Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Let's Solve It Through Dialogue
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‘It's been a week today.’
The scenery at Suwon Station, where I now commuted instead of an office, had grown somewhat familiar. Late in the evening, amid the unchanging landscape, I sat on a bench, waiting for the entity I was after to appear.
‘Express Train to Hell on Line 0.’
While I waited, I reviewed the information on the entity I’d soon face.
‘It’s a danger-class entity that randomly abducts train passengers worldwide and drags them to hell. The abduction cycle ranges from one week to a month, and it takes anywhere from a minimum of ten victims to a maximum of fifty at a time.’
This was precisely the info I’d learned from the game and wiki.
‘However, the abduction times are fixed—in Korea, it’s between 11 p.m. and midnight, when the last subway trains are running.’
Even as the game became reality and I encountered new attributes I hadn’t known about each time, I couldn’t deny that this information was still helpful.
‘Victims abducted this way must pass through six cars.’
I pulled out my notebook and jotted down the info on the cars the victims had to go through.
[The Crusher]
[The Talker]
[The Rapist]
[The Whisperer]
[The Greedy One]
[The Judge]
According to the wiki, each car symbolized human sins.
‘The Crusher represents physical violence, the Talker verbal abuse, the Rapist sexual crimes, the Whisperer lies and deceit, the Greedy One greed.’
And the Judge meticulously analyzed the life of anyone who made it through the previous cars, catching even the pettiest sins.
‘Though those “sins” are pretty nitpicky.’
It basically presumed that being a living human was a sin in itself, so anyone reaching the Judge—even a newborn—would inevitably be branded a sinner.
‘If it judged fairly, it wouldn’t be called an entity in the first place.’
The way to beat the Express Train to Hell on Line 0 was through proper choices to progress through the cars and escape.
‘You avoid the judges up to the Whisperer with the right choices and push on to the next car.’
Then you bribe the Greedy One and escape the train, surviving the entity.
‘If you go past the Greedy One to the Judge, you’re stamped a sinner without fail, judged, and hit with the bad ending where you burn as train fuel in hellfire for eons—so you mustn’t proceed that far.’
Given that the bad ending was called “Avici Hell,” it was clearly modeled after the hells of Eastern Buddhism.
‘I’ve got everything prepared, so will it show up today?’
While waiting, I checked my prepared items once more.
‘Twelve dried “Friendship” beads, the enhanced Polaroid camera, and a 24-carat diamond to bribe the Greedy One on the spot.’
I’d brought the camera because the homunculus had realized it could capture my actions and experiences in photos.
‘I haven’t tested if it works on ghosts or special entities yet, but this time should do it.’
I pulled out bottles of weakening potion, purification potion, and strengthening potion from my pocket.
‘The forgotten alchemist’s potion set, prepared for object-type entities.’
Next, I took out my phone. It was a safe entity I’d traded for from the shady dealer: a weakened variant/derivative of the “Isekai Transition Book,” called “Isekai Challenge Coupon for You.”
‘“Karma Call Center.”’
I slid open the black old-style flip phone with my thumb.
[Connecting to agent. Hell's workload is extremely heavy, so please wait— we'll connect you eventually.]
I gave a wry smile at the screen message.
‘A safe entity that connects you to hell’s call center. Once linked to an agent, it reveals all your karma—good or bad—and based on the total, tells you what judgment awaits you after death.’
From the wiki’s experiment logs, this was another entity based on Buddhist hell. That’s why I’d specified it in the trade with the shady dealer—and luckily, he had it.
‘Express Train to Hell on Line 0 is Buddhist hell. Karma Call Center is Buddhist hell.’
I’d prepared it hoping the connection between the two entities might let me do something...
‘The problem is when it’ll connect.’
Finally, I pulled out one more item that might relate to this job.
‘This too.’
