Chapter 6 : butter dog lover

I was tied to the leash, helplessly looking up at her.

The sensation of the leash tightening around my neck grew stronger, and the reality that there was no way to escape dominated my mind.

But I couldn’t give up.

‘There must be a way.’

As I crouched down and struggled, she let out a bored sigh.

“Are you trying to escape?

There’s no way to get out of this leash.

You should give up and be quiet.”

She firmly held the leash and slowly pulled me.

At that moment, a strange figure came into my view.

Not far away, a hand floating in the air was slowly exploring its surroundings.

The long, slender fingers groping around were eerie, but I thought it might be an opportunity for me.

‘That hand, maybe I can use it.’

I racked my brain and watched her closely.

“Alright.

I won’t resist anymore.”

I said in a trembling voice.

She smiled in satisfaction.

“Good, that’s the wise choice.”

She looked down at me, stroking my head with her hand.

It was a soft touch, but it felt unpleasant.

“Now just listen to me quietly.”

I caught my breath and nodded as if to follow her.

But the moment she was satisfied and turned her head, I quickly picked up a stone that had fallen on the floor.

And I threw it with all my might at the target.

The stone accurately fell towards the hand floating in the air.

The hand reacted to the sudden attack and slowly began to approach me, seemingly angry.

‘Yes… now with that.’

I lowered my body as much as possible and waited for the hand to approach.

As the hand got closer, she also seemed to sense something strange and turned her head.

“Hmm?”

The moment she turned her gaze away from me to look at the hand in the air, I quickly ducked down while still tied to the leash.

And the hand fell upon her.

“What’s this…!”

She struggled, startled and caught by the hand.

But the hand was incredibly fast, and it quickly subdued her movements.

Taking advantage of the gap, I grabbed the leash in her hand and pulled with all my might.

The leash came loose.

The feeling of being restrained disappeared, and I immediately stepped back.

“You…!”

She shouted, but the hand in the air held her firmly, preventing her from moving any further.

I left her struggling, entangled in the hand’s grasp, and ran away at full speed.

My heart felt like it was going to burst, but I couldn’t stop.

Only after putting some distance between us did I finally stop running.

“Phew, I’m alive…”

The surroundings were quiet.

Fortunately, it seemed that no one, nothing was following me.

The tension in my body eased, and I collapsed to the ground.

Now that the pressure of the leash was gone, the air touching my neck felt unusually cold.

I raised my head and looked around.

“The puppy…?”

Come to think of it, the puppy was nowhere to be seen.

The puppy that was next to her when she first caught me with the leash.

The one that was definitely nearby had disappeared without a trace.

‘It was probably in cahoots with that woman.’

I shook my head in displeasure.

The puppy’s seemingly innocent eyes and wagging tail came to mind, but now they all felt like lies.

“But… it seems like monsters don’t cooperate with each other.”

I recalled the situation from a moment ago.

The hand in the air didn’t help her at all.

Rather, when I threw the stone, it reacted instinctively and subdued her.

If it was on her side, the hand would have just let go of the woman and subdued me.

‘That’s a relief…’

I caught my breath and recalled the moment when the hand in the air grabbed her and she struggled.

The sight was eerie, but at the same time, it showed me that even the monsters in this space had weaknesses.

‘They might not be completely hostile to each other, but at least it seems like not all monsters cooperate.’

That fact gave me a small sense of relief.

To survive here, I realized I had to find these gaps between the monsters.

I slowly exhaled and looked around once again.

This place was a large, parking lot-like space, and it was still empty.

There was no sign of her or any other monsters anywhere.

‘It seems safe for now…’

I wrapped one hand around my neck.

I still couldn’t believe that the leash was gone.

But I realized that I couldn’t let my guard down if I wanted to survive here.

What should I do now?

Feeling lost, I slowly got up from the ground.

My body was still heavy.

However, I felt that I shouldn’t stay here any longer.

As I started walking again, I decided to find a way out of this space.

I walk through the empty parking lot, dragging my tired body.

My footsteps echoed in the vast space, but the surroundings were still quiet.

I caught my breath and kept walking.

‘There must be a path somewhere that leads to an exit.’

