Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work (Novel) - Chapter 63
Chapter 63
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Translated by Jinmu
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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Faster. Faster.
“Supervisor, then your previous experience was the 35th run, right?”
“Y-Yes. That was the only run where they attempted to deploy rookies.”
After exchanging a brief and urgent Q&A with Supervisor Park Min-sung, Kim Sol-eum instantly organized the core points in his head.
‘Supervisor Park Min-sung’s details as an experiencer…’
“Is this all? Is this really the necessary information?”
“I am piecing it together.”
—Rookies were drafted into this Dark exploration for the first time, thrown into a state of chaos out of fear.
—Several people used slang and received penalties. A fight broke out over a heart-calming pill, resulting in penalties for both. The person who consumed it also received a penalty.
—The number of personnel who received 2 or more penalties and went to the brink of contamination was 7.
—The rookie caught as the hangman lost consciousness from panic in the middle, but it was a state of panic and fear that no one could afford to pay attention to.
—A rookie fainted after being hit on the head by a corpse falling from the scaffold. Resigned afterward.
“……”
Uh?
“Since then, they never put rookies in again…”
“Wait a minute.”
“Yes?”
“Does the corpse remain?”
Kim Sol-eum urgently looked at the supervisor.
“I mean, the people who become the hangman and die here.”
“Y-Yes? Of course, I don’t know about decomposition or anything. …I think it had no head either. Though I didn’t go to the funeral to watch the procedures one by one…”
“…!!”
Goosebumps rose straight up Kim Sol-eum’s spine.
This, this…
“Why, why??”
Supervisor Park Min-sung urgently grabbed my shoulder.
“Is there some hint? Does it work?!”
“Yes.”
Kim Sol-eum nodded urgently.
Yet cold sweat trickled down his neck.
‘Honestly, I can’t guarantee it this time either.’
It also felt like madness. But, but…
How thrilling a hope it was to have a possibility.
‘It is right to try.’
Kim Sol-eum roughly pieced together the necessary elements. …It seemed it might work by a hair.
‘With this, I might escape through the gap without touching the rules…!’
However, if there was a problem…
There was one absolutely necessary ability, but it was not in a standby state.
‘…Brown.’
He was needed again.
‘About the disguise ability, by any chance, how much longer must I wait to use it again?’
—Hmm.
—Wouldn’t I also need about half a day of rest?
Kim Sol-eum immediately modified the question.
‘What if we change the conditions?’
—Conditions?
Kim Sol-eum explained the ‘changed conditions.’
Then, the answer changed.
—If it is that, it would be possible if I rested for about an hour!
—It is a somewhat grueling schedule, but… well, I will endure it. Because I am a pro!
‘Thank you so much.’
—Don’t mention it!
In that case, one hour.
The conditions were redefined.
‘I must buy time.’
In this chaos, I had to prevent Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je from completely ascending the scaffold for one hour.
And that was impossible alone.
“Senior.”
“Yes?”
“If possible, please act as a shill.”
“……?”
Kim Sol-eum immediately and quickly wore the ‘Silver Heart’ inside his pocket.
And he shouted.
To the nine employees who had gathered in the room before anyone knew it, eagerly playing Hangman.
“Seniors.”
“…!”
Nine pairs of eyes turned toward Kim Sol-eum.
He swallowed dryly in secret.
What was needed right now…
‘…Drawing aggro!!’
“If you could double your clear points, would you do so?”
* * *
Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je of Group D raised her head.
For someone who had been sentenced to death, hanging in midair with a black rope from her neck to her limbs, her mind was calmer than expected.
‘This much is practically a peaceful death.’
Except for dying right before accumulating points, honestly, compared to the bloodbaths of the employees who had died so far, it was really not bad.
“Assistant Manager Eun!! What transport is this?!”
“I don’t know. I said I don’t remember, didn’t I?”
Especially in the sense that she was burning the insides of these low-character trolls along with her.
The only regret was that even though she wasn’t very cooperative, the correct answers would eventually be guessed.
Because the hangman was originally like that.
“Ah… the last transport she rode when she was a reporter? How on earth would I know that? I don’t know, dammit… A?”
[Correct!]
“I-It worked!!”
Even if they couldn’t guess the initials through the hint, they would eventually hit the correct answer by throwing alphabets.
_ _ _ _ A _ _ R
‘Urgh,’
Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je felt the chilling fear of death behind her neck as she saw her disappeared feet, but she did not show it.
Because she didn’t want to give those trolls any entertainment.
[Here is the hint for the 3rd blank alphabet!]
[Why is Teacher Eun Ha-je unable to ride airplanes again?]
Even in the midst of that, the two rookies of Group D were busily exchanging Q&As in the corner.
‘What are those guys doing?’
They seemed to grit their teeth upon seeing her feet blown away, yet they talked even more desperately.
It seemed they were harboring a futile hope of saving her from here…
‘Maybe that is better.’
She wished they would just talk, realize there is no answer, and give up.
Knowing they contemplated it would at least be a comfort.
