Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: The Museum is Alive
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We finally arrived at the museum after driving there.
It was still daytime, so there were no zombies in sight.
"Is it okay to just leave the car parked like this?"
Lee Yoo-ri, who got out first, muttered as she looked around.
She seemed worried about the car getting damaged.
"Eh, what's the big deal? We've got Hye-na with us. If it breaks, we just take another one."
"Ah, right. We've got Hye-na."
"Ugh, come on! Stop teasing me, both of you!"
Hye-na's face turned red as she punched my arm repeatedly.
Her strength had increased; it actually stung a bit.
In the distance, I could see the concrete museum building.
The unusually quiet structure felt faintly eerie.
"It's bigger than I thought."
"Well, it's the largest museum in our city."
We slowly headed toward the museum entrance.
That was the moment we reached the door. ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ You have entered the dungeon! Experience gained in the dungeon increases by 10%! ⚔ DUNGEON INFO ⚔ 📛 Name: Ownerless Museum 📊 Difficulty: E 📖 Description: A common museum. Examine various artifacts while being cautious of threatening enemies. 'A dungeon?'
Does this novel have stuff like this too?
And a regular museum is a dungeon...?
"Looks like this place has already turned into a dungeon."
Lee Yoo-ri muttered as she read the message.
"What's dungeonization?"
"Exactly what it sounds like. A certain area or building turns into a dungeon. Stronger monsters appear, and there might be traps too."
Lee Yoo-ri tilted her head as she spoke.
"More importantly, you're a reincarnator too—how do you not know this?"
"Hmph! Hmph! My past self wasn't very active. Never even saw a dungeon."
"Hmm, fair enough. The worlds we lived in were completely different."
Lee Yoo-ri was refreshingly straightforward, which was a relief.
Or maybe we were close enough that she didn't mind.
"Anyway, is this good for us?"
"Maybe, since they usually come with good rewards."
In the web novels I'd read, dungeons were basically treasure troves.
Hidden pieces lurking inside.
Places prepared for the protagonist's growth.
'The comments say the original Yoo-ri came to this museum too. There must be at least one good item.'
Even without that, this place hid an item worth 10,000 coins.
More precisely, the key to obtaining it. 📜 NEW QUEST 📜 Find the Mad Hatter's Letter 📍 Type: Special
📊 Difficulty: D
📖 Description: Deliver the old letter in the museum to the Mad Hatter.
🎁 Reward: A-grade Essence of Life
⚠️ Penalty: Quest failure if the letter is opened arbitrarily. I was a bit startled by the dungeon mention.
But my anticipation for the item outweighed it.
"Alright, let's head in."
We cautiously entered the museum.
The interior was surprisingly spacious and dark.
We walked slowly, first checking the displayed artifacts.
The first thing that caught my eye was a stone axe from the Stone Age.
"Hmm, stuff like this won't be much help, right?"
"If it were something amazing, you'd feel the magic power just by looking. Not easy to spot, though."
"Any criteria for good artifacts?"
"Items with historical fame work best. Like a sword used by a master craftsman."
Should I grab something like Cheok Jun-kyung's sword?
A Goryeo-era sword master might have something special.
We continued deeper into the museum.
A large room with mannequins appeared.
"What's this place?"
"Hmm, wax figures of ancient people."
Hye-na read the information plaque aloud.
The figures looked so realistic they could move any second.
Maybe because the museum was so dark.
They felt oddly creepy.
Lee Yoo-ri's expression darkened too.
".......The people in this world are truly cruel. Turning human corpses into spectacles."
"No way! They're all fakes!"
"Ah, really?"
"But I've heard some foreign museums display real bodies."
"Oh, I'd like to visit one of those sometime."
...Not the kind of conversation girls our age should be having.
Has the apocalypse turned kids into this?
We were slowly strolling through the exhibits when...
"Wait."
Lee Yoo-ri suddenly stopped us.
Her hand naturally went to the sword at her waist.
I raised my baseball bat at the sight.
Hye-na gripped her dagger with a tense expression too.
"What? Something there?"
"It's weird. I can sense killing intent, but no presence approaching at all."
Lee Yoo-ri's senses were far sharper than a normal person's.
She could detect magic, presences, even killing intent.
She could even sense a boss's location in advance.
Her word was trustworthy.
"Looks like we can't avoid a fight."
Right after Lee Yoo-ri spoke.
Something appeared from the side.
It was one of the wax figures that had been still moments ago.
"Huh?"
A soldier in uniform holding a weapon.
Its eyes locked onto Hye-na.
The moment it lunged forward.
It swung its sword at us.
"Eek!"
Hye-na ducked her head, barely dodging the blade.
Almost simultaneously, Lee Yoo-ri's sword sliced its wrist.
As expected, it didn't scream.
Questionable if it even felt pain.
"Zombies, and now living dolls?!"
-Crack!
I immediately swung my baseball bat.
Its solid head shattered and scattered.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the end.
Chilling voices echoed from all directions.
"Aaaah...."
"Aaah....."
All the figures in the room had started moving.
