“To think there was even a basement floor here….”
A mixture of fear and anticipation clouded Ms. Go Yeongeun’s face as she stood before the basement stairs.
Baek Saheon sneered.
“Exactly. And the person next to me hasn't said a word about how he knew there was a basement or why we're even going there, just insisting that we absolutely have to go to the first basement floor.”
“If you don't want to go, we can split up here.”
“…….”
Baek Saheon went quiet.
Now that the existence of a basement was confirmed, he wasn't about to miss out on a situation where ‘Kim Soleum seemed to have something up his sleeve.’
I briefly explained to Ms. Go Yeongeun that I had ‘found a helpful space with the help of special equipment and the notice posted in front of the elevator.’
Then, I finally stepped onto the basement stairs.
“…….”
“…….”
The further down we went, the more I noticed.
‘The style has changed.’
The mansion, which had been brass-colored, darkened to a bronze hue, and more avant-garde decorations appeared.
For some reason, it felt like we were descending much deeper than when we went from the second floor to the first….
“……."
“……."
Soon, an elegant gate appeared beside the stairs.
-B1. That is what it says.
We had arrived.
I carefully took hold of one of the door handles, and only after ensuring I heard no mechanical sounds from outside did I open it.
What revealed itself was… not an exhibition hall or a corridor.
Ms. Go Yeongeun’s eyes widened.
“This is….”
“It’s likely a lounge for visitors.”
It was a sort of rest area.
The massive hall, furnished quite comfortably, featured luxurious armchairs, vintage tables, and even a fireplace burning with a bronze light in one corner.
“Did you read in the elevator that th-this was here?”
“Yes.”
“Ah, since these kinds of places are usually in the lobby, does that mean there’s an exit nearby…?”
“I don’t know about that. However….”
“However?”
“The Manual listed several things you can’t do in the exhibition halls, so I thought there would be fewer restrictions in a ‘rest area.’”
Exactly.
I came here aiming for the fact that a few actions forbidden in the exhibition would be permitted here.
“Things we can’t do… ah, like eating!”
“Yes.”
2. Eating and drinking in the exhibition hall is prohibited.
“…But it doesn’t seem like we need to eat anything right now.”
That was true.
“To be precise, I came to perform a certain action that is prohibited because it’s categorized under eating.”
“…And what would that be?”
I pulled the Item I had prepared from my bag.
[Easy and Fast Candle-Making Kit]
“The ban on open flames.”
From now on, I would manufacture an Item for our escape.
Ms. Go Yeongeun swallowed hard.
Before her eyes, her impossibly talented colleague was doing something truly absurd.
“Like this, then.”
Kim Soleum pulled a strange box out of his briefcase and was quickly reading through the enclosed instructions.
But that box didn't look ordinary. Why on earth would he bring something like a candle-making kit?
‘I’ve never seen that brand before.’
The logo for something called the ‘Cheerful Research Institute’ twinkled tackily alongside a smile mark, but the instructions Kim Soleum held were handwritten in a mess of dark red ink.
…It felt incredibly eerie.
Like a prop one might encounter in a ghost story….
Just then, Baek Saheon muttered.
“…An Item?”
An Item?
Reflexively turning to Kim Soleum, he answered quite kindly.
“Yes. It’s an object with a Supernatural Ability.”
…!
“Th-then isn’t it Darkness?”
“It depends on how you classify it… but things where the Anomaly is stable, portable, and lacks a domain are called Items, as opposed to Darkness.”
“…….”
How does Soleum know that…?
‘Aren’t we… both rookies?’
Why is there such a gap in our information?
And where on earth did he get that…?
As Ms. Go Yeongeun, who considered herself one of the top three rookies in terms of office life, she couldn't help but be flustered!
‘No, he even looks incredibly skilled at handling it…?!’
Kim Soleum looked back at her as if sensing her gaze and said, almost defensively.
“It’s my first time making one, too.”
It was the truth!
Though he had considered how to use it while reading the instructions a few times, Kim Soleum had never actually manufactured one.
However, to his colleague who had no way of knowing he had already performed similar rituals about three times, it was simply mind-boggling….
No, shouldn't someone like that be starting a business instead of just getting a job? Wouldn't that be a greater social benefit?
Shouldn't he not be involved with a horror-show of a company like this??
But soon, a cold sense of reality snapped her back to her senses.
‘……It must be because of the Wish Ticket.’
Because of a wish that couldn't be given up.
Ms. Go Yeongeun was almost swept away by a wave of depression out of pity for their shared situation, but she quickly pulled herself together.
For now, focus everything on escaping.
