The Calamity-Class Artifacts in Ghost Stories Are Obsessed with Me - Chapter 32

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Calamity-Class Relics from Urban Legends Obsessed — Episode 32
Most of those pulled into this strange space were people who had played the game.
So when they set foot inside City Hall, they trembled instinctively with dread.
Playing a game as a game and experiencing it as reality were entirely different things.
The Haunted City was notorious for brutally difficult gameplay, but it was still just a difficult game.
But once inside that game world, they experienced nothing short of hell itself.
Wherever there was food, there was always a supernatural creature. To eat anything, you had to accept tremendous risk.
There was nowhere to rest comfortably. You never knew when or where a creature might emerge.
Sometimes they would simply burst out from the street without warning.
In just four days—barely four days—countless people had “disappeared.”
That most of those still alive had been here less than a day was no coincidence.
Even they survived only because they knew the game extremely well.
“City Hall… City Hall, of all places…”
So they knew all too well how dangerous City Hall was within the game.
The danger had never been shown directly, but through various indirect descriptions, it was clear that the City Hall harbored something truly terrible.
“Everyone, follow close behind me.”
Yet Woo Joo, who had led them here, walked forward without the slightest sign of fear.
The people took courage from his demeanor.
These people, who had been scattered and trembling throughout the city, could gather like this only because of Woo Joo.
*Sob…*
But then, a crying sound came from somewhere ahead.
At first, the people thought someone was overcome with fear and wept, so they looked around at each other.
*Sobbing, sobbing…*
But soon they realized the sound was coming from ahead, not from among them.
Of course, Woo Joo had already identified the source of the weeping long before.
“There’s something up ahead.”
Woo Joo walked forward slowly so the others could follow.
Soon the people could see the source of the crying with their own eyes.
Ahead of them, a woman crouched on the ground, weeping continuously.
And Woo Joo strode toward her.
“Wait, stop! That’s—!”
Someone belatedly remembered something and hurriedly opened their mouth.
But Woo Joo had already reached the woman. It was not their fault. He had simply walked too quickly.
So when Woo Joo tilted his head slightly to examine her—
*Whoosh!*
She lifted her head.
A woman with wild, disheveled hair and eyes that gleamed crimson red. The moment their eyes met—
*SCREEEEEEEEEEEEECH!*
A piercing shriek tore through the air.
At the same time, she shot to her feet and raised both arms.
Her nails, sharp as blades, poised to tear Woo Joo apart.
*CRACK!*
And in the next instant, she was sent flying by the Baseball Bat.
At first, the bat had made cute little sounds—soft thumps and thuds—but now it had begun to roar like a cannon.
“A Banshee…”
Someone finally uttered her identity, but the Banshee, sent flying by the bat, was already scattering into dust.
Woo Joo, who had demonstrated this impossible display of strength, nodded in satisfaction and gave a thumbs-up.
“Clear.”
At first, Woo Joo had been somewhat uneasy without equipment, but now he felt nothing of the sort.
‘Actually, my condition is better than it was out there.’
The individual items he possessed were inferior to the relics in the outside world, yet his body itself overflowed with power.
Here, he could absorb something called Soul Stones to grow stronger.
One might wonder why such a system existed in an Urban Legend, but in truth, it was inevitable.
‘The stronger the Rules that govern an Urban Legend, the more heavily that Urban Legend is bound by those Rules.’
For this Urban Legend, the core identity was that it was a game.
Therefore, it was impossible to act in a way that violated the game’s rules altogether.
And since Woo Joo was acting strictly within those Rules—
this Urban Legend could do nothing to stop him.
It could only send the strongest creatures it could within its limitations.
*CRASH!*
Such monsters crumbled to dust and scattered the moment they appeared, dropping Soul Stones and items in their wake.
Woo Joo absorbed the Soul Stones and passed any items of little use to the others.
As time went on, not only Woo Joo but everyone else grew steadily stronger.
By the time they’d cleared the second floor of City Hall, the others had become capable enough to dispatch minor spirits on their own.
Meanwhile, as Woo Joo climbed higher, a thought nagged at him.
‘Normally, an urban legend like this wouldn’t develop naturally.’
This too was something he’d learned during his training.
Ordinary haunted tales don’t operate with such rigid, intricate rules.
When something felt artificially crafted like this—it usually meant human hands were involved.
And in Korea, there was only one organization capable of orchestrating something like that.
‘The Company.’
Of course, this was all speculation. He’d look into the details after they escaped this place safely.
Creak-eee-eek.
Thus Woo Joo arrived at the third floor of City Hall.
Through the rust-creaking door, the third floor was strikingly bright—far different from the levels below.
The lighting was so harsh it felt almost wrong.
“This is essentially the final floor.”
Do Hoon spoke up from beside him then.
“Ascend three levels, and at last salvation shall be found. That’s how it’s described.”
