Alias, Juttaki (TL Note: Juttaki is a Korean slang term referring to the ‘main admin’ or ‘head moderator’ of an online community or gallery.).
She sat amidst a space illuminated by countless monitors, sipping an energy drink.
“I’m not Juttaki! I’m not! How many times do I have to say it?!”
After furiously pounding on her keyboard for a while, she eventually muttered under her breath.
“It’s a sin to speak human words to these beasts. Yes. My mistake was significant… Time for a cleanup.”
She observed those who dared to insult her and make absurd, baseless claims.
These men and women, who, despite her clear explanations that she was not Juttaki, continued to insist that she was.
Although she was, in fact, Juttaki, that detail held no importance.
[GraduateStudent12 has muted ForestCallingGhastly for 6 hours.]
[GraduateStudent12 has muted NoConscience for 6 hours.]
[GraduateStudent12 has muted KyaruIsTruth for 6 hours.]
[GraduateStudent12 has muted FoodWasteBag for 6 hours.]
[GraduateStudent12 has muted Bystander1 for 6 hours.]
[GraduateStudent12 has muted DarkMatter for 6 hours.]
The merciless 칼춤 (TL Note: ‘Kalchum’ literally means ‘sword dance,’ but in this context, it refers to a ruthless and decisive act of purging or mass banning) that had continued for a while finally ceased.
As she gazed at the now slightly cleaner gallery, a red light caught her eye.
Normally, she would have simply noted the name and moved on—
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[Ghastly Tale Broadcast: Code 120053]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
“Already?”
She distinctly recalled it had been less than a day since the Ghastly Tale was cleared.
Had someone already challenged another Ghastly Tale?
Even an individual obsessed with Ghastly Tales knew their life was precious.
Engaging in such a non-stop endeavor would be impossible without a truly exceptional reason.
To be consumed by a Ghastly Tale or a Ghastly (TL Note: ‘Gwoei’ or ‘Gwe-i’ refers to a supernatural entity or phenomenon, often malevolent or mysterious), was a fate far worse than mere death.
If one simply wished to die, there were countless other methods.
In that moment, a post from yesterday flashed into her mind.
Although she had blocked it…
Perhaps there was an unspoken reason, a compelling necessity, for that post to be made.
‘Perhaps I was too harsh.’
Already, veterans were flocking to Newbie120053’s Ghastly Tale broadcast.
[Veteran84]: Seriously, how did they get into the next Ghastly Tale before me? I’ve been preparing for a month.
[CryingCatIfYouDontUnderstand]: Meow meow meow meow meow—
[NoAnswerLife]: Just because they did well once, they’re getting all conceited, lol. This is why young ones are no good, lol. They take Ghastly too lightly. Now they’ll get thoroughly beaten and come to their senses.
ㄴ[NotHuman]: LOL, for real. They’ll only come to their senses when half their body is gone. But, if what you say is true, hyung, they won’t clear this round either, right? That newbie? Well, I’ll bet 10 coins on them winning, considering it a gift to you, hyung.
ㄴ[NoAnswerLife]: LOLOLOLOL. Damn it. I’ll bet 1000 on that newbie failing, LOLOLOL.
ㄴ[HeavenBreaker]: There are crazy people gambling here, LOLOLOL. The gallery’s standards, LOLOL.
Just then, as I entered the broadcast.
Newbie120053 was seen approaching a building that appeared to be a company.
At first glance, the building looked incredibly suspicious.
Its dilapidated exterior and the faded letters on its sign.
The possibility of them being an unlucky victim caught in a Ghastly Tale was dismissed.
“There’s no way they saw that and still walked in unknowingly.”
****
As I stood before the door, someone brushed past me, lightly tapping my shoulder.
I was about to open my mouth and say something, but stopped myself.
On second thought.
It seemed my fault for blocking the path was greater.
A face half-hidden by a mask and a black hat.
With only their eyes and ears visible, a fleeting glance was directed toward me.
It was cold.
A sensation as if I could be pierced at any moment.
She entered without a word.
Her attire alone revealed that she was no ordinary new employee.
Weapons were affixed all over her body.
In one hand, she held a sharp military knife, poised as if ready to strike at any moment.
The woman walking ahead of me suddenly stopped and spoke in a low voice.
“If you don’t wish to die… stay only in the hall.”
“…Huh?”
She looked at me for a moment, then spoke again.
“You received an acceptance letter from an unknown email, either yesterday or the day before, didn’t you?”
“How did you know that…?”
After a brief pause, she continued to speak clearly.
“This is an Anomaly Zone, commonly known as Ghastly Zone C-14. Its other name is… the ‘New Employee’s First Day’ Ghastly Tale.”
