RFH Chapter 18 — [R15]

 Episode 18

“But...”

“Still, as the team leader, I should go instead of sending my team members.”

When Min Hyemi said that, Seon Jejun, who had been silent, interjected.

“I'll be fine on my own.”

“Hmm…”

It was true. Rather than dragging someone like her, merely a D-rank hunter, as a burden, it might indeed be better for Seon Jejun to enter alone. 

However, the quest demanded her contribution, and more importantly… judging by the task of 'saving someone,' it seemed the purpose of this rift wasn’t combat-oriented.

“It’s fine.”

At Min Hyemi’s response, Seon Jejun didn’t say anything further. He merely stared into the rift with an unfathomable, drowsy gaze.

“Shall we enter?”

“...Alright.”

Min Hyemi could feel Han Ian and Kang Jinhyuk’s sharp stares piercing her from behind, but she didn’t look back. Instead, she walked forward alongside Seon Jejun toward the rift.

The moment the dark, rippling rift swallowed them—

[<You have entered the world of ■■■!>]

[Escape Condition: Find and rescue the thoughts of ■■■.]

Who or what this ■■■ was, they would discover as they explored the rift.

***

Wrapped in bright light, when she opened her eyes, she saw a dark corridor.

“Where are we?” 

Min Hyemi whispered softly. After glancing around for a moment, Seon Jejun replied.

“It looks like a house.”

Now that she thought about it, the building style was somewhat familiar. It resembled the grand palace where she had once lived in the previous world. 

So this must be...

“It’s an old Western-style mansion.”

Inside the mansion, no signs of life could be felt. The faintly lit candles barely brightened the darkness, giving the atmosphere an eerie feel.

‘Is this a horror setting?’

With that thought in mind, they walked down the corridor on their floor but found nothing. Instead, they discovered a staircase.

“This is the second floor, and below us is the first floor.”

“Let’s head downstairs.”

When they reached the first floor, they saw the darkened entrance of an ordinary mansion.

Clunk—

However, the door was firmly shut, as if locked from the outside.

‘It really seems like a horror setting.’

She started to understand why an S-grade mental fortitude was a prerequisite for this quest.

“There’s a basement.”

“Maybe there’s a clue there.”

Agreeing to explore the basement, they descended the stairs. As Seon Jejun, who was leading, opened the door to the basement—

“........!”

Even Min Hyemi, who hadn’t been fazed by any horror movie before, experienced fear for the first time in ages.

Screech—

The sound was as torturous as nails scraping a chalkboard.

And the culprit of the noise stood right behind the door.

A grotesque red mass with thousands of eyeballs wriggled, flaunting its long, slimy tentacles.

“Ugh…”

The moment Min Hyemi instinctively stepped back, Seon Jejun slammed the door shut with a loud bang.

“Run!”

Following her instincts, she spun around and bolted up the stairs.

By the time she reached the second-floor corridor where they started, she hadn’t even caught her breath.

“Huff, huff…”

It was only after she felt safe again that she could reflect on what she had just witnessed.

It was...

“It felt like my mind was unraveling.”

“…......”

“It was a grotesque shape that no human imagination could conceive. If my mental strength wasn’t S-grade, my brain might’ve already been shattered.”

Unlike the terrified Min Hyemi, Seon Jejun, who was SS-grade, remained relatively composed. Seeing his calm demeanor, Min Hyemi began to regain her composure as well.

Right, dealing with this was still better than returning to her original world and facing those wretched male leads.

Then, out of nowhere, a person came to her mind.

If they truly were inside a horror scenario, the master of this world could only be…

“Yoo Seongtae?”

She remembered hearing he was from a horror game with endless loops.

If he had gone through such experiences thousands of times, it made sense why he wasn’t entirely sane.

“For now, let’s focus on finding that ‘thought.’”

“Alright.”

Having regained her reason, Min Hyemi took the lead, with Seon Jejun following behind.

They decided to investigate the rooms on the second floor first.

However…

“I really don’t want to see those things again.”

“Still, it doesn’t seem like they’re chasing us.”

Perhaps those creatures couldn’t leave their designated spots.

[Skill <Heightened Sensitivity> Activated!]

At that moment, a system window appeared in front of her, causing Min Hyemi to frown.

“Sniffle, sob…”

A faint sound of crying could be heard from somewhere.

“Do you hear that?”

“Yes.”

Seon Jejun, who heard it as well, began walking in the direction of the sound.

Soon, they stood before a door where they presumed the ‘thought’ was located.

Knock, knock—

Min Hyemi gently knocked on the door and added to clarify her intent, 

“We’re human. Could you open the door for us?”

“Ahhh!”

But the only sound coming from behind the door was a scream filled with agony.

“Stop it already! What on earth did you mess with this time?”

“Huh?”

“I’d rather die once and restart!”

No, that couldn’t happen.

The moment Min Hyemi’s pupils shook in disbelief, the doorknob was effortlessly broken by Seon Jejun’s strength.

As the door swung open, they saw a young boy crouching in the middle of an ordinary room.

“Yoo Seongtae…”

Recognizing the familiar features on his face, Min Hyemi murmured.

So, this really was <Yoo Seongtae’s World>.

The young Yoo Seongtae, his face full of fear, glanced at them suspiciously. Upon realizing they were ordinary humans, his expression shifted to confusion.

“Humans…?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

To clear up his misunderstanding, Min Hyemi quickly responded.

Since he appeared as a young boy, she spoke in the gentlest, most approachable tone possible.

“We suddenly ended up in this strange place. Are you human, too?”

“Human?”

“We just saw some bizarre creatures… This place feels like some sort of strange world.”

Her casual, natural performance seemed to earn a bit of his trust. The faint glimmer of hope shone in his eyes.

“This has never happened before. Is this some kind of anomaly in this round? What did I mess with?”

“Have you been here long? Can you explain what this place is?”

At Min Hyemi’s question, the boy stood up and slammed the half-open door shut. With an oddly unsettling smile, he replied.

“You’re asking where this is? This is a horror game.”

“A horror game…”

“Welcome to the horror escape game, Jordan’s Mansion.”

“And how long have you been here…?”

“Well, I stopped counting at some point.”

The boy glanced into the void and gave a twisted smile.

“I passed 300 rounds a while ago. I stopped keeping track after that.”

“….....!”

It was an utterly damning statement that explained why he had entered Exodus.

“So, how do we get out of this mansion?”

“Getting out is impossible. The only thing you can do is survive as long as possible.”

“What? But it’s supposed to be an escape game…”

“This is the free trial version.”

At that moment, a chill ran down Min Hyemi’s spine. Could it mean…

“The trial version doesn’t allow you to acquire any items. You’re stuck here forever without being able to escape.”

“Then, you’re just…”

“Waiting for death, while trying to last a bit longer.”

Now, Min Hyemi couldn’t help but curse the god who had sent them to this twisted world in place of Yoo Seongtae.

A horror escape game, but a free trial version? An escape game where you can’t escape?

Damn it. She fully understood why Yoo Seongtae had lost his mind.

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