234 – Are the Returnees Brave? (2)
I hate to say this, but… I’m scared of ghosts.
I carried around a sharp sword that would blow off my limbs if I made a mistake, survived for three days and nights in a place where blood, organs, and their contents flew around, and fought for my life against a terrifying mannequin… Ghosts are scary.
In my head, I know there is no way ghosts exist. I know that those things are all just ghost stories and irrational, but… Still, I get goosebumps for no reason when I go to the bathroom in the dark, and I prepare a blanket when I watch a horror movie. Should I call it fear at the instinct level?
This fear grew as the tower appeared and grew, but it did not decrease. Originally, ‘Ghost? If there was such a thing, there would also be a Tyrannosaurus ghost. I could have forced a smile, but… With status windows, towers, and monsters appearing, it became impossible to deny ghosts.
But suddenly, this floor?
A yellowish old building. Without even a window, you have to rely on flickering incandescent lights as a light source. Handcuffs that appear to have been used for sinister purposes. No, now that I look at it, it looks like there’s a little bit of blood on it.
A hospital, definitely a mental hospital. The word ‘abandoned’ is added in front. It’s a place that appears in horror movies or games.
Usually, when I see people crawling into places like this on their own, I wonder, ‘Why do they go there?’ But I never dreamed that I would be forcibly thrown in like this. Doesn’t it look like they’re even openly targeting the mission window?
〈24th floor〉
-Escape.
There is no telling what to do. Just escape. It is safe to say that many things are implied. I can’t even think of opening that old door and going out.
But I can’t wait on this bed for a thousand years. ‘Escape’ is not something that can be done automatically by waiting. There wasn’t much information that could be found in this cement-blocked prison-like place with no clock or windows.
“Courage, courage. Until the waters of the East Sea and Mt. Baekdu dry up and wear out~”
I carefully got out of bed, repeating the national anthem in a voice so low that I could barely hear it. In times like this, think about healing. Manul Wild Cat… Fu Bao… Black-footed cat… American Crying Rabbit…
“… ?”
I was walking towards the old door, imagining healing animals, and stopped without realizing it.
Through the small glass in the old door… Because I saw a silhouette of something shaking from above.
Generally, the silhouette seen beyond the door is reflected below or to the side. This is because animals living on Earth live with their feet attached to the ground. But upward.
“Whoa, whoa… ” “
Slowly, taking a deep breath. Slowly approach the door. I have to go out this door anyway. If I have to face it someday, I’d rather do it now.
I held the iron doorknob tightly, and the cold doorknob felt warm with my body temperature. I decided to take action.
-Snap!
After making up my mind, I opened the door and saw… !!!
-Dangling. Dangling.
… It was a rope. Not something like a person attached to the ceiling, just a rope attached to the ceiling.
“… Phew.”
While I was relieved, I looked up at the ceiling where the rope was extending out. The rope was tied tightly to a small gap in the ceiling, and the rope hanging from the ceiling looked very creepy.
“… Huuuuu.”
Why are there ropes hanging from the ceiling? Damn. Now I see ropes hanging all over the hallway. It looks like a vine hanging down from some kind of jungle.
The long hallway was not much different from the room I was in. The lights on the ceiling flicker, the floor and walls are old and worn, and the cushions on the small chairs placed in the middle are torn apart.
So, from now on, we have to escape from here. From what I remember, there was a hallway like this on the 12th floor as well, and while that place was more like a laboratory with a professional atmosphere, this one… It feels like it won’t be strange even if something pops out.
I craned my head and looked left and right, then stretched out my feet and tapped the floor, then pulled my entire body out of the room. Yeah, it’s okay. Safe. Not yet.
There was no need to worry about things like ‘Where should I go now?’ The left side was blocked by a concrete wall anyway, and the only place to go was to the right.
“… “
Before heading to the right, look into the glass of the door across from you. I can’t see anything here as the fire has gone out. In the dark, it seems like something is moving inside… It must be an illusion. There’s no need to go in there.
I swallowed my saliva and started walking down the hallway carefully. I tried to make as little noise as possible, but the sound of shoes and clank of armor echoed through the hallway. Fuck. I should have taken off my armor.
Click. Click. Click.
Jeez. Jeez. Jeopuk.
-Forgot.
For a moment, the lights throughout the hallway went on and off. I looked around to see if anything had changed, but there was no noticeable change. A rope extends from the ceiling rattles ominously. Okay, it’s been a while so the lights may go out. Let’s only think happy thoughts. Let’s just think about fun things.
Support. Choi Ji-won. How will Jiwon react to this floor? I’ve never seen a scary horror movie with anyone. Is Choi Ji-won afraid of ghosts? Are you nervous when you show an unexpected side of yourself? Or are you going to smile and shrug your shoulders leisurely? I’m curious. After we break this floor, should I try to persuade him to watch a movie with me?
