Ch.83083 – Random Matching 2

# 083 – Random Matching # 2

“Heehee! Heeheeheehee!”

The long-necked Rhythm Ghost stomped after me.

I was so terrified that I couldn’t think of anything except running away.

“I’ll suck your brain! Brain! I’ll suck your brain! With my tongue in your ear!”

The horrifying words kept reaching my ears, making me want to cover them.

Where on earth should I run to?

As I was running, I spotted a staircase.

It was a staircase leading down.

Since I didn’t know where to escape to, maybe I should try going down to the first floor.

That’s what I thought as I hurriedly descended the stairs to the first floor.

I almost fell when I twisted my ankle midway, but somehow I managed to grit my teeth and endure.

“Ack!”

But it really hurt.

Fortunately, the moment I reached the first floor, the ominous laughter of the Rhythm Ghost that had been following me completely disappeared.

Did it give up chasing me?

Because I ran so well?

Or maybe second-floor ghosts can’t come down to the first floor?

Both were plausible guesses.

“Hah…”

I leaned my back against the corridor wall and caught my ragged breath.

I couldn’t believe I was in this dark Nightmare Corridor.

I didn’t even roll for a match tonight.

Why am I here?

This was truly a nightmare.

“…This is a pattern that hasn’t happened before.”

I couldn’t immediately understand why this was happening.

The corridor pulling me in on its own.

Several hypotheses came to mind, but the most convincing one seemed to be that variables had emerged because I had opened the second floor of the corridor.

Just like how ghosts started coming after me when I opened the first floor, the corridor started pulling me in after I opened the second floor.

I had vaguely anticipated that there would be some changes or unexpected variables when I opened the second floor.

Could this be it?

“Makes sense.”

Whatever the case, there was only one thing I needed to do.

Escape this place.

First, I should head to the basement.

Because there’s an Escape Talisman in the basement.

I was told that new items would appear on the first floor only after acquiring the Escape Talisman from the basement.

This means we always need to start by conquering the basement.

The problem was that I had no items at all.

Unlike the corridor matching in the Status Window where I could choose items and perfectly plan my party members before entering, this match started completely empty-handed.

If there’s any consolation, it’s that I couldn’t sense any ghosts on the first floor.

“…I don’t hear the bell sound either.”

After I gave the toy Jewel Ring, the Bell Maiden’s body had disappeared like light—sssss.

Did the Shaman Ghost find peace at that time?

If so, it meant I could move around the first floor relatively freely.

Even without a map, if I had enough time, I could find the broadcasting room that led to the basement.

As I was wandering around the first floor looking for the broadcasting room.

I encountered an unfamiliar presence in the distance.

It was a man holding a small candle.

“Hey. Aren’t you Ha Yeongwon?”

It was Kwon Suho.

The thug of Gaeryong with a sturdy build like a martial artist.

When I saw him, my head filled with questions.

“…What’s going on?”

Why is Kwon Suho here?

When I looked puzzled, Kwon Suho also looked around and shook his head.

“Did you also open your eyes and find yourself here? That’s what happened to me. You’re the chairman’s special scholarship student, so you must have heard something about this, right? This seems to be the boundary between light and shadow.”

“The boundary between light and shadow?”

“Don’t you know? The path to the spiritual world. You could call it hell or heaven. According to my father, after the recent earthquake, the water veins got twisted, creating gaps in the boundary.”

What is he talking about?

I don’t understand what he means, but it seems Kwon Suho thinks we arrived at this place because of the recent major earthquake.

Is this one of the variables from opening the second floor?

Does this mean I have to play the Nightmare Corridor through random matching today?

I thought there might be other people besides Kwon Suho.

“Hey. Have you seen anyone else?”

“I don’t know. Anyway, it’s more pleasant than I expected. My father told me there would be terrible ghosts guarding the boundary of hell. But I don’t see even a single rat.”

That’s because I went through all sorts of trouble to help ghosts find peace, recruit them, or kidnap them on the first floor.

I did all the hard work, but Kwon Suho is reaping the benefits.

Suddenly, I became curious about something.

I decided to pretend I didn’t know and ask.

“By the way, what does your father do? Isn’t he just a chaebol chairman? How did he give you advice about boundaries and water veins?”

“My father? He was originally a male shaman. I heard he was a disciple of some famous shaman.”

A chaebol from a shaman background.

Kwon Oseong, the chairman of Oseong Group, was becoming more and more suspicious.

So what should I do now?

Should I take Kwon Suho to the basement to get the talisman?

Or should I separate from him and get the talisman alone?

If I separate from him, how can I manage to operate separately?

From the looks of it, Kwon Suho seemed intent on staying with me.

