The Legendary Newbie of the Ghost Story Labyrinth - Chapter 28

WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

The Legendary Newbie of the Ghost Story Labyrinth

[Translator – Aren]

Chapter 28 - Goshiwon (4)

Park Minho carefully looked over the vending machine.

'The universal antibiotics come first.'

He checked the price. It was 1 silver.

-Clink.

He inserted 1 gold coin and pressed the button.

-Click.

The antibiotics dropped down immediately. It looked like a suspicious stick pack filled with liquid.

‘This costs 1 silver…?”

That was over 3 million won in real money, but this wasn’t the time to be stingy.

The machine showed that he still had 29 silver coins remaining, so Park Minho decided to stock up.

-Click, click.

He pulled four more, making it 5 sticks of antibiotics in total, which he stuffed into his pocket.

'Now that I’ve taken care of the urgent stuff, next is the anomalous traits.’

The machine offered five different trait pills.

[Damage Suppression] Low-tier. 2 Gold.

[Strong Mind] Low-tier. 1 Gold.

[Short Sleep] Low-tier. 2 Gold.

[Breath Recovery] Low-tier. 1 Gold.

[Adrenaline Pump] Low-tier. 2 Gold.

Fortunately, all were low-tier, so he could use them. But the problem was that there weren’t any detailed descriptions. Even scanning didn’t help while the items were still inside the machine.

'Whatever. I’ll just take them all.'

Park Minho fed more gold coins into the slot.

The one that stood out to him first was the anomalous trait Short Sleep.

-Click.

A pill in a round plastic case dropped down.

When he scanned it, more information appeared.

[Short Sleep / Low-tier / Anomalous Trait]

[Doubles sleep efficiency.]

"Nice."

In the Backrooms, you’d rarely be able to get a proper rest. If he could double his sleep efficiency, that would be really useful. But there was a catch.

[Must be consumed within 24 hours after purchase. The pill loses its effect after 1 day.]

"Ah..."

Now he understood why these pills couldn’t be taken outside. You’d need to leave the Backrooms within a day, which wasn’t realistic at all.

Still, it made him feel again that it was worth coming here. While it didn’t seem as powerful as an awakened power, it was still a real ability.

‘I’ll just grab them all and take them back to the room.'

It looked like each trait could only be purchased once. [Short Sleep] was already marked as sold out. So Park Minho bought the rest without a shred of hesitation.

It cost him a total of 8 gold coins.

Next up were anomalous items.

[Elevator Pass] Low-tier. 1 Gold.

[Manager’s Tumbler] Mid-tier. 4 Gold.

[Eviction Order] Mid-tier. 2 Gold.

Based on his experience so far, these anomalous items were incredibly useful for survival in the Backrooms. And with plenty of coins to spare, there was no reason for him to hesitate.

He just bought them all and immediately scanned them.

-Beep.

[Elevator Pass / Low-Tier / Anomalous Item]

[Allows use of the Goshiwon Elevator.]

[Up to two companions may ride together with the holder.]

That looked very useful, though he still had no idea what the elevator actually did.

-Beep.

[Manager’s Tumbler / Mid-tier / Anomalous Item]

[Fill it with water, and after some time, it transforms into the anomalous drink ‘Barley Tea’.]

"Oh...!"

Knowing how effective barley tea was, Park Minho lit up.

Barley tea was incredibly valuable since it stabilized both the body and mind, helped with fatigue recovery, and with resisting cognitive contamination. It could even neutralize low-tier toxins.

It was basically an almost all-purpose miracle drink.

'An unlimited supply of barley tea? That’s insanely good!'

There was a reason it cost a whopping 4 gold coins. He’d never have to ration his barley tea again.

Park Minho scanned the next item.

-Beep.

[Eviction Order / Mid-tier / Anomalous item]

[Allows you to evict a person who violates Goshiwon rules.]

[The target’s name must be written.]

This would be useful in conflicts with other explorers. The only issue was that you had to know their name.

"Still, worth keeping."

Then, he checked the item he was most interested in. However, there was a problem.

[Manager’s Safe Key] High-tier. Sold out.

"Sold out?”

Had someone already taken it? Disappointment spread through him. He pressed the button anyway but was rewarded with no response.

'Or maybe there’s some condition to restock it?’

Park Minho turned to Lee Yumi.

