The Legendary Newbie of the Ghost Story Labyrinth - Chapter 39

WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

The Legendary Newbie of the Ghost Story Labyrinth

[Translator – Aren]

Chapter 39 - Hanged King (1)

The only fortunate thing was that the Hanged King’s Royal Box was located across the hall. If he wanted to reach Seol Suyeon, he’d have to circle around through the corridors.

"Let’s run!"

Park Minho grabbed Seol Suyeon’s slender wrist and rushed out into the hallway.

But the moment they burst through the Royal Box doors, both of them froze in shock. Because the corridor was no longer the corridor they remembered.

"O-Oppa…! What is this?”

The once straight hallway had twisted into impossible angles, and the marble walls had been violently torn apart.

But the most overwhelming thing was the ropes. Hundreds of bloodstained ropes spread across the entire space like vines. They burst through the walls, writhing like living snakes, while others dangled from the ceiling like jungle vines.

"...The Backrooms completely overwrote this place.”

The interior had become a perfect labyrinth with no discernible end. They had no idea where to go.

-Skrrrrrrrk—.

-Skrrrrk—.

From deep within the darkness of the corridor came the sound of something massive dragging across the floor. Heavy metal scraping stone. It was still some distance away, but it was unmistakably heading toward them.

"Just run.”

Park Minho and Seol Suyeon sprinted through the maze-like corridors. Honestly, they had no idea where they were going. The only thing driving them forward was the desperate need to get away from that sound.

However, for some reason, it didn’t matter how far they ran.

-Skrrrrrrk.

The sound of the sword dragging against the floor never grew distant.

"How…?”

Just as Park Minho clenched his teeth, Seol Suyeon pulled her hand from his.

“It’s because of me…”

The king was undoubtedly tracking the eyes of Princess Cavaletto. No matter how far they ran, he remained behind them.

"Oppa, let’s separate.”

"What?"

“If you stay with me, you’ll get dragged into this too. So just leave me behind……”

"Enough. Stop spouting nonsense!”

If Park Minho were the kind of person who abandoned others whenever things got hard, he would’ve never saved Lee Yumi back at the goshiwon.

“If you keep throwing people away whenever it’s inconvenient, what’ll even be left of you in the end?”

"Oppa..."

"Don’t give up. Let’s find a different way.”

Just then, the sound sounded again from behind them.

-Skrrrrrrrrrk.

It was much closer than before. And this time, they could hear the king’s voice.

[……You are not far now. Pitiful lumps of flesh…]

The king wasn’t running. Whether he couldn’t run or simply chose not to out of dignity was unknown to them.

However, even walking, he advanced steadily like death itself. Unavoidable and unstoppable.

And soon, the king’s figure appeared far down the hallway. He was laughing with his hollow eye sockets fixed on Park Minho and Seol Suyeon.

[…Kukuhuhu, Run. Run until your breath gives out……]

As though he were enjoying the hunt.

"Move...!"

“Huff! Hah…!”

Park Minho and Seol Suyeon ran for their lives. But their stamina was rapidly giving out, and the slow, steady scraping sound behind them refused to fade.

'At this rate, we’re screwed.’

Just as Park Minho gritted his teeth, Seol Suyeon shouted.

"Oppa! Look over there! An arrow!”

But Park Minho couldn’t see anything. Just shattered, cracked marble walls.

"What arrow?”

"You can't see it? There’s a blue arrow drawn there!”

She said it looked hastily scribbled by someone. Maybe only she could see it because of her special eyes.

"Which way is it pointing?”

"To the right! What do we do?”

At this point, they had no better option. And blue reminded him of a certain someone.

The two of them sprinted in the direction the arrow pointed. After that, more arrows appeared.

Then, the moment they rounded a corner, a nauseating stench of blood hit them. Something black was hanging ahead.

"Ugh...!"

It was the corpse of the crow-headed hotelier. He, too, had failed to escape the nooses. He hung limply from the ceiling structure.

The two of them froze in shock. Then a mechanical buzzing sound rang out.

-Vrrrrrrrrr―.

It was unmistakably a phone vibrating. The sound was coming from inside the hotelier’s tuxedo.

Park Minho immediately searched the body and pulled out the phone. Instinctively, he felt this call was for him.

"...Hello?”

A woman’s voice mixed with mechanical distortion answered.

-So you saw the arrows! That’s a relief!

He’d never heard the voice before, but he knew who it had to be.

"Admin...?"

She was the assistant admin of the Backroom Ghost Gallery and most likely the true owner of this hotel.

-Right. Barely managed to connect. I’ve almost completely lost control over that section of space.

