Chapter 2
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: First Attempt
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Blink. Blink.
In this place, there was only one wretched human.
And his soulmate flashlight.
He wanted nothing more than to escape this godforsaken shithole right now, but instinct told him that recklessly breaking the rules could screw him over big time.
'If I really get out of here, I'll kill the bastard who locked me up.'
Even prison wouldn't faze him.
If he told the judge, "Some fucking asshole kept me locked in a white room for three years," the judge would probably bang the gavel three times and declare him not guilty, right?
His insides were twisted so bad they might as well have flipped inside out.
[P.M 7:30]
He checked the watch strapped to his wrist.
Still thirty precious minutes until patrol.
"Gallery open."
He called upon the first knowledge imprinted on him after being sent to this world.
The most efficient choice with his remaining 1 point.
A half-gambling pick, trusting solely in 'collective knowledge.'
Ding-!
Amid a solemn atmosphere.
The space where he could converse with 'others' for the first time opened up.
But this was kinda...
[You started it by getting horny first? Fuck the monster, just ram it in and think later ㅇㅇ (74)]
[32-year-old's final poker pull of life incoming!!!!!! (57)]
Way different from what he'd imagined.
Far from the vibe of scraping by day by day.
These folks seemed to be burning through a lifetime's worth of dopamine.
Every post from the gallery dwellers dripped with 'madness.'
Author: ✔️ Muscle Supreme
(Photo of a monster torn into 'monster' parts)
Weak-ass human shits
If your brain's weak, just use muscles, tsk tsk;;
Holy shit, this fucker's at it again trying to send newbies to the afterlife.
If that worked, I'd have smashed all the mannequins ages ago, you fuck;;
(This is bullshit;; con)
Head and body both suck, what about me?;;
Shut up and eat your protein.
No protein...
No monsters either?
Why a monster...? Ah.
lol
Author: 🔸 Infinite Regression
(Trap so intense just looking at it hurts)
(Gif of monsters licking their chops from afar)
The grand 100,000th regression is~~~!!
Taking place right in trap central!!!!!!!!!!!
You think I'd share the 100,000th celebration with a monster!? Huh!? Fuck youuuu?!?!??
Oh, and a newbie showed up?
Newbies, greet properly or get bannednnn~~~~~.
Fuck, failed again.
That's 100,000 regressions nowwwwww!!!!!
Ch ch ch ch
Ch ch ch ch
Ch ch ch ch
Ch ch ch ch!
(Congrats~ con)
Wait, a newbie came in?
Whoa;; it's been half a year for this newbie...
Last one died in a few days? Like 10 minutes?
Nah 9 minutes 30 seconds.
AI ham info is reliable;; so probably lurking or dead by now.
Holy fuuuuck!!! Newbie, if you die I'm stuck as newbie again!!
Die and I'll kill you!? You gotta survive...!!
Yeah, sure, that makes sense.
Twenty minutes had passed since he'd set out to explore and avoid ping-pong.
More than enough time to grasp the gallery's rules and vibe.
This was a gallery for humans who failed to escape strange tales. No overlapping survivors from different tales.
He was shocked again at how many weird phenomena existed in his old world.
'Even just annual missing persons numbers make it plausible.'
Factoring in over a year since the last newbie, these gallery vets had survived at least a 'year' in these spaces.
Better than lurking and getting spotted.
Author: GS-4444
(Photo of a grand bow)
It's the newbie the captain mentioned!
Just entered the strange tale, no clue what's what!
But headfirst it is!!!
Whoa, this guy's footwork is next level;;
Footwork like no other, donor...
Leading with the head is already next level ㅇㅇ
Gallery's already a mess, this guy's gonna make it worse.
ㄷㄷㄷ?
This fucker runs tactical nukes till I look away, fr.
ㄷㄷㄷ?
ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Plus and minus still equals plus, after all.
A grand plan: aggro with the title, charm with the content.
Whether it worked or not, as the half-year newbie.
They force-fed him eye bleach.
Considering monsters and tales can't infiltrate the gallery, all this from fellow humans.
Why carry grandma ghost pics around?
And it's a virgin ghost??
To cleanse his nearly rotten eyes, he opened the TXT at the bottom.
"Basic countermeasures for common monsters to all sorts of tale basics... No idea who wrote it, but way more useful than this rulebook?"
Better than the rulebook's few curt lines.
This file covered a broad range, from common tales to ones he'd never heard of. Closest to this place?
"[Security Guard Strange Tale]."
One he'd heard of.
A vague tale about patrolling schools or sites, vanishing without trace due to weird phenomena.
Leaning in for details—
Ding— Ding— Ding—
Patrol alert blared.
Alarm synced to his watch.
Should've closed gallery and read earlier... Regretful.
"Might as well stick around a bit longer?"
Rules said go out at 8.
Nothing about not going after.
Of course, better to go ASAP since who knows.
'Kinda scary honestly.'
'No downsides listed for not going, right?'
Info was crucial.
No clue why the rulebook sucked, but a normal one might've had him out sooner.
"........."
Eyes raced through the text.
Thud!
Less "Do this no matter what!" more "This can happen too ㅇㅇ."
Security Guard tale same format.
Thud! Thud!
Entities appearing during patrol: all aberrations.
Never trust their words, warning included.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Pre-entry gallery folks had similar cases. Some approached friendly ones.
Fuck! Those bastards were monsters!! How the fuck do they pretend to be huma...!??!
ㄷㄷㄷ Finally met a human and dating! What's your address? GF wants lessons;; Can't tell from here...? Too bad.
Don't think I'll last. Never guessed the old man was a disguised monster. Treat all lifeforms as enemies ㅇㅇ
All killed by 'friendly' entities.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Monster possessing a gallery body lacked knowledge.
Tried gathering info here but outed by collective smarts, perma-banned.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Got the 'never trust others' memo.
Time for patrol.
Grabbed rulebook and flashlight from desk, stood at door.
"Uh...?"
Unlike before, a 'black shadow' at the door.
Invisible unless right up close.
Thought eyes tricked him, rubbed and checked again.
"Not going away...?"
Shadow still blocking door.
What the hell? Asked gallery.
They just said give up.
BAM———!!
Door ripped open forcibly, black shape burst in.
The black shadow enveloped his body.
A grotesque entity with a smirk in its blank face.
Crackkk——!!
Sound of neck snapping alive.
Body and head separated.
Slowly, steadily.
Gazing at the smiling monster approaching.
His vision's light faded.
As oxygen in his brain dwindled.
1-2. [Lodge Room] is safe until patrol. However, staying during patrol may cause 'certain events,' so we recommend heading out on patrol unless unavoidable.
Mocking rulebook open as light vanished completely.
That was his first death.