The First-Floor Roommate Doesn't Die (2)

After writing a post on the community, I looked around.

The inside of the somewhat spacious two-story house.

This place looked like an ordinary house, but I had heard that the first-floor roommate lived here and wouldn't attack humans unless attacked first.

‘Should I go downstairs?’

With a somewhat lighter heart, I went downstairs using the stairs..

‘Huh?’

I saw a pitch-black human-shaped figure, identical in form to the people I'd met during Interaction, wandering around the kitchen.

‘Is it human?’

For a moment, I wondered whether it was human.

‘..No, probably not.’

Even though it had clearly seen me, it was merely wandering around meaninglessly.

I realized that it wasn't an ordinary human.

‘It should be okay to take a picture, right?’

First, I had to confirm whether that guy was the first-floor roommate.

Keeping one foot on the stairs, I used the Status Window to take a picture of him, and the moment I did—

‘Please, let nothing happen..!’

I dashed up the stairs to the second floor.

According to the community's information, that guy couldn't come upstairs.

I went upstairs because I thought that if taking his picture caused trouble, he would come after me, but..

‘Phew..’

Apparently, taking a picture with the Status Window wasn't a problem.

Though I couldn't see him because he was hidden by the stairs, he didn't seem to be coming after me.

So, to confirm that guy really was the roommate who lived on the first floor, I made a post on the community.

--

[Is this guy the first-floor roommate?]

(Photo)

Since he looked exactly like the people I'd seen during Interaction, I initially thought someone had followed me inside.

[Comments - 15]

Anonymous 1 : That's right.

Anonymous 2 : They too have gradually come to look just like us, to the point of looking human.

ㄴ Anonymous 3 : Were they a black rectangular box back then too?

ㄴ Anonymous 2 : Yep.

ㄴ Anonymous 4 : Oh my.. So you were our ancestor? I'll hold a memorial service for you..

ㄴ Anonymous 2 : Fuck, I'm still alive. What the hell are you doing?

Anonymous 5 : Scary.. Daebung found a target..

Anonymous 1 : Well~ From now on, let's predict the title Daebung will use next~

Anonymous 2 : ??? : Guys, this bastard killed himself?

Anonymous 6 : ??? : Didn't they definitely say it would recover?

Anonymous 3 : ??? : What kind of smokescreen operation is this? They collapsed and aren't getting up?

Anonymous 1 : ??? : Guys, we're in big trouble. That bastard was trying to eat me, so I ate them first.

ㄴ Anonymous 2 : LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL Fuck, I'm scared this might actually be it LOLLLLLLLL

ㄴ Anonymous 4 : Our Daebung is the kind of guy who can even get the Status Window pregnant. Compared to an anomaly, ejaculation, fertilization, implantation, and pregnancy are totally doable.

ㄴ Anonymous 5 : LOL The first-floor roommate turned out to be female LOLLLLLLLLL

--

Since I'd confirmed exactly who needed to die, I took out the camera and walked back downstairs to the first floor.

‘Broad-area attacks such as hitting with a blunt weapon or strangling don't seem to work, so I guess I can only use stabbing attacks.’

After analyzing the guy's patterns in my own way by looking through the records here from the past.

It seemed that the first-floor roommate had the trait of becoming enraged when subjected to broad-area attacks.

Since I could prevent recovery while stabbing it with a very narrow awl, I thought I could clear this place easily enough.

‘You're still standing there. All right~ Taking your picture. Say cheese.’

So, before killing it, I decided to experiment as much as possible with the camera.

I took a picture of it with the camera, then went upstairs again and checked the photo I'd just taken..

‘Let's see.. ..Huh? ..What is this?’

In the photo saved on the camera..

Rather than a black figure standing there, there was an ordinary person standing there.

And that too..

‘..Huh?’

Just like a person who was perfectly alive.

Of course..

‘A person..? ..No..’

It definitely looked exactly like an ordinary person, but it wasn't an ordinary person I knew.

Empty pupils, and ankles bent backward.

