Chapter 5
Chapter 5
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Gyeonggi Gwangju Station Horror (3)
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Now, the moment I step off the elevator and board the train, the horror should be neutralized, just as I predicted.
Its name is the Gyeonggi Gwangju Station Horror.
It claims the station itself as its domain.
That explains why the current and next stops kept repeating as Gyeonggi Gwangju Station inside the train.
Its range of activity ends there.
It might look like a god, but it's just a grotesque imitating a god with clear limits.
The grotesque's schemes didn't end just because I got off the elevator.
Sounds echoed through the station.
Soon, a subway train pulled in.
"It's over now."
A hollow laugh escaped me as I watched the incoming train.
This wasn't even worth calling a trap.
That was proof of how desperate it had become.
But I, who had passed through this station hundreds of times on my commute, wouldn't fall for it.
"...Trains to Pangyo come from the left, not the right."
I waited without boarding.
The doors stood wide open. The lights flickered.
Before long, the doors closed, and the train departed.
Shortly after the train left, the next one arrived.
This time, it came straight in from the left, not the right.
As if it were the exit now.
Bright lights.
The usual chaotic atmosphere inside the subway.
But no.
The reason I was so certain.
I'd already fallen for it once.
This was my third loop getting on the elevator and making it here.
Boarding time.
That was the only way to tell if the train was real or fake.
I looked up at the digital display.
[Pangyo Direction]
Subway [19:35]
Subway [19:58]
Subway [20:21]
No matter how many layers of deception the horror wove, it couldn't touch that timetable.
A subway with no rules, arriving randomly, could never become a rule.
The moment you board as soon as a train arrives, you fall into its trap.
"..."
How many times did trains come and go after that?
Time was running out.
I pulled out my phone from my pocket and checked only the time.
[19:35].
Dozens of notifications had piled up, but I had no time to look.
I turned to Sera, who was eyeing the train suspiciously, and held out my hand.
"Let's go."
"Ah! Alpha! If you board like that! This could be a trap too! We should observe more and take the next train—"
"By any chance, do you live in Seoul?"
"...How did you know?"
"Because this is Gyeonggi Gwangju Station in a development district. Trains don't come every few minutes like in the city. The interval is about 20 minutes."
"Really? That doesn't make sense! At that rate, it'd be better to just take the bus!"
This is why Seoulites.
I clicked my tongue softly.
"So. Missing this train here means being exposed for the next 20 minutes or so, with no idea what threat might come."
I said that, but.
I already knew what the danger was from experience.
In the previous loop, I ignored the timetable for her sake.
Shortly after the train left, everyone in the station rushed at us.
The answer was getting crushed.
Buried in the crowd, we died.
Her hesitant voice came.
"But..."
I grabbed her hand, pulled her along, and met her eyes.
"Trust me just this once."
[The train to Pangyo will now depart.]
The announcement ended, and the train doors closed.
And in the station, there was no one left standing.
Kim Sera, looking out the window from inside the train, spoke up.
"...Weird. I feel like I've seen you several times before, Alpha. I'm not usually the type to trust strangers so easily."
"Is that so."
The train pulled away from Gyeonggi Gwangju Station.
The scenery was changing.
Finally, this damn space was ending.
Soon, the announcement flowed into my ears.
[The next stop is Imae. Imae Station.]
Cleared.
Ding!
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[Gyeonggi Gwangju Station Horror]
[Progress] : 99%
[Rulebook – Gyeonggi Gwangju Station Horror]
Rule 1. Perception Distortion
1-1. The moment you enter the station, perception distortion occurs for everyone.
1-2. Everything that happens inside the station appears as natural, everyday occurrences.
1-3. When perceiving this, never let on that you're seeing or knowing something different alone.
1-4. Violating this will immediately assimilate you into the horror.
Rule 2. Bench Next to the Gates
2-1. Do not look at the people next to the gates.
2-2. The bench induces the delusion of an 'empty seat' even when there are none.
2-3. The impulse is extremely strong and confirmed impossible to resist even under drug (Antigen) administration.
2-4. The instant you recognize the empty seat delusion, look away immediately.
2-5. Sitting down assimilates you into the horror.
Rule 3. Announcements and Exits
3-1. Do not lose judgment to the announcements. They create urgency and illusions in people.
3-2. There are only two exits. The third does not exist.
3-3. Remember the building's structure. This is a two-story subway station. There is no basement.
3-4. If led by delusion to go down with the crowd, never board.
3-5. That boarding leads straight to 'assimilation.' Better to meet death as a human.
Rule 4. Means of Movement
4-1. Do not use the stairs. They connect to the 'wrong floor,' and once down, you can never return.
4-2. Always use the elevator. However, do not stare into the elevator mirror. If 'yourself' is even 1 second late, abandon boarding immediately.
4-3. The moment your eyes meet the being in the mirror, the horror synchronizes with reality.
Rule 5. Digital Display Timetable
5-1. Only board trains matching the digital display time.
5-2. Randomly arriving trains not matching the time are fakes.
5-3. Boarding a fake train incorporates you into the horror.
5-4. If the clock blurs or stops, your choice is already gone.
Rule 6. Subway Direction
6-1. Pangyo-direction trains come from the 'left.' Those from the right are fakes.
6-2. Wrong-direction trains look like 'exits,' but inside is a inescapable closed loop.
