The Legendary Newbie of the Ghost Story Labyrinth - Chapter 5

WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

The Legendary Newbie of the Ghost Story Labyrinth

[Translator – Aren]

Chapter 5 - Mannequin (1)

After thinking it over for a moment, Park Minho replied.

ㄴ(Cheezza) I honestly don't even know enough to answer properly. I just want to get out of here as fast as possible.

It was an honest answer, and the gallery seemed to understand.

ㄴFair enough.

ㄴYou literally just got here.

ㄴSince you’re already here, why not take advantage of it? You could srsly make bank.

ㄴ(Chiavelli) Power is an option too.

ㄴCan someone actually explain things instead of leaving him confused?

At that, Pitbull stepped in.

ㄴ(Pitbull) There’s a reason we’re making you choose. Your decision determines your early strategy. We’ve got guides written in blood, and we need to decide how to help you based on what you want.

That made Park Minho pause.

ㄴ(Cheezza) Why are you helping me?

ㄴ(Pitbull) Why not? We’re all from the same gallery.

Replies of agreement followed right after.

ㄴRight, right.

ㄴThat’s how it should be.

ㄴDamn, this place actually feels wholesome for once lol

But Pitbull added one more thing.

ㄴ(Ptibull) That said, it’s not like we’re completely selfless here. Still, if you choose escape, most people here will help you sincerely. Because we know better than anyone how absolutely fucked your situation is right now.

Reading that, Park Minho felt a strange sense of human warmth through the screen.

ㄴ(Cheezza) If I pick the first option, how would you help?

ㄴ(Pitbull) We’ll guide you along the fastest escape route. That said, it won’t be easy, and there’s no guarantee you’ll make it out alive. In the end, it depends on you. kk?

Hearing that, Park Minho became slightly curious about the other options.

ㄴ(Cheezza) What about coin farming?

ㄴ(Pitbull) Pretty much what it sounds like. You made it this far, so you’ve already seen gold coins, right?

ㄴ(Cheezza) The one I used at the gate?

ㄴ(Pitbull) Yep. Those coins are rare in the Backrooms and insanely valuable in the outside world.

According to Pitbull, one coin was worth around 300 million won. (approx. 198,509.85 USD)

ㄴ(Pitbull) I’ve been tracking the market. It’s probably even higher now.

That made something click in Park Minho’s head.

ㄴ(Cheezza) Wait, I could’ve picked 50 coins instead of the laptop, right?

That would’ve been 15 billion won if he had taken those with him. (approx. 9,925,492.64 USD)

ㄴ(Pitbull) Yep.

ㄴ(Cheezza) Shit, I picked the wrong thing.

The forum immediately burst into laughter.

ㄴLmaooooooo same thought here.

ㄴHonestly tho, coins are the worst choice at the start.

ㄴIt’s the most versatile, sure, but without prior knowledge, you don’t even know how to use it.

ㄴYou only get one life. It’s not like a roguelike where you can learn through trial and error.

ㄴFacts.

ㄴ(Kim Chilsung) Nah, but you can buy sikhye with coins, it’s worth it.

Thankfully, most users agreed that not picking the coin bundle was actually the right move.

ㄴ(Cheezza) Okay, I get using coins inside for stuff like gates, but why are they so valuable outside?

ㄴ(Pitbull) There’s this weird vending machine called NCE-1091. It’s an object-type anomalous entity.

ㄴ(Cheezza) An object-type anomalous entity?

ㄴ(Pitbull) Don’t overthink it. Just think of it as a ridiculous supernatural vending machine. Anyway, you can use coins to pull items from it. And the rich and powerful go crazy for them.

ㄴ(Cheezza) What kind of items?

ㄴ(Pitbull) Pills that restore youth. Panaceas that cure all diseases. Potions that turn you into a beauty. Stuff like that. The kind of things people would lose their minds over.

ㄴ(Cheezza) That kind of stuff actually exists in the real world? Yeah right.

ㄴ(Pitbull) The general public just doesn’t know. The elites are already doing everything they can to get items out of that vending machine.

ㄴ(Cheezza) Yeah, not buying it.

ㄴ(Pitbull) Oh, but a mop-headed monster running around is totally believable?

Now that he thought about it, that actually made sense.

"Hmm......"

Park Minho rubbed his face dry, steadying himself in front of the screen, then asked another question.

