Chapter 7
A ticket.
Come to think of it, I'd received half of a torn ticket after clearing the first floor.
I narrowed my eyes and examined the ticket lying nearby.
It had the word:
[Li]
written on it.
The half-ticket I already had said...
[ving Pass]
Right.
That was it.
Which meant if I combined them...
"Living Pass?"
"!"
The moment I muttered those words, the mascot jumped.
What?
Why?
I looked at it in confusion.
The mascot grabbed my arm and frantically pointed at the ticket.
Judging from its reaction, it seemed to be insisting that I needed to obtain it.
"I need to get that?"
I whispered.
The mascot nodded vigorously.
"Hmm..."
How am I supposed to get it?
I looked back at the thing shoveling the remains.
Its hat was pulled down so low that I couldn't see its face properly.
But...
How should I put this?
It didn't feel human.
It was more like something wearing human skin and pretending to move like a person.
That only made me want to stay farther away.
"!!!"
But the mascot completely ignored my feelings and kept pointing insistently at the ticket.
This was the first time it had pushed its opinion this strongly.
"...Do I really need that?"
"!"
It nodded like crazy.
"Are you going to use it?"
"!!"
The mascot shook its head and pointed at me.
"I have to use it?"
"!"
A Living Pass.
What the hell was I supposed to use that for?
"..."
I looked back at the creature shoveling corpses.
Still...
Listening to the mascot hadn't caused me any major losses so far.
Fine.
Let's steal it.
"Can you take it?"
"!"
The mascot nodded hard.
Then it reached out.
Its hand slowly approached the pocket of the thing with the shovel.
I watched while sweating nervously.
The mascot's fingers finally touched the half-ticket.
Very, very slowly...
It began pulling it away.
"..."
I watched, drenched in cold sweat.
Then...
"You may take it."
A gloomy voice came from beneath the hat.
The mascot froze.
So did I.
"It wasn't mine to begin with."
The creature continued in the same eerie voice.
"When one gathers corpses, trophies naturally appear from time to time. I kept it only because it was of no use to me."
"..."
"No words?"
"...I'm sorry. I didn't realize you could speak."
It stared at me.
Only its lips were visible beneath the hat.
No.
Could I even call those lips?
They were dried to the point of cracking and had blackened almost completely.
They only barely retained the shape of human lips.
"Take it."
"..."
"You're the first person who's ever come here anyway."
"What?"
What did that mean?
Had nobody else escaped?
"I explained poorly."
A sound like the cry of a bird came from those charred lips.
"Every floor except the first has two exits."
"...Two?"
"Indeed. One is the ordinary door. The door everyone except you used."
"...And the other one is..."
"The back door."
It slowly pointed toward the elevator behind it.
Only then did I notice its finger.
Pitch-black.
Burned.
Skin fused tightly against bone.
"You are the only one who has found the back door of this floor. So far."
"..."
Only me.
Was that supposed to make me happy?
My very Korean instinct that anything special had to be good briefly started acting up.
Then its voice snapped me back to reality.
"Take that and go."
"...You're not going to kill me?"
"That is not my role on the second floor."
It spoke calmly and looked between me and the mascot.
Or more accurately...
It kept looking mostly at the mascot.
"..."
"..."
The mascot and the creature stared at each other for a moment.
Then the creature looked back at me.
"Go."
It pointed behind itself.
If it was letting us leave, we should go before it changed its mind.
The mascot and I hurried toward the elevator.
As soon as we stepped inside, the creature went back to shoveling.
I looked at it.
Charred fingers.
Dried lips.
"..."
For some reason, I couldn't shake the feeling that it was imitating a human.
I stepped fully inside.
With a cheerful sound, the elevator doors began to close.
Until the last moment, the creature continued shoveling corpses into the flames.
Thud.
The doors closed.
A sigh of relief escaped me.
The mascot immediately began massaging my shoulders.
"I seriously thought I was going to die."
"!"
The mascot nodded.
"..."
With a low hum, the elevator began rising.
"But..."
"?"
"How do I use this ticket?"
I held up the two halves.
Was I supposed to tape them together?
I didn't even have tape.
As I thought that...
"Huh?"
At some point, the two torn pieces had fused together.
I stared at the now-complete ticket.
Then...
Ding.
The elevator stopped.
Already?
Wait.
Did that mean we'd already reached the third floor?
I wasn't mentally prepared yet...
<Floor 2.5.>
"...Huh?"
Before I could say anything, the elevator doors slowly opened with a clear chime.
Floor 2.5?
Was this some kind of bonus stage?
The notebook.
At least let me find the notebook...
"...It's not here."
There was no notebook.
I stared ahead nervously.
Then the mascot grabbed my arm and started pulling me.
"Wait. Hold on."
"!!"
When I tried stopping it, the mascot pressed its hands together and rubbed them, as if begging me to trust it.
What did it want to do?
Its soft hand still held my arm.
I looked into the bead-like eyes of its mascot head.
There was no emotion to read there.
Nothing at all.
But the mascot had never truly harmed me.
So...
I should probably trust it.
Thinking that, I followed behind it.
The moment I stepped outside the elevator, darkness greeted me.
I flinched.
Then...
"...!"
Click.
The lights came on.
