The Legendary Newbie of the Ghost Story Labyrinth - Chapter 10

WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

The Legendary Newbie of the Ghost Story Labyrinth

[Translator – Aren]

Chapter 10 - Time Left to Remain Human (1)

Park Minho finally tore out the higher-tier’s eye.

-Pop!

The massive eyeball came free and the entity twisted violently in agony.

"KIEEeEEEeeeeEH!”

At that moment, the mannequins lunged at Park Minho. Cold plastic hands grabbed his shoulders and arms, forcibly pulling him away from the higher tier.

He struggled to break free, but their strength was overwhelming.

"Let go of me! You bastards, let go!”

Only then did the higher-tier, which had been helpless until now, force itself back up. Clutching its bleeding eye socket, it shrieked at Park Minho.

"Kieeeek! Kiiiek!”

Park Minho didn’t understand what it said, but he didn’t really need to.

It was probably something like, ‘Kill that bastard! Now!’

And it probably would have worked if Park Minho hadn’t been holding the eyeball in his left hand.

He immediately raised it and shouted,

"Look! You bastards! I’m the one in charge now!”

The reason why he shouted that came from the conversation he’d had earlier with LostHassan on the laptop.

ㄴ(LostHassan) Rip out its eye first. I guarantee, it’ll change your fate on that floor.

ㄴ(Cheezza) Srsly?

ㄴ(LostHassan) Yeah, the higher-tier’s eye symbolizes its authority.

Lower-tier Facelings would steal body parts from their victims to evolve. And when they did, they often inherited the victim’s status.

ㄴ(LostHassen) My guess is that the person who lost that eye was someone like the mall manager or the head of the merchant association. That's why the one who took it gained influence over the others.

ㄴ(Cheezza) Aha.

ㄴ(LostHassan) It happens more often than you think. So if you take the eye, you can take that position. There’ll be limits, but still…

LostHassan’s way of speaking was rough, but when it came to entities, no one seemed to know more than him. That was why Park Minho had gone straight for the eye.

"Kiieeh?”

"Kiiiiii...?"

"Kwek!”

The lower-tier mannequins reacted instantly. They hesitated at first, seeming confused, but then they let go of him one after the other.

The eyeless higher-tier shrieked in fury.

"Kieeeeee! Kek!”

But the mannequins, which had obeyed it without question just moments ago, didn’t move. They didn’t even look at it anymore. Instead, every single one of them was staring at the eyeball in Park Minho’s left hand.

What was once a human eye was now swollen, corrupted, and grotesquely distorted.

'That confirms it. This eye carries authority.'

Park Minho stepped toward the higher-tier. Dozens of mannequins moved with him as if responding in unison. Like sunflowers turning toward the sun.

"Still don’t get what’s going on?”

"Kiieeh...Kwek!”

The higher-tier entity shook its head in disbelief.

Seeing that, Park Minho couldn’t help but smirk crookedly.

"After everything I went through, seeing you like this makes me feel it was totally worth it.”

He pointed down at the creature crawling on the floor and gave an order.

“This is a non-refundable product. Please dispose of it!”

At his command, the white mannequins beside him all rushed in at once.

"Kiieeeeh! Keeeek!”

The higher-tier screamed, but like a swarm of piranhas, they didn’t stop.

Then a series of horrific sounds erupted.

-Crack! Snaaap! Crunch!

The sound of muscles tearing, joints snapping, and bones twisting. The mannequins grabbed it from all sides, pulling relentlessly.

Its body lifted into the air, limbs stretched apart, like it was being drawn and quartered.

"Kieeeeeh!”

Its desperate scream echoed through the entire area until something suddenly gave, blood splattering in all directions along with the disgusting sound of flesh ripping apart.

-Riiiip!

-Pshaaaaa!

The mannequins had finally managed to literally rip the higher-tier entity apart alive. Its limbs and head were all torn off.

But it seemed like they had judged that this wasn’t enough to fully satisfy the order to ‘dispose of it.’ So they began to dig into its torso with their bare fingers.

They ripped out its ribs before moving on to its tangled, blackened organs.

The sight of the entity being torn apart under the pouring rust-colored water was a nightmare beyond words.

