Chapter 92
Chapter 92
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: Instant Maze Horror Tale - Rules (4)
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It had been a bit of luck earlier.
The monster's physical abilities far exceeded my imagination.
Instantaneous reaction speed, muscle power, and unpredictable movements.
All of it.
The first strike I thrust in as a surprise attack.
The aim wavered just slightly.
Even so, I tried to follow up immediately to finish it off—
But at that moment, its body changed shape and reacted.
That instant flashed back in my mind.
The flesh warped, the joints twisted.
And in the end, it completely escaped the range of my follow-up strike.
Just from that scene, I could be certain.
A frontal fight was not the answer.
"It's a monster, alright."
Perfect condition and surprise attack.
If neither of those applied, continuing the fight would cost me more than it was worth.
The best option was to avoid combat altogether.
Fighting meant "expenditure."
Even a single injury would make it impossible to endure the next battle.
Recovery was impossible in this space, and fatigue accumulated.
In the end, one mistake would drop my survival odds for the next round to zero.
And if I died, everything reset to the beginning.
I wasn't afraid of dying.
I'd experienced it countless times already.
I just hated for my death to end up worthless.
If I was going to die, I wanted that death to help the "me" of the next round in some way.
Not growing numb to death.
That was one of the reasons I still clung to my sanity amid these repeating rounds.
For now, scouting toward the center where that massive boom and light had erupted earlier was out of the question.
The chances of them spotting me before I even got close were too high.
Five of the monsters were still prowling around that area.
I gave up on it.
***
Catching my breath, I took a moment to survey my surroundings.
Endless gray partitions, identical desks and chairs.
Everything looked replicated, exactly the same.
This place was designed like an infinite office space.
Not a single distinctive object in sight.
Visibility was blocked beyond a certain distance, and any sense of direction crumbled easily.
Impossible to even sketch a map.
But there was one piece of luck: I had a fixed "pin," a reference point.
I didn't know for sure since I hadn't died yet, but if my guess was right, it was the spot where I'd first passed through the door.
Using that as my pin and the Recorder's Pen to map things out in my head, escape seemed possible.
Time to move.
I resumed scouting.
One step, then another.
Cautiously, but steadily.
So far, I'd gathered 8 chocolate bars, 12 candies, and 3 bottles of water.
Whenever a light flashed during scouting, I'd freeze and wait for the monsters to pass.
Each time, my heart pounded quietly.
In that silence, I organized the rules in my mind.
Three discovered so far.
Considering one wasn't fully confirmed yet, that narrowed it down to two.
Rule 1. Must exit through the correct door.
└ (Insufficient info, needs verification)
Rule 2. Office lighting.
└ Staying still for a set time causes the light overhead to turn off.
└ In that case, you can gauge the remaining time by the flickering speed.
└ Leaving a certain distance from the current light causes it to turn off automatically.
└ In that case, the light goes out immediately.
└ Exposure to dark areas gradually dulls and erases your senses.
└ Avoid exposure as much as possible unless absolutely necessary.
Rule 3. Human-Faced Dog
└ Living creatures roaming the office, extremely sensitive to light.
└ Physical abilities roughly five times that of an adult male; avoid combat if possible.
└ Possess partial intelligence; requires caution.
Prolonged tension had dried out my mouth.
I pulled out a water bottle.
Then stared it down intently.
'...This won't kill me if I drink it, right?'
No deaths from poison yet.
Some post I'd seen before said it hurt like hell.
Still, I had to test it.
I took a sip.
It tasted normal.
No point bracing for pain that never came.
No abnormal symptoms either.
I drained the whole bottle cleanly.
For the test, I popped some chocolate and candy in my mouth too.
My blood sugar, depleted from long movement, started recharging.
I unwrapped another candy and kept scouting.
Some time later, I reached a conclusion.
Bio-experiment results using my body— all clear.
***
Spotting light in the distance, I halted all movement like clockwork and held my breath until it vanished.
Once the light was gone, I started moving again slowly.
By coincidence, my position overlapped with where that light had shone earlier.
And then—
I found a helper there.
A new Investigator.
Dressed in a black suit.
