The Calamity-Class Artifacts in Ghost Stories Are Obsessed with Me - Chapter 7

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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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Artifacts of Calamity in Urban Legends — Episode 7
Ujoo blinked.
‘What book is just lying here?’
It wasn’t a well-trafficked street, and finding a book sitting abandoned in the middle of an alley struck him as decidedly strange.
But what was even stranger was the book itself.
A title that looked like Arabic. A cover made of some peculiar material. And an antiquated appearance besides.
‘Did someone drop this?’
His first instinct was naturally to assume it had been lost rather than discarded.
The location seemed odd for something intentionally abandoned, and at a glance, the book appeared quite valuable.
“Mm.”
Ujoo hesitated for a moment, then picked it up.
He didn’t intend to simply carry it away — his plan was to take it to the nearest police box and turn it in.
At first he’d even considered leaving it where it was and calling it in from here, but he’d quickly abandoned that idea.
Patter, pit-pit-.
Raindrops suddenly began falling from the sky.
It was only a matter of time before the moisture damaged the book. So Ujoo held it and searched for the nearest police box.
‘Not far at all.’
Fortunately, a police box was located right in the vicinity.
Ujoo memorized the location and headed there. He arrived not long after.
“This is a lost item. I found it in the alley over there.”
He filed it as lost property and then left the police box. Curiously, the rain had stopped by the time he stepped outside.
So Ujoo finished the intake process and went home.
“Ugh. I’m exhausted.”
Though he hadn’t done much, he’d apparently been more tense than he realized — fatigue crashed over him the moment he arrived home.
After cleaning up, Ujoo decided it was time for some fried chicken and stepped inside.
“Huh?”
That’s when something caught his eye.
On a desk in the corner. Something resting there naturally.
“What…?”
It was a book.
The very book he’d picked up on the way home and left at the police box.
“Why is it…?”
Ujoo felt a chill of recognition and drew closer to examine it.
But the book showed a difference from what he’d seen before — where the cover had borne incomprehensible Arabic script, there now appeared an alphabet title.
Ujoo read it haltingly.
“Necro… nomicon?”
Necronomicon.
Unfamiliar with the name, Ujoo cocked his head — then lifted the bag still in his other hand.
“Something about this feels familiar, doesn’t it?”
Which would make sense, of course, except the Iron Pipe didn’t usually answer him. Or rather, it shouldn’t have.
Buzz-buzz-buzz-buzz!
But to his surprise, the Iron Pipe trembled softly at that very moment.
Ujoo started. Was he imagining things?
“Did you just answer me?”
Buzz-buzz-buzz!
The Iron Pipe vibrated again. This was no mistake.
The Iron Pipe was answering him!
Startled, Ujoo reached into his bag and pulled it out.
And then, in that instant—
Flap-flap-flap!
The book sitting quietly on the desk suddenly began to open on its own.
Its pages fluttered in a frenzy before finally stilling at a single location.
That page was covered in an indecipherable language — yet strangely, several lines of text resolved themselves into perfect clarity.
—Wandering was choice. But arrival was no accident.
—Nothing is forgotten. It merely sleeps. When the stars realign, it will whisper once more.
Ujoo blinked at the words, then murmured aloud.
“What does this even mean?”
He could accept a book moving and opening of its own accord.
In days past, he might have stumbled backward in shock. But now, he’d already accumulated far too much experience to be startled by such things.
After all, the Iron Pipe he held in his hands was hardly an ordinary object itself.
The problem was, he couldn’t understand what this book was trying to say at all.
But as if sensing something in Ujoo’s tone, the page turned on its own.
And this time, too, a single line of text caught his eye.
-Greet the Great One! Bow before him! And thus shall you receive!
“Hm.”
Ujoo read that far and paused to think.
“Unpleasant book.”
Then he simply moved past it. He’d decided to ignore it for now.
The reason he didn’t just throw it away despite finding it unpleasant was simple enough.
‘It’ll definitely come back without any fuss, even if I do.’
He already knew that from his experience with the Iron Pipe.
So Ujoo went into the bathroom, washed up, ordered chicken for the first time in a while, ate heartily, and turned in early for the night.
* * *
Several people sat in a spacious conference room.
Among them was Taeul, the Development Team leader who had volunteered to serve as invigilator for this test, as well as Hwaryeon, the Anomaly Response Team leader, and her team member Cheongwoo.
There were seven more people besides, making ten in total, and their purpose was straightforward.
They had gathered to discuss this test and its successful candidates.
“Well. Two people passed this time?”
“Two in a single test is rare.”
“The last test had zero, the one before that had zero, and the one before that had one. Having two pass at once is almost unheard of in five years.”
As those seated in the middle spoke, Taeul, arms folded, opened his mouth.
“To be honest, we’d have had only one if that final candidate hadn’t been added at the end.”
Naturally, at that remark, everyone’s eyes turned toward Hwaryeon.
The final candidate added was none other than someone Hwaryeon had personally recommended.
Hwaryeon grinned at the attention, then spoke.
“I told you, didn’t I? That kid would definitely pull off something spectacular.”
“Spectacular is certainly one word for it.”
“That test site is completely wrecked. The Gate of Ghosts shattered, and the contamination keeps spreading.”
“Honestly, it’s unbelievable that a test-taker, not even a regular employee, would do something like that.”
“And he passed with the highest score on record. Was it double the previous record?”
“He smashed through the first-floor door to enter.”
The others spoke in tones tinged with amusement.
Certainly, what Ujoo had accomplished was something none of them had anticipated.
The Gate of Ghosts was not something that could be so easily destroyed.
