Chapter 26
When there were roughly ten minutes left until Interaction.
I checked the item in my hand once more.
--
[Camera Combined into One]
This is a camera created by combining two traits into one.
It raises the user's maximum Mentality by 43.
It can [Track] photographs taken using 30 of the user's Mentality.
It can [Enhance] photographs taken using 150 of the user's Mentality.
It can [Delete] photographs taken using 400 of the user's Mentality.
--
‘Deletion was definitely what happened to me.. Tracking seems to be for figuring out a location, but I have absolutely no idea what Enhancement does..’
It said I could use an ability called Enhancement by spending a whopping 150 Mentality.
I couldn't figure out what Enhancement was supposed to do at all.
Actually, I didn't even know how to use those abilities in the first place.
‘Should I just be satisfied with the fact that it raises my Mentality?’
I had no choice but to carry the camera around as nothing more than a fashion accessory.
I slung the camera, which had a rope attached to it, loosely around my neck and decided to be satisfied with the fact that my total Mentality was now a whopping 238.
After roughly ten minutes passed like that.
‘It must be about time for Interaction.’
Realizing that Interaction was approaching, I composed myself and was just about to open my front door when—
‘Is someone coming?’
I heard someone running toward this place from outside my door.
I decided it would be better to welcome the guest than to go outside myself, so I was about to put out the snacks I had set aside from Set F for the guest when—
Bang—
“Daebung!”
“Helloooooaaagh!!”
I involuntarily screamed when a pitch-black figure suddenly flung open the door and entered.
“You're healthy!”
Leaving the anomaly, who proudly declared that I was healthy, behind—
‘This fucking..! ’
I immediately pulled out my awl and thrust it toward the anomaly, preparing to counterattack the moment it tried to attack me..
“It's me. I'm the guy who says he mainly eats Anonymous 1.”
“..Pardon?”
The black figure claiming to be Anonymous 1..
“Check the gallery, quick.”
because they instructed me to check the gallery right away.
Wondering what they meant, I cautiously opened the community and saw..
--
[I'm looking forward to it.]
This is my first time experiencing Interaction, and I hope everyone won't be too disappointed when they see me..
[Comments - 9]
Anonymous 1 : Walk around with all your clothes off.
ㄴ Anonymous 2 : For real.
ㄴ Anonymous 3 : We wouldn't know even if you did that anyway ㅋㅋ
ㄴ Poster : I'm not an idiot..
ㄴ Anonymous 1 : Tch..
Anonymous 4 : I bet Daebung will be really surprised when he sees us.
ㄴ Anonymous 2 : Ahㅋㅋ We gotta give him a proper initiation~
Anonymous 1 : It's really me, Daebung.
ㄴ Anonymous 1 : A blackie right in front of your eyes.
--
I could see that Anonymous 1 had left a new comment on the post I had written recently.
“..Huh?”
I immediately understood what was going on.
“..You were Black?”
Anonymous 1 was a naturalized Black person—
“..Daebung, you're pretty free of prejudice..?”
…
I couldn't make out any of their features, and they were pitch-black from head to toe.
How should I put it? They looked like a shadow that had become corporeal and was walking around.
Following Anonymous 1's guidance, I walked to the place where people like that were gathered..
“So you're Daebung?”
“..Nice to meet you.”
“You must be pretty nervous since this is your first time. Still, I should explain everything, right?”
“Pardon?”
“Everyone here looks like this.”
“..Why?”
“We don't know either. In the past, we didn't even look like human figures. We just looked like large black squares, but after the administrator cleared a few horror-story dungeons, our forms stabilized into human shapes.”
I couldn't see the curious looks everyone was giving me..
Anyway, I did my best to ignore the feeling of being watched like that.
I, too, began looking around at the people with half fear and half curiosity.
“We're all human. The more horror-story dungeons we clear, the more it feels like our forms return, but everything's blocked off right now, so everyone's just making do with this.”
