Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work - Chapter 14

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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 014

A third-day new employee at .

“Phew.”

Go Young-eun carefully took her seat at the desk as lunchtime was ending.

This unlicensed medical practitioner who hadn’t taken the national exam thought she was adapting quite well to the situation…

The supervisors in Team R that she was assigned to weren’t exactly the warm type, but they weren’t severely territorial either, and they didn’t unreasonably push her into deadly situations.

Most importantly, she had successfully cleared two F-grade ghost stories so far…!

‘I think they said about one or two per week is the average performance for new employees?’

Two in three days would be pretty good for a new employee, even if they were the lowest-grade darkness!

She was truly doing her best to adapt to this insane company…

Though she nearly fainted when she saw her Wish Potion points.

‘I only got 66 points for clearing two, so when on earth will I reach five hundred thousand…’

“…”

But she couldn’t give up.

‘I’m going to do it.’

Go Young-eun steeled her resolve.

‘…I wonder if the other colleagues feel the same way?’

She casually looked at her phone.

At the top of her messenger was a pinned group chat.

[Daydream Corporation Colleagues Group Chat]

It was a group chat for all the new employees.

However, only one person hadn’t been invited.

Not because they wanted to exclude him, but because no one had his contact information.

That person was Kim Sol-eum, the top scorer of their hiring class.

‘We should invite him too.’

Even ‘that’ Baek Sa-heon was in this group chat, but strangely, they had never run into Kim Sol-eum within the company, so there hadn’t been a chance to tell him about it.

From their perspective, not knowing how hellish Kim Sol-eum’s first two days at the company had been, it was perfectly reasonable to find this odd!

‘Should I try contacting him through the company messenger?’

She accessed the intranet and tried to contact Kim Sol-eum by searching for his name…

That’s when it happened.

Ding, ding, ding-ding-ding-ding,

Suddenly the group chat started going off like crazy.

-Did you see the official notice that just went up?

-Does anyone here have a personal connection with Employee Kim Sol-eum…?

-That’s the person who got the top score on hiring, right?

-What does it mean by major contributor to A-grade clearance…?

-Kim Sol-eum is the one who wore that weird horned mask…?

“…?!”

“Wow, Noru, someone from upper management is saying you should be promoted to team leader right away, you know?”

“Kheup.”

I almost choked on my medicine.

“But apparently it got immediately blocked because some guys from other departments are foaming at the mouth in opposition, saying it’s unprecedented.”

“…Ah, yes.”

Should I have said that was disappointing? But I really wasn’t disappointed at all, so that was my limit.

I put down the empty medicine bottle and rubbed my stomach.

After barely escaping from the ‘Tuesday Quiz Show’ that had transformed into an A-grade ghost story, we were immediately transported to the medical office and were taking emergency medicine.

Since blood had been streaming from all our facial features.

“Your stomach feels much better now, right?”

“Yes.”

But the medicine seemed to work well.

Though ‘s medicines were suspicious, these ordinary emergency medicines usually just had good performance.

-Darkness… I mean, you know those bizarre creatures that appear in urban legends? These are recovery medicines you use when you take supernatural damage from those things.

In other words, it was a health potion for ghost stories.

‘I’m pretty sure this was sold as cherry-ade flavor at the collaboration cafe near the popup store…’

The actual taste was just cold syrup.

‘Anyway, it feels unreal that I’m alive and drinking potions.’

After escaping, everything just felt good.

Living in broad daylight really is wonderful…

However, the supervisors seemed to be more concerned about something else than this emotion.

Just how was this incident reported and processed by the higher-ups!

They were busy trying to assess the situation by mobilizing all their connections.

“Honestly, this was an unprecedented special situation. I wish the team leader would appeal more strongly, but he’s not the type to do that…”

“Deputy Manager can do it later when you get promoted.”

“Eh, I’ll quit before then.”

“Actually, me too.”

I really want to do that too, please.

In this strange sense of solidarity, we each sprawled out on the medical office beds.

Team Leader Park Min-seong stretched and then sighed.

It was a long sigh of relief.

“…I really thought we were going to die, but living really is good! Noru, thank you.”

“Not at all. I just did my best.”

Honestly, the wiki did everything.

If I made more excuses here, the conversation would flow in a burdensome direction with ‘we were all about to die but you were smart and did well and blah blah,’ so I just stayed silent.

“We’re not such incompetent seniors, but we let our guard down because it was D-grade.”

“Deputy Manager, that excuse seems a bit pathetic.”

“Then I’ll prove it in the next darkness.”

‘I just wish there would be no next darkness…’

This peaceful paid rest time was also brief.

“The manager finished his meeting.”

“…!”

“He’s coming to the medical office.”

The deputy holding his smartphone jumped up. The team leader also got up in succession, so I reflexively followed and sat up.

‘Am I finally going to see him in person?’

Manager Lee Ja-heon.

Employee D, nickname Lizard!