"Is this normally sold out? Do you know anything about it?”

"Sorry. I don’t really know either. I’ve only heard rumors…”

Lee Yumi fidgeted nervously, as if it were somehow her fault.

"It’s fine. Can’t be helped, I guess. Anyway, pick the gun you want.”

"Ah, really?”

She hesitated for a moment, but then her lips slowly curled upward. She was clearly happy she’d finally get paid.

"Hmm......."

Lee Yumi didn’t know much about guns, so she just picked something that felt right and wasn’t too expensive.

It was a submachine gun called ‘Scorpion EVO 3.’ It came with 240 rounds and cost 3 silver coins. Like everything in the Backrooms, it was way more expensive in the real world.

"Do you think this is okay? Mister?”

Fortunately, thanks to that hardware store owner, Mr. Jung, Park Minho was a bit more familiar with weapons now.

"The Scorpion? That’s a good pick. It has low recoil and is easy to handle.”

"Really? Then I’ll go with this one. I like how it looks.”

Lee Yumi pressed the vending machine button with an excited expression.

-Click. Click, click.

But no matter how many times she pressed it, nothing happened.

"Huh? What’s going on…?”

Park Minho, who was watching from the side, pressed it himself, after which the packaged gun dropped down immediately.

-Thud.

"I guess you have to press it harder."

“M-my finger strength’s kind of weak… Haha. I can’t even open s-soda bottles properly.”

"No wonder."

“Are you going to teach me how to use it as well?”

“Of course. I’ve used that model before.”

Even though he hadn’t bought a Scorpion himself, Park Minho had handled a wide variety of firearms at Mr. Jung's shooting range. One of the perks of being around a gun enthusiast.

"So, are we done shopping?”

“Hold on…Let’s grab some drinks and a few extra things."

They had sikhye here, which had healing effects. There was no way he would just pass up on that. He bought all 5 that were available.

Next, his eyes landed on grenades.

'Those were really useful.'

He’d already seen how effective they were in the biological Backroom.

Since he only had one left, it made sense to stock up again.

They even had smoke grenades, so he bought two of each.

'I’d get more, but there’s a limit to what I can carry…'

That wrapped up his shopping spree.

Clink.

When he collected his change, a pile of silver coins came spilling out.

-Clatter.

Park Minho handed five of them to Lee Yumi.

"Here, the payment.”

"Oh my! Thank you so very much!”

Lee Yumi beamed, grinning ear to ear as she held the silver coins.

"So are we heading back now? Mister?"

Park Minho nodded. He did want to check out the Manager’s office, but without that key and with Seol Suyeon still sick, that could wait.

‘If needed, I can come back later.'

He still had two more chances to pass the Cleaning Supervisor.

"Yeah, let’s go back."

* * *

The two made it past the Cleaning Supervisor and returned to a safe area. As promised, Park Minho gave Lee Yumi a quick crash course on how to use the gun.

She picked it up fast since she was innately quite sharp and had already seen some adults using guns before.

“You’re doing well. After firing, lock the bolt back and always check the chamber carefully.”

"Okay, Mister."

As the lesson wrapped up, Lee Yumi started glancing around nervously.

"It’s about time the Manager starts making rounds. I should get going.”

"Yeah, you’ll be fine for now. I’ll teach you more if we run into each other again.”

"Got it! How about we exchange numbers? Phones actually work in here.”

After parting ways with Lee Yumi, Park Minho retraced his route through the goshiwons he remembered.

When he finally reached the Good Stay Goshiwon, he felt a wave of relief.

Park Minho headed straight for Room 303.

-Click.

When he unlocked the door and stepped inside, fortunately, Seol Suyeon was still there.

"Haah... Haah..."

She was breathing heavily. Seeing that, Park Minho immediately opened a universal antibiotics pack and poured it into her mouth.

"Suyeon? Seol Suyeon. Are you okay?”

"Ugh……Bitter…"

After that, Park Minho logged into the gallery, asked a few questions about the anomalous trait pills, and took them right away.

The new traits he obtained were the following:

-Damage Suppression.

-Short Sleep.

-Adrenaline Pump.

That maxed out the number of traits a non-awakened person could have, so he planned to give the remaining two to Seol Suyeon.

* * *

The Raiders’ hideout.

<Smart Living> Goshiwon.

