Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work - Chapter 24

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

Even If I Fall Into a Ghost Story, I Still Have to Go to Work Episode 024

I broke out in a cold sweat as I stared at the bracelet.

◎

However, the text that had changed from boarding pass to membership card remained unchanged, and the mysteriously fancy and luxurious material didn’t change either.

R-right…

It was an unexpected situation, but my task hadn’t changed.

Tap the bracelet on the gate and leave.

‘Membership card or whatever, I just won’t come back again.’

“Thank you.”

I swallowed my saliva.

“Um… I’d like to go home now too.”

The Blue Mascot tilted its head slightly to the side.

I tried to enter the gate device to tap my bracelet.

But the mascot blocked my way.

‘Please.’

Why are you doing this.

I felt like crying.

“I’m not as good a child as you think I am…”

Good child

That’s right

The Blue Mascot’s claws very gently covered my bracelet.

And a voice rang out.

To those who know honor

It is valuable.

…!!

“Cough.”

A cough burst from my mouth.

It was blood.

‘Wh-what just… happened.’

Could it be… because it changed from a boarding pass to a membership card?

When I coughed up blood, the Blue Dragon Mascot seemed flustered and restless, then pulled something out from its chest and offered it to me.

[Blue Soda Churros]

It seemed to be a snack sold inside this theme park.

“…I’ll enjoy this.”

Yeah. I’m absolutely not eating it.

“But I’d like to go home and eat it there.”

Play

more

The mascot was firm.

To what extent? It turned off the gate device.

“…!!”

Click. The shutter came down at the North Exit where the lights had gone out.

I stared blankly at the scene.

It would go this far?

I couldn’t understand what kind of situation this was at all.

But I didn’t do anything foolish like argue.

‘I might end up like the Researcher if I do.’

I wanted to avoid that at all costs.

For now, for now… it’s not dangerous enough to die immediately in here. Let me look for alternatives.

I backed away from the gate.

The Blue Mascot kept watching me as I ran away…

“This is driving me crazy.”

I entered the Water Park’s locker room and slumped down.

I’m scared to death.

“What is this supposed to be.”

To summarize, suddenly the mascot called me a ‘good child,’ gave me a membership card, and shut down the gate.

In short, I’m trapped here.

“…”

Trapped.

No, what does ‘good child’ even mean in the first place.

The Researcher is a bad child, I’m a good child…

Ah.

‘…Is it because I saved Team Members several times!’

Right. That’s the most plausible reason.

I did end up taking care of people in emergency situations several times… so as a reward, they’ll let me play in the theme park forever?

‘This is insane…’

This is inside a B-grade Darkness.

No matter how friendly that mascot seems and how relatively safe it appears, it means you never know when or where some danger or bizarre crazy incident might occur.

Moreover.

‘…There are no exploration records of staying longer than 24 hours either.’

It means everyone either dies or goes missing the moment it goes past 24 hours.

If I interpret it very positively, maybe the boarding pass was a 1-day pass and I might be okay since I have a membership card, but the important thing is that I have no information.

‘Damn.’

I racked my brain with the feeling of wanting to bite my tongue.

My thoughts are moving sluggishly, perhaps due to the fatigue from the past few hours…

‘What can I do?’

It’s not like I can fight and beat the mascot.

I can’t sneak in and turn on the gate device either.

‘I used up all the coins earlier.’

Seeing Team Y New Employee, Jang Heo-un fall over, I panicked and threw whatever I could grab – that was a mistake. I pressed my eyelids.

It’s not like there’s a button to communicate with the outside, so I can’t expect help from Team D either.

‘The items I have are…’

Smile Sticker? That’s not something to use when the problem is that the favorability is already too high.

The 2x Potion and 0.5x Cookie are the same. Those only have meaning when there’s an effect to create synergy with.

‘Is there really nothing?’

The more I thought about it, the more I felt like I was sinking into a quagmire.

While I was feeling so dejected.

A light sparkled above my head.

[Darkness Investigation Records Real Goods Box]

-New goods usage permission unlocked! (!)

“…!!”

The black notebook, the goods box.

‘Please!’

I pressed it immediately without even breathing.

Was it a lifeline? No, anything would be good. I needed even a small hint, anything….

Thud.

The goods dropped.

‘…!’

I picked up the transparently plastic-wrapped item.

It was small enough to fit in my palm and fluffy.

A stuffed doll.

======================

Darkness Investigation Records / Daydream Corporation

/ ■■■■■

Good Friend

This is your cute animal doll. It will always stay with you and protect you.

Always.

-‘Cheerful Theme Park Gift Shop’

Item description on the packaging

======================

Ah.

I recalled the text on the board game box.

-Board the 3 Fantasy Attractions fastest with your team members and receive prizes!

The team that boarded three attractions fastest at ‘Cheerful Theme Park’ could take one of various items from the gift shop as a prize for free.

‘Come to think of it, Team Leader also said he received a prize earlier.’

And of course, the theme park gift shop in ghost stories often had strange and mysterious items mixed in.

‘There were even investigation records that listed only the prizes that were taken….’

And this was one of the most famous items among them.

Good Friend

Originally in the source material, it was a stuffed doll sized to fit snugly in a child’s arms, but the small doll that was reborn as a keyring through merchandising was now in my hands.

‘So the usage permission for this goods was for Cheerful Theme Park users.’

It would just be an ordinary stuffed doll with no function unless you were someone who had visited the theme park, but it seems I gained permission by using up all my boarding passes.

And this stuffed doll’s ability is.

======================

Someone from the Other Side World

Cheerful Theme Park

Refer below for detailed invitation records.

======================

This is it.

“….”

Normally, I would have thought it through tremendously and somehow created safety measures before attempting it.

