chapter 14
next week.
A gloomy Monday, as if it would rain from the morning.
However, today was a special education day that Lee Su-yeon predicted last week.
“Today, as I said, there is an outdoor exorcism practice.”
Outdoor exorcism practice.
Just hearing the name sounds like going on a picnic.
The reality was to perform exorcism in areas where real spirits haunted.
It means that a full-fledged battle with the horse will be fought only one month after entering the training center.
So it was already past 5pm, but there was no other training today.
It was because the practice was going on from tonight to tomorrow morning, without sleeping.
“Training will be conducted in pairs. Also, the practice area is different for each group, so follow our guide and move-”
Class A has one teaching assistant assigned to each group for safety, and depending on the group, they may encounter members from other classes.
Roughly that kind of explanation continued for a while.
And don’t forget the warning.
“Today’s training is real. So it’s dangerous enough, and in the worst case, an unexpected accident may occur. Trainees, keep this in mind and pay attention in any situation-”
It was such a warning to me, but others quickly hardened their faces.
“Then, please check your luggage one last time. I will send the group composition right away.”
2 in 1 team.
If possible, it might be best to be with Lee Hyun-seok.
We are close to each other, and Lee Hyun-seok is not the one who lacks fighting power.
Of course, if that’s the case, Dayoung Kim is also eligible.
“Go…suddenly hungry…”
Now, her complexion was pale, as if she had motion sickness.
Dayoung Kim, who is afraid of ghosts, will not be happy with this education.
So it’s better not to get involved in any case.
With that thought in mind, I checked the grouping on the tablet.
However, there was a person written on it that was beyond my expectations.
“·······”
I silently looked at the opponent.
Then, the other party looked this way as well, probably seeing the schedule.
And suddenly, his face crumples.
“That racist…!”
Grouped with me was Monica.
She was wearing a nun’s uniform today as well.
Also on his back was a pair of shoes wrapped in black cloth.
A long, thin bar shape.
If so, is it a spear or a staff?
She looked like she was very dissatisfied with being in the same group as me.
“Once you’ve confirmed Joe, we’ll start moving right away.”
Saying that, Lee Soo-yeon came towards me.
It seemed that the teaching assistant I was going with was her.
“Let’s go. You can use that vehicle.”
Following Suyeon Lee’s guidance, we boarded one of the vehicles lined up in the parking lot in front of the auditorium.
It was an ordinary car.
Among the vehicles seen to the side was a police car with bars that transported prisoners, but that seemed to be for Class B or Class C only.
The vehicle I was riding was a passenger car with a general structure, but the seat next to the driver’s seat was filled with unidentified luggage.
So I got into the back seat with my bag.
“You can ride Monica too.”
At Lee Soo-yeon’s urging, Monica rode opposite me with a bug-bitten face.
With her prayers, of course.
But will the end ever reach me?
Monica snuggled close to the door on the other side, hugging her god.
As expected…the more I looked at it, the more I could only think of it as being racist.
“Then we will depart.”
The car moved smoothly and left the training center.
It was like leaving the training center in a month, but maybe it was because life at the training center was so free.
It didn’t feel like anything.
But I guess it wasn’t Monica.
“·······”
She was staring out the car window mindlessly, with her hatred for me erased before she knew it.
And I saw that this woman was a foreigner.
It seemed that he had never toured Korea before and entered the training center right away.
Even though she was driving through featureless roads and cities, she blinked and looked around.
There were literally no tourists.
“How far do I have to go?”
“Two hours to go.”
It will take a long time.
Thinking so, I closed my eyes.
I want to close my eyes for a while.
But then.
The quiet quest icon flashed.
<? : Complete the exorcism practice!>
One new quest had been added before I knew it.
However, the part that indicates difficulty is the question mark.
what is a question mark?
<Difficulty level has not been specified yet.>
An explanation was kindly printed in the log.
Don’t you know the difficulty level?
Is it possible that even the quest giver doesn’t know what kind of spirit I’ll meet?
You used to be good at reading the future, but you’re incompetent in an unexpected corner.
I continued to open this window and that window and rummaged through the game screen.
But the only thing that has changed is the addition of quests.
I quickly lost interest and fell asleep again.
It was after I reached my destination that I woke up.
“…what is this place?”
I got out of the car and looked at the scenery in front of me.
It was the entrance to something big.
Peeled walls, rusty handles, and a large half-shattered bunny character.
Together, they scattered a gloomy mood all over the place.
It feels like the beginning of a horror movie.
“This is the entrance to a certain theme park. It was closed about 24 years ago due to financial difficulties.”
“A theme park…?”
Since it was a place to go to find spirits, I didn’t think it was a good place from the beginning.
But I hope you bring me to a place like this.
In the twilight when the sun goes down.
Looking around, deep in the mountains, there was only one theme park.
“Has there been an accident?”
No matter how spooky it looked, there was no way the spirit would appear if it had just collapsed and been left unattended.
Because magic comes from death.
So, the first thing that came to my mind was an accident caused by a ride.
Rumors about how a person died on an intense-looking ride were common.
However, Lee Soo-yeon’s answer was different from what was expected.
“Sagora…it’s similar. But that’s not what happened at the time of operation. The problem was after it was closed.”
Lee Soo-yeon calmly began to explain.
“The theme park closed down purely because its operator went bankrupt. However, since the demolition was not in progress, people began to enter the neglected theme park building at some point.”
“People in a place like this?”
