Chapter 55
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: The Secret to Stamina
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When I came to my senses, I was in the master bedroom. Dayeon was waving at me, seeing me off.
“Be careful out there.”
I wanted to be, but I couldn’t. I felt like collapsing right where I stood.
“I’m just going to rest for a bit...”
“Are you scared?”
“Let’s just say I am.”
I leaned against the wall and slumped to the floor. I took a short break like that.
What was that spectacle I’d just witnessed?
The cat doll had come to life. Not only that, it had sliced me to pieces.
Even for a paranormal phenomenon, this was clearly different from what happened at school.
There wasn't a shred of mercy, not even a chance to escape.
For a mere doll, it radiated an intimidating aura, the kind you should never confront.
To put it in gaming terms, the difficulty seemed to have jumped about fivefold compared to the school.
It might have looked like a doll, but this was no different from playing tag with a crazed killer.
How am I supposed to get around this place...?
My mind went blank right from the start.
To think I had to sneak around this damn house, avoiding the doll's eyes.
As I was despairing, I remembered the Omake Mode's special abilities.
This was no time to be happy about getting Manual Save. To search this house, a special ability was practically mandatory.
Is that why they gave me three coins?
It felt like the system was mourning my fate, giving me some cash for my final journey.
Something had felt off.
Did this mean you needed about three special abilities just to have a chance at clearing this?
And one of them was Manual Save, which couldn't directly affect the gameplay.
Right now, I needed an ability I could actively use to explore this place.
Besides, I still had two coins.
I could afford to use one. I immediately opened the Omake Mode and brought up the ability draw screen.
[Draw Special Ability]
【You can spend a Ghost Story Coin to draw a special ability. Use them in the right place at the right time to clear the game!】
[Ghost Story Coins Owned: 2]
I wasn't hoping for anything game-breaking.
I didn't care if it was trash, as long as it was something useful for making progress.
‘God, Buddha, Satan...’
I rubbed my hands together and prayed desperately.
I could feel Dayeon's bewildered gaze on me, but I didn't care at all.
[Spend a Ghost Story Coin to draw a special ability?]
【Draw/Cancel】
I gave a deep bow in my mind and pressed the accept button. At the same time, the slot machine in the background began to spin with a whir.
Please be something useful. I clasped my hands together and watched the screen with bated breath.
The spinning slot machine gradually slowed, pointing to a single ability.
[Congratulations! You have acquired the special ability 'Stamina'!]
In that moment, I felt a surge of energy course through my body. Was this also part of the ability?
With a glimmer of hope, I read the detailed description.
[Stamina]
【When running or interacting, you can consume stamina to amplify your power.
Consuming all your stamina will put you in a state of exhaustion.
While exhausted, your actions will be restricted for 3 minutes.】
The description felt strangely familiar. It was the kind of stamina system common in open-world games.
Thankfully, just as I’d hoped, I got an ability that could be used directly in the game.
With this, I should be able to react quickly even if I ran into the doll.
‘Phew...’
I let out a sigh of relief. If I had drawn a dud this time, I would have been in real trouble.
As I was calming my weary mind, Dayeon sidled up next to me.
“Are you tired?”
“I'm fine now.”
“You're right, you look much brighter.”
My expression after dying just now must have looked pretty strange to her.
“Were you sad thinking you wouldn't see me again?”
“Something like that.”
“...Huh?”
My mind was burning with vengeance, so Dayeon's words didn't register.
I gave a half-hearted reply and clenched my fists.
This time, I wouldn't go down as easily as before.
Just as I steeled my resolve, Dayeon rummaged in her clothes and pulled out a piece of fabric.
“Here.”
“What’s this?”
Not knowing what it was, I took the item Dayeon offered me. It turned out to be an ordinary handkerchief.
[You have obtained Jin Dayeon's Handkerchief.]
“Why are you giving this to me all of a sudden?”
“Use it when you miss me.”
Dayeon smiled sweetly. I couldn't guess her intentions at all.
Still, thinking it might be useful later, I took it without complaint.
Didn't she not give me this before?
A sense of déjà vu washed over me.
I had only been in the master bedroom for a moment, yet the situation was already different from before.
Is this that so-called butterfly effect?
I stared blankly at the handkerchief Dayeon had given me. It seemed to carry her faint scent.
Wait, scent?
I froze, my fingers fiddling with the handkerchief. Having briefly lost myself in thought, all sorts of ideas were popping into my head.
This isn't the time for this...
I barely managed to quiet my distracting thoughts and hurriedly prepared to leave. Before leaving the master bedroom, I didn't forget to save.
Dayeon watched me with a suspicious look, likely because I kept asking for a handshake.
“You're shaking hands a lot today. Did something scary happen?”
“...I'll explain later.”
Though Dayeon and I had been through thick and thin together, I still hadn't told her that I regress every time I die.
I felt like I should explain soon, but I couldn't help but hesitate.
Still, I'd have to tell her someday.
It might have been different back at the school, but now the line between Dayeon and me had all but vanished.
When it came to paranormal phenomena, she was without a doubt the only one I trusted.
I resolved to tell her everything once this was over.
[Current progress has been saved.]
Anyway, all preparations were complete. The situation was clearly different from last time.
I now had the newly acquired Stamina and Dayeon's handkerchief.
Hoping these two would trigger a butterfly effect, I left the master bedroom.
My route was the same as before.
Since I wanted to test the effects of Stamina, I deliberately headed for the kitchen.
But how do I use this ability?
According to the description, I could use it when running or interacting.
However, the exact method of use wasn't specified, so I was at a loss.
