The Changwi (1)

I opened the thick backpack. Though it was packed with various items, I pulled out the map, the itinerary, and the lunchbox first.

First, I popped open the lid of the lunchbox. Squirm. Dozens of centipedes burst out from inside.

I crushed their heads with the lunchbox lid, then systematically dissected their bodies. There was nothing inside.

I only did it just in case. Like performing an autopsy.

Next, I unfolded the itinerary.

No wonder they went missing.

I turned the bag upside down and dumped all of its contents onto the floor.

Finally, I opened the ledger.

The borders and corners of the pages were stained with blood in several places. It didn't seem to contain much of interest, but...

I selected and scanned only the pages with blood splatters.

The bloodstains were left on specific letters in the ledger. I arranged those sections in my head.

I didn't need to take notes. The photographic memory of my Sequence was more than enough.

[in]feriority → In

[sis]ter-in-law → s

face [is] → is

[al]l → al

[hea]daches → d

giggles [de]mentedly → de

frequently s[i]ck → i

[pre]gnant → e

[var]ious → a

hi[t]ing → t

chills [ ] → t

[ti]relessly → e

[fam]ily → n

to [en]d → .

Piecing together all the inferred letters, they formed a message:

Everyone dies at ten.

Go to Imgak Mountain.

Imgak Mountain.

I opened the map.

Since I was currently in the Shaman Village, Imgak Mountain was quite far. I would have to cross a bridge, too.

Looks like I'll have to walk briskly again. My legs are killing me.

I opened the door, stepping into the second room.

Seeing the torn sacred straw ropes hanging from the ceiling and a few cushions scattered on the floor, this seemed to be a waiting room.

I dispersed my mana using Sequence to scan the area, but there was nothing.

Limping slightly, I walked over and opened the outer door.

Pitter-patter, pitter-patter...

Before I knew it, rain was falling.

"Ah, my knees."

Bone-chilling weather. It was the absolute worst for someone with bad joints. This was two hundred times scarier than any ghost.

"Ten o'clock... What time is it now?"

I had to reach Imgak Mountain by ten. If I didn't, it might be game over.

Just as I was about to take a step forward—

"Hey~ Where are you going~"

The thin, raspy voice of an old man drifted through the air.

"Where are you going~ Let's go together~"

I looked in that direction.

"Where are you going~"

An elderly man stood there. He looked at me and smiled.

Suddenly, his eyes turned blood-red and swelled as if they were about to burst.

Patter-patter-patter-patter!

Flailing his limbs like a crane fly, he rushed forward and snatched my wrist.

Blood streaming from his eyes deeply filled the crevices of his wrinkles. His jawbone was visible through the torn corners of his mouth, and his teeth were filthier than any beast's.

I replied calmly.

"Sure. Let's go together."

The old man said nothing. After a few seconds of a staring contest, he suddenly spun around.

It looked like he was trying to run away.

"Let's go together."

I walked right behind him.

"I said, let's go together."

The old man didn't respond.

"You just said we should go together."

The old man's pace gradually quickened.

"Let's go together."

I followed him relentlessly.

"Hey, old man."

I kept talking with every step I took.

"Geezer. Let's go together. You were talking just fine a second ago, so why the sudden silent treatment... Aren't you going to answer?"

The old man's figure suddenly dissolved into the fog.

He ran away. How boring.

"Just let one of them try me."

I wondered if there was a talisman to stop ghosts from running away.

"What?"

The unique system of this labyrinth seemed to be 'Sanity', but I lost a whole bar? Does that make any sense?

"Ah. It fills right back up. Now that makes sense."

I started walking again.

"Oh, please..."

Meanwhile, Im Hae-jun was sitting inside an unfamiliar room.

He couldn't bring himself to step outside.

He had peeked through a crack in the door, and his entire body had frozen instantly. The atmosphere alone was driving him insane.

Ruuuumble—!

The sound of thunder.

"Aaaaaaaaargh!"

Dong— Dong—

The sound of a wall clock echoing from somewhere.

"Aaaaaaaaargh! No, please, make it stop! Aaaaaaaaargh!"

Knock, knock—!

A sudden knock.

"Aaargh!"

Im Hae-jun pressed himself flat against the wall, rubbing his hands together frantically.

