WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

The Legendary Newbie of the Ghost Story Labyrinth

[Translator – Aren]

Chapter 4 - Underground Shopping Mall (4)

Watching the replies roll in, irritation started bubbling up inside Park Minho.

ㄴ(Cheezza) No srsly, what are the Backrooms? For real ;;

Snickering responses flooded in immediately.

ㄴFeeling the panic yet?

ㄴDon’t stress. You’re dead in under an hour anyway.

ㄴGuys, come on. Don’t be too harsh on the newbie lol

Everyone was clearly entertained, but no one seemed willing to actually help him.

'Ah, shit…I don’t have time for this.'

[00:21:02]

When he glanced at the clock, he felt his mouth go dry.

ㄴ(Cheezza) I’m dead serious right now. I was literally being chased by some mop-looking thing earlier.

The moment he mentioned the mop monster, the tone suddenly shifted.

ㄴ(Pitbull) Wait, you ran into the mop monster and lived?? Most ppl just die, y’know?

ㄴWhat the hell. This newbie’s not normal.

ㄴI ran into that thing and got sent straight to the white room T_T I miss my mom.

He didn’t fully understand, but it sounded like the thing he encountered was extremely dangerous.

Was that the reason?

Was that why the atmosphere of the forum suddenly changed and it felt like they were somewhat acknowledging him?

ㄴHey, lay off the newbie. He’s probably low on time in the safe zone he’s at.

ㄴIf he survived the mop monster, he might actually be worth helping, right?

ㄴEven if he sucked, we should help;; Since when did this place get so cold? Our only hope is new arrivals anyway, right?

ㄴPeople here are half-gone already. Some of them just went straight-up insane…

ㄴFuck…this is depressing…

A moment later, a user named Pitbull made a post.

[Post] Explaining what the newbie wants to know. Taking questions too.

Author: Pitbull

[Content] This weird space you’re in is called the “Backrooms.” In Korea, it’s also called the ‘Ghost Story Labyrinth.’

So what are the Backrooms?

Think of it like a game. It’s easier to understand that way.

You know how in buggy games you sometimes fall through the floor or clip through walls?

Park Minho nodded to himself. He’d experienced that before. A space outside the intended game area. Usually, if that happened, you either died or had to restart.

[Content] There are these kinds of spaces in the real world as well.

Reality itself is basically one massive system.

It’s just so polished that you don’t notice the bugs, but there are more than you’d think.

Those bugs is what we call the Backrooms. And you fell into one.

Park Minho immediately replied.

ㄴ(Cheezza) So I got caught in a glitch in reality?

ㄴ(Pitbull) Yeap

ㄴ(Cheezza) I’m screwed then?

ㄴ(Pitbull) Exactly.

ㄴ(Cheezza) ...

Below, the residents of the forum burst into laughter.

ㄴMakes you think, huh? looool

ㄴI remember that phase…In the end, it’s all about how fast you accept reality.

ㄴWhat if you don’t accept it?

ㄴWell, then that’s that.

At that moment something occurred to Minho. He typed quickly.

ㄴ(Cheezza) Is there like a status window or something?

He had seen these kinds of things in webnovels and webtoons before. Characters who found themselves in similar situations would first check their status window.

Replies immediately flooded in.

ㄴStatus window LMAOOOOO

ㄴLOOOOL we used games as an example to make it easier for you to understand, not because this is literally a game, y’know?

ㄴI remember yelling “Status Window!!” right before getting my head smashed in by an entity looool

ㄴI died shouting, “Log out”.

That made it very clear that there wasn’t some sort of game system in place. Park Minho asked another question.

ㄴ(Cheezza) You guys keep saying ‘entity,’ but what is that?

ㄴ(Pitbull) Just think of them as monsters. Stuff like that mop creature you saw. Those are 'entities.'

ㄴ(Cheezza) Got it.

ㄴ(Pitbull) But don’t you not have much time?

At that, Minho immediately checked the clock.

[00:07:24]

ㄴ(Cheezza) I’ve got 7 minutes left.

ㄴ(Pitbull) Then you need to get ready to leave. If you stay there, you die.

