Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work - Chapter 101

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Even If I Fall Into a Ghost Story, I Still Have to Go to Work Episode 101

Among my countless reflections that repeat and grow smaller in the elevator’s double-sided mirror, there’s only one supernatural phenomenon.

A back view that beat me at rock paper scissors.

The ‘thing’ inside the mirror stretches its neck out, turns to look at me, and smiles.

Clunk.

I barely came to my senses at the elevator’s noise.

What I’m holding is a fist.

What the something inside the mirror is holding is… a cloth bundle.

‘…I lost.’

Well, since I lost, I have to do it again.

Until I win.

[5F]

The elevator is going up.

※Caution: According to most testimonies of those who performed this ritual, the ‘me inside the mirror’ has an unnaturally high win rate in rock paper scissors against oneself.

I raised my trembling fist toward the mirror again.

“Rock, paper, scissors.”

My back view, smiling with its head turned around, changes its hand arbitrarily.

I’m scissors.

Inside the mirror is rock.

…I lost again.

Clunk.

…The ascending elevator stopped for a moment, then continued going up as if nothing happened.

Surely that was all there was to it in reality.

However, in the elevator reflected in the mirror…

The door was already slightly open.

Pop.

Through that gap, a white hand was sticking out.

“…”

[7F]

The elevator is going up.

“Rock, paper, scissors.”

A tie.

[7F]

‘Just once.’

I just need to win once. Before reaching the 12th floor, the top floor of this building…!

“Rock, paper, scissors.”

I’m scissors, the ghost is rock.

‘I lost…’

Clunk.

The elevator shook briefly.

That’s the end. There’s no change in reality.

However, in the elevator reflected in the mirror… the door was already more open.

Through that gap, I could see someone’s arms and legs.

“…”

The torso was halfway inside this elevator, appearing to almost touch me…

But it’s still not visible in reality. Since only the mirror reflects that strange scene, I can’t take my eyes off the mirror.

‘Please, just once!’

Just once, if I win, everything will be over.

3. Congratulations. You have now moved on to the questioning stage.

This means I can go to this instruction.

‘I have to go that way.’

That’s the least scary and fastest path. Please, please…

“Rock, paper, scissors.”

A tie.

[10F]

“…Rock, paper, scissors.”

…

I raised my head.

My hand clenched in a fist.

And in the mirror, I can see my face smiling with palm spread wide open.

[12F]

I lost.

13. You never won even once.

You cannot get off at the top floor. How pitiful.

Clunk.

The elevator stopped.

All the red lights on the buttons went out and the interior became dark. I barely held back a scream.

‘Crazy, crazy…’

I barely managed to raise my head.

Inside the huge mirror illuminating this dark elevator…

“…”

The elevator door was completely open.

1930819F, a strange numbered floor is displayed on the indicator. And beyond the wide open door inside the mirror, only emptiness is visible.

And….

A ghost is standing next to me.

“….”

I gasp for breath.

The ghost from that distant mirror who was playing rock paper scissors with me has opened the elevator door, entered, and is now in the mirror right in front of me.

I only rolled my eyes to look to the side.

I saw the old, dark interior with no one there, and the elevator with its door firmly shut.

But when I look inside the mirror,

another version of myself has entered from the darkness of the wide open elevator door, standing next to me with a joyfully torn smile, turning to look at me and staring intently….

….

You have failed the ritual.

From now on, you’ll need to be careful every time you ride an elevator. The thing inside the mirror will try to find and meet you.

Fortunately, you still have a chance to ask questions.

However….

: Go to 6.

The smiling something inside the mirror lowered its hand.

6. From now on, the existence inside the mirror will conduct the ritual.

Lip movements with no audible sound.

Rock, paper, scissors.

And it extends a fist.

“…!”

I broke out in cold sweat looking at my own hand that had extended a fist just in time.

If you do not respond to rock paper scissors with the ‘me inside the mirror’, it will gladly accept a victory by default.

In this case: There is no separate number guidance. May you rest in peace.

I have to match it.

Rock, paper, scissors.

Once more, I extended my hand.

The opponent showed rock. And I….

Scissors.

“….”

I lost.

Now I have to pay the price of defeat.

I broke out in cold sweat and raised my head.

Not you.

The existence inside the mirror will ask the question.

