Ch.127127 – The Shrine Where Red Flowers Bloom 3

# 127 – The Shrine with Red Flowers # 3

『Mysterious Shop』

『You can buy and sell various items using mysterious currency.』

『However, absolutely do not steal anything. We take no responsibility if caught!』

The third floor was a strange place.

Who would have thought there’d be a “shop” in a place I expected to be nothing but horrifying.

“It seems we can buy or sell items using mysterious currency.”

I shared the text that had appeared before my eyes with Dahui and Juhui.

Yang Juhui stared at a gun preserved in an antique case for a long time, licking her lips. She seemed to really want that gun.

“What’s this mysterious currency? If we had it, could we buy this gun?”

I didn’t know what the mysterious currency was either.

If it referred to my points, that would make things much easier.

At times like this, it might be good to use some points for the advice function.

“Advice!”

Ding-.

「《The Broken Clock》’s Advice: The currency used in the mysterious shop is called ‘Whispering Coins.’ They can be found throughout the nightmare and someone is said to collect them very preciously.」

「It’s said that if you listen closely to a Whispering Coin, you can hear a strange voice.」

「100P has the same value as 100 mysterious coins.」

“I think I might be able to use this shop’s payment system. Since we’re here anyway, should we look around for useful items?”

This shrine with fully bloomed red flowers was a place where a terrible spider woman existed.

It was quite strange to suddenly be shopping in such a place, but it gave me a feeling that I could forget the terror for a moment and dream of hope.

Everyone probably had similar thoughts.

Soon, Yang Juhui rustled through her luxury bag and pulled something out.

“If we can buy and sell things, that means we can exchange what we have for that mysterious currency, right? We don’t need this first floor map anymore since we have Gu Hyena.”

It seemed Yang Juhui wanted to sell the now meaningless “1st Floor Map.”

I couldn’t help but feel a bit sad, having benefited quite a lot from that map.

But if it could be used to understand the system of this “Mysterious Shop,” perhaps that dear map could rest in peace.

I placed the map on a basket with the crooked letters “Sales Counter” written on it.

“Is this how it works?”

Just as everyone was watching with tense eyes to see what would happen-

『Do you want to sell this item? Once sold, you will permanently lose the item.』

『Yes/No』

“Yes…?”

Whether it took my uncertain answer as affirmation, the map burst into flames and quickly disappeared. It was quite a fascinating sight.

Clink-!

And instead of the map, shining coins fell into the basket. No, to be precise, I only heard the sound of coins falling, and the payment was deposited directly into my status window.

『You have successfully sold the “1st Floor Map.”』

『You have acquired 100P.』

『Funds: 910P』

“100P for just one map is pretty decent.”

Who would have thought I’d experience the true taste of capitalism in this hellish third floor?

This is fun.

It would be nice if we had more things to sell, but what we had were items necessary for survival like the “Lighter” and “Camera,” making them difficult to part with.

“We should look for more items from now on.”

So this nightmare corridor was a game about farming items and selling them to the shop.

I had thought it was just a horror game about escaping from ghosts.

“Yeongwon, look at this.”

Swish-.

At that moment, Yu Dahui handed something to me.

It was a walkie-talkie about the size of my palm.

“Don’t we already have one of these?”

We did.

It was the walkie-talkie I had given to Jeongseok as a possession item.

「Strange Walkie-Talkie: A walkie-talkie that works well anywhere. It can transmit voices no matter how far apart you are. Sometimes strange sounds can be heard.」

『Would you like to purchase the Strange Walkie-Talkie for 150P?』

『Yes/No』

An item I had drawn from an 80P gacha now costs 150P to buy from the shop.

Expensive.

While I was contemplating what to do, Dahui spoke up.

“You said a single walkie-talkie is useless on its own. If we buy this, wouldn’t we be able to use the one we already have? And we might be able to find Seok too.”

It was a reasonable argument, but Dahui still seemed to think Jeongseok was alive.

Honestly, I didn’t think Jeongseok, who had been captured by the spider woman, would still be alive.

“Alright. Let’s buy it.”

Clink-!

With the sound of coins, my funds were deducted.

『Funds: 760P』

Points are disappearing fast.

They say earn like a dog, spend like a nobleman.

It was inevitable to feel regretful about spending points I had collected with such difficulty.

“How much is this gun?”

Yang Juhui was still showing interest in the gun.

I looked at the gun.

「Sturdy Case: Locked with a lock engraved with a spiral pattern. You might be able to open it if you can find a key with a spiral shape.」

“It seems we can open that lock if we have a key with a spiral pattern.”