That makes sense since this situation would be unfamiliar to him.

Even though he spoke bravely, he must be scared in reality.

I suddenly remembered Gu Hyena saying she wouldn’t trust me until I brought Kwon Suho before her.

If Gu Hyena is still in the basement like before, there’s a high chance Kwon Suho and Gu Hyena will meet.

While thinking about this and wandering around, I spotted the broadcasting room.

“Hey. I need to search the broadcasting room for useful items. There might be something we can use.”

That’s not a lie.

When we entered the broadcasting room, there was a hole.

“A hole leading to the basement. Suspicious, isn’t it?”

“It really is suspicious.”

“I’ll go first. You wait here.”

“Hey. I’m coming with you. Why are you trying to leave me behind? That’s suspicious.”

# # #

Kwon Suho kept following me.

After walking for a while.

Boom-.

Just as I was feeling uncomfortable with water soaking up to my ankles, a headless Buddha statue appeared before me.

And sitting on the cross-legged statue’s lap was a girl.

She was wearing a school uniform and had extremely long hair spreading in all directions.

It’s Gu Hyena.

Gu Hyena, who had evolved into a complete high school ghost.

She seemed to be sleeping since her eyes were closed.

Do ghosts sleep too?

As I was thinking that, Kwon Suho spoke.

“Hey. Can you see that too? That’s Gu Hyena, right? Yeongji High School, Class 1-E, Gu Hyena. The one who went missing and whose body was found recently. Is that Gu Hyena? Shit, that’s a ghost, right? Shit, can you see it too?”

Kwon Suho seemed to be seeing a ghost for the first time.

He was making quite a fuss.

I could understand his feelings.

I was scared too.

Even though I thought Gu Hyena might be partly on my side, it’s still scary.

What if she forgets what happened before and attacks me too…

As I was thinking this, Kwon Suho said:

“…Damn. Everything my father told me was true.”

“…What did your father tell you?”

“About killing people to make some kind of ghost. He said they make women into ghosts and use their blood to prevent the overflow of water veins. So Kim Haeil really killed Gu Hyena and made her into a ghost?”

Using women’s blood to prevent the overflow of water veins?

This was the first time I’d heard this.

Could this be related to why female students were mainly going missing in Gaeryong City?

I was very curious, but Kwon Suho didn’t seem to know the details either.

After all, he seems to be seeing ghosts for the first time today.

“…Could that talisman be it?”

Kwon Suho seemed to have spotted the talisman on the statue.

Does he know something about the Escape Talisman?

I pretended not to know anything and asked:

“What’s that talisman?”

“What are you? You’re the chairman’s special scholarship student but don’t know anything?”

“I’ve only been a scholarship student for a few days.”

“That’s the shrine that suppresses the water veins. From what I’ve heard, these shrines and talismans were prepared by the Cheon family ancestors and local shamans who have managed this land since ancient times. If we remove it…”

“If we remove it…?”

“We can enter deeper places. Like the upstream of the water veins.”

I see, so the shrines and talismans all have meanings.

Kwon Suho seemed to know quite a lot, which increased my knowledge too.

Soon, Kwon Suho stretched out his foot as if gathering courage.

“Hey. That talisman is mine, so don’t covet it. If I burn it and drink it with water or chew and swallow it, it will cure the meat allergy I suddenly developed.”

Eating the Escape Talisman cures quirks?

This is another claim I’m hearing for the first time.

“Does that make sense?”

“Fuck, in this situation, who cares what makes sense? Does this situation make sense in the first place? From what I’ve heard, the talismans attached to shrines are really amazing items.”

That was true.

In this abnormal situation, abnormal things were rather ordinary.

A talisman powerful enough to help people escape nightmares might cure quirks if eaten.

But does that mean you can’t escape?

“Hey, there’s a ghost there. Are you sure it’s okay? To be honest, I think it’s dangerous.”

I felt creepy looking at Gu Hyena sitting quietly like a doll.

However, Kwon Suho was bold and reckless.

“Hey. Don’t you see? We’ve been talking all this time, and she’s just sitting still. It’s obvious she can’t move because of that talisman. If we get that talisman, even ghosts won’t be able to harm us.”

Kwon Suho continued speaking with confidence.

“My dad was a shaman before becoming a chaebol, so I know this stuff. I have that blood flowing in me. I can tell at a glance. That talisman is sealing the ghost. I can feel it. I can sense it. Throughout my life, my intuition has never been wrong. I’m right.”