Another user jumped in.

ㄴ(LostHassan) You idiot, this isn’t some kind of joke. When the time runs out. The safe zone deactivates, and an entity spawns in the room. You blind or what? Didn’t you see the blood?

ㄴ(Cheezza) No way…

ㄴ(LostHassan) Yes way. That’s how all the cowards who were too scared to leave ended up.

ㄴ(Cheezza) Wow, holy shit…

ㄴ(LostHassan) Also, after you go out, you have to block the door from the outside. If not, the entity will follow you out, and you’re dead.

ㄴ(Cheezza) How do I block it?

ㄴ(LostHassan) Ugh, are you gonna ask everything one by one? Annoying.

ㄴ(Cheezza) Please, just tell me!

ㄴ(LostHassan) You can find a lock in nearby shops. But it’s random. Lots of ppl couldn’t find one and died.

ㄴ(Cheezza) Fuck, why didn’t you say that earlier?

ㄴ(LostHasasn) I tell you, and you still bitch. This is why you can’t trust these—

It was an incredibly useful tip, but it would’ve been nice to hear it sooner.

Time was already down to five minutes.

* * *

Park Minho quickly shut the laptop and stuffed it into his bag. He then set the timer on his digital watch as the time that remained.

He had to move. Otherwise, that nightmare he went through upstairs, being chased by that mop monster, would repeat itself.

However, as he stood before the metal door, his heart pounded so bad it hurt. He had to step out of the safe zone and jump into unknown danger.

Still, there was no other choice.

"Alright, let’s go…"

Park Minho carefully grabbed the handle and opened the door..

-Click.

It was designed to push outward.

Peeking through the gap, he saw that he was still located in the underground mall.

But it felt different from the palace where he’d been chased around by that creature.

For one, it was bright.

Unlike the upper level, where half the lights were dead and everything was dim, the lighting here was fully functional.

"Oh......?"

That alone eased his nerves a little. And another thing. Unlike before, where nearly every shop had its shutters down, here most of them were open.

But they seemed completely empty. And strangely, there were mannequins scattered around.

'Something feels off about this place.'

Glancing around cautiously, Park Minho made sure there were no entities nearby, then quickly stepped out.

'There should be a lock somewhere around here……'

He scanned the area and immediately froze.

"Wh-what the…?”

There was nothing in the open shops he looked through. Just scraps of trash and random junk like empty hangers. It was as if everything useful had already been picked clean by people who came before him.

He checked the clock. There were only 2 minutes left.

'I’m screwed at this rate, aren’t I?'

For a moment, he considered just giving up on blocking the door and running.

But he didn’t have the confidence to run while being chased by some entity again.

Whatever spawned would definitely pursue him relentlessly, just like the mop monster.

"......Ugh!"

Stamping his foot in frustration, his eyes suddenly landed on a vending machine near the iron door. His eyes widened.

If he used that to block the door, it wouldn’t be easy to push through. He didn’t know how strong that about-to-be-spawned entity would be, but it would buy him some time, at the very least.

Park Minho rushed over and grabbed onto the vending machine.

"Kgh!"

He tried to lift it, but it was far too heavy to move on his own. Still, that didn’t mean there wasn’t another way.

'I can tip it over and push it.'

The floor was tiled. It wouldn’t be easy, but it was possible.

"Hrraaagh!”

But actually tipping the vending machine over was harder than he expected. Then an idea hit him.

He jumped up and grabbed onto the top of the machine. Since Park Minho was actually quite large, the machine finally began to sway.

He quickly let go, using the momentum to shove it.

-Wobble, wobble.

At first, the movement was small, but the more he pushed, the wider it swung. Thankfully, it was empty inside, making it lighter than usual.

Timing it right when its swinging reached its peak, Park Minho shoved with everything he had. Right then, the power cord ripped free, and the vending machine crashed down.

-Craaaaaaaash!

-Ruuuuumble!

The noise was tremendous. Park Minho flinched, worried it might attract something.

He scanned his surroundings, face tense, half-expecting an entity to come screaming at him. However, nothing happened.