They couldn’t afford to stop moving, so Park Minho kept walking quickly while talking.

"Your hotel service seriously sucks, you know that?!”

-I really can’t argue with that. The Hanged King played this smart. I knew he hated the hotel, but I didn’t think he’d go this far…

"Save the excuses. He’s literally chasing us with a huge sword!”

-Just hold out a little longer. I’m forcing control over the auction hall and trying to create an escape route.

"That’s not enough! We’re about to get butchered here!”

-...Alright. It’s only temporary, but I’ll try something.

Suddenly, a deafening crash erupted from the hallway behind them.

-Rrrrrrumble— Craaaaaash!

The ceiling materials and steel framework collapsed like a waterfall, forming a massive barricade that sealed off the narrow hallway. Admin had forcibly manipulated the environment, blocking the king’s pursuit route, at least for now.

Baaang!

Soon the thunderous sound of the king smashing apart the debris with his massive sword exploded from beyond the collapsed rubble.

[……Petty tricks…!......All you are doing is prolonging your suffering……!]

However, it was buying them time. As Park Minho hurried away, he asked,

“What the hell are the Princess’ eyes anyway? Why’s that bastard so obsessed with them? Obsessed enough to throw away his noose?”

-Princess Cavaletto was the one who hanged the tyrant king.

"Seriously…?”

-Yeah. But even so, they’re not worth more than the noose. The noose possessed absolute power.

It was true that the Hanged King was fixated on Princess Cavaletto’s eyes because of their shared history. But even Admin hadn’t expected him to go this far.

"Then even if he gets the eyes, doesn’t he still lose out in the end?”

Admin paused for a moment before answering.

-He probably already has a way to reclaim the noose afterward.

"What? Even after bidding 1 million coins? He can pay that?”

-Now that I think about it… He probably has a method to invalidate the transaction itself.

She said that according to the auction house’s detailed rules, if an auction item was proven to be stolen property, the transaction became void.

-The king probably has evidence that the Eighth Day was stolen goods.

Park Minho was dumbfounded.

"So he’s actually that crafty? He gets the eyes for free and takes the noose back afterward?”

-Exactly. Plus he wiped out rival entities and crippled the hotel he already hated.

A chill crawled down Park Minho’s spine at the depth of the Hanged King's scheming.

This guy was a mastermind operating on an entirely different level. At the same time, Park Minho felt a painful tightening in his chest. A stark reminder of the kind of world he’d stepped into.

So, in the end he gets everything he wants?”

-Yeah. We got completely played. Right now I just need to get you out of…

"No, wait.”

-Craaaash!

Before Park Minho could finish, the marble pillars behind them exploded apart one after another. The king’s rampage was catching up to them.

"Huff…Huuff...! Okay, I get that the king’s plan is impressive. But what happens if somebody steals the noose first?”

-What…?

“I mean, think about it. He has to declare the transaction invalid and reclaim the noose, right? But what if the thing inside the vault disappears first? Wouldn’t that completely screw him over?”

The sound of the Admin’s breathing beyond the phone stopped.

“Really. How do you think he’d react if some bug he never considered a variable stole the noose out from under him?”

-Are you insane? You want to steal the Hanged King’s noose?

"What’s stopping us? We could completely ruin that arrogant bastard.”

If they actually succeeded, the Hanged King, who tried to claim everything for himself, would lose everything instead.

-You seriously think differently from normal people, even in a situation like this.

"You complimenting me?”

-Whatever makes you happy. But it’s impossible. The noose isn’t something you can shove in a bag and run off like a gold bar. The only way to remove it from the vault is for a new owner to wear it around their neck.

"Haah…Haah…! So I’d have to become the new owner of that noose?”

-Exactly. But you wouldn’t last even 10 seconds wearing it. Humans lose consciousness fast once the carotid arteries are compressed. Sure, you’d gain the king’s power while wearing it, but if you can only endure 10 seconds, it’s meaningless.

Park Minho thought for a moment before replying.

"I’ve got the anomalous trait Adrenaline Pump. Do you think I could hold out a few minutes with that?”

-Ah...!

Adrenaline Pump sounded simple and straightforward by name, but it was still an anomalous trait. It allowed the user to keep moving like a zombie even after the body wasn’t supplied with oxygen.

Of course, it was useless against direct brain death or a destroyed head. Still, between suffocation and actual brain death there would be a few minutes of survival time.

"So if I can use the king’s power for a few minutes, doesn’t that make it worthwhile?”

-Maybe…but then what? You’d still die afterward.

"Can’t I just take the noose off?”

