Chapter 90
Chapter 90
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 90
Chapter Title: Instant Maze Horror Tale - Rules (2)
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I recalled what the middle-aged man had said earlier in the auditorium.
—Instant Maze Horror Tale
—Anomalous Phenomenon Foundation
Among the people in the auditorium at that time, there were several wearing badges of a different design.
They were different from the insignias marking agents of the Urban Legend Management Agency.
That must be the organization the information junkie had mentioned during the last casino anomaly.
Another institution besides the Urban Legend Management Agency.
The Anomalous Phenomenon Foundation.
At that moment, the fluorescent lights overhead buzzed—whirring.
The light flickered at regular intervals, intermittently cutting off my vision.
An endless office space.
I could see identical fluorescent lights hanging from the ceiling at regular intervals as well.
Aside from a brief walk after first transferring into this space, I'd been standing in place for a while now.
The fluorescent light at my initial position had already gone out.
I'd realized that the light turned off if you stayed still for a certain time or moved a certain distance away.
Even now, the light at my position was flickering faster and faster.
The rhythm was unstable.
As if signaling, "You need to move."
The conditions were—
"Time... and distance, huh."
If I stayed like this any longer, this spot would probably turn pitch black.
And that didn't feel like a smart choice.
I moved right away.
My footsteps echoed along the hard corridor.
But the sound was quickly swallowed by the low electronic hum and fan noise unique to office spaces.
I hadn't looked closely earlier.
This time, I observed my surroundings more carefully.
I approached a nearby desk.
On it, someone's "daily life" remained intact, as if frozen in time.
An open pen lay on the table.
The tip still held dried ink, retaining its color.
Beside it were a few sheets of open documents.
The name field on the documents was blank.
Only the title and content were visible.
Even that—
Title: ‘App■ ■ ■ ■ lication for ■ ■ ■ ■’
Anomal■ ■ Foun■ ■ ■ Inci■ ■ Dea■ ■ ■ ■th Appl■ ■ ■ ■ ■ To tha■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ No■ ■ ■ Even ■ ■ ■ ■ Requ■ ■ ■ es ■ ■ ■ Plea■ ■ ■ se ■ ■ ■
Almost no recognizable letters.
They were blurred as if contaminated by something, turned into black blocks.
When I picked up the document, the edges felt subtly damp.
The sensation on my fingertips was closer to old sweat stains than water droplets.
Beside it was a mug.
The cup still held coffee with lingering warmth, a thin film of foam on the surface.
I leaned in closer and brushed my fingertip across the table.
Pausing, I rubbed my fingertips together.
A faint texture transferred between them.
It was clean.
No dust that would naturally accumulate over a long time.
The sense of déjà vu grew stronger.
Under the flickering light, I unconsciously took a shallow breath.
"More importantly... how far does this place go?"
For now, I thought about escape.
The agent in the auditorium had told the new recruits to find the correct exit.
But I had no idea what that "correct exit" meant.
He'd talked as if there was a time limit.
But he hadn't mentioned when the test started or ended.
It could be in an hour.
Or maybe a week from now.
I glanced at the broadcast window.
Hoping for even a scrap of info.
[Parcheonal] : I knew those Foundation bastards were up to shady shit... but this? Never imagined it.
[Flounder] : Artificial anomaly? Was that even possible?
[Dark Merchant] : Not technically impossible. A level 2 clearance report said it's feasible to simulate and implement human negative memories, emotions, reactions. In theory, at least.
[Devil Artisan] : I've heard of that too. A couple years back? They said they'd use that method to create mock anomalies beneficial to the Foundation.
Most reactions were shock.
The rest were negative.
[Narita] : This is fucked. Deliberately making anomalies? Enemies of humanity...
Still, the mood was one of restraint.
No one seemed to know the details.
Whether this was truly a "mock anomaly,"
Or if it had already mutated into a "real anomaly"—
I couldn't tell yet.
From then on, I continued exploring slowly.
A form of farming.
I opened drawers one by one, picking up anything useful.
Mostly checking under desks and in drawers.
The first desk yielded a half-eaten chocolate bar, about 3/4 left.
The second gave me a transparent water bottle, half full.
