Chapter 88: Hidden Route (2)

This game had one particularly notorious gimmick.

Among players, it was commonly known as the “caught bell-spamming” event.

When you press the call bell at the delivery point, it usually doesn’t work right away.

Players press it once and think, “Huh? Is it bugged?”

Maybe there’s an error?

And considering that most of the time, if you don’t deliver the AI core, your head explodes,

players naturally get anxious.

Eventually, unable to hold back, they start spamming the bell.

That’s when it happens.

A tentacle monster suddenly bursts out, ambushing the nearest player.

It’s an attack by a grotesque tentacle creature made of both metal and flesh.

Naturally, the attack is powerful enough to instantly kill the player.

In most cases, the result is a gruesome scene where the player’s head gets ripped off in one blow.

Since it pops out so suddenly, it’s almost impossible to react.

Of course, there is a way to survive.

After pressing the bell repeatedly, just run away beforehand.

If you do that, the tentacle will just swipe at the empty space,

look around in annoyance, and eventually collect the cores before leaving.

That’s the only known survival method so far.

But since dying means losing a huge amount of gold, it’s still a significant loss.

Given the impatient nature of many Korean players, countless people fell victim to this event.

It became almost a ritual for Korean streamers to die at this point at least once.

Out of every group of three, one person would inevitably start spamming.

‘Kyaaah!’

‘What the hell is this!’

The situation itself was so absurdly funny,

and seeing a streamer suddenly get snatched by a tentacle or have their head blown off

became a common, meme-worthy clip.

In any case, it was an instant-kill event.

If you didn’t dodge it, you would die—no exceptions.

At least, that’s how it had been until now.

---

“S-Saved…?”

Siren whispered softly.

Just a moment ago, she had been staring at the tentacle-like thing flying straight at her.

Even though it was her first time seeing it, she instinctively knew that one hit from that thing meant instant death.

She regretted her reckless bell-spamming,

thinking about how embarrassing it would be to die after rushing it.

Moreover, after finding the hidden route, she felt even guiltier for almost ruining it.

But just before the tentacle reached her neck—

Yoo Seo-yeon, who was right next to her,

leaped forward and swung the pickaxe, deflecting the tentacle.

It felt a bit silly to be using a pickaxe for this,

but if only the weapon had been cooler, she would’ve looked like a hero.

“S-Seo-yeon, did you just block that?”

Siren asked, still stunned.

“It jumped out so suddenly, I just moved without thinking…”

– 「Reflex tentacle parryㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ」

– 「What do you mean you didn’t knowㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ」

– 「Legendaryㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ」

– 「Like a beekeeper instinctively swatting at wasps」

– 「For realㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ」

Though she was just being honest,

the chat was in awe of the unexpected scene.

Someone even asked if she had known about the event beforehand.

‘Hmm.’

Of course, it was her first time encountering this gimmick.

She didn’t know there was an event, nor that the tentacle attack was an instant kill.

However, from the moment the bell was being spammed, something felt off.

There was a faint vibration in the air,

and the sound of the machinery had a strange dissonance to it.

It’s hard to explain, but it just felt wrong.

‘Something’s weird.’

The metallic friction noise grew sharper every time the bell rang,

and the air around them felt denser, almost suffocating.

Even though she was wearing a spacesuit,

she could sense the tension building.

And when that noise reached its peak,

the tentacle burst out.

Its target was, of course, Siren, who had been spamming the bell.

Since Yoo Seo-yeon was already prepared, she could react instantly.

Would she be able to block it?

No, even if she couldn’t, it would be better for her to take the hit than for Siren to die.

‘It’s better for me to die than for Siren, who’s carrying all the gold.’

Even if she couldn’t block it, it was worth trying.

Fortunately, she succeeded.

Swinging the pickaxe at the exact timing,

she managed to deflect the tentacle’s attack.

---

《‘HeavenlyFist’ has donated 3,000 won!》

• Wait, was it actually possible to block that?ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

– 「Right?」

– 「How can you block something you can’t even see?」

“Did you really block that?”

Siren asked, still pressing the bell out of habit.

Raidel, who had been cowering at a distance, also looked shocked.

First, at the tentacle that suddenly appeared,

and then again at Yoo Seo-yeon, who managed to block it.

“I couldn’t even see what was coming… How did you block it?”

“The sound just felt off. It was like… something was about to pop out.”

“Ah.”

Raidel seemed like she wanted to say something but just nodded, looking a bit defeated.