“Ah..”
“If I had my way, I'd introduce myself to everyone and spend some time getting acquainted, but on your first day, you have to learn where this place is within an hour. Let's get to the explanation first.”
I had absolutely no idea what was going on, so I could only nod..
“Why isn't Daebung two meters tall?”
“He doesn't seem to weigh 150 kilograms either.”
“Ah, I get it. That's all lean muscle.”
“That doesn't really fit the Teto-nam appearance we saw in the gallery, does it?”
“Ah, now I get it for sure. He's a military-service-completed high school girl.”
“That's it.”
“Like hell it is, you idiots. What kind of nonsense are you spouting in front of Daebung?”
“This week won't work. We'll have to ask him to make items starting next week. Daebung must be pretty busy today.”
“It can't be helped.”
As I heard everyone talking about me, the person claiming to be Anonymous 1 began introducing me to this place.
“None of the black figures running shops here are human, okay? So always be careful.”
“..Yes, sir.”
“Usually, they don't attack us because we're customers, but if you make a needless mistake, you'll have to pay more DOLL, so it's best to behave politely.”
“Ah..”
“Come on, follow me. I'll explain everything one at a time.”
“Yes.. Thank you..!”
…
Lockdown lasted all week, so why was Interaction only granted for one hour..
‘So that's why they told me to listen to the introduction first.’
About 50 minutes passed.
By the time I had nearly finished getting a handle on the layout of this expansive place thanks to Anonymous 1 introducing each area to me,
I instinctively realized that it was almost time for me to return home.
“See this line here? You must never cross it.”
“What happens if I cross it?”
“I don't know either. But apparently, something like that happened about 40 years ago, and a lot of people who crossed it didn't exactly have a good time. We don't cross it because of that precedent.”
This place, the village where the survivors lived, felt like a shantytown on Earth.
There were countless houses, but just as you couldn't enter someone else's house without permission,
we weren't allowed to force our way into closed houses either.
On the other hand, the shops that advertised that they were open for business, like convenience stores, were places we could enter. When I realized how much they reminded me of Earth, I even felt a strange sense of familiarity.
I couldn't believe I was starting to feel a little more at ease..
“It's more livable than you expected, isn't it?”
“..Yes.”
“We like that the convenience stores here look exactly like the ones in Korea. It's nice that they sell the same products you can buy on Earth, too.”
“..Is this place on Earth?”
“Probably not. As far as I know, the anomalies bring goods here from Earth.”
“..Something about that feels a little strange.”
“It's like that before you get used to it. It's almost Lockdown time again, so let's hurry home. Starting next week, you can spend Interaction comfortably.”
“Thank you.”
After filling my first Interaction to the brim, I thanked Anonymous 1 for explaining this place and all its various areas to me.
When I was about to return straight home.
Suddenly.
‘Oh, right.’
I remembered that I had promised to share information with everyone, so I immediately reached into my pocket and handed Anonymous 1 a sheet of paper.
“What's this? Is it an item?”
“No. It's information I obtained while clearing a horror story.”
“Really? Something like this should go to the administrator.. ...”
After looking at the paper, they fell silent.. I could see them looking up at me as though they found me puzzling.
“..What's wrong?”
The situation felt awkward, and I wondered if I had done something wrong when..
“..It says that entering FE creates items?”
“Yes. ..Why do you ask?”
“..What are you talking about? FE is the coordinate for The First-Floor Roommate Doesn't Die..?”
“..Pardon?”
I heard an answer I had never expected.
--
[Complete Summary: The First-Floor Roommate Doesn't Die.]
Attempt 1.
- The first challenger stabbed the roommate in the neck with a sharp knife.
- The blade was definitely lodged in the roommate's neck, but the roommate pulled it out.
- Frightened by that scene, the first challenger chose to return.
Attempt 2.
- The second challenger judged that the roommate couldn't be killed with a sharp object and used a blunt weapon instead.
