Dream Collector.
Literally, it was equipment provided to Field Exploration team employees by Daydream Inc. to collect a liquid called 'Dream Essence' from ghost stories.
The concentration of the liquid collected is determined by the grade of the ghost story cleared.
And the highest grade of liquid I had seen in person was….
'It was A.'
The anomalously manifested <Chorus of the Sacrificial Lamb> from the Tuesday Talk Show, and <In the Dark Shadow> which had entered Sekwang Technical High School.
In both cases, the liquid was a brilliant, vivid gold.
But the liquid I was holding in my hand right now….
'My god.'
On top of that, an iridescent sheen, like a hologram, swirled within it.
The liquid, which seemed to flow with radiance, even brought a certain potion to mind….
'The Wish Potion I saw when I joined the company…!'
It was strange how eerily similar they felt. Was it because it was the undiluted solution?
No, that wasn't what was important right now….
'Then, does this mean it’s… S-grade?'
I turned the cylinder. The radiance flashed….
It didn't feel real.
'That grade isn't assigned to a ghost story just because it's dangerous.'
Abyss (S) Grade.
The creators of the <Dark Exploration Record> Wiki all thought the same thing.
'Wouldn't a more special criterion be needed for an S to be attached?'
Until then, the existing ghost stories of Daydream Inc. seemed to be graded based on an implicit standard of 'it should be high-grade by this point.'
Danger, mystery, significance, scale… levels one could typically imagine when thinking of a ghost story.
However, it was the common consensus among participants that something different was needed for anything above Grade A.
And so, a condition was added.
Who do you face within the darkness?
Beyond the atmosphere of cosmic horror, when it was a ghost story where one faced an entity that was cosmic horror itself, only then could that darkness transcend the A standard and become an Abyss grade.
'But Braun's Late-Night Talk Show was at that level?'
I did escape after working there as a staff member for a month, but it felt a bit excessive.
Braun seemed like a crazy ghost story talk show host and a very powerful supernatural entity, but didn't he feel quite familiar to humans for it to be called cosmic horror?
Perhaps the liquid didn't fill the Dream Collector there, but was simply a special perk that came with the merchandise itself.
'And the reason this merchandise appeared for me is….'
By clearing a high-grade story without a Dream Collector, I must have been 'granted the qualification to be issued a new collector.'
And more importantly.
'…If it really is S-grade, how much is it worth in points?'
The company's point payment notice automatically came to mind.
S-grade: Separate Evaluation
I swallowed hard.
Since Grade A was 100,000, considering the increasing trend….
500,000 points.
It might just be possible.
'…Can't I exchange it for a Wish Ticket right away?'
My god.
Then I don't even need to worry about whether my resignation has been processed or not!
If I just submit this collector, the company will give me points…….
…….
Ah.
'Damn it.'
I lost heart.
'There's no way to submit it.'
—Make sure you don't lose it. They all have serial numbers engraved, so it becomes a real headache.
The words I had once heard from Assistant Manager Eun Haje passed through my mind like a physical blow.
She was right.
Dream Collectors are individual pieces of equipment that are thoroughly registered to each employee and managed with serial numbers engraved on them.
So, the fact that I had an extra would be more than just awkward; it would be a strange and bizarre situation.
It was no different from the madness of brightly reporting that you found an extra shell casing while you were supposed to be looking for a lost one….
'I can't even answer if they ask where I got it.'
It went without being said that I couldn't honestly say I bought it as merchandise at a pop-up store.
Even more so, this Dream Collector was out of the question.
"…Ha."
This version, which was smaller and flashier than a regular Dream Collector, was made exclusively for the Elite Squad.
I groaned as I peeled the product sticker off the cylinder.
Dream Collector (Elite Squad Exclusive)
There was a reason it was released as merchandise in this form instead of a normal Dream Collector.
'Because this is the version that appeared in the famous game based on <Dark Exploration Record>…!'
It was a work that implemented a certain exploration record as a game, and it appeared as an item used to identify significant NPCs and as a collection element where you had to gather six to see the true ending.
Furthermore, to prevent setting conflicts with the <Dark Exploration Record> Wiki, this setting was even attached!
Elite Team Exclusive Cylinder
: A supply item that was once specially produced for the Elite Squad but disappeared into the annals of history as standards were unified due to budget issues.
So, if the game settings were reflected….
—A new employee who had been missing for a month suddenly appears with equipment that was produced long ago and owned by only a few people.
Such a crazy sentence is completed.
'And it's even more of a problem if those settings aren't reflected.'
Bringing in a strange Dream Collector that's different from the standard the company makes?
To anyone's eyes, it was a technology leak. The development department would be completely turned upside down.
'I'll be misunderstood as an industrial spy.'
At worst, I might even be suspected of being from a parallel world's darkness.
