The Regressor Is Brave? (2)
I'm a bit embarrassed to admit this... but ghosts scare the hell out of me.
I've wielded a blade sharp enough to slice off a limb with one careless move. I've survived three straight days in a place where blood, entrails, and whatever else belongs on the inside flew everywhere. I've fought life-or-death battles against horrifying mannequins. But ghosts? Ghosts are scary.
Rationally, I know ghosts can't possibly exist. I know it's all just creepypasta, irrational nonsense. I know that. Yet when I walk into a dark bathroom at night, chills still run down my spine. Watching a horror movie, I make sure the blanket's ready. Call it fear on an instinctual level.
That fear didn't shrink when the Tower appeared. If anything, it got bigger. I used to force a laugh and say, "Ghosts? If ghosts were real, we'd have T-Rex ghosts too, lol." But now there's a System, a Tower, monsters everywhere. Hard to laugh it off anymore.
And now, out of nowhere, a floor like this?
A dingy, yellowed old building. No windows. Flickering fluorescent lights as the only light source. Handcuffs that look like they were used for something sinister. Actually, now that I look closer, there might be dried blood on them.
A hospital. A mental hospital, definitely. The kind with the word "abandoned" attached. The kind you see in horror movies and games.
I used to look at people willingly crawling into places like this and wonder, "Why would anyone go in there?" Never imagined I'd be thrown into one by force. And the mission window isn't subtle about it either.
<Floor 24>
-Escape.
No instructions. Just escape. Safe to say it implies plenty. I can't bring myself to open that old door and step outside.
But I can't just lie on this bed forever either. "Escape" isn't the kind of thing that takes care of itself if you wait long enough. In this prison of a room with no clock, no window, and walls sealed with concrete, there isn't much information to gather.
"Courage. Courage. Until the East Sea runs dry and Baekdu Mountain wears away..."
I murmured the national anthem under my breath, barely audible, and carefully got up from the bed. In times like this, think about healing things. Fluffy cats... Fubao... black-footed cats... American pikas...
"...?"
I was walking toward the old door, imagining soothing animals, when I caught myself stopping.
Through the small window in the door... I saw a silhouette dangling from above.
Normally, silhouettes beyond a door appear at ground level or off to the side—because animals that live on Earth have their feet on the ground. But above?
"Hoo, hoo..."
I steadied my ragged breathing. Slowly. Slowly, I approached the door. I'd have to step outside eventually. If I have to face it, better now.
I gripped the iron door handle tight. By the time the cold handle felt warm from my body heat, I made my decision.
—Burst!
I steeled myself, threw the door wide open, and what greeted me was...!
—Dangle. Dangle.
...A rope. Not a person-like thing stuck to the ceiling. Just a rope hanging from the ceiling.
"...Hoo."
Relieved, I looked up at the ceiling where the rope hung from. It was tied tight through a small gap in the ceiling. The rope dangling from above looked utterly bleak.
"...Hoooo."
Why the hell is there a rope hanging from the ceiling? Now that I look around, ropes are dangling all over the hallway. Like vines hanging in some jungle.
The long, straight corridor wasn't much different from the room I'd been in. The ceiling lights flickered. The floor and walls were old and worn. The small chairs placed here and there had their cushions torn to shreds.
So. I have to escape from here. I remember a corridor like this on Floor 12, but that place felt more like a professional research lab. This place... feels like anything could jump out and it wouldn't be surprising.
I craned my neck and glanced left and right. Then I extended one leg and tapped the floor a few times. Finally, I pulled my whole body out of the room. Okay. It's fine. It's safe. For now.
Worrying about "Where do I go now?" was pointless. The left side was blocked by a concrete wall. There was nowhere to go but right.
"..."
Before heading right, I peered through the window of the door across the hall. The lights must be off in there—I couldn't see anything. In the darkness, something seemed to be swaying inside... No, I'm imagining things. No reason to go in there.
I swallowed hard and started walking carefully down the corridor. I tried my best not to make noise, but the sound of my footsteps and the clinking of my armor echoed through the hall. Shit. Should've taken the armor off.
Clink. Clink. Clink.
Step. Step. Step.
—Flicker.
The lights along the whole corridor cut out for a moment, then flickered back on. I scanned my surroundings, looking for anything that had changed, but nothing stood out. Ropes hanging from the ceiling swung ominously. Well, it's an old building—lights can flicker. Think happy thoughts. Think fun thoughts.
Ji-won. Choi Ji-won. How would Ji-won react to this floor? I've never watched a horror movie with her—I'm too much of a coward. Would Choi Ji-won be scared of ghosts? Would she show an unexpected side and tremble? Or would she just smirk and shrug with that relaxed attitude of hers? I'm curious. Once I clear this floor, maybe I should try convincing her to watch a movie with me?