“No. Hey. I don’t think that talisman has such an effect. Isn’t it just that Gu Hyena isn’t moving because we haven’t stepped on her sprawling hair? And actually, there’s something I haven’t told you. You should just give me that talisman and get away from here…”

“What? Ah… you bastard. I get it. You’ve been acting suspiciously all along, and now you’re showing your true colors!”

“What?”

Kwon Suho’s eyes gleamed fiercely.

They were bloodshot and filled with killing intent, just like when he came out of Kim Yujeong’s house and shouted that he would kill her.

“You’re trying to eat the talisman and run away while I’m off guard! You bastard! Do you think I’m stupid? I won’t fall for such an act! That’s mine! I don’t care if you’re the chairman’s scholarship student! Once I get my hands on Yeongwon’s clock, everyone will be begging at my feet anyway!”

“Whoa! Hey! Kwon Suho! Stop!”

Kwon Suho rushed forward before I could stop him.

Eventually, Kwon Suho reached near the shrine and stepped on Gu Hyena’s hair.

Srrk-.

Gu Hyena’s eyes opened.

Her shattered glass-like eyeballs were always horrifying and disgusting.

“Heeheeheeheeheeheeheehee!”

Gu Hyena laughed eerily, stretching her mouth corners so wide it seemed like her mouth might tear.

Soon, Gu Hyena’s hair wrapped around Kwon Suho’s arms and legs, and her hand grabbed his neck.

“Aaaaargh! What the fuck is this! Aaaaargh! Aaaaaaaargh!”

Kwon Suho screamed like a girl.

To be honest, I would have done the same.

Suddenly, a sticky, slug-like tension crept up my back.

Kwon Suho has the quirk “Vegetarianism.”

If Kwon Suho dies here at the hands of Gu Hyena, the two quirks will stack, and he’ll die in reality too.

Kwon Suho might be trash, but does he deserve to die?

Since Kwon Suho played a significant role in Gu Hyena’s death, maybe life should be repaid with life.

Nevertheless, I couldn’t help but feel confused.

I was just a high school student after all!

That’s why I had subtly suggested to Kwon Suho that he should give up the talisman, but he thought I was trying to trick him and rushed forward instead.

“Why did you kill me! Why! Why! Why! Why did you kill me! Why! You should die too! You should die too!”

Gu Hyena convincingly acted like a high school ghost.

Or maybe it wasn’t an act.

Kwon Suho struggled like a butterfly caught in a spider web and cried out almost in despair.

“I… I didn’t know you would die! I didn’t know either! They said they needed a virgin’s blood! I thought they would just hurt you and scare you! I didn’t know they would kill you!”

“Why! Why on earth! Whywhywhywhywhywhywhywhy!”

Crack, crack-!

The high school girl’s grudge, tangled like hair, broke Kwon Suho’s arm and leg bones and bent his joints in unnatural directions.

“Aaaaargh! Save me! Save me! Aaaaargh! You stole my wallet! You… you fucking bitch! Aaaaargh! Aaaaaaaargh!”

Kwon Suho was almost howling.

But that didn’t last long.

As if he hadn’t just been screaming, Kwon Suho’s mouth became eerily quiet.

He was dead.

I… felt dizzy.

“Bastard. You think saying you didn’t know I would die makes it okay?”

Gu Hyena cursed frighteningly.

Her eyes turned towards me, and she laughed creepily.

“You’re Ha Yeongwon, right? You really kept your promise and brought Kwon Suho to me. I feel like my long-held grudge has been washed away. I feel so refreshed that I might be able to find peace. Heehee.”

Finding peace.

I couldn’t tell her that the blood spurting from Kwon Suho’s body had soaked her, making her look more like a vicious evil spirit than someone finding peace. Of course, I couldn’t say such things.

Swish.

Gu Hyena took something out of her school uniform pocket.

It was a wallet smaller than my palm.

“This is Kwon Suho’s wallet. I was planning to return it, but he killed me before I had the chance. What a bad guy. He could have just asked for it back. Why kill someone over a mere wallet!”

Thud-.

The wallet was placed on Kwon Suho’s corpse.

I cautiously moved my hand towards it.

Inside the wallet, instead of money or cards, there was a photo.

It was a photo of high school Kwon Suho smiling brightly while holding a dog.

It seemed like a relatively recent photo.

A Shiba Inu?

There was also a girl around my age in the photo, and her face looked familiar.

…Who was she?

“Hey! You’re Ha Yeongwon, right!”

Someone called me from behind.

When I turned around, Jeongseok was there.

“If today was our party’s matching day, you should have told us! Do you know how scared I was when I suddenly woke up here?”

Jeongseok was terrified when he saw Gu Hyena and Kwon Suho’s corpse.

“Oh, shit. Oh shit…! Oh…”