NOVEL NEXT Chapter 3
Residents that respawn at regular intervals. The 13th floor that appears at regular intervals.
Until now, I just accepted it out of curiosity.
Aside from curiosity, it was a hassle, and I questioned whether I really needed to figure it out.
What good would it do to know the cause?
Would I use a suppressive measure to ensure they never appeared again?
Why should I?
If I just leave it alone, why would I want to eliminate a gold mine that brings in about 1.5 million won every day?
However, a reason has emerged.
I feel trapped in the source of the daily respawns.
“Backroom… ‘the space behind the stage,’ huh.”
The Backroom is somewhat like a waiting room.
When we refer to the world we live in as a stage, it’s the space behind the curtain that remains concealed.
Within it, there are entities—what you might call the natives of the Backroom—living their lives.
They are strange things that were born out of the shadows of the world that cannot come out from behind the stage.
The beings that mimic humans and appeared in my apartment at regular intervals are precisely that.
And if those things can somehow come into reality, there must be a separate method for that.
Perhaps it’s a capacity to exit, or a passage connecting to a room leading to an exit.
And likely, an entity with such capabilities is…
“I found it.”
An entity in the form of a middle-aged man, hideously dressed in an apartment security uniform and wielding a riot baton.
It was right in front of me, appearing together with the 13th floor at midnight every day.
*
[Alliance] isolates abnormalities.
Why?
Wouldn’t it be better to just destroy them?
The reason is simple.
[Abnormalities] cannot be destroyed.
Even if they are destroyed, that entity will reappear somewhere.
[Abnormalities] are the manifestations of people’s fears and emotions like dread.
Especially in today’s age, where the development of information and communication has led to countless ghost stories spread carelessly across the internet.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that it’s practically impossible to destroy the existence of [abnormalities] that has fed on so much fear and dread.
In other words—
“AAAH!”
This apartment housing a multitude of entities pouring out from the Backroom can be considered a nightmare even from the perspective of agents of the [Alliance] who have isolated and managed countless [abnormalities].
“What the hell! I’ve never heard that there are this many [abnormal entities]!”
Of course.
This apartment is called [Ordinary Apartment].
Even Kim Yu-na, a well-trained elite agent, didn’t feel any sense of strangeness until she approached the apartment directly, despite being an entity with mimicry abilities.
She could at least sense the anomalous space of the 13th floor, but…
Anyway, it’s not strange at all that the [Ordinary Residents] associated with that apartment possess the same abilities.
In fact, these entities have already been completely swept away within just a few hours of appearing by the [Ordinary Reincarnators] living in the [Ordinary Apartment] as if earning pocket money…
If it can be understood that a mere investigator with little agency came by a few times, then that would be surprising.
And now, Kim Yu-na was paying the price for not conducting a proper investigation.
Ordinary-looking [Ordinary Residents] crowding from all sides.
But looking at this scene, one could never say they were ordinary.
Bang—! Bang—!
The gun fired from Kim Yu-na’s hand strikes the heads of the [Ordinary Couple].
It may seem like she’s just roughly taking aim, but she’s a trained agent.
Hitting the heads of opponents within the scope of a mere household is something she could do while eating.
However.
“Damn it, if you’re wearing human skin, at least act like a human!”
There’s no way an [Abnormality] would die from a few gunshots to the head.
No, initially, the bullets barely pierced the skin and did not even penetrate the skull.
Designed for agents who have become superhumans.
Even though the firepower at close range would surpass that of a regular sniper rifle, it didn’t inflict significant damage.
Click—clack—
“Damn it!”
In the end, Kim Yu-na had no choice but to throw aside her empty handgun and flee after barely reaching the bathroom.
To a space resembling an underground parking lot.
*
This Backroom fundamentally resembles the apartment I live in.
When one opens the door, it’s a maze-like structure leading to completely unrelated other rooms, but upon exiting, you often find yourself in familiar living rooms, bedrooms, or bathrooms resembling my own home, with the occasional appearance of apartment corridors or underground parking lots.
The internet says that Backrooms vary in danger, and judging from the entities that appear being at just the level of ordinary people, this must be a low-risk Backroom.
In any case.
Aside from the entities that appear at regular intervals, this apartment has one peculiar point: there is no management office.
No, I’m talking about the real-world [Ordinary Apartment], not the Backroom.
Why is there none?
Well, having one would mean becoming prey to the [Ordinary Residents] or the [Security Guard of the 13th Floor] and ending up in an empty room, but still, not having the space itself is strange.