A small but tidy room appeared before me.
A bed.
A sofa.
Even a refrigerator.
It was small, but it had everything a person might need.
There was only one particularly strange thing.
A huge electronic display on the ceiling.
The kind of red-number digital clock everyone knew.
No.
Calling it a clock wasn't quite right.
Because the number displayed was:
[48:00:00]
And the moment I entered...
[47:59:59]
It started counting down.
A time limit?
While I looked around, the mascot handed me a sheet of paper.
"What's this?"
"!"
It gestured frantically for me to read it.
As though answering wasn't even necessary.
"Fine..."
If it wanted me to read it, then I would.
I lowered my gaze to the paper.
[Guide]
[First, welcome to Floor 0.5 of this building.]
[Floor 0.5 can only be accessed by those holding a Living Pass, which is granted only to individuals who produce outstanding results.]
[You may visit Floor 0.5 once every two floors.]
[Here, you may eat, sleep, rest, and even formulate strategies.]
[We hope you recover from your fatigue and enjoy a more comfortable stay.]
[However, please observe the following precautions.]
[1. No beings exist here other than the visitor and their companion. If you discover anything else, do not respond to it under any circumstances. There is a high probability you will be dragged to Floor N.]
[2. You may enjoy the meals. However, do not complain to the one who provides the food inside the refrigerator, and do not put trash inside the refrigerator. Everything will be returned to you.]
[3. You may spend 48 hours here freely. However, if you remain longer than 48 hours, you will be forcibly expelled from the room. Upon expulsion, you will be sent to a random floor. Survival cannot be guaranteed.]
[4. If you are seriously injured, please use the bed. As long as you are not dead, we will do our best to repair you.]
[5. Depending on your achievements, rewards may be prepared on Floor 0.5. Always do your best.]
[6. There are many other hidden elements as well. Please enjoy discovering them one by one. They will be of great help.]
[7. Lastly, enjoy yourself. This is the reward you rightfully earned.]
There weren't as many rules as I'd expected.
Nothing especially difficult to follow either.
"..."
Maybe the fact I was thinking that way was strange in itself.
For now, let's look around.
Four things immediately stood out.
The sofa.
The shower room.
The bed.
The refrigerator.
And...
"..."
One mysterious door.
Was it a storage room?
I should probably check the door first.
"Ngh...!"
I pulled it.
Pushed it.
Even kicked it.
Nothing happened.
The mascot helped beside me, but it didn't budge.
"...We'll leave this for later."
First, the refrigerator.
I slowly opened it.
"Oh..."
A cold beef sandwich and milk sat inside.
Not bad.
I closed the refrigerator again and looked at the sofa.
A large family-sized sofa big enough for one person to lie on comfortably.
Nothing special.
I sat on it.
Lay down on it.
Still nothing happened.
Then the shower room.
Again, nothing unusual.
Hot and cold water worked properly.
Blood didn't pour from the showerhead.
It was just a normal shower room.
I took the cold beef sandwich from the refrigerator and ate it despite the bread having gone a little soggy.
"Want some?"
"!"
The mascot shook its head repeatedly.
Good.
If it had said yes, I would've had to figure out how to feed something without a visible mouth.
I sighed.
So much had happened.
I'd finished overtime, gotten kidnapped into a bizarre place on my way home, gained the ability to regress, died several times, and somehow made it here.
Only now did the tension finally begin leaving my body.
My hair had curled as though every drop of moisture had been baked out of it.
Maybe because the underground air had been dirty, soot covered parts of my face too.
But I didn't even have enough energy to wash.
I was exhausted.
Maybe I could sleep for just thirty minutes.
I sighed softly and collapsed onto the bed.
"Aagh!"
Something sharp stabbed my back.
I jumped up.
"!"
The mascot, which had been looking at something nearby, also jumped in surprise.
"Ah, sorry."
"...!"
It stomped its feet with little bouncing motions.
Ignoring it, I reached into the bed where something had stabbed me.
"...What is this?"
A small triangular object rested in my hand.
A brass-colored ornament.
About two finger joints long.
And...
"A triangle? A pyramid?"
It really resembled a pyramid.
I turned it around in my hand.
Nothing immediately came to mind.
"..."
Definitely looks like a pyramid.
I'd never been to Egypt, but years of compulsory education and general knowledge had trained my brain enough to confidently identify this as a pyramid.
Why was there a pyramid ornament inside the bed?
The question lingered.
But honestly...
I couldn't think about it properly.
Maybe it was because I'd finally relaxed.
Sleepiness crashed over me endlessly.
Let's sleep first.
Right now, I didn't want to think anymore.
I lay down again and closed my eyes.
Click.
Did the mascot turn off the light for me?
My consciousness sank.
I slept deeply.
Without a single dream.
At least...
I should have.
Until I heard a scratching sound.
"..."
It sounded like someone rubbing sandpaper right beside my ear.
How long had I been asleep?
I frowned and half-sat up.
The mascot, which had been slumped over the sofa, immediately sat upright too.
"What..."
I muttered hoarsely and narrowed my eyes.
"...?"
The door that absolutely refused to open earlier...
Was open.
Scratch... scratch...
Beyond the doorway was darkness so deep I couldn't see even a step ahead.
And the scratching continued.
