How a Nuisance Character Survives a Horror Game Chapter 28

I hesitated for a moment.

Then I subtly rubbed the sole of my foot against the floor and washed it with the water.

The dried blood came off, dyeing the water red.

I cautiously kept my foot pressed against the floor and scrubbed until every trace of blood disappeared.

Then I quietly stepped away.

‘No one saw that, right?’

I felt slightly less disgusting.

It smelled awful and looked terrifying, but anything was better than having insect corpses stuck to my foot.

Unfortunately, that relief didn’t last long.

The stench circling around me gradually became unbearable.

Even when I covered my nose, it showed no sign of weakening.

‘What the hell is this smell?’

I frowned at the unfamiliar odor.

I needed to follow the direction indicated by the arrows.

But my feet refused to move.

Because the thing I wanted to avoid most was water.

When I stood there frozen like a stone statue, the arrow began blinking wildly as though telling me to hurry.

I wet my dry lips with my tongue, released a trembling sigh, and walked forward.

My heart swelled with anticipation as I wondered what delightful monster would scare me next.

I didn’t even make it several steps before freezing solid.

This entire area was filled with water.

I didn’t understand the structure.

But stairs descended directly in front of me.

And those stairs were……

Splash, splash.

Submerged beneath filthy water filled with tangled black and blue aquatic plants.

‘Was that the source of the smell?’

Unidentifiable chunks floating on the surface were enough to make my stomach churn.

I would’ve hesitated even if the water were clean.

Instead, it was filthy and pitch-black.

I couldn’t even estimate the depth.

This place was giving me not only a fear of water I had never possessed before—

but thalassophobia too.

When I cautiously stepped backward, something round and black slowly rose through the calm water.

“……?”

It looked like a human head.

Between strands of black hair, vivid red eyes gleamed.

The monster didn’t move from its position.

Only its eyes rolled grotesquely in every direction.

Every monster I encountered insisted on performing a bizarre talent show the moment it met me.

I was so moved I thought I might lose my mind.

Bubbles began rising around that monster.

Soon enough, enough bubbles appeared to cover the entire pool.

Then they abruptly stopped.

I was watching a scene straight out of a horror movie in real life.

I could only bite my lip in fear.

‘I need to run…….’

The ghost, which had been rolling its eyes grotesquely, stared directly at me.

Its gaze followed even the slightest movement.

Then one head after another began rising above the water.

Before long, the entire surface was packed with heads.

Among them, only one remained fixed on me while the others rolled their eyes in unsettling directions.

I clasped my trembling hands together.

I didn’t know when the ghost watching me would attack.

So I backed away without blinking or breaking eye contact.

F-First I’ll retreat……

Splash……

Something floated toward me, carried by the water.

The thing that touched my feet had swollen so badly from the water that I couldn’t even make out its original form.

It looked as though it would crumble if touched.

The only thing that revealed what it was—

something resembling a toenail.

Meaning that was……

a human leg.

“Agh!”

I screamed without thinking.

Immediately realizing my mistake, I covered my mouth.

Whirl.

Every single red eye floating above the water turned toward me simultaneously.

My heart began pounding uncontrollably.

My entire body trembled.

The floating leg kept lightly bumping against my foot.

The water suddenly surged.

Another body part floated toward me.

Tears poured uncontrollably down my face.

I couldn’t even make a sound while crying.

I swallowed everything back and bit the inside of my lip.

Wh-What is this place?!

I knew it.

‘Water ghosts are the scariest……!’

Fear closed tightly around my throat.

I gripped the nunchaku as though it were my final lifeline.

The monsters were sensitive to sound.

I was terrified to make noise.

After a single scream, none of the ghosts floating above the water took their eyes off me.

Sniffling, I opened my mouth.

“A-Ah-byooooh……”

[You lack confidence!]

I can’t become confident!

Help me!

I complained.

I got angry.

The system remained coldhearted.

It offered absolutely no help.

Is this because I called you a trash game earlier?

I’m sorry.