ㄴ(Cheezza) Then what about the third one? What does it mean to uncover the secrets of the Backrooms?

ㄴ(Pitbull) Simple. You walk the path of what we call an ‘Awakened.’

ㄴ(Cheezza) Awakened? Like hunters in webnovels?

ㄴ(Pitbull) Similar, but different. It’s not that straightforward or easy to control… As you uncover the secrets of the Backrooms, a very small number of people gain what we call ‘anomalous abilities.’

According to Pitbull, there were people who deliberately entered the Backrooms, chasing after gold coins and these awakened abilities.

ㄴ(Pitbull) It’s power that can completely change a person’s life. And yeah, you can make a ton of money too.

ㄴ(Cheezza) I think you've got the wrong idea. I didn’t come here on purpose. I got dragged into this. I was just heading home after my shift, okay??

ㄴ(Pitbull) Yeah, figured as much from the way you talk. You unlucky bastard.

More replies followed.

ㄴDude just randomly ended up here looooool

ㄴ(Chiavelli) Since you’re a Level 1 entrant, I assumed you came here intentionally like the rest of us.

ㄴ(Pitbull) Usually that’s the case. But accidents happen anywhere.

ㄴ(LostHassan) No matter how I look at it, this guy’s not surviving a day. Don’t waste too much effort on him looool.

Park Minho frowned slightly and asked.

ㄴ(Cheezza) What’s a Level 0 entrant and a Level 1 entrant? Did I come here in a different way than normal?

As he waited for a reply, he heard a chilling sound.

-Creaak. Crunch!

A twisting, grinding noise. Startled, Park Minho snapped his head up.

"Huh...?"

He definitely heard something, but there was nothing in front of him. Even after holding his breath and waiting, nothing changed.

'...What was that? Just my imagination?'

But something felt off.

No matter how he looked, all he could see were the mannequins scattered around the floor.

'No, wait.'

Just then Park Minho realized what felt off.

'Was that mannequin…in that pose before?'

Across the corridor, inside an empty shop, one of the mannequins looked slightly different. But he wasn’t completely sure.

Park Minho typed quickly.

ㄴ(Cheezza) Do mannequins change poses? I heard something and looked up, and one of them seems to be in a different pose from before. Am I imagining things?

He really hoped it was just his imagination. The mood of the forum instantly turned serious, though.

ㄴYou’re fucked. Sounds like a Faceling. Probably not your imagination.

ㄴYeah, that’s definitely a Faceling disguised as a mannequin.

ㄴCould just be stress. I’ve had that happen too. When you first enter the Backrooms, your mind starts to slip a bit, right?

ㄴ(KimChilsung) That’s when you need to drink cinnamon punch to stabilize your mind!

ㄴOld man, enough with the drink recommendations…

Then the same user who had helped him before stepped in.

ㄴ(LostHassan) Pretty much confirmed. Get out of there asap. Your life’s hanging by a thread rn.

Ignoring the others arguing, Park Minho completely focused on LostHassan.

ㄴ(Cheezza) So I just run?

ㄴ(LostHassan) No, are you insane?;; If you do that, you’ll provoke it and it’ll chase you.

ㄴ(Cheezza) Then what am I supposed to do?

ㄴ(LostHassan) Each Faceling has different behavior, so there’s no absolute rule. But generally, there’s one key trait.

That trait was that if one stared at it directly, it wouldn’t move. Maybe all that sneaking side-glancing while browsing the forum had helped. because the mannequin’s pose still hadn’t changed.

ㄴ(LostHassan) Keep staring at it and slowly back away. That’s your best option for now. And stay quiet.

ㄴ(Cheezza) Got it. But what’s a Faceling?

ㄴ(LostHassan) No time to explain, you idiot. If you don’t want to die, close the laptop now. It’s probably testing the waters and watching you too. If it thinks you’re easy prey, it’ll attack even if you’re looking at it.

"This is insane..."

Park Minho immediately packed up the laptop and stood up. His body felt stiff, perhaps due to all the tension.

'The second mannequin from the right. That’s the suspicious one.'

At dark-colored, adult male mannequin. At some point, it had turned its face toward him.

Just for a moment, the instant he’d looked away to put the laptop in his bag.

"Ugh.....!"

Fear surged up his spine. He wanted to look away. It was just an ordinary mannequin, but something about it felt deeply wrong and terrifying beyond measure.

