Seoul Object Story
Chapter 44: Object Exhibition (5)

A gold-colored wave spread out, resembling the ripples formed when a drop of water falls into calm waters.

The small Golden Reapers scattered in all directions, some bumping into each other and tumbling, others stumbling over something and rolling around. They appeared and disappeared from time to time, perhaps because they were using the phantom form ability.

However, probably because they were not used to the ability, a lot of the Golden Reapers rolled around on the floor whenever they returned to their tangible state.

They ran with their tiny little feet, and disappeared like ghosts when they encountered an obstacle. They would then appear on the other side of the obstacle and land on the floor with both their feet. Unfortunately, a lot of them were unable to overcome the speed and momentum, making them roll over.

When they found a human, they would jump and tightly hug them with their tiny hands.

The Golden Reaper first to hug the human would raise its tiny hands in triumph wearing a victorious smile. As if they were marking their territory, there was only one Golden Reaper per human.

When other Golden Reapers approached, the one already clinging to the human would glare at them and chase them away.

Before the Golden Reaper moved about, the exhibition ground had been hunting grounds for Objects hostile to humans. A hunt that was more like an all-you-can-eat buffet where the prey lay unconscious.

However, as soon as the Golden Reapers made their appearance, the Objects trying to take advantage of the buffet had no choice but to stop their actions.

The unusual energy emanating from the Golden Reapers, coupled with the sheer numbers on their side, made the Objects feel burdened.

The once tense atmosphere, where everything was hostile towards the humans, suddenly calmed down.

Unfortunately, this calm atmosphere lasted no more than ten minutes. Objects lacking patience began to ignore the Golden Reapers and ran head-first toward the unconscious humans.

The harmless appearance of the Golden Reaper also played a role in this. They just stayed still clinging to the people, paying no attention to the Objects.

That indifferent behavior gave courage to the other Objects, making them think that The Golden Reaper was actually a passive and harmless creature.

Observing the Golden Reapers and seizing an opportunity, the Objects bared their teeth once again towards their prey.

It started with a lizard as large as a tiger, a prehistoric creature that had transcended time and was brought back to life in modern times.

The dinosaur, growing impatient, rushed towards the sleeping individuals.

In that moment, the Golden Reapers lifted their heads, their eyes gleaming.

Faced with the gazes of over a dozen Reapers, the dinosaur should have hesitated. Unfortunately, the dinosaur was not an Object with that level of intelligence.

The price for disregarding the Golden Reapers’ stare proved unbearably steep. Dozens of small, Reaper-shaped holes suddenly appeared on the dinosaur’s body, causing it to bleed profusely and die.

The once golden glow of the Reapers’ body now gave way to a crimson radiance, soaked in blood.

Such cute yet terrifying incidents unfolded throughout the exhibition ground until there were no Objects remaining to attack the humans.

***

When everyone in the exhibition ground fell asleep a lot of the Objects were released, creating a mess.

At that time, the door of the Bucheon Research Institute’s management office swung open.

A man dressed in a neat suit and lab coat, leaning on an old-fashioned cane walked out. The researchers followed behind him like loyal henchmen.

With a confident stride, the director of the research institute made his way through the exhibition filled with sleeping people. He and his researchers headed towards a specific booth belonging to the ‘Sejong Research Institute’.

They had a clear purpose in mind—to acquire the Object housed in the containment room, the [Unbreakable Cube.]

The door to the containment room stood ajar, and the security staff had all succumbed to sleep, allowing the director and his team to easily obtain the Object he desired.

The CCTV and other electrical devices had long since been dormant.

A satisfied smile played upon the director’s lips as he looked at the explanation attached to the Object—

“Finally, I got the Object I needed,” the director muttered, looking around while holding the cube in his left hand and gripping the cane in his right.

After completing their task and exiting the containment room, he noticed a subtle shift in the atmosphere of the exhibition grounds.

Numerous small creatures, no larger than human palms, had materialized amidst the sea of unconscious bodies.

They were golden Objects who looked exactly like the Grey Reaper.

They stood atop the chest of the unconscious people, their necks craning to look at him.

With dozens of these Objects fixated on him, the director felt as if he was being observed by a group of meerkats.

“Is this the Grey Reaper’s ability? It’s my first time seeing this ability. There was no record of such an ability in the rift of time. What’s going on?”