Her tone was calm, as if she had experienced such situations countless times.
“The company’s name, its location—everything is random. Furthermore.”
She continued, her voice tinged with a sigh.
“Only those who have received the email can enter this place. Others cannot even pass the building’s entrance, nor can they recall its location. This is why we haven’t been able to properly neutralize it yet.”
Haa—
“The moment the email arrives and you step into the company, you’re caught in the Ghastly Tale. If there’s any safe zone, it’s right here, the first-floor hall. So, you just need to stay put here. As long as you don’t needlessly go upstairs… there won’t be any significant danger.”
She briefly scanned me up and down, then gave a slight nod.
“…You seem like an ordinary person. Our task force will handle the rest, so just trust us and wait. We’ll rescue you once the neutralization is complete.”
After finishing her words, she immediately took the elevator upstairs.
The elevator arrow stopped on the third floor.
Thanks to her, I learned a few facts.
That this area was already recognized by the Ghastly Management Bureau, and that a group called the ‘Task Force’ had been dispatched for its neutralization.
I decided to wait as she instructed.
Although I had the experience of clearing a Ghastly Tale once, I didn’t want to needlessly interfere among professionals.
The hall was wider than I had expected.
From the outside, the building had appeared on the verge of collapse, but inside, it exuded a clean atmosphere, as if recently constructed.
Having nothing to do, I purchased the ‘Recorder’s Pen,’ which I had postponed buying earlier.
What was its method of use?
Even when I held it to paper, nothing changed.
No color appeared.
Still, just in case.
I decided to organize my thoughts about the Ghastly Tale in my mind.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Official Name: Anomaly Zone (Ghastly Zone C-14)
Alias: New Employee’s First Day Rules
Characteristics: The company’s name and location are randomly set each time.
Status: Complete neutralization has failed so far; Ghastly Management Bureau Task Force dispatched to the zone.
[New Employee’s First Day — Rulebook]
1. An ‘acceptance letter’ arrives from a company you’ve never applied to via email.
ㄴ If you enter the location without suspicion, you will be caught in the Ghastly Tale.
ㄴ The notification is usually received the day before or two days prior.
ㄴ Only those invited can perceive the notification, and uninvited individuals cannot enter the building.
Safe Zone: 1st floor hall
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
So far, that was all I knew about the rules of this Ghastly Tale.
From then on, I idly let time pass.
The morning sky gradually transitioned past noon, eventually coloring itself with an orange sunset.
“It’s taking quite a while.”
And then.
The moment night fell.
The lights from all the lamps that had illuminated the hall just moments before simultaneously vanished.
****
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[Moving to the last save point.]
[The current most recent save point is AUTO SAVE1.]
[‘New Employee’s First Day’ Ghastly Tale]
[Type of Death]: Disappearance.
[Tip]: Once business hours conclude, the company no longer recognizes you as an employee.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
I blinked.
‘Did I die?’
Soon, a faint pain arose in my shoulder.
Turning my gaze, I saw someone brushing past me.
A black hat, a face half-hidden by a mask.
Just as before, when our eyes briefly met, she tilted her head slightly but then nonchalantly continued inside.
If my thoughts were correct, soon.
The woman walking ahead of me suddenly stopped and spoke in a low voice.
“If you don’t wish to die… stay only in the hall.”
Most likely, if I remained standing there without a word, the same situation as the previous cycle would unfold.
She would explain the Ghastly Tale, instill caution, and warn me to remain in the safe zone.
Despite her cold exterior, she would leave me with words like, ‘The task force will handle it, so rest assured.’
Seeing that she hadn’t returned even after a long time, I could guess what had happened to her.
The Ghastly Tale neutralization had failed.
Not a single person had exited the building through the first-floor hall, its only exit.
“The acceptance notification received via email within two days—”
The moment she was about to utter her second sentence, I spoke first.
“This is an Anomaly Zone, commonly known as Ghastly Zone C-14. Its other name is the ‘New Employee’s First Day’ Ghastly Tale. Only those who have received the email can enter this building. Others cannot even pass the building’s entrance, nor can they recall its location even if they see the words.”
As my explanation continued, her eyes, hidden behind the mask, widened.
“…Ah…”
Seeing her surprise, I extended my hand, adding a statement to further establish trust.
“My recent missions include neutralizing the ‘Gyeonggi Gwangju Station’ Ghastly Tale alongside Investigator Kim Sera from the Ghastly Management Foundation.”
‘I couldn’t bring myself to abandon the kind woman who offered me help and use an escape ticket by myself.’
“You can just call me Alpha.”
