"Huff... This is, huff... the last one, right?"
"Yeah, no more orders are coming in now."
"Finally...!"
Even after that, orders had continued to pour in endlessly.
As a result, we—especially Kim Goe Bung—were exhausted to the point of collapsing.
He’d basically been loading and unloading goods for hours.
I handed the worn-out Kim Goe Bung some almond water and an energy bar.
"You worked hard. Take this, and if you want more to eat, come get some."
"I-I can really do that!?"
"Of course."
Otherwise, he’d go around eating people.
If only to reduce the number of victims, it was right for me to share it with him.
Whether he knew what I was thinking or not, Kim Goe Bung covered his mouth as if deeply moved.
"Sniff, yes! I’ll come by often, if only to repay this kindness!"
"Work yourself to the bone."
Whoosh!
After saluting, Kim Goe Bung vanished into the boundary between dimensions.
I opened the gallery and checked the users’ reactions.
[Chat] A review of those much-talked-about energy bars, hehe
Author: MadamRabbit
(Photo of a mountain of energy bar wrappers)
Hoho, they truly tasted better than I expected.
The chocolate melting in my mouth, and the unique texture of the almonds...
I’d always wanted to try one myself,
but thanks to the newcomer, my wish has come true. (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧
I think I’ll be buying them often from now on. Hoho.
[Total comments - 10]
YoungIsBest: Ma’am, if you binge that hard, you’ll get fat.
└LookAtMyEyes: You need to watch your weight, lol.
└[Author]MadamRabbit: Where do you two live, exactly?
BeQuiet: Setting aside this garbage post, those energy bars are seriously delicious.
└BeQuiet: I bought ten and scarfed every last one down in a single sitting, lol.
└AshesMimic: I liked the almond water better.
└Hotelier: Both are on a completely different level from bloody humans.
└BloodFader: That’s what makes them good, though...
└CleanlinessKing: You psycho.
The gallery users were abuzz over energy bars and almond water.
Some had even left private messages.
BestGourmet: I enjoyed it. The instant I put it in my mouth, inspiration started flooding into me like crazy.
RockPaperScissorsGuy: Newbie, please don’t dieㅠㅠㅠ I wanna keep eating these...
EightSpiderLegs: Thanks to you, all my kids survived!
└EightSpiderLegs: I’m seriously grateful, and I’ll definitely repay this favor!!!
"Come on, it’s embarrassing. No need to call it a favor..."
Feeling awkward for no reason, I scratched my head.
It felt kind of strange to be praised just for doing some bartering.
"Anyway, it looks like they’re enjoying them. Shall we get to our work?"
[Let’s go]
I got to my feet and turned to look beside me.
The assorted junk I’d received through trades was piled high enough to reach the ceiling.
I needed to see if there was anything useful in there.
After the halfway point, I’d just accepted things indiscriminately, so I couldn’t even remember what I’d bought.
Clatter, thump.
"Daggers, teacups, wet wipes... I really traded for a lot of stuff."
Since I’d traded with all sorts of anomalies, the types of items were all over the place too.
There were daily necessities, pillows, sleeping bags, even weapons for combat.
There was also miscellaneous junk like talismans whose purpose I had no idea about.
As I rummaged through it for a while...
[!!]
"Oh, this might actually be useful."
I found a piece of powered armor from the Bureau I’d seen before.
It was what the agents there had worn.
Not a full suit—just the helmet.
And it looked a little different from the helmets those agents had worn before.
Unlike their powered armor, which had carried a faint reddish tinge, my helmet was completely black, making it look even more intimidating.
Not that it was anything worth worrying about.
"Even in survival games, protecting your noggin is the most important thing..."
This was armor used by the Bureau.
I might run into an anomaly soon, so it should at least stop my head from getting split open once.
I put the reinforced helmet on my head.
Maybe it adjusted its size to the wearer, because despite being fairly large, it fit perfectly.
"So? Do I look cool?"
[...Yeah]
"Was that response a little slow?"
Maybe it didn’t look that great.
As long as it performed well, that was enough.
Next, I packed a bag for food and some throwing daggers.
The Backrooms had told me that hostile anomalies wandered around here.
I could encounter one during my exploration, so I needed a weapon to keep them at bay.
"It would’ve been nice if there’d been a gun, but this isn’t bad either."
[Shall we go?]
"Yeah, let’s go."
After stuffing my pockets full of daggers,
I began exploring the Backrooms.
[■■] Somethingbadissomethingbadissomethingbadissomethingbad
Author: Anonymous (220.3)
(Photo of something out of focus)
Itmoveditmoveditmoveditmoveditmoveditmoveditmoved
WhatdoIdo?WhatdoIdo?WhatdoIdo?WhatdoIdo?WhatdoIdo?WhatdoIdo?WhatdoIdo?Helpmehelpmehelpmehelpmehelpmehelpmehelpme
[Total comments - 8]
InferiorOnes: What’s with this guy? Why’s he suddenly begging to be saved?
└ElectricalEngineeringNeeded: Just ignore it. It’s not like these guys writing garbage posts is anything new.
