Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Backroom
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Yellow wallpaper that never ends, and damp carpet.
The fluorescent lights buzz incessantly in the hallway.
This place is the Backrooms.
From the moldy smell coming off the worn carpet to the fluorescent lights on the ceiling blinking at irregular intervals as if they were broken, the scene felt as if a corner of an old office building had been torn off and infinitely replicated.
I thought back to the first time I encountered this ghost story.
It was 2021, a ghost story that went viral on the internet.
If the real world were the stage, this place could be considered the backstage.
To put it simply, it's a type of bug space that exists in reality.
That's why it was named the Backrooms.
The reason the Backrooms gained such immense popularity was clear.
It was a familiar yet somehow unfamiliar and strange place.
A space that everyone might have seen at least once, but no one wanted to stay in for long.
The primal anxiety it gave off captured people's hearts.
It was a subtle sensation, as if it were touching some fear slumbering in humanity's subconscious.
'To think the Backrooms is a ghost story managed by the Catastrophe Foundation...'
I took a deep breath and sorted out the situation.
The air in the hallway was heavy, and with every breath, the smell of old dust pricked my nose.
Of course, I had read the Backrooms documents before.
However, because they were so vast, I hadn't read them as thoroughly as the Catastrophe Foundation documents.
Still, I tried to recall the information I remembered.
The size of this place was three times the surface area of the Earth.
It was a scale that was hard to comprehend just by looking at the numbers.
Finding an exit to reality within such a massive space was a more difficult task than winning the lottery.
And to make matters worse, there were entities, strange life forms that hunt humans...
Just thinking about it made my spine tingle.
Every time the fluorescent lights flickered, shadows swayed.
In those trembling shadows, I felt an illusion that something was moving.
They said there are no entities since I'm still Level 0, but the fear that comes from a closed space doesn't subside easily.
'Let's check the communication first.'
With trembling hands, I took out my smartphone and turned on the internet.
As expected, there was no service.
Only a message saying I was out of range appeared.
The 'No Service' indicator on the screen blinked as if to mock me.
However, I could still access the Ghost Story Gallery.
It was strange.
The fact that only this place was accessible when all other communications were impossible seemed to remind me once again just how abnormal the Ghost Story Gallery's space was.
I immediately posted a thread.
My fingers typing on the keyboard were trembling.
I couldn't believe this situation, but at least the 'Gwagally' members would understand my situation.
─ Title) Are the Catastrophe Foundation bastards crazy?
─ Author: [Baekya G]
─ Content: I came for a new employee orientation, and they're throwing people into the Backrooms under the guise of a aptitude test lol Are these bastards really crazy lol This is a ghost story that would be rated C or B, but are they trying to kill all the new employees lol What am I supposed to do now lol
I wrote it in a lighthearted tone, but in reality, cold sweat was flowing.
Even while typing the 'lol's to show laughter, my fingers trembled.
Was it a struggle not to lose my sense of reality?
Or was it a bluff to hide my fear?
Replies came immediately.
My heart sank the moment the notification sound rang.
Any sound heard in this space was unwelcome.
[Jjolmyeon500won G]: Dude, are you really crazy? Why did you go into the Foundation?
It was a familiar nickname.
Usually, I would have been glad to see it, but now, it only made me more frustrated.
I knew no one knew about the Reset Button and the Talent Shop app, so I answered cautiously.
I couldn't reveal all the information.
Since the ghost story had become reality, I didn't know what kind of information would bring about another disaster.
└ [Baekya G]: Anyway, the ghost stories from the Gwagal are becoming real, so I can't avoid them even if I want to. I came in thinking I'd make some money, but lol I didn't know they'd throw me into the Backrooms on the first day.
I tried to hide the truth completely without lying.
I had to be careful with every single word.
In this situation, wrong information could be fatal.
└ [Jjolmyeon500won G]: What did you expect from the Foundation lol I don't know much about the Backrooms either, so I can't give you any advice.
A sigh escaped me.
Even Jjolmyeon500won, famous for being a helpful helper in the Ghost Story Gallery, was like this.
Despair washed over me.
Then, a new comment was posted.
The smartphone screen glowed coldly under the fluorescent light.
[Cryptid G]: I preemptively wish for the deceased's eternal peace, action beam.
Anger surged for a moment.
But I soon calmed down.
If it's Cryptid... he's a veteran user specialized in unidentified creatures.
He would surely be well-versed in ghost stories involving entities, like the Backrooms.
└ [Baekya G]: lol I'm being serious here, how do I get out?