Still, he couldn’t risk it. Sweat dripping down his back, Park Minho forced himself to keep his eyes locked on it.

-Step, step.

He slowly moved out of the shop without breaking eye contact. Then he began backing away.

'Good. Just keep this up…'

The problem was the pillar between the shops.

For a split second, it blocked his line of sight, and in that instant, he heard that heart-dropping sound again.

-Creak!

-Creeeeaak!

Park Minho knew immediately.

'I’m screwed…'

With the walls and pillars everywhere, it was impossible to maintain constant eye contact while retreating. All he could do was hope that once he created enough distance, it would lose interest.

But it was obvious that it would move a lot in just that brief moment.

'It won’t let me go!'

Realizing hesitation would mean death here, Park Minho spun around and ran.

The sound of hard plastic slamming wildly against tile erupted.

-Clackclackclack!

He couldn’t help but look back.

And in that instant, his heart nearly stopped.

"—!"

He found something straight out of a nightmare.

A mannequin with its arms bent at grotesque angles was running on all fours like a beast, chasing after him. And to make things worse, its face had changed, looking like molten plastic, at some point.

But that wasn’t even the scariest part.

'What the hell. It’s way too fast!'

In an instant, it was right behind him.

-Whoosh!

The mannequin leapt into the air and swung its plastic arm at him.

-Pow!

Park Minho instinctively ducked, the attack only barely grazing him. But the cold, horrifying sensation of plastic brushed against the back of his neck.

"Agh!"

Losing his balance, he tumbled forward and slammed into a closed shop shutter.

-Baaam!

Even so, Park Minho forced himself back to his feet. The mannequin, which had been sliding across the ground on all force, had already crouched low, like a frog preparing to leap.

Everything that followed happened in a split second. The moment Park Minho got up and shifted his body, the mannequin lunged forward.

-Craaaaaash!

It missed him and slammed violently into the shutter behind. Park Minho didn’t hesitate. He ran.

'Damn it! Damn it!’

A glance back revealed that the mannequin, slightly staggering, was already chasing him again.

At least it seemed to have damaged its leg in the collision. Its movements were a bit off, so its speed was slightly reduced.

But even so, it was still too fast to outrun comfortably.

'Why the hell is it so fast?!'

Park Minho ran blindly through the maze-like underground mall.

He clung to hope that somehow, he’d manage to escape this time as well.

But that hope shattered almost instantly.

He had reached a dead end.

"Shit...!"

He spun around to get out of there, but before he knew it, the thing was already there. The mannequin completely blocked the corridor.

-Creaaak. Click.

The creature slowly closed the distance, making those grotesque noises, fully aware it had cornered its prey.

'No...'

Park Minho slowly backed away step by step until his back hit the cold concrete wall. He had nowhere left to run.

-Crrrrreeeeeaaak!

The mannequin, which had been crawling on all fours, suddenly stood upright like a person and made surprisingly human-like movements.

With its loose, dangling arms spread out and its body twitching slightly, it seemed as if it were mocking him.

"Heh... Kihihi...!"

Despite having no mouth, it let out strange sounds that resembled laughing but was closer to air escaping it.

The creature even stepped backwards on its own, trembling exaggeratedly.

"...!"

Park Minho immediately understood. That thing was deliberately copying him to mock him.

The sight of this non-human thing mimicking human behavior in a grotesque, twisted way sent chills down his spine.

Normally, anyone would’ve frozen in terror, but Park Minho was different.

The moment he felt mocked, his fear was drowned out by anger.

He’d already lived a life being looked down on. An unemployed job seeker. Just another part-timer. He knew full well how people talked about him behind his back.

'And now even a damn monster's looking down on me?’

Park Minho ripped off his backpack and pulled something out. A kitchen knife.

It was something he’d grabbed from Daomi Pizza. Next he gripped the bag’s strap with his left hand, holding it like a shield.

He clenched his teeth and raised the knife.

"Come at me! You damn bastard!”

But, instead of being intimidated, the mannequin seemed amused.

"Kiiik…! Kijiji...!"

As if it found his futile resistance entertaining. That relaxed attitude showed that it was very familiar with killing.

-Grit!

Park Minho ground his teeth so hard it made a sound. How many people like him had this thing hunted down in the Backrooms?

His vision swam with rage.

'You damn piece of shit!'