"Aaargh, spare me!! Please spare me!! Kyaaaaah!!!!"

Knock, knock—!

"Kyaaaah, don't knock! Don't knock! You son of a bitch! Aaargh! You fucking bastard! Stop it! Stop it!"

Knock, knock—!

"Aaargh..."

And with that, he fainted.

Every labyrinth has a purpose—an exit. A labyrinth without an exit cannot exist. Therefore, the top priority is finding that 'purpose'.

What are we supposed to do in this eerie village?

Holding an umbrella in one hand and the map in the other, I walked toward Imgak Mountain.

A few figures brushed past me. They walked bareheaded in the pouring rain, completely soaked. They were highly unlikely to be human.

"...Is this the place?"

I reached the entrance of a long bridge. A large warning sign was posted there.

For now, it seemed best to follow the rules. Playing the fearless rebel and breaking every rule is a surefire way to become the first victim in a horror movie.

"I don't have a watch."

Since I couldn't tell if it was past 11:00 PM, there was no need to force myself to walk across the bridge. I headed down beneath it.

Sssshhh—

The dark, wide river surged and writhed like human hair. It was clearly a river, yet it looked as deep as an ocean.

"Huh?"

Near the shore, I spotted a nearly shattered piece of wood.

Riiip. I tore off some Duct Tape and wrapped it around the rowboat. After restoring its shape to a reasonable degree, I used telekinesis to float it on the water.

It floated perfectly. I climbed aboard. Thrusting my cane into the river like an oar, the rowboat cut through the current.

Just then, I felt a presence behind me.

"Sob, sob, sob..."

I shouldn't make eye contact... but my curiosity was simply too strong to resist.

I glanced back.

"Ah. She ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠doesn't have eyes."

A woman dressed in white mourning robes. Fortunately, her eye sockets were hollowed out; she had no eyes.

But looking closely into her eye sockets, I could see something resembling a fragment of a blade.

"She was murdered."

Did she meet a gruesome end in life?

I reached in and pulled the fragment out.

"If I have time, I'll find out who did it for you."

"Sob..."

The ghost slowly faded away.

"...This is shaping up to be another exhausting run."

By now, Im Hae-jun is probably dead.

"Hae-jun is dead."

"...He just fainted."

Lee Jun-ho retorted in disbelief at Kang Hyun's words. Im Hae-jun lay unconscious, his eyes squeezed shut.

He did have a pretty high fever, and his face was so pale and blue that he really did look like a corpse.

"Ah, but honestly, I can't do this labyrinth alone either."

Lee Jun-ho glanced to his side. Kate was sitting with her arms crossed.

"You're a bit scared too, aren't you?"

Kate replied instantly.

"No."

Lee Jun-ho let out a hollow laugh. Still trying to protect her pride in a situation like this?

"Then let's do this. We need straw ropes right now. The three of us should split up..."

"Let's go in pairs."

"I thought you weren't scared?"

"Pairs are more efficient. There are four of us, after all."

"Does this guy look alive to you?"

Lee Jun-ho lifted Im Hae-jun's wrist. The moment he let go, it dropped with a thud.

He lifted it again, and let go. Thud. Thud.

"He's alive."

Kate shamelessly maintained her straight face.

"Fine. Pairs. But you go with Im Hae-jun. I'm scared out of my mind."

"......"

Kate shut her mouth tight. Lee Jun-ho smirked.

"You are scared, aren't you? Just be honest. Then we can all move together."

For the record, Kate had fainted while hugging a folding screen all by herself. When they shook her awake, she claimed she had just taken a quick nap because she was sleepy.

Lee Jun-ho's eyebrows arched into crescent moons.

"Still not scared?"

"......"

The time it took to make a rational judgment, separate pride from stubbornness, and make the most beneficial decision for herself—five seconds was more than enough for Kate.

"I am scared. It's my first time experiencing this kind of Asian horror atmosphere. I'm used to Western styles, though. Shall we move together just until I get used to it? Only until I get used to it."

"...Fine, then. We need to get some straw ropes first."

At Lee Jun-ho's words, Kate tilted her head.

"You've been saying 'straw rope, straw rope' for a while now, but what do you plan to do with this 'son of a... rope'? Is there some specific use for this 'son of a... rope'?"

"......"

