Chapter 106
"Who are you guys! Suddenly appearing in a group! What's going on!"
Gong Ye-rin questioned us frantically.
Strictly speaking, it was Gong Ye-rin and Im Hee-yeon who suddenly appeared to us. It seemed there was some kind of gap between us.
I wanted to fill this gap by asking various questions.
I spoke seriously to Gong Ye-rin.
"Ye-rin, we're people too. We're all just confused because of this sudden situation. You think we want to fight you? Let's talk honestly, there might be a compromise."
I appealed to sincerity for now. It's not like I'm enjoying doing this either.
Whether my appeal worked or her attitude changed because Wang Ja-hyun's name came up, Gong Ye-rin hesitated and then started talking.
"...We're chosen people. We find things in this strange school, get out, and sell those things or exchange them for money."
"Find things and exchange them for money? How?"
"I don't know much about that side. Ja-hyun takes care of those things. I heard he sends them to Seoul. Hee-yeon and I just let people out of the school and collect items, that's all."
"What about Wang Ja-hyun? Does he go around the school too?"
"I told you earlier. Only chosen people can enter here. Of course Ja-hyun can go around with us."
"Where is he now?"
"We don't always come together. Looks like he couldn't come today."
For a moment, I suspected Wang Ja-hyun might have the same status window as me, but listening to Gong Ye-rin's explanation, it didn't seem so.
But I could tell they had quite a lot of experience with this 'Random Matching'.
Maybe Wang Ja-hyun knows a way to be frequently drafted into Random Matching. I don't know how that's possible yet.
Because he's a 'chosen person' as Gong Ye-rin said?
"People being in this school isn't a good thing to begin with. Don't you know that?"
"What do you mean?"
"Ja-hyun said this school is like a hole in a dam. If you stick your finger in, the hole in the dam gets bigger and eventually causes a flood. He said that as more people enter this school, dangerous things happen as what's deep inside overflows outside. So we sent out people as soon as we saw them. We did a good thing, I'm telling you!"
Gong Ye-rin firmly believed what she was doing was right.
"Wang Ja-hyun told you that?"
"Yeah. Ja-hyun is really amazing. A truly chosen person. So don't think about harming or messing with him. If something goes wrong, everyone dies!"
"Let's say that's true... then haven't you seen any ghosts while going around this first floor?"
"We saw them. We chased them away."
They chased away the high school girl ghost Gu Hyena? How is that possible?
"How?"
"Touch my chest."
Touch her chest?
As I was flustered, Yang Juhee stepped in.
Swish-
Yang Juhee found a strange object between Gong Ye-rin's bra. It was a wooden cross smaller than a palm.
"With this, even ghosts can't move. They just run away. Ja-hyun gave me this too. You know it's the only one in the world? He only gave it to me."
A cross that can make Gu Hyena run away. It was an incredible item.
"Why did he give it only to you? Not to Im Hee-yeon?"
"Because Ja-hyun likes me more. It's a secret from Hee-yeon, but Ja-hyun and I are already dating."
Gong Ye-rin looked a bit proud. Then Jung-seok asked as if he was curious about something.
"Im Hee-yeon had something like a compass instead?"
"That compass tracks talismans."
A compass that tracks talismans? It's similar to the paper crane Yoo Dahee has.
I see, I felt like I understood how they had survived in the corridor.
"Then have you been to the second floor too?"
"No, Ja-hyun said never to go to the second floor. Don't even think about going to the second floor either."
So they didn't go to the second floor even with the cross and compass.
"I've been completely honest. Now you be honest too. Who are you guys? I've never seen five people going around together before. It doesn't seem like you fell in by chance either."
The arrow of questioning turned to us.
I looked at Jung-seok. Jung-seok shrugged his shoulders. He probably meant for me to do as I wanted.
"We're people trying to go up to the second floor that you don't go to."
"...What? Why would you do that?"
Gong Ye-rin looked confused, as if she couldn't understand.
Then, as if she realized something, she frowned fiercely and shouted.
"I get it! It's you guys! You're the ones widening the hole in the dam! You bastards! It was you! Aaagh! You tricked me! Ja-hyun! Aaaaaagh!"
Gong Ye-rin suddenly started going crazy. She didn't seem like she would cooperate with us anymore.
"Hey, she's noisy, let's put her in a locker for now. Yoo Dahee. Grab her legs there."
Yang Juhee picked up the noisy Gong Ye-rin and stuffed her into a box visible in the distance.
Gong Ye-rin thrashed about and made noise inside the box, but it was safe to say she had no way to escape on her own.
"We should really take care of her..."
Jung-seok muttered anxiously. Yang Juhee spoke gruffly to Jung-seok.
"Then you do it."
"......"
Jung-seok shut his mouth.
No one, including me, wanted to personally finish off a classmate.
***
I spun the compass. The needle pointed to me holding the talisman.
"This finds the nearest talisman. It's a bit tricky since the needle keeps pointing at me when I'm holding a talisman, but it seems like a good item when there's no talisman around."
Yoo Dahee's paper crane had the drawback of needing to be constantly followed.