Any one of them sitting here would hesitate if you asked them to step into that site and immediately destroy it.
Unless, perhaps, after thorough preparation.
Hwaryeon laughed outright, then picked up an unlit cigarette she’d been holding in her mouth and spoke.
“So, there’s no one here who objects to that kid joining the Response Team, right?”
“Well, anyone looking at it would say he’s cut out for the Response Team.”
“But it doesn’t matter what we say. The Director and Deputy Director will decide anyway.”
“Ah, but I’m saying this beforehand to head off any gossip later. If anyone tries to scheme behind the scenes, I won’t let it slide.”
At Hwaryeon’s bold declaration, the others nodded while laughing.
Of course, privately they were all wondering how they might poach Ujoo for their own teams.
But then.
Taeul spoke up.
“That thing the Response Team leader mentioned—it’s definitely not ordinary.”
“That thing? You mean that?”
“Yes. Something like that is a hundred percent a sealed artifact. If something like that were floating around, word would’ve gotten out.”
They were speaking, of course, about the Iron Pipe that Ujoo carried.
“Let’s reach out to contacts in Europe. Though I doubt they’ll talk freely.”
“Understood.”
And so, after concluding their discussion of the Iron Pipe,
they finally moved on to the next matter.
It wasn’t entirely unrelated, though—it was an agenda item brought up after Hwaryeon reported on the Iron Pipe.
“What items are currently wanted, anyway?”
“Among Divine Class and above, there are three.”
A woman with a distinctly intellectual air spoke in a measured voice.
“First is the Necronomicon—specifically, a Greek translation manuscript also known as the Grimoire of Al Azif.”
“A grimoire? Was it lost from the Seongun Library?”
“That’s what we’re concluding. The place has apparently been turned completely upside down.”
“Grimoires vanishing on their own isn’t exactly rare. We’re already tracking over seven of them right now, aren’t we?”
Grimoires tended to exhibit stronger self-awareness than other objects.
The librarians attributed this to the fact that books fundamentally contain language and wisdom.
Whether that was true or not, who could say.
Either way, it was certainly a headache to keep them secure.
“The other one is the Ring of Solomon. That one’s been missing for over seven years now.”
“Where it went is a complete mystery. It just vanished out of nowhere, didn’t it?”
“Indeed it did.”
“And the third one—well, we all know what that is. It was under our Surveillance Bureau’s custody.”
“Ugh. That situation caused quite a stir.”
“It couldn’t be helped. The Seal was perfect, but it simply disappeared.”
They continued their conversation in that rambling way for a moment before shifting back to serious matters—how to conduct the search, whether it would affect the domestic situation, and so on.
It was just an ordinary meeting at the Surveillance Bureau.
* * *
Ding.
Ujoo, who had fallen asleep early the night before, woke to the sound of his phone’s alarm.
He reached out sleepily, fumbled for his phone, and checked the screen to find a new message waiting.
[Hello. This message is sent only to those who have passed the examination.]
At those words, Ujoo came fully awake and bolted upright.
Reading further, the message confirmed that he had been hired by the Surveillance Bureau and should report for his first day tomorrow morning.
Ujoo broke into a grin.
He’d already heard rumors that his acceptance was essentially confirmed, but receiving the message directly felt different somehow.
‘Finally escaping unemployment!’
He hadn’t expected to make his exit this way, but he felt genuinely thrilled.
The compensation was better than most major corporations offered.
Though of course, the work would be that much more demanding.
Just then, another message arrived.
It was from Hwaryeon.
[Do you have time?]
At this unexpected message, Ujoo blinked before typing back that he’d just woken up.
Ring-ring-ring.
A call came through immediately.
“Hello?”
—Ah, yes. Ujoo?
It was Hwaryeon’s voice—the one he’d heard before.
She spoke to him directly.
—Do you have any plans today?
“Today? Not really, no.”
—Would you be willing to help me with something then?
“Help with something? You mean work?”
—Well, your official start date is tomorrow. Today I’d like to ask you for a special favor. Of course, I’ll make sure you’re compensated generously.
At the mention of compensation, Ujoo felt his interest piqued.
Since he had nothing better to do anyway, there was no harm in earning some money.
“What sort of work?”
Ujoo asked, and Hwaryeon answered in a serious tone.
—It’s not easy work. We need to investigate a particular location.
“A location, you mean…?”
—A Sealed Station. It can only be accessed through specific means.
“Well, I understand.”
Ujoo nodded without much thought. The description didn’t inspire any particular sense of danger.
“I’ll get prepared and be ready.”
—Yes. I’ll come pick you up in front of your place.
By the way, when she mentioned the compensation at the end, it was a sum that made his eyes practically bulge out of his head.
So the moment he hung up, Ujoo practically bounced into his preparations.
He went straight to the bathroom, washed up, threw on comfortable clothes, pulled out a bag, and packed his Iron Pipe into it.
“Huh? Why is the bag so heavy?”
But when he noticed the bag felt oddly heavy with just the Iron Pipe in it and tried to check what else was inside—
Ring-ring-ring.
A call came from Hwaryeon.
She’d arrived out front.
At that, Ujoo hurried out of the house.
The desk behind him lay clean and empty.
Continued in the next episode ▶
How Calamity-Class Relics from Urban Legends Become Obsessed
Author
Lee Se-gye
Publisher
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Published by
Grae Publishing
Contact
[email protected]
Publication Date
May 26, 2026
UCI
G720:N+A327-20260410110
※ This e-book is protected under copyright law. Unauthorized reproduction and duplication are prohibited, and violation may result in criminal and civil 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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