Chapter 10.1

Click, click.

The transaction was complete.

The alien shop displayed the items I had placed in my cart in an orderly fashion.

What I decided to purchase were…

Alice Picnic Set – ₩11,999,999

※ Sale!※ Silver Serpent – ₩4,999,999

= ₩16,999,998

That’s right.

I bought the effect-boosting potion and the discounted item.

The reason was simple.

‘I couldn’t use the others…’

The bloodsucking weapon? Sure, it sounds cool, but there’s a catch.

You’d have to charge at a ghost with a knife…

‘If a coward like me tries something that dumb, I’m dead…’

Shaking hands, panicking, and dying as an extra in a horror movie isn’t a cliché for no reason.

Besides, the weapon would only work if the target had blood, so it wasn’t very versatile.

‘If it were armor, maybe, but in this situation, a weapon’s out of the question.’

Overestimating myself was a surefire way to shorten my lifespan. I’ll leave it at that.

Next, the wide-range walkie-talkie.

Well…

‘Who could convince their boss to carry a toy walkie-talkie?’

Anyone who could… probably wouldn’t need to work under someone in the first place.

Even if I explained that it was more than just a toy, it would still cause problems. The inevitable ‘Where did you get this?’ question would have no good answer.

This was an item that could only be useful if you had a trustworthy companion.

‘So, rejected.’

In the end, the most sensible choices were the ‘Alice Picnic Set’ and the ‘Silver Serpent’—both affordable within my budget.

Both seemed useful.

First, the ‘Alice Picnic Set’ had versatile effects that doubled or halved the power of items, which could be useful in various situations.

‘I could even use it defensively if needed.’

Plus, it was easy to carry around without attracting attention from colleagues. So, I bought it.

Lastly, the discounted item, ‘Silver Serpent’.

‘It’s originally priced at 20 million won?’

That gave me a good feeling.

This was an investment.

‘Judging by the ‘silver’ in its name, it’s probably currency.’

In the <Dark Exploration Records> universe, there were various forms of currency in different ghost stories, and some could even be exchanged for real cash through specific organizations.

‘Buying something worth 20 million for just 5 million is definitely a win.’

Sure, there’s usually a reason when the alien shop offers such massive discounts, but the risk was worth it.

…No, this isn’t like investing in cryptocurrency! It’s a rational decision!

And so, I prepared to transfer the 17 million won.

“Huu.”

The only available payment method was through direct bank transfer.

The account information was displayed with ‘Alien’ as the account holder.

‘I’m not expecting any tax deductions on this…’

Transferring this much in one go felt surreal, like the time I had to put down a deposit for an apartment.

With trembling hands, I transferred exactly ₩16,999,998 through my banking app, which I had already set to allow high-limit transfers.

The moment I hit send:

PURCHASE SUCCESSFUL!

Your item is on a rocket!

Arrival in 00:00:08

Wait.

00:00:07

00:00:06

Hold on.

00:00:03

00:00:02

00:00:01

Ding.

A cheerful sound rang out.

ARRIVED!

Pop.

“Whoa!”

The air in front of me seemed to ‘open’, and with a puff of smoke, the items tumbled out.

It was a postal box, delivered by ‘rocket’.

“Wow.”

It was literally rocket delivery.

‘This crazy universe—who knew you could be fascinating instead of just terrifying!’

I was even moved.

After a moment of awe, I snapped out of it and opened the package.

First, the ‘Alice Picnic Set’ was a rusty tin case decorated with fairy-tale illustrations.

When I opened it, I found a flat can of soda and a paper-wrapped cookie, each labeled ‘Drink me’ and ‘Eat me’.

“Dang.”

I could carry just one or two of these around like the ‘Smiley Stickers’. I nodded in satisfaction.

Then, as I pulled the tin case from the box, I noticed a round, silver object at the bottom.

I picked it up.

A shiny silver coin.

‘It really is currency.’

A surge of excitement ran through me.

The coin had an engraving of a snake biting its own tail, and it was about the size of a 500-won coin. I flicked it, feeling its metallic weight.

A few possibilities of where I could use this currency flashed through my mind.

‘Wherever I use it, I’ll make sure it counts.’

Even though the 17 million won had vanished like snow melting in the sun…

At the end of the day, it was money that would disappear when I returned to my original world, so there was no need to cling to material desires. I could calm down.

‘Well then… I guess I’m pretty well-prepared now.’

I took stock of the items I currently had.

– Memorial Popsocket

– Smiley Sticker :)

– Alice Picnic Set

– Silver Serpent

From now on, I needed to use these items to clear higher-classed “Darkness” as quickly as possible.

‘Let’s make use of everything.’

Avoiding things out of fear could lead to something even scarier. Don’t forget that, you coward.

Resolving to use everything at my disposal, I tried to sleep.

Instead of counting sheep, the convenience store ghost pranced around in my mind, completely wrecking my quality of life.

Haha.

And then, the next day.

“We have a few ghost stories we regularly manage, so today we’ll be entering one of those.”

“…Yes, ma’am.”

I barely slept for three hours. At this rate, I might actually die.

However, my expression must have been mistaken for worry, because Assistant Manager Eun patted me on the shoulder.

“Don’t worry too much. It’s a D-Class.”

“Yeah! The level of difficulty is about the same as what you went through during your orientation, right?”

Seriously, PTSD from a death survival test, and that’s what you say to a new employee?

But the Field Exploration Team’s staff, whose sensitivity to normal human experiences had long since eroded, just chuckled and offered those words like a pep talk.

“You managed to clear it by going in blind, so there’s no reason you can’t do it now that you have a manual.”

“As long as you don’t do anything crazy, you’ll be fine. Got it?”

“…Yes.”

Well… sure. I got it.

Whatever it was, it couldn’t be worse than playing hide-and-seek with a ghost at a convenience store by myself.

‘Please, let me get some sleep tonight.’

I prayed for an artistic-style ghost story—creepy because of its atmosphere and lack of information but not genuinely terrifying.

“Here are the materials.”

Supervisor Park handed me a tablet.

The ghost story I’d be entering today was…

[Tuesday Quiz Show / Dusk (D) Class]

“……”

Huh?

“You see it, right, Roe? You’re going to enter as a contestant on a quiz show.”

“Yes.”

“If you get a question wrong, you face a penalty, and the penalties can be pretty horrifying… it’s that kind of ghost story.”

“But don’t worry! We already have all the answers, so we’re good! No need to be too tense!”

Supervisor Park flashed me a grin and gave a thumbs-up.

Well, okay.

‘I have a feeling this will be a lot less scary than seeing ghosts in person…’

But there’s a catch.

‘I don’t know this one.’

Tuesday Quiz Show?

There’s no page for that D-Class ghost story in <Dark Exploration Records>.

I couldn’t check my Memorial Popsocket because of my bosses, but I was sure it wasn’t in the ghost stories I’d read.

Then again, even if I had read all of the ghost stories in <Dark Exploration Records>, there could still be others in this universe.

It was, after all, an internet playground where ghost stories were constantly being added in real time.

I thought I’d know more than most, but here I was about to enter a story I’d never heard of.

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