I looked at the bracelet, breaking into a cold sweat.
[◎ (Cheerful) Fantasy Land Membership Card ◎]
The letters that had changed from Boarding Pass to Membership Card remained the same, as did the material, which had become oddly ornate and luxurious.
Ri—right....
It was an unexpected turn of events, but my task hadn't changed.
I just had to tag the bracelet at the gate and leave.
‘Membership card or not, I just won’t ever come back.’
“Thank you.”
I swallowed hard.
“Um… I’d like to go home now as well.”
The Blue Mascot tilted its head slightly to the side.
I stepped toward the gate machine, intending to tag the bracelet.
But the mascot blocked my path.
‘Please.’
Why are you doing this?
I felt like crying.
“I’m not as good of a child as you think I am....”
G o o d C h i l d
Y e s
The Blue Mascot’s claws very gently and lightly covered my bracelet.
And then, a voice echoed.
To one who knows honor,
It is valuable.
...!!
“Cough.”
A cough burst from my mouth.
It was blood.
‘Wh—what was that just now.’
Could it be… because the Boarding Pass changed into a Membership Card?
When I vomited blood, the Blue Dragon mascot seemed flustered and restless. It pulled something from its chest and held it out.
[Blue Soda Churros]
It seemed to be a snack sold inside this theme park.
“...I’ll enjoy it.”
Yeah, right. I’m absolutely not eating this.
“But, I’d like to take it home and eat it there.”
P l a y
M o r e
The mascot was firm.
To the extent that it actually turned off the gate machine.
“...!!”
Click. In the darkened North Exit, the shutters began to descend.
I watched the scene vacantly.
You’re going this far?
I couldn't fathom what kind of situation this was at all.
However, I didn't do anything stupid like trying to argue.
‘I might end up like that researcher if I do.’
I wanted to avoid that at all costs.
For now, for now… I wasn’t in immediate mortal danger inside here. Let’s look for an alternative.
I backed away from the gate.
The Blue Mascot continued to watch me as I hurried away....
“This is crazy.”
I sat down inside the water park’s locker room.
I was scared to death.
“What even is this?”
To summarize: the mascot suddenly called me a ‘Good Friend,’ handed me a Membership Card, and shut the gate.
In short, I was trapped.
“…….”
Trapped.
No, first of all, what was with that ‘Good Friend’ thing?
The Researcher was a bad child, and I was a good child....
Ah.
‘...Is it because I saved my teammates a few times!’
Yes. That was the most plausible reason.
Somehow, I had looked after people a few times during emergencies… and as a reward, they were going to let me play in the theme park forever?
‘This is driving me insane....’
This was within a B-Class Darkness.
No matter how friendly and relatively safe that mascot seemed, it meant that danger and bizarre, crazy things could happen at any time and place.
Furthermore.
‘...There isn’t even a single Exploration Record of staying here for more than 24 hours.’
It meant that the moment 24 hours passed, everyone either died or went missing.
If I interpreted it very optimistically, maybe that was because the Boarding Pass was a one-day pass, and I, with a Membership Pass, might be fine—but the important thing was that I had zero information.
‘Damn it.’
I racked my brain, feeling like I wanted to bite my tongue.
Perhaps due to the fatigue of the past few hours, my thoughts were sluggish....
‘What can I even do?’
I couldn't win a fight against the mascot.
I couldn't sneak in and turn on the gate machine either.
‘I used up all my coins earlier.’
Seeing the Team Y Rookie, Jang Heowoon, falling over, I had panicked and thrown whatever I could grab—that was my mistake. I pressed my fingers against my eyelids.
It wasn't like there was a button to communicate with the outside world, so I couldn't expect help from Team D either.
‘The items I have are....’
The Smile Sticker? I shouldn't use that when the problem was already that my favorability was too high.
The 2x potion or the 0.5x cookie were the same. Those were only meaningful if there was an effect to create synergy with.
‘Is there really nothing?’
The more I worried, the more it felt like I was sinking into a quagmire.
As I was wallowing in that gloom.
A light sparkled above my head.