…Use all the sheer rage toward the Team R leader, who abandoned her and fled as soon as the monster machine approached, as fuel!
She just wanted to take back her past remarks about how there was no hazing in the team and how she thought there would be no interpersonal stress.
‘Go to hell, Team Leader!’
However, thinking that the Team R superiors might actually die miserably with their eyes, noses, and mouths all torn out felt a bit strange too….
“It’s done.”
“…!”
Ms. Go Yeongeun, who was about to get lost in thought, snapped her eyes back to Kim Soleum’s voice.
In the meantime, Kim Soleum had laid out a sheet of black paper on the floor and drawn a small picture with the enclosed crayon.
It was…… well.
‘…A candle?’
Yes. It looked like a candle…. To be precise, it was just a flat drawing depicting the outline of a candle.
But Kim Soleum, undeterred, pointed one hand toward the cards he had placed near the drawing.
“You see the cards, right?”
“Ye-yes.”
“Please pick one of them.”
“…….”
“It’s to determine the Item’s attribute.”
Was she being used or dragged into something?
Ms. Go Yeongeun hesitated for a moment but soon reached out.
This was because she judged that Kim Soleum had never been unpleasantly suspicious in his words or actions, and looking at the situation objectively, he had always treated her with goodwill.
‘Let’s do it.’
She trusted her own intelligent brain’s big data quite a bit.
So, she flipped over one of the cards scattered on the floor without much hesitation.
On the front of the card was a vibrant blue drawing of a person raising one hand.
At the very top, a white star sparkled like a jewel.
[Honor]
A faint smile spread across Kim Soleum’s face.
“……A good pick.”
Was it?
‘I don’t think we particularly need honor right now….’
Anyway, since the person who read the instructions said it was good, it was a relief.
Then, Kim Soleum turned his head and called Baek Saheon in a voice that sounded like he really didn't want to.
“Pick a card.”
“…….”
Baek Saheon seemed to be calculating the situation, but he soon narrowed his eyes and reached out.
The front of the card he flipped over depicted a crookedly smiling mouth and red bars.
[Interference]
“It suits you.”
“What?”
Kim Soleum ignored him and continued the manufacturing process!
“I’ll flip over the remaining cards now.”
“Ye-yes.”
Whatever it is, go right ahead!
Ms. Go Yeongeun watched as Kim Soleum flipped the cards with swift, neat movements.
There were ten cards left.
Confusion, Healing, Meditation, Wound, Lie, Dream, Anger, Protection, Strike, Gaze…… ten cards were laid out on the floor, revealed.
‘What on earth is this?’
Why make them pick cards like a tarot reading, only to reveal them all at the end?
She realized why after seeing Kim Soleum’s next move.
The last card was for him to choose what he wanted directly.
[Lie]
Kim Soleum, having picked the card depicting a golden gear next to a black heart, used a lighter to burn all three of the cards they had selected.
The flames sputtered in various colors as the cards turned into sparkling ash.
“…!”
Then, carefully gathering the ash from the cards, he applied it inside the crayon outline of the candle he had drawn as if coloring it in, and then folded the paper.
“Now we just need to let it set for about 30 minutes.”
With a faint smile, Kim Soleum picked up the folded paper from the floor and tucked it into his suit’s breast pocket.
“What you just made….”
“This candle will help us get out of here.”
“…!”
“I was planning to repeat it a few times if it didn't work, but the keywords came out quite well on the first try…….”
Screeeeeeeech
“…….”
“…….”
The three of them turned their heads simultaneously.
From the distance, under the bronze light, a massive shadow revealed itself.
Eight straight lines resembling spider legs.
And….
Screeeech
The mechanical eyes leaking gaslight.
“…….”
“…….”
“Run!”
The three immediately began to sprint in the opposite direction.
I knew it.
I knew that even if it was a rest area, the machine could appear.
Still, I had assumed it would patrol less strictly than the exhibition halls, so I had steeled myself to take some risks, but….
‘There wasn't even a place to hide like a vent there, so it couldn't be helped, but why now of all times!’
I gritted my teeth and dashed through the corridor.
Since we had already been spotted, it would be able to follow us even if we hid in another vent.
It was a machine with that kind of performance!
“Should we go straight?!”
“For now!”
If we kept going straight, it would be the main exhibition hall.
We had no choice but to go there and hope for another higher-priority problem to draw its aggro….
‘I don’t even know how dangerous the exhibitions have become now that we're in the basement…!’
It was then.
Whoosh.
“…!”
Baek Saheon tried to grab my suit.
‘What now, you crazy bastard!’
The man screamed.
“That Item! The candle! Let’s offer the candle we made! That’s something valuable, isn't it!”
