Chapter 1
"I'm heading out."
"Yeah. See you tomorrow."
I looked at the clock with hollow eyes.
10:00 p.m.
Overtime.
And the scarier part was that I wasn't even the only one still here.
The team leader waved tiredly. I returned his goodbye and was just about to step into the hallway when he spoke again.
"You know that thing that's been going around lately. Those famous disappearance cases. What was it again? People say they're going home, then they just vanish."
"People going missing isn't exactly something new."
"Still, you could be next."
"Is there anything you won't say to your subordinate?"
"I'm telling you not to disappear. If you vanish, I'll have twice as much work."
The team leader chuckled.
I smiled back at his joke before stepping into the hallway.
As I walked, I checked the news on my smartphone.
Just as the team leader said, there really had been a strange disappearance case going viral on video sites lately.
Someone would disappear while walking down a stairwell.
Someone else would get into an elevator and vanish.
Either way, they disappeared.
Maybe the government was deleting them or something, because every video that got uploaded was quickly taken down.
Still, the rumors kept spreading.
The one thing all the cases had in common was that no culprit could be found.
"..."
Another video had been uploaded.
A man was slowly walking down a staircase landing.
Then, after a certain point, he suddenly vanished.
"...It's strange no matter how many times I watch it."
I muttered to myself and stepped into the elevator.
It really was strange.
Stairs.
Elevators.
People disappearing as if they'd suddenly been abducted into another world.
I stared blankly at my phone inside the elevator and fell into thought.
There was something I'd occasionally wondered about.
What if, when I got out of the elevator on my way home, the scenery in front of me was completely different from the one I knew?
What would I do?
That's a ridiculous thought.
I let out a dry laugh as the elevator doors closed.
Ding.
The cheerful sound rang out.
My office was on the seventh floor.
The elevator slowly began to descend.
7...
6...
5...
4...
"..."
I stared at the elevator for a moment, then lowered my gaze to my phone.
Hearing a strange story like that made me unnecessarily nervous.
I fiddled with my smartphone, then kept glancing back up.
The elevator continued downward without any problem.
After a while...
Ding.
The elevator stopped.
I raised my eyes.
It had stopped on the first floor.
The doors slid open.
"..."
An unfamiliar scene appeared before me.
A hallway inside a dark building.
A strangely disgusting smell pierced my nose.
It smelled as though something was rotting.
"..."
This was different.
This wasn't the first-floor hallway of the company I knew.
Slowly, I turned my gaze toward the elevator display.
[1F]
It was the first floor.
Just not the first floor I knew.
"...What is this?"
I muttered in confusion while staring ahead.
Then, all at once, goosebumps rose over my skin.
Cold sweat began to flow.
Those recent disappearances.
Don't tell me...
Was this one of them?
Was I the one who had disappeared?
I hurriedly pulled out my phone.
No signal.
I opened the call app and dialed 119.
But as expected, all I heard was the mechanical voice informing me that I was outside the service area.
"Damn it. Damn it..."
Sweating, I rose onto my toes and desperately held the phone up toward the top of the elevator.
Still nothing.
No signal at all.
I struggled for what felt like forever, desperately searching for even a single bar.
Eventually, I had no choice but to accept it.
There was no signal.
"..."
I stood there blankly for a long time before desperately opening random apps, as though clinging to a final lifeline.
Calculator.
Notes.
Even games I normally never opened.
Naturally, nothing happened.
This was hopeless.
After opening countless apps, the last thing I tried out of sheer desperation was the internet browser.
It was a ridiculous idea.
If there was no signal, then obviously the internet would be the same...
"...Huh?"
The moment I opened the browser, a mysterious website appeared before my eyes.
The site looked old.
There was only a single sentence written on it.
[Check the notebook.]
...Notebook?
I slowly turned my head.
At some point, a notebook had appeared hanging on the wall of the elevator.
It looked as though it had been there from the beginning.
[Look at the notebook.]
"...?"
A notebook?
What was that supposed to mean?
I hurriedly turned around to search for something else.
Then I noticed it.
A dirty leather notebook.
Slowly, I picked it up.
Then I opened it.
Inside were records left behind by countless people.
[Welcome!]