"Dongmin-hyung. Come take a look at this.”

"What? What is it?”

At Kang Mincheol’s call, Ha Dongmin, who was nearby, walked over.

"You know the outermost camera we have? The one without motion sensors?”

"Yeah, the spot with the graffiti?”

"Yeah. I was bored, so I checked the footage, and some new guy showed up.”

The person on the screen was Park Minho. The location was the spot with the ‘Vending Machine’ graffiti, where a cleverly hidden camera had been set up.

"Whoa, check out this guy’s gun.”

"What kind is it?”

"Idiot. It’s a SCAR. I’ve seen 707 guys carry those.”

"A S-SCAR? Well, you’d know, hyung-nim, since you were with the special forces. I’m just a normal soldier, so I only know the K-2.”

"Anyway, it’s a good one, you dumbass. Don’t talk back!”

Ha Dongmin, the leader of the raider group, smacked Kang Mincheol hard on the forehead.

-Smack!

The fact that Kang Mincheol didn’t even protest showed just how strict their hierarchy was. He just rubbed his forehead and muttered under his breath.

"Man, I’m not exactly a kid anymore, and you still smack me like this…”

"What was that?”

"Nothing, hyung. Haha. Anyway, he didn’t just walk right into the trap. He lingered around and left. But is he nuts? Why’s he talking to thin air?”

“Probably someone in the camera’s blind spot. You think a guy geared up like that is walking around alone?”

"Yeah, fair point."

In the Backrooms, people wandering alone were usually in plain clothes with no gear. Just unlucky people who noclipped in somehow.

But if someone was fully armed, there was a high chance they were a professional explorer. And those people rarely traveled alone.

"Where the hell is that psycho Yoon Seyi right now?”

Yoon Seyi was the youngest member of the raider group.

"He went off to grill some human meat. Said you hate the smell, so he went somewhere more ventilated.”

"Fucking disgusting bastard."

"Do we seriously have to keep sticking with that cannibal freak? Just looking at his eyes gives me chills……"

"He’s got skills. What do you expect in the Backrooms? Anyway, when he gets back, tell him to gear up. We’re going after that guy.”

"What? Seriously?”

Kang Mincheol’s surprise was understandable. They always waited for targets to come to them, so that they could fight on their own turf where they had the advantage. That strategy was how they’d killed so many people and survived off their loot.

“Yeah. I’m not joking.”

"Hyung-nim, isn’t that risky?”

"You idiot…! The rent’s coming up soon. You wanna just sit around doing nothing? Payment’s due in just a few days!”

"...That’s true.”

"I’m so stressed I can’t even sleep, and this dumbass is playing mobile games all day! Tsk!”

“...Sorry.”

"If you’re sorry, grab your gun. Or if you don’t feel like going. I can talk to Seyi, and we'll just strip you first. One less mouth to feed, and we’d make it through the month easy. So what’ll it be?”

"Ah, come on, hyung-nim. Why do you have to say it like that? Aren’t we sticking together to the end as a trio?”

He said that, but Kang Mincheol’s hands were trembling. When things got bad, they’d sacrificed their own teammates before.

"Then let’s go out as a trio, dumbass."

"Got it, haha. But how are we going to find him?”

"He was heading toward Hanna Goshiwon, right? We sweep every goshiwon in that area and check the layout. You know that names get registered when someone checks in, right?”

"Ah, right.”

"Haah…Seriously, how long do I have to babysit this idiot?”

"Who’s going to cook your ramen if I’m not here, huh?”

"Ugh, pathetic bastard. Try shooting half as well as you cook.”

Soon, Yoon Seyi returned. The three of them geared up, not just with guns but with body armor. Their vests were Level 4, enough to withstand even Park Minho’s SCAR rifle for a shot or two.

* * *

"Hmm...?"

Park Minho blinked and lifted his head. It seemed like he’d dozed off for a moment.

'What the-? I feel great.’

It seemed the Short Sleep anomalous trait had kicked in properly.

Even a brief nap left his body feeling completely refreshed.

He glanced to the side. Seol Suyeon was sleeping peacefully. The dark protruding veins that had crept up to her chin were now almost completely gone.

'That antibiotic really worked.'

Just as he was letting out a breath of relief, his phone suddenly rang.

-Bzzzzzt!

-Bzzzt!

Lee Yumi was calling him.