I looked around the shop.

From what I could briefly see, they didn’t seem to be selling a spiral key.

Tsk-. Yang Juhui clicked her tongue in disappointment.

Just then, Yu Dahui, who was exploring the store, caught my attention again.

“Yeongwon, look at this. This notebook. It says ‘Ghost List’ on it! But it’s strange. The notebook won’t open, like a tightly closed clam!”

Ghost list.

It was an intriguing name.

Judging by the name, doesn’t it sound like a ghost encyclopedia?

『Would you like to purchase Someone’s Journal-1 for 100P?』

『Yes/No』

The price was 100P.

It wasn’t a burdensome price, but with only 760P left, I hesitated a bit.

However, we had arrived at the third floor after all sorts of hardships and tribulations.

There was no guarantee we could safely return to this place next time.

Since we’ve made it to the shop with difficulty, it might not be bad to buy items while we have the chance.

Clink-!

『Funds: 660P』

“Ah, now it opens!”

The notebook that had been closed like a shy clam until just now opened wide.

Inside were descriptions of strange ghosts.

「Electric Fan Ghost Story: A ghost that appears on the first floor of the school. Turn off the power button to make it disappear.」

「The Invisible Hand: A ghost that frequently appears in the first floor bathroom. It disappears if you give it an item.」

Both the ‘Electric Fan Ghost Story’ and ‘The Invisible Hand’ were ghosts that existed in my mercenary corps.

The first floor mentioned here seems to be the first floor of the old school building, but I had never met them on the first floor. Were they ghosts originally from the school?

Flutter-.

As I turned the page, I saw a drawing of a ghost with a long neck.

「Music Room Ghost: A ghost found in the music room on the second floor. It can be bound to the second floor music room if you find the sheet music and play it. The sheet music appears in the science lab.」

Flutter-.

「Science Lab Mirror: A cursed mirror. It pulls people into the mirror and replaces them with fakes.」

「Marionette: An evil spirit that pulls people’s hair to control them like puppets. There is no way to defeat it. It’s slow enough to easily outrun.」

It contained information about ghosts on the second floor.

The crudely drawn pictures somehow captured the essence perfectly.

Flutter-

When I turned the page, I felt a gasp.

It was because there was a drawing of a woman with eight arms and a snake-like body.

「Gandara Shaman: An unidentified entity. Appears to be a shaman from the Japanese Kankan-dara ghost story, but its true identity is unknown. It becomes quiet temporarily if you offer a ‘sacrifice.’」

「Onmyoji: An unidentified entity. Mutters strange sounds. It’s important not to be discovered. If discovered…」

That was the end of the notebook.

Since this was “Someone’s Journal-1,” I thought there might be ‘Journal-2’ and ‘Journal-3’ somewhere. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have added numbering.

“So the one that took Jeongseok was this Gandara Shaman? When it says sacrifice, does it mean people?”

At Dahui’s question, I thought carefully.

I don’t know.

I wish someone would tell me too.

Especially this ghost labeled “Onmyoji” was scary.

Because it was the unknown itself, something I had never encountered.

What happens if you’re discovered?

I wanted to know, yet I didn’t want to know.

My capricious emotions where contradictory feelings coexist.

# # #

I wanted to stay in the shop with the bonfire burning, but that wasn’t possible.

Eventually, we had to move around.

We needed to explore, farm items, and find a way up to the fourth floor. I wasn’t sure if there was a fourth floor, but if there was, I couldn’t imagine what kind of space it would be.

Crackle-.

I pressed the transmit button on the walkie-talkie while looking around the pitch-black, dark shrine.

“Jeongseok. Can you hear me? It’s Ha Yeongwon.”

I wasn’t even sure if I was using the walkie-talkie correctly.

Jeongseok had enthusiastically explained about walkie-talkie frequencies earlier, but I hadn’t paid much attention.

Screech-.

Just then, a sharp sound came from somewhere.

It wasn’t the kind of sharp sound a ghost would make, but a mechanical noise.

We slowly approached where the sound was coming from.

“Ugh, shit, what is this?”

There was something so horrifying that Yang Juhui stuck out her tongue in disgust.

It was Jeongseok’s corpse, with arms and legs severed, only the torso remaining.

Jeongseok’s torso was wrapped tightly in rope like a butterfly caught in a spider web, and whoever did this was clearly an abnormal psychopath.

Evidence of this was Jeongseok’s expression, which was distorted as if he had seen something terribly frightening, making me dizzy just looking at it. He must have died in extreme pain.

