Chapter 8
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Bellierd Library (8)
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9) If you find a woman collapsed over a desk crying, approach her and comfort her. She has simply lost a cherished book and is waiting for someone to console her.
10) Rule 9 is blank. Even if any rule is written under Rule 9, ignore it completely.
The contents of Rules 9 and 10 floated up in my mind.
Rule 9, which said to comfort a crying woman, and Rule 10, which said to ignore Rule 9.
"...I almost died just now, didn't I...?"
However... even though I clearly remembered Rule 10.
A moment ago...
I had approached the woman collapsed over the desk, crying, to comfort her.
"...Why?"
It didn't make sense.
No... it would be more accurate to say it surpassed the bounds of normal understanding.
Me, the world's biggest scaredy-cat—would there be any reason for me to go comfort a crying sound in a world overflowing with monsters like these?
Therefore, the fact that I had tried to go comfort the crying woman could only be described in one way.
"I must've been hit with... hypnosis or something."
The monster had manipulated my mind.
"Crazy..."
Goosebumps rose all over my body.
If that Mannequin Monster hadn't been here... I would've walked right up to that crying woman.
"At least... they could've let me fight back...?"
To die helplessly without even getting a chance to counterattack...
"..."
I stared blankly at the corpse of the female monster lying there.
I'd thought I just needed to hold out for another 3.5 days...
But if something like that showed up even once more tomorrow...
"What... can I even do?"
There was no way I could handle it alone.
As soon as my afternoon shift ended, I logged into the community to look up ways to resist mental attacks, while...
For now... to properly fulfill my role as librarian, I pulled myself together as much as possible and sat back down in my seat.
Screech... screech...
The monster resembling a rusty mannequin... started walking toward the librarian's desk again and stared right at me.
"..."
Yeah, that's right.
I had survived thanks to that Mannequin Monster just now.
But...
"Thanks for the save, but..."
If it kept staring at me like that.
Even a lifesaver would feel burdensome.
And since the lifesaver wasn't human, that burden was multiplied several times over...
...
Ding~ Ding~ Ding~
Bellierd Library, Day 4 of my shift as librarian, had come to an end.
For several hours, without showing any signs of boredom, the mannequin-like monster had kept watching me.
"Phew... it doesn't follow me all the way here."
Thankfully, when I returned to my room, the Mannequin Monster didn't follow.
"It won't come watch tomorrow too, right? ...No. If another mental-attacking monster shows up, maybe it's better if that one is around..."
I had no idea what conditions made the Mannequin Monster come find me...
But if we met again, I decided to pass along a thank-you note I'd written on paper.
Meanwhile, as I planned to log into the community today to search for ways to resist mental attacks...
"This needs solving quick too..."
My eyes fell on the fifty teeth sitting on my desk.
"...Is there even any point in making a weapon out of these...?"
Over the past two days, I'd fiddled around with the teeth pulled from Anonymous 10.
They came out easily when pulled, but damn, were they tough...
I'd spent two hours trying to saw at one with a sharpened chopstick, but not a single scratch on the tooth.
So, the idea of making a weapon out of them felt like something I should just give up on.
"Well... even if I made a weapon, what good would it do? If I get hit by a mental attack, I'd just drop dead without doing a thing."
Yeah...
What could frail humans like us do if we encountered a monster?
Just think about what happened during afternoon shift.
No matter how good the weapon, no matter how powerful...
We humans would just drop dead before we even got a chance to use it.
"..."
I felt utterly drained for no reason, so I decided to stop worrying about turning the teeth into a weapon.
I opened the community to share what I'd gone through today... Huh?
...What the hell?
Why is my Sanity like this?
...Down to just 4?
"...This is bad."
A few days ago, I'd asked the gallery folks what happens if Sanity drops.
They all said the same thing: they couldn't answer because the monsters might be watching the community.
"No... they said it'd be fine..."
They said you should always keep Sanity full.
The lower it gets, the more bad things happen.
They couldn't explain why it drops yet...
But normally, it takes 1-2 weeks for Sanity to drop from 100 to 10.