-Not with your own strength. Not unless ownership gets transferred to someone else.

"Damn… This is more complicated than I thought. Huff…!”

Reluctantly, Park Minho decided to abandon the plan. His mind worked frighteningly fast when it came to screwing people over, but his understanding of anomalous objects was still lacking.

"What a shame. Guess I’ll just keep running until the exit opens like you said…”

-Wait.

"What?"

-Now that I think about it. There might be a way for you to keep wearing the noose without suffocating to death.

"What? Seriously?”

-Your shadow. Put the noose on your shadow instead.

"The Shadow Modification Circuit from the auction?”

-Exactly.

The shadow was still him. But even if the noose strangled the shadow, it wouldn’t die.

-Think of it as using the shadow like a stand or storage medium. Then, whenever you need to use the king’s power, you wear the noose yourself and endure it for a few minutes.

"And afterward I pass it back to the shadow?”

-Right. It could work.

If this plan succeeded, the Hanged King would meet the most humiliating downfall imaginable.

-But it won’t be easy.

"When have I ever taken the easy route?”

-You’re completely insane.

In the end, Admin accepted his proposal.

-Fine. Then head for the room where the auction items were being held before the sale.

"How am I supposed to find it?”

-Craaaaaash!

Park Minho’s question was swallowed by another catastrophic explosion behind them. The Hanged King had finally destroyed the blocked passage.

-Use the rules. Right now the rule governing that space is 'Entities possessing anomalous weight above a certain threshold will be hanged.' Look carefully at the ropes in the hallways.

"Ropes?”

-The waiting room is packed with anomalous objects, so the anomalous weight is the greatest there. Follow the ropes that are pulled taut. They’ll eventually lead you there.

The ropes stretched throughout the space like blood vessels. Around Park Minho’s current location, they hung loose and slack. In other words, this area was far from the auction vault.

"By the way, if I obtain the Shadow Modification Circuit, won’t I qualify as anomalous enough to get hanged as well?”

-A single shadow enhancement should be fine. But if you get greedy, you’ll end up hanging too.

"I understand.”

-Secure the shadow first. Then call me again. I’ll focus on stalling the King as much as I can.

-Click.

Admin hung up.

Park Minho used the condition of the ropes to guide their direction. As they hurried forward, he quickly explained the situation to Seol Suyeon.

"I think this is better than just running away. Sorry for deciding on my own.”

"No, it’s fine. Even if we escape now, the king will keep chasing me anyway. Let’s end this properly."

Behind them, an irritated roar echoed through the corridors.

[……How much longer do you intend to annoy me……?! Insolent flies……!]

Although Admin was still manipulating the environment to slow him down, even that wasn’t enough to stop the enraged king.

"Huff, huff...!"

"Hah! Haah!”

After a sprint that felt like it would tear their lungs apart, they finally arrived at a gigantic iron door. Every rope in the surrounding hallways stretched taut toward it.

Which meant that the room inside was packed with anomalous objects.

-Click, click.

"Shit! It’s locked!”

There was no time to search for a key. They could already hear the grinding sound of the King dragging his massive sword closer.

Park Minho pulled out the half-worn chalk. There was only enough left for one final use.

-Scraaaatch.

With a harsh scraping sound, a perfect circular hole opened through the thick iron door as if it were soft tofu.

Inside were countless auction items, displayed in glass containment cases like museum exhibits.

"Suyeon! Number 31! Find item 31!”

"Yes!"

The two split up and searched frantically. Number 15, 16, 17… Their eyes darted desperately from case to case.

Then, Seol Suyeon shouted.

"Oppa! Here! Number 31!”

Park Minho rushed over. Inside a thick glass cylinder was a pitch-black mass that seemed to swallow all surrounding light. It writhed like living slime.

-Crash!

Park Minho smashed the glass immediately and grabbed it. The instant it touched his hand, an icy chill flooded through him. A heavy, sinister anomalous presence pulsed from the object.

"So this is it…!”

The black mass flowed down his arm and seeped directly into his shadow. Then the transformation began.

The shadow lying flat beneath him suddenly rippled like boiling tar. At the same time, intricate circuit-like patterns flashed across its surface.

But then, an uncontrollable chill swept through the storage room.

-Bzzt, crackle!

Dozens of electric lights flickered violently all at once before exploding one by one. Darkness swallowed the room.

-Crash! Bang!

And then, the storage room entrance burst open.

-Boooom!

The twisted iron door crumpled like paper beneath the Hanged King’s feet as he stepped inside.

[……At last, cornered……]

The hollow-eyed king tilted his head sideways while staring at Park Minho and Seol Suyeon.