The director was taken aback by the fact that the Grey Reaper, whom he had observed and studied for a long time, had an ability he was unaware of.

He was currently busy researching a way to deal with the ‘Nameless’, so he couldn’t study it at the moment. But, he resolved to capture and study the ‘Grey Reaper’ in the future.

Having achieved his goal, the director was about to leave when he saw that the Mini-Reapers were still keeping a watchful eye on him, their gazes tinged with some kind of hostility.

As a result, he couldn’t help but have questions.

Why on earth are those Mini-Reapers hostile to me?

But even when he thought about it carefully, he couldn’t figure out the cause of that inexplicable hostility.

The director raised his hand, retracting his researchers back into his shadow.

Smack-! Smack-!

Along two resounding strikes of his cane hitting the ground twice, the director and the researchers disappeared.

***

The Golden Reapers that I had made were scurrying in every direction.

It was a chaotic mess as they rolled around and bumped into each other.

Seeing the Golden Reapers suddenly appearing and prancing about, the Objects that were threatening the humans became wary.

Well, it was only natural that they would be curious about these tiny creatures that had suddenly burst onto the scene.

Yerin seemed to be pretty safe for the time being, so I left her on the ground and climbed a pole to better assess the situation.

From above I could easily keep track of the actions of the Golden Reapers.

…Isn’t their love for humans a bit too much?

They liked humans too much for no particular reason, at least that was my impression from above.

One thing that caught my attention was the scene of a Golden Reaper passing through the heart of a Yeti. It was a combination of three of my abilities.

It felt rather unsettling to see the little Reaper I made walking around covered in blood.

As I crouched down on the pole, continuing to observe, I realized that the behavior patterns of the Golden Reapers remained consistent.

They showed no interest in the Object themselves, only becoming aggressive and attacking when an Object threatened the human. It seemed like they considered protecting the human they were clinging to as the highest priority.

However, there seemed to be no rhyme or reason as to which person each of them chose to cling to.

Is it fine as long as they are humans?

It seemed like they were just treating the humans as their property, it was a logic that was difficult to comprehend.

Curiously enough, there was one Golden Reaper clinging to the top of my head, clutching my hair with both hands.

I am an Object, not a human, though… Do they think that I am a human because I created them?

On another note, the Golden Reapers herded the Objects that had the potential to attack humans to the corners of the exhibition ground. However, they paid no attention to Objects that did not cause any harm to the sleeping humans.

I was a little bit concerned that the Objects pushed out by the Golden Reapers might escape the exhibition ground, so I examined them closely. Only then did I notice something strange.

This place is designed like some kind of prison, huh?

It was designed in a manner that would make it difficult for anyone to notice that it was a prison unless they looked carefully.

As a result, the walls surrounding the exhibition ground blocked the Objects that escaped from the Golden Reapers, making them unable to move.

Well, I was not at all interested in the design, what interested me was this sudden mass sleep incident.

The solution to this incident. probably lies within that towering golden tree.

Thanks to the Golden Reapers who were protecting the people, I now had the freedom to move around.

Of course, the Golden Reapers’ protection would only last for a day, so I had to resolve the incident quickly.

***

Leaving Yerin under the protection of the Golden Reaper clinging to her, I made my way towards the large tree.

It was kind of strange. While the other booths were filled with sleeping researchers, there were none at all in the Bucheon Research Institute’s booth.

Except for a few people who looked like visitors, no researcher seemed to be asleep.

It was as if they were almost shouting ‘Our research institute is the culprit!’ Anyone still not sure could safely be called an idiot.

As expected, the crime was committed by the Bucheon Research Institute!

But, what on earth did they want to do by putting people to sleep like this?

It couldn’t be because they wanted to prevent the establishment of the ‘Object Zoo’. But sadly due to their actions, the Object Zoo would now be infinitely delayed.

Just like that, another one of my dreams shattered…

Before long, I found myself standing in front of the golden tree, which still emitted its bright light.

It was a towering tree placed in a wide open space.

Without wasting any time, I looked at the killing conditions needed to destroy the golden tree.

Eung?

Thankfully, the hint I got this time was something I could actually understand.

Since everyone was asleep right now, it seemed that they were having a nightmare.