‘……’
In the meantime, someone got the correct answer to this relatively easy question.
“Trauma? T!”
_ _ T _ A _ _ R
[Correct!]
Her left leg disappeared entirely.
‘Fuck…!’
“Waaaah! It worked!”
“Ah!! I should have done it first!”
The sounds of trolls shouting as if it were a sport upon seeing a person’s leg vanish.
Eun Ha-je slowly began to get angry with irritation.
‘Should I also just actively troll them?’
But suddenly.
“Seniors.”
Someone beyond the trolls raised their hand.
“If you could double your clear points, would you do so?”
‘…Roe Deer!?’
Yes.
Kim Sol-eum, the rookie of Group D—no, the youngest who had now escaped the rookie status in the shortest time—was raising his hand with a calm expression.
“What is it?”
“Isn’t that b— isn’t that guy the one? The one who got promoted this time.”
Around that point, everyone recognized him.
The top recruit wearing a mask with deer-like horns. Because rumors had already spread openly since he got promoted to supervisor in just 60 days.
Was it because of those rumors?
Strangely, they came to pay attention to that rookie. He possessed a… strangely natural presence.
Moreover, just now.
‘Didn’t he say points…?’
“……”
Within the bizarre atmosphere of the playroom focused on him, Kim Sol-eum opened his mouth.
“Would you like to make a wager?”
…??
“If you win this wager, I will give you all of my clear points.”
“…!!”
“Huh?”
It was insane aggro.
“Did they say he’s crazy? What is wrong with him?”
But at the same time, any Field Exploration Team employee hooked on the word ‘points’ could not help but speak like this.
“Are you really giving away all two thousand points?”
“Yes.”
“Ah, Supervisor Roe Deer. You’ve only been with this company for a few months so you might not know… points cannot be transferred.”
“I know.”
“You know? Then what…”
“But there is no obstacle to buying two thousand points’ worth of items from the employee mall and handing them over.”
“…!”
“If you beat me, I will let you choose and give them to you. Even if you use them to craft custom equipment, I will pay on your behalf.”
The atmosphere shifted.
Having evaded being the ‘sacrificial lamb’ anyway, if they could obtain additional points, how usefully could they spend them?
“Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
He was serious.
Of course, if they could win.
“What kind of wager is it?”
Kim Sol-eum crossed his arms.
“It is to guess the most alphabets of the Hangman keyword.”
“Ah!”
“I will give the points to the person who guesses more than me, the most.”
Is that bastard crazy?
“For reference, I have only guessed one, so even if you guess just two, half the criteria are met.”
“W-Wait a minute!”
Supervisor Park Min-sung of Group D, listening nearby, stood up in shock.
“Roe Deer, to make a wager in this situation of all times…”
“Because a B-grade ghost story that is safe as long as we follow the manual is rare. I thought it would be good to see if there is any sign of a special phenomenon manifesting if we guess many correct answers on this occasion.”
Kim Sol-eum spoke as he seriously looked around at the employees.
“If the atmosphere turns strange by any chance, I hope you will stop. I hope it doesn’t get dangerous.”
“Ha.”
Several employees scoffed and looked at each other, before one of them eventually opened his mouth with a smirk.
“Ah~ How noble. To make the manual safer by adding details~ you’ll make a wager?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
Kim Sol-eum answered immediately.
“I want to help those who enter next clear it even slightly more safely.”
“……Why?”
“There is no particular reason. Well… I think it would be good if someone did it, so since I can do it, I intend to.”
“……”
The employee who asked shut his mouth.
For some reason… he felt strange.
‘Come to think of it, did they say this rookie also rescued a missing person?’
He remembered again.
‘They said he got promoted because he saved all the other employees in some B-grade Dark last time too.’
Searching for an unpopular office worker that nobody looked for without pay, and doing dangerous things in high-grade Darks to save employees whose faces he didn’t even know.
‘He’s out of his mind.’
Normally he would have mocked him as a pushover, but strangely, he couldn’t do it this time.
Ting—
A clear metallic sound spread through his mind.
His thoughts strangely cleared up.
A strange feeling as if escaping from the stained and comfortable methods and inertia he was used to using, and viewing phenomena straight on.
…Then, really strangely.
those foolish choices looked a bit grand.
“……”
“……”
His mouth just opened.
“…Well, wagering is fine.”
“Ah, thank you!”
Kim Sol-eum bowed a few times as if thanking the employees who had somehow fallen silent, then moved his steps.
“Then I will see you when we leave.”
And he approached Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je, who was watching this scene with her mouth wide open, with a solemn face.
“Assistant Manager.”
Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je felt a sharp headache.
‘The problem with this guy is that he is too nice!’
He was a clever youngest member, but this was his drawback.
‘He is too sincere.’
He was the perfect type to burn out or break down.
Desperately uttering absurd nonsense that the item belonged to his colleague just to save them, and now he was truly doing such a foolish thing…
“You, are you seriously…”
Kim Sol-eum spoke rapidly in a lowered voice.
“It’s a lie.”
