Translator: Nox

Chapter 10

Even After Falling Into a Guedam, I Still Have to Go to Work

Even After Falling Into a Guedam, I Still Have to Go to Work, Chapter 10

Even After Falling Into a Guedam, I Still Have to Go to Work, Chapter 010

Click, click.

The clicking stopped.

The alien shop displayed the items I had added to my cart in a neat list.

What I was going to buy was…

Alice Picnic Set - ₩11,999,999
※DISCOUNT!※ Silver Snake Coin - ₩4,999,999

= ₩16,999,998

That was it.

I bought the effect-boosting potion and the discounted item.

The reason was simple.

‘I can’t use the others….’

A blood-sucking weapon? It sounded cool. But there was a prerequisite.

I’d have to charge at a ghost with a blade….

‘A coward like me would die doing something that stupid….’

Trembling and dying as Extra #1 wasn’t just a horror movie cliché for nothing.

Besides, it would only be useful if the opponent actually had blood, so it lacked versatility.

‘If it were armor, maybe, but as it stands, weapons are out of the question.’

Overestimating oneself is a shortcut to a shortened lifespan. Enough said.

Next, the wider-range radio.

This…

‘…Is there anyone who can convince their boss to carry around a toy radio?’

Wouldn’t someone like that… be the type who doesn’t work under anyone else?

Even if I told them it wasn’t just a toy but a great item, it would be a problem. Once they started asking “Where did you get this?”, there’d be no answer.

This was an item I could only use if I had a truly trustworthy colleague.

‘So, rejected.’

In the end, the two remaining items were the ‘Alice Picnic Set’ and the ‘Silver Snake Coin.’ Since I could afford both within my budget, I would buy them.

Both seemed useful.

First, the doubling and halving effects of the Alice Picnic Set could be used for various purposes.

‘I might even be able to use it defensively if things get dire.’

It was also easy to use without catching the attention of other employees. So, purchase.

Finally, the discounted item called the Silver Snake Coin.

‘The original price is twenty million won?’

That immediately gave me a feeling.

This was for investment.

‘Given that they specifically called it a silver coin, it’s probably a currency.’

This world had various currencies within different guedams, and some could be exchanged for cash through specific organizations.

‘Buying a twenty-million-won item for five million is definitely a gain.’

There was usually a reason when the alien shop gave a massive discount, but it was a risk worth taking.

…This is absolutely not the mindset of someone investing in crypto! Really! It’s a rational decision!

And so… I now had to pay seventeen million won.

“Whew.”

The only payment method was a direct wire transfer.

An electronic account number, easy to open, was listed on the website under the name ‘Extra-terrestrial.’

‘I guess I shouldn’t expect a tax deduction….’

This was the first time I had transferred such a large lump sum since I looked for my studio apartment.

Hands trembling, I used my banking app—with its limit already raised—to transfer ‘₩16,999,998.’

At that moment.

Purchase Successful!
Your items are on a
ROCKET!
Time until arrival
00:00:08

Uh.

00:00:07
00:00:06

Wait a minute.

00:00:03
00:00:02
00:00:01

Ding.

A cheerful sound rang out.

Arrived!

Poof.

“Gah!”

The air in the middle of the room ‘opened up,’ and with a puff of smoke, something tumbled out.

It was a post office delivery box.

“Wow.”

It was literally rocket delivery.

‘You crazy world, you can actually be amazing instead of scary!’

I even felt a touch of emotion.

After a brief moment of admiration, I snapped out of it and opened the package.

First was the , a rusted tin case with fairy-tale illustrations.

Opening the case revealed a drink in a flat can and a paper-wrapped cookie. They were labeled ‘Drink me’ and ‘Eat me,’ respectively.

“Nice.”

I could just carry one or two of these at a time, like the ‘Smile Stickers.’ I nodded.

Then, taking the tin case out of the box, I saw a round silver object that had been tucked underneath.

I picked it up.

A sleek silver coin.

‘It was currency.’

I felt a slight thrill.

I held up the silver coin, about the size of a 500-won piece and engraved with a snake biting its own tail, and gave it a light flick. It had the heavy weight of metal.

Several candidates for where I could use this currency flashed through my mind.

‘I’ll make good use of it, wherever it is.’

Even though seventeen million won had vanished like melting snow.

It was money that would disappear anyway once I returned to my original world. Let’s restrain the greed… restrain it.

Mm. I’ve calmed down.

‘So… I guess I’m fairly prepared now.’

I organized the items I currently possessed.

• Memorial Griptok
• Smile Sticker :)
• Alice Picnic Set
• Silver Snake Coin

From now on, I had to use these to clear higher-grade darknesses as quickly as possible.

‘Let’s use them proactively.’

