Chapter 128

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Translated by Jinmu

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Dreamscape Collector.

Literally an equipment that collects the liquid called ‘dreamscape’ from ghost stories, issued to Field Exploration Team employees by Daydream Co.

The concentration of the collected solution was determined according to the grade of the ghost story cleared.

And the highest grade among the solutions I had checked in person was….

‘Grade A.’

<Hymn of the Living Sacrifices>, which anomalously manifested in the Tuesday Talk Show, and <In the Black Shade>, which entered Sekwang Technical High School.

Both of their solutions were of a brilliant and clear golden color.

But the solution I was holding in my hand right now was….

‘My goodness.’

In addition to that, a holographic sheen swirled.

The solution, which seemed to flow with radiance, even made me recall a certain potion….

‘The Wish Ticket Potion I saw when I joined the company…!’

It was fascinating that it felt strangely similar. Was it because it was the raw extract?

No, that wasn’t what was important right now….

‘Then, is this… Grade S.’

I rotated the cylinder. The radiance flashed….

It didn’t feel real.

‘That grade isn’t attached to a ghost story just because it’s dangerous.’

Abyss (S) Grade.

The creators of the Records of the Dark Exploration wiki all thought.

‘Wouldn’t a more special standard be needed for S to be attached?’

Until then, the existing Daydream Co. ghost stories had their grades assigned based on the tacit standard of ‘it would be a high grade by now’.

Danger, mystery, significance, scale, etc… at a level one could typically imagine when thinking of a ghost story.

But the participants’ common thought was that from Grade A and above, something different would be needed.

Therefore, the attached condition.

Who do you face in the Dark.

When it was a ghost story facing an existence that was cosmic horror itself, beyond just having a cosmic horror atmosphere, only then could the Dark transcend the standard of A to become Abyss Grade.

‘But was Brown’s Late Night Talk Show to that extent?’

Although I escaped after working there as a staff member for a month, I felt it was a bit excessive.

Brown seemed like a crazy ghost story talk show host and a very powerful supernatural entity, but wasn’t he quite close to humans to be called cosmic horror?

Perhaps the solution didn’t fill the dreamscape collector over there, but was just a special benefit that came with the goods itself.

‘And the reason this goods came out to me was….’

Clearing a high grade without a dreamscape collector, the ‘qualification to be newly distributed a collector’ must have been given.

And what was more important.

‘…If it’s truly Grade S, how much is it when converted into points?’

The in-company point payment guide that automatically came to mind.

Grade S: Separate Evaluation

I swallowed my saliva.

Since Grade A was 100,000, considering the increasing trend….

500,000 points.

It might be.

‘…Isn’t it immediately exchangeable for a Wish Ticket?’

Good heavens.

Then there is no need for me to worry about being processed as resigned right now!

If I just submit this collector, the company will give me points…….

…….

Ah.

‘Damn it.’

My energy drained.

‘There is no way to submit it.’

-Be careful not to lose it. It has a serial number engraved on it, so it becomes a real headache.

The words I had heard from Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je once passed by, hitting my head.

It was exactly as she said.

Dreamscape collectors are all managed with serial numbers engraved on them, individual equipment strictly registered to each employee.

Which meant that having a spare would be beyond awkward and become a strange and bizarre situation.

It was a crazy act no different from brightly reporting that I found one more cartridge case while looking for them….

‘If they ask where on earth I got it, I can’t even answer.’

Naturally, I couldn’t honestly say it was goods bought at a pop-up store.

Even more so, this dreamscape collector absolutely wouldn’t do.

“…Ha.”

This version, released exclusively for the elite team, smaller and fancier than the regular dreamscape collector.

I groaned, peeling off the product sticker attached to the cylinder.

Dreamscape Collector (Elite Team Dedicated)

There was a reason it came out as goods this way instead of a normal dreamscape collector.

‘Because this is the version that came out in the famous game based on the <Records of the Dark Exploration>…!’

It was a work that implemented a certain exploration record as a game, and it was an item that appeared there serving as identification for prominent NPCs and a collectible element where one must gather six to see the true ending.

Even this lore was attached to prevent setting conflict with the <Records of the Dark Exploration> wiki!

Elite Team Dedicated Cylinder

: An issued item that was once specially produced for the elite team, but vanished into the recesses of history as the standard was unified due to budget issues.

So, if the game lore was reflected….

-A rookie employee who had been missing for a month suddenly appears with equipment that was produced in the past and held by only a few people.

This kind of crazy sentence was completed.

‘And it’s even more of a problem if this lore is not reflected.’

Suddenly bringing a strange dreamscape collector different from the standard made by the company?

To anyone, it was a technology leak. The development division would be completely turned upside down just like that.

‘I will be misunderstood as an industrial spy.’

Even worse, I might be suspected of a parallel world Dark altogether.

An employee who had been missing for a month and processed as resigned returns like that?

