How a Veteran of the Urban Legend Gallery Survives – Chapter 7

– Ahhhhh!

In an instant, all the hairs on my body stood on end. The scream echoed through the warehouse.

The almond water bottle I was holding almost slipped from my hand. The lukewarm warmth from the bottle I barely managed to hold onto felt strangely comforting, giving me a peculiar sense of calm.

My mind became a tangled mess.

Should I go help, or not? I hesitated for a moment under the faint light seeping through the warehouse shelves.

‘It could be another new employee…’

If so, should I help?

‘But…’

Doubt flooded in. My serum-enhanced memory kept ringing warning bells.

The Back Room has entities that mimic human voices. They imitate cries for help to lure humans in.

In other words, that scream could be a trap.

‘What if it turns out like the monkey dream…’

Memories of the subway flashed by. The glint of the dwarfs’ blades, the sight of flesh being torn, the ear-piercing screams… The trauma from that moment came rushing back.

Cold sweat dripped down my back. My heart started racing. A warning bell in my head screamed at me to run. I never wanted to see something like that again.

‘But…’

My feet moved on their own. Was it my conscience, or just plain curiosity?

Either way, I was taking steps toward the direction of the scream.

‘Better than regretting it later…’

I might as well check it out.

Even if it’s an entity, at least knowing what it is will help me prepare for the next time.

I approached the direction of the scream, trying to muffle my footsteps. As I passed between the walls, I checked for hiding spots in advance. Just in case I needed to run.

This place is built on non-Euclidean geometry. Some shelves stood vertically, while others leaned at odd angles. The structure, which seemed to defy physics, felt oddly comforting. It would help block the entity’s line of sight if I needed to escape.

As I reached the corner of the hallway, the tension peaked. My heart raced as if it might burst. My breathing grew ragged.

I pressed myself tightly against the wall. Faint light seeped through the warehouse shelves. Dust particles floated in the light.

Slowly, very slowly, I peeked out.

For a moment, it felt like my breath stopped.

At the end of the hallway, two white eyes flashed.

Eyes that glowed like those of a nocturnal animal.

They definitely weren’t human.

‘Howler…!’

Thanks to the serum, information flooded my mind like a waterfall.

A massive creature, 4.2 meters tall. Over twice the size of a human. Limbs over 3 meters long, grotesquely bent like spider legs. Glowing white eyes that shine brightly even in the dark, and sharp claws strong enough to tear through steel.

The red circular patterns on its torso looked like targets. But in reality, they were warning signals, like the bright patterns on venomous animals that signal danger.

The scariest part was its non-reflective skin. The pitch-black epidermis seemed to absorb light. It could also change its skin color to blend into its surroundings, allowing it to hide and camouflage.

As the information poured in, cold sweat dripped down my spine.

This was one of the worst-case scenarios I had imagined.

Then, the Howler screamed again. A human-like scream, so desperate it felt like its throat was being torn.

The sound echoed through the hallway, piercing my ears. The scream in the deep darkness felt even more chilling.

‘It’s trying to lure me…’

This monster is hunting for prey. Like a deep-sea anglerfish, it uses screams to lure its victims.

I slowly, carefully, began to back away. Any sound, even my breath, could attract the Howler.

I clenched my teeth, trying not to make a sound. My heart pounded as if it might burst, but I tried to keep even that silent.

Then, it happened.

“Are you okay there?”

Someone’s voice called out. I turned around to see a young man in a suit running toward me. Another new employee.

‘No!’

I quickly blocked his path, covering his mouth and pulling him toward the wall.

“Shh! Be quiet.”

The man looked startled, his eyes wide. He tried to say something under my hand, but I shook my head and put a finger to my lips.

Another scream echoed from ahead. The Howler’s lure.

“It’s a trap. It’s not a person, it’s a monster.”

I whispered as quietly as I could. The man’s eyes widened in terror.

We quietly retreated from the spot. Only when we were far enough did I let him go.

“Thank you. I almost…”

“Be careful. It’s dangerous to go alone here.”

The man nodded. We stared at each other for a moment, deciding whether to team up or not.

But I shook my head. He didn’t even have a marker or any tools in his hands. He seemed completely unaware of the Back Room’s structure or the entities. Probably just a regular new employee who knew nothing about the Foundation.

Teaming up in this situation could be more dangerous. An ignorant companion could get us both killed.

There were likely more entities here besides the Howler, and I didn’t have the time to keep stopping and explaining things to him.

“Sorry, but I’ll go alone.”

The man looked disappointed but nodded in understanding. Instead, I gave him some advice.

“If you see a water bottle, take it. And mark the walls as you move. It’ll help you avoid going in circles.”

We went our separate ways. Watching him walk away, I felt a pang of guilt, but my survival came first.

When I reached the bright fluorescent lights, I finally let out a sigh of relief. My legs almost gave out, and I nearly sat down on the spot.

My throat was parched, so I gulped down the almond water I was holding. The sweet, almond-flavored liquid flowed down my throat.

‘This won’t do.’

I calmly assessed the situation. Climbing levels one by one to find an exit was suicidal.

The higher the level, the stronger the entities and the more dangerous the environment. If the Howler was this bad, I didn’t even want to imagine what horrors awaited on higher levels.