Avoiding them out of fear might lead to an even more terrifying fate. Don’t forget, coward.

Resolving not to forget any tools and to use them to their fullest, I tried to get some sleep.

Instead of sheep, the convenience store ghost skipped through my mind, wrecking my quality of life.

Haha.

---

And the very next day.

“There are a few guedams we manage regularly. We’re going to enter one of them today.”

“…Yes.”

I had come out after exactly three hours of sleep. I felt like I was actually going to die at this rate.

However, the Deputy Manager, perhaps interpreting my expression as worry, patted my shoulder.

“Don’t worry too much. It’s D-rank.”

“That’s right! It’s about the same level as what you went through during the orientation, Roe Deer. Just about that!”

Saying that to a new employee who likely had death-survival PTSD…?

However, the Field Exploration Team staff, whose normal human sensitivities were already shattered, laughed and spoke to me as if giving words of encouragement.

“You cleared one even by throwing yourself at it blindly. There’s no way you can’t do it now when we have a manual.”

“As long as you don’t do anything unpredictable, there shouldn’t be a problem. Got it?”

“…Yes.”

Well… okay.

Anything is better than playing tag with the convenience store ghost by myself.

‘Please, let me sleep at night.’

This time, I prayed for an arthouse-style guedam—something that was eerie because of the atmosphere and lack of information, but not actually that horrific!

I hoped fervently.

“Here, the materials.”

The Assistant Manager handed me a tablet PC.

The guedam I was to enter today was…….

[Tuesday Quiz Show / Dusk (D) Grade]

“…….”

Huh?

“See, Roe Deer? You’re entering a quiz game as a participant.”

“Yes.”

“If you can’t answer the quiz, you get a penalty, but the penalties are gruesome… well, it’s that kind of guedam.”

“But we already have the answer sheet, so we’re fine. Don’t be so nervous!”

The Assistant Manager grinned and gave a thumbs-up.

Right, good.

‘I have a feeling the horror level will be much lower than seeing a ghost directly….’

But there was also a problem.

‘I don’t know this name.’

Tuesday Quiz Show?

There was no such D-rank guedam page in .

I couldn’t use the Memorial Griptok to dig through my memories right now because of my superiors… but I could be certain without looking.

At the very least, it wasn’t among the guedams I had read.

Then again, even if I had read every guedam in , other guedams could still exist in this world.

It was an internet playground where new guedams were being written in real-time, after all.

Still, I thought there would be relatively few things I didn’t know, but to think I’d be entering a guedam I was unfamiliar with so soon.

‘…Is the list of “darkness” held by the company much more vast than I thought?’

Cold sweat trickled down my neck.

But my superiors were nonchalant.

“We get assigned a lot of broadcast-related darkness in our jurisdiction.”

“Ah, every team has their thing.”

The Deputy Manager then sent me a PDF file, saying it was the answer sheet for the Tuesday Quiz Show.

“For now, just read that answer sheet and… re-read the field exploration manual. We’ll go once the Team Leader arrives this afternoon.”

“Yes.”

I started by nodding obediently.

The Assistant Manager kindly added a word.

“Oh, just in case, should I get you a paper copy of the manual? You need to take notes too.”

“Ah, it’s fine. I’ve memorized it all.”

To me, with the Memorial Griptok, it was just extra luggage.

“You… memorized it all?”

“Yes.”

“…So that’s why the notes!”

“Pardon?”

“Ah, no.”

The Assistant Manager seemed to realize something and nodded.

“I think the Team Leader is going to find you very reliable.”

“…??”

Anyway, it seemed like a good thing, so I let it slide.

For the record, Team D’s Team Leader was still out on field duty but was scheduled to return this afternoon.

‘I’ll see them soon.’

However, an hour later.

“Wait a second. Our Team Leader—I mean, the Section Chief is still out on… What? No, that’s difficult.”

The Deputy Manager, who was on the phone, frowned deeply as he hung up.

“Have these people lost their minds? Suggesting that since we have a rookie, we can form a three-man team… what crazy talk….”

“Pardon? Really?”

“Yeah. It looks like….”

The Deputy Manager glanced at me.

Ah.

‘Is it because of the convenience store ghost?’

Because I had cleared an F-rank darkness alone so quickly and in such a strange way, I had given the higher-ups an excuse to say, ‘Oh? Then he can pull his own weight.’

The side effect of hogging twenty million won all to myself was blowing up here.

Of course, it wasn’t because they were bitter about me taking the money.

“It’s the end of the month.”

“Ahhh.”

Watching the two superiors whispering, I roughly grasped the situation.

‘Is there a performance issue in the department?’

I didn’t know the details, but it seemed they had to fill a ‘quota’ before the lunch break.

And the situation was such that the rookie looked like he could count as a full person.