“……”
Ah.
“I just drew some aggro to buy time.”
Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je almost forgot for a moment that she was about to die, before barely asking back.
“…You tried to buy time?”
“Yes.”
Heh.
“Wait, if you’re thinking of trying something in the meantime by buying time, don’t do it. It’s the perfect way to die…”
“What if I do it anyway?”
“…!”
“We will unconditionally do it. …If you cooperate, Assistant Manager, the success rate will be even higher.”
This… disobedient brat!
Eun Ha-je gritted her teeth.
“Hey. I told you I’d handle it myself.”
“I cannot trust that. …You have already resigned yourself. To die.”
“……”
Quick-witted too.
‘Sigh.’
“…It’s not that I really didn’t have any thoughts of trying something.”
In the end, Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je confessed.
The words she hadn’t uttered to avoid instilling useless expectations in the supervisors.
“You know this ghost story thrusts all kinds of rules at the people it holds under the pretext of being rookie teachers, right? But do you know who the only exception is?”
“……That is,”
“The Hangman.”
Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je smiled broadly.
“Exactly me.”
The hangman did not receive penalties even if she swore heavily or bashed her head against the wall to make a hole.
“The problem is that even so, it is hard to move my body.”
Eun Ha-je gestured at the ropes holding her.
“But… to put it the other way, I can do whatever I want from the neck up.”
“…!”
Of course, the probability of anything working would be abysmal.
Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je spoke calmly without showing it.
“Did you hear? Only I can keep trying this loophole. Because I won’t receive penalties anyway. So you guys, who are subject to penalties, just sit…”
Kim Sol-eum’s eyes flashed.
“I will utilize that loophole in a way that maximizes the survival rate as much as possible.”
“What?”
“From now on, please make sure to remember what I say.”
Kim Sol-eum delivered what Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je had to do very clearly, distinctly, and simply.
Meaning…
“……!”
“…That is all.”
And Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je felt like she had been splashed with ice water.
You’re really going to do that?
“We will quickly go and work on it. See you in a little while.”
“Hey!”
Wait a minute.
“Roe Deer!! Badger!! You brats!”
But the two were already walking out of the playroom.
“Hey! Come back!”
* * *
‘Phew.’
Buying time, it seems it worked at least.
I was walking along the kindergarten hallway, which was even creepier because it was so clean, colorful, and quiet, together with Supervisor Park Min-sung.
‘Let’s go quickly.’
Based on the testimonies of the supervisor and the assistant manager, the outline was becoming clearer. Anxiety and hope took turns taking the lead.
And in the midst of that, the setting of this damn ghost story was terrifying.
But Supervisor Park Min-sung, who had no fear at all, kept looking back at me with a worried face, and eventually asked.
“R-Roe Deer. Is that okay? Two thousand points of yours is no child’s play… What are you going to do if someone who guesses twice appears!”
Ah.
That.
“They will absolutely never exceed it.”
“……!”
I smiled broadly.
“If they are selfish and in a situation where they keep each other in check, it is absolutely impossible.”
“Uh?”
“Because every time someone tries to guess, they will interfere.”
“…!!”
According to the records, the time limit per question was between 7 and 10 minutes at the ghost story’s whim.
Taking the most conservative estimate, we had to run the full limit 9 times.
Then what was the best method?
“They will probably keep each other in check and fight until the very last moment, and since they don’t want to accumulate penalties together, someone will make a move by setting conditions.”
And the probability of that being the correct answer is quite small.
‘Ultimately, time keeps being consumed while they endure contamination one by one.’
Furthermore, since they would hesitate to just throw alphabets once contamination accumulated, the time would be further delayed.
In that case…
“It will easily take an hour.”
I guaranteed.
“The prize of the wager is not two thousand points itself, but goods that can be bought with it, so it is also hard for them to propose sharing it.”
Ganging up with a few people to split it was awkward, and trusting each other to divide it fairly through verbal promises would also be difficult.
‘The fact that I was trusted even with just verbal promises… must be solely thanks to the Silver Heart.’
I must absolutely not get caught. I tried not to be conscious of my pocket at all as I continued speaking.
“So do not worry. For now, we must think about saving the assistant manager first.”
“……”
A surge of emotion brushed beneath the supervisor’s mask, but realizing there was no time, he quickly calmed it down.
“Yes. Let’s do it quickly! Ah. We’ve arrived.”
“Yes.”
It was time to start preparations immediately.
‘Whew.’
I sat down appropriately on the floor along with the supervisor.
That was the largest space in the kindergarten.
[Playroom]
I tried my best not to look at the view right in front of us.
Before our eyes… there was a colorful ball pool decorated with flowers and butterflies, and a platform.
Yet on the fresh platform, two lumps of flesh were abruptly standing still.
Left leg. Right foot.
It was Assistant Manager Eun Ha-je’s body.
‘Sigh.’
Something that was either goosebumps, fear, or a sense of crisis made my hair stand on end.
‘The scaffold.’
The timing was only once.
We must grasp that opportunity here.