Lee Jun-ho stared intently at Kate.

It felt like she was subtly swearing at him using the straw rope.

"Fine. I'll tell you. This is the item I bought."

Lee Jun-ho pulled out a worn-out book and held it up.

"There's quite a lot of information in here."

"Open it up. Let's read it together."

"Here."

Lee Jun-ho opened the book right in front of Kate's face. It was a page featuring a bodiless head ghost.

Kate recoiled violently, trembling all over.

"...You're surprisingly easily frightened, Miss Kate."

At Kang Hyun's remark, Kate cleared her throat.

"I—cough—I mean..."

Her voice even cracked.

"I told you. It's my first time with Asian fantasy."

She then glared at Lee Jun-ho.

"Anyway, if you look here."

"We have to braid straw ropes to make sacred ropes to restore our Sanity. Everyone's Sanity took a hit, right?"

"Ah. We can share that with each other."

Kang Hyun tapped his wrist twice. Lee Jun-ho and Kate did the same.

"...The maximum values are different for everyone. The consumption rate too."

Kang Hyun had seven bars, while Lee Jun-ho and Kate had six.

Kang Hyun spoke up.

"I wonder if Ha-woon Hyung has about ten bars."

"Who knows? Maybe Mr. Always-Right is actually more easily scared. More importantly..."

Lee Jun-ho opened the ghost stories book again.

"Let's hurry up and get some straw ropes. Miss Kate, you need to find some of this 'son of a... rope' too. I saw some crazy old man on my way here."

An old man with bloodshot eyes asking to go together. He almost got killed, but he barely managed to escape with his life.

"This is why we need a ton of straw ropes. This Shaman Village seems much larger than it looks."

"So that's why we need this 'son of a... rope'."

Just as Kate asked—

Growl.

A stomach rumbled from somewhere.

It was Kate. Lee Jun-ho smirked.

"Looks like you're hungry."

"......"

Growl.

Lee Jun-ho's stomach followed suit. Kate smirked.

"Looks like you're hungry too?"

"...No. I have diarrhea, unfortunately."

Amidst their petty squabble, Kang Hyun stood up first.

"Let's move first. We need straw ropes, right?"

Lee Jun-ho asked quietly.

"Aren't you scared?"

To be honest, the only reason they had been lingering here for so long was because they were absolutely terrified.

Kang Hyun blinked and replied.

"No. I'm so scared I feel like I'm going to shit myself."

I crossed the river of the Shaman Village.

When I stepped off the swaying rowboat and planted my cane on the riverbank—

"Who's there?"

Someone shone a flashlight at me.

"Excuse me? Who is that?"

The light was too blinding to make out the person's face, but...

"...A human."

I gave the most appropriate introduction.

"Ah, yes. I see."

A man wearing a cap approached. He was a simple-looking young man with eyes like thin threads.

"I'm Kang Woo-hyuk of Wolryeong Village. You must be an outsider?"

"Yes. Is this the village square?"

I had a plan first. A very solid rest plan utilizing the Land Contract Spell Document.

"No, the square is a bit further. What do you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠plan to do there?"

"Well... Ah, by the way, what time is it?"

Kang Woo-hyuk looked down at his wristwatch.

"It's almost midnight."

Midnight.

8. Odd hours are safe; even hours are dangerous.

"But where are you headed at this hour of the night?"

"Do you know where Imgak Mountain is?"

"Imgak Mountain? Why there?"

"Ah. I heard everyone dies at ten. And that I should go to Imgak Mountain."

"Hmm. Is that so? Well, I suppose that's possible."

What did he mean, 'that's possible'? This guy was clearly missing a few screws too.

I made a request.

"Could you perhaps guide me to the village square?"

"Ah, yes. Of course. Follow me."

The moment Kang Woo-hyuk turned around, I flinched.

On his back. Right in his spine, a raw fish slicing knife was deeply embedded.

"...What a mess."

"Pardon?"

Kang Woo-hyuk looked back.

"Nothing. Let's go."

I gestured forward and followed him.

"By the way, Woo-hyuk, are you the young village chief?"

"Haha... Not quite the chief. Just think of me as a member of the voluntary neighborhood watch."

"Ah, I see."

Well, honestly, if I had to choose... humans were far scarier and more dangerous than ghosts anyway.