“So, you’re the first to successfully parry the tentacle?

People who play this game should probably take notes…”

– 「Yeah, rightㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ」

– 「So should we just spam the bell too?」

– 「Please don’t turn this into a troll guide…」

Siren, still looking a bit dazed, quietly said to Yoo Seo-yeon,

“Seriously… I thought I was dead. Thank you for saving me.”

Just then, a system message appeared on the wrist interface.

[Quota submission complete. Survival time extended. Remaining gold in inventory: 1,275 gold]

[Remaining Time: 72:00:00]

[Quota: 3,000 gold]

[Current Amount: 1,275 gold]

The dry, mechanical interface reappeared.

There was no congratulatory message for meeting the quota—

but it was a horror game, after all.

Such cheerful messages would feel out of place.

“This world really is harsh…”

Raidel muttered softly.

Yoo Seo-yeon checked the screen and spoke calmly.

“By the way, the time has increased, but so has the quota.”

Three days for 3,000 gold.

That meant 1,000 gold per day.

“Yeah. From 500 to 1,000 per day… The wall just got twice as high.

At this rate, won’t it eventually demand 10,000 gold a day?”

If they could remove the necklace, the whole situation would change.

For now, they had to secure enough resources.

“So, shall we start making weapons?”

“Laser sword and… mini railgun, right?”

“Yeah, the blueprints are all in our wrist devices. We just need the special materials.”

Since they found the hidden route, getting the hidden weapon was the next logical step.

But the problem was, they knew what the materials were but not where to find them.

“Let’s secure enough AI cores to meet the 3,000 gold quota first.

Once we have that, we can focus on gathering weapon materials.”

 

Apart from the increased quota,

the extension to three days was actually favorable.

It meant they could venture deeper.

The game developers probably intended it that way from the start.

“For now, let’s safely earn some money, gear up, and then farm the special weapon materials. That’s the general plan I have in mind.”

Yoo Seo-yeon briefly summarized.

“Hehe.”

Siren softly murmured to Yoo Seo-yeon,

“Being with you, Seo-yeon, makes me feel… secure. It’s my first time playing a horror game, but I feel okay? Thanks for everything.”

“N-No problem.”

Yoo Seo-yeon looked away, feeling a bit embarrassed.

Receiving such straightforward compliments felt oddly flustering.

– 「Siren really likes Seo-yeonㅋㅋㅋ」

– 「Why not just date already?」

– 「What?!」

– 「Rip polar bear」

Ignoring the chat worrying about the polar bear’s fate,

“Alright, let’s go.”

With Yoo Seo-yeon leading the way, the three started walking.

---

But about those hidden weapon materials.

They knew what they needed, but… didn’t know where to find them.

‘Won’t it take ages to gather them?’

As they pondered—

Brrr—

“Huh?”

Just as they re-entered the building,

a short vibration came from their wrists.

Yoo Seo-yeon stopped and checked the device.

Something had changed.

Before, it only displayed the remaining time.

“A map?”

A faint map was displayed.

On it, several red dots appeared.

They looked like markers pointing in different directions.

Next to each dot were names:

[Refined Crystal Core]

[Reinforced Titanium Alloy]

[Small Acceleration Device Part]

These were the weapon materials listed in the blueprints—

items needed to craft the hidden weapons.

“Huh? Seo-yeon?”

Raidel approached, peeking at the screen.

“Did something appear?”

“Yeah. The locations of the hidden weapon materials… they’re marked.”

“What? Really? It even shows the locations? That’s a relief.”

Raidel checked her own wrist device, nodding in agreement.

Material locations.

If they had to search this vast abyss blindly, it would have taken forever.

But the system providing the way made things much easier.

“Then, how about we head straight to the weapon material locations while farming cores on the way?”

Instead of taking a detour just to gather AI cores,

it would be more efficient to move toward the material locations and collect cores simultaneously.

Two birds with one stone.

Raidel nodded enthusiastically.

“Yeah, that sounds efficient! Let’s do it.”

She seemed to agree it was a good idea.

“But… are you sure you’ll be okay?”

Considering Raidel’s earlier screaming and running,

it was almost certain she’d be fleeing again if they encountered monsters.

Yoo Seo-yeon couldn’t help but worry if she’d get too exhausted.

“Don’t worry. I’m getting used to it.”

Raidel replied with a slightly more confident voice.

However—

“Kyaaaah! Stay away, you crazy freaks!”

It took less than a minute for her voice to turn into a scream.