[Dark Exploration Record Merch Box]
-Usage rights for a new piece of merchandise have been unlocked! (!)
“...!!”
It was the black notepad, the Merchandise Box.
‘Please!’
Without even taking a breath, I clicked it immediately.
Was it a lifeline? No, anything was fine. I needed even the smallest hint, anything....
Thud.
The merchandise dropped.
‘...!’
I picked up the object wrapped in transparent plastic.
It was small and fluffy enough to fit in my palm.
A plush doll.
==========
Dark Exploration Record / Daydream Inc.
/ ■■■■■
Good Friend
Your cute animal doll. It will always go with you and protect you.
Always.
-‘Cheerful Theme Park Souvenir Shop’
Product description on the packaging
==========
Ah.
I recalled the inscription on the board game box.
-Be the first to board 3 fantasy attractions with your teammates and receive a prize!
The team that boarded three attractions the fastest in the ‘Cheerful Theme Park’ could simply take one of various items from the souvenir shop as a prize.
‘Come to think of it, the supervisor said earlier that he received a prize too.’
And of course, theme park souvenir shops within ghost stories were not infrequently mixed with bizarre items.
‘There was even an Exploration Record that specifically listed the prizes people had taken....’
And this was one of the most famous items among them.
Good Friend.
Originally, it was a plush doll just the right size to be tucked under a child's arm, but as it was turned into merchandise, a small doll reborn as a key ring was now in my hand.
‘So the requirement to use this merchandise was being a user of the Cheerful Theme Park.’
To anyone who hadn't visited the theme park, it was nothing more than a functionless plush doll, but it seemed the rights had been granted because I had used up all my boarding passes.
And the ability of this plush doll was...
==========
A mysterious object that invites someone from the Otherworld, allowing a portion of their spirit to dwell within the doll and making them your friend.
Rarely appears in the souvenir shop of <Cheerful Theme Park>.
Refer below for detailed invitation records.
==========
This was it.
“…….”
Normally, I would have deliberated immensely and tried to set up some kind of safety device before attempting this.
‘Inviting someone from the Otherworld’—wasn't that an explanation perfectly suited for the start of a chilling ghost story?
But right now, I had neither the time nor the luxury for that.
‘Let’s do it.’
Because right now, I was in a situation where I desperately needed the advice of someone who knew the inner workings of ghost stories.
I pulled out my smartphone, which had the Memorial Pop Socket equipped for the first time in a while, and opened the ‘Good Friend’ tab in the <Dark Exploration Record>.
The materials were as follows.
==========
· Materials for Invitation
Matches (or a lighter)
100ml of water
A spoonful of salt
A coin (a clean one)
An object related to the friend
==========
And a quiet space.
‘It just so happens to be this locker room.’
The outside was noisy with the sounds of water and music, so this was likely the best place.
And as for a lighter, water, and salt, I thought I could manage to get them from somewhere inside this theme park. I could either steal them from a shop or ask for them.
The problem was the next two.
A coin (a clean one)
An object related to the friend
I had used all my coins, so I had none.
And the object related to the friend… was actually an item put in for the sake of the ghost story's flavor. If you put a fairy tale book there, a monster based on that fairy tale would come, and so on.
‘What should I use to make it as safe as possible?’
Actually, I was reluctant to offer anything from this theme park as an object related to the friend.
Isn’t this place already a ghost story itself?
“…….”
In the end, after much deliberation, I settled on two items.
I prayed that this substitution would work.
And a short while later.
“Phew.”
I placed the torch and salt I had procured onto the floor in the furthest corner of the locker room.
‘That was eerie.’
I had gotten them all from a snack truck. I had wondered when I saw them selling a menu item called ‘Toasted Marshmallows,’ and sure enough, they had both.
‘...They gave them to me for free after seeing the Membership Card.’
Far from being happy, it made me feel even more ominous.
I wiped my mouth and opened my smartphone again.
I had to start quickly.
