Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work - Chapter 59

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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 059

The tattoos that ghost stories had carved into me were all text.

One was Latin text.

: Socius :

This was carved when the membership card given by the Blue Dragon, who was a Theme Park Mascot, burned up. According to Brown, it was text that granted the authority of a ‘Special Qualification’ like a pass.

And the other one was Chinese characters.

: :

This tattoo was carved when the contract document from the Lodge Keeper in the Serial Killer ghost story burned up.

However, since I lack the ‘qualification,’ it’s actually just text with no function.

If I had to choose which one to ‘enhance’…

‘This is definitely it.’

“Please take care of it.”

The Tattooist looked closely at the tattoo I pointed to.

: :

The reason for this choice was very simple.

‘It’s better to increase the variety of abilities.’

It’s almost certain that I’ll be entering various ghost stories in the future (though it makes me want to cry).

This means it’s not a situation where one superpower can solve everything.

‘Even Manager Lizard almost died despite having that power, so there’s no way.’

It was better to increase the variety of cards to use in various situations rather than half-heartedly enhancing one ability, which wouldn’t have much utility.

‘So it’s better to make the unusable text usable.’

With this Moonlight Tattoo Shop, there’s no worry about ‘stepping on a landmine.’

Since it’s very friendly to humans and doesn’t give abilities that could be harmful, it means the Lodge Keeper won’t suddenly pop out and slash my throat.

Besides…

I glanced at the Latin text.

-Good child.

…Thinking of that mascot with whom I seemed to have formed some kind of emotional bond, doing a ‘cover-up’ on this tattoo somehow felt like vandalism.

‘That’s a warning signal.’

My instincts as an avid reader of were telling me it was better to avoid this kind of thing.

-Ah, finally starting!

So I made my choice, and the Tattooist began to move.

I stopped her from trying to show me various designs.

“Ah, just please do it in whatever way you think looks best.”

If I’m aiming for maximum effect, I should leave it to the professional.

I smiled broadly.

“I trust in your abilities, Tattooist.”

“…!”

The Shop Owner’s eyes seemed to sparkle for a moment, then she energetically urged me to lie down comfortably in the chair.

While firmly placing Brown in my hand.

-They seem to have mistaken me for some kind of pain-relief doll! What a rude yet amusing misunderstanding!

However, there was no pain.

The Tattooist put on elaborate goggles that somehow evoked a steampunk style, then began operating a massive tattoo machine.

‘…Are machines normally that big?’

Just as I was somewhat bewildered by the machine that was almost as large as surgical medical equipment.

Moonlight settled into the machine.

Whirrrr-

The light pouring from the LED ceiling was sucked into the machine.

And concentrated to a focal point.

The tip of the tattoo machine’s needle.

Watching the tip that looked like a glowing jewel approach my arm, I closed my eyes as instructed.

“…”

I felt a strange sensation in my left arm.

It wasn’t pain or itchiness. Nor was it pressure.

It was like old grime was being peeled away and skin was being rearranged and properly assembled – a refreshing and comfortable sensation continued, and then.

Tap tap.

It was finished.

The light before my eyes disappeared, and following the Tattooist’s gesture, I opened my eyes.

“…!”

‘My goodness.’

The tattoo had gained a background.

A full moon floating in a dark blue night sky was expressed as if painted with a single brushstroke, with the characters carved like moon shadows on top of it.

Stars scattered near the characters sparkled with a pearl-like gleam.

Tap tap.

The Tattooist put her hands on her hips and looked at me as if asking whether I liked it.

“It’s very cool.”

The Tattooist, who had a proud expression, patted my shoulder and then ran to the counter.

“…?”

What the Tattooist held in her hand when she returned was a single pearl. It looked like something taken from the necklace I had brought.

‘What’s this?’

The Shop Owner brought the pearl to my tattoo.

Then it sank right in.

“…?!”

-Oh, well this is interesting. Hmm…

-Mr. Noru, very interesting. A ‘passage’ has opened.

Passage?

-Why don’t you try gently rubbing the tattoo? You’ll feel something.

I raised my hand and lightly touched the tattoo that miraculously had no swelling or pain.

“…!”

I felt it.

Through the touching skin, some kind of ‘gap.’

“….”

I carefully ‘inserted’ my hand inside it.

When my hand came back out, it held the pearl that the Tattooist had put in earlier….

‘…Space?’

-That’s right. It seems that wretched mountain lodge worker’s contract included ‘Space Provision’ as well!

-After all, providing rooms to guests is a natural duty for a servant, isn’t it? The artist probably found a loophole in that contract and made it so they’d provide you with a small space too!

Wait a minute.

So now I have… my own little inventory-like thing?

‘This actually works?’

My heart raced at this webtoon-style gift I’d never expected from a ghost story.

-Let’s see… think of it as a cube with sides about 2 feet long. That much space seems to be ‘connected’ to you!

2 feet would be roughly 60 centimeters.

True to form for someone from an American talk show ghost story, they used that wicked unit system, but it was genuinely grateful information.

But here’s the thing.

‘So is this connected to that mountain lodge?’

That crazy murder lodge must have disappeared by now.

-Well. Where it connects to… nobody knows, right?

-What kind of space exactly the Lodge Keeper agreed to provide would only be known by the one who originally made the contract.

“….”

-How interesting this is. It would make a good betting topic! What should we wager for the fun of our lives?

I’ll politely decline….