Should I say it looked like a corpse that had already died, walking around like a person?

‘Right, well, all I need to do is experiment.’

No matter what had happened.

The fact that I had to clear this horror-story dungeon hadn't changed at all.

‘I should start experimenting right away.’

I began manipulating the photo saved on the camera in various ways.

--

Mentality: 236 / 238

--

While checking my Mentality in real time and pressing various buttons on the camera.

When I pressed the camera's VIEW MODE button..

--

Mentality: 206 / 238

--

‘Huh?’

At the same time my Mentality decreased by exactly 30, some sort of directions began appearing on the camera.

‘So this is tracking?’

After roughly checking those directions by eye, I realized they led to where the roommate was.

I was able to understand that this was how tracking worked.

‘Then the trash-can-shaped button must be delete.’

Having realized that the trash-can-shaped button on the camera was the delete button, with only adjustment left to test.

Just as I pressed various buttons again.

When I pressed the Fn button, a function that seemed to let me adjust the picture I'd taken opened.

‘Oh.’

Since this button seemed to be the adjustment button, I was about to press the ↑↓ buttons on the camera, like the arrow keys on a keyboard, but paused.

‘No. If it recognizes this as an attack, that thing might attack me too.’

Worried that the first-floor roommate might mistake this adjustment for an attack and attack me.

‘That’s enough. I know everything I need to know now.’

Since I knew everything I needed, I decided to return to the house.

Of course, not by pressing the Return button, but by killing the roommate and clearing the dungeon.

‘I hope it doesn't have a fit over a stabbing attack.’

Thus, holding an awl made from teeth, I went downstairs again.

It seemed to have just finished whatever it had to do in the kitchen, and right then I saw the roommate walk into the living room.

‘It’s right near the stairs. Nice.’

Thinking I could easily flee to the stairs if something happened, I decided to follow exactly the contents of the first experiment recorded in the journal.

‘You said you stabbed the neck, right?’

The roommate was probably an entity that kept enduring every attack by continuously regenerating, which was why it couldn't die.

However, the awl in my hand now had an ability that prevented self-recovery.

Stab-

I immediately drove the awl into its neck and fled upstairs.

Naturally, I expected it to be unable to recover..

“???”

The thing with the awl lodged in its neck raised its head and looked at me.

I got chills for a moment at the sight and tried to press the Return button, but..

Then, as though it had no interest in me, it stared straight ahead, pulled the awl out of its neck, and..

‘..What?’

It sat on the sofa and resumed its meaningless actions.

In the process..

‘..It recovered..?’

Seeing that the hole where the awl should clearly have been in its neck had disappeared, I realized that it had recovered.

‘..Is this some kind of recovery that breaks through recovery suppression..?’

Recovery that breaks through recovery suppression..

Though the scene reminded me of the childish “kick-out reflection” I'd seen in a game when I was young, it left me speechless.

Still.. If this had been a horror story that could be solved so easily, the advance parties would surely already have cleared it.

‘It doesn't seem particularly interested in me..’

As I came downstairs to retrieve the awl lying on the floor, since the roommate seemed completely uninterested in me..

I noticed something strange.

‘..Huh? Why does it feel like they've gotten shorter..?’

It was just.. a feeling.

A feeling that they had become a little shorter?

And.. should I say it felt like their hair had gotten longer..?

‘..Their hair wasn't this long either..?’

Confused by the sudden change, I immediately took another picture of them and posted it on the community.

--

[Why did they turn into a woman?]

(Photo)

This is the picture I took when I first got here.

(Photo)

This is the picture I took after stabbing them in the neck once.

Look at that.

They got a little shorter, and their hair got longer.

If you look closely, their breasts got a little bigger too.

..Why did they really become a woman?

[Comments - 27]

Anonymous 1 : ?

Anonymous 2 : ?

Anonymous 3 : ?

Administrator : ?

Anonymous 4 : ?

Anonymous 5 : ?

Anonymous 1 : Wow.. I never dreamed they'd really turn into a female..