They approached us, each armed.
"aah...aahhhh..."
"ohoh oh oh ....."
Korean, Japanese, British, and more.
The mannequins were quite global.
Zombies were gross, but these crudely made dolls moving was just as grotesque.
'Still, nothing we can't handle.'
Unlike zombies, they were armed.
But aside from that, no major differences.
Plus, we had the reincarnator Lee Yoo-ri with us.
Not very threatening.
"J-Ji-hoon... look over there...."
Then Hye-na spoke in a trembling voice.
I turned reflexively, eyes widening.
"What the hell is that?"
The head of the doll I'd smashed earlier.
The fragments were moving on their own, clumping together.
I wondered what shape it'd form.
It fully reformed into its original face.
It snapped right back onto the neck.
"Grraa......"
"It regenerated?"
The doll stood again, head restored.
The absurd sight drew a hollow laugh from me.
Who'd expect dolls to have regeneration?
'Wait, this is bad.'
Destroy them, and they just reform.
No matter how much we fight, it won't end.
The room was already full of them.
And now the broken one was coming at us again.
"Grraa....aa?"
But it tilted its head.
The sword it held was gone.
Hye-na was clutching two swords tightly.
"Hye-na, that...?"
"Ah, seemed more useful than the dagger."
Our Hye-na had fully adapted to the apocalypse.
Snatching a weapon in that brief moment.
-Crack!
I tested by smashing its jaw again.
Its neck snapped 90 degrees and hit the floor.
But it flew back and reattached.
Then moved as if nothing happened.
"Man, how do we deal with these?"
"Their bodies aren't the real things."
Lee Yoo-ri swung her sword as she spoke.
Dolls toppled in droves from a single strike.
They tried reattaching, but still, impressive swordsmanship.
"These things' souls are the real bodies. Destroy those, or they keep regenerating."
"......So that's why you bought that?"
Lee Yoo-ri grinned at my question.
"Didn't expect to use it this soon, honestly. Lucky break."
The regenerated dolls charged again.
Lee Yoo-ri precisely severed their legs.
They flew up, and she spun into a roundhouse kick.
Sending another leaping doll flying back at us.
'Amazing.'
Her movements were elegant beyond flashy.
Her pale legs twisted a doll's neck 180 degrees.
Her ponytail and skirt skirt swayed.
"Stick the amulet on your weapons, and it'll hit properly. Try it. I'll buy time."
Lee Yoo-ri looked slightly amused as she said it.
Probably recalling how I protected her from bugs in the boss fight.
'On our side, she's really reliable.'
Thinking that, I pulled something from my pocket.
Pharsa's Amulet from the Mad Hatter. ⚔ ITEM INFO ⚔ 📛 Name: Pharsa's Amulet 🏷️ Type: Amulet ⭐ Grade: D ✨ Effect: Deals heavy damage to spirits. 📖 Description: An amulet that lets ordinary people touch spirits. Can be used directly or attached to a weapon, enhancing its destructive power against spirits. I plastered Pharsa's Amulet onto my baseball bat.
Then smashed the head of the first doll that appeared.
-Crack!
Third time its skull shattered.
But this time was different.
The broken body twitched.
Then crumbled into dust.
'It works!' ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Acquired 80 Doom Coins. Due to the effect of skill 'Monster Devour', stamina and fatigue have slightly recovered! Maybe because they were special monsters.
Doom Coins dropped more generously than from zombies.
If attacks connect, they're no different from zombies.
I stuck an amulet on Hye-na's sword too, then tossed it to Lee Yoo-ri.
"Lee Yoo-ri, catch!"
She caught it without looking back.
Sliced an oncoming doll, then stuck the amulet to her sword mid-motion.
A neat trick.
She swung, and three dolls' heads flew off simultaneously.
The headless ones turned to dust.
Overwhelming combat prowess.
"Yoo-ri's seriously amazing."
"Yeah. Experience makes a difference."
We kept swinging without pause too.
Pharsa's Amulet worked wonders.
Their numbers dwindled in moments.
-Crack!
After smashing the last one's head.
Our first museum battle ended.
The floor was piled with white dust.
I hadn't noticed amid the frenzy, but there'd been quite a few.
'Nice haul of coins thanks to them.'
I'd already amassed some from the lottery.
Watching them pile up felt like getting rich.
"Phew! I thought I was done for when the broken dolls started reattaching!"
Muscles relaxing after the fight, Hye-na said with a pout.
"Good thing we had Pharsa's Amulet. We almost got stuck right away."
"Do these kinds of monsters keep coming?"
"Dungeons have a higher chance of undead variants. Especially in special places like this."
"That's a shame."
Zombies would be preferable.
Dealing with these nonstop might wear me out.
"Anyway, shall we go deeper?"
After a short rest, we opened the closed door.
Something unexpected jumped out.
"Huh!?"
"Oh?"
Silence fell briefly.
A woman finally spoke.
"You guys.......did you really break through those dolls?"
Inside sat just under ten people.
After those trash from before.
Our second group of survivors.