A walkie-talkie had fallen beneath Jeongseok’s corpse.

Ooooom-.

Just then, a strange sound was heard, as if someone was making it.

It sounded like chanting a sutra, or like the unholy bleating of a goat.

When I turned my head, there stood a man in bizarre attire.

He was dressed like a mummy, wrapped tightly in bandages covered with indecipherable worm-like writings.

The man had a pale face with no eyes or nose, only a mouth, and inside his wide-open mouth grew two rows of shark-like teeth, making him extremely hideous.

“…We’re screwed. That must be the Onmyoji! Everyone, we need to run!”

Even more terrifying was the incantation coming from that mouth.

It was like noise from over a hundred monks reciting malicious sutras right into my ear.

Even covering our ears, we couldn’t move due to the noise that felt like it was hammering into our brains.

“Kuaak!”

“Eek!”

Yang Juhui and Yu Dahui were in pain.

Blood tears began to flow from Yang Juhui’s eyes, and Yu Dahui also bled from her ears and nose.

What happened next was even more horrifying.

“Die, you bitch! If only you had found our sister!”

Grip-!

Yang Juhui strangled Yu Dahui’s neck.

After struggling, Yu Dahui eventually went limp.

She was dead.

“Hey! What are you doing! Yang Juhui! You evil woman! Why did you kill Dahui! You wicked woman!”

I was so shocked and scared that I shouted at Yang Juhui.

Right at that moment.

The Onmyoji raised his right hand and formed a strange seal.

The Onmyoji’s right hand had six fingers.

Whoosh-.

My waistband felt hot.

I realized it was the talisman I had kept in my pants pocket burning up.

“Huh!”

My consciousness rose rapidly like a submarine surfacing, and when I came to my senses, text appeared before my eyes.

『Congratulations! You have safely returned from the Nightmare Corridor!』

『Beginning settlement for 1 survivor, 3 deceased…』

“…I was ejected?”

I think the Onmyoji forcibly sent me out.

Is that even possible?

But what was even stranger was what was in my home.

“……”

A woman was standing in the corner of my room.

I thought it might be my mother, but she was too short.

A woman with long hair was standing gloomily facing the corner, and the problem was that she kept muttering strange sounds.

—Let’s roast the mother and boil the son. Let’s tear the son apart and the mother…

“Gh…ghost!”

I was so surprised and scared that tears welled up.

A ghost right after coming out of the nightmare corridor!

I was so scared that I became angry in a 180-degree turn.

“You fucking bitch! Get out of here! Coming out in the morning and causing trouble!”

There’s a saying that seeing ghosts means your energy is weak.

Right now, I was Ha Yeongwon, a man with powerful energy.

Swish-.

As if my cursing worked, the woman who had been facing the corner very slowly, very slowly began to turn her head toward me.

With her body still, only her head turning, I felt my hair stand on end.

“I’m sorry for cursing! Don’t look here! I’m sorry!”

—Boombooboompow-.

Shashashak-.

Just then, Giganoto, who had become a member of our household, jumped out from somewhere.

Giganoto pounced on the woman standing in the corner, and the woman disappeared like mist with a scream so high it was difficult to describe.

—Aaaaaaah!

—Gaekko gaekko.

『Congratulations! You have defeated the ‘Wall-Facing Woman’!』

『Beginning settlement…』

『Acquired 50P…』

“Ha….”

Beep-beep-.

My phone rang loudly.

It was an emergency alert.

Now I noticed there were several emergency alerts piled up.

「Due to expected flooding in the Gaeryong City area, shelters are being operated in high-elevation areas.

The disaster control tower and shelter for Gaeryong City is Buldan Temple at 49 Sacheon Road.

Please evacuate to the shelter with basic necessities.

[Ministry of Public Administration and Security] 5:22 AM」

「The message sent at 5 AM today was sent in error.

No shelters are currently in operation.

The temple at 49 Sacheon Road does not exist.

Please be cautious of earthquake damage.

[Gaeryong Metropolitan City] 7:00 AM」

“Earthquake.”

It seems there was another earthquake because we opened the third floor.

I turned on the TV to watch the news and was shocked.

“We will now look at the damage caused by last night’s earthquake. Currently, damage reports are coming in from across the country…”

—Die. Die.

—Woman who killed people. Woman who tore babies to death.

—Greooooo-.

“Whoa, damn, what is that…”

The announcer’s face was covered with black stains that distorted the screen.

I was startled by the sight, which was becoming grotesque like a burnt photograph, and turned off the TV.

“We’re screwed…!”