“Salvation doesn’t sound like the happiest word for it. Still, it does mean this place is the most dangerous.”
Woo Joo swept his gaze slowly across the third floor.
At first glance, aside from the excessive brightness, there was nothing that stood out.
“Hmm.”
Woo Joo narrowed his eyes.
Yet still he sensed nothing. Would things be different if he were wearing the mask?
He reached up to touch the Ghost-Seeing Sunglasses on his face, but at least they confirmed there were no spirits hiding here.
“I’ll scout ahead first.”
With that, Woo Joo took the lead without giving anyone a chance to object, stepping forward into the space.
But nothing unusual occurred until he’d nearly reached the far end.
“Do Hoon? Would you come over here?”
“Y-yes.”
Do Hoon trembled slightly but steeled himself, biting his lip as he walked toward Woo Joo.
Everyone watched with tense eyes. And when he finally reached Woo Joo’s position—
“Huh, h-huff, h-huff.”
“You did well. Nothing wrong?”
“Y-yes, I’m fine. No problem at all.”
Do Hoon’s expression was thoroughly exhausted, but only from the weight of dread and fear.
Nothing abnormal had befallen him.
Still, how exactly this place posed danger remained a mystery.
“Then, come across one at a time, please.”
So Woo Joo sent the people over one by one.
One, two, three, four—and nothing happened even when the fifth person crossed.
The problem emerged with the sixth.
“Ah—ah, ah-ah? Ah? Ah-ah?”
The person who’d been walking normally suddenly began thrashing at empty air.
What was stranger still was that his expression looked profoundly happy.
His lips curved upward as if they might tear, and tears of joy streamed from his eyes.
It all happened in an instant.
Woo Joo rushed over and grabbed the man.
“Hngh, hee-eeek, hngh!”
But then, several people still at the far end began exhibiting the same behavior.
“It’s warm, so warm, so warm, so warm.”
“There! Up there!”
They were beyond Woo Joo’s control. In the end, he had no choice but to drag them toward the stairwell leading back down to the second floor, away from the light’s influence entirely.
“Huff, h-huff.”
“Uhhhhhhhhh.”
Once they’d escaped the light’s reach, those displaying the strange symptoms finally regained their senses.
Though they weren’t entirely back to normal.
“I—I can’t go back.”
“If we go back, we’ll be pulled in.”
They stared up at the third floor with expressions twisted in abject terror, as if they had glimpsed something catastrophic.
Woo Joo managed to coax a story from one of them.
“There was something—something there. The closer we got to it, the happier we became… but now I’m so frightened. We can’t go near it. If we do, one of us will abandon the rest all over again.”
Without knowing exactly what she had seen, Woo Joo couldn’t grasp the precise nature of her fear, yet he couldn’t dismiss her words either.
Then Do Hoon, who had descended with Woo Joo, opened his mouth.
“Soul Stones.”
“Pardon?”
“These people. They’ve barely absorbed any Soul Stones.”
Do Hoon spoke while looking at Woo Joo.
“If you think of it like a game, it seems to be the kind of effect that only works on characters below a certain Level.”
“That’s… odd.”
“It looks like we’ll have no choice but to leave them behind.”
At those words, Woo Joo frowned, then finally nodded.
Unless they turned back entirely, he could see no way to force their passage.
“Then let’s go up to the fourth floor and reassess. If the exit is on the fourth floor and we absolutely have to get there, we’ll need to find another way.”
“A sound plan.”
In the end, Woo Joo had to leave several of them on the stairwell.
He also decided to leave behind a few of those unaffected—they would need someone to protect the afflicted.
Thus Woo Joo passed through the third floor and climbed to the fourth.
“Ah.”
And when at last he arrived on the fourth floor.
Woo Joo’s face twisted with instinctive revulsion.
The fourth floor was gruesome.
It felt as though they had stepped inside someone’s internal organs.
A putrid stench of blood assaulted the nose, and vein-like structures stretched across every wall.
And at the center of it all stood ‘that thing’.
A Computer.
It radiated an even more alien atmosphere, contrasting starkly with its surroundings.
Woo Joo walked toward it, gripping the Baseball Bat tightly, while the others followed cautiously behind him.
And so, when they finally reached the Computer.
[Congratulations!]
Text appeared on the monitor.
[You are the first to approach the secret of this city!]
Woo Joo’s brow narrowed at the sight.
“What secret are you talking about?”
[I extend my regards for your achievement. No one could have predicted that anyone would reach this place in such a short time.]
It printed rapid sentences as if reciting predetermined phrases, ignoring his question.
[Though deception in this sacred city is ordinarily deserving of punishment, your cunning allowed you to reach this place without ever being exposed. Truly, a remarkable feat.]
The tone dripped with sarcasm. When Woo Joo began to lift the Baseball Bat slightly, the next message appeared.
