Hop!
"Hup. So this is the Void?"
"Yes, ma’am. The air feels strangely stuffy, so it definitely is."
Yoon Chaewon crossed her arms and surveyed the surroundings.
Yellowed wallpaper and incandescent lights that flickered unnaturally.
Countless pillars and walls stretched far into the distance.
"It’s a little different from what I expected."
"How is it different, ma’am?"
"I thought it would be grander, more overwhelming. Well, this might not be its true form."
"...?"
Click, click.
Muttering to herself, Yoon Chaewon walked ahead.
Kang Seoyun had no idea what she meant, but falling behind would only make her dead weight.
She hurried after her.
"You said you ran into an anomaly while walking around like this?"
"That’s what the captain said, ma’am."
"I can see why. A humanoid anomaly that lives in a place like this can’t be ordinary."
Yoon Chaewon said this as she lightly brushed her hand along the wall.
For now, nothing happened.
Forget anomalous phenomena—there was not even an ant in sight.
But ghost stories that frightened people right from the start were, if anything, the amateur kind.
The quieter and more peaceful a ghost story seemed like this,
the more carefully they had to watch it as they proceeded with the operation.
"Exactly, ma’am. Catastrophe-rank and Genius-rank aren’t titles given out for nothing."
"Genius-rank..."
At Seoyun’s frowning words, Yoon Chaewon sank into thought.
"Once we get back, I should recommend changing the rank—"
"B-Branch Director! Over there...!"
At that moment, Kang Seoyun jolted in fright and pointed somewhere.
Something approached, twisting dozens of wires together.
An anomaly had appeared.
"Screeeeeech—!!"
"What is that... There wasn’t an anomaly like that when I came here last time...!"
Kang Seoyun clenched both fists and warily faced the anomaly.
The situation was unexpected, but now that they had encountered it, combat was inevitable.
Trusting in the enhanced suit’s combat capabilities, she decided to take it on.
But then—
"Assistant Manager Seoyun, get back."
Yoon Chaewon’s voice came from beside her.
The instant Kang Seoyun heard it, she quickly stepped back.
"Hup!"
"Grrrgh!?"
Yoon Chaewon shot forward like an arrow and kicked the anomaly away.
Kraaaash!!
With a thunderous boom, the anomaly slammed into the wall.
Without even looking at the destructive scene, Yoon Chaewon merely rotated her ankle in circles.
Boing, boing.
The rabbit ears atop Chaewon’s head spun in circles.
"With a single blow...! Th-that was amazing, ma’am!"
"That impact. I’m sure of it—it’s the same individual as the anomaly I fought before."
The same individual.
At those words, Kang Seoyun’s bright expression stiffened.
"By before, you mean..."
"Why, you know that anomaly that burst out of the break room last time. The one where three A-ranks passed out and I had to step in."
Seoyun remembered that incident as well.
A low-intelligence anomaly that had suddenly invaded the Bureau.
She had heard it was strangely powerful and left massive damage behind, but had barely been driven off through the Branch Director’s intervention.
She knew about it from the rumors.
And because she knew, that was not what Seoyun was asking about.
"Branch Director."
"Yeah?"
"It seems like you have an oddly large number of connections to this ghost story."
Bzzzz.
The enhanced suit she wore emitted a red glow.
Depending on its user’s will, the enhanced suit employed different functions and colors.
Blue was for support. Yellow was for escape.
Red was for combat.
"Connections? What connections could I possibly have?"
"There are too many—that’s the problem. Knowing that humanoid anomaly is one thing, and all the things you’ve been muttering to yourself until now are another."
Kang Seoyun slowly approached Chaewon.
As though she were confronting a dangerous person—no.
As though she were confronting a ghost story, cautiously and with the utmost care.
"Most importantly, anomalies in this sort of location-type ghost story generally come in multiple identical individuals. It means there are no physical differences between them."
"That’s right."
"Then how can you be certain that one was the individual you fought back then?"
"..."
Tension hung between the two women.
The crackling of the incandescent lights sounded excessively loud,
and they glared at each other as if ready to pounce at any second.
After a long silence—
Just as Kang Seoyun was about to draw the blade built into her enhanced suit—
"Kikikikik!!!"
"!?"
A metallic shriek rang out from far away.
No.
"Grrrgh!"
"Kieeek!!"
"W-what is this..."
Dozens of anomalies approached, producing dozens of metallic shrieks.
"Assistant Manager Seoyun, I think we should put off our standoff for now?"
"...Understood, ma’am. But you will have to explain yourself later."
"Yeah. I definitely will."
Even in a situation like this, they could not keep fighting each other.
They each took up a stance and prepared to battle the approaching anomalies.
Whether Assistant Manager Seoyun will still be alive by then, though... I’m not sure.
