Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Magic Eden
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“We've arrived.”
“Ah, thank you. Here's the card.”
The taxi driver took the card and processed the payment. Ian retrieved his card and stepped out of the taxi.
“......Hoo.”
What filled his view was a dense canopy of trees.
Midway up an unnamed mountain on the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province. A road had been paved, allowing taxis to reach this point, but there was no denying it was a rugged, untended backwoods trail.
The sun still hung in the sky, yet an eerie gloom permeated everything. He could feel the gazes of lingering resentful spirits scattered about the mountain, and in the shadowed spots where sunlight couldn't reach, pitch-black figures loomed ominously.
'The welcome party's a bit over the top.'
Ian gave a wry smile and lit a cigarette.
Backwoods mountains like this were rife with ghost stories—too many to count. Even ordinary folk could easily fall prey to vengeful evil spirits here, let alone a mage. Anomalies would swarm anyone like him in droves.
Fortunately, most were just lesser spirits, and the shadowy forms lacked real power, so dealing with them shouldn't be too hard. The best outcome would be avoiding trouble altogether, but he couldn't rule out a sudden attack.
Well, his materials for crafting horrors were running low anyway. He'd planned to gather some inside the theme park, and if they came charging at him first, he wouldn't say no.
“......”
He pushed the idle thoughts aside and sat on a nearby rock, pulling out his ticket.
The theme park address on the ticket matched exactly where he was: the midway point on this mountain, just beyond the severed road. A few more steps forward, and he'd be at the entrance.
Visually, there was no gateway in sight, but the theme park itself didn't exist on this mountain to begin with. Structures that massive couldn't possibly go unnoticed from town.
So the 'entrance' marked on the ticket was best thought of as a passageway.
A conduit linking the theme park to reality. Likely, the moment someone with a ticket crossed it, they'd be transported inside.
'Once you're in, getting out on your own won't be an option. Otherwise, they wouldn't bother dragging people back after a week.'
He had no idea what the theme park's true purpose was or why it abducted people.
Nor did he need to know. That was the Management Bureau's job, not a mage like him.
What mattered to him was the Cartel's target: the manager's heart. He'd save any survivors he could, but if that wasn't feasible or things went south, he'd abandon them without hesitation.
Above all else, Ian's top priority was his own survival.
As he mulled this over, someone came huffing and puffing up the downhill path. Ian instinctively reached for the revolver inside his coat and eyed the intruder.
“Th-the path...... Heek, why is it so rough...... Hngh......”
She had light brown hair and striking black eyes. Panting heavily, her legs trembling, she climbed the trail until she spotted Ian sitting on the rock—and froze.
“Ah, ah......”
Her cheeks flushed in an instant, her eyes quivering pitifully.
Her lips trembled as if she had no idea what expression to make, and she couldn't even look him straight in the eye.
To put it kindly, she seemed extremely shy. Ian thumbed back the revolver's hammer slightly and rose slowly to his feet.
“Eek......!”
Even that tiny motion made her flinch. She looked like a timid hamster, but Ian kept his guard up and cautiously spoke.
“Who are you?”
“H-Hello...... Um, I-I was supposed to meet a guy here......”
She stammered like a bleating goat, fidgeting with her fingers. The massive guitar case slung on her back shook in time with her tremors.
Ian mulled over her words, then ventured a guess.
“......Strawberry Yogurt Smoothie?”
“Ah!”
Her eyes lit up.
“N-Newbie......?”
Her voice brightened a touch, and Ian released his grip on the revolver, closing his eyes tight.
He'd hoped it wasn't true.
*
Community nickname: Strawberry Yogurt Smoothie.
Real name: Han Yu-na.
She sat a short distance from Ian, clutching and fiddling with her ticket.
No matter how you looked at her, she didn't seem like a mage. If anything, she just appeared nervous around a stranger.
'So her online persona was all an act......'
Not that he could judge—who didn't do that?
Ian swallowed a sigh and offered her a cigarette.
“Want one?”
“Ah, n-no thanks. I don't smoke......”
“I know. Just kidding.”
“Ah! S-Sorry! For not t-taking it......”
This is maddening.
Ian pocketed the cigarette and stood. Yu-na rose slowly after him.
Having climbed the uphill path on foot, her thigh muscles quivered. She'd claimed she could run 2km no problem. Another lie, apparently.
But despite the comical exterior, her skills as a mage were likely top-notch.
Someone with that personality and physique had still chosen to tackle the theme park. There had to be something reliable about her.
Plus, no matter what anyone said, Yu-na was a veteran far more experienced in this line of work than he was. No need to worry about her holding him back.
That said, he wasn't planning to carry her either. He'd give it his all too.