Attempt 3.
- Since no further records came from the second attempt, the third challenger entered.
- There was no sign of the second challenger.
- The third challenger tried to kill the roommate by starting a fire and burning it to death.
Attempt 4.
- Since no further records came from the third attempt, the fourth challenger entered.
- Just like with the second challenger, there was no sign of the third challenger.
- Terrified, the fourth challenger immediately chose to return.
Attempt 5.
[Deleted Record]
Attempt 6.
- The sixth challenger, puzzled by the records from the fifth attempt, entered.
- They wrote a final will, saying that the fifth attempt's record must never be viewed.
- The administrator permanently deleted the fifth attempt's record.
Attempt 7.
- Seeing that most of the advance team had died, the first challenger felt responsible and attempted to enter again.
- They stabbed sharp knives everywhere, from the roommate's face all the way down to its feet.
- Afterward, they selected the Return button before the roommate could pull out all the blades.
Attempt 8.
- The eighth challenger entered to check the results of the seventh attempt.
- After confirming that the roommate was still fine, the eighth challenger decided to spend as much time with it as possible.
- They said they would determine whether the roommate might die of natural causes.
Attempt 9.
- When the eighth challenger had been living with the roommate for about a month, the ninth challenger saw that their food had run out and entered with a large supply of provisions.
- After confirming that the eighth challenger was healthy, the ninth challenger tried to kill the roommate by strangling it.
- The eighth challenger reported the ninth challenger's death. They said the ninth challenger had died by [Deleted Record].
- Unable to overcome their fear after seeing that scene, the eighth challenger chose to return.
- The administrator noticed similarities between the ninth challenger's death and the fifth attempt and permanently deleted the record.
Attempt 10.
- The community administrator entered to check the roommate's condition.
- They declared that clearing the dungeon was currently impossible and returned.
Attempt 11.
- The community administrator, as if they had realized something, entered again.
- They confirmed that the roommate never left the first floor ‘no matter what’ and returned.
Attempt 12.
- The twelfth challenger entered, claiming to have discovered a way to clear it.
Attempts 13, 14
- When no word came from the twelfth challenger after they entered, the thirteenth and fourteenth challengers entered simultaneously.
- They confirmed that the twelfth challenger had hanged themselves and committed suicide.
- The fourteenth challenger, terrified because it was unclear whether the twelfth challenger's death had been voluntary, returned.
- The thirteenth challenger, left alone, attacked with a hammer from the second floor.
Attempt 15.
- The fifteenth challenger entered to check on the thirteenth challenger after all word from them was cut off.
- After confirming that the thirteenth challenger's trail had gone cold, they immediately returned.
Attempt 16.
[Deleted Record]
Attempt 17.
[Deleted Record]
Attempt 18.
[Deleted Record]
[Comments - 19]
Administrator : The way to enter this horror-story dungeon is to receive an F grade.
Administrator : Come to think of it, I didn't brush my ‘teeth’ before bed.
ㄴ (This account does not exist) : Humans should say teeth, not ‘i.’
ㄴ Anonymous 2 : You're an anomaly, aren't you?
ㄴ (This account does not exist) : Grrrrr, scary, right?
ㄴ Anonymous 2 : What a load of crap ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ You dumbass.
ㄴ (This account does not exist) : Retract ‘dumbass.’
ㄴ Anonymous 2 : Fuck.. ..If I'd known this would happen, I wouldn't have cursed at you.. At least take my apology before you go..
Anonymous 3 : Ah.. ancestors of the advance team.. Thank you..
(This account does not exist) : I said it doesn't die. I never said it doesn't attack..
Anonymous 5 : I don't think blunt-object attacks are allowed.
ㄴ (This account does not exist) : It seems okay as long as you don't use blunt-object or strangulation attacks.
Anonymous 8 : Reading these comments makes my heart ache a little.. Seeing all the advance-team brothers who died, it's heartbreaking..
