Chapter 326
Chapter 326
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 2nd Floor
-----------------------------------------------------------------
To be honest.
Unfortunately, there wasn't much good stuff among the items listed in the manual.
Of course, they wouldn't list the good ones in the manual, but usually, that meant there weren't any good ones.
It even said it would grant your wishes if you made them.
That actually needed to be thought of differently.
In a room set up by an aestheticist, no less, granting people's wishes?
If you asked for money, it'd probably turn your body into gold, or if you asked for eternal life, it'd make you no longer human.
In other words, you had to be careful about voicing your wishes.
-Smack!
I closed the manual and looked at the others.
Yoo Daon leaning against the wall, fixing her hair. Jang Chaeyeon sitting on the sofa. Song Arin sprawled out on the bed like a starfish. And Eileen rummaging through the fridge.
The fridge?
"Eileen, what are you doing? I don't think it's a good idea to drink or eat anything from there."
Who knows what would happen if we consumed stuff from here.
Eileen, who had been digging through the fridge, turned her head to look at me.
"It's not that."
"Huh?"
"I was just thinking, if there's any part of a victim in here, I should take it with us."
"...Ah."
"We might not be able to save them, but if someone's gone missing, we should at least deliver it to their family."
"What would you even say when handing it over?"
"That's not my department, so I wouldn't know. I hear the Management Bureau has a dedicated team for that kind of thing. Especially people with qualifications or abilities related to mental care."
"..."
My gaze shifted to Song Arin, and she spoke up from where she lay spread-eagled on the bed.
"I didn't have anything like that."
"Got it."
"But there's no body, just this."
Eileen pulled something out of the fridge and handed it to me.
"...A phone?"
It was a telephone.
The kind you'd see in a cheap motel.
But it wasn't connected, so it probably wouldn't work for calls.
At the same time, a translucent window popped up in front of me.
[Name: Listening Phone]
[Age: -]
[Specialty: Listening]
[Talent: Fulfillment]
[Background: The staff here are unfriendly, but they'll usually listen to your first request. They can't grant impossible wishes, though.]
[Weakness: It won't listen to your requests after the first one.]
Was this it?
"What is this?"
"...Hmm."
This must be what the manual meant by wishes.
Should I call now?
"..."
No.
"Arin, Eileen."
"Yeah?"
"What?"
The two hurried over to me, and I shared what I knew about the phone.
"...Hmm."
"...Hm..."
They both placed a hand on their chin, deep in thought.
"Should... we save it for now?"
"Yeah, that sounds right."
Song Arin muttered, and Eileen nodded in agreement.
"..."
"..."
I felt eyes on me and turned around to find Jang Chaeyeon and Yoo Daon staring intently.
"...Why?"
"Why didn't you call us?"
"We want to weigh in too."
"..."
Right.
I cleared my throat awkwardly and looked at them.
"So, what do you two think we should do with this?"
"Save it."
"I agree."
"...Ah, okay."
If you're just gonna say the same thing, why ask.
"Let's rest for a bit anyway. We won't have long, so check your gear and recharge your stamina."
Everyone nodded at my words and quietly went about resting on their own.
I sat down on the floor and started reading the manual again.
Maybe there were hidden items further back?
We couldn't rest for long.
The Branch Chief might still be fighting, or something could have happened to her.
Of course, knowing the Branch Chief, she might have just escaped.
She could pop out of nowhere by opening Door 108 and say something like, "Worried about me?"
That would solve our strategy problems.
Rebuilding the team without our max firepower gave me a headache.
Just as that thought ended,
-Knock knock knock.
Someone knocked on the door from outside.
A knock?
While I stood up, Yoo Daon quietly approached and sniffed the air.
"Hm...?"
"What is it?"
"There's a weird smell."
As soon as she said that, a voice came from beyond the door.
[Kim Jaeheon! It's me, open the door!]
It was the Branch Chief's voice.
"..."
We all exchanged glances.
"No one we know just said that, right?"
"Yeah."
"..."
What the hell?
Hold on.
I flipped the page open again.
[Your earnest wish will come true.]
Not the phone—someone had to make a wish?
"...Did anyone make a wish?"
"Would we?"
"I didn't."
"Me neither."
"I didn't either."
All four shook their heads.
Yeah, no one would just wish for something randomly here.
Which means...
- Knock knock knock!
[Kim Jaeheon! Yoo Daon!]
The Branch Chief knocked again.
"That's definitely not the Branch Chief."
"Obviously not. Would she knock? She'd just smash the door down."
"No, that's not what I meant."
I shook my head at Song Arin, who looked exasperated.
"The Branch Chief is still fighting."
- Knock knock knock!
The knocking grew stronger.
[Open the door!]
-Bang bang bang!
The pounding on the door intensified.
"If you're gonna do that, don't label it a rest area."
Song Arin clicked her tongue and stood up.
"What do we do?"
"What do you mean? We smash through."
Force our way.
Is that the play?
"The person with the orbs we picked earlier?"
"Yeah, me."
Yoo Daon pulled out the four orbs.
"Should we bust it?"
At the same time, Eileen drew her gun, and Jang Chaeyeon stood up, raising her hand.
"No. Wait a sec."
-Bang! Bang!
[Open the damn door!]