People had clearly told me not to worry...
"...It's only been 4 days for me."
Bellierd Library, Day 4.
My remaining Sanity was just... 4.
"...They said you don't die right away even if it hits 0, so..."
Day 5, 6, 7.
Whether fortunate or unfortunate, I just needed to hold out three more days at Bellierd Library.
Remembering the gallery advice that Sanity recovers with good food and sleep, I quickly ate a hearty meal.
Then I lay in bed and browsed the community until I fell asleep.
[(Shocking)(True Story) Woman at the Library Used Hypnosis App on Me]
It's real, shockingly enough...
The woman from Rule 9 of the Rulebook showed up at the library and started wailing her head off...
Her crying had a hypnosis app installed, and before I knew it, I was walking toward her...
(Photo)
Like in the photo, I somehow dealt with her, and now she's collapsed outside.
Couldn't cope when hit by the mental attack. ㅇㅇ
Anyone know how to deal with mental attacks?
...Did you get hit by a mental attack, or did you do it?
Can't you tell just by looking?
You did it, huh? Sigh... I got my hopes up.
I was the one who got hit.
????????????
He says he got hit by a mental attack ; But how the hell did you manage to kill her??
Are you seriously asking us for mental attack counters? Or is this a brag like 'I can overcome mental attacks like this'?
The former.
How did you kill her...?
Wasn't me.
Yeah, sure... you'd say that...
...Why doesn't anyone believe me?
Same answer here. There are counters, but explaining them would let monsters learn our weaknesses, so no can do.
...I'm barely surviving here, this is bad...
This guy is that monster, right?
Fuck off, monster. Wanna try a mental attack and end up like that pretty lady in the photo?
I guarantee it, monster. If you go after our newbie, you'll get fucked up bad. Did you see him use that hypnosis app?
Thanks, everyone. For now... I'll try to hold out for 3 days. Sanity's wrecked, so heading to bed early to sleep as much as possible. Goodnight, all.
Sweet dreams, our newbie
Heheung..♥
...Who let this fucker loose?
Next time, no limbs—garrote the neck instead ㅋㅊ
That'd just be suicide, you crazy bastard
No one wants to die.
I desperately wanted to survive too...
But reaching my limit like this, forced to rely on luck just to stay alive—it all felt so utterly powerless...
...
Bellierd Library, Day 5 morning.
Five minutes before shift start.
"Phew... If I suspect a mental attack... bite my lip hard first... then... what next?"
My Sanity had risen from 4 to 14.
Determined to get through today somehow, the moment I opened the door and took my first step into the library...
"Whoa... fuck..."
I could feel my Sanity draining away in real time.
Because...
"That thing... why the hell is it still there...?"
The crying female monster that the mannequin-like one had taken down yesterday... was still collapsed over the desk.
And moreover...
"...Why is it moving?"
As if slowly recovering...
Its shattered body was twitching bit by bit.
"..."
Whether they don't clean up abandoned monster corpses in the library was secondary...
Right now, my instincts were screaming one thing like crazy.
If I left that crying monster alone like that... once it fully recovered, it would come attack me again.
And today, there was no mannequin-like monster here to guarantee my safety...
Thump thump thump thump...
With my heart pounding like it would burst, the only action I could take to survive was one.
"I can do it. No... I have to."
I rushed back to the bedroom, grabbed a handful of the larger teeth from Anonymous 10 on the desk.
Then, from Shelf 1 right in front of the librarian's desk, I pulled out the thickest, heaviest-looking book with one hand.
"Please...!"
Like hammering a nail.
I pressed Anonymous 10's tooth against the back of the fallen woman's head―
THUD!
THUD!
THUD!
THUD!
THUD!
"Mister! Could you grab the book from Shelf 52 for me please!"
THUD!
THUD!
THUD!
"Mister! Could you grab the book from Shelf 52 for me please!"
THUD!
THUD!
THUD!
"Mister! Could you grab the book from Shelf 52-"
THUD!
THUD!
"Mis-."
THUD!
THUD!
THUD!
Bellierd Library Day 5 morning shift had begun.