Episode 1: The Subway Station Without a Last Train
Episode 1: The Subway Station Without a Last Train
<Synchronization begins.>
<Game Title: Humiliating Exorcist>
<Character: Ha Eun-seo>
<Mode: Hardcore, Endless>
<Combat Style: Real-Time Turn-Based>
...
In the darkness, something pours into my head.
The information burrowing into my mind registers belatedly.
Synchronization?
Moreover, the game called "Humiliating Exorcist" is something I installed to play.
I had just installed it and was leaving the room to get some water when I tripped—I don't remember anything after that.
Even so, the synchronization process continued.
<Objective: Exorcise the Plague God>
<Synchronization Complete>
Suddenly, I could feel my body again, and the darkness lifted as my surroundings began to come into view.
"Owner-nim, are you alright?"
As soon as my vision returned, an incredibly beautiful woman appeared before me.
A baby face and voluptuous figure that could put idols to shame.
She was looking at me with a worried expression.
Owner-nim?
Recalling the information from earlier, I pieced together the situation.
For reasons unknown, I am now inside the game "Humiliating Exorcist."
And it seems the character I've possessed is one of the protagonists, Ha Eun-seo.
Looking down, I saw Eun-seo's outfit from the game's introduction page, and I could see breasts—perky and raised.
Uh... breasts?
That's right.
I've become a woman.
"You were spacing out all of a sudden."
"I'm fine."
But I'm not fine at all.
My voice, answering the woman in front of me, had also changed to a female one.
If only this woman weren't here, I would have grabbed my own chest to confirm if this was reality.
And the empty groin area.
My junior!
It's gone.
I can't feel it.
And of all things, it had to be "Humiliating Exorcist"—I don't want to believe it.
<Enjoy the fates of the heroines fallen into hell.>
A game about protagonists who struggle desperately through nearly impossible trials, only to fall in the end.
No, can I even call that a story?
A hell where all that happens is being penetrated, penetrated, and penetrated again.
So, my fate is to be passed around by countless men and monsters...
"AAAH!"
"Eeek! W-why are you screaming like that, Owner-nim?"
I let out a despairing scream without meaning to, and the woman next to me was startled.
Looking closely, a status window was faintly floating above her head.
I focused my mind, and the content became clear.
[Lee Yu-ri]
[HP: 6/6]
[Spirit Power: 8/8]
[Mental Strength: 1/1]
She too is one of the protagonists of this game.
She is a spellcaster who uses talismans, and I—Ha Eun-seo—am a swordswoman who uses a blade.
"It's nothing. More importantly, this place..."
I looked around.
Just because the protagonists are exorcists doesn't mean it's set in a classic rural village.
As the character names suggest, it's a game set in a fictional modern-day Korea, and our outfits are also exorcism suits—mine based on a suit, and Yu-ri's based on a school uniform.
"A subway station?"
We were standing before the entrance stairs of a subway station.
Just then, with a ding~ sound, a system message appeared in midair.
<Mission: Subway Station without the Last Train>
<Survey the dungeon and defeat the boss.>
I had already been thrown into the dungeon.
It seemed to be a kind of tutorial dungeon.
It was deep night, and there was no one around.
We were still at the dungeon entrance, and an evil aura could be felt emanating from the stairs below.
I wanted to turn and run away, but I couldn't.
The anomaly that occurs in this world is a precursor to the manifestation of the Plague God.
If the anomaly isn't stopped, the Plague God will appear in the world, and then everything is over.
Game over.
That doesn't just mean death.
It means falling into a fate where you become a plaything for monsters, unable to die, and violated endlessly.
Of course, that's not the only reason I can't back down.
Once you set foot in an anomaly, you can't leave until the anomaly core at the center of the anomaly is destroyed.
And if you stay here too long, you too will be corroded by the anomaly and become an evil spirit.
I can already feel a slight headache starting.
Maybe it's just stress.
Anyway, there's no other way.
The priority is to survey this dungeon, destroy the anomaly core, and get out.
"I'm ready. Let's go in."
I organized my thoughts and spoke to Yu-ri.
Then she took out a compass-like detection device.
<Survey begins.>
[Ha Eun-seo]
[HP: 8/8]
[Spirit Power: 3/3]
[Mental Strength: 1/1]
[Lee Yu-ri]
[HP: 6/6]
[Spirit Power: 8/8]
[Mental Strength: 1/1]
Suddenly, my vision opened up, and a guidance line toward the stairs appeared.
After all, this game isn't an open-world game.
It's a panel-selection roguelike game.
So it seems the system provides some compensation.
Clack. Clack.
As we descended the stairs, the sound of our shoes echoed.
It seemed there was no one else besides us.
Speaking of people, that is.