‘Wait, if this is a fusion of the Catastrophe Foundation and the Back Room…’

A new thought flashed in my mind.

The horror story I was trapped in wasn’t just the Back Room. It was the Back Room under the management of the Catastrophe Foundation.

If I know the Foundation, they wouldn’t just leave such a supernatural phenomenon unchecked.

They must have set up some kind of device to study and control the anomalies of the Back Room. There must be a passageway that researchers regularly use.

And if such a passageway exists…

‘It must be Level 0.’

The safest, most accessible place. Above all, Level 0 would be the optimal location, free of entities. Researchers wouldn’t risk going to higher levels.

I immediately headed back to the stairs I came from. Finding the stairs in the dark wasn’t easy. The non-Euclidean structure made it easy to lose my sense of direction. But thanks to the arrows I marked earlier, I didn’t get lost.

I re-entered Level 0, filled with yellow wallpaper and carpets. The familiar hum of fluorescent lights echoed. Strangely, this monotonous space felt comforting. At least there were no Howlers here.

This time, I opened the Dalant Shop app. The smartphone screen emitted a blue light in the dark. I typed ‘tracking’ into the search bar, and a list of items appeared.

Most were too expensive. Items priced in the millions of Dalant dominated the list. But one caught my eye.

『Explorer’s Tracking Incense Set』

– Grade: E

– Price: 4,500D

– Description: A set of stick incense sold at the ‘Thousand Won Antique Shop.’ According to the shop owner, it was used by an explorer from the Han Dynasty. Light the incense, think of what you want to find, and rotate it clockwise three times. The smoke will flow in the direction of the desired object. However, if the object is too abstract or doesn’t exist in reality, the incense will extinguish. Contains twenty sticks, each lasting about 20 minutes.

4,500 Dalant. Expensive for a consumable, but it was the best option in this situation. The most useful item I could afford with my remaining Dalant.

I pressed the purchase button, and a small wooden box appeared out of thin air. Opening it, I found twenty sticks of incense neatly arranged. A heavy scent of incense pricked my nose.

I took out one stick. It was an old brown incense, but holding it, I felt a strange energy. Lighting it with a lighter, purple smoke began to rise.

‘Computer…’

Trying to find the Back Room’s exit directly would be too abstract and likely fail. The concept of an exit itself was too vague. Instead, I aimed for a computer, which would definitely be in the Foundation’s research facility.

Thinking of the computer, I rotated the incense clockwise three times. The smoke began to flow in one direction. Like a thin thread, the smoke danced in the air, and I followed its trail.

I ran through the endless yellow wallpaper. One by one, as each incense stick burned out, I lit a new one. Each time the direction slightly changed, the smoke faithfully pointed the way.

By the time I burned the tenth stick.

I finally found it.

The Foundation’s research facility connected to the real world.

A gray metal door stood out among the yellow wallpaper. A card key reader was installed beside the door, and a small CCTV hung from the ceiling. These too-realistic objects felt surreal.

As I exited the Back Room through the passage, the metal door opened with a sound, and I locked eyes with a researcher in a white lab coat.

“Wait…, you, are you….”

His eyes widened. The researcher’s face turned pale as he recognized me. He almost dropped the coffee cup in his hand.

“No way…, it’s been less than 8 hours since the test started…”

His voice trembled. His gaze shifted between me and the door I came from.

He shook his head in disbelief. A mutter escaped his lips.

“Huh… This must be a new escape record. Escaping in less than 8 hours, I can’t believe it.”

Then, he suddenly pulled out a walkie-talkie.

“Headquarters, headquarters. This is S-7 Lab… The new recruit sent into the Back Room this morning… just returned. Yes, less than 8 hours… No, I’m not joking. I’m looking at him right now.”

The researcher’s voice grew louder. On the other end, someone was excitedly chattering.

“So… how did he get out so fast…”

The researcher pressed the walkie-talkie to his ear, nodding hurriedly.

“Yes, understood. Take the recruit to B-23 isolation room immediately?… Yes, yes. I’ll handle it right away.”

He put down the walkie-talkie and stared at me for a long time. It was the kind of look you’d give a peculiar specimen in a lab.

“For now…, follow me.”

I nodded and followed the researcher.

As I followed him, I suddenly thought of the man I had met earlier. If escape was this easy, I could have brought him with me.

‘Was I too selfish…’

Using the excuse that an ignorant person would be a hindrance, I had practically abandoned him.

It felt like I had boarded a lifeboat alone, leaving him behind.

Would he be okay? Or would he fall victim to the Howler or another entity… The thought made me nauseous.

But it was too late to turn back.

Even if I went back to find him now, there was no guarantee I’d find him. The Back Room’s structure was too complex.

I glanced at my smartphone.

[‘Back Room’ horror story successfully escaped.]

[Escaped faster than anyone else in the horror story.]

[Basic reward of 100,000 Dalant granted.]

+100,000D

[Additional reward of 50,000 Dalant granted.]

+50,000D

The points from the Back Room totaled 150,000.

I was still far from the reset button, but this brought me one step closer.

I gripped my smartphone tightly and thought.

‘This is just the beginning.’