X
After completing the bank transfer, Sister Shin Seohyun promised to meet again next time and hurriedly left the office.
Watching the nun’s back disappear quickly, I checked the 450,000 won deposited into my bank account.
The income is better than I thought. The request fee from the nun was like a welcome rain in a drought for me, who had become broke after paying rent and utility bills.
I can pay the phone bill that’s two months overdue and use the rest of the money for living expenses.
‘I need to find a stable source of income soon.’ I need operating funds to travel around the country hunting anomalies and stopping the revival of ancient gods. How can I protect world peace without a car to drive?
‘By the way. The fact that the Church has already figured out my existence means that other people might come looking for me.’
If you had to pick the slowest-reacting group in Wall of Doom, it would be the Church.
They always moved after something had already happened, so if you started the game as an exorcist belonging to the Church, the main quests were always about solving problems caused by other groups.
The fact that such a slow-moving Church sent an Inquisitor and acted so quickly means that other organizations have probably already noticed my existence. Therefore, I don’t know who will try to visit the office and when, so I need to prepare myself thoroughly.
To do that it seems I need to fortify this building. The office is fine since the Bride of the White Face is there. I want to set up a few guards in case an outsider tries to enter the building and target me.
‘While I’m at it, why don’t I finish what I was trying to do earlier and get some unpaid guards?’ There’s no need to pay for guards separately. Because I have the favorability system and anomalies.
First of all, I took the Bride of the White Face out of the ring to guard the office.
I went outside and checked the ‘7 Ghost Stories of the Building’ I saw earlier again.
I was planning to investigate the bloodstains in the rooftop warehouse when the sun was up, but due to the nun’s surprise visit, the sun has set, so I should probably change my target.
‘Let’s start by conquering the woman in the elevator.’
There are a total of three routes for an uninvited guest to enter my office. The first is the elevator. The second is the stairs. The third is the window.
If I block them all with anomalies, they won’t be able to get in easily. So, I chose the woman in the elevator as the first target to conquer among the 7 ghost stories.
She usually appears randomly when you ride the elevator after the sun sets, and if you talk to her or acknowledge her, you get a game over. But the probability of this woman’s random encounter is low, so it takes too long to meet her naturally.
‘Fortunately, there’s a way to summon her for sure.’
According to the information posted on the Wall of Doom gallery, there seems to be a formula to summon the woman in the elevator for sure. I immediately got on the building’s elevator and pressed the buttons in the order that the gallery users told me.
‘First, go to the 4th floor…’
From the 4th floor to the 2nd floor. From the 2nd floor to the 5th floor. From the 5th floor to the 3rd floor, and finally back to the 4th floor. If you keep repeating this, the elevator will suddenly head to the 6th floor.
As I said before, this building only has 5 floors. When the elevator reaches the non-existent 6th floor, the elevator doors will open on an unidentified floor, and a woman with her face covered by her bangs will get on the elevator. This was the way to meet the elevator woman 100 percent of the time.
“Alright, let’s do this until she comes out.” I got on the elevator and kept pressing the buttons for about an hour until the elevator went to the 6th floor.
‘Don’t tell me this isn’t working?’
Is there something wrong? Or maybe anomalies don’t appear in our building because of the mod I installed. Even after an hour, there was no sign of success, and I was about to get off the elevator, disheartened that my plan had failed, when it reached the 6th floor.
-6th floor. This is the 6th floor. I’m sure I pressed the 3rd floor, but the elevator had somehow reached the 6th floor.
Soon after, the elevator’s announcement sounded, the doors opened, and a woman with her face covered by her hair got on from the dark hallway. I finally succeeded. After trying to enter the 6th floor for about an hour while riding the elevator, I was finally able to face the woman in the elevator.
-The doors are closing. An awkward silence. The woman stood silently, and since I didn’t press the next floor, the elevator stayed on the 6th floor with the doors closed.
It seems that unless I press another floor, the woman will just stand there without any reaction. Since we have some time alone, let’s find out about the anomaly’s information.
___________________________________________________________________________________
{Status Window}
[Name: The Woman in the Elevator]
[Danger Level: Catastrophe]
[Classification: Thought Form, Boundary Induction Type, Summoning Spirit]
[Origin: A gatekeeper created by the thoughts of children who want to go to the other world.]
[Extermination Method: Does not exist. Do not talk to her or make eye contact, and do not answer if she calls you.]
___________________________________________________________________________________
An anomaly of the same class as the Bride of the White Face. There was no extermination method, only a way to avoid her was suggested. In other words, if you encounter her, you should pretend you don’t know her and wait quietly until she gets off.
‘Interesting. To find another catastrophe-level anomaly so soon.’
If I can win this one over, I can put the space of the ‘elevator’ itself under my control. In the world of Wall of Doom, elevators and stairs are like entrances to the ‘other world’. So, it’s always good to befriend anomalies related to elevators.
___________________________________________________________________________________
{Status Window}
[Favorability: 0%]
[She has no interest in you.]
[Try making eye contact and talking to her.]
___________________________________________________________________________________
The problem is that her favorability is still 0 percent. It seems that unless I approach her first, she won’t show any particular reaction to me. Is she the type whose favorability goes up only if I approach her first? This means I have no choice but to check the conquest method again.
[Conquest Method: Prefers aggressive men. Waits for someone to approach her first.]
Funnily enough, the extermination method and the conquest method are strictly different. The extermination method was an approach as an anomaly, and the conquest method was an approach as a heroine.