==========
· Invitation Ritual
1. Use your finger to dip into the water and draw the hexagram from the included diagram on a smooth floor.
2. Place the ‘Good Friend’ in the dead center of the hexagram.
3. Place the coin on the belly of the ‘Good Friend.’ At this time, no moisture must remain on your fingers.
4. Holding a spoonful of salt in your mouth, burn the object related to the friend with fire.
5. Once the ‘Good Friend’ begins to speak, swallow the salt and return the greeting affectionately!
If the coin has disappeared, it is a success! You have met a dependable friend. Please always stay together and cherish them!
※ If the salt cannot be swallowed, tastes strange,
turns to ash, or causes bleeding,
run away.
==========
“Phew.”
First, I drew a hexagram exactly like the image on the marble floor of the locker room.
It was a bit complex, but it wasn't a difficult task.
‘...It’s strangely vivid.’
However, the completed hexagram was excessively smooth, and its surface glistened without a single splash mark.
After thoroughly wiping the moisture from my fingers onto the edge of my clothes, I picked up the ‘Good Friend’ keyring with trembling hands and placed it in the center square of the hexagram.
‘Of all things, does it have to be a rabbit doll.’
I felt uneasy for some reason, but I felt a bit better when I remembered that I had definitely bought it at the pop-up store thinking the little rascal was cute.
And for the coin....
‘This.’
I placed my item, the Silver Coin Snake, on top of it.
‘This is definitely a coin... right?’
I thought it would be safer to use an item from the Alien Shop in reality rather than obtaining something from this ghost story.
Considering its price range, it seemed like a fairly valuable item, so I was trying to convince myself that it might even produce a better effect.
And after putting the salt in my mouth, the final step.
‘An object related to the friend.’
This also had to be an object that definitely did not belong to this ghost story.
And that was… me.
“…….”
I untied my necktie and held it.
‘If it’s my object, it certainly doesn't belong here.’
A friend related to a necktie? Whoever it was, it had to be better than something like a kitchen knife.
I clicked the torch.
And I held it to the end of the necktie.
Whoosh.
As if by magic, the fire caught aggressively, flickering and casting a shadow over the plush doll on the hexagram.
The shadow swayed.
Sway.
Sway.
The surroundings had become dark before I knew it.
All that could be seen was the light of the fire consuming my tie, the hexagram reflecting that light, and the plush doll at its center.
Sway.
Sway.
My hazy mind did not melt away.
Instead, the salt in my mouth melted salty, numbing my tongue.
In the midst of that.
Sway.
Sway.
The mouth of the ‘Good Friend’ hugging the coin opened.
-Behold!
-I am the owner of a million masks, the lord of chaos, the pinnacle of madness, the dream of pleasure and amusement, the instigator of war, the parent of science, the lowly quadrupedal beast,
...!!
It was too loud.
It felt like my head was being turned into a slurry.
I wanted to cover my ears, but I didn't have a free hand. I was holding the tie and the torch!
What was this?
-the desire of those who crawl, the lord of the stars, the abyss of fantasy, the mouth of wisdom, the roar of impulse, the far side of the moon...
The plush doll in the center of the hexagram was convulsing.
In the middle, the silver circular object was being burned away.
‘Silver Coin Snake.’
Did I use the wrong coin?
-I am...
My head hurt so much, so much....
-Friend.
-Is friend in pain?
I lifted my head.
-No.
A kind and gentle tone flowed out through the ‘Good Friend.’
-You mustn't be in pain....
“…….”
The swaying subsided.
The tie finished burning away, and the fire went out.
The coin that had been on top of the convulsing rabbit doll had vanished at some point.
As had the moisture that drew the hexagram.
“…….”
Silence.
Looking at the ‘Good Friend’ lying motionless, I swallowed the salt.
But I couldn't hear a single sound.
‘Could it be.’
“A failure…….”
-Mr. Roe Deer?
“...!!”
A cheerful and pleasant voice rang out.
But....
-Mr. Roe Deer?
It was a familiar voice.
I opened my mouth in spite of myself.
“...Host?”
-Ah, it really is Mr. Roe Deer!
Tuesday Quiz Show.
The voice of the TV-headed Host who had hosted the live broadcast in that ghost story was coming from the doll.
-Nice to meet you. My friend!
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