Chapter 27
Dansuhyuk has the ability to regress.
Though he still feels the pain at the moment of death and only regresses after actually dying, it wasn’t something I could envy much.
“I can’t even regress.”
Unlike Dansuhyuk, if I die here, it’s over. That thought tensed my entire body.
The only relief was that I had already encountered this urban legend in a novel. Knowing the information about the floor Dansuhyuk had cleared would be a huge help.
And there was something to gain from this legend, too. Each time a floor’s game is cleared, one truth can be discovered.
“If you ask a question about going down, the answer would be written when you reach the next floor.”
At this point, the answer could only be “O” or “X.”
“Dansuhyuk confirmed the survival of his parents and that they weren’t in the building.”
I asked where they were, but it was a question that couldn’t be answered with O or X, so it was passed. A valuable opportunity lost.
“As long as the questions are specific, I can find Chohye.”
If only I could survive and get out of here.
Time to focus.
<Spot the Difference>
As the name suggests, the task was to compare the mirror with reality and find the differences.
Under the bed in the mirror, a man holding a kitchen knife was hiding.
“Dansuhyuk died the moment he bent down to check if he was in reality too.”
Assuming he existed, I had to find other differences. After regression, while Dansuhyuk pretended not to notice the man under the bed, the man didn’t move an inch.
I looked at the door. I already knew it wouldn’t open.
“He tried to force the door open, but the man under the bed jumped out and threatened him.”
So that attempt was out.
I slowly looked around. Or rather, I pretended to look around.
“The clock is the same color, the bed cover is the same, the scenery reflected in the window is the same too.”
I already knew the answer to this game. I only acted as if I was searching to avoid arousing the ghost’s suspicion.
“Correct.”
[Yes, please tell me!]
[How many differences are there?]
“The answer is that there are no differences between the mirror and reality.”
The answer had never existed in the first place.
[What do you mean? This theme is ‘Spot the Difference’!]
[If there are no differences, that contradicts the theme!]
[We’ll give you another chance.]
[This is a very rare opportunity. If you lose the game, you will become auction property!]
[It’s quite an honorable position, though! Haha. Still, I’d like to see you a bit longer, visitor!]
“My answer won’t change.”
No matter how long the radio voice tried to pressure me to change it, I wasn’t going to. If I hadn’t read the novel, I might have gotten scared and changed my answer.
[Oh.]
The voice sounded genuinely disappointed, as if it were really a shame. The acting was perfect.
[You are very decisive, visitor. Almost as if you knew the answer.]
[But that can’t be the case, right?]
I almost gasped.
“Stay natural.”
Even if there was no ghost reading my mind, a ghost might still notice strange behavior.
A sound effect came from the radio. Like a giant drum being beaten. The drumming grew louder and louder.
Finally, the ghost on the other end spoke:
[Correct!]
[This is the fastest escape among visitors! Wow, a new record!]
Luckily, it was the same method Dansuhyuk had used to escape.
Click.
I breathed a sigh of relief as the sound of the door opening reached me.
[When you open the door, you will see the stairs!]
[Before going down, you can play a tiny mini-game: the Truth Game!]
As I listened to the explanation, I watched the slightly opened door. Darkness lay all around outside.
[On the left wall of the stairs, there is a whiteboard. Please write your question there.]
[Only O or X answers are allowed.]
[All answers will be ‘truth,’ in line with the Truth Game. I hope this will be a pleasant memory for you, visitor!]
Screeeech.
As if waiting for me to finish listening, the door opened wider. At the same time, the corridor lit up as if the lights had been turned on.
I felt eyes on me from behind, but I didn’t look back once. I moved out of the room slowly without thinking.
Click.
Once I stepped out, the wooden door automatically closed behind me. I looked back and surveyed the corridor. Several more closed doors lined both sides.
“There’s no mention of trying to force other rooms open.”
Dansuhyuk, being cautious, wouldn’t have tried to enter other rooms unnecessarily. Especially after dying twice from doing so in the past.
I moved forward.
Heading to the stairs, I saw a small whiteboard hanging on the left wall. It had a white background decorated with cute little drawings: hearts, stars, and a skull with X-shaped eyes.
“This is insane.”
I hadn’t expected a trap in the middle. I quickly shook my head and picked up a black board marker.
The question was already decided.
Is my younger sibling in this building?
The question, written in black, seemed to sink into the whiteboard as it disappeared.
Hoo.
I let out a short sigh and slowly descended the stairs. I felt no danger while going down.
At the last step, letters slowly began to appear on the wall where there was no whiteboard. It looked like they had been scratched with a sharp object like a nail or a knife.
-O.
Machohye is in this building!
“The ghost didn’t lie!”
Next time, I’d need to figure out which floor Machohye was on. But the Truth Game wouldn’t give answers about the floor number, so that would be tricky.
“First, I need to clear this floor’s game before I can ask more questions.”
As soon as I descended the stairs, I saw the door wide open. That must be where I was supposed to go.
I clenched my fist tightly and strode forward.
[Welcome, visitor!]
[I am eagerly anticipating whether you will clear the game in record time again!]
I slowly looked around. The door automatically closed behind me. This room was a classroom.
Ten desks were arranged, and students in school uniforms were sitting with their backs to me.
There were ten seats, but only nine students.
The empty seat in the middle of the last row seemed to invite me to sit there. My heart skipped a beat.
“Damn it. This is a game you can’t win just by knowing the original content.”
Dansuhyuk had passed this game in one go.
[The game this time is the ‘Notice Game’!]
[In case someone doesn’t know, here’s the explanation!]
[All participants, please take your seats!]
Notice Game.
Of all the games, this was the one that relied on luck. I slowly pulled out a chair and sat. At the front of the classroom, there was a podium, and the radio I had seen earlier was on top. The voice came from there.
[The ten participants will start the game in no particular order.]
[The first to start shouts ‘1’ and stands.]
[The rest will watch carefully and increase the number while standing. If two stand at the same time, they are all eliminated!]
[The game continues until only one remains!]
At that moment, someone slowly raised a hand. The palm faced backward. The arm was bent, but no one seemed to care.
“What happens if you get eliminated?”
The voice was calm, unexpectedly normal—human-like.
[Haha, good question!]
[For fun, we’ll show that as the game progresses!]
Then someone suddenly jumped up from their seat and shouted,
“One!”
[Oh, I didn’t say the game starts, but this is part of the fun of the Notice Game.]
So this was allowed, too. Other students followed, standing one by one.
“Two!”
“Three!”
Notice Game.
Although luck was key, there was a strategy to increase the odds of winning.
“Four!”
“Four!”
Call the numbers as late as possible.
“If I’m not careful, I could be the only one left.”
Usually, someone impatient would speak first and get caught. Just like now.
[Oh dear.]
[We already have losers in the game!]
However, the difference from other Notice Games was that this one was run by a ghost.
[I didn’t expect to show the elimination penalty so soon.]
[Surprise~!]
“Ahh!”
“Kyaa!”
The heads of the students who had shouted the same number simultaneously inflated like balloons.
Even if they weren’t human, this was a horrifying sight.
Bang!
I reflexively shut my eyes as the loud noise rang out.
…Damn it.
[We can’t have a Notice Game celebration without fireworks.]
[Now, let’s start the next round!]
When I opened my eyes again, colorful shiny confetti and flower petals were scattered everywhere. It looked like a party scene, but two seats were empty—the ones where the students’ heads had just inflated.
