Ring ring ring ring.
Ring ring, ring ring, ring ring!
I opened my eyes with a faint groan as the notification sound rang continuously, giving me a headache.
My whole body trembled with pain as if I had been beaten with a bat, yet the notification sound rang loudly as if telling me to look at myself.
When I put my hand on my forehead with a headache so strong that I frowned, half-hardened blood slightly stained my palm.
“…How long have I lost consciousness?”
My arms lost their strength, so I staggered once before barely lifting my upper body by touching the floor.
Now that I think about it, Holloway…
There’s no way he’d leave me behind, was I seeing things?
Before I could even look around, system windows filled my eyes.
I blinked several times to see the window that was blurry as my head was dizzy.
I could see the letters on the window that were becoming clearer and clearer.
[Warning! Warning! Warning! Warning!]
[ε=ε=(っ*´□`)っ]
…Warning?
I rubbed my eyes and looked at it closely, and the sound had died down, yet the loud lights around me remained the same.
Although my head was spinning from the dizzying lights, I couldn’t afford to complain because of the window that appeared next.
[You have invaded the Nightmare of Evil Spirits without permission.]
…Nightmare of Evil Spirits?
[The evil spirits smell your strong blood and start to stalk you.]
Ah, blood…
Fortunately, the bleeding had stopped, but blood was pooling on the floor, and the blood that had flowed from my forehead was dripping all over my face and clothes.
[Hotel difficulty changed to ‘Death is Imminent’.]
[Please hurry and leave the basement!]
…Basement?
This was the basement?!
My hazy mind suddenly woke up as if someone had poured cold water on me.
So that means I fell into the basement without knowing it because of that monster, but…
Did you mean I invaded without permission?
[Get out of here right now.]
…Why are you saying the same thing again?
—Ssssshh. Shh…
A strange breathing sound resonated through the basement as if their lungs were punctured.
[Get out of here right now.]
Repeat.
—Sssh, ssssh…
The breathing sound was getting closer and closer.
[Get out of here right now.]
I-I’ll just go up.
Since I rolled down, I just have to keep going up…
“…No stairs.”
That can’t be true.
I clearly fell down and all I needed was a staircase to get back up, so why?
Or is it not in the front?
I changed direction. I went left and right, up and down, yet I couldn’t find any stairs anywhere.
The location changed.
I quickly turned on the map.
[The basement structure will not be shown since your map level is low.]
—Sssh, ssshh… Sssh…
The strange breathing sound kept getting closer, and the distracting red light suddenly went out.
A chilling silence flowed.
I moved my legs. This basement was an unknown space that even I, who played horror games, knew nothing about.
All I could do was follow the unreliable words of the window.
The basement was darker than the inside of the hotel, and I couldn’t see even an inch ahead.
When I couldn’t even figure out where to go, something was caught under my feet.
I grabbed it with my hand, feeling around.
[You got the ‘Undying Lamp’!]
[Undying Lamp
Characteristic: It lights up the dark basement. It’s a super-powerful candle that won’t go out even in the wind!]
Great, I got a super-powerful lamp.
It’s much better than the lamp that is said to be good at covering the front.
If it doesn’t go out even in the wind, I can just run with it.
The candle lit and only then did I see the inside of the basement. The area illuminated by the candle wasn’t that wide, but it was enough.
The basement, made of rough bricks, smelled of cold iron.
Cold air constantly leaked out from the walls, and it was damp and moldy.
Not long after I lit the candle, a very small candle occasionally lit up the surroundings. It was still dark.
—Ssssh…
The sound of breathing became a little distant.
I wandered through the complicated path like a maze. I had no idea where to go.
Let’s go a little further and a thick iron door appeared. On it was written ‘Laboratory 22’.
—Sssssh…
Do I even have time to worry.
First, I grabbed the handle. I turned the heavy handle and opened the door, and the rusty hinges made a crackling sound in the basement.
—Creak…?
This time, I looked inside the lab because of the sound of another evil spirit.
After confirming that no one was inside, I closed and locked the thick door.
I leaned against the door and sat down, letting out a trembling breath. Even though it was only for a moment, my whole body was soaked in cold sweat.
This place was different from the upper floors. The air was clearly different.
And it was strange that they called it ‘Evil Spirit’ instead of monster.
Are there differences between monsters and evil spirits?
I was anxious because there was no information about the basement.
Moreover, the key to the underground vault was also said to be obtained through a difficult quest…
If that quest is triggered here, I don’t have the confidence to get through it.
I’ll never be able to break it.
The map is currently at level 6… I need to make it to level 10 quickly.
The materials were the problem, so I stayed at level 6.
It said that to level up to the next level, I need demon blood, monster blood, and the blood of one of my party members.
The monster and party member ones are okay, but the demons were the problem.
Especially if there are no monsters here…
I have to go up to level up the map.
The normal order is to come to the underground after making full preparations, but because of that monster…
It’s also strange that it attacked Holloway.
No. Let’s not think about anything else right now. Just focus on the situation in front of me.
There’s no other way to escape. I can’t hide forever.
Humans are creatures of adaptation, and I was also human after all.
The rusty smell of iron and the chill of the basement made my body shiver, but I got up and stretched my arm holding the lamp out in front of me to look inside the lab.