One of the most famous Daydream Corporation employees in . Riding on that popularity, there are rumors that a corporation has attached itself and character designs will be coming out soon.

Honestly, I was a bit curious.

What kind of person could they be?

‘Thinking about the conversation when I pressed the call button, they didn’t seem to have an ordinary personality…’

Still, considering how they helped me with that AAA Battery Shot super play, everything seems beautified.

Knock, knock, knock.

“The door is open. Please come in, Team Leader!”

The medical office door opened.

Standing beyond it was a tall figure.

Wearing a regulation-perfect black business suit and even sporting an employee ID, the very orthodox and classic office worker appearance looked quite handsome.

Finally appearing, Manager Lee Ja-heon, the named Employee D from …

“How do you do.”

“…!? …!!”

A, a lizard.

No, that, it’s not a mask but really…

‘Really… there’s a lizard head attached.’

“…”

Wait a minute.

No… that can’t be right.

With the afterimage of that TV-headed host still lingering, I must be showing delusional symptoms from excessive stress.

Right? My brain must be mistaking the masked appearance for a real lizard head…

‘Looking again, there’s a mask hanging from the waist.’

“…”

This is driving me crazy.

“It’s so good to see you I could cry.”

“Please come in, Team Leader!”

Why is everyone so calm about this?

If a lizard in a business suit is going to appear, shouldn’t they at least give the new employee a warning like ‘don’t be surprised’?

What are you doing naturally creating an atmosphere for introductions!

“Ah, this is Noru. Here’s Manager Lee Ja-heon. Go ahead and greet him.”

“Oh my, Noru must be surprised because the manager is so handsome? Haha! He really doesn’t look like he’s the same species as us!”

Could you please tell me specifically whether that’s office politics or a hint…

The white lizard head turned toward me expressionlessly.

The bright red reptilian vertical eyes gleamed.

“Mr. Noru.”

“…”

“Can you see?”

F, fuck.

“What do you mean… Ah, my eyes weren’t injured. My vision is fine too.”

I was impressed by my own quick thinking.

“…”

Excuse me?

“I see.”

The pale reptilian head turned away with a hissing sound.

I almost fainted.

‘Please just stop, really.’

A worldview where I have to suffer like this even after getting out of a ghost story seems too unreasonable…

‘What the hell is going on here.’

But I won’t even twitch my lips.

From the atmosphere, it was clear this was a situation where I shouldn’t be seeing the lizard head!

‘Everyone else is seeing a normal human face.’

Let’s not stand out.

I absolutely will not show any suspicious signs to that walking human… no, lizard excavator.

I succeeded in managing my expression, and fortunately, thanks to the other team members, the conversation flowed smoothly.

And now for the main point.

“Manager, did the higher-ups explain why things turned out this way?”

“Yes.”

The white reptile, no, Manager Lee Ja-heon nodded.

First, the cause of this incident.

The employees who intruded midway were…

“Due to human error, ‘Tuesday Talk Show’ was assigned to both Team D and Team L.”

“Oh really.”

“Geez…”

No wonder the work was assigned so urgently, there must have been a mistake.

The manager’s briefing continued.

-Team L’s entry medium (postcard) writing start time for ‘Tuesday Quiz Show’ was similar to Team D’s, but they briefly went outside the company building during writing, creating about a 50-minute time difference until completion.

“…They probably went to buy coffee for the new employee.”

“That team was particularly known for taking good care of their members.”

The two team members’ expressions turned somewhat bitter as they thought of the entirely deceased Team L, then they hid their feelings.

“Anyway, so they were transmitted at a strange time. Especially since our team went ahead with the process.”

“Yes.”

Lee Ja-heon answered briefly and continued the briefing.

The problem was that what came next was a bombshell statement.

“And the reclassification of ‘Tuesday Quiz Show’ to A-grade was not approved.”

“…?!”

“Excuse me, what?”

-Due to the absence of other groups that could cross-verify the situation, the relatively high initial survival rate (43%), etc.

Whether it is actually darkness suitable for Dark (A) grade has not been proven.

“What kind of bullshit is that when Team L got completely wiped out?”

“The collector! The liquid in the Dream Essence Collector was golden! That’s A-grade color, it’s not like we’ve only heard about it once or twice…”

-While the liquid in the Dream Essence Collector has a concentration comparable to A-grade, the possibility of special situations where high-grade liquid is extracted from low-grade darkness cannot be ruled out.

“Therefore, since ‘Tuesday Quiz Show’ was originally classified as D-grade in the company’s official classification, exceptions will not be approved.”

“…”

So the company’s position is…

‘Why try to make a bigger deal out of something that happened by mistake, let’s just handle it quietly…’

Hmm, typical management.

In the sense that it drives employees crazy.

“This won’t do. We should at least go and see them directly…”

“Deputy Manager, wait a minute, wait.”

The team leader asked in a disbelieving tone.

