episode_0054

I am Jack Usher.

Born in Detroit City in 1975. He was a man, and he was as old as the dust under the bed.

It’s been roughly 5 days since I entered the library.

[Actually, it was 6 days and 12 hours ago: translator]

-It has passed. From now on, I will leave a record here. I found this book on the library shelf, and no matter what I think, it turns it into a novel and writes it down.

It has no other use, but it could be useful as a survival journal.

I just hope that the person reading this knows how to write in English.

[Contrary to Jack’s concerns, the contents of the book are automatically translated to suit the reader’s language: translation]

*

[Day 1 of library survival]

I don’t know anything about why I came here. I watched some news that day too. Recently, I was into novels, so I went to the library to read a few books, but this division left me. The surrounding area has been transformed into some sort of medieval library, and the exit back is completely gone. And, fuck.

The hallways here are endless. Is it possible to get out of here?

*

[Day 2 of library survival]

thirsty. I’m so fucking hungry. You could say I’m going through the same fate that only writers who can’t make money go through. Starving to death among a pile of books.

*

[Day 3 of library survival]

Oh God. It seems there is no law that tells you to die. First, I looked for something to drink. I seem to have forgotten for a moment that there is a bathroom in the library. Water flows out of a clean bathroom sink without a problem. Drinking tap water gives me an upset stomach, but it’s better to have a few stomachaches than to dry up and die.

And I really can’t believe this. A message was written in lipstick on the mirror.

= Shop: CLASS B philosophy bookstore

50 spaces in the direction =

Who else got here first?

Thanks to you, I found something to eat. There was an empty snack bar, but there was quite a bit of food left.

And ‘kan’ meant one row of bookshelf.

A bag of chips and a frozen pizza. Retort spaghetti. I ate the food I found for the first time in a long time.

I’m a damn black guy, so I don’t mind stealing.

*

[Day 4 of library survival]

This was my first time seeing an artificial structure since I came here.

They built a castle by dragging bookshelves, setting up pillars, and stacking books like bricks. When viewed from afar, it looks like Sauron’s fortress.

There was nothing special to take care of. Everything was destroyed. Traces of being smashed and scorched marks are visible. When I sweep it with my palm, soot comes out.

I can’t believe I know that.

I feel uneasy about something.

*

[5th day of library survival]

My intuition was right. People wearing monastic robes can be seen in the distance.

I knew it when I saw smoke rising from between the bookshelves.

I tried to find another structure and go straight to it, but now I’m hiding and secretly watching.

The monks are working hard to destroy the towers that people have built.

In a voice like the Roman soldiers who captured Jesus, they repeatedly said that they were not allowed in here.

And nuns.

These gals are transporting corpses on carts, chatting animatedly among themselves.

another one.

The books in the library here are strange.

A book fell off the shelf, and this guy automatically writes according to my thoughts.

It looks like something from the Harry Potter world. Or maybe I’ve entered the wizarding world. A world where Voldemort took over the Ministry of Magic. Fuck.

*

[Day 6 of library survival]

Since finding the diary, I have been taking out books on the shelf that look suspicious and reading them right away.

You never know. There’s also a magic book stuck here, so the moment you open it, it might send you straight outside.

*

[Day 7 of Library Survival]

I found someone else.

His name is Marvin, he’s from Chicago, and he’s a white cop.

It’s already shitty, but Marvin says something even more shitty.

He said he has been here for 13 months.

Fuck.

***

The record is broken here.

I closed the book and moved on to find the next book.

When I went inside the bookshelf, I saw Choi Se-rim sitting among the books.

“Dabin. Did you find something?”

“This is a diary written by someone who came here. I think books automatically record thoughts.”

I grumbled and squatted down next to Choi Se-rim.

“But it’s not really useful, right?”

“Yes. I remember all of Dabin’s thoughts.”

I locked the bar in my heart.

As if it wasn’t a lie that she was still reading thoughts, Choi Se-rim reacted immediately.

“Huh? I can’t read it anymore.”