Inside the mirror, the ghost with my appearance moves its fingers to leave marks on the mirror.

What’s your name?

Damn it.

I left letters on the mirror with trembling hands.

Kim Sol-eum

Hehehe.

The ghost inside the mirror standing next to me laughed.

…I have to, endure this.

If you give a false answer: There is no separate number guidance. May you rest in peace.

I’m going crazy.

‘Why can’t I win even once?’

Even searching through the investigation records in the wiki in my head, there’s no answer.

That’s because rock paper scissors with a ghost wasn’t the main focus to begin with.

The focus was more on what questions were asked afterward. There’s no strategy for how to win rock paper scissors.

Rock paper scissors is a game of luck to begin with, isn’t it.

There’s no sure-win method. But….

I barely managed to stare at the ghost inside the mirror, standing next to me and staring intently at me.

‘…Then, how has that thing never lost even once until now?’

Simple luck?

A cliché where it knows everything I’ll play because it’s me inside the mirror?

‘But in that case, how did other people win?’

And in my case right now too.

‘If it knows everything, shouldn’t it not even tie?’

If it can win, then why on earth….

Rock, paper, scissors.

Damn it.

I hastily extended my hand.

I showed scissors, the ghost showed… rock.

“….”

When’s your birthday?

My fingers trembled.

September 13th

The ghost inside the mirror jumps up and down like crazy.

…Because only one chance remains.

“….”

While continuing the rock paper scissors led by the entity inside the mirror until the elevator moves again

If you win even once: Go to 3.

If you answer the opponent’s questions three or more times: Go to 99.

I’ve already answered twice.

My name.

My birthday.

…Now I only have one chance left to lose.

‘It’s over.’

…The text of number 99 goes like this.

99.

If enough time has passed since the third answer for you to scroll down here, you’re probably not the same person who first started reading this ritual manual.

I hope you live happily outside the mirror! Please don’t come looking for me

You get replaced.

With something inside the mirror.

‘No.’

Cold sweat broke out.

But I don’t have time to dwell on it. I no longer have control…

Rock, paper, scissors.

I hastily threw out my hand.

Paper versus paper. A tie.

‘Phew…’

I can barely catch my breath…

Rock paper scissors.

“…!”

I missed it.

I couldn’t… respond.

‘Shit.’

I gritted my teeth and prepared my stance to face whatever came next…

…

Huh?

Nothing happened.

‘…Ah!’

I realized it. Since I hadn’t lowered the hand I was holding up, it seemed to count as ‘responding’ to the new rock paper scissors too.

‘Right. I was holding it as paper…’

“…”

Wait a minute.

I recalled the results of all the rock paper scissors games I’d played with the ghost so far.

This, could it be…

Rock, paper, scissors.

This time I didn’t change my hand either.

A tie.

Rock, paper, scissors.

This time too.

And the next time too…

I kept throwing paper and staying still.

What’s strange is that the ghost was doing the same thing.

We tied three times in a row like that.

‘…As I thought.’

I swallowed.

It seems I’ve realized something crucial.

-The ghost in the mirror doesn’t throw scissors.

So if I just throw paper, we tie.

If I throw paper, the opponent would need to throw scissors to win. But since it can’t do that, to avoid losing, it has no choice but to throw paper too.

‘Why?’

Why can’t it do that?

There’s probably some backstory… no, for now it’s just speculation with no basis, so let me focus on the phenomenon.

Anyway, I’ve found a defense method…

Rock paper scissors.

I hastily spread my hand.

Going forward, if I just keep throwing paper this way, I could definitely tie every time.

‘But I can’t tie forever.’

The fact that such a case wasn’t even in the manual made it even more hopeless.

Right. The conditions haven’t changed.

‘I absolutely have to win once, just once.’

How can I win…

‘…If that ghost is ‘me in the mirror’ and already knows what I’m going to throw,’

The solution was surprisingly simple.

‘Just throw randomly.’

Probably everyone else passed that way.

Either civilians who were so confused by fear they didn’t even know what they were throwing and just played rock paper scissors randomly.

Or Field Investigation Team employees who weren’t afraid and already knew the manual, so they just casually threw whatever came to hand.

Even if they got predicted here and there because they came to their senses, they would have won at least one round in five or six tries. There was no need to record what they threw and what they didn’t.