Would anything change if I just did as the description said?
I tightened my shoelaces. And then I just bolted down the hallway.
My body felt light as my legs picked up speed. It felt like I was riding the wind, dashing forward.
“Whoa...!”
Like some kind of track star, I reached the end of the hall in an instant. It felt like I was running about twice as fast as my usual speed.
It was that significant. I was slightly impressed.
This ability was more amazing than I thought.
As I marveled at it, I noticed a window in the corner of my vision. It was a new display I hadn't seen while running.
A blue gauge had depleted by about half and was now slowly refilling. This was probably my current stamina gauge.
So this is how you use it.
I had a rough idea of how it worked now.
The fact that I'd be exhausted if I used it all up was a bit concerning.
But in a real situation, the pros far outweighed the cons. There was no reason not to use it.
Having fully grasped how to use Stamina, I entered the kitchen.
I took a determined step forward, vowing not to be taken down so easily this time.
And the plate fell.
*Crash!*
“Shit!!”
Startled, I recoiled in alarm, clutching my pounding heart.
The shattered remains of the plate were scattered on the floor. It was the exact same scene as the last playthrough, down to the last detail.
But something was strange. The timing of the plate shattering was identical to the last time.
The moment I stepped into the kitchen, the plate broke without the slightest deviation. Not a minute, not even a second was off.
It was obviously not a coincidence.
A timing like this couldn't be created without the intervention of some unknown, irresistible force.
Is this an event?
It seems the plate shattering is some kind of trigger.
[The moment Lee Hyeon steps into the kitchen, a plate shatters.]
Thanks to this trigger being pre-set in the kitchen, a perfectly fine plate smashed the instant I entered.
It was a completely useless event, meant for nothing more than to startle me.
“Fucking hell...”
I muttered a curse and checked the broken plate. Sure enough, one of the shards was glittering.
[You have obtained a Plate Shard.]
With this, the situation was unfolding similarly to the last playthrough. If my prediction was correct, the doll would be here soon.
And sure enough, I began to hear light footsteps from down the hall.
Bring it on.
You think I'll go down as helplessly as last time?
Soon, the cat doll appeared. It was still holding a kitchen knife in its right hand.
Glad to see the doll again, I offered a light greeting.
“Hey, you little shit. I'm gonna boil you alive.”
Unfortunately, I received no reply. The doll just stared at me blankly.
Acting like a robot for a mere doll, it twitched for a moment before muttering quietly.
[Found you.]
“Found what, you bastard? I'll turn you into cat soup. Should I get the cauldron?”
I taunted it with a threatening tone. The doll flinched for a moment.
I wasn't sure what it was, but my provocation seemed to have worked, as the doll's demeanor changed.
As we faced off, the doll rushed towards me at high speed.
“Whoa!”
In the last playthrough, I didn't even realize what was happening before the doll turned me into sashimi.
But this time was different. I used Stamina to quickly dodge the knife attack.
“Yikes!”
Stamina didn't just increase my physical endurance; it also improved my kinetic vision. Thanks to that, I was able to safely evade the doll's attack.
“Hah, hah...”
To be honest, I was terrified on the inside.
Even if it was just a doll, it was hard to maintain my composure against an opponent with a knife.
I gasped for breath and quickly racked my brain.
Suddenly, I remembered the 'How to Deal with a Guy with a Knife.gif' I saw on an internet forum. To fight the doll, I recalled that memory.
[How to Deal with a Guy with a Knife.gif]
【Here's how to handle someone with a knife. Block their arm? Subdue them? Grab them?
None of that crap means anything. The guy with the knife is a person, too. He's not just going to stand there and take your hits. Just follow the instructions.
If you want to live, just fucking run.】
“Goddammit.”
The doll charged at me, swinging its knife wildly. I dodged its attack and moved to one side.
The doll immediately followed me, and seeing my chance, I sprinted to the opposite side.
As expected, this was the only way to beat it. Just like the post said, I just fucking ran.
In reality, most Horror RPG Maker games were pretty similar. The flow of running from a killer to survive was common to many other games.
It was the same now.
Wasn't it like this at school, too?
The only difference was that the crazy security guard had been replaced by a crazy doll.
Still, being chased by a cute little cat doll was way better than being chased by a bald old man with dead eyes.
Of course, both of them were assholes all the same.
And so I ran blindly down the hall.
Perhaps because I was using Stamina, the doll couldn't catch up to me.
But there was a limit to how long I could keep running. The moment I ran out of stamina, I'd become exhausted.
And I would surely be caught then.
If I didn't want to become a minced pile of meat, I had to find another way.
I started trying every door I saw. Of course, most of them were locked.
*Rattle, rattle.*
*Rattle.*
*Rattle, rattle, rattle.*
“For fuck's sake.”
Why is everything locked?
Just as my stamina was about to run out, as I was wandering the hall rattling doorknobs...
-Click
I heard a different sound from a door. I couldn't believe it, but the doorknob had turned.
Yes...!
I was beside myself with joy. But this was no time to celebrate.
Hiding was the priority. I quickly entered the room before the doll arrived.
*Click.*
Just in case, I locked the door from the inside. It would be difficult for the doll's blunt, cotton-stuffed hands to open it.
Only then could I finally breathe a sigh of relief. Assured that I was alive, I looked around.
I had entered the room without knowing where it was. A quick glance revealed it to be a computer room.
“...A computer?”
My gaze fell on the computer sitting alone in the middle of the room.
For some reason, the power was ominously on. The brightly lit monitor displayed a long piece of text.
The title of the text was as follows.
[One-man Hide-and-seek]