Then the broadcast played.

[All prepared stock has been sold out. Thank you for your patronage.]

[The flash sale has now ended. Kekek!]

With that, the sprinklers shut off, and the fire shutter slowly began to rise.

"Wow…I actually survived?”

Park Minho couldn’t believe it. But before he could feel relief, a violent wave of dizziness hit him.

The strain and drinking two banana milks back-to-back were catching up to him.

"Uugh……!”

Before he could react, his body gave out and he collapsed forward.

* * *

"Uuugh....."

How much time had passed?

Park Minho slowly realized that his face was pressed against something cold and damp.

'If I sleep on the floor like this, my face’ll freeze crooked…’

The thought drifted through his hazy mind until suddenly, everything that had happened came rushing back.

"...!"

He tried to jump up, but his limbs wouldn’t respond. After struggling for a while, he finally managed to lift his upper body and looked around.

The floor was soaked with rust-colored water, the surroundings in complete disarray. And the white mannequins were still there.

They were simply standing there. Frozen in their usual mannequin poses, as if they had never moved at all.

"Uugh......"

Groaning, he forced himself to stand.

'I was completely unconscious, and yet nothing happened?’

Then, he felt something damp, jelly-like in his left hand.

"Ugk...!"

He had been holding that massive eyeball the entire time.

-Step, step.

Hearing footsteps, Park Minho looked up, seeing two white mannequins approaching him.

A chill ran through him, and he instinctively stepped back.

But the moment they stopped in front of him, they bowed politely.

-Creak.

"......?"

How should one put it? It was as if they were acknowledging him as their manager. There was not a shred of hostility in them at all.

'Unlike the others, these two are still moving?'

Soon they extend their hands, offering him something. A chair.

"Kwik! Kwik!”

"Kiiii."

From the tone, it sounded like they were telling him to sit.

The situation was absurd, but his condition was too poor to refuse.

"Phew..."

He collapsed into the chair, catching his breath. The two mannequins silently stood at his sides, like obedient servants.

Park Minho couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief.

"So this is my territory now…?”

Of course, it was only temporary, because he was still human. LostHassan had already warned him about this.

ㄴ(Cheezza) Do I really have to risk going to another floor? Why not just rule this place and take it easy?

ㄴ(LostHassan) Cut the bullshit. Wake up.

ㄴ(Cheezza) No, seriously. There could be a hidden route to the real world somewhere here. Just because you guys haven’t found it doesn’t mean it's not there. Why not use the mannequins to basically auto-search?

ㄴ(LostHassan) You’ve got some brains, I’ll give you that. Not a bad idea. The problem is you can get contaminated.

ㄴ(Cheezza) Contaminated?

ㄴ(LostHassan) You need the eye to act as the manager, right? You really think holding onto an entity’s body part won’t have consequences, you dumbass?

ㄴ(Cheezza) What happens?

ㄴ(LostHassan) You’ll gradually get contaminated, turning into an entity yourself. In the end, you’ll just become another monster.

ㄴ(Cheezza) Damn.

That was quite the chilling fate.

ㄴ(LostHassan) Don’t worry too much, though. If you ditch it in time, you’ll be fine.

ㄴ(Cheezza) When’s the time limit?

ㄴ(LostHassan) After a few days, veins will start growing out of the eye, trying to latch onto your hand. That’s your deadline.

ㄴ(Cheezza) Holy hell, that’s disgusting.

ㄴ(LostHassan) So don’t waste time on stupid delusions. While you’re still human, milk those mannequins for everything they’re worth. Loot the entire floor. Find supplies and the exit, and also look for anomalous items. I’m telling you, they’ll totally be your slaves!

Park Minho decided to follow that advice closely.

'I’m running low on food anyway...'

He still had stuff he’d taken from Daomi Pizza, but food never lasted as long as one thought. And water was an even bigger problem.

"Hey, you two.”

As he raised his voice, the two mannequins stepped forward. Unlike the others, these two seemed to have some level of intelligence.

"From now on, you’re Unit 1, and you’re Unit 2. Take the mannequins with you, search the area, and bring me back anything I can eat or drink.”