'That’s a relief, I guess…’

Park Minho grabbed the fallen vending machine and pushed with all his strength.

"Aaaaaargh!”

It wasn’t easy, but it started moving, albeit slowly.

If the floor had been even slightly rougher, it wouldn’t have budged at all.

"Uuugh…!”

The door was only a few meters away, but it felt like miles.

-Scrrrrrape!

He couldn’t push it in one go, so he had to angle it, inch by inch.

Veins bulged on his forehead, and his face felt like it might burst, but he couldn’t stop. There was less than a minute left.

"Uwaaaaah!”

Gritting his teeth, Park Minho finally managed to shove the toppled vending machine in front of the metal door.

-Thud!

At the same time, the digital watch went off.

-Beep! Beep!

Park Minho bent over, gasping for breath.

"Huff…Huff…damn, that was brutal. Shit.”

There was no way he could do that twice. But even after the time ran out, there was no immediate reaction from beyond the iron door.

'Did I do all that for nothing…?’

Just as that thought crossed his mind, the door suddenly began to shake violently, like it was about to break apart, and a horrific scream erupted from inside.

"Krrreeeeeeeeh! Kweegh—!"

The sound was different from the mop monster. And then a horrifying scraping noise, like a sickle dragging across metal, echoed nonstop from within.

-Skrrrrrrrek! Skrrrk!

"Krrreeegh! Kweeeh!”

It sounded furious, like it was enraged at being unable to get out. Then something like a hooked claw jabbed out through the narrow gap of the door and withdrew.

"Wh-what the hell is that?!”

Park Minho staggered back in terror. If he hadn’t known beforehand, he would’ve been dead for sure.

Skrrrrrk! Skrrrek!

It made some incredibly loud noise, but thankfully, the entity didn’t seem strong enough to break the door. Still, there was no reason to stick around. Park Minho quickly moved.

He jogged through the maze-like underground mall. Fortunately, he didn’t encounter any entities or immediate danger.

Just endless empty shops and corridors. And here and there, mannequins lay scattered around. Rather unsettling mannequins.

'...Am I safe now?'

Only after moving for over an hour did Park Minho finally relax a little.

At this point, he needed to open the laptop again and gather information about this floor.

'Is this a relatively safe floor?'

It didn’t seem dangerous for now, but there was no telling what might be lurking here.

He stepped into an empty shop with a stray chair lying inside, sat down, and opened his laptop, then made a post.

[Title] It’s me.

Author: Cheezza

[Content] Thanks a ton to whoever gave that tip. Blocked the entrance and trapped the entity inside. Seriously, if I hadn’t known, I would’ve died.

Replies poured in immediately.

ㄴDamn, this guy’s got nine lives, huh?

ㄴAll those assholes who said he’d be dead in an hour are real quiet now, huh?

ㄴ(LostHassan) Thought you were dead for sure. Guess you actually pulled it off.

ㄴ(Cheezza) Srsly, thank you, thank you.

ㄴ(Pitbull) Where are you right now?

ㄴ(Cheezza) It’s bright. Most shops are empty, though. Some mannequins lying around. Kinda creepy-looking.

ㄴOh yeah, I know where that is.

ㄴWatch out for the Facelings.

ㄴDamn, newbie hit the fun floor looooool

Park Minho tilted his head.

"Facelings?"

But then, the user named Pitbull chimed in again with something important.

ㄴ(Pitbull) We’re all fellow gallery members, so I can give you some information. But first, there’s something important you need to check.

ㄴ(Cheezza) What is it?

ㄴ(Pitbull) Your goal from here on out.

Pitbull told him that he would make a new post he should check.

[Title] Pick one of these three.

Author: Pitbull

[Content] What your objectives will be from now on. Depending on your answer, how I and everyone here respond to you will change. Choose carefully…

1. Escape the Backrooms.

2. Farm gold coins in the Backrooms.

3. Uncover the secrets of the Backrooms.

Park Minho instinctively knew that this was something he had to answer carefully. And sure enough, the once noisy forum had gone completely silent.

Everyone was waiting for his answer.

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