An absolutely uncharacteristic angry voice from the Branch Chief.
-Crack!
An ominous sound started coming from the door.
"...Should we really fight it?"
Jang Chaeyeon silently stepped forward.
"Chaeyeon?"
"If I die, bury me somewhere sunny."
"Where'd you learn jokes like that?"
"Observer."
Teaches her the weirdest stuff.
As Jang Chaeyeon took the front,
-Bang!
The door dented, and something became visible through the gap.
Something pitch black.
I could only describe it as "something."
It was like an unfinished drawing.
The face looked half-colored, the body half-sculpted.
Even where hair should be, papers fluttered.
A translucent window appeared.
[Name: Incomplete Work]
[Age: Created 23 years ago]
[Specialty: Incomplete]
[Talent: Incomplete]
[Background: Because completion was delayed, it now roams seeking materials to finish itself.]
[Weakness: It cannot choose its own materials.]
-Creak!
It grabbed the door and tore at it. Jang Chaeyeon immediately thrust out her hand, hurling it far away.
Or trying to.
It crossed its arms, blocking Jang Chaeyeon's attack.
"Kim Jaeheon!"
A voice full of noise, like it had learned the Branch Chief's, rang out. Eileen aimed at it and pulled the trigger.
-Bang! Bang! Bang!
But the bullets didn't do much damage.
"...Gonna use the phone?"
Song Arin, who had drawn her pistol, aimed at it while looking at me. I hesitated.
Should I? Use Critical, or call and ask them to remove it.
Or...
It can't choose materials.
Meaning, whatever I pick becomes the material.
The softest thing here.
The sofa? Or...
My gaze went to the wall.
"Help out."
I frantically started peeling off the wallpaper, and Song Arin stared at me with wide eyes.
"What are you doing? Finally lost it?"
"Yes!"
Yoo Daon joined in peeling wallpaper without a second thought, and Eileen drew her combat knife to slice it off.
"What’s the plan?"
"We're completing it with wallpaper."
"I don't get it, but we throw wallpaper at it, right?"
"Exactly. Give the wallpaper to Chaeyeon, and she'll throw it at that thing with telekinesis."
"Got it."
"...Ah, seriously, I told you not to act without explaining!"
Song Arin grumbled as she started peeling wallpaper too.
We handed pieces to Jang Chaeyeon as we peeled, and she fired them off with telekinesis.
"Uh...! Uh...!"
The wallpaper stuck to its body, and it let out bizarre noises.
We kept ripping and throwing, Jang Chaeyeon kept attaching, until it was somewhat complete.
A grotesque drawing stumbling around, covered head to toe in floral wallpaper.
It was one or two times our size, hideous-looking, and probably lethal if it hit, but hey—wallpaper.
Another translucent window appeared before me.
[Name: Completed Product (Wallpaper)]
[Age: Created just now]
[Specialty: -]
[Talent: -]
[Background: Even if it tears easily, a human can't withstand a hit.]
[Weakness: Tears easily.]
"Eileen, knife!"
I gestured for the knife, but Eileen didn't hand it over. Instead, she tapped Yoo Daon's shoulder and charged forward.
Soon after, Yoo Daon gripped her awl and followed Eileen.
It swung at the running Eileen, but she slid low, slicing its leg.
Yoo Daon slid the other way, stabbing her awl into its leg and ripping viciously.
-Riiip!
With the sound of paper tearing, it dropped to one knee.
"Down!"
"Eek!"
Jang Chaeyeon yelled, and I yanked Song Arin's arm, flattening us to the floor.
"Hngh..."
Jang Chaeyeon glared at it with wide eyes. It swung its arm, and she dropped with us, clenching her fists tight.
At that moment, its leg caught on something—it tripped, rolled, and flew over our heads.
-Boom!
It crashed into the wall with a massive noise that shook the room. Without looking back, I grabbed Song Arin's hand and bolted out the door.
"Kim Jaeheon!"
It rose, calling us in the Branch Chief's noisy voice. We ran without looking back.
We'd blocked it for now, but a head-on clash would be bad news.
As Song Arin exited last, Yoo Daon kicked the dented door shut, and we raced up the stairs like it was planned.
"The orb...!"
"Huh...?"
Song Arin shouted urgently, but we hadn't used it.
We didn't have time to think about it anyway.
Because...
"Kim Jaeheooon...!"
It kept calling, chasing us.
We kept climbing the stairs.
Until it couldn't follow.
"Huff... huff..."
"Whew..."
"Hah..."
We didn't know how far we'd run.
When I looked up ahead, a sign reading [2nd Floor] came into view.
All five of us had reached the entrance to this floor.
Felt like we'd climbed about ten floors.
"...What is this place..."
Yoo Daon blinked at the floor's scenery and muttered. None of us had words.
Bright yellow lights illuminated the hallway. The floor was grated metal, precarious like it could give way any second.
But above all.
"...Is that a person?"
Eileen muttered, and we all followed her gaze into the distance.
Something was walking.
We couldn't tell exactly with its back to us, but a hunched figure carrying a lamp trudged through the already-lit space, illuminating it anyway.
-Step... step...
It turned to look at us,
And vanished, leaving the lamp rolling on the floor.
-Clang!
The lamp hit the grate with a racket, and all the lights on the 2nd floor went out.