Lost in idle thoughts, I'd already reached a right turn in the corridor. On the wall, very faintly, it read "4F." Did that mean this was the fourth floor? Would clearing require getting to the first floor? Or the rooftop? Or was it "You're going to die"? Death in the number four?
I turned right and started walking again. The corridor looked much the same. I deliberately let my mind wander. In older Korean buildings, sometimes there's no fourth floor, or they label it "F" instead. Because the number four sounds like the word for death. Honestly, I think that's nonsense. How many buildings in the world have a fourth floor? There can't be a ghost in every single one. If there were a ghost quota system for fourth floors, job security for ghosts would be amazing.
Speaking of job security... back in college, there was so much to worry about—jobs, certifications, networking. So many worries. Now all I have to think about is climbing the Tower. Money? I can earn money however I want. I mean, how much does one potion sell for? Even if potion prices are dropping fast, I've stockpiled more than a few. If I'm really strapped for cash, I can sell an elixir. Material worries are a thing of the past. Absolute freedom. As long as I climb the Tower to the very end.
Ah, another turn. I turned right and let my thoughts wander again...
"...?"
Just before my mind drifted off, I yanked myself back and ducked behind the wall.
What was that shape, far down the corridor? It was too quick—I couldn't get a good look... was what I'd like to say, but my dynamic vision was too damn good. Being superhuman really backfires sometimes.
A woman. I saw the back of a woman with wild, disheveled hair, jerking her body violently. Even from behind, I could see her lips curled into a grin stretching to her ears. She wore a torn hospital gown.
In an abandoned mental hospital, in a corridor with flickering lights. What do you do when you encounter a disheveled, violently twitching, grinning woman?
"..."
You run like hell. What else? The mission window said escape, didn't it? I desperately want to run somewhere, too.
But the only visible escape route is that way. The path I've followed has been a one-way corridor. No stairs, nothing. I didn't check the other rooms, but... what are the odds they lead anywhere?
What do I do? Should I regress? But if I regress, then what? I'll have to come back anyway. There's no other path. Steady yourself. It's terrifying, but I'll have to face it eventually.
"Hoooooooh..."
I let out a shaky breath and peeked around the corner. The corridor with the flickering lights was empty, as if the woman had never been there at all. Had she disappeared?
"...She gone."
I used the back of my hand to push aside a dangling black rope that was in my way, then started walking again. Right. In horror movies, when the closet shakes and you open it, there's never anything there anyway. Maybe seeing something terrifying just now means I'm safe for a while.
I walked, rubbing my cold hands together. As I moved, focusing hard for anything strange—
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Somewhere, the sound of liquid dripping. Where's it coming from? A bathroom nearby? Bathrooms are usually near stairwells—could be a good sign. Might mean I can go down a floor.
"..."
But something was odd. The dripping sound kept coming from the same distance. As if... the source of the sound... was staying right near me...
That's when I realized something. The rope I'd seen when I first started walking down this corridor... why was it black?
I knew I shouldn't, but I forced my rigid body to turn and look behind me.
"...Ah."
Our eyes met.
The woman with the torn-apart grin, dancing so violently her joints crackled and crunched, spinning round and round, blood streaming down, stuck to the ceiling, came scuttling—tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap.
Thewomanwiththetornmouthdancedviolentlyspinningroundandroundwithherfleshrippedoffandbonesexposedbendingherjointsbackwardsclingingtotheceilingwhippingherhairflyingasbloodpouredoutandentrailsscatteredastheworldturnedredandshescuttledtap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-taplaughingmadlyandshegrabbedmyheadandspunmeroundandroundandroundsoIstartedlaughingtoogigglingandgigglingandgigglingandgigglingandspinningroundandroundThewomanwiththetornmouthdancedviolentlyspinningroundandroundwithherfleshrippedoffandbonesexposedbendingherjointsbackwardsclingingtotheceilingwhippingherhairflyingasbloodpouredoutandentrailsscatteredastheworldturnedredandshescuttledtap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-taplaughingmadlyandshegrabbedmyheadandspunmeroundandroundandroundsoIstartedlaughingtoogigglingandgigglingandgigglingandgigglingandspinningroundandroundThewomanwiththetornmouthdancedviolentlyspinningroundandroundwithherfleshrippedoffandbonesexposedbendingherjointsbackwardsclingingtotheceilingwhippingherhairflyingasbloodpouredoutandentrailsscatteredastheworldturnedredandshescuttledtap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-taplaughingmadlyandshegrabbedmyheadandspunmeroundandroundandroundsoIstartedlaughingtoogigglingandgigglingandgigglingandgigglingandspinningroundandround
**
And when I came to, I was lying on the bed again.
<Floor 24>
-Escape.