ㄴ Anonymous 3 : We predicted it, but they went so far beyond it that I have nothing to say..

ㄴ Anonymous 2 : Are they really trying to get it pregnant..?

ㄴ Poster : No, fuck; I'm not joking, I'm serious; I'm telling you, they became a woman after I stabbed them in the neck once???

ㄴ Anonymous 2 : We're being pretty serious too..

ㄴ Anonymous 4 : Why is “the loser becomes female” actually true?

ㄴ Poster : Argh, you piece of shit.

Administrator : Daebung, could you explain in detail what happened?

ㄴ Poster : I stabbed them in the neck with an awl and ran upstairs, but the roommate, after looking at me for a moment, pulled the awl out of their neck and turned into a woman;

ㄴ Anonymous 1 : Why the fuck is this actually true LOL

ㄴ Anonymous 6 : An awl? Was there an awl in that?

ㄴ Anonymous 3 : Daebung has an item that turns you into the opposite sex if you're stabbed by it. Yep.

ㄴ Administrator : Really?

ㄴ Poster : What?

ㄴ Administrator : Is there really an item that changes someone's sex when you stab them?

ㄴ Poster : As if I would have one..

ㄴ Administrator : Ah.

ㄴ Anonymous 1 : LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL

ㄴ Anonymous 3 : LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

ㄴ Anonymous 2 : LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

ㄴ Anonymous 5 : LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO The first time I've ever seen the head mod be funny LOL

--

The community's reaction, which doubled my confusion, made me immediately turn off the Status Window.

‘This isn't helping..’

I'd posted on the community to get help, but since it hadn't helped, what else could I do?

While wondering whether I should stab the roommate in the neck once more with the awl to try to resolve this situation on my own.

Suddenly.

‘Oh, right. The camera.’

Remembering that the black figure appeared in its original form in the camera.

I immediately picked up the camera, took a picture of the roommate, and checked it..

‘It definitely turned into a woman.’

I could really see that the roommate, who had been male, had become female.

‘..What is this? Why..?’

To think it would undergo TS just from being stabbed in the neck once..

Could this awl really have the effect of changing the sex of whoever it pierced?

Then did the door I stabbed in the world where Melting Shampoo existed become a female door?

And did the mannequin anomaly become a female mannequin?

‘..No, though? It didn't grow breasts or anything when I stabbed the mannequin..?’

In a situation that made my head hurt the more I thought about it.

All I could think was that, to be certain about this situation, I had no choice but to stab the roommate one more time.

Leaving the anomaly that had begun moving somewhere alone, I picked up the awl on the floor.

I waited for them to return to the living room..

‘??’

The roommate walked toward the front door..

They opened the door just like that and went outside.

--

[What do I do now?]

(Photo)

They went out like that..

..What do I do?

[Comments - 14]

Anonymous 1 : What do you mean what do you do? Just press Return, Daebung???

ㄴ Anonymous 2 : They say they can't because they have to eat her.

ㄴ Anonymous 1 : No, fuck;; Ah.. I can't definitively deny that..

ㄴ Poster : I said that's not it..

Anonymous 3 : If I were an anomaly, I'd leave too. I even pulled an awl out of my neck and showed myself turning into a woman, but if I saw someone who kept staying beside me..

ㄴ Anonymous 4 : Anomalyyyyyyyyy!!!

ㄴ Anonymous 5 : Save the anomaly!!!!!

Administrator : You mean the roommate went outside?

ㄴ Poster : Yep.

ㄴ Administrator : When the ninth challenger entered, that roommate never once went outside for a month.

ㄴ Poster : ..Really?

ㄴ Administrator : Yes. As for the change in sex, there was nothing to verify because they weren't showing a human form at the time, but it definitely seems that going outside means their pattern has changed.

ㄴ Anonymous 3 : I told you they left because they were scared of Daebung, didn't I?

ㄴ Administrator : Just in case, please always be prepared to press the Return button..

--

‘..During the ninth challenge, they never once went outside, but now they suddenly did.. ..Why? What caused their pattern to change..?’