“Time to head in. Or do you need more prep?”
Ian asked. Yu-na shook her head vigorously and gripped the strap of her guitar case.
“N-No! I'm ready!”
“Let's go then.”
Ian led the way, ticket in one hand and grimoire in the other. Yu-na wobbled briefly under the case's weight before following.
They stepped forward slowly, starting from the broken road.
One step.
Nothing changed.
Two steps.
Fireworks boomed from somewhere. The sky was clear.
Three steps.
The faint sounds of an orchestra, instruments, and children's laughter echoed around. Nothing in sight could have made them.
Four steps.
“......!”
In that instant, the scenery flipped.
The blue sky bled red. Where clouds should have been, massive clown balloons floated by, and ahead—previously empty—an entrance with staff appeared.
“Here you go, little friend! Have a balloon!”
Beside the entrance,
A clown with bundles of balloons tied where its arms should be crawled on the ground, handing one to a bug with a human head.
“Wow, thanks, mister!”
With a sickening crunch, the bug bit into the arm-torn balloon and crawled off, leaving a trail of red blood on the ground.
“......Hell has nothing on this.”
He'd expected abnormality, but not horrors like these right at the gate.
“Wh-whoa...... This place is so gross......”
Yu-na, who'd followed him in, muttered. Ian agreed.
“Gross, you say?”
At that moment, the three staff at the entrance whipped their heads around in unison.
Not 'people'—creatures. Their bodies were human-like, but their heads were beasts'. Not masks, but real animal skulls crudely sewn on, precarious and oozing. Stitches burst open, spilling blood and dangling flesh.
The worst-off, a rabbit head, staggered forward to stand before Yu-na.
“You really find us gross? Really? Really? Really?”
“......Eugh. You're ugly......”
Yu-na wrinkled her nose in disgust and waved it off. Deciding there was no point starting trouble here, she held out her ticket to the rabbit.
“I'm here to enter. Treat me like a guest.”
“Ah, a guest! Sorry, I thought you were an intruder!”
The rabbit checked the ticket and bowed gracefully.
Its voice was genderless, riddled with static like an old recording. Listening made his head throb.
'......Not imagining it.'
A real headache bloomed.
Probably some mental manipulation baked into its voice.
No benefit in sticking around. Ian stepped beside Yu-na and presented his own ticket.
“I'm entering. No issues?”
“Yes! Welcome to Magic Eden! Dreams and hope, blood and flesh! The thrilling theme park where screams come alive—we sincerely greet you!”
The rabbit bounded around them with exaggerated gestures. Ian ignored it, crossing the gate into the park proper. Yu-na followed, eyeing the horrors with revulsion.
“Be sure to take the guidebook! We won't cover any penalties for not doing so!”
Beside the escalator leading deeper in, a human head impaled on a rack of booklets opened its mouth and shouted. Ian glanced at it, grabbed a booklet, and boarded the escalator.
Yu-na did the same.
“Th-this place is so creepy...... I knew it would be, but......”
“You don't stutter around horrors?”
Ian remarked as he wiped blood from his booklet. Yu-na nodded shyly, as if it were obvious.
“Th-they're dumb...... No reason to get nervous......”
“People make you uneasy?”
“Y-Yeah...... I'm shy around folks, and I've never really made friends...... Ehehe......”
She gave an awkward laugh. Ian nodded in understanding, then opened his booklet.
[Magic Eden Rulebook!]
That was scrawled at the top.
He scanned the contents.
[1. Never disobey staff orders. Please comply with controls!]
[2. Each attraction has unique missions and rules! We won't cover penalties for ignoring them!]
[3. No troublemakers allowed!]
[4. If trouble arises with other guests, reconcile! Otherwise, our Reform Team will step in!]
[5. To honor the money and effort in building this park, you can't leave until you've experienced at least 3 attractions!]
[6. Please enjoy Magic Eden! No criticism or complaints!]
“Th-this is like creepypasta rules......”
Yu-na muttered with a groan after reading. Ian nodded.
“Best to follow them for now?”
“Yeah...... Ignoring these usually spells trouble right away......”
She closed her booklet and replied. Ian pocketed his and stepped off the escalator.
The vista that unfolded was overwhelming.
“Wheee, up we go! Up!!”
Naked humans sprinting a cable car line, plummeting to their doom.
Dart and shooting games targeting live people.
Children innocently smiling while clutching human heads like balloons.
And myriad other sadistic attractions and stalls defying sanity.
“E-Eugh......”
Yu-na pinched her nose against the vibrating blood and stench.
Ian let out a hollow laugh, staring at the clown clouds drifting overhead.
......This job wasn't going to be easy.