I slapped his hand away and shouted.
“No, you idiot!”
“What?!”
“Look at the exhibition theme!”
+++
This exhibition is held free of charge for one hour with an open heart that adores art.
+++
“Art!!”
“…!”
“Creatures, civilizations, and history, above all!!”
I yelled at the top of my lungs.
“Why would it accept this Item as a fee when it has nothing to do with those things!”
In the first place, if Items were valuable, the employees of Our company would have given their own equipment instead of having their eyes torn out!
Besides, the candle isn't even finished yet!
But Baek Saheon reached out again, trying to snatch my bag, and Yeongeun let out an exasperated sigh.
“Let’s at least try! We're going to die like this anyway!”
“Argh! Excuse me! Stop it and just ru…….”
I turned my head.
Right now, our feet….
Had crossed the threshold of the main exhibition hall.
“…….”
Catching my breath, I looked up.
S T A R L I G H T T W I N K L E D E V E R Y W H E R E
O R W E R E T H E Y P E B B L E S ? C O U N T L E S S P A I R S O F G L O W I N G C I R C L E S O F T H E S A M E C O L O R
F I L L I N G E V E R Y I N C H O F T H E S Q U A R E W A L L S A N D S T A R I N G A T M E H U M A N G A Z E S ....
The eyes the Guide Machine had harvested.
“Gasp.”
I stopped and lowered my head. Beside me, I heard the sound of Baek Saheon clutching his one remaining eye.
My jumbled mind slowly, steadily calmed….
-Ah. It has been arranged just like the stars in the universe. ‘The Glowing Gaze.’ A rather clichéd but popular title! It seems the providers of the materials were taken into consideration!
“…….”
The three walls of the massive, black exhibition hall were filled with eyeballs, with not a single gap in sight.
The only entrance was the door we had just come through.
And through that entrance, the Guide Machine was relentlessly approaching…….
We were trapped.
-I am curious about Mr. Roe Deer’s choice! You are at a dead end now. There seems to be… hmm, nowhere to run. Indeed!
-But my Friend, you can get out whenever and wherever you want. Because this Braun is here!
I…… know that too.
‘If it were just me.’
I could escape safely at any time.
Braun would gladly use the ability he called ‘Lights Out’ for me, making my presence vanish.
Then, I could carefully slip out of here while the others drew aggro and had their eyes and ears extracted.
-Then how about having the person named Baek Saheon pay the fee? His life doesn't have much left anyway!
True. Since the candle, which recommended three people, had been successfully manufactured, Baek Saheon was no longer needed.
‘I only brought him along because I was worried about my mental state.’
Honestly, wouldn't it be fine if that bastard died? No, it might actually be more beneficial for society if he did.
In the meantime, if she was lucky, Yeongeun might be able to escape too…….
…Uh?
Wait a minute.
“Let’s split up! Then if even one of us gets out….”
“Ms. Goral!”
“Yes?”
“You are safe.”
“…?!”
“Wasn't your fee collected recently? There should be time left until the next collection.”
“Ah!!”
Yeongeun, who had her ear extracted relatively recently, would surely still have some ‘usage time’ left!
Hope flashed in Yeongeun’s eyes.
“Then I’ll go and try to interfere….”
Giiiii-iiiii
“…….”
“…….”
It entered.
The Guide Machine.
Drrrrrd.
In the bronze candlelight, I saw the machine head-on for the first time.
It was mercilessly sharp and sophisticated.
As if iron had been added as flesh onto a spider base, the head and chest were strangely connected, with the abdomen and lower body beneath.
But it weirdly resembled an intelligent bipedal being, triggering the uncanny valley. Its creaky, bizarre movements were terrifying.
Needle-like legs that moved their joints at will.
And from its head, eight gaslights shone yellow through the faint shadows.
“…….”
Yeongeun, who had been approaching, froze.
It seemed the trauma from when her ear was torn out just moments ago had surged through her brain.
And for good reason.
Kiiii-iiik.
The machine passed right by Yeongeun.
‘As expected.’
In that case, what the machine was chasing was….
Me and Baek Saheon.
Giiii-iiiii.
I deliberated for a very brief moment.
The plan was to quickly erase my presence and flee while the machine’s attention was on Baek Saheon.
It would be difficult if the machine were only focused on me, but since there were still two targets, wouldn't Braun’s ability work?
-Oh, should I use it now?
And then I decided.
‘No.’
Instead, I shoved Baek Saheon aside.
“…!”
“Run.”
Baek Saheon already had one eye missing.
In other words, he knew that something more than just an eye might be extracted as well.