‘Inviting someone from the Other Side World’ – isn’t that a description perfectly suited for a creepy ghost story opening?

But right now, I don’t have the time or luxury for that.

‘Let’s do it.’

I’m in a situation where I desperately need advice from someone who understands the physiology of ghost stories.

I took out my smartphone with the Memorial Grip Tok attached for the first time in a while and opened the ‘Good Friend’ tab in .

The preparations are as follows.

======================

· Preparations for invitation

Matches (or lighter)

100ml of water

A spoonful of salt

Coins (clean ones)

Items related to friends

======================

And a quiet space.

‘This locker room happens to be perfect.’

Outside is noisy with water sounds and music, so this would be the best option.

And I should be able to somehow obtain a lighter, water, and salt within this theme park. I could steal from a store or make a request.

The problem is the next two items.

Coins (clean ones)

Items related to friends

I used up all my coins.

And items related to friends… this is actually an item added for the fun of ghost stories. If you put a fairy tale book there, a monster with that fairy tale motif would come.

‘What would be relatively safe?’

No, I was reluctant to offer something from this theme park as an item related to friends.

This place itself is already a ghost story, isn’t it?

“….”

In the end, after much deliberation, I settled on two items.

Hoping this substitution would work.

And a little while later.

“Phew.”

I set down the torch and salt I had obtained on the floor in the corner of the locker room.

‘That was creepy.’

I got everything from the snack truck. I had a hunch when I saw they were selling a menu item called ‘grilled marshmallows,’ and they had both items.

‘…They gave them to me for free when they saw my membership card.’

Rather than being happy, I felt even more ominous.

I wiped my mouth and opened my smartphone again.

I had to start quickly.

======================

· Invitation Ritual

1. Dip your finger in water and draw the enclosed hexagram design on a smooth floor.

2. Place ‘Good Friend’ in the center of the hexagram.

3. Place a coin on ‘Good Friend’s’ belly. At this time, there must be no water left on your fingers.

4. Hold a spoonful of salt in your mouth and burn something related to a friend with fire.

5. When ‘Good Friend’ starts talking, swallow the salt and give a warm greeting in return!

If the coin has disappeared, you have succeeded! You have met a reliable friend. Always stay together and cherish them!

※If the salt won’t go down or has a

strange taste or turns to ash or you

taste blood, run away.

======================

“Phew.”

I first drew a hexagram identical to the image on the marble floor of the locker room.

It was a somewhat complex but not difficult task.

‘…It’s sparkling strangely.’

However, the completed hexagram was excessively smooth and its surface gleamed without any splatter marks.

After completely wiping the moisture from my fingers on my clothes, I picked up the ‘Good Friend’ keychain with trembling hands and placed it in the center square of the hexagram.

‘Of all things, a rabbit doll.’

It felt somewhat unsettling, but remembering that I definitely thought it was damn cute when I bought it at the popup store made me feel a bit better.

And the coin was…

‘This one.’

I placed my item, the Silver Snake, on top of it.

‘This is definitely a coin… right.’

I thought that an item from the Alien Shop in reality would be safer than getting one from this ghost story.

Considering the price range, it seemed like a fairly valuable item, so I was mentally convincing myself that it might even have a good effect.

And after putting salt in my mouth, the last step.

‘Something related to a friend.’

This also had to be prepared with something that definitely didn’t belong to this ghost story.

That would be… me.

“…”

I untied and picked up my necktie.

‘If it’s my belonging, it’s definitely not part of this place.’

A friend related to a necktie? I don’t know who that would be, but it’s better than a kitchen knife or something.

I turned on the torch.

And brought it to the end of the necktie.

Whoosh.

The fire caught fiercely as if by magic, flickering and casting shadows on the stuffed doll above the hexagram.

The shadow sways.

Sway.

Sway.

Before I knew it, the surroundings were dark.

All I could see was the firelight consuming my necktie, the hexagram reflecting that light, and the stuffed doll in its center.

Sway.

Sway.

My confused mind doesn’t melt away.

Instead, the salt in my mouth dissolves saltily, making my tongue tingle.

In the midst of that.

Sway.

Sway.

The mouth of ‘Good Friend’ holding the coin opened.

-Behold!

-I am the Owner of a Million Masks, the Lord of Chaos, the Pinnacle of Madness, the dream of pleasure and amusement, the Instigator of War, the Parent of Science, a lowly four-legged beast,

…!!

It’s too loud.

It feels like my head is being scrambled.

I wanted to cover my ears, but I don’t have hands available. I’m holding the necktie and torch!

What is this?

-the desire of crawling things, the Lord of Stars, the abyss of illusion, the mouth of wisdom, the roar of impulse, the far side of the moon…

The stuffed doll in the center of the hexagram is convulsing.

Something silver and round is burning up in the center.

‘Silver Snake.’

Did I use the wrong coin?

-I am…

My head hurts too much, too much…

-Friend.

-Friend hurts?

I raised my head.

-No good.

A gentle and soft way of speaking flows through ‘Good Friend’.

-Hurting no good…

“…”

The swaying subsides.

The necktie burns up completely, and the fire goes out.

The coin that had been placed on the convulsing rabbit doll had disappeared at some point.

As had the moisture that had drawn the hexagram.

“….”

Silence.

I looked at the motionless ‘Good Friend’ lying there and swallowed my saliva.

But no sound could be heard.

‘Don’t tell me.’

“Failure….”

-Noru?

“…!!”

A cheerful and pleasant voice rang out.

But….

-Noru?

It’s a voice I know.

I unconsciously opened my mouth.

“…Host?”

-Ah, it really is Noru!

Tuesday Quiz Show.

The voice of the TV-headed host who had been conducting the live broadcast in that ghost story was coming from the doll.

My friend

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