Chapter 7 – Cd-A-11(2)
Among the many mansion ghost stories…
Why did it have to be this one!
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<Discovery Record 1>
Initial observation.
Investigation launched after reports of 20 civilians disappearing as a group.
After evaluation, this ghost story was exceptionally given a direct ‘Grade A’ rating.
=========
A Grade A ghost story different from others from its origin.
[I Hate The Dark!] has mental damage as its primary tool and immunity to physical attacks, making force ineffective.
Normally, this is one of the hardest places to handle even with all mental damage resistance items provided by the association.
Now I’m standing on top of such a ghost story with nothing but my bare body.
‘No…’
They said the first assignment would be simple!
How much more do they need to mess with me before they’re satisfied, damn it!
I cursed at the announcement person in my mind.
But nothing changes.
When I came to my senses and looked forward again, I noticed the mansion’s front gate was slightly open.
“…”
Ah, I hate this.
I really don’t want to go in.
Ghost stories are only fun when reading someone else’s written stories.
It’s too late to back out now.
The whispers that just flowed into my ears are like a signal for the ghost story to begin.
As soon as I stepped into the mansion, as if to prevent any attempt to turn back, an unknown ‘eerie shadow’ seemed to stick to my back, giving me an unpleasant sensation.
And I instinctively realized.
I must absolutely never look back…
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If someone shows a strong will to return despite such pressure?
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<Exploration Record 5th Time>
Unable to overcome his uneasiness, Employee Lee Hyun-seok forcibly twisted his body to attempt leaving the mansion.
At that moment, the lower body refusing to return and the upper body trying to return claimed their conflicting rights.
Crackle!
[Censored].
Lee Hyun-seok’s body, split in two, was rolling on the floor.
=======
Let’s not try to experience that situation with my own body.
Gulp.
I swallowed dry saliva.
Park Yeon-jeong moved slowly toward the mansion with a grim expression.
The exterior appeared quite well-maintained for a mansion in the mountains.
Feeling uncomfortable about trespassing despite being in a ghost story, I thought,
‘A knock should be fine, right?’
Knock knock knock.
It’s clearly a meaningless act.
Just something I did for my own sake. Park Yeon-jeong grabbed the doorknob with trembling hands and opened the front door.
The first thing that caught my attention inside was.
“…more than expected.”
Lighting so bright it’s almost blinding.
A simultaneous feeling of warm comfort and inexplicable stability created a sense of dissonance.
And again, small whispers tickling my ears.
“Is the inside cleaner than expected?”
Ah, damn.
One of the worst lines you should never say in this type of ghost story.
Crackle!
Ah…
All the lights that had been illuminating the entire mansion suddenly went out. The warmth that had been felt quickly faded away.
In place of the warmth, only a chilly coldness penetrated the body.
In darkness where you couldn’t see an inch ahead.
Whoosh.
Dozens of candles slowly light up, illuminating the interior of the mansion.
…It’s begun.
The beginning of the proper story in this current ghost story has finally begun.
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<Exploration Record #46>
As soon as Deputy Jung Sang-un entered the mansion, he quickly began extinguishing all the candles recorded in the manual.
=======
Yes, the key strategy point required for this current [I Hate the Dark!] ghost story is.
Speed and memory.
To explain simply, it’s a strategy that seems really basic – just extinguishing all the candles lit by our ghost story friend who hates the dark.
In reality too, the candles that need to be extinguished are just ordinary candles, so it seems like a ghost story with nothing special about it – you just need to put them out.
So how many candles need to be extinguished?
A total of 112.
But looking at this from a positive perspective.
I remember the location of every candle in this mansion.
Whether or not this was intended by the announcer, I have the cheat-level ‘Top of the Class Glasses’ that can recall everything seen at once, so finding the candle locations isn’t a big problem.
The biggest problem here is.
Running away from those who try to prevent me from extinguishing the candles.
=======
Deputy Jung Sang-un, who had smoothly extinguished 21 candles, swallowed dry saliva when he realized “they’ve found me” from the large tremor behind him.
The ‘Little Friends’ have started moving.
=======
Commonly known as ‘Little Friends’.
Another ghost story observed in the [I Hate the Dark!] ghost story, like the white gloves in the announcement person’s ghost story.
The candles act as a trigger that summons the ‘Little Friends’.
