Chapter 18

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 18

Chapter Title: Melting Shampoo (7)

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About ten minutes had passed since I'd left the hair soaked in Melting Shampoo in front of the front door.

Beep-beep.

The sound of something punching in the code on the front door lock echoed through.

'It's here.'

Just like the community users had guessed.

The hacker monster really seemed to have sniffed out the Melting Shampoo and come hunting its prey—it was starting to unlock the door.

I'd already lit a candle using the gas stove and held it out front, ready with insecticide from this world.

'...Open it.'

Just in case, I'd hidden behind the bed positioned in front of the front door shoe cabinet. Now holding my breath entirely, I finished prepping my makeshift flamethrower.

Beep-beep.

The monster finished inputting the full password...

Kiiik—

And slowly began opening the front door.

'Fuck fuck fuck fuck...'

I'd steeled my mind as best I could, but the moment reality hit...

Only curses spilled out.

Because...

The monster visible beyond the front door had an utterly grotesque appearance.

I simply couldn't overcome the instinctive revulsion and terror wrapping around my entire body.

'Does... something like that even belong in this world...?'

To put it simply... it was like this.

It moved on six legs sprouting from its torso, like some quadrupedal—no, hexapedal—animal.

The foremost pair of legs were slightly longer than the others' toes, almost like hands.

The creature was the size of a wolf, an enlarged insect covered in skin with a texture eerily similar to human flesh...

It had a face atop its body, sure—but twice the size of a normal human's, with only two massive holes that could have been eyes, ears, or nostrils.

"..."

I was frozen solid, just like the saying goes.

I'd seen countless monsters in the Bellierd Library, but...

Gazing at this thing—like a human that had evolved into an insect—the terror hit me that I could end up like that too.

Sususuk...

"..!!"

The monster, which was supposed to be unable to enter homes, slipped naturally inside the front door.

Chiiiiiik—

I snapped my mind back into focus and immediately started spraying insecticide, candle held out front.

'Die...! Die...!!'

Fire—humanity's oldest weapon, one of the most powerful.

Using that fire on the monster... the monster...

Chiiiiiik—

"..."

The monster was shoving its face into the hair soaked with Melting Shampoo.

Exposing what looked like human skin all over its naked body.

The flames touched it, and the skin charred black instantly...

'Fucking... hell...'

But the Six-Legged Monster acted like it was nothing, jamming the holes on its face toward the Melting Shampoo-soaked hair.

'Fire... fire... doesn't work...?'

Fire didn't work.

My strongest weapon didn't faze it...

The moment I realized that, bottomless helplessness overtook my mind.

"..."

I stopped spraying the insecticide.

Could only stare blankly down at the monster.

'Me... ...why am I doing this?'

I didn't want to die.

I wasn't dumb enough to just stand there.

But...

Once my will cracked, it turned me into a helpless loser who couldn't do a thing.

'Snap out of it... this... this... mental attack... it's a mental attack...'

Realizing I was under mental attack, I reached out to resume the flamethrower—

Chiiiiiik—

"..Ah."

Mental disorientation sapped my strength—I'd unknowingly lowered the candle.

Now I was just spraying plain insecticide at the monster, no flames...

"..Huh?"

Kikikikikikik—

The monster suddenly let out a bizarre screech. Startled, I looked closer.

The spot hit by insecticide was melting away.

'...It doesn't just look like a bug— it is a bug?'

Of course, insecticide doesn't actually melt bugs to kill them.

But seeing the monster dissolve from it felt ridiculous.

'...Scared for nothing.'

As its flesh melted, it spilled what looked like innards and died.

For a fleeting moment, the horrific thought crossed my mind that its organs resembled a human's.

'Whoa... freaking...'

The instant it died, my listlessness vanished—I felt normal again.

'Mental attack confirmed.'

I realized it had used a mental attack.

But.

'Still... better than in the Bellierd Library.'

The mental attack from the Crying Monster back in the Bellierd Library.

And this one from the Six-Legged Monster—they felt similar, but something was off.

'...What's different between then and now?'

What made me then and me now different enough to resist?

In the Library... I'd lost control of my body instantly. Why could I fight it off here?

If I had to pinpoint the difference... Sanity.

Unlike my Sanity in the Bellierd Library, which had rarely climbed above 20.

Mine now... a solid 81.

In other words, the higher Sanity, the better I could resist monster mental attacks.

'Gotta keep it maxed out always.'

I finally got why community folks craved Sanity-boosting items so badly.

Anyway...

'...Got lucky.'

Nothing else to say.

Could monsters that can't enter homes still slip inside up to the entryway?

Or did the Melting Shampoo scent let it in?

Or was the info bogus...

Either way, if it'd ignored the hair and targeted me right after entering...

It could've turned into a real nightmare, no?

'...Moron.'

Did it prioritize wiping out anything soaked in Melting Shampoo?

Or no eyes, just smell-hunting?

Whatever—mocked the idiot that offed itself with its own mental attack via pure insecticide.

'Time for Experiment Log #2.'

Got my test subject. Time to write up Experiment Log #2 for all the folks waiting on me.

The comments exploded not even five minutes after posting.

Reading them, I felt a bit proud... ...Huh? Who's this freak? What's wrong with him?

...Why'd that guy die?

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