[You have arrived on the first floor of this building.]
[Survive this place, where unknown threats and the terror of death await!]
[Take the elevator, climb one floor at a time, find the exit, and claim your rewards!]
[If you make good use of your ability, you should be able to keep climbing!]
[Good luck!]
[1. Where is this? This isn't funny. Why is this even here?]
[2. We're screwed.]
[3. Please tell me this is a lie.]
[4. I'm not leaving the elevator.]
[5. I'll summarize the situation.]
[5. I finished my university lecture, took the elevator, got out, and ended up here.]
[5. The inside of the elevator is safe. There's just no food or water.]
[5. Outside is a hallway. The lights keep turning on and off.]
[5. There are four corpses nearby, so I think they're the people who came before me.]
[6. What the hell did those idiots before me even do? It says we have hidden powers. Mine is ■■. I'll try fighting when the lights go out. Going first.]
[7. Looks like No. 6 got torn apart...? But why did that bastard punch the information board?]
[7. I'm going out too. I'll try moving when the lights are on.]
[7. I'm wearing a navy sweater.]
[8. Then I'll go out when the lights are off. I'm wearing a pink hoodie. My ability says it's ■■■.]
[9. I'm just going to die here. Good luck to whoever comes next.]
[9. I've been here about six hours and I'm hearing strange sounds.]
[10. No. 9 said they died, so why isn't there a corpse inside the elevator? Anyway, my ability is ■■■■. I'll go out when the lights are off. I don't see the corpse in the navy sweater, but the corpse in the pink hoodie is right in front of me.]
[10. There's a place to rest halfway through. Looks like you can take a break there. There's food, drinks, and an NPC.]
[10. The NPC doesn't answer even if you talk to it. It just moves around physically. Kind of creepy...]
[11. How could that crazy bastard No. 10 not explain how to get there? Keep moving straight only when the lights are off. Eventually you'll reach a fork. Take the left path.]
[DON'TMAKEASOUNDDON'TEVERMAKEASOUND]
[12. The NPC is just someone in a mascot costume. Looks cute. It stays still even if you talk to it, but if you try looking inside the costume, it'll hit you.]
[12. If you tell it the drinks or food are empty, it'll bring more. At least the room is bright, I guess?]
[12. I'll go out when the lights are off again. Saying this beforehand, I'm wearing a black sweater.]
[13. Found the corpse in the black sweater. You have to move when the lights are on.]
[14. ithurtssavememom]
[15. Setting it on fire doesn't work either?]
[16. Looks like you can't stay in the rest room for too long. I've been here four days and I feel like something's watching me.]
[16. But what are you going to do just because you're staring at me?]
[GUYSDON'TSTAYLONGERTHANAWEEKTHEMASCOT]
[17. If it's not a week, that means six days is fine, right?]
[17. The mascot looks cute, but no matter how much I talk to it, the crazy thing only answers with gestures.]
[17. I'll summarize. First, you have to go out when the lights are on. Just think of it as the exact opposite.]
[17. Second, trust your instincts. Even when the lights are on, there are moments when it feels like you absolutely shouldn't move.]
[Don't move then.]
[■■■■■■.]
[19. Found the exit. The way out is to move quietly when the lights are on, lose the monster, then quickly press the elevator button.]
[Never ■■■■■■.]
[20. What the hell are those black boxes?]
[21. Found the exit.]
[21. Never write it openly. Only write the method. You're supposed to write a strategy, not the answer.]
[21. If you write the answer directly, it seems to get automatically censored.]
[21. The strategy is the same as before.]
[Ah shit ■■■■■■]
[22. Found the exit.]
[22. Opposite of before. Only walk when the lights are on. Don't be too scared. But don't get too brave either...]
[22. Even if you get caught, you can survive if you're willing to sacrifice an arm. Probably. At least that's how I survived.]
[22. And ■■■■■■.]
[23. What the hell are the people above even talking about? I can't find it at all. For reference, my ability is ■■■ ■■ ■■.]
[23. What you see from inside the elevator and what you see after leaving it are different. Keep that in mind.]
[23. For my final meal, I'm going with gan-jjajang.]
[24. Hello. I am ■■■ from the Management Bureau. Regarding this matter, ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■]