A picturesque path to becoming an experimental subject is expected….

‘…N-No.’

I swallowed my saliva.

Putting it on hold for now!

“Phew.”

I put the cylinder back into my pocket.

Even so, my heart beat fast.

The raw extract of a potion that produces a magic-like effect to grant a wish.

Leaving such an interesting setting, could the wiki have simply described it with the sentence ‘used as raw extract in the ghost story company’?

‘It can be used in other ways too.’

Even if it wasn’t for the purpose of offering to the company and exchanging for points, there were several useful aspects.

‘Let’s aim for that.’

Then for now…….

“First, contact.”

I walked out of the park where the dawn was breaking.

After treating the fractured left arm and bruises, as soon as I left the hospital, I used a free smartphone charger to charge my smartphone first.

And then I contacted him.

To the true boss of this era, who helped me the most in my escape.

* * *

That evening.

“Mr. Kim Sol-eum.”

“Group Leader.”

The moment I met Manager Lee Ja-heon, I bowed my head deeply.

It was truly worth doing so….

“Thank you so much. Truly….”

“Yes.”

Although I spent 66.66 million won, honestly I think it was a truly profitable deal….

‘Physical force… is truly convenient and good.’

It wasn’t for nothing that Employee D was used like a cliché in every special exploration record.

…I didn’t expect him to be an alien, though.

‘Should I have suspected since he looked like a lizard?’

I sighed with relief internally, looking at Manager Lee Ja-heon’s face which still looked like a lizard.

To think he was part of a group associated with the strange Space Shopping Mall, capable of even launching bombardments on ghost stories.

‘He definitely called it the ‘Union’.’

Even on the wiki, there was no such detail in the entry for Employee D. Unable to contain my curiosity about the hidden story in the end, I asked.

“Um, Group Leader. May I ask what the ‘Union’ you mentioned when you were summoned via ‘We Help’ is by any chance?”

“No.”

“…….”

Ah, yes….

Then let’s get to the main point.

After asking Manager Lee Ja-heon not to tell the company and receiving confirmation, I showed him the dreamscape collector.

“This solution in the collector.”

The lizard’s vertical pupils stared intently at the oddly shaped collector….

I asked calmly.

“Is it… Grade S, that is, the dreamscape solution of the Abyss Dark?”

After a suffocating silence.

“No.”

Ah.

“It is higher in concentration than the standard of ‘Grade: Dark (A)’ registered in the company database, but it is not Abyss Grade.”

Phew.

‘No wonder.’

There is no way S would come out so easily.

‘Should I think of it as roughly A+.’

I put the collector back with a feeling of understanding.

“Then what color is the actual Grade S?”

“There is no precise word in the language currently in use. However, it is a color of concentration that leaves no doubt upon witnessing.”

“…I see.”

He really uses a way of speaking that screams he is an alien….

Suddenly, I grew a bit curious.

‘What on earth is Manager Lee Ja-heon’s relationship with the Space Shopping Mall.’

And why he was attending Daydream Co., various questions arose, but it wasn’t something to bring up right now.

Whether I can continue to attend that company right now was the real problem….

“Group Leader. I understand that if contact is cut off due to absence without leave for a month, resignation processing proceeds.”

I swallowed my saliva.

“Is that the case for me too?”

“Yes.”

Damn it!

“By any chance, is returning possible on the grounds that I was inevitably unable to come to work due to being caught up in the Dark….”

“Yes.”

Phew.

That was a relief. I just need to spin a good story somehow. I sighed with relief and spoke.

“Then just like that…”

Bzzzzz-

At that moment, Manager Lee Ja-heon’s phone rang.

Lee Ja-heon looked at his phone and spoke.

“Mr. Kim Sol-eum.”

“Yes?”

“There are people who want to meet you.”

A moment later.

“Roe Deer!”

I saw welcome faces in Lee Ja-heon’s residence building.

Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je and Supervisor Park Min-sung.

Seeing the people who had even searched ghost stories to find the missing me, my heart suddenly felt overwhelmed.

‘It’s truly no ordinary thing.’

Having almost died in the Hymn of the Living Sacrifices, entering Brown’s Late Night Talk Show, which was no different from a sequel to that ghost story, wasn’t just some ordinary resolve.

Even more so if one of them had to keep dodging the staff’s eyes and the other couldn’t even go out properly.

I felt an indescribable, strange surge of emotion that I hadn’t felt when I was assimilated into that Dark and became a part of the talk show.

I bowed my head deeply.

“Thank you. I obtained a clue thanks to the candy you gave me.”

Since that became the starting point to eventually press the ‘We Help’ button.

Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je waved her hand.

“Forget it. It was nothing.”

“I only find out because the two of them spoke, and I just entered at the last minute.”

Supervisor Park Min-sung spoke as if chiming in and laughed. Although he certainly looked more stable than during the cleanup of the isolation room at the end of the year….