The Bride of the White Face preferred a powerful man, and the woman in the elevator seems to prefer a man who makes an aggressive move. Perhaps because she’s a gloomy and quiet type, she likes men who approach her first. And if they make eye contact, she drags them to the other world?
A scary one.
“Excuse me. Which floor are you going to?” I naturally spoke to the woman in the elevator.
The woman then slowly turned her head and looked at me. If I didn’t have the Crybaby Mode, a jumpscare scene would have popped out here, and I would have been dismembered and disappeared. But I have the Crybaby Mode pack for Utter Cowards.
“D-did you talk to me…?”
“Yes. I asked which floor you are going to.”
“Ah, aah… I-I haven’t really thought about it… yet…”
The woman in the elevator stuttered in embarrassment when I suddenly spoke to her.
Then, as if she suddenly became shy, she blushed and pressed the 1st-floor button. Her hair was covering her face, but looking closely, her eyes are quite pretty.
“Um, if you stare at me so intently…”
“Ah, your eyes are so pretty. By any chance, can I take a closer look?”
“Wha…? Ah, no. U-uhm, that is…”
“I think it would be better if I lift your hair like this.”
“L-like this?”
“Yes. You’re beautiful. Um, by any chance, do you have a boyfriend?”
“A-a boyfriend? I-I don’t even have any friends… ah…”
“Really? Then I’ll be your friend. Let’s start as friends.”
“Wha? Me, with me? Um, uh. I mean. That is. Uh, uh…”
As I stared into her eyes and took a step closer, the woman’s face turned completely red as if it had exploded, and she collapsed to the floor.
_______________________________________________________________________________
{System Window}
[Favorability: 0% → 70%]
[It’s the first time someone has spoken to her!]
[The compliment that her eyes are pretty is very effective.]
_______________________________________________________________________________
Her favorability went up exponentially. Of course, it wasn’t on the level of the Bride of the White Face who fell in love at first sight, but it seemed certain that the woman in the elevator had developed a liking for me.
What, this is easy. Conquering anomalies is easier than eating cake.
-Ding dong.
-1st floor. Is this the 1st floor?
As I was puzzled by the crazy elevator asking the passenger for the floor number, the woman in the elevator quickly stood up and prepared to get off.
“Um, there. I have to go. Um, n-n-next. See you next time. Then, a little more… Yes. See you!”
The woman in the elevator got off in a hurry without even telling me her name. But the floor she got off on was not the 1st floor. ‘Basement 66th floor… She asked if it was the 1st floor because it wasn’t.’
The beautiful anomaly who got off on a strange floor disappeared into the darkness, and soon the elevator began to operate normally again.
“Well, I’ve raised her favorability for now.” Maybe I can meet her again someday when I ride the elevator. For now, there are still many other anomalies, so let’s look forward to the next time.
‘The lights are off except for the 3rd floor, so I should bring a flashlight.’
I thought I would need a flashlight to meet the next anomaly, so I stopped by the office for a moment, and the Bride of the White Face, who was sitting on the sofa, stared at me sharply.
“W-what? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Husband… Your body… smells of another woman… Where have you been…?”
It feels like I’ve been caught in the act of cheating. The Bride of the White Face gradually grew in size and emanated a gloomy atmosphere, pressuring me.
“Where did you go?” A firm tone.
Her eye sockets were slowly becoming gaping holes, and she was about to throw a tantrum as if she was returning to her original anomaly state before I installed the Crybaby Mode, so I quickly made an excuse to her. No, it was more of a scolding than an excuse.
“What is this nonsense to your husband who is like the heavens?!”
“Eh…?”
“The wife of the house should not interfere in outside affairs. How dare you treat your husband who has come home from work like this!”
“…Ah, um, that is…”
“I let this woman live comfortably at home and do housework, and now she says whatever she wants to her husband. So what if my body smells a little like another woman? Are you going to nitpick every little thing like that? Are you kidding me?”
I went at her strongly as if to say ‘what are you gonna do about it,’ and the Bride of the White Face immediately backed down. I can’t believe this method worked.
“Uh, that… I’m sorry. Um, I was just afraid that a stray cat might steal my husband who is like the heavens…”
“What are you worried about something like that for? A woman should trust and follow her husband. Don’t bother me with things like this when I’m busy. Do you have so little confidence in yourself?”
“I’m sorry, husband… I was wrong… It’s not that I didn’t trust you, I was just… afraid you’d be taken away… Forgive me, husband…”
The Bride of the White Face, who had shrunk back to her original size, acted cute and clung to my right arm. Did the ancient sages say that a woman’s tantrum should be answered with greater patriarchy?
In the first place, the Bride of the White Face is a vengeful spirit from around the late Joseon Dynasty who wears a mourning dress. That was a time when patriarchal masculinity was emphasized, so I think this is the right way to handle the Bride of the White Face.
In the first place, the Bride of the White Face herself prefers a powerful man with the dignity of a male. If I instill in her the perception of being the ‘master of the house’ or the ‘pillar of the family’ or the ‘head of the household’ in this way, she will be easy to handle.
‘She’s not even my real wife, what am I doing…’
Honestly, when I was first caught messing around with the woman in the elevator, I really felt like I had been caught cheating on my wife, and cold sweat trickled down my back.
What kind of reaction would she show if she found out that I flirted with the beautiful girl I met in the elevator and raised her favorability?
I’m already scared.
You think this chapter was thrilling? Wait until you read A Butterfly Came to Rest on the Tip of Your Sword! Click here to discover the next big twist!
Read : A Butterfly Came to Rest on the Tip of Your Sword
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You should be.