“Yes. Now I know roughly how to do it.”

“What is it? Dabin, show me what you think!”

Choi Se-rim clenches her fist and punches my chest.

“I don’t like it.”

I pushed away Choi Se-rim who was running towards me, took a peek at the book she was reading, and asked.

“What are you watching, sister?”

“Just writing-related writing books.”

“How to write?”

Yes, Se-rim Choi nods.

“I thought our escaping the apartment could be considered the ending of a novel.”

There are three main pieces of information you need to find here.

First, a story about what kind of place this apartment is. It is said that if you know about this place, you can properly understand and respond to the situation.

Also, a story about the ending of the outside world. According to Choi Se-rim’s comments, the world outside the apartment was almost on the verge of destruction. Even if you get out of here, you can’t live in a destroyed world, so you need to know exactly what the conditions are like outside.

Lastly, the reason why destruction occurred. This is most important. If you know the reason, you can prevent it in advance.

“I tried it just in case, but it doesn’t seem to be here.”

Speaking in a calm voice, Serim Choi slams the book shut and puts it on the floor.

“It just said that it doesn’t matter if the ending of the web novel is trash. He’s a rude person to begin with, so he won’t be polite to readers either.”

“You’re a bad person”

“That’s right.”

At the same time, I think about what Serim Choi just said.

If this were a novel, the ending would be escaping the apartment.

I don’t think I’m the main character.

Although countless people were unable to escape and were trapped and killed, new people still entered the apartment.

Choi Jun-gi, who led the survivors, and Park Seong-jin, who was a veteran in exploration. I couldn’t reach the ending.

There is a high possibility that I will be like that too.

Still, the reason I risk my life to explore is because I want to see possibilities.

People died struggling to get out of their apartments. However, escape was impossible from the beginning.

Wouldn’t a novel that ends this way be truly wrong?

If escape is difficult, I want to see at least a possibility.

That’s how I’m making my resolve.

“No, don’t open that strange book!”

Jeong Hae-won’s voice is heard from the bookshelf over there.

At first glance, I see him arguing with Da-ju Yoon.

“Huh? Why is this strange?”

“They say it’s a dangerous book just to read! Memetic killer!”

“You have to feel for yourself whether it is really dangerous. If you just avoid it, wouldn’t the danger not be noticeable to you?”

Da-ju pretends to open a book while saying plausible nonsense.

“Kyaaagh!!!”

Jeong Hae-won closes his eyes tightly and screams.

I mentioned the characteristics of dangerous books earlier, but I never thought I would use them like this.

It was when I first entered the library.

When there is a newly arrived floor, anomalous observations become a habit.

A familiar feeling of dizziness.

As I concentrate, black noise appears in my vision.

■

■

And soon the letters flow into my head.

[Wanderers’ Library]

= A manual for librarians who come here.

= The librarians of the Wandering Library = have added appropriate descriptions.

To protect the collection of books and anomalous objects, some content has been intentionally redacted or access has been restricted.

■

■

As they said, most of it was censored, and there were limits to the information that could be accessed.

I tried to read as much as I could, imprinting the fine letters in my mind.

//////

– This is an infinite library where all the information in the world flows.

– Beware of people wearing monastic robes. They do not like having unqualified visitors in their libraries.

– All lights in the library turn off and on repeatedly every 12 hours. You shouldn’t be left in the dark for too long. When starting a fire, you can use useless books as fuel.

– Some information is very dangerous. Just by reading, you can become addicted to information, lose your sense of self, or die mentally, becoming yet another host for information disaster. This is a common risk with information that seeks to replicate itself, but the majority of information is safe. Only information that evolves very quickly over a long period of time has significant risk.

– Distinguish between dangerous and safe books by the color of the cover.

> Pink cover: Very dangerous information disaster.

> Khaki Sign: An information hazard that can be tolerated if you have an appropriate level of anomalous resistance.

> Light blue cover: A meme that keeps ringing in my head. Caution is required in cases where there is no tolerance or mental instability.