As I walked, thinking about random things, the hallway suddenly turned to the right. ‘4F’ is written very, very faintly on the wall. Does this mean this is the 4th floor? Do I have to go to the first floor to clear it? Or rooftop? Otherwise you will be left behind? Death?
Turn to the right and start walking again. The appearance of the hallway is not much different. I intentionally got lost in random thoughts. In Korea, some old buildings do not have a fourth floor or are marked with an F at all. This is because the number 4 and the pronunciation of death are the same, but honestly, I think it’s a fuss. There are so many buildings in the world with four floors, but do you think they all have ghosts? If there was a real 4th floor ghost quota system, ghosts wouldn’t have to worry about jobs.
Because I have a job… When I was in college, I worried about finding a job, worrying about qualifications, worrying about personal connections… I had a lot of worries. Now all you have to worry about is climbing the tower. Money? You can make money however you want. Seriously, how much money does it cost to sell a potion? Even though the price of potions is dropping rapidly, I have more than one potion stocked up. If you’re in a hurry for money, you can sell the elixir. It is freedom from material worries. Liberation. As long as you climb all the way up the tower.
Ah, the hallway is bent again. Turning to the right, I return to random thoughts…
“… ?”
Just before I was lost in random thoughts, I retreated and hid behind the wall.
What was that figure far down the hallway just now? It was so fleeting that I couldn’t see it properly… My visual acuity was too good to just gloss over it. The life of a superman is not good when things are like this.
It’s a woman. What I saw was the back of a woman with scattered hair. She is moving her body wildly. This is her her her back her view her her her, but she is smiling so much that you can see the corners of her mouth her her her. She is a woman wearing a torn hospital gown.
What should you do if you meet a smiling, wildly moving woman in an abandoned mental hospital, especially in a hallway with flickering lights?
“… “
I should fucking run away, why not? Didn’t I tell you to escape the message window as well? I also desperately want to run away somewhere.
But that’s the only escape route I can see right now. The road leading up to now was one-way, and there were no stairs or anything. I didn’t check the other rooms, but… There can be an escape route there.
What do we do. Shall we regress? But what will you do if you go back? I have to come back anyway. There is no other road than here. Let’s make up our minds. It’s scary, but it’s someone you’ll have to face someday.
“Huhhh… ” “
I let out a trembling breath and stuck my head out across the curved hallway. The hallway with its blinking lights was empty, as if there had never been a woman there. Has she disappeared?
“… Did you go?”
I moved the black rope out of the way with the back of my hand and started walking down the hallway again. Yes, even in horror movies, when the wardrobe is shaking and you open it, there’s nothing there. Rather, seeing a scary being right now may mean that you are safe for the time being.
I walked with my cold hands fidgeting. While I was moving around, concentrating my mind to see if there was anything strange.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
From somewhere, I can hear the sound of liquid falling. Where is it? Is there a restroom nearby? Bathrooms are usually located near the stairs, which may be a positive sign. I might be able to go downstairs.
“… “
But the strange thing is… The sound of liquid falling is constantly heard from a certain distance. Like… The source of the sound… As if you were always near me…
When my thoughts reached this point, I realized one thing. The first rope I saw when I started walking down the hallway was… Why was it black?
Even though I knew I shouldn’t, I forced my tense body to look back.
“… Ah.”
Our eyes met.
A wild-haired woman, grinning from ear to ear, dances so wildly that her joints crackle, she spins, her blood dripping, and she leaps and falls, clinging to the ceiling. /B﹥
A woman with a torn mouth dances violently, spinning her body with torn flesh and exposed bones, bending her joints in opposite directions, dancing with her hair flying while attached to the ceiling, blood pouring out, internal organs flying, and her entire vision turning red. As she ran up to me and laughed like crazy, grabbed my head and spun me around, I started laughing and spun around laughing. The woman with her mouth torn, her flesh torn and bones exposed, spun around and danced violently, breaking her joints in opposite directions. He was clinging to the ceiling, dancing with his hair flying, blood pouring out, internal organs flying around, his entire vision turning red, jumping up and down, laughing like crazy, and grabbing my head and spinning it around, making me laugh too , giggling and spinning around. A woman with a torn mouth spins around with her flesh torn and bones exposed, dancing wildly, bending her joints in opposite directions, dancing with her hair flying as she clings to the ceiling, blood pouring out, internal organs flying, and her entire vision Her Her Her turning red. They all jumped up and laughed like crazy and grabbed my head and spun me around, so I started laughing too and started giggling and spinning.
**
And when I came to my senses, I was lying in bed again.
〈24th floor〉
-Escape.