After walking for a while, an unfamiliar structure came into my view.

“An elevator?”

In front of me stood an old, worn-out elevator.

The metal door, which didn’t match the beige walls at all, was firmly closed as if hiding something.

I stood in front of the elevator and pressed the button.

“It’s not working.”

There was a small panel next to the door, but the power was off.

No matter how many times I pressed the button, there was no response.

I sighed and looked closely at the panel.

Small letters were faintly engraved.

[Connect the power.]

“Power…?”

I turned my head and looked around.

There was nothing right near the elevator, but a few doors were visible a little further away.

They looked like offices or warehouses.

‘Maybe there’s a device there that can turn on the power.’

I slowly walked towards the doors.

The surroundings were still quiet.

The fact that I was alone was felt even more intensely.

I arrived at the nearest door and turned the handle.

The door was rusty, but fortunately, it opened.

I went inside, and a dark room was revealed.

The fluorescent lights were not flickering, and I had to rely solely on the light I was carrying.

‘Is there… something in here?’

Inside the room, there were desks, documents, and things that looked like switches on the wall.

I slowly moved my steps and looked around.

On the wall, there was a panel with a complex circuit.

There were several switches and levers, but there were no markings.

‘How do I turn this on?’

I reached out and pulled the most prominent lever.

But the lever didn’t move.

I decided to check the lever again and look around more.

On the desk, there were various tools and papers scattered around.

I picked up a piece of paper and saw an old diagram-like drawing.

[Power Supply Route]

The drawing showed the structure of the wires leading to the elevator.

And above it, it was written in red letters.

[Operate all switches in a bo-bil, ahem, sequence.]

“Bo-bil, ahem.

In sequence…?”

I went back to the panel on the wall.

There were several switches, each with a different number.

‘1, 2, 3…

Do I have to pull them in order?’

I reached out and carefully pulled the first switch.

The switch moved smoothly and made a clicking sound.

I also pulled the rest of the switches in numerical order.

But there was no change.

Maybe there’s a different sequence, not just numerical order.

February 1, 2025

Day 1 in front of the elevator.

I survived another death-like crisis.

I was helplessly dragged around by her, tied to the leash.

It was a real crisis, I tell you.

If I hadn’t used my quick wits to escape, I would have…

Ugh, never mind.

To explain how I escaped, the floating hand monster in the distance caught my eye.

I pretended to give in and tricked the woman, then threw a stone to get the monster’s attention.

Eventually, the hand attacked her, and while she was entangled with the hand, I was able to loosen the leash and escape.

I also gained some information.

It seems like the monsters here don’t cooperate with each other.

Rather, I realized that they are often hostile to each other.

That was good news.

Ugh, thinking about that Pomeranian puppy makes me angry again.

It seemed innocent and cute, but it was clearly on her side.

Phew, I can’t let my guard down anymore.

This place is full of strange monsters.

Ah, and I found an elevator, but it wasn’t working because the power was off.

I found switches in a nearby office, but I haven’t figured everything out yet.

I think I need more hints.

Monster File: [Butter Dog Lover]

Form: It’s a 2-in-1.

Ah, since one is an animal, it should be 1 dog, 1 person.

Anyway, the dog has the appearance of a small Pomeranian, and the woman has the appearance of a seductive young woman.

The dog’s side seems to intentionally maintain a friendly and innocent appearance to induce cuteness and lower one’s guard.

Characteristics: The dog seems to be specialized in breaking down one’s guard.

It doesn’t bark or act aggressively, mainly expressing friendliness by wagging its tail.

If you follow the Pomeranian’s lead, the woman appears and completes the trap.

Danger: If you trust the Pomeranian and get close, you’ll be exposed to the woman without any defenses.

You can be tied to a leash without even realizing it, so it’s dangerous.

There must be something special about the leash.

I felt my strength draining.

If it weren’t for my quick wits, I would have…

Ugh, I’ll stop here.

Weakness: The dog is not a threat on its own.

It’s harmless even when separated from the woman.

And it seems that the luring effect doesn’t work on highly vigilant individuals.

Also, it doesn’t seem to be very strong since it can be escaped by external monsters like [Bad Hand].