The next provided a few candies rolling around on the desk.
After walking for a while, my bag was about 1/10 filled with assorted foodstuffs.
Acquired: two chocolate bars, five candies, one bottle of water.
Visually, they all looked "edible."
Typical office snacks for a sugar boost.
But I didn't have the courage to eat any yet.
If this space had an "expiration date"—
How long had these been here?
Could I really eat them normally?
Still, I gathered them.
No harm in preparing.
No notable peculiarities so far.
The scenery stayed the same.
Endless repetition of partitions, copiers, desks.
I'd just grabbed a few more candies from the next desk and stood up when—
Far off, a faint light appeared.
In that instant, the air twisted subtly.
A deeper layer of silence settled.
The light remained in place.
Far away, as if "waiting."
The thought crossed my mind.
Maybe someone who entered this maze anomaly before me.
I had to check.
I immediately stopped what I'd been doing and turned toward it.
Mid-step, I halted my foot.
'Why am I heading that way?'
Because it might be friendly.
'How do you know it's friendly?'
Well, obviously. That's just how it is.
'After being cautious even about food?'
...That's different. This could be a person.
My thoughts tangled.
They knotted, gradually merging into one voice.
As if someone were whispering right by my ear.
"It's okay to go."
"You're fine."
While I hesitated.
It seemed to have spotted me and started approaching.
But—
Something was off.
The light flickered too fast.
The off-and-on speed...
Like someone charging straight toward me.
One flicker.
Two.
Three.
And the fourth.
The light rushed toward me, faster and faster.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud!
Vibrations from footsteps spread through the partitions.
Something was charging this way.
At impossible speed.
Racing full tilt toward me.
Of course it's coming happily—
...Bullshit.
My senses snapped awake.
Doubts flooded in like a storm.
'How the hell would I know if it's friendly or not?'
My brain quickly concluded.
'Because from the start, that thing wouldn't even distinguish between the two.'
I had no intention of fighting without intel on the opponent.
Conveniently, since I'd stopped to farm and stayed still for a bit.
The overhead fluorescent started flickering tick, tick.
The light weakened rapidly.
I stood motionless beneath it.
Just staying still.
Without a sound.
Breathing so faintly even my breath was inaudible.
Soon, the flickering light quietly went out.
And...
The light that had been racing toward me full speed—
The light that let me gauge its position—stopped dead the instant it went dark.
The air froze in that moment.
That's how it felt.
Silence.
Not a single breath.
My ears rang strangely, muffled.
Only my heartbeat slowly, rhythmically thudded through the space.
Time stretched.
One second passed, then another.
Staying in the dark too long wasn't good.
My senses were gradually dulling.
Sounds and smells faintly fainter than at first.
At best 10 minutes, 15 tops.
Considering full readiness and later combat, over 10 wasn't ideal.
...My inclination tipped slightly toward fighting.
That's when it happened.
Piercing the drawn-out silence—
A voice emerged.
"You're there... right? Sorry for startling you."
A voice.
Low and quiet, but strangely warm.
A young man's voice.
Slightly hoarse, tired, but oddly reassuring just to hear.
"It's okay. You can come out. Wasn't trying to scare you. I was just so happy I... ended up running over."
Ordinary.
Seemed "human."
Even carried a subtle tone of apology at the end.
Really... another newbie?
Someone else in this test?
Unlikely, my mind said.
But I couldn't definitively rule it out.
A tiny possibility.
That thread-thin chance held my feet in place.
Then—
The voice spoke again.
"You're there... right? Sorry for startling you."
The light shifted slightly closer.
No, more importantly—
That wasn't the point.
"It's okay. You can come out. Wasn't trying to scare you. I was just so happy I... ended up running over."
My body stiffened.
My blood turned cold.
Identical.
Word for word.
The rhythm of speech.
The pauses for breath.
Even the subtle chuckle at the end.
Like a recording of the previous one.
My brain latched onto one word.
And in that instant, the third voice rang out.
"You're there... right? Sorry for startling you."
It... wasn't human.
One.
"It's okay. You can come out. Wasn't trying to scare you. I was just so happy I... ended up running over."
Two.
'Fishing.'
It was mimicking a human, waiting for my reaction.