An employee who had already been processed for resignation after being missing for a month returns like that?
I can foresee myself ending up as a picture-perfect test subject….
'…N-no way.'
I swallowed hard.
For now, on hold!
"Phew."
I tucked the cylinder back into my pocket.
Still, my heart was pounding.
The undiluted solution of a potion that produces magical effects, capable of granting wishes.
There was no way the Wiki would have simply described such an interesting setting with a single sentence like 'Used as a concentrate in the ghost story company.'
'It can be used in other ways too.'
Even if it wasn't for the purpose of handing it over to the company in exchange for points, there were several places where it could be useful.
'Let's aim for that.'
Then, for now…….
"I should get in touch."
I left the park as dawn was breaking.
After treating my cracked left arm and various bruises, I charged my smartphone using a free charger as soon as I left the hospital.
Then I made contact.
To the true superior of this era, who had given me the greatest help in my escape.
That evening.
"Kim Soleum."
"Section Chief."
As soon as I met Section Chief Lee Jaheon, I bowed my head.
I had every reason to, truly….
"Thank you so much. Really…."
"Yes."
I did spend 66.66 million won, but honestly, I think it was a real bargain….
'Physical force is… truly convenient and good.'
It wasn't for nothing that Employee D was used like a cliché in every special exploration record.
…I just didn't expect him to be an alien.
'Should I have suspected it from the moment he looked like a lizard?'
I let out a sigh of relief inwardly as I looked at Section Chief Lee Jaheon's face, which still looked like a lizard to me.
To think he was associated with a bizarre cosmic shopping mall-related group that could even launch a bombardment on a ghost story.
'They definitely… called it "The Union".'
There was no such content in the Employee D entry on the Wiki. In the end, unable to suppress my curiosity about the hidden story, I asked.
"Um, Section Chief. Would it be alright if I asked what 'The Union' you mentioned when you were called via 'We Help' is?"
"No."
"……."
Ah, I see….
Let's just get to the point, then.
After asking him not to tell the company and receiving his confirmation, I showed the Dream Collector to Section Chief Lee Jaheon.
"About the liquid inside this collector."
The lizard's vertical pupils stared intently at the strangely shaped collector….
I asked calmly.
"Is it S-grade… that is, the Dream Essence Liquid of the Abyss?"
After a suffocating silence.
"No."
Ah.
"It is of a higher concentration than the 'Grade: Darkness (A)' standards registered in the company database, but it is not Abyss grade."
Phew.
'I thought so.'
There's no way an S would come out that easily.
'I can just think of it as roughly A+ then.'
Feeling convinced, I put the collector back.
"Then what color is a real S-grade?"
"There is no accurate word in the language currently in use. However, it is a color of such high concentration that it cannot be doubted upon witnessing it."
"…I see."
He really uses a way of speaking that screams he's an alien….
Suddenly, I did become curious.
'Just what is Section Chief Lee Jaheon's relationship with the cosmic shopping mall?'
And several questions arose, such as why he worked at Daydream Inc., but they weren't things to bring up right now.
The real problem was whether I could continue working at that company….
"Section Chief. I understand that if contact is cut off due to unauthorized absence for a month, the process for resignation begins."
I swallowed hard.
"Is that the case for me as well?"
"Yes."
Damn it!
"Is it possible to… return under the pretext that I was inevitably unable to come to work because I was caught in the darkness?"
"Yes."
Phew.
That was a relief. I just had to talk my way through it somehow. I said with a sigh of relief.
"Then just as it is…."
Bzzzzzz—
At that moment, Section Chief Lee Jaheon's phone rang.
After looking at his phone, Lee Jaheon spoke.
"Kim Soleum."
"Yes?"
"There are people who want to meet you."
A moment later.
"Roe!"
In Lee Jaheon's private residence building, I saw familiar faces.
Assistant Manager Eun Haje and Supervisor Park Minseong.
Seeing the people who had even sought out a ghost story to find me when I was missing, my heart felt like it was going to overflow.
'It's really no small matter.'
Having almost died in the Chorus of the Sacrificial Lamb, entering Braun's Late-Night Talk Show, which was practically a sequel to that ghost story,
wasn't just any kind of determination.
Even more so if one person was in a situation where they had to keep dodging the employees' eyes, and the other couldn't even leave properly.
I felt an indescribable, strange lump in my throat that I hadn't felt while I was assimilated into that darkness as part of the talk show.
I bowed my head deeply.
"Thank you. I was able to find a clue thanks to the candy you gave me."
Since that was the starting point that eventually led me to press the 'We Help' button.
Assistant Manager Eun Haje waved her hand.
"Forget it. I didn't really do much."
"I only barely found out because those two were talking, and I just joined in at the end."
Supervisor Park Minseong spoke in agreement with a laugh. He certainly looked more stable than during the containment cell cleaning at the end of the year, but….