**
Time passed, and before long, it was noon.
"It’s been a while! You can hand things over to me now!"
"Yes, ma’am. Good work."
After switching shifts with the part-timer for the next time slot,
I went home.
Click, ding-dong!
"Ow, my whole body aches. I was on my way to my part-time job and ended up clearing a ghost story."
The moment I shut the front door, I flopped face-first onto the bed.
For the record, Mr. Kim had fixed the door last time.
He said it made his knees go weak every time he saw it, so he replaced it with a high-performance one.
"...The ghost stories I make become real."
I stared blankly at the ceiling and thought.
Maestro.
The ghost story I had posted on the Ghost Story Minor Gallery last night.
Having encountered him in reality meant that every ghost story I had made so far might have become real as well.
"Or not? I’ve made so many ghost stories, but no one on the Ghost Story Minor Gallery recognized a single one?"
Still, there were strange aspects to that possibility too.
I had mass-produced countless ghost stories over the years.
Some had been exported beyond the gallery, and some had even become worldwide hits.
"I mean, the famous Backrooms alone is my—"
...Huh.
"What exactly have I made all this time...?"
No, I had definitely made a lot.
I even got dragged into featured posts once a week.
But why were my memories so hazy?
"That’s strange. Considering my nicknames, there’s no way it isn’t true."
I had earned quite a lot of nicknames while hanging around the gallery.
The Ghost Story Minor Gallery’s head mod.
The Ghost Story Minor Gallery’s factory manager.
The Ghost Story Minor Gallery’s First...
Huh. I couldn’t remember that last nickname either.
"Ah, whatever. I’ve been busy lately, so maybe I’m just getting forgetful."
It was all in the past anyway.
Rather than rack my brains trying to remember the past, I needed to do what I could now.
"Like cleaning up the ghost stories I made yesterday."
There were seven ghost stories in total that I had posted.
If Maestro had become real,
I had to assume that the other six had become real too.
What was more, those guys were mindless ghost stories.
Which meant that unlike Maestro, persuading them would be impossible.
"This is why irresponsible childbirth is so dangerous, everyone..."
And that was not the only problem.
[One powerful entity has felt fear!]
[+500 GP]
[Remaining GP: 548]
"I can’t earn GP from ghost stories anymore."
It had actually gone up just now thanks to that powerful entity or whatever.
But now that I knew ghost stories became real, I could not post any more ghost stories.
Naturally, my supply of GP would be cut off.
And my dear Status Window would have no choice but to starve.
"As a Korean, I can’t let it go without food, especially after all the help it’s given me."
Two equally pressing problems.
Having decided to deal with the ghost story issue first, I pulled out the phone I had tucked into my pocket.
Bzzz! Bzzzz!!
"Huh? What’s with the Summoning Ticket?"
The Backrooms Summoning Ticket I had kept with it was vibrating violently.
But it was probably nothing.
It couldn’t possibly be an intruder asking for help.
"Is Backrooms feeling lonely? I should stop by later."
Anyway, what was I going to do on my phone now?
[Chat] You pathetic new recruits!!!!!!
Author: Anonymous (999.1)
(A photo of a Marine with an alarmingly muscular body)
You Yellow Dragon-like wretches...
I watched the initiation ceremony of Marine Maestro last time.
However!!!! If you are Ghost Story Minor Gallery users, you should have personally greeted your seniors, lofty as the heavens.
The code of the Marine Gallery—no, no.
The Ghost Story Minor Gallery has fallen so low that I can hear it shattering all the way in Japan, on the other side of the Earth.
(A map image showing the mountain behind the neighborhood)
@Anonymous (190.5)
@Anonymous (112.5)
...
@Anonymous (231.3)
The six of you above are to assemble at this location immediately!!!!!
And if any other recruit arrives,
I shall personally turn them into special Marine boiled pork and distribute it among the other recruits.
[Total comments: 6]
Anonymous (231.3): Huh??? Huh??? Huh??? Huh??? Huh??? Huh???
└Anonymous (112.5): What...?
└Anonymous (999.1): Are you questioning an order from your senior...?
└Anonymous (231.3): No, no, no, no, no, no!
└Anonymous (112.5): I’ll go! I’ll definitely go!!
AshesMimic: What kind of template is this supposed to be? Hahahaha.
└LookAtMyEyes: Where do new guys keep digging up this stale-ass way of talking every time? zzzzz
JealousyIsKillingMe: Huh? Why are you leaving Maestro out?
└Anonymous (999.1): That guy has already offered his greetings in reality.
└Maestro: Thank you for sparing me, Senior.
└Anonymous (999.1): Good.
└PureCombatManiac: Damn, hahahaha.
└PureCombatManiac: That guy has incredible instincts, hahahaha.
What else would it be?
Time to throw the newcomers a welcome party.
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