When the act of extinguishing mansion candles begins, our cute teddy bears start chasing the person extinguishing the candles.
More precisely, as soon as candles are extinguished, you become subject to this mansion’s continuous ‘mental domination’, where hallucinations become reality.
As a result, they’re not the small cute teddy bears we knew. They grow to more than twice the size of actual wild bears.
Some might ask.
No matter how the teddy bears are activated, aren’t they just stuffed cotton in the end?
…Have you heard this meme?
-Bears tear people apart.
These teddy bears tear people apart too.
They just look like cute teddy bears on the outside.
The teddy bears here tear people apart like paper!
Having anticipated all this, I haven’t extinguished a single candle for several minutes.
I’m just warming myself in the gentle warmth of the candles.
…It’s warm.
‘I just want to stay like this.’
I hate scary things.
I hate dying even more.
But my stamina isn’t enough to keep running away from dolls trying to tear people to pieces.
…This is a dilemma.
It’s over.
While I was thinking that starving to death might be the wisest choice…
Whoosh.
…Wind?
The dust on the mansion floor settled perfectly into Park Yeon-jeong’s nostrils with the wind blowing from somewhere.
It’s itchy.
A sneeze is coming…!!
No!
But there was no way to stop the sudden physiological response.
Achoo!!
I sneezed refreshingly.
And when my gaze returned to the candle in front of me.
The warm small warmth had disappeared without a trace, with only thin white smoke
wavering before my eyes.
“…Ah.”
Remaining candles: 111.
How many hours have passed since entering the ghost story?
I’ve extinguished 11 candles so far.
101 candles remaining.
This is the result of searching at my fastest pace with all my might.
…I know.
At this rate, I absolutely won’t be able to extinguish all the candles in this mansion.
I’m a man who can’t run 100m in under 20 seconds.
My running ability ranks at the bottom of the weakest.
The exploration records stated that even a trained assistant manager could barely outrun the dolls.
So the day I meet a doll will be my death.
Thump!
!!
Speak of the devil.
Small vibrations felt through the floor beyond the dark corridor.
It’s the little friends.
Death is certain if caught.
“Damn it!”
Tap!
I ran blindly.
I ran at my maximum speed to survive.
I fled without time to extinguish the candles lining the corridor. I just kept running…
looking straight ahead.
Thump!
Freeze!
But this time the footsteps came from the front.
Vibrations approaching from both front and back in the straight corridor.
Thump.
I’m going to die.
Thump.
My heart felt like it would burst from the intense beating. I felt like I couldn’t breathe.
Thump thump thump.
Thump!
My legs gave out, and my heavier-than-usual bottom touched the ground… I had somehow slumped down helplessly.
It was impossible from the start.
An unfeasible strategy.
Thump!
My eyes closed automatically from extreme fear.
I felt with my whole body just how terrifying fear that chokes you can be.
Thump!!
The vibrations are close.
Probably… The distance to the teddy bear must be less than 30cm.
Palms soaked in sweat.
Trembling legs.
Soon to be split in half like a popsicle stick, along with my fear.
…bang.
…bam!
knock! knock! knock!
…What?
Had my senses dulled from reaching peak terror?
knock! knock!
A faint sensation like something small touching my leg. I didn’t want to open my eyes due to fear.
But when I unconsciously opened my eyes to check that mysterious touch.
At the end of my gaze were.
A group of teddy bears desperately grabbed my pant leg.
And they were tiny.
Much smaller than Park Yeon-jeong thought – keyring-sized, very petite teddy bears.
Splash.
“Uh…”
One teddy bear that had been desperately grabbing and pulling my pant leg.
Lost its grip and.
Splash!
I Fell right to the floor.
The other dolls who witnessed this quickly approached the fallen teddy bear.
A cute scene from a fairy tale as they helped it back up.
“These are the man-ripping teddy bears?”
I blurted out loud without thinking.
But
No matter how you look at it.
These are just cute teddy bear keyrings.
Was it because I hadn’t extinguished enough candles yet?
‘Or…’
I thought there could only be two variables in the current situation.
I didn’t particularly want to confirm.
But this phenomenon clearly felt very different from the ghost story of the “little friends” that I knew.
Then now.
I need to move.
I immediately started extinguishing the candles I had passed by while being chased by the teddy bears, one by one.
Crackle.
The total number of extinguished candles was 25.