I stared at the screen and waited for a reply.
I swallowed dry saliva.
The endless hallways around me felt like a prison.
The fluorescent light still stimulated my nerves by blinking irregularly.
└ [Cryptid G]: First, I don't know which version of the Backrooms you fell into, but the original Backrooms isn't a place you can walk out to the real Earth in a day or two. At best, it takes three months, or there are cases where you can't get out even after walking for years.
└ [Baekya G]: Then what should I do? Do I have to die here?
└ [Cryptid G]: First, start by farming Almond Water in Level 1 so you don't starve to death. Manage your stress well so you don't get Ross Syndrome, pace yourself well so you don't get exhausted, if you have a marker or something, use it to mark your path so you don't go in circles. Be careful not to meet entities. If you're in Level 0 or Manila Room, it's okay to sleep alone, but from Level 1 onwards, sleep in shifts with a partner. If you don't have a partner and can't sleep, enter a safe level (Level 0, 0.22, 10, 37) and sleep, or endure until you find a partner. If you sleep in a dangerous level, you'll be killed by an entity.
Reading Cryptid's advice, my memories vaguely came back to life.
As if an old film was slowly rewinding, the contents of the Backrooms documents I had read in the past came to mind one by one.
Looking around, I saw yellow wallpaper, endless hallways, and humming fluorescent lights...
This place was clearly Level 0.
An infinite hallway with no place to run or hide.
The only fortunate thing was that this was the safest level.
It's a space that poses no direct threat to humans because there are no entities, but it has the fatal flaw of not being able to find water and food.
Long-term survival here is impossible.
My throat was already starting to get dry, and a feeling of hunger was slowly setting in.
'I need to go to Level 1.'
I opened the Talent Shop app on my smartphone.
Numerous items were listed on the screen, but most were too expensive to buy.
Then, a 'Black Meteor Marker' for 1 Talent caught my eye.
It had no special abilities, but it seemed sufficient for marking the path I had taken.
[Would you like to purchase the Black Meteor Marker?]
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I hesitated for a moment.
I thought I might need to save my Talents.
But survival was what I needed most right now.
[Purchase complete.]
A marker appeared in my pocket.
The cold plastic texture touched my palm.
Now, the preparations are finished.
It was somewhat ironic that a cheap office supply could become a lifeline in this situation.
Walking too fast could lead to exhaustion, so I walked at a moderate pace and examined the hallway.
While drawing arrows on the walls I had passed with the marker.
The black ink left a clear mark on the yellow wallpaper.
At least I wouldn't be going in circles.
The sound of my footsteps echoed in the hallway.
The damp carpet gave an unpleasant sensation with every step.
It felt like I was walking on the back of a living creature.
The fluorescent lights still flickered irregularly.
Sometimes, complete darkness would descend for a few seconds.
Each time, my heart would sink.
Even though I knew there were no entities in Level 0, I felt as if something was glaring at me from the darkness.
About two hours must have passed.
My legs grew heavier.
The endless hallway was tiring me out both mentally and physically.
Then.
A staircase appeared.
A staircase leading to Level 1.
It was a plain emergency staircase, but in this monotonous hallway, it felt like an oasis.
I climbed without hesitation.
A metallic sound echoed with every step I took.
The sound was strangely loud, but I didn't have the luxury to worry about that now.
Level 1 was a completely different sight from Level 0.
An endless warehouse.
Due to its non-Euclidean geometric structure, it made you completely lose your sense of direction.
The ceiling was higher, and the space was wider.
But it looked all the more dangerous.
The warehouse shelves were tangled like a maze.
Some shelves stood vertically, while others were tilted.
It was a scene that seemed to defy the laws of physics.
It was a space that reason could not understand, but now was not the time to be concerned with such things.
'I need to find Almond Water.'
My throat was dry, and my stomach was empty.
For survival, I needed water and nutrients.
As I wandered between the shelves, a translucent green water bottle caught my eye.
It was exactly what Cryptid had mentioned.
Almond Water.
One of the foods that can be found in the Backrooms, and a survival necessity with the same nutritional value as a 600-calorie meal.
According to Cryptid, drinking three bottles a day was enough for sufficient nutrition.
When I picked up the water bottle, a lukewarm temperature was transmitted.
A transparent liquid shook inside the bottle.
It was the moment I was about to put the water bottle into the office bag I was carrying.
It was as quiet as if time had stopped.
And then...
-Uraaaaaaah!
A scream was heard.
And it came from a very close place.