After a brief deliberation, the Deputy Manager made a decision.

“Roe Deer, have you memorized all of that?”

Ah, the quiz show answer sheet… wait.

‘If I say I’ve memorized it all, are we going in?’

If so, I should try a bit of strategic complaining….

“Oh, he’s definitely memorized it by now. He said he even memorized the exploration manual, that thick thing!”

“Oh.”

The Deputy Manager nodded.

“Good. Then we’re going in ourselves today.”

“…….”

My small, desperate hope of ‘I want at least one more person so it’s less scary!’ vanished just like that….

Explanations followed about how a three-man team was the rule, but sometimes they went in as a pair if someone took leave, and how getting support staff was hard because of scheduling, and so on and so forth.

Yes. I hear you loud and clear—this company is very much a company.

‘…Anyway, I’m prepared.’

I’m armed with items, and I’ve confirmed it’s not a terrifying type of guedam.

Come to think of it, going now might be better than going in the afternoon!

As they say, better to get the painful part over with.

The more time passes, the more my imagination will create horror. The courage I’ve gathered now is at its peak.

It might be better to enter before it diminishes any further…!

“Let’s go.”

Amidst my endless mental gymnastics, the Deputy Manager, who had received something from an employee of another department, approached.

‘The medium to enter the guedam… right?’

It was a postcard.

However, on the ‘Recipient’ section of the old, stamped postcard, bizarre characters were already scribbled all over.

And at the top, the word ‘Application’ was written repeatedly in tiny, microscopic letters.

Like a curse.

• One day, I find a strange postcard in an old magazine.
  An advertisement recruiting participants for some quiz show was enclosed, but when I searched for it, no such broadcast existed. It was probably just a theme for a vintage postcard.
  Feeling intrigued, I decide to write my name in the ‘Sender’ section just for fun….

So it’s a guedam about being dragged into a strange quiz show.

At first glance, it doesn’t seem like much, but the moment you look closely, the grotesqueness of it causes a proper chill….

“You just have to sign here.”

“…….”

“If it feels uncomfortable, don’t use your real name. Just write your animal mask name.”

“…Yes.”

I have to earn points.

Watching the two of them write ‘Badger’ and ‘Peregrine Falcon,’ I also wrote in the ‘Sender’ section.

• Roe Deer

  the moment I lifted the pen.

My mind felt as if it were being pulled out, sucked into the postcard.

“…!”

[Ah, you’ve finally arrived. Our applicants!]

The lights were blinding.

A bright, cheerful voice struck my ears through my blurry vision.

A hand in a suit offered a handshake.

[Welcome, welcome… Now. The cameras are about to roll. Let’s show everyone a great side of ourselves with a smile!]

Reflexively shaking the hand, I looked up.

Where a human head should have been, there was an old-fashioned TV.

……An emoticon was floating on the screen.

[ ◕‿◕ ]

The TV-man let go of my hand and turned around playfully, spreading his arms wide.

[Audience!]

Waaaaaaah!

Cheers erupted, but blurred by the studio lights, the figures in the audience weren’t clearly visible.

Soon, I realized I was standing on some colorful podium.

‘The participant’s spot in the quiz show.’

It wasn’t scary enough to make me faint.

No, honestly, if I just thought of it as participating in a quiz show hosted by a guy wearing a TV mask, I felt a sense of peace.

‘After experiencing the eye-plucking subway and the convenience store ghost, this is like a saint.’

Mm. Good. I think I can use my head calmly.

After adjusting my mask, I checked the situation.

[Is this your first time in a talk show audience? Ooh, then please don’t forget to cheer. Your cheers are everything to this show!]

The TV-man seemed to be egging on the audience and setting the mood.

He appeared to be the host of the talk show.

‘So, is this Tuesday Quiz Show a segment of some talk show?’

Judging by the studio atmosphere, the band creating background sounds, the composition of the audience, and the host leading the show alone… it was like a traditional American talk show.

‘It feels a bit old-fashioned, too.’

…….

What?

‘Wait.’

Old American talk show.
Quiz segment.
A situation where the participant already knows the answers.

This…

…….

…….

I know this keyword.

======================
※CUTION!※
Notice: Baekilmong Co., Ltd. bears no liability for any issues such as horror, auditory hallucinations, ■■, ■■■■, etc., arising from reading this document.

Proceed only after signing.

This wasn’t D-rank.

This guedam was…….

======================
Darkness Exploration Record / Guedam
[Choral of Mountain Sacrifices]
: A guedam appearing in ,
Baekilmong Corporation’s identification code is Qterw-A-104.
Darkness (A) Grade.
The starting point of the grade readjustment incident that caused numerous casualties.

Currently, there are no official records of survivors.

“…….”

[3, 2, 1…. The show begins now!]

No.