Chapter 67
Chapter 67
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: CHAPTER 2 - Onboard Murder Case
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Ian bolted upright in bed and immediately grabbed the grimoire. The Hand of Recreation settled softly and fluttered open, and he placed his hand over the text floating before his eyes.
“Be reborn.”
Wooong.
The activated magic interfered with the array of letters, distorting the characters.
It was only for a moment. The collapsed letters returned to normal, blinking in front of Ian's eyes.
“……Hah.”
The first situation where recreation magic failed to work. Ian felt a chill run down his spine for some reason and tested the spell on the cup next to the table.
Wooduk!
With a sound like something crumpling, the cup's shape changed into that of a dagger.
It seemed less like a problem with the magic itself and more like this unidentified “status window” anomaly was ignoring the magic. It wasn't completely unaffected, but it was clear it couldn't be killed with brute force.
“Fuu…….”
Ian took out a cigarette with slightly trembling hands, lit it, and exhaled smoke into the air. Smoking indoors was prohibited, but he had no spare attention for that right now.
The hot nicotine and tar soaked into his lungs, clearing his mind considerably. With a cold expression, he sat on the edge of the bed and manipulated this “status window.”
‘Direct touch…… works. It feels like operating a VR game's system.’
There was a genre commonly called gamパン, novels where characters enter games and move around with status windows— the scene before him looked just like that.
Then, could it be that I've been pulled into a game too?
“…….”
The thought crossed his mind for a moment, but Ian didn't jump to conclusions and cooled his head.
Since he'd encountered an unexpected situation, he needed to move calmly. Panicking and flailing would only narrow his field of vision.
‘It can't just be me who's changed like this. Everyone on this cruise must be affected.’
He calmly assessed the situation.
According to the status window, Ian's role was detective.
It wouldn't be an arbitrary assignment without basis. He'd spent the entire previous day searching for clues to the incident, so that must be why he got this job.
As proof, Lee Seo-ah, who had been gambling at the casino last night, was assigned the role of gambler.
The others were probably no different. The captain was likely the real captain, while photographer or detective were probably jobs obtained through specific triggers. Not their actual professions.
‘Some kind of role-playing game.’
Roles assigned based on analysis of the previous day's actions.
The anomaly must have been operating covertly since yesterday. Since he hadn't detected it, it was probably parasitic or tool-like in nature rather than one that acted directly.
Either way, it was a massive pain. Ian clicked his tongue in irritation and turned his head toward the terrace.
Thick clouds covered the sky, so the sun hadn't risen. The night was receding, but it wasn't a bright morning. A thick sea fog blanketed the water's surface, and beneath it, something seemed to be swimming.
……Just ordinary fish?
He couldn't tell. He had no desire to check right now anyway. This wasn't the time.
Ian stubbed out the finished cigarette in the ashtray, washed up quickly, and left the room.
Lee Seo-ah was nowhere to be seen. There were signs of life from the next room, so she was probably still asleep.
Without hesitation, he called her to wake her.
[Unng……? Whyyy…….]
A voice hoarse with sleep flowed from the phone speaker. Ian got straight to the point without beating around the bush.
“The anomaly's started moving. You seeing this status window crap?”
[Yeah……? Status window……? ……What the fuck is this.]
Her voice cleared up in an instant. The sound of blankets sliding off and bed springs creaking faintly followed.
[Why am I a gambler? I'm a mage!]
“Probably because you made a ton gambling last night. Anyway, that's not the point. The problem is we've gotten caught up in an anomaly without knowing it.”
He leaned against the corridor wall and looked around.
“……Uuuugh.”
Far off, beyond the corner, a staggering woman approached. Ian felt the cold touch of the revolver in his coat and licked his lips.
“Come out quick. If you're not out in 30 minutes, I'll break the door down.”
[Got it. I'll get ready and head out right away.]
Lee Seo-ah replied swiftly without complaint and hung up. Ian operated his phone with one hand to launch the GPS app.
[Current Location: Foggy Sea Area]
An unheard-of region name popped up. Ian furrowed his brow and zoomed out the map.
The expanded world map. A red dot marked in the center sat in the ocean between South and North America.
‘……This is the Bermuda Triangle.’
Ian wasn't particularly knowledgeable about foreign coastlines, but he knew this was the Atlantic region called the Bermuda Triangle. It was so famous there was no need to think twice.
A place shrouded in conspiracy theories and mysteries. Yet most had been debunked just a few years ago—or so it seemed. Given the sudden translocation, this was probably another info cover-up by the Management Bureau.
That fact itself wasn't surprising. What mattered was flying from Korea's territorial waters to the American continent overnight.
‘It's a real-world location, so we're not trapped in a spatial anomaly. It feels like literal teleportation…….’
Teleportation, of all things.
