Chapter 304 - 289: I Really Am Human! (Part 2)

Chapter 304: Chapter 289: I Really Am Human! (Part 2)

The researcher who had just shone the flashlight in his eyes spoke up for him.

"Hm? Professor? Is he not human?"

"He’s a new student who just received his Space Brooch. He then immediately ’opened a gate’ and barged into the dueling arena. This caused the Space Barrier around the arena to fail, and two students were caught in the crossfire."

The old professor briefly explained what had happened.

"Huh???"

The researcher who had spoken up for Lloyd a moment ago now wore the same look of astonishment. He quickly backed away, as if Lloyd had suddenly transformed into some kind of terrifying Demon.

Seeing this, Lloyd finally couldn’t take it anymore and asked:

"Could you please... show me a little respect? I may be a new student, but could you not just randomly decide I’m not human?"

But the old professor and the researcher completely ignored him and started discussing it amongst themselves right in front of him:

"Professor, his self-Cognition as a ’human’ is quite strong, isn’t it?"

"Yes, it’s quite interesting. Perhaps those lunatics from the Biology System will be very interested in him."

"So where did he get his brooch? Did he snatch it from someone?"

"I don’t know. Look up the brooch’s serial number."

"Okay, one moment... Got it. His brooch belongs to a recommended student named ’Lloyd,’ and he was jointly recommended by three honorary professors? Wow, it’s been a long time since we’ve seen a joint recommendation of this level. Too bad he’s already fallen victim to this guy..."

’Is there something wrong with these people’s heads?’ Lloyd couldn’t listen to this anymore. ’Not only are they declaring me non-human, but now they’re trying to pin a murder on me?’

’This is too much, isn’t it?’

He was truly angry now and couldn’t help but shout:

"What in the world are you talking about? I am Lloyd! I didn’t kill myself! And I’m definitely not some weird Demon you’re imagining!"

The entire laboratory fell silent. All the researchers present turned to look at him.

The old professor frowned slightly and chided him in a stern tone:

"Why are you shouting so loud? We’re not going to hurt you."

"But I... I just came here for school. Did I do something wrong?"

Lloyd retorted.

"No. The pursuit of knowledge is an instinct for every living being,"

the old professor replied calmly.

"Then why are you treating me like this?"

"What have we done? We haven’t attacked you, imprisoned you, or even asked you to compensate for the Space Barrier you damaged."

Lloyd was at a loss for words. He felt like he had a point but couldn’t get it across.

’These people accuse me of not being human and of being a murderer, yet they show no sense of urgency whatsoever. Their attitude toward me is bizarrely illogical. It feels like they don’t think like normal people at all.’

Lloyd couldn’t help but activate [Enhanced Investigation] and check the Attributes of the people present.

’Well, I’ll be. The weakest one here has all four Attributes at 150 points, and most are just ’??’.’

’As for their systems, it’s a motley crew. There are the usual [Wisdom] and [Manifestation], but also the rare [Ancient Mage]. What’s more absurd is that there are even outlaws from the [Calamity] and [Suffering] systems?’

’And their mental states... aside from the old professor, every single one of them is in a state of [Mild Madness]...’

’But their Threat Level isn’t high. It’s just a ’?’ like those two bald guys outside. They’re just suspicious of me, not showing any hostility.’

’As for the old professor’s panel, it’s even more ridiculous. It’s just a blur; [Enhanced Investigation] can’t detect anything at all.’

’Either he has some kind of anti-scrying measures, or he’s no longer human...’

’So this place looks like a high-tech sci-fi research institute, but in reality, it’s more like a mental asylum?’

’No wonder their behavior and logic are so strange...’

’Forget it, forget it. Why argue with madmen...’

Lloyd forced himself to come up with an explanation, then shook his head and changed his tone.

"I... never mind, whatever... But I have a ton of questions. Can’t one of you at least explain things to me?"

The old professor thought for a moment, then gave the researcher who had spoken up for Lloyd a look, signaling for him to handle the communication. The professor himself swiped a floating screen of light toward him and began to examine the rows of data on it.

The researcher gestured in the air with his hand, and Lloyd immediately felt something invisible appear behind him.

’An invisible chair, floating in mid-air?’

The same kind of invisible chair appeared behind the researcher, and he simply sat down on it, looking as if he were suspended in a sitting position in the air.

Lloyd was curious and tried sitting on his as well.

’Hmm... It’s surprisingly soft?’

’What amazing Space technology...’

"Alright, you can ask me any questions you have, but don’t shout like you did just now. It can disturb others’ work."

"Oh..."

Lloyd actually felt a little ashamed by the researcher’s attitude...

He quickly asked:

"So, why do you all think I’m not human?"

"That’s because your ’method of enrollment’ was just too unusual. It clearly exceeded the limits of what a human can achieve and also surpassed our common Cognition. So, regardless of whether you are actually human, in our eyes, you are definitely not. Or rather, you *must not* be."

The researcher gave a very strange answer, then smiled and added:

"You might find this way of thinking strange, but at Mizkakotok University, it’s a very common self-preservation tactic—no matter what, never believe in things that are beyond your own Cognition, even if they are real."

Lloyd nodded, only half-understanding.

’It feels like some kind of method to prevent their worldview from collapsing.’

’It sounds weird, but it seems to make sense.’

He had read in textbooks outside that the collapse of one’s worldview or Cognition were both extremely dangerous situations. In mild cases, it could lead to madness; in severe cases, one’s head could explode. It had to be treated with extreme caution.

’So in this magical Mizkakotok University, perhaps it’s really easy to encounter situations that could cause one’s worldview or Cognition to collapse?’

’Is that why these people’s thinking is so strange, that they’re only willing to believe what they can accept? They don’t get easily shocked or gasp in amazement, nor do they constantly exclaim ’how terrifying’?’

Lloyd sorted through his thoughts and then continued to ask:

"So what exactly was wrong with my ’method of enrollment’?"

"Well... why don’t you first tell me how you got in?"

"I received the invitation, learned how to use the brooch, and then just figured out a way to get in with it. It took me a lot of effort and several days to find the specific frequency to get here..."

Lloyd answered truthfully.

Upon hearing how he had done it, the researcher across from him, who had five stripes on his Arm Badge, saw his eyes go wide. His pupils contracted rapidly, and even the corners of his mouth began to twitch.

He looked as if he had suffered some kind of mental attack.

But he quickly calmed himself down and began to mutter under his breath:

"You’re not human... You’re not human..."

After repeating this mantra a few times, he returned to a state of calm. Then, with a wry smile, he said:

"You really... out of all the possible methods of enrollment, you chose the one most inconsistent with human behavior..."

"This... Then how do other people get in?"

"They wait patiently, find their ’guide,’ undergo a simple basic test administered by the guide, and then enter in a safe manner."

The researcher replied, then asked in return:

"You don’t have a guide?"