According to the exploration records, when it exceeded 20, giant teddy bears would definitely appear in front of the temples.
Gulp.
‘Please.’
I turned my head to check for the teddy bears that would be chasing me.
Thud!
In the deep darkness, I could indeed feel strong vibrations.
I became a bit tense.
But the figures that emerged through the thick darkness and vibrations were…
Gun gun gun gun gun.
Small friends struggling to chase me in the same keyring size as before.
‘…As expected.’
It’s because of these glasses.
=======
/Item List
Top of the Class Glasses
(Perfect for cramming students.)
…High obsession with academics. Never swayed by other temptations.
=======
Even in the <Ghost Story record storage>, it was rarely used, so I didn’t know how much mental damage it could prevent.
With these glasses…
I might be able to do it.
No, I can do it!
Thank you, announcement broadcaster… no, Senior Announcer! I will do my best!
Park Yeon-jeong, who had somehow pledged allegiance to ghost stories.
Click.
Park Yeon-jeong, experiencing the power of the Top of the Class Glasses in real-time, looked at those who barely managed to chase him with those short legs.
Crack.
His gaze changed as he stretched.
“Well then… shall we start the candle suppression?”
Agent Park Yeon-jeong.
Temporary firefighter position delegated.
Fire suppression… begin!
*****
Gun gun!
…
Gun gun!
…..
Gun pat… splash!
Don’t those guys ever get tired?
Or is it because they’re dolls, made of simple cloth and cotton, they can’t feel fatigue?
At least they’re cute to look at, so that’s fine.
Whenever I felt bored with the simple act of extinguishing candles, the teddy bears would chase me, so I wasn’t bored.
Of course, I don’t know what mindset they’re chasing me with.
Well, I probably don’t need to know their inner thoughts.
The total number of candles extinguished so far is 101.
Crackle.
With that just now…
102.
Now there are only 10 candles remaining.
While I felt relieved that things were progressing more smoothly than expected for an A-grade ghost story, I maintained a minimum level of tension.
After all, it’s an A-grade ghost story.
You never know what anomaly might occur.
Crackle.
Now 9 remain…
Tap tap tap tap!
!!
Suddenly, urgent footsteps heard from behind.
Are they the teddy bears?!
Splash!
No.
The teddy bears are still within my sight. The identity of the sound coming from beyond the darkness now is an unknown different entity.
“Damn, what now!”
When I was almost done.
…No choice.
I don’t know how the situation will unfold, but what I need now is…
Speed.
It might be a bit slow.
Crackle.
8.
Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap!
The steps are large and busy. But judging by the volume of the sound, the distance with the creature hasn’t narrowed much.
Currently it’s either slightly slower or slightly faster than me.
This is manageable.
Crackle.
Crackle.
Crackle.
Crackle.
The positions of the remaining candles are good.
Now only 4 candles remain.
Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap!
The sound gradually gets closer.
It’s not that the thing chasing me has gotten faster.
“…Hah!”
I’ve gotten slower.
This lousy stamina.
Crackle.
“J-just… 3 more…!”
『…Don’t…』
A resonance that feels like it’s hitting my skull directly.
Is this the doing of the ghost story creature chasing me?
But I have the ‘Top of the Class Glasses.’ I can endure and run through this level of mental damage.
Crackle.
2!
Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap!
『…Don’t…』
Crackle.
1!
Now only one candle remains.
Not too far from the current position.
The left corner window of the second floor library!
If I just extinguish that candle…
『DON’T!!!!!』
Grab!
!!!
Suddenly feeling something grab my left leg.
Splash!
I lost my balance and fell.
“…”
I’ve been caught.
I’m going to die.
I could definitely feel the force of something pulling me.
‘When I was so close…’
I felt frustrated.
If only I had been a little faster, if only I hadn’t been so sluggish at the start…
Breathing heavily, in the darkness with dilated pupils, I slowly lowered my head to look at my left leg.
What was there?
A teddy bear with the build of a small child.
“No! Don’t… turn off that light!!”
The teddy bear gripping my leg looked up and our eyes met.
After staring at the teddy bear for a while, I spoke with a trembling voice.
“…A child? You’re a child?”
Not a small teddy bear.
A young child with cute teddy bear-like ears protruding from their head.
The moment I made eye contact with this child, I wondered ‘Could this be a child drawn here by the ghost stories?’
“Don’t turn off the light!”
…Guess not.
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