Still, this Moonlight Tattoo Shop wouldn’t manifest abilities in a way that harms the other party, so let’s not be too wary and fail to use an ability I can actually use.

‘From now on, I won’t have to worry when secretly hiding items.’

That alone was amazing enough.

“Thank you. This is really fascinating and wonderful.”

I returned the pearl I’d taken out, and joy and satisfaction sparkled in the Tattooist’s eyes as she received it.

“Should I go like this?”

Nod.

“Then I’ll head in.”

And just as I was about to head toward the entrance.

The Tattooist seemed to realize something and gestured for me to wait a moment.

‘What is it?’

She frantically searched under the counter and pulled out some paper. She carefully wrapped it in transparent packaging and held it out to me.

‘…Tattoo design?’

The moment I received what she offered, I realized.

It was a tattoo sticker.

And it had the exact design I’d chosen from her recommendations—the tomato tree.

Three of them, no less!

“…!”

Wait a minute.

“Does this mean while I’m wearing this… I become ‘Courageous’? Like I received the tattoo.”

The Tattooist smiled and nodded.

‘My goodness.’

This was an unexpected bonus.

“Thank you.”

The Shop Owner waved at me with a smile.

It seemed like it was really time to say goodbye.

I carefully put the stickers in my pocket—or rather, my newly acquired ‘space’—and finally grabbed the door to leave.

“I hope you have a good day.”

The door closed behind me with a polite farewell.

Ding.

And when I turned around again.

“….”

It was a vacant space.

Inside the glass window with the twisted real estate contact information that read “Vacant” was emptily hollow.

‘…They did say it was originally like this.’

The Moonlight Tattoo Shop could only be entered once through this ‘Vacant’ ghost story.

‘Next time I’ll have a chance to use a different ghost story.’

-Ah, that was a unique and enjoyable experience.

I agree.

“Noru, how was the exploration?”

“Fine.”

That day, I safely completed the ‘Vacant’ exploration without any other problems and earned my points well.

The pleasant scent from Brown’s aromatherapy massage lasted several days.

But the cover-up tattoo disappeared like a lie the next day, leaving only the original text on my wrist.

Still, the ability I gained remained.

‘Let’s use it well.’

Thinking about the inventory’s possibilities, I repeated experiments.

***

And then 3 weeks.

Like a lie, there was no occasion for this ability to shine….

“….”

Well, normally this would be normal.

When entering ghost stories with manuals, the Company already provided the items needed for clearing, so there was no need to secretly bring anything.

And cases of being deployed to ghost stories without manuals had greatly decreased.

‘The Alien Shop doesn’t have anything that seems useful while being something I’d desperately want to carry around either….’

In the end, it had been reduced to just carrying existing items around more conveniently.

‘At least I found out that food doesn’t rot, whether the inside is in a vacuum state or something.’

When I put an analog clock in, the second hand stayed the same, but when I put an electronic clock in, the battery drained.

The rules were incomprehensible.

But it wasn’t an urgent timing to use it.

In the end, time passed as I collected points well without needing to use items or abilities particularly intensively….

‘It’s a good thing though.’

“3 weeks left until the regular meeting.”

“Huhahuhah.”

“You’re going to stay here, got it Noru!?”

“Yes. I really hope that happens.”

If the hottest gossip topic in Team D was whether I could safely remain in this team during the regular personnel transfers, that said it all.

True to being a ghost story company, getting hurt or experiencing scary incidents happened from time to time, but I’d gotten quite used to it by now.

I could endure by clutching onto tattoo stickers like talismans.

‘I should save this for when I really need it.’

As I gradually got used to working at this company, I began to feel reassured about handling tasks together with these good-natured team members.

And this was natural, but.

That reassurance didn’t last long either.

Three weeks and two days later.

Monday morning at work.

“Noru’s here?”

“….”

The atmosphere had changed.

‘…What’s this?’

A strange calmness.

The air in the office was like when leaving a final message to family in a disaster situation.

The peculiar tranquility of people about to accept tragedy.

It definitely wasn’t a good sign.

“…Well, I guess we get to experience this kind of thing too.”

“It’ll be fine. All our team members have strong bad luck after all!”

Deputy Eun Ha-je didn’t bother responding to Team Leader Park Min-seong’s words.

This was really ominous.

“Sit down, Noru.”

I ended up sitting on the sofa instead of at my desk. Deputy Eun Ha-je, sitting across from me, placed a tablet PC in front of me with a calm expression.

“This is the darkness you’ll be deployed to in three days.”

“….”

Three days?

‘Why are they giving me so much time?’

For schedules three days out, they usually say things like ‘you might go in, so be prepared.’

Speaking this definitively was almost never the case.

“It’s a darkness where twelve people will be deployed… and it’s B Grade.”

“….”

“Don’t be too shocked. The survival rate is ridiculously high. And the additional points are generously allocated too… you can take home 2000 points per person.”

“…And?”

A bitter smile like ‘this perceptive kid’ flashed across Deputy Eun Ha-je’s face.

“And, well, there’s a problem. It’d be faster to find a darkness without issues… but this darkness is a bit unique.”

“…In what sense is it unique?”

“To explain it most simply… right.”

Deputy Eun Ha-je crossed her arms.

“A fucking luck-based game.”

“…!?”

“As soon as you enter this one, one person dies unconditionally. …Completely random. Purely by luck.”

Damn it.

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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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