“The higher-ups collected all the A-grade liquid. But it’s really going to end as D-grade performance?”

“No.”

“…!”

“Compensation has been separately allocated.”

Honestly, it’s not surprising.

‘They’re just trying to give me something to keep me quiet….’

Unless a company is completely stupid, it’s standard to prepare some kind of appeasement.

The only question was how much that appeasement would be.

I tried not to make eye contact with Lizard while focusing on Manager Lee Ja-heon’s mou… no, mouth.

“Given the special nature of the situation and the confirmed color of the Dream Essence Collector’s solution, we acknowledge this was an investigation worthy of A-grade.”

“So…?”

“Additional points will be awarded.”

-Limited to this ‘Tuesday Quiz Show’ clear only, a one-time additional point allocation equivalent to A-grade.

The amount was….

“30,000 points per person.”

“…!!”

The Team Leader and deputy froze as if struck by lightning.

“30,000??”

“Yes.”

“Waaaah!”

The base points for A-grade is 100,000.

Assuming it gets divided by the number of people who enter to clear it, even if only two teams survived, the expected amount would be 17,000 points or less per person.

‘But we just got almost double that.’

And that wasn’t the end.

“Additionally, a separate incentive has been awarded to the employee who played a decisive role in the clear.”

Lizard’s head turned to look at me.

“Kim Sol-eum.”

-Additional 10,000p awarded to top contributor

“40,000 points will be awarded to you.”

“….”

In one go, I’d filled 8% toward a Wish Potion.

‘Wow.’

I was stunned.

What, am I disappointed that the A-grade clear won’t be officially recorded?

No, this is actually better!

‘In this world, standing out and getting super-fast promotions wouldn’t be good for anything.’

What would happen if expectations got abnormally high?

I’d definitely be forced into more difficult ghost stories, and the more I stood out, the harder it would become to use my ‘goods.’

Of course, there are special spaces and items that become accessible through promotions, but I shouldn’t mistake the priorities.

This is a world where you can die at any moment!

‘And considering I really went right to death’s door… I never want to go near A-grade again.’

Looking at the points, it seems the struggle wasn’t in vain.

And the other two seemed to feel the same.

“…I just heard the sound of my resignation getting moved up by about 3 years.”

“Me too.”

But they soon came to their senses and said this to me.

“Points can’t be transferred, so… this is kind of awkward.”

“Right. Noru basically earned all of it.”

“No, it’s fine.”

Honestly, even if transfers were possible, I suspect they wouldn’t have given me any, making up some excuse.

This isn’t a matter related to character.

‘These are people who took jobs where they could die just to collect points and buy Wish Potions.’

For most Field Investigation Team employees, their own points would be something they could never compromise on.

Hmm. I should definitely keep this in mind.

“Waaaah!”

“It’s really coming in.”

We went straight back to the office and registered our points.

[Employee Kim Sol-eum / Accumulated Points: 40,100p]

‘Wow.’

I looked at the monitor.

A five-digit number.

Honestly, I was moved.

“Alright, we survived and got a big point haul….”

The deputy grinned.

“Shouldn’t we have a company dinner with the corporate card!”

“Ooooh!”

“Let’s go, Noru!”

My answer came out genuinely and readily.

“Yes!”

And now.

I’m witnessing the rare sight of Lizard eating Korean beef…

Sizzle.

I’m trying my best to naturally look away from the sight of perfectly cooked beef disappearing into Lizard’s mouth.

“The Team Leader has a somewhat unique personality, but their abilities are solid.”

“Right. You really came to the right team.”

“…Yes.”

It’s almost certain that I’m the only one seeing the lizard face.

Having seen Manager Lee Ja-heon physically beat down ghost stories several times, I could understand the team members’ favorable attitude.

Anyway, the beef was delicious regardless of ghost stories or whatever, and I enjoyed the company dinner more than I expected.

‘They’re not being uncomfortable about it.’

I was also realizing that having some alcohol definitely helped dispel the fear.

‘I should go home like this, watch ten episodes of children’s cartoons, and sleep with all the lights on.’

I was planning such an extreme sleeping method when it happened.

Manager Lee Ja-heon, who had been eating pickled vegetables, suddenly asked.

“Are you going to save the 40,000 points?”

“Pardon?”

It was a natural question.

“Ah, yes. I need to buy a Wish Potion.”

“I see.”

“….”

Wait. This conversation pattern seems familiar somehow.

I retraced our previous conversation.

So….

“Is there perhaps another useful way to use points?”

“Yes.”

“….”

Right. This was how I should have approached it….

Now I finally understand how to use Team Leader Lizard. It feels somewhat refreshing. I asked in a much more relaxed voice.

“What kind of use?”

“Custom Equipment.”

“…!”

I didn’t expect this to be mentioned here and now….

‘Finally, it’s here.’

One of the main characteristics of Daydream Corporation employees.

‘Exclusive Equipment!’

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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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