Realizing there was no point relying on a system too petty to accept one sincere apology, I wiped my wet face.

I repeatedly inhaled and exhaled deeply.

‘Stay calm. Stay calm.’

Those ghosts make me feel like I’ll have a seizure even when I’m trying to stay calm, but I have to.

Looking at creatures that appeared ready to charge me at any second, I forced myself to think rationally.

There’s no guarantee Suriel’s collection is inside that water.

Even if the arrow keeps blinking toward the water, there’s no guarantee it means I have to go inside.

I babbled excuses even I couldn’t understand.

All I needed to do was destroy Suriel’s entire collection.

Surely there was some method of breaking it without entering the water.

I didn’t know why I had to destroy it in the first place, but if the king ordered me to kneel, I had no choice but to kneel.

The system could manipulate me however it pleased.

At this point, it was practically a king.

An extremely dictatorial one!

So if I went around and found whatever room contained the collection……

Unfortunately, I couldn’t continue that plan.

The arrow pointing toward the water steadily expanded until it became impossible to ignore.

It was very clearly indicating the submerged area.

As though telling me:

Suriel’s collection is here.

Don’t even think about going somewhere else.

That place, which looked like a swimming pool whose original form had already disappeared.

Why……?

Why would he hide them inside a swimming pool……?

If he put everything in there, even he wouldn’t be able to see it properly.

Does he really want to enter somewhere that filthy?

He makes such a fuss about aesthetics.

Why is his swimming pool so aesthetically disgusting?

Deeply moved by the spectacular taste of that insane perverted bastard Suriel, tears obscured my vision.

[Suriel placed everything he collected inside the swimming pool.

Since being sealed, he has steadily gathered fingers, hair, ears, and various other body parts, which now drift freely beneath the water.

However, do not worry too much.

He has not tampered with the water, so your body will not rot.]

Do you really think that’s what I’m worried about?

The fact that the system had suddenly begun narrating the story clearly meant one thing.

No matter how much I hated it—

I had to go inside.

Into the arms of all those water ghosts staring at me.

And this was different from the game too.

Hair.

Fingers.

Ears……?

In the game, it had definitely been hair, fingernails, toenails, and fingers.

Why have more things been added?

There weren’t just ears.

I had already seen legs and arms.

No.

Those hadn’t even been stored in jars.

Which meant Suriel probably didn’t consider them beautiful enough to collect.

He had simply killed them and left them behind.

……Wait.

Then those strange chunks floating on the water……

“Ugh.”

The moment I realized what they probably were, I gagged.

Why are all these demons so twisted?

Because they’re demons, obviously……

Even if I’m optimistic—

even if I fail to read the atmosphere—

even if my desperate desire to live makes me charge forward without thinking—

that doesn’t mean I’m not afraid.

Apparently becoming frustrated because I kept whining instead of entering, the system finally offered me something.

[Because you reached Suriel’s ‘Collector’s Room’ without injury, an easier method of breaking through will be revealed!]

[An easier method for clearing the 9th Story ‘Set Me Free’:

If you drain all the water from the swimming pool, the glass jars containing the body parts will break automatically!]

For a moment, I considered carrying the water out with buckets.

Then I realized how insane that idea was and abandoned it.

This entire place was already flooded like a sunken ship.

I couldn’t find a bucket anyway.

And even if I could, there was nowhere to dump the water.

The water that had barely reached my soles earlier had already climbed to my ankles.

……The water level is rising.

‘I need to get out first.’

Forget the quest.

Staying alive came before everything.

I could find a solution after leaving this place.

Without hesitation, I turned and ran.

But I only got a short distance before crashing disgracefully into an invisible barrier and falling flat on my back.

“Ugh!”

Splash!

I jumped back up before even registering the pain and reached forward.

A transparent barrier completely blocked my path.

There wasn’t a single gap.

As though declaring that escape was impossible.

Don’t tell me……!

[Because you are currently performing a quest, you cannot leave this area.]

At that despairing warning—

the hand I had pressed against the invisible barrier slowly slid downward.