The small rectangular card read:
(Lucifer Company) Research and Development General Manager Baalzebub I checked the back. [H.P. 666-666-666-666-666-666. Feel free to call if you need anything.] “I’m really curious.”
Lucifer Company was Christian hell. Express Train to Hell on Line 0 was Buddhist hell. ‘Who holds the rights to decide the afterlife?’ There were various other entities one might encounter after death, so I wondered how a human soul’s afterlife was determined. ‘There are even ghosts like Mr. Shin Young-moon who stick around in this world after dying.’ Did they have divided territories? Or, judging by Baal’s card, were they out doing sales pitches? Or was it decided at birth? ‘Does it depend on belief?’ Maybe it was meaningless worry—just random chance. ‘It’s here.’ With the train’s lights came the platform announcement.
[Now arriving: Seru, Seru-bound train. Passengers, please stand back one step.]
‘It showed up today. I definitely heard it.’
I boarded the train and took a seat.
‘Express Train to Hell.’
In the blink of an eye, every seat in the car filled up.
“What, what the hell!”
“Where are we?!”
Panicked voices erupted.
“They’re speaking different languages, but I understand them?”
“This is just like a horror movie! We’re gonna die!”
Panic spread.
『Ahem, this is your conductor speaking. First, sincere thanks to all passengers aboard the Express Train to Hell on Line 0. Our train is now heading to hell, to hell...』
It matched the game announcement exactly.
“Car 1?”
“It’s telling us to go there?”
“But following some unknown voice...”
“More importantly, did it just say hell?”
Before it got worse, I stood to calm the passengers at this crossroads of choice.
“Everyone, calm down. I’m a fixer—Lee Seung-hoon!”
I shouted and held up my business card high, but the reaction was cold.
“Fixer? Like a detective?”
“Shut up! Don’t act like hot shit!”
Even with lots of foreigners, showing my card and getting this reaction?
‘The Great Author’s Pen doesn’t work here?’
An anomaly not on the wiki.
Sadly, before I could think of another way to earn trust, the Crusher appeared.
“Argh!”
“Asian ghost!”
“Run!”
Everyone except me fled to the next car. I wanted to save them, but without the Great Author’s Pen working, I had no other way.
‘Please survive.’
As the passengers ran, I stepped in front of the Crusher.
“Hello?”
It was a humanoid entity with ego and intelligence, so dialogue was always a viable option.
“I’m Lee Seung-hoon.”
And wasn’t greeting and introducing myself the most courteous and proper choice for that?
So I thought, but it had no interest in talk—it lunged at me right away.
“Could we try talking this out?”
“I’ve heard the Express Train to Hell judges sinners. Judgment requires hearing the sinner’s defense, so dialogue is essential, don’t you think?”
“How about we talk it over instead of this?”
No communication at all.
‘It’ll catch up soon.’
Plus, the speed kept rising—I’d be grabbed by the Crusher any minute.
“No choice. I don’t love violence, and I’m not naive enough to believe every problem can be solved with talk alone.”
I dodged its grasp and threw a light jab. Even in my current state, my physical abilities were top-notch, but it took no damage—my hand hurt instead.
“So from now on, this is self-defense.”
I popped a dried “Friendship” bead in my mouth.
“If you feel like talking, just say so anytime.”
I sidestepped left from its grasp and landed a liver blow.
“Let’s begin.”
The sensation of my fist connecting was incomparably vivid compared to before.
The Crusher froze. Through its shaking hair, our black pupils met.
“I’ll say it once more.”
Ah, it’d been ages since I’d done real fighting—adrenaline was already surging.
“If you’re willing to talk, just let me know anytime.”
‘“Friendship”’s effect is incredible.’
The Crusher, which hadn’t budged at first, now writhed in pain from the accumulating physical damage.
‘My original body was strong too, so this must be the “Friendship” effect, not just raw power.’
Probably let me damage entities that couldn’t normally take physical harm?