I saw the black civilian clothes Park Minseong was wearing instead of a suit.
"Supervisor, by any chance… have you started working again?"
"…That's right. I'm working in the Security Team."
He was no longer in the Field Exploration team.
Supervisor Park Minseong didn't mention anything more about what he was doing.
He simply said shortly, 'It's good to start earning points again.'
"……."
Instead of prying further, I overlooked Park Minseong changing the subject.
"Ah. Section Chief Jay from the security team asked about you once in a while, but… I didn't say you went missing in the darkness. But a few days ago, it seemed like he already knew."
"Yes."
I was just about to nod when I suddenly realized.
Wait a minute.
"Was the company already in a situation where they knew I didn't just go AWOL, but was missing within the darkness?"
"Ah, um. Right. One way or another, they, uh, judged that you went missing on the 'Tamra-bound Express Train'."
Oh!
"Then has the company not given up on me and been searching for me until now? Or, at the very least, have they left me in a missing state?"
"……."
"……."
My two superiors started feigning ignorance!
'…They already processed me as dead.'
It really was a hell of a company.
No, well, it didn't matter much. I nodded, holding back the urge to rub my temples.
"I understand. In that case, for now, if I report that I'm alive and that I cleared the darkness and came out, and then return…."
"R-Roe! About that…."
"You can't."
"…!?"
Assistant Manager Eun Haje cut him off abruptly.
"…Assistant Manager?"
"Listen… Roe. Anyway, the company put quite a lot of effort into searching for you for a few weeks, which is unusual."
Supervisor Park Minseong hurriedly stepped in to continue.
"But if the audit judges that you didn't go missing during company business but just went AWOL, they'll try to… charge those costs to you somehow."
…….
What?
"There's no justification since I didn't personally make a rescue request, is there?"
"They can attach whatever justification they want."
"……."
"In the first place, the points we receive aren't wages, they're 'welfare points.' If the company decides to retrieve them out of spite, it's not like there are no ways for them to do it. …At the very least, by setting a 'non-payment due to disciplinary action' for a few months."
A chill ran down my spine.
"It's not an industrial accident caused by the company, but you got caught in a darkness that occurred by chance? They'll feel like they've lost out."
Assistant Manager Eun Haje said as if chewing her words.
"Since you went AWOL due to a personal accident or reason, they'll come at you saying you caused a loss to the company."
"…!"
"If you didn't return, what could they do? But if you become an employee again…."
It was indeed dirty play.
The problem, however, was that it was all the kind of absurdity that could happen in a normal company….
"So, for now, let's manualize the way you cleared it. Then it'll roughly count as work. Then they'll have no choice but to let it slide without being able to say anything about disciplinary measures…."
"That's impossible."
"……."
My entry itself was special, and the method I used to escape was a special act that could never be manualized.
Furthermore, working as a staff member in that ghost story for a month before escaping was a peculiar situation in itself.
'I feel like everything would be settled if I could just submit the essence.'
It was frustrating that I couldn't do that.
'…Should I act while being prepared for a loss of points?'
No. No matter how much I thought about it, it was a waste.
No, beyond a waste… it made me angry.
'I've gathered more than half.'
The company played both sides and did whatever they wanted, and now they were going to snatch my points? Humanly, I couldn't accept it.
Furthermore, the problem didn't end here.
"I see. Anyway… if you say you were part of the ghost story for a month in the process of describing how you escaped."
Supervisor Park Minseong swallowed hard.
"They might judge that you've been contaminated and… make you go through a process like mine."
"……."
Right.
Usually, if someone came out after being in a high-grade ghost story for a month, it would be impossible for them to return to the Field Exploration team in their right mind.
They would analyze and reassign me according to the case.
"Then, you might not be able to return to the Field Exploration team."
"……."
By this point, I would want to shout that I was quitting this godforsaken company, but I couldn't quit on a whim.
'I need a Wish Ticket.'
I had already confirmed it in the Elevator ghost story. That I could return home with a Wish Ticket…!
'Besides, to call Braun back as promised, I also have to get the doll from the Cheerful Theme Park ghost story….'
I barely managed to fix him as a friend; if I break this promise, there's no telling what 'the entity from the otherworld called on the condition of being together forever' might do.
I felt the presence of the coin still in my jacket and grit my teeth.
'The situation has gotten strangely tangled… but no. There's definitely a way.'
The high-grade concentrate was in my hand right now, and I had safely escaped the ghost story with my sanity intact.
The situation was definitely not worse than before.
There must be a move that can overcome this problem…….
"……."
I looked at the faces of my superiors, who were watching me with worried expressions, when I suddenly thought of something.
Perhaps.
"Assistant Manager."
I looked at Assistant Manager Eun Haje.
The person whose workplace had changed.
"By any chance, can you contact Director Ho?"
"……!"
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