to me. The moment he reveals that he’s a dragon… I think he might get eaten by the agent.=
“······!”
This time Minjun kept his mouth shut.
In that state, he barely managed to calm his complicated mind and spoke.
“······You’re going to eat it?”
=Yes. The previous owner is a person I am grateful to for having patronized me for a long time, but I don’t want to fry that person’s meat on my coated floor···.=
It was said that even a normal person cannot read the subconscious, and that Minjun’s memories were even more difficult.
Moreover, the moment he came into contact with the frying pan was before he had even regained his memory of eating a dragon.
It doesn’t make sense.
‘I can’t believe it!’
In the end, Minjun decided to seal the frying pan.
“Okay, if you keep hiding your identity, then there’s nothing I can do.”
That was when.
=I can’t tell you everything because my remaining memories aren’t perfect, but it’s the truth!=
The frying pan spoke urgently.
=Please believe me. It’s a very vague memory, but… I feel like I used to be something much bigger than this. My soul is weak now, so I can’t see it very well, but it used to be a proper soul. Then it broke into countless tiny pieces and broke apart. Now, I’m one of those pieces.=
fragment.
Minjun pays attention to the word. Now that he thinks about it, he had mentioned the word piece when he first started confessing.
My head started spinning faster.
‘Come to think of it, I still can’t see this guy’s soul!’
I thought there were two reasons for this: either it was a shattered soul fragment, or it was some kind of gigantic soul.
But what if that premise is wrong?
‘What if it wasn’t one or the other, but both?’
What if the thing contained therein is a fragment of a very high-ranking soul?
If so, this can explain why it is invisible to Minjun’s eyes, and why it maintains a distinct sense of self despite being a fragment.
And of all the great souls he knows of, only one has been shattered into pieces.
-443. ((Confidential)) Obtain and submit the soul fragment of prisoner identification number ‘Asif-1’. Reward: 7 million talents
‘If this is really a fragment of Asif-1!’
Thump!
My heart started pounding.
‘Seven million talents!’
If true, the moment you submit it to the committee, you will be free.
The moment I thought that.
“······!”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
My heart began to pound as if it was going to burst. It was a completely different sound from the previous pounding.
At the same time, a strong premonition took over him. It was a premonition close to an impulse. Minjun had already felt this kind of color sensation.
It was when he got his hands on the blood of the homunculus that copied Jang Tae-jun, the blood that was rich in the virus that infected dragons. He had a strong premonition that things would go well if he submitted it to the committee instead of keeping it for himself.
And what Minjun felt now was a similar but much more intense impulse. He felt his breathing quicken. His face turned red. Thick veins appeared all over his body, including his temples. He could only think of one thing.
This should be submitted to the committee. It should be submitted. It should be submitted. Report to the committee immediately···.
‘no!’
Phew!
“omg!”
“Whoa!”
“What, what is it!”
For a very brief moment, a brilliant light flashed from Minjun’s body.
The flash was seen by everyone gathered there.
A light that briefly dyed the surroundings like lightning and then disappeared.
“······.”
Cathy muttered, staring at the afterimage remaining on her retina.
“What was that just now···.”
The light was so beautiful. Cassie felt enchanted. So did Jeongpal.
Unlike the other two, Ha Eun-seong knew its true identity.
‘Talent!’
Minjun barely regained his composure after the explosion of lightning.
‘······Just now, that was it!’
The moment I thought the frying pan might be a piece of debris from Asif-1.
An impulse to contact the committee immediately assaulted him.
A panicked fear that the world would collapse if he did not follow… an ominous feeling that everything would be ruined dug into him.
And I barely managed to escape before it completely took over.
While the inmate remained silent, Frypan spoke cautiously.
=There are probably fragments like me scattered throughout the universe. I don’t know what form they might take. Maybe they’re hidden in the souls of intelligent beings, or maybe they’re inhabiting objects like me. I think if I were to combine with them, I’d become more complete. Then, wouldn’t my lost memories also come back?=
Minjun couldn’t answer easily. There was too much to think about.
After a long time of organizing my thoughts and memories.
Suddenly he turned his head. Jung-pal, who met his eyes, was startled. Min-jun’s eyes were bloodshot and seemed to be burning brightly.
“Tongue, bro?”
If it really is a fragment, there will be more similar ones.
Minjun again noticed the connection between the frying pan and the recently discovered Ego Sword.
A spirit that is undetectable by spirit detection magic resides in the being, and that spirit possesses mind control abilities.
Could there be another strange coincidence like this?
Minjun asks Jeongpal.
“Where is the sword you mentioned now?”
The police said they questioned the forensic team member who had awakened from his madness. They thought that if they secured his identity, they would have also recovered the sword.
Jung-pal stuttered and answered, not knowing why that story was suddenly brought up. Then Min-jun’s face distorted.
The forensic team that ran away after stabbing the wizard was found nearby before dawn. Like Kwak Do-chul’s wife, all of his bones were broken. But in his fallen hand…
“The knife was gone?”
< 105. Shock and Terror (3) > End