‘No wonder it felt like I could beat physical entities the moment I consumed it.’
I grabbed its charging right arm amid its stubborn assault and slammed it down.
The physical impact came from the floor, but its pain reaction suggested a conceptual effect from me as the attacker.
“Still not in the mood for talk?”
I mounted it, pinned both arms with my knees, and hammered its face.
“I’m ready anytime. Solving things with violence only breeds conflict, which sparks new problems. So please, let’s resolve this through dialogue.”
“Please, let’s talk! I beg you!”
It suddenly flung me off with immense force. But in midair, my superhuman reflexes let me grab one arm, apply an armbar on landing, and snap it.
Still no opening for dialogue.
‘This job won’t be easy.’
The Crusher retreated, swinging its broken arm.
“Why won’t you talk?!”
I footworked swiftly, low-kicked its leg, and as it lost balance and fell, I remounted and smashed its face again.
‘Maybe it won’t talk because it’s mentally unstable?’
Perhaps these judges were sinners like us, victims of the train.
‘The first grabbed sinner might’ve been turned into a derivative entity by the train’s power.’
If so, I’d need to fix its mental state—but I had no means for that.
‘Let’s try reciting a sutra.’
Since it was a Buddhist hell train.
The Crusher kept writhing. To stop its resistance, I struck its shoulder blade mid-chant, dislocating it.
My current strength was tonnage-level, yet the train floor neither dented nor pierced.
Its frantic struggles to escape gradually slowed. Was it the violence, or the sutra working? Hard to tell.
“Ready to talk now?”
No answer. I dismounted and checked—it was a mess.
“Oh dear.”
Black blood pooled on the floor. Arm broken, face swollen to bursting, body twitching sporadically.
“Hmm.”
Seeing it, I felt pity.
‘It’s a violent entity that’s crushed countless people to death—hundreds just from humans it’s killed.’
If you didn’t know that, you might feel this way.
But even knowing, I felt sympathy.
‘This shows how human hearts sometimes rely heavily on visual info.’
Sometimes you’re not swayed by appearances and go by unseen facts.
Sometimes you ignore unseen facts and are swayed by appearances.
‘It’s instinct we can’t choose.’
My artistic soul awakened. I pulled out my smartphone to capture the moment.
“Definitely an entity.”
The smartphone captured neither the Crusher nor the bloodstains.
“Then...”
I snapped with the enhanced Polaroid. Confirmed effects so far: photos develop instantly without film, in fractions of a second.
“Oh.”
And now, it could photograph entities too.
“Nice.”
In the developed photo, the pitiful Crusher lying trembling on the floor was the art I’d envisioned.
“Decided.”
I wrote the title on the back.
[Objects Are Far More Dangerous Than They Appear.] A play on car side mirror warnings, encapsulating how human perception twists truth.
Then, the Crusher finally spoke human words.
“Pretty human reaction. Were you human once?”
Its trembling stopped after barely finishing with its mangled mouth.
“Dead or passed out? No clue.”
No pulse. It hadn’t had one during the armbar either, so probably none normally—harder to tell life from death.
‘It’s alive. It’s an entity.’
Thanks to the Crusher, I learned one thing.
“Hard to gauge the proper limit for physical violence against entities.”
Too weak, I lose; too strong, this happens. And variance per entity prevents averages.
‘But the train’s judges are similar, so the Crusher can be my baseline.’
I moved to the next car. I fell into some forest, walked a bit, and reached a temple.
A chubby, laughing Buddha statue-like monk resembling Budai, surrounded by dead passengers strewn about.
My inner artist pre-titled it.
“Phrenology Isn’t Science.”
“Hello?”
Still, worth trying dialogue.
“I’m Lee Seung-hoon.”
“You seem like a monk. I’d like to discuss the Dharma regarding your current actions.”
No harm if it failed.
“Buddha said extreme asceticism is pointless—didn’t you know?”
I could take one more art photo.