That was both its strength and weakness. It would be a big problem if we lost sight of the paper crane.
But this compass didn't have that worry.
It was a really useful item when there was no talisman in possession.
As we were walking around looking for the sacred statue on the first floor, Jung-seok, who had been deep in thought, said.
"After hearing Gong Ye-rin's words, I've figured it out clearly. Wang Ja-hyun's group has different goals from us. They're hindering our conquest of this corridor. They were killing people under the pretense of letting them out."
The goals of our party trying to conquer the corridor and Wang Ja-hyun's party trying to drive people out of the corridor were clearly different.
It meant we were like water and oil that couldn't mix. Kwon Sua chimed in.
"But... didn't they say the world becomes dangerous if we explore this corridor more? Couldn't those people be right?"
The world becomes dangerous if we explore the corridor─.
In a way, that could be true.
After I opened the first floor, and then the second floor, there were big and small changes in Gaeryong City. If I continue exploring the corridor like this... no one knows what might happen.
But we couldn't stop exploring either.
With the 'Random Matching' variable added, there was a limit to passive activity. We never know when we might get caught up and accumulate two quirks and die.
If that's the case, it's better to see this corridor through to the end.
Also, I had the 'status window'.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say this special function was created to help me conquer the corridor.
Whatever it was, it could be seen as wanting me to reach the end of the corridor.
We acquired another talisman in the first floor women's restroom.
We now have two talismans. There are five people. Now it's time to tackle the second floor.
"Let's quickly get one more talisman on the second floor, come back down to the first floor, and decide who gets to go back alive. Or we could even conquer up to the third floor. The old school building has three floors, right?"
From a distance, the real old school building had three floors. First floor for first-years, second floor for second-years, third floor for third-years.
I couldn't be sure, but this nightmare corridor should have a third floor too.
If we conquer from the basement to the third floor, it means we could acquire a total of four talismans.
"But I've never been to the second floor. What's it like?"
Yoo Dahee trembled. She must be nervous.
Honestly, I was nervous too.
The only people here who have experienced the second floor are me, Jung-seok, and Yang Juhee. And Jung-seok and Yang Juhee died miserably on the second floor.
There was no guarantee it wouldn't happen again today.
"There's a mirror ghost and a rhythm ghost. And a ghost that makes you dance. They're all no joke. So from now on, we need to be really prepared. Phew..."
I took a deep breath.
After regulating my breathing for a while, I chose to enter the second floor.
Today's Random Matching had many twists and turns, but what we needed to do hadn't changed.
Step, step-
We all went up to the second floor. Kwon Sua was trembling.
"Isn't it really cold...? The air feels different..."
Kwon Sua was right.
The air on this second floor was different. But something incredible happened.
"Ugh, shit, what's this?"
Right in front of the second floor stairs was a headless sacred statue. To find the statue so immediately? Doesn't this mean we don't need to struggle on the second floor?
"This is amazing. Yeah, you need to have some good luck in life too!"
My life lately had been a series of misfortunes.
To balance that out, there should be times of good luck in life too. We took the talisman from the statue and went back down to the first floor.
"This is amazing."
Three talismans. I felt full without even eating.
That's when Jung-seok asked.
"Aren't we going to conquer more of the second floor? Since we have talismans now, it might be good to progress further. We can escape with at least three people if needed."
Jung-seok's opinion always sounded plausible. We didn't know much about the second floor.
We currently have five people.
Three talismans.
Maybe today we could uncover the secrets of the second floor and even reach the third floor.
As I was thinking this.
"Tick-tock- tick-tock-"
A familiar and terrible sound rang in my ears.
I turned my head. And there was the long-necked rhythm ghost looking down at the first floor from the second floor stairs.
"Found you. Found you. Found you! Come here! Teacher will suck your brain! Brain! I'll stick my tongue in your ear and just suck out your brain! Young-won! Come here!"
Thud, thud, thud-
I heard the sound of the second floor rhythm ghost coming down to the first floor. I was very flustered and panicked.
"Eeek, shit, what the hell! Eeeeek!"
Weren't second floor ghosts unable to come down to the first floor? Why is a second floor ghost suddenly coming down to the first floor!
"This fucking cheating bullshit! Guys, run! Let's run! Run!"
I shouted frantically like a half-crazed person. We had to run away first.
But the rhythm ghost was faster than I thought. It was crawling on all fours like a dog, and at this rate, we'd be caught up to.
"What is this! What is this! What is this! I've never seen a ghost like that! Eeeeek! Eeeeek!"
Kwon Sua screamed frantically. Had she gone mad at the horrifying sight?
Eventually, Kwon Sua fell with a thud.
"Eeeeek! Eeeeek!"
The idol screamed pitifully like a deer caught in a bear trap. Seeing that sight made my hair stand on end.
"Get up quickly! Hurry!"
"I... I can't get up! Mom...! Eeeeek...!"
Damn it!
Should we abandon Kwon Sua like this?
As I was thinking that, Yang Juhee moved quickly.
"Die! You long-necked bitch!"
Yang Juhee's fingertips flashed. It was the industrial box cutter that had pierced my chest earlier.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"