He pulled out pepperoni and cola from his bag, showing them as examples. They nodded, as if they understood.

Then, after briefly discussing something between themselves, they began waking the other mannequins nearby.

-Click, creak!

One by one, the mannequins stirred, then followed the two leaders and left the area.

Even watching it happen, Park Minho could barely believe it.

"Damn…did I really pull this off?”

His stomach growled, so he squeezed out some waffle syrup and drank it. It was sweet and surprisingly not bad.

Then he pulled out his laptop.

[Title] I’m alive. Srsly can’t believe it.

Author: Cheezza.

Park Minho calmly wrote out everything that happened. How he’d taken down the higher-tier and seized control of this zone.

"Hehe, behold and praise me, mortals..."

Naturally, he expected a flood of cheers from the forum, but the reaction was rather lukewarm.

ㄴNice fanfic. You’re getting better at writing these LOL.

ㄴNo proof=fake. You're scamming us, aren’t ya? You just making shit up now?

ㄴWe were worried you died since you went quiet. Glad you’re alive, but yeah, this is kinda bullshit…

Honestly, even the Backrooms veterans had trouble believing it.

Surviving early on was impressive enough, but killing a higher-tier and subsequently taking over a zone?

To them it sounded like the newbie who got a bit of attention lately finally let it get to his head and fabricated ridiculous bullshit.

At that moment a certain group of users immediately jumped.

ㄴCalled it. The moment the regulars started hyping this ‘take down the boss’ crap, it had to end up like this. Right?

ㄴYeah, they fed his ego, making him reliant on the gallery, and now we get this nonsense.

It was the users who had opposed the plan from the start. They were running wild as if they had finally found the right opportunity.

ㄴShould’ve told him to hide and survive like a normal person. Tsktsk

ㄴWhat is this? a movie? What’s the point of doing reckless bullshit like that if you’ll just end up dying?

ㄴThat’s why they’re regulars. Huge egos. And what does a huge ego lead to? Delusional advice.

ㄴFacts from anon as always looool

Of course, those with familiar user names came out to defend him.

ㄴ(Pitbull) The details are way too specific. There’s no way he could make something like this up without having experienced it.

ㄴ(KimChilsung) Believe! But what about the banana milk? Did the holy yellow nectar work?!

ㄴ(Cheezza) Drank 2 back-to-back. Felt like my brain got blended. I still got a nosebleed tbh.

ㄴ(KimChilsung) What? Double dosing? And your brain didn’t melt? What incredible mental fortitude! But seriously, something’s probably changed. Check yourself carefully!

Still, the overall opinion leaned toward negative.

ㄴA newbie just got here and killed a higher-tier? Yeah sure looool

ㄴWas it 'The you in your imagination' that defeated it?

ㄴDon’t be too harsh. Honestly surprised his mind hasn’t collapsed yet.

ㄴTrue. Might already be hallucinating…

ㄴI tried to believe you, but what? Sprinklers, mass electrocution, and then killed the boss? Come on, bro.

"You’ve got to be kidding me…"

Even though he wrote it cleanly without a hint of exaggeration, they just couldn’t believe it.

'To be fair, even I wouldn’t believe this…'

ㄴ(Cheezza) Whatever. Screw you bastards.

ㄴRunning away now? Kinda pathetic, yeah?

ㄴIt’s giving “Acting cool while crying in a bathroom stall” energy.

The usual trolls showed up, but Park Minho was too exhausted to argue with them. So he just fell asleep. How much time had passed?

Hearing a commotion, he opened his eyes to find that the mannequins had returned. Dozens of them stood behind with Unit 1 and Unit 2 waiting in front.

"Kwik. Kwik."

"Kiiiiiiii......”

They’d brought supplies, but something else came to his mind first.

"Wait. Both of you, come here."

He pulled out a pen and started drawing faces on their blank heads.

First was Unit 1’s face.

( ⚆ .⚆)

Park Minho burst out laughing.

"Hahahaha! Holy shit, that’s hilarious. Ahahahaha! Look at those round eyes.”

Unit 1 tilted its head, completely confused by his demeanor.

"Kwik?"

"Next. Unit 2, step forward.”