Unlike the outside, which was made of brick, the walls were made of iron.
As if it was designed to be a structure that no one could ever escape from.
Drop.
“Hieeeekh!”
I jumped up in surprise at the cold drop of water falling from the ceiling.
No, wait, it wasn’t water…
A dark red drop of blood fell exactly on my collarbone and flowed down.
Drop, drop, drop.
I took a step back as the blood continued to fall.
Blood continued to fall from the same spot.
I was scared to look up.
“C-Curiosity, in the horror genre, is what kills me.”
I licked my dry lips as I repeated the words I had memorized like a spell.
If I don’t check, it might not attack.
Usually, you get hit in the back of the head after checking, so let’s not check.
I lifted the lamp and even illuminated the interior, then took a deep breath.
There were numerous handprints on the walls. The floor was a blur of water and blood.
It was on a different level from the hotel.
I slowly walked forward, patted my chest, which was thumping in the middle of something bad.
A rusty iron bed was placed in the middle, and a knife was stuck on it.
On one side, tattered handcuffs and saws of various sizes, and other creepy weapons were placed irregularly, soaked in blood.
“Laboratory…”
A space where biological experiments were conducted on the island…
The moment I realized that, a strong stench stung my nose.
The smell of blood and rotting corpses filled the laboratory.
“Ugh…”
I-I have to get out.
I couldn’t stand it any longer, so I grabbed the handle to get out.
Click.
The handle turned. My body froze.
Click, click.
Click, click, click, click, click!
The handle turned like crazy.
To the extent I thought it was a relief that I locked the door.
It seemed like it might break.
When the door wouldn’t open, there were immediately starting knocks on the iron door.
Bang! Bang bang, bang!
The iron door of the laboratory vibrated and blood dripped from the ceiling. As if that wasn’t enough, the dropping blood was pouring down on me.
A foul stench came from my whole body.
Where did you learn to knock on the door so recklessly, you rascal!
I wanted to shout, yet the coward in me just kept my hands together and prayed that something outside the door would just pass by.
At that moment…
—Come out here, I’m not trying to hurt you.
It was a kind and gentle voice that didn’t fit in this fear.
—I won’t hurt you. I came to save you. Aren’t you alone? I’m alone too…
You came to save me, but you knock on the door of a room with someone in there like that? Is that how you knock?
I didn’t answer and just kept my mouth shut.
—Excuse me, you know…
“…”
—My stomach hurts so bad.
What are you talking about all of a sudden?
—So, can you check my stomach? Just check what’s wrong and I’ll go.
I almost fell for the voice of the evil spirit desperately pleading.
Please get off. I’m not the kind of person who checks others’ stomachs.
[Sub Quest occurs!]
Don’t tell me to check her stomach.
[Sub Quest <A Healing Hand for a Child with a Stomach Ache!>]
Don’t say that.
Please say ‘cancel’!
[Objective: The evil spirit outside cries that her stomach hurts.]
I’m just crying. Crying because I’m scared.
I don’t want to touch her stomach!
[Please check what’s inside the evil spirit’s stomach!
But don’t show your surprise or disgust when you see the evil spirit’s face. It is a delicate evil spirit.
Time limit: Until another evil spirit appears
Clear reward: Hammer
Failure will result in your neck being cut.]
How disgusting it must be for me to not be allowed to be surprised…
I’m scared, I’m scared…
I hesitated for a moment before opening the door while sobbing.
Since it said until another evil spirit appears, the thing on the ceiling can’t be an evil spirit.
…Shall we see.
Why blood is dripping.
I was a curious person.
In the end, I couldn’t hold it in any longer and turned the lamp upward. The moment I looked up, I deeply regretted my curiosity winning.
“…Oh my God.”
Flesh and blood continued to fall from the ceiling as if someone had burst.
I flinched as I tried to wipe my face once. Blood was dripping onto my palm.
Damn…
Aside from the fear, curses came out of my mouth. What the hell did you do…
I was sick of the cruelty of humans. I gritted my teeth.
Although I don’t know why she’s an evil spirit, she’s a victim of this damn island.
Don’t be surprised. It’ll let me go if I check her stomach…
I knocked weakly on the iron door as I swallowed my saliva.
Knock, knock…
—Just check my stomach… It hurts so much…
“I’ll do that, I’m sorry. Just a moment.”
—…Will you check it?
“Yes, yes!”
—Thank you, thank you!
The evil spirit jumped up and down excitedly.
If you wonder how I knew, I could feel vibrations in the lab every time she jumped.
Mm, first of all, she’s big. She’s pretty big.
I might have to rub her stomach a lot.
I mentally prepared myself and grabbed the handle with trembling hands.
—She’s coming out. She’s coming out!
Don’t talk like you’re expecting someone from a TV show…
I took a deep breath and turned the handle. As I slowly opened the door, I could see a torn stomach clearly in front of me.
Oh, God.
(she said this in english)
…You never said you’d show me this right away.
You didn’t tell me that what I saw as soon as I opened the door was a naked stomach.
A flustered evil spirit with black hair covering her face suddenly appeared in front of me. She smiled as if she was going to burst, and she was very happy to see me.
—You’re here?
I think I still need to prepare.
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