But…
What if the essence of the apartment is the Backroom, and the real-world [Ordinary Apartment] is just a part that surfaced?
If that’s the case, then it would make sense for the management office to be in the Backroom instead of reality.
And if this supposition is correct, then there should also be a way to exit to reality from the management office.
So what could be the way to get to the management office?
Just walking aimlessly?
Well, that could work as a method.
If I keep opening doors, I might reach the management office eventually.
But when will I find it?
I need another method.
Right, for example…
“A master key or something.”
I pulled the key off the fallen guard’s waistband.
The only key attached to a metal ring connected to the belt.
Isn’t it strange that there’s just one key where a keychain would typically be?
There were various types of Backrooms mentioned on the internet.
Among them, some escape methods were also clearly specified, even if they no longer exist.
Maybe fulfilling certain conditions on a specific floor?
Coincidentally, isn’t there a condition reminiscent of that in this Backroom?
In the real-world [Ordinary Apartment], there’s a notably anomalous space.
[The 13th Floor That Should Not Exist] and the [Security Guard of the 13th Floor] who always appears there.
Among the [Ordinary Residents] who appear in the afternoon, there’s no security guard.
And the only entity that appears linked to an apartment-related occupation in this apartment is the [Security Guard of the 13th Floor].
The value is clearly different when caught.
If so, isn’t this security guard playing a boss role similar to that of dungeon bosses?
And defeating the boss is how one receives appropriate rewards and escapes the dungeon.
“Reality’s apartment.”
Click clack.
“This won’t work.”
When I tried to turn the key as it easily slipped into the door lock, it wouldn’t turn.
In that case.
“Apartment management office?”
Click—
“Oh?”
The key turned, and the door opened.
And.
“Bingo.”
I had reached the hidden space of the Backroom.
*
Every human’s dream is different.
Some dream of being a police officer, some a doctor, and some a president.
But let’s think about it for a moment.
Is that truly what they desire?
Humans must work.
To earn money, they have to work and to survive, they have to work.
If they must work anyway, it’s human psychology to want to do something they enjoy or something recognized socially.
So, do they really want to do that?
Once it becomes work, it is bound to drift far from a hobby, and people will inevitably grow weary from the labor intensity that differs from their imagined dreams.
In that sense.
All human dreams are the same.
Passive income.
“I became a landlord. Confirmed coolness.”
– Really? A landlord? Did you buy a building?
– This room doesn’t seem to have many sponsors…
– Did you get scammed?
“These guys don’t believe this.”
Suddenly, donations start pouring in.
No, of course, my broadcast isn’t usually the type to receive large donations.
Did I really look that poor?
Yesterday, due to unavoidable circumstances, I had a whole day of broadcasts scheduled today as a penalty.
I was trying to show off that I had become a landlord, but this was the reaction I got…
Despite looking like a heavy spender, spending millions on games monthly…
Of course, it’s true that all my spending meant I couldn’t save money.
But it’s also true that I’m not lying about becoming a landlord…
“Ugh! If you’re not gonna believe me, then don’t! I’m sulking!”
While watching the broadcast screen, I reminisced about yesterday’s events.
When I had forcibly snatched the master key from the [Security Guard of the 13th Floor] and headed to the management office.
I obtained the reward for clearing the Backroom.
A master key that allows me to traverse between the Backroom and reality, and the biggest reward is none other than—
The ownership of the [Ordinary Apartment],
Upon verifying in reality, I found myself registered as the owner of the land and building of the apartment.
With this, I have officially become a landlord!
And obtaining ownership of the [Ordinary Apartment] doesn’t just mean I became the owner of the building.
The entities that resemble [Ordinary Residents].
I have now decided to stop hunting them.
Instead, they would reside in the vacant rooms of the apartment and pursue social lives such as part-time jobs or side gigs.
Naturally, I would collect all the income as rent.
Since they are just skin to their bodies and don’t need food.
Isn’t it enough to have just a house with a roof?
Even excluding those with the appearance of children, there are over a hundred entities present in reality at one time.
The income they could earn even through simple part-time jobs would be incomparable to my previous hunting profits.
“Hehehe…”
– Bro? Did you quit meds?
– This is serious…?
– You should go to a mental hospital.
“Kuhueheheheh!”
Man, I shouldn’t laugh so obnoxiously while broadcasting!
Anyway, now I’m rich!