But I missed both categories.

The reason is…

‘…The silver ring!’

I came in wearing a Mental Defense Item so I didn’t panic, but because I was scared and calculated each throw, I ended up in this situation. Damn…!

This is the worst result a coward can produce when status effects don’t work.

‘Should I take off the ring now?’

No, it’s too late. I only have one chance.

‘How on earth can I…’

I roughly wiped the sweat running down my temples.

In the process, the button on my sleeve scratched my cheek and drew blood. I wiped that blood away along with the sweat.

…At that moment.

A red line also appeared on the ghost’s cheek in the mirror.

“…!”

And red liquid stained my sleeves.

…Blood mixed with the sweat I had wiped away, just like that.

Wait.

‘Is it… sharing my condition?’

Right. The mirror is reflecting me anyway.

Even if it’s a ghost in my form that started moving alone inside the mirror, it’s still affected by ‘me’ outside the mirror…

…!

Right.

‘…Then!’

A flash of realization passed through me.

I gritted my teeth and rummaged through my pocket.

The ghost in my form inside the mirror mockingly rummaged through its own pocket and pulled out the same thing.

But what I pulled out wasn’t some amazing item.

Just a pen and a rubber band.

‘Quickly.’

I fitted the pen between my fingers and started wrapping the rubber band…

Rock Paper Scissors.

“…!”

I responded.

While responding to match the sudden Rock Paper Scissors challenge from my mirror self, I vertically fixed pens to my right thumb and index finger.

And my left hand too.

‘Qu, quickly.’

Rock Paper Scissors.

Rock Paper Scissors.

Rock Paper Scissors.

Rock Paper Scissors.

As if interfering, the ghost inside the mirror kept extending its hand. I breathlessly responded to it while continuing my work.

I fumbled several times and the pen tip scratched my arms and hands.

But…

Rock Paper Scissors.

‘…Done!’

I hurriedly extended my hand.

But this time it wasn’t paper.

Fixed so it couldn’t bend, made with my index finger and thumb…

Scissors.

…!

But my mirror opponent still had all fingers spread wide in paper.

To be precise…

‘That’s all it can make!’

Its fingers were constrained by the pen and rubber band I had used to prevent my index finger and thumb from bending.

‘This way it can’t make a fist.’

But from its position where it also can’t make scissors… all it can do is spread its hand. In the end…

Scissors versus paper.

“…!!”

I won.

“I did…!”

Bang!

The ghost inside the mirror slammed its head against the mirror.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

I stood frozen in place.

Bangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbangbang!!

The mirror breaks.

Cracks spread, ripples formed, and pieces shattered away.

But, but…

What was inside the mirror couldn’t come out.

…

The vibration stopped.

From inside the mirror, the thing that had been slamming its head toward the outside raised its head.

What had been grinning ear to ear until just before was now expressionless.

It looked down at its bound hands that couldn’t bend their joints, then contorted its expression.

Contorted it!

With a strange expression no human could possibly make, a str, strange expression as it glared at me…

Kekekekeke!!

Laughing madly, it ran out through the open elevator door inside the mirror.

“…”

[Going down.]

“Whoooo…”

I collapsed into my seat.

The elevator started moving again.

The strange messages disappeared from the floor display, and numbers were output normally…

[12F]

Ding dong-

[12th Floor. The door is opening.]

3. Congratulations. You have succeeded in the ritual!

Get off at the top floor and find the nearest glass window.

If there is no glass window: Go to step 7.

I survived.

I staggered out into the dark corridor.

Even though I had entered during the day, the corridor’s glass windows were gloomy as if the sun had already set, sporadically broken with tape stuck on them or covered in graffiti.

Normally, if I had entered this abandoned building alone, I would have screamed and run out, but now even that fear gave me a sense of relief…

I moved my feet toward the nearest glass window across from me.

The glass window was hazily dirty with dust, but I placed my finger on it without hesitation.

If you write your desired question on the glass window, the entity from the mirror will answer any question.

And this answer is always the truth.

The question I was most curious about.

The wish I would make.

-Through Daydream Corporation’s wish potion, can I return to the place where I originally lived?

I lifted my finger from the glass window.

Then, at the bottom of the glass window, different letters began to appear…

“…!”

The answer to my question.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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