6-3. Even if direction is correct, if it doesn't match the timetable, it's a trap. Board only when both conditions are met.
[Rulebook Update Complete]
[Current Rule Count: 6]
[Discovered 5, Undiscovered 1 (Hint: Mirror)]
[Level Adjustment: Caution → Danger]
[Next Phase Progression Conditions Met]
[You have successfully neutralized the Gyeonggi Gwangju Station Horror.]
[First Clear Bonus: 100 Horror Coins awarded.]
[Initial Clear Bonus: 100 Horror Coins awarded.]
[99% Progress Bonus: 99 Horror Coins awarded.]
*Horror Coins can be used in the Horror Shop.
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***
Anomalous Tale Gallery Victims Community.
A gathering of people reincarnated into a sort of horror dark fantasy.
Though reborn in different places, they shared one thing.
Information.
That was why the Anomalous Gallery was more active than other isekai or safepunk galleries.
Here, information held higher value than any other world.
Higher than human lives.
That was why this horror gallery had one special rule.
Whether the victim wanted it or not.
The moment they encountered a horror, victims couldn't turn off [Broadcast Transmission].
Even if the victim died, that information still reached the Anomalous Gallery.
So when word spread that a newbie had encountered the 'Gyeonggi Gwangju Station Horror,' most users online took notice.
The Gyeonggi Gwangju Station Horror had never been neutralized even once.
It was infamous even within the Anomalous Gallery.
That drew in even the named users who usually sat on their heavy asses without moving.
[Broadcasting][Code: Newb120053]
[Dark Merchant] : Oh, it's a real newbie lololol
[Thigh Grandpa] : The problem is, even if the gallery opens when you encounter a horror, you won't know unless you check your phone.
[Shallow Here] : lmaoooooo newbie life over reserved.
[Cucumber Candy] : Isn't that just a clean death zone?
[Real Tears] : Never thought I'd see someone going there live;;
[Happy Storage] : How's a newbie gonna clear that? Just gonna end up a meat pie lol wasting time, I'm out.
[LOL Guy] : Looking forward to it.
[Taste of Collapse] : Ah... another one gone like this. Should've been at least Caution level. What 2-phase bs.
[Spectator No.1] : Newbie dying right away. Title's epic—legendary footage reserved fr
[Kyarru is Truth] : Funny? Coin toss lol
They watched the investigation unfold.
At first, they were just spectators pitying and watching a soon-to-die newbie.
But...
[Dark Merchant] : ...What. This a newbie?
[Frozen Tuna] : Wow, I was bawling and begging to live back then lol luckily agents came and saved me;;
[Ramen Broth] : ??? Rigged?
[Hopeless Life] : Some film a survival doc to live, others shoot a solo blockbuster?
[Nuclear Nonsense] : Got chills rn ㄷㄷ Mirror moved 1 sec late just now, luck? Fck no. Never looking. Pass.
The newbie on the broadcast was different.
Gone was the unemployed slacker vibe from the start of the broadcast.
Expert insight into the grotesque.
"I think we should stop there."
Unyielding eyes, unswayed by illusions.
"There is no exit here."
A brain that pierced the grotesque's schemes head-on.
"Recall the building structure once."
[Crazy Woman] : Insane;;;;;
[Tteokbokki Gukbap] : Acting? How's this a newbie? Then what am I!!!
[Flounder] : Didn't expect that feint there fr;
[Not Human] : I'd have shat myself and passed out.
[Rumor Mill] : This is total legend territory;;
[Certifier] : Yo screenshot and preserve this lol new newbie standard is this now.
[Yeah Lol] : So I'm not even a newbie then!
[Devil Artisan] : Fr no newbie that calm.
['Human Centipede' donated 3 coins.]
['One Punch Cut' donated 5 coins.]
['Future SCP' donated 5 coins.]
It was beyond calling them a newbie just starting out in god horrors.
As if.
They acted without hesitation, like they'd encountered and known it beforehand. It was awe-inspiring.
A battle-hardened veteran.
No. Beyond that.
[Veteran84] : One word as a horror veteran.
[Veteran84] : ...I couldn't do that either.
[If I Don't Get It I Cry Cat] : Nyaongnyaongnyaongnyaongnyaong
Soon, the two rode the elevator up to the second-floor station.
The man never panicked until the end.
With small hints and intuition, he dismantled everything piece by piece.
The crumbling world.
The broadcast ended with the train pulling away from Gyeonggi Gwangju Station.
Throughout it all, the newbie's expression never wavered once.
No relief, no joy.
Just appropriate tension and observation of surroundings.
[Hell Hurts] : ...That guy's a grotesque, right?
[Eyeball20Years] : Fr doesn't seem human;;;
[Zero Calorie Intuition Knife] : Gotta admit what's good though. God-tier newbie entry real? ID creation time's under an hour.
[Like Fairy] : Liking and dipping.
[Serious Junkie] : First in Anomalous Gallery history... Gyeonggi Gwangju Station Horror neutralized...
The final comment captured every user's thoughts.
Impressions of it all.
[Baby Junk Food] : How's that a newbie..?
Soon, a post went up in the Anomalous Gallery.
[Title: Roughly like this?]
-Poster: Serious Junkie
...lol
[Likes 521][Dislikes 42]
[Veteran84] : ...Fck. Turns out I was the newbie.