‘I don’t know what kind of erratic behavior he might pull.’
Even if I had him ‘forfeit’ an ear instead, the rejection from someone who had already had an eye extracted would be even more intense.
I couldn't even fathom what kind of extreme, crazy thing he might do.
It was better to just let him run.
“I said run.”
Baek Saheon hesitated for a moment.
But soon, after backing away from the machine, he dashed toward the door and vanished as soon as the machine stood before me.
At the same time, Yeongeun saw my signal, squeezed her eyes shut, and ran out the door.
“…….”
Now then.
-Do you have a question for the Guide? Mr. Roe Deer.
I looked up.
The machine, looking like a half-mosaic of a spider and a woman, faced me, shining its gaslight.
It was a grotesque and spine-chilling sight.
The Guide Machine then began to twitch its eight legs and arm-needles toward me.
I bowed politely.
“Hello. I just arrived.”
I knew it wouldn't work.
Sure enough, the machine made an unknown noise and twitched one of its massive needle joints.
-It says that 1 hour and 54 minutes have passed since you entered, so an additional fee is being calculated.
I took a deep breath.
“Wait a moment. May I ask a question before I pay the fee?”
-Of course you may!
“Is the guest room reservation handled at the front desk? …If you agree with my question, please nod your head once; if you do not agree, please shake it from side to side.”
…….
Nod.
“Thank you for the guidance. Then….”
I stifled a sigh and spoke.
I had asked the previous question just to ask this one.
The key question for our escape.
‘These machines only remember information about their own area, so they don’t know which floor the exit is on.’
It probably wouldn't know even if I asked for the location of the front desk.
However.
Couldn't I get an answer if I rephrased the question to be about the floor it was currently on?
Like this.
“For visitors who have finished their viewing and wish to return home, did they go from this first basement floor to the floor below?”
…….
“Or did they go to the floor above?”
Nod.
“They went to the floor above. Thank you.”
Exactly.
By asking the right questions to each Guide Machine I encountered on every floor, I could eventually narrow down the location of the exit…….
Provided my eyes, nose, mouth, and limbs weren't all extracted before then.
‘If it’s higher than the first basement floor… then it’
Just finding that out was a major achievement. Since there are only seven floors above ground, it meant it was somewhere in there.
‘It’s a good condition.’
But the joy vanished like a candle flame.
Because the unavoidable time had now arrived.
Screeeech.
-It says it will now collect the fee.
Fee Collection.
“…….”
Thinking calmly, it wasn't a major problem.
‘Since they’ll stick rental items into my eye sockets instead, I’ll still have vision until I escape this Darkness.’
And I knew this world well. I already knew several ways to restore lost body parts, and I was certain I could use them more easily than anyone else….
That was also why I was standing here.
‘It’s a situation I’ve calculated and accepted.’
The problem was… this maddening repulsion!
I mean, who could just accept this calmly?
Having both eyes gouged out raw by a monster!
And in this space where other people's plucked eyes were on display everywhere!
Cold sweat trickled down my chin.
‘Still, I have to confirm it.’
I clenched my teeth.
It shouldn't hurt even if my eyes are plucked out.
‘If I can’t even endure this, I might as well give up on surviving here.’
Truly, there was no better condition than this. To check if I, with my coward's heart, could withstand a Ghost Story Injury.
I needed the experience of enduring a restorable loss at least once to build up resistance.
Still, my clenched hands trembled.
‘Fuck….’
Vrrr.
A giant needle made of thin, sharp metal, like a spider leg, approached my eyes.
I held my breath.
Whoosh.
The needle pierced the area around my eyes…….
Screeeech.
“…….”
I rolled only my eyeballs to look to the side.
Beyond the Darkness, a giant, strange, spider-like figure was approaching….
Screeeech, screeeech.
It was another Guide Machine.
“…….”
What is this?
‘There should be programmed paths for the machines.’
Wasn't it the case that their paths never overlapped?
Sure enough. The machine that was about to gouge out my eyes seemed to experience a temporary operational Error… soon, it pulled away from me and began to move.
As if it were correcting its own path.
Screeeech…
“…….”
A sigh of relief didn't escape me.
Because the newly arrived machine would be the one to gouge out my eyeballs.
I just held my breath and stared at the newly appeared machine.
The Guide Machine raised its spider-leg-like appendage right up to my nose.
And then…….
“Phew.”
…?!
“Are you okay, Roe?”
The spider shape collapsed and vanished, and a human wearing a Badger Mask revealed himself.
“…Supervisor!”
Supervisor Park Minseong, who had revealed himself, gave a smirk, his face drenched in cold sweat.
“Whew… that was close!”
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