One of the group from the auditorium earlier, the ones chattering about rumors.
At first, I thought he was just sitting there.
Straddling a chair, head bowed.
No blood or wounds visible.
But as I approached, the oddity became clear.
Like time had frozen, the Investigator showed no reaction whatsoever.
I cautiously reached out and touched his shoulder.
No movement.
His whole body was rigid, like a log of hardened wood.
His skin was ice-cold.
His eyes were half-open, and what they held was unmistakable.
Terror.
His face was a jumble of every negative emotion.
Fear, despair, regret, confusion.
All frozen in that one instant, preserved perfectly.
The chill lingering on my fingertips spread into harsh reality.
'...'
I'd considered something like this might happen.
Even if they volunteered as Investigators.
They'd been ordinary people until just before.
I stood speechless for a while.
His face was familiar.
Someone I'd seen in the auditorium earlier.
The one near me who'd said, "Contractors should be thrown in prison."
I hadn't exactly agreed with him back then.
If anything, I leaned slightly opposite—neutral, but sympathetic to them.
Contracts always approached the desperate.
I couldn't casually condemn the choices they made at that crossroads.
It had made me uncomfortable, sure, but that was it.
Not once had I wished for a death like this.
I checked his name tag.
'Kim Seung-tae.'
It wasn't hard to infer his final actions.
To survive, he'd sat here quietly, holding his breath—
Until his breath truly stopped.
I slowly bowed my head.
His eyes were still open.
Whatever had driven him to enter this place.
In the end, he'd been one person who wanted to save others.
I raised my hand, casting a quiet shadow over his face.
The skin under my fingertips was cold and firm.
"...Good work."
My voice leaked out faintly.
Barely audible even to myself.
My hand lowered slowly.
When I pulled it away, his face rested peacefully with eyes closed.
The light flickered.
Time to move again.
This wasn't some mock exam.
When I'd entered this space, I'd passed through two stages.
One tunnel, then the auditorium.
Even now, no one outside could "pinpoint" and access this space.
The chat window showed no other options either.
To survive, I'd have to make it on my own.
I hadn't gone far before stopping.
I'd overlooked something.
The reason that helper had died holding his breath.
And that reason was right in front of me.
Far off, I spotted the first light.
Instinctively, I froze.
If I waited it out, it might just pass by.
Then, to the right of the first light, a second one lit up.
Bad feeling.
I turned my head slowly.
As slowly as possible to avoid triggering sensors.
And behind me, a third light flickered on.
Precisely forming a triangle around me.
Herding hunt.
Intelligence.
The light overhead hadn't gone out yet.
Whether they'd spotted me or not, they charged at full speed.
—..Help..me. I don't want to die. This isn't why I came here.
—You a helper too?
—Rescue team, right? Right!? Please..!
Voices of past victims burst from the monsters' mouths.
Something wearing human skin.
Whatever I did here wouldn't change a thing.
This fight's outcome was already set.
For the next round, I needed to conserve my mental strength.
I couldn't win.
One was already overwhelming; three?
I watched the charging monsters.
No matter how I calculated, my odds converged on zero.
Hoo—
I exhaled, releasing the tension.
Contrary to my thoughts, strength surged into my hands.
The tremor at my fingertips faded away.
I locked eyes on the first monster ahead.
This was just collecting combat data for the next round.
That was the only resistance—and excuse—I could muster right now.
That way.
This fight.
Would have some meaning.
At least I'd be able to convince myself.
***
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[Moving to the last save point.]
[The most recent save point is AUTO SAVE 7.]
[Instant Maze Horror Tale]
[Death Type]: Dismemberment.
[Tip]: Just because the light is on doesn't mean you can fully relax.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
My mind, submerged in darkness, slowly surfaced as light brightened.
Once accustomed to the light, I opened my eyes—and I was standing in the office space.
The pre-death pain surged like phantom throbs.
But I clamped my mouth shut and let it pass.
No time to waste on something like this.
Gray partitions stretched endlessly,
with tables, chairs, and copiers scattered chaotically between them.
This time, I turned in the opposite direction.
I had my task set.
"..Let's go."
Things were about to get busy.