ㄴ Anonymous 9 : Hang in there and survive. And let's believe that it'll eventually be cleared. We made it this far because of the advance team's sacrifices.
ㄴ (This account does not exist) : For real, aren't we alive thanks to the advance team?
Anonymous 11 : Couldn't they have tried something like submerging it in water?
ㄴ (This account does not exist) : Maybe the conditions for drowning it weren't fulfilled.
ㄴ (This account does not exist) : It probably wouldn't have drowned in the first place.
Anonymous 13 : Seeing three records deleted in a row at the end, I don't even dare go in..
--
After hearing what Anonymous 1, who had explained this shantytown to me, had said..
As soon as I returned home when Lockdown began, the first thing I did was search the community for the past information they had mentioned about the First-Floor Roommate.
“..The way to enter the horror-story dungeon was to enter FE?”
FE had definitely been a code that created the Craft button, but..
Looking at the posts on the community, FE was the code for entering that horror story.
“..What the..?”
I briefly wondered whether the code had a dual nature.
Curious about why this was happening, I entered FE into the Input field again.
‘The Craft button definitely appeared when I did it—ah, fuck.’
After entering the code, I pressed the Input button without thinking.
My vision began to grow hazy.
--
[Ah, I accidentally entered a horror story..]
(Photo)
This is The First-Floor Roommate Doesn't Die..
Aaaaaaaaagh
[Comments - 24]
Anonymous 1 : Get out quickly.
ㄴ Poster : Yeah.. Since I'm here, I'll look around a little before I leave.
ㄴ Anonymous 1 : ?????
ㄴ Anonymous 2 : Daebung.. He looked so delicate, but why does he act like such a Teto-nam..?
ㄴ Anonymous 3 : To me, Daebung is all lean muscle.
ㄴ Anonymous 5 : There's a theory that Daebung is a legendary figure who (X) was discharged from special forces (O) conquered them. I really love this story.
Administrator : The roommate in this dungeon won't react unless you attack first. I recommend that you only look around as much as possible and leave.
ㄴ Poster : Yes.
ㄴ Anonymous 1 : Head mod.. Even after all that, you still don't get it? Daebung is going to beat it up before leaving.
ㄴ Anonymous 5 : For real ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ Anonymous 6 : Ah, but he absolutely mustn't hit it..
ㄴ Anonymous 7 : No one's punched the roommate yet ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Anonymous 4 : Anonymous 1, you fucking bastard, did you tell Daebung how to enter the horror-story dungeon? Look at this piece of shit. You asshole, the rule is that you absolutely don't tell newcomers how to enter a dungeon until a month has passed since they arrived here.
ㄴ Anonymous 1 : No, no, no. I didn't tell him. Seriously..; We did have a brief conversation with the same content as the way to enter a horror story, but I tried my best not to give anything away..; Because I was worried Daebung might enter.
ㄴ Anonymous 1 : But he entered..
ㄴ Poster : ? Anonymous 1, didn't you say this was how to do it?
ㄴ Anonymous 2 : ?
ㄴ Anonymous 4 : ?
ㄴ Anonymous 5 : ?
ㄴ Anonymous 1 : ??????????????
ㄴ Anonymous 1 : Ah, seriously, Daebung, why are you doing this to me?;;; No, fuck; seriously; I'm really going to get banned, so don't do this, please..
ㄴ Poster : ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Just kidding. We only had a similar conversation, and after I got home, I looked it up a little and caused my own disaster.
ㄴ Anonymous 8 : He makes jokes so calmly even after entering the horror-story world.. Yeah, that's definitely Daebung.
Anonymous 9 : The First-Floor Roommate Doesn't Die. ??? : But it does feel pain?
--
‘I didn't know how to use the camera item, but I'll do a little experimenting on the anomaly here before I return.’
Since I was here anyway, I decided to experiment a little with the camera, which I had felt uncomfortable testing on people.