As soon as we finished descending the stairs, we saw a man standing unsteadily, barely keeping his balance.
Wearing a suit and carrying a leather bag, he was staring blankly into space.
Is he even human?
"We're the only ones here, right?"
I confirmed with Yu-ri.
"He's probably a missing person. If he hasn't been corrupted by the anomaly yet, we can feed him this medicine to wake him up and evacuate him to the outskirts."
Yu-ri showed a small pill from her pocket.
Creak.
Just then, the man's neck twisted, and he looked at us.
His eyes had turned black.
The corruption seemed to have already begun.
"I can't miss the last train... I mustn't miss the last train."
The man muttered as he walked toward us.
I reflexively drew the sword at my waist from its sheath, and Yu-ri also took out a talisman.
<Event: Office Worker Waiting for the Last Train>
A system message appeared above the man's head.
<Tutorial: Events have different outcomes depending on your actions. You may receive a positive outcome or a negative outcome.>
<You can also hesitate and put off a decision, or ignore the event entirely. But every action will come with a cost.>
So running away isn't always the best option.
"What happens if we kill someone whose anomaly hasn't progressed yet?"
I asked Yu-ri.
The man was still staggering like a zombie, slowly approaching us.
"...Everything that happens here will be silenced. But still..."
Yu-ri looked reluctant to kill the man.
I felt the same way.
If we could resolve this without killing him, that would be best.
But is it really possible to force the pill into that man's mouth?
We may be exorcists, but we're both women, and he's a sturdy man.
We'd clearly be at a disadvantage in strength.
"I can't miss the last train, I say!"
And the price of hesitation appeared immediately.
The man's eyes glowed red, and he charged toward us.
I adjusted my grip on the sword.
I can't cut him, but I can strike with the flat of the blade and knock him out.
He was unarmed, and I was holding a long Japanese sword—there was no threat.
As I showed intent to fight, another system message appeared.
<Combat Phase>
[Attack]
[Defend]
[Sword Technique]
[Enhancement Spell]
[Escape]
Commands like an RPG appeared before me.
But time didn't stop, and a time gauge appeared below the options.
I chose Defend and raised my sword.
Then, as if my body already knew swordsmanship, it moved naturally, tripping the charging man and leaping back to create distance.
Meanwhile, Yu-ri used her spell.
Ropes appeared in midair, wrapping around the man's body and immobilizing him.
"Phew, Owner-nim, I thought you were really going to kill him for a second there."
Yu-ri wiped her brow with a surprised expression and tossed a pill into the man's mouth.
The man seemed to writhe in pain for a moment, then went still.
When he blinked and opened his eyes again, they had returned to normal human eyes.
"Uh, wh-where am I?"
He looked around and at us, like someone waking from a long dream.
"Who are you people?"
He seemed a bit flustered by mine and Yu-ri's outfits. Though they were based on modern clothes, they were adorned with talismans and exorcism accessories—probably looking like cosplay.
"I don't feel like explaining. Go up those stairs over there."
I pointed to the stairs we had come down.
The man looked dumbfounded for a moment, then realized something strange about the air around him and nodded.
He hurriedly ran toward the stairs.
I was staring at his back when an announcement rang out.
<The last train will arrive shortly. All passengers in the station, please board the train.>
The announcement echoed through the station.
Looking at the clock on the wall, it was already past 2 AM.
It wasn't time for the subway to be running.
It was clearly an anomaly, but I couldn't ignore it.
Clearing that last train was probably the condition for clearing this dungeon.
As soon as the announcement ended, the sound of a subway train arriving was heard, and several passengers began to appear in the concourse.
"Those... aren't human."
I felt a strange aura from those passengers.
Different from the missing person earlier.
"Yes. Those people... are beyond saving."
People who had become part of the anomaly.
But if we dawdle, we'll end up like that too.
The passengers were clearly looking at us and approaching.
There weren't many of them, but they surrounded us from all sides.
"Get on the last train."
"Get on the last train."
They approached, murmuring like zombies.
"Shut up. We'll get on ourselves."
I held my sword firmly and struck the first person to approach.
I felt a bit of reluctance about hitting a person, but my body moved first in response to the killing intent they emitted.
"Kyaaah!"
The man struck by the sword writhed in pain, then vanished like smoke without a trace.
These aren't humans.
They're merely part of this anomaly—condensed masses of magical energy given form as vengeful spirits.
I moved briskly and struck down a few more.
They were bare-handed and slow.
They seemed no threat at all.
<Reinforcements: Crowd of Passengers>
But whenever I thought I'd almost wiped them out, a new group of passengers would appear.
<Tutorial>
And a new tutorial message appeared.
I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the new message.
<Tutorial: Some enemies will attempt restraint attacks and sexual attacks.>