“At first, people who had nowhere to go, such as the homeless, flowed in. However, from the middle, bad quality criminals stepped in, and due to that, there were several fights between homeless groups and criminal gangs. It was then that hemp began to sprout here. Various mysterious deaths were rampant, including deaths due to protests, as well as homeless people freezing to death, committing suicide, or being murdered.”
It was a strange story I had never heard before.
There was a lot going on in the world.
“From tonight until dawn tomorrow, you can discover and exorcise anima in this theme park. There will be one team from each of Class B and Class C, and as a supervisor, I will keep a distance from you all-”
To put it simply, it meant watching from an invisible place.
I barely understood, and I looked at Monica.
“Did you hear? let’s go.”
“·······”
Instead of answering my words, Monica nodded with a slightly stiff face.
Monica and I went through the rundown entrance and into the theme park.
There were several buildings across the open square right in front of the entrance.
The monstrosities that had been neglected for more than 10 years already looked like a horse.
“It should be quite wide, but this.”
said, looking around the plaza and beyond.
A pointed spire or part of a ride could be seen from a considerable distance past the visible building.
At least, it means that the theme park is connected up to that point.
At that level… even the distance in a straight line was in km.
How can you build such a large theme park in this mountain?
It seemed like he knew why the operator went bankrupt.
“Where do you want to go?”
I looked back at Monica.
The theme park was too large.
That’s why I didn’t know if I’d be able to find an anima even if I wandered around mindlessly.
However, Monica said that she had worked as an exorcist before entering the training center.
So, for me, it was no different than seeking advice from an experienced person.
“·······”
Monica just glared at me without saying a word.
Did you not understand what I was saying?
I remembered that I was not familiar with Korean, and I thought that.
So I called her name.
“Mr. Monica?”
“·······”
But still no answer.
No, it’s not that much, but he turns his eyes away and doesn’t even look this way.
Are you ignoring it?
I was going to pass without saying anything, but I can’t finish the quest like this.
I sighed and continued.
“Hey, why the hell are you doing that?”
“What do you mean?”
Short Korean words escaped from her mouth.
I guess you’re listening to what I’m saying.
“I don’t even answer questions, I just make a face. You’re messing with me.”
“·······”
“You don’t answer again. Do you hate me?”
“huh.”
Monica only answered that question like a ghost.
As a result, my suspicions grew more and more.
“Yeah, you might hate it. But why?”
“·······”
“Do you have any reason not to say something?”
Again, she doesn’t answer.
I was sure of this.
Hate for no reason.
Again, there was only one answer.
“under! Yeah, it must be that some Asian or something is talking to you and you’re offended.”
“···what?”
“Ah, you mean you don’t like Yellow Monkey barking in front of a great white man. This f*cking racist.”
Monica’s face, which had been cold at the word racist, changed.
She shook her head vigorously with a puzzled expression.
“That, it’s not like that.”
“No, what is it? I’m not a racist, but I hate Asians? That’s what a racist is. Wearing a nun’s uniform and being racist, that’s the end of it.”
“no! I am a racist, no!”
“Stop Asian Hate. please.”
“no!”
Monica finally screamed out loud.
With a blushing face, she was glaring at me.
“Isn’t it really?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Then why do you hate me?”
“·······”
“As expected, a racist-”
“no! wait!”
Monica took out the tablet for the Juseom Juseom training center.
I glanced at what it was doing, and it was a translator.
Monica began writing sentences into the translator at breakneck speed.
And he recited that sentence to me.
“I saw Dayoung Kim and your duel. Your duel was great. You guys had skills.”
For some reason, it was a compliment.
But soon the tone changed wildly.
“But you ruined the duel. You were cowardly.”
“·······”
“Kim Da-young is afraid of ghosts. that’s her weakness You took advantage of your friend’s weakness. betrayed a friend cowardly traitor. I hate people like that.”
harsh criticism.
Hearing that makes me sound like a huge asshole.
Unfortunately, that was the obvious truth.
So I didn’t want to clear up the misunderstanding.
“I understand why you hate me, but you still need to know how to distinguish between public life and life.”
“Bong and four?”
“What does your dislike of me have to do with ruining this practice?”
“·······”
Monica shut her mouth as if she had nothing to say.
However, the hostile gaze was still there, so I added a few more words.
“Of course, if you’re a racist, it might matter. I just want Asians to suffer.”
“I’m a racist, no!”
“Then would you like to cooperate?”
Only then did Monica nod with a dissatisfied expression.
After the trivial negotiations were over, I finally got to the point.
“We need to find an anima. Where would you like to go?”
I was used to talking nonsense toward Monica before I knew it, so I asked.
“Earth is where death is.”
“That’s right. But where is it?”
“If you kill people, which would be better?”
Monica’s question made me realize what she wanted to say.
Where there could be murder here.
Or that there would be an anima where someone might commit suicide.
“It won’t be anywhere near here.”
This is the square near the entrance.
The open space and the surrounding buildings are not suitable for murder or suicide.
then···
“Then how about there?”
Further into the plaza, there was a large, brown abandoned building.
Unlike other buildings in the theme park, this building is built in a square shape and has regular windows like a checkerboard.
From the outside, it appeared to have been built for a hotel-like purpose.
In other words, there must be many rooms inside the building, and wouldn’t it be perfect for murder or suicide?
“you. Not stupid.”
And Monica answered me like that.
We moved straight towards the building.
Suddenly, the sun had completely set.