Appraiser: What’s in the pic? It’s too blurry to make out.
└ProtectJustice: Judging from the silhouette alone, it looks human.
└Appraiser: Oh, come on. No way.
└Appraiser: If it were human, he wouldn’t be writing posts. He’d be charging at it while drooling.
└Anonymous (220.3): Notahumannothahumannothahumannothahumannothahumannothahuman
└Appraiser: See? Lol.
└ProtectJustice: I can’t even begin to guess what it’s trying to do. What the hell is it?
*
On the third day of my exploration,
I noticed something strange.
"Backrooms. There really are anomalies in here, right?"
[There are]
"Then why haven’t I seen anything?"
For three days, I hadn’t seen a single ant, much less an anomaly.
It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
If I got into a fight, the odds of me losing would be about as high as buttered toast landing butter-side down.
It was better not to run into them if possible.
Still, being unable to find any at all to this extent was worse.
Who knew when one might suddenly ambush me from behind?
"I’m a little uneasy. Can’t you tell me where they are?"
[I don’t know either]
"I see."
If even the Backrooms didn’t know where the anomalies were, there was nothing to be done.
All I could do was stay as alert as possible.
Gripping a dagger in my pocket, I continued exploring.
"Backrooms, if I get ambushed, protect me."
[Of course]
"That’s reassuring. You really are my wife."
[...Really?]
How long had I walked in search of an exit and anomalies?
Rustle!
"...Huh!"
[!]
Something black vanished around the corner ahead.
I quickly ran after it, only for it to disappear into the next room this time.
Clutching my dagger, I kept chasing it.
Thud-thud-thud!
[Are you going to follow it?]
"Of course! If I lose it now, I might never find it again!"
[All right]
The moment I answered the Backrooms’ question,
"Kigeggek—!?"
An ear-grating metallic screech came from up ahead.
It was probably the anomaly screaming.
Not missing the opportunity, I ran around the corner, and—
"So it was an anomaly after all."
"Grrrgh!!"
The anomaly was wildly scratching at the wall.
It looked as though barbed wire had been twisted into the shape of a person.
I couldn’t find any body parts like eyes or ears, and its entire body was black.
In short, it hit the uncanny valley dead on.
[I blocked its way out]
"Good job. Now it can’t run away."
"Ssssss!"
The anomaly backed against the wall and looked at me.
Though I couldn’t tell if it was actually looking, since it had no eyes.
[Are you going to kill it?]
"Yeah. I can’t afford to let it go."
I shifted my grip on the dagger in my hand, holding it in reverse.
I didn’t hesitate to fight.
Guilt, fear—inside a ghost story, things like that were nothing but hypocrisy.
If I didn’t kill it, I would die.
That was the mindset a human needed when facing a ghost story.
And of course, I was human.
[I’ll do it]
"It’s okay. It might not be alone, so I want to gain some experience while I have the chance."
And it wasn’t as if I wanted to fight for no reason.
There could be multiple anomalies like that one.
Then I’d inevitably encounter them again, and depending on the circumstances, I could be ambushed.
If I acted recklessly while relying solely on the Backrooms and neither of us could react in time, that would be a disaster.
I needed to learn how to deal with them so that kind of situation wouldn’t happen.
"If it looks like I’m about to get hurt, help me. Got it?"
[...Be careful]
Taking the Backrooms’ concern as encouragement,
I watched the anomaly carefully, keeping an eye on its movements.
The dangerous-looking parts were the sharp ends on its hands and feet.
As long as I didn’t get stabbed by those, I should be fine.
I also needed to be wary of getting grabbed and choked.
After we watched each other for a long while,
"Kigigigik!!"
"It’s coming...!"
The anomaly rushed at me, making the sound of metal scraping.
I calmly thought of how to respond.
It’s planning to attack with both arms. Should I block it? No, a dagger won’t win in a contest of strength. First dodge, then cut off its right arm—
But contrary to my assumption that it was about to attack,
Shhhhk!
"Kiiiiik...!!"
The charging anomaly flopped face-first onto the floor,
then slid to a stop in front of me as though it were riding down a slide.
"...Huh?"
[??]
As both the Backrooms and I stood there bewildered by the unexpected situation,
Bzzzz!
My phone, which I’d put in my bag, vibrated.
[■■] Pleasehelpmepleasehelpmepleasehelpmepleasehelpmepleasehelpme
Author: Anonymous (220.3)
(Photo of a blurry human figure)
Don’tkillmedon’tkillmedon’tkillmedon’tkillmedon’tkillmedon’tkillmedon’tkillmedon’tkillmedon’tkillmedon’tkillmedon’tkillme
[Total comments - 0]
An incomprehensible garbage post of unknown meaning.
But the color of the background in the photo was far too familiar.
It was the color scheme of the Backrooms, where I was standing right now.
"Don’t tell me... you wrote this?"
"Kigigigegegek!!"
"...You? To me?"
"Grrrrrrgh!!"
Nod nod!
As if agreeing with what I’d said, the anomaly shook its head violently.
...But why?
Comments (0)
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