A word utterly devoid of realism, but with an anomaly involved, not impossible. Ian let out a long breath and turned toward the approaching woman in the distance.
“Uuuugh.”
Drenched like she'd been dunked in water. Yellow pus and sludge dripped between dilated pupils, and blue tentacles writhed from her right leg, torn into three strands.
No matter how you looked at her, she wasn't normal. Ian put a cigarette in his mouth and pulled a pocket knife from his pocket, throwing it straight at her.
Whiiiiiing!!
The knife flew swiftly, grazing the woman's thigh and falling. She vanished into fog without a scream or reaction.
[Kieeeek!!]
Three small blue earthworms fell where she had been. They screeched with mouths agape.
Too grotesque to call ordinary parasites.
Ian drew his revolver to shoot them dead, but they withered faster than he could pull the trigger.
[Kiiiiiik…….]
Shriveled like the moisture had been sucked out.
The earthworms vanished into dust without attacking.
“…….”
Ian quickly holstered his aimed revolver and checked for witnesses.
Fortunately, no one had seen. There was a CCTV in the middle of the corridor, but since he was with Lee Seo-ah, it wasn't a big issue. He just needed to handle direct witnesses.
“……Fuu.”
Ian lit the end of his cigarette and exhaled deeply.
Moments later, Lee Seo-ah opened her door and stepped out.
In a light crop top, hoodie zip-up, and long pants, she frowned at the sight of Ian smoking.
“Smoking's prohibited here.”
“Now's not the time to nitpick that.”
Ian brushed off her remark lightly and stood.
“I just saw something monstrous. Looked like a drowned corpse with tentacles sprouting from a split leg.”
“Common anomaly. Any other traits?”
The two walked while talking.
“It dispersed into fog when it died. Not sure if it was still maintaining human form or if it was originally human, but it counted as primate.”
“Ah, you killed it with that knife?”
Ian nodded and picked up the kitchen knife from the corridor floor. Lee Seo-ah sent a guardian spirit into the CCTV.
“Since it died without resistance, it's confirmed.”
“Just in case, but what if we're hallucinating? What if what you killed was human, and this status window is all fake? How's that hypothesis?”
“Impossible. If it was human, even if the disappearance was hallucination, a body should've remained. But we walked the corridor without issue.”
Ian glanced at the clear corridor and pressed the elevator button.
“So it's not a hallucination.”
Lee Seo-ah nodded.
“I agree. I've experienced plenty of hallucinations, so distinguishing them is easy. Just ruling it out, don't overthink it.”
She held out an empty bone dust vial to Ian and looked back at him.
“This. The bone dust vial I gave you yesterday. It was activated when I woke up. Whatever anomaly is here definitely interfered with our minds.”
“……I'm still fine.”
Ian pulled out the glass vial in the exact same state as when he'd received it, looking dubious. Lee Seo-ah paused briefly but nodded upon seeing the grimoire peeking from his coat.
“Probably the grimoire built a mental barrier. You're pretty favored, huh. Not sure if Outer God affection is a good thing.”
“…….”
Ian consciously regarded the grimoire in his bag with newfound surprise. The two books vibrated shortly upon sensing his gaze.
A tremor like asking, ‘Did I do good?’ He smiled wryly and stroked their covers.
“No issues there. Anyway, if it's mental-based, we've dodged the first attack? Neither of us seems unhinged.”
“Probably. No memory confusion for me. You?”
“None. All my learned spells are still in my head.”
“Good.”
The elevator arrived as they spoke.
A young couple rode inside. Ignoring the two's gazes entirely, they pressed against the wall, kissing fiercely.
Text floated above their heads.
[Newlyweds Lee Tae-ryeong]
[Newlyweds Kim Ga-in]
Names like game NPCs.
Ian and Seo-ah confirmed no such text appeared over their own heads before boarding.
The overt kissing sounds echoed, but Seo-ah gripped the awl in her pocket without a shred of embarrassment.
Her aura was murderous enough to stab their throats at any funny business. Ian was much the same.
“Uung, honey.”
“Stay still, okay?”
As the elevator descended, they repeated those words incessantly. Even their movements were identical.
No matter how you sliced it, they weren't normal humans. More credible as programmed machines.
“……They're possessed.”
Seo-ah said, glancing at the newlyweds.
“Eroded by their roles.”
“…….”
“Mental attacks seem to work like that. If we'd fallen, I'd act like a gambler, you'd act like a detective. Real game NPCs.”
“……Tricky bastard. An anomaly overlaying a game on reality?”
“Not sure, but if so, the solution is…….”
“Seeing it through to the ending.”
Ian replied, smoking his third cigarette.
The smoke hit the elevator ceiling and dispersed.
At that moment, the elevator stopped automatically and arrived at the dining floor.
Ding.
The doors opened with a cheerful chime.