[You are now presented with two choices.]
[1. Escape the city]
[2. Become the City Owner]
“City Owner?”
Woo Joo asked, frowning.
As if waiting for exactly this, a message materialized.
[A City Owner can exercise power nearly divine within this city. The life and death of every soul rests in your hands, and you shall neither age nor perish here. Of course, you may freely come and go to the outside world as you wish.]
[This is our declaration of surrender to you. You could destroy this place. So instead of destruction, take possession of it.]
[Become its master.]
[And then you could even resurrect those already dead.]
[Current visitor mortality rate: approximately 93%.]
At the final message, Woo Joo’s eyes widened, then immediately clenched shut.
The meaning was simple.
Ninety-three percent of the people—all except the handful he had encountered—were already dead.
“So if I become the master, you’re saying you’ll bring those people back to life?”
[Indeed. And then you are free to leave this place for good.]
[You may even turn this place into somewhere no one ever dies. If the master wills it, it shall be done.]
“So this is the compromise you’re offering me.”
[Not compromise. Submission to the master.]
Through this exchange, Woo Joo could be certain of one thing.
This was the true body of the Haunted Tale.
The creature’s true form was speaking to Woo Joo, begging—saying it would give everything if only he would let it live.
“Well, if those are the terms…….”
“It might not be so bad…….”
Murmurs rippled through the crowd. In their eyes, the offer gleamed with temptation.
“Amusing.”
So Woo Joo laughed.
And as he laughed, he spoke softly.
“Do you know what?”
“What?”
[What is it?]
“There are three fundamental rules you must remember when dealing with haunted tales. Do you know what the first one is?”
[……What is it?]
“Never make a deal with a haunted tale.”
[This isn’t a deal……]
“And the second. Never compromise with a haunted tale.”
Woo Joo raised the baseball bat high.
[Wait……]
“The third. Never speak at length with a haunted tale.”
Woo Joo’s voice rang out low, steady, and cold.
At the same moment, the bat he held aloft came down without hesitation toward the monitor.
Crack!
With a deafening roar, the monitor warped. And from its twisted surface, blood began seeping out.
Remarkably, the monitor didn’t shatter in a single blow.
Crackle, crackle—.
Instead, something appeared on the broken screen.
It was people. Those huddled on the stairs, trembling with fear. And around them, something drawing slowly closer.
And those still alive scattered throughout the city. And even the souls of those who had died here, unable to leave this place.
“Is this blackmail now?”
Woo Joo looked at it and sneered.
“Earlier, you said the City Owner could come and go freely from this place. So what about the others? Can they move freely too? Can they leave this place?”
No answer came.
“If I let everyone out, lock the doors, and tell you to starve quietly—will you obey then?”
Again, no answer came.
It wasn’t that it couldn’t answer. It was that it wouldn’t.
Whoosh!
So Woo Joo swung the bat even more ferociously.
Crack!
Others tried to say something, but Woo Joo paid them no mind.
Saving people was important.
But at the same time, Woo Joo knew the truth: that there was no way to truly save anyone through the method it had proposed.
How could he possibly trust such a honeyed offer handed out before he’d even landed a proper blow?
Crack—!
So when he swung the bat once more, the monitor shattered to pieces.
But then.
Splash!
Suddenly, blood erupted from all around. It surged forward toward Woo Joo and the others.
There was no logic to it, no rules to be found.
Only malice—pure and savage.
Crash!
“Ugh.”
Woo Joo swung his bat, but the blood ignored it and seized his body in an iron grip.
As if it meant to crush him to death then and there.
“Aagh!”
“Ghaa!”
The others cried out in similar agony.
Yes. It had abandoned the Rules.
It was trying to kill by force the one who had reached the final chamber.
The haunted tale had shed its very nature.
Even though that was all it was.
And in that same instant, a vast crack split open in this closed world.
Woo Joo understood it without anyone telling him—grasping the truth instinctively.
In this moment, he realized what he could do.
Woo Joo reached out his hand through the blood that had consumed his body.
“Come.”
And when he called it forth—
Clang.
It answered the call.
The Iron Pipe, furious at the pathetic spirits that had dared strike at its master, came rushing in.
Whoooooosh!
Singing with rage, it cut through the blood and drove itself into the earth.
―――――――!
The world split in two.
Continued in the next chapter ▶
Calamity-Class Relics from Urban Legends Become Obsessed
Author
Lee Se-gye
Publishers
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Published by
Grae Publishing
Contact Email
[email protected]
Publication Date
May 26, 2026
UCI
G720:N+A327-20260410110
※ This e-book is protected by copyright law and is prohibited from unauthorized reproduction or distribution. Violating this prohibition may result in criminal and civil legal liability.
※ Pentagram welcomes your precious manuscripts.

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