> Colors other than these are safe.

– The characteristics of the surrounding area can be identified through the graffiti on the wall of the bookstore.

[Access Restriction: To prevent access by foundation personnel, only a few symbols are shared excluding the core ones.]

//////

I closed my eyes and opened them. The letters lined up in the air disappear as if they had never happened.

“I will draw the symbol separately and show it.”

And then I walk around looking for my notebook. I lost my footing for a moment because of dizziness.

“Oh.”

“Yes~”

The person who caught me was Daju Yoon.

“Thank you for your hard work!”

“Yes. Thank you.”

I roughly thanked him and tried to get up again, but Da-ju Yoon’s hand was firmly attached to my waist and I couldn’t let go.

Tribute.

“Take this off.”

He slapped Da-joo’s arm away and moved to sit next to Choi Se-rim.

I was about to do so, but Jeong Hae-won grabbed me and asked.

“Uh, but why does Daju’s older sister call me oppa?”

“There is. Something like that.”

It’s a bit hard to say with my own mouth. I guess it doesn’t matter that it ended up like this anyway.

Daju is also laughing with a smile on his face as if he is having fun.

“Afterwards, ask Daju Yoon to explain.”

Instead of answering, I just told him to listen when Daju and I were alone.

“Yes. I don’t know what’s going on, but I’ll figure it out first!”

Jeong Hae-won continues speaking in a grumpy voice.

“But it’s a bit surprising that all information is dangerous.”

“In reality, only a few are dangerous anyway. You don’t have to worry too much.”

“Still, it’s not that it’s dangerous in principle.”

How should I explain this?

I thought of various examples in my head.

For example, apple seeds.

Apple seeds contain prussic acid glycosides. When cyanide glycosides go through the digestion process, they become cyanide, the famous poison.

That being said, you won’t die from eating this. I have to eat a handful of stir-fried food at a time to get a bit of an upset stomach.

Maybe information feels the same way?

Daju Yoon, who was quietly listening, quietly hums a line of the song.

“Amyolman~”

“Ah. I understand it right away. It won’t leave my mind.”

It seems like Jeong Hae-won is a better match for Daju than me.

Back to the current library.

“Stop information terrorism!!!”

On the other side of the bookshelf, Jeong Hae-won closes her eyes tightly and screams.

Da-joo folds and opens the book in front of him as if playing a game of iron bag.

“Now. What will happen if you read this? ruler. Don’t avoid it and look straight at it!”

If you look at the light blue sign, the risk itself is low.

Playing around with that is another matter.

“Ah. You can’t do that all the time.”

Leaving behind Choi Serim, who was muttering in a worried voice, I stepped forward.

“Sister, wait a minute, I’m here.”

He walked forward with a stride, holding a 40-page book in his hand.

Kang!

I hit Daju’s head with the spine of a book.

The response came quickly.

“Evil!”

Daju screams while covering her head with her hands.

“Wow. How can you hit a person’s head and make a clicking sound? Is it a tin can?”

“Ah. It’s just a joke, why are you doing this?”

“Do you risk your life for pranks?”

I lifted the book again.

“Okay! I got it! It won’t be enough if you stop… … .”

While holding her head, Daju becomes sullen and mutters.

“The man just hit the woman… … .”

Kang!

I hit him one more time.

“I am also a woman now. Are you done?”

I feel refreshed inside.

“Daju Yoon, don’t do anything that crosses the line. Jeong Hae-won, if Da-joo bothers you again, tell me.”

“Yes, sister.”

After sorting out the situation, I returned to Choi Se-rim.

“That’s it. Now let’s look for the book again.”

“Dabin.”

Choi Se-rim just smiles without saying a word.

“Yes?”

“It’s cool.”

At the end of Choi Se-rim’s words, which she blurted out while looking at me, for some reason, a lingering feeling remained.

Third hour of exploration.

Choi Se-rim stood up.

“Now, let’s go get something to eat. I have to find a place to light a fire at night.”

In order to survive here, I had to move like I always did.