I looked at the black civilian clothes Park Min-sung was wearing instead of a suit.

“Supervisor, by any chance… have you started working again?”

“…Yes. I’m working in the Security Team.”

He was no longer in the Field Exploration Team.

Supervisor Park Min-sung did not mention anything more about what he was doing.

He only spoke briefly, saying ‘It’s good to start earning points again.’

“…….”

Instead of questioning further, I overlooked Supervisor Park Min-sung changing the subject.

“Ah. Leader J3 of the Security Team sometimes asks after you, but… I didn’t tell him you were missing in the Dark. Still, it seemed he already knew a few days ago.”

“Yes.”

I was about to just nod, but suddenly realized.

Wait a minute.

“Was the company already aware that I didn’t just absent myself without leave, but was missing inside the Dark?”

“Ah, yes. One way or another, they judged you went missing in that ‘Tamra-Bound High-Speed Rail’.”

Oh!

“Then even until now, was the company looking for me without giving up? Or, at least, did they keep me registered as missing?”

“…….”

“…….”

The two bosses started playing dumb!

‘…They already processed my death.’

It was a truly fantastic company.

No, it doesn’t matter much, though. Suppressing the urge to rub my temples, I nodded.

“Understood. If so, for now, if I report that I am alive and came out after clearing the Dark, and return….”

“R-Roe Deer! About that….”

“It won’t do.”

“…!?”

Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je cut off the words abruptly.

“…Assistant Manager?”

“Look… Roe Deer. Anyway, the company searched for you for several weeks, putting in quite an exceptional amount of effort.”

Supervisor Park Min-sung hurriedly stepped in and continued.

“But if the audit judges that you didn’t absent yourself due to company business but just went AWOL, they will try to bill those costs… to you somehow.”

…….

What?

“I didn’t request rescue directly, so is there no pretext?”

“A pretext is whatever they choose to make it.”

“…….”

“In the first place, the points we receive are not wages but ‘welfare points’. If the company tries to retrieve them somehow out of spite, it’s not like there are no ways. …At least, by putting a ‘payment unavailable due to disciplinary action’ lock for several months.”

My back turned cold.

“They’ll say you weren’t caught in an industrial accident caused by the company, but wrapped up in a Dark that occurred by chance. They’ll feel like they suffered a loss, is what I mean.”

Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je spoke as if chewing on the words.

“Since you went AWOL due to a personal accident or reason, they will act like you caused a loss to the company.”

“…!”

“Of course, if you don’t return, what can they do, but if you become an employee again….”

It was indeed a dog-like behavior.

But the problem was that all of this was absurdity that could easily happen in a regular company too….

“So for now, let’s turn the method you used to clear it into a manual. Then it roughly becomes work business. Then they will have no choice but to pass over it without talking about spite….”

“It is impossible.”

“…….”

My entry itself was special, and the method I used to escape was a special act that could never be manualized.

Moreover, working as a staff member in that ghost story for a month before escaping was a peculiar situation itself.

‘If only I could submit the solution, it feels like everything would be smoothed over.’

It was frustrating that it couldn’t be done.

‘…Should I act prepared for a loss of points?’

No. No matter how much I thought about it, it was a waste.

No, beyond being a waste… it makes a person angry.

‘I collected more than half.’

They want to rip off points just because they did whatever they wanted, playing the drums and the hourglass drums? I cannot accept it humanly.

Furthermore, the problem did not end here.

“Alright. Anyway… in the process of describing how you escaped, if you say you were part of the ghost story for a month.”

Supervisor Park Min-sung swallowed his saliva.

“They might judge that you are polluted and make you undergo a process… like mine.”

“…….”

Right.

Normally, if one returns after being inside a high-grade ghost story for a month, returning to the Field Exploration Team with a sane mind would be impossible.

They will analyze and reassign me according to the case.

“Then, you might not be able to return to the Field Exploration Team.”

“…….”

By this point, one would want to shout that they are quitting this dog-like company, but I cannot resign in a fit of anger.

‘I need the Wish Ticket.’

I even already confirmed it in the elevator ghost story. That I can return home with a Wish Ticket…!

‘Besides, to summon Brown again as promised, I must also rescue the doll from the Pleasant Theme Park ghost story….’

Having barely secured him as a friend, if I break this promise, who knows what ‘an entity from the other world summoned on the condition of being together forever’ will do.

I gritted my teeth, feeling the presence of the coin still in my jacket.

‘The situation has tangled up strangely… but no. There is definitely a way.’

The high-grade raw extract is in my hand right now, and I safely escaped from the ghost story in my right mind.

The situation was absolutely not worse than before.

There must be a move to break through this problem, surely…….

“…….”

Looking at the faces of my bosses watching me with worried expressions, I suddenly recalled something.

Perhaps.

“Assistant Manager.”

I looked at Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je.

The person whose workplace had changed.

“By any chance, can you contact Director Ho?”

“……!”