Chapter 79

Saying I didn’t know who I was… what a ridiculous thing.

A dry, stunned laugh escaped my lips. I even pinched my chubby cheeks just to check—

“Waaaah.”

…Ow. Yep, that hurt.

And right then—

[“Daddy” is extremely anxious!]

[“Daddy” is in a location where summoning is not possible!]

“…!”

My head snapped clear in an instant.

Just like that, my mind returned, and I remembered who I was.

‘Ugh, my head…’

I clutched my throbbing temples and glared at the system message.

‘I knew it would be like this.’

In the game, when the second exam begins, all Pope candidates—including the protagonist—lose their memories. They can’t even remember who they are.

‘But I figured things would be different for me since I have the system and guidebook.’

And I was right.

I blinked slowly, then looked up at the message like I was admiring it.

“You… who are you?”

“What’s going on?! S-somebody help! Is anyone there?!”

Uh-oh. Panic was already setting in.

I didn’t catch who screamed, but at that moment, a nearby shadow rippled unnaturally, as if it were alive.

…This wasn’t good.

I felt my breath hitch, nerves tightening without meaning to.

And it made sense. Because the theme of this place was…

>Rules are now being announced<
>There are two rules:

1. The greater your fear, the stronger the shadow becomes.
2. Do not be caught or consumed by the Tagger (Shadow). (The Order takes no responsibility for any consequences.)
3. >Find the exit and escape.<

Game Category [Post][Casual Chat]
[Monster Encyclopedia #30]

~Paranormal Class~
‘Project Shadow Host’

Grade: Keter

◆ Nicknamed the “Formless Devourer.” The infamous boss of the second exam.

◆ The creature known as the Shadow feeds on fear and dread. It starts invisible but gains form as people respond to fear.

You’re about to play a lovely game of tag with it. If the protagonist is fully caught by the Shadow, or all humans die—BAD ENDING.

◆ The exam space amplifies negative emotions. At the start, it erases your memories, so the protagonist begins without knowing who they are.
(Memories will gradually return, so don’t panic.)

But you still have to escape each room in this state. Why go to an escape room café when you could suffer here?

Usually, paranormal zones just let you survive while others die around you, no problem.
But here? You have to keep everyone alive.

Hear that sound?

That’s the sound of the difficulty spike ↑↑↑

Still, it’s not as batsh*t as the Dog-Headed Judge’s stage.
However, beware: this scenario branches into the worst-case path for the remaining chapters if you mess it up.

Unless you’re a masochist who wants to experience every possible form of pain—PLEASE avoid that ending ㅠ

‘…Right. Focus on clearing this place first.’

I dug through my memory for the strategy guide.

‘The Tagger gets faster and more solid over time.’

Which meant—our time was limited.

>Time limit: 3 hours<

Perfect timing. A warped voice announced it from above.

‘No time to waste.’

I shot to my feet.

The theme of this paranormal space may be “fear and terror,”

But from experience, I knew there was one more core element.

“Hey evewyone! Look at meee!”

Distrust.

Because of this place’s illusion, we were now all perfect strangers to each other.

“Dis pwace is scawy, wight? Let’s get outta hewe togever!”

I waved my arms in the air, trying to get their attention.

Staying too long at the starting point was never a good idea!

“What the— who even are you? Why should we follow you?”

Just as I gestured to the others, a voice full of doubt cut through. No surprise—it was Gidehme.

‘This kid picks fights even when he’s lost his memory.’

I wasn’t fazed in the slightest.

“T-then you gonna just stay hewe?”

Right then, the air darkened. Someone screamed.

Even Gidehme, who had been frowning, shut his mouth at the sudden fear.

I quickly jumped in.

“I’ve been in pwaces wike dis befowe!”

What made this space even worse than the Dog-Headed Judge?

It was stingy.

No helpful hints. No proper explanations.

‘They want the players to learn everything by trial and error. Damn devs.’

But me? I’m a veteran gamer, hardened by rage-quits and failed clears. I’ve even licked walls just to find secrets.

‘I’ll carry all of you on the safest bus route!’

That’s why I said what I said.

Because the first time I stayed here too long, I got served a bitter Bad Ending.

“Get up, evewyone! You gonna die hewe?!”

The Guardians were all sealed off.

Only the children could survive this.

The kids, sensing the seriousness of the situation, slowly began to rise.

Good. So far so good…

“Kyaaaaaah! M-mommy!”

…Never mind.

I turned toward the scream and saw a girl collapsed, her face ghostly pale. It was Mel.

In front of her stood a doll.

The same one we saw when we first entered, but this one was smaller, and its shape was… off.

Its mouth was torn open in a jagged seam.

— Heeheehee, come play with me. Play with meee?

Mel’s shadow stretched unnaturally toward the wall.

And that shadow was beginning to change shape…

‘Fire?’

FWOOSH! Flames suddenly erupted from the wall.

— Heeheehee! Play with me! Play with meee!

The more terrified you were, the more solid things became. Fire—Mel’s fear—was manifesting!

“Emmet! Gidehme!”

Thankfully, memory loss in this place was only temporary.

By now, most of them should’ve remembered at least their names.

“W-what?! How do you know my name…?”

“Do we… know each other?”

As expected, Emmet and Gidehme looked bewildered.

“Jus’ gwab her an’ wun! We’ww head fo’ dat doow!”

The fire hadn’t spread far yet, but judging by Mel’s face, it wouldn’t take long.

I’m not going out grilled, thanks!

“You gonna wet her get gobbwed up?! We might not even find any bones if dat ting catches her!”

I called it fire, but it wasn’t just flames anymore. The shadow was taking on twisted, monstrous forms.

— Heeheehee! Heeheehee! Heeheehee!

The laughter echoed louder and louder, and with it, the flames flared higher.

Gidehme and Emmet each grabbed one of Mel’s arms and hoisted her up.

“If ya don’ wanna die—RUN!!”

Thankfully, the fire and doll were still sluggish.

We reached the door at the far end of the space without getting caught.

I scanned the area, spotted what looked like a clear orb embedded near the door.

“Fwora!”

“Y-yeah? Huh?”

Still flustered from not remembering me, Flora blinked in confusion.

“Over dere! Dat gwass tingy! Pour yo’ divvy powew in it, now!”

“O-okay!”

She rushed over and channeled her divine power into it.

Click.

The door slid open.

“Go go gooo!”

BANG!

As soon as we all tumbled through, the door slammed shut behind us.

The kids collapsed, gasping or panting on the floor.

“You! Hey, kid!”

Gidehme stormed toward me, fuming.

“You—how do you know all this?! You’re in on this, aren’t you? You’re with the people who trapped us here, right?!”

Oho, that’s a pretty good deduction, but sorry—this whole thing is consensual, buddy. We all signed up for this.

“I’ve… been in pwaces wike dis befowe.”

“Yeah right. Like that’s even possible.”

“Why not? Da wowwd’s ending. There’s monstews, fanatics, an’ freaky stuff evewywhewe.”

Gidehme went silent. He didn’t have a response.

This space may’ve stolen our memories, but not our common sense.

“Fine, but… now’s not the time to argue.”

Emmet stepped in between us.

Next to him, a nervous boy was trembling.

“H-hey… something’s makin’ weird noises on the other side of the door…”

SCRAAATCH.

He wasn’t lying.

It sounded like something scraping at the door with nails—or claws.

— Peekaboo… I see you… Peekaboo! Peekaboo!

That same doll’s voice from before.

Screech. Scrape.

“W-what do we do now?!”

And then—

Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape. Scrape.

“…!”

Fear flickered across every child’s face.
 

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Translator: Japchae