Chapter 15

<Daydream Inc.> is a sinister company that shoves its Field Exploration Team employees into horrific ghost stories to extract potion concentrate.

Which raises a question.

-If they blindly shove employees into incredibly dangerous, high-grade ghost stories, won't everyone die without extracting any concentrate?

To answer that question and make the ghost stories easier to develop, the setting introduces the idea that employees have special equipment they can upgrade as they rise through the ranks.

But it doesn't get too specific. Once you start sorting every single piece of equipment into grades and tables, you're no longer writing internet ghost stories. You're building the lore for a massive game.

So, to make it easy for anyone to contribute, an even more convenient premise was added.

-Customized Exclusive Equipment

Once employees have proven themselves reasonably useful, the company helps them acquire supernatural equipment of their own.

Of course, regular employees don't get to wield cartoon powers. It's more like a small boost to a special stat. Something that makes situations a little more convenient, you could say.

'Still, better than nothing.'

Without realizing it, I looked expectantly at Team Leader Lee Jaheon, only to meet the lizard's eyes and quietly lower my head.

I really couldn't get used to this.

"Oh, does that mean I can make custom equipment?"

"Yes."

"... Would you explain how?"

"Yes."

After I asked three times, a detailed explanation finally followed.

Still, it was interesting.

'Even I only knew bits and pieces about this.'

Things that had only been mentioned sporadically throughout <Records of Dark Exploration> came together into a coherent explanation from the section chief.

"Custom equipment can be made using certain Darknesses in the company's possession."

Right. Of course they'd use ghost stories.

[Gaiety Laboratory's Toy Maker /Qterw-E-07]

[Friendly Seed Kit / Qterw-E-99]

[We Offer This Sacrifice / Qterw-E-404]

As far as I remembered, those were the three ghost stories described as having been used by Daydream Inc. employees to make equipment.

Of those, the one the Field Exploration Team mainly used was...

"... That's the one."

Oh!

* * *

"Perfect timing! This Darkness only works on moonlit nights!"

With my teammates happily tagging along to watch, I headed to the annex beside the company building with the section chief.

My superiors had urged me to strike while the iron was hot and go right now.

"Ah... this is where they keep relatively safe, useful ghost stories in containment," the deputy explained. "The company generally calls these 'Twilight Grade.'"

I knew that. Officially, these were E-grade ghost stories.

But the classification worked a little differently from simply calling them E-grade.

'They've singled out the useful ones.'

Some were far more powerful than D-grade ghost stories, while others were even less dangerous than F-grade ones, so people more often used their distinct designation, "Twilight."

"Roe Deer, you saw that... radio on your first day, right? It's useful because it tells you your fortune for the day. That sort of thing."

After we scanned our employee IDs and entered the annex's first floor, I saw a staircase leading underground.

At the bottom... someone sat at a dimly lit reception desk.

It was a strange figure dressed entirely in black, complete with a face mask, sunglasses, and a hat.

An employee?

The supervisor immediately stepped forward.

"Hello! We're Team D from the Field Exploration unit, here for a visit and some new-recruit training."

"..."

"Oh, we're requesting access to Twilight Grade Darkness Number 99."

The black-clad figure studied the supervisor briefly, as if verifying something, then nodded.

After that nod, the figure pressed a button on the desk, opening one of the emergency doors behind it.

CREAK.

Beyond it was a corridor lined with countless doors.

"Don't open any other rooms, even by accident. Actually, they'll be locked anyway, but don't even touch the handles."

Very sound advice.

I nodded without a word and kept walking.

Soon, we stopped before a door marked "99," and the deputy placed an employee ID against the reader.

CLICK.

"Let's go in."

I looked up.

Moonlight poured into a greenhouse overgrown with weeds.

And at its very center stood a single rusted machine, bathed in moonlight.

* * *

Records of Dark Exploration / Ghost Stories

[Friendly Seed Kit]

: A ghost story appearing in <Records of Dark Exploration>. Its Daydream Inc. identification code is Qterw-E-99.

A ghost story that treats objects as plants, extracting their genetic information to crossbreed and sow them. Powered by moonlight.

* * *

That's right.

'A ghost story where you put in two objects, and it blends their traits to make a new one.'

This rather atmospheric ghost story was the Darkness the Field Exploration Team relied on most heavily to make custom equipment.

"Our department pretty much has exclusive use of this one!"

Standing before the rusted machine, I asked, "Does using this cost points?"

"Yep. You have to pay a usage fee to activate the Twilight Grade Darknesses stored in the annex."

"Ah..."

"For reference, this one's 1,000p per use."

Hold on.

Wasn't something wrong here?

"If this equipment is necessary for exploring Darkness, shouldn't the company cover the cost instead of charging us?"

No matter how hopeless this company was, surely it needed to do that much to keep things runni—

"Oh, once you're a supervisor, you get two free uses a year."

"..."

Maybe... I should have gotten that promotion after all.

"So most people wait until they become supervisors before using it. Usually, you only have to hang on for a year at most."

Hmm.

I thought it over.

'Section Chief Lee Jaheon must have a reason for thinking it's useful even if it costs points.'

People said Lizard—Employee D—had nothing going for him but brute force, but that clearly included an instinctive level of intuition.

If an employee with a high survival rate offered a specific piece of advice...

'I think I should take it.'

If investing 1,000p could improve my early survival chances, that had to be the right choice.

... Even if my hands were trembling a little!

"I'd like to try it now."

"Okay!"

The supervisor responded enthusiastically, then lowered his voice as if something had occurred to him.

"... But you know you'll need some existing equipment to put in first, right? Something with an ability you can use as a genetic factor."

"Ah... of course."

I'd already checked all of that in this ghost story's exploration logs.

* * *

Exploration Log #05

Employee N inserted a tumbler* and a backpack.

The tumbler* is special equipment (liquid poured in after sunrise never runs out until sunset. Owned by Section Chief Choi■■). The backpack has no unusual properties.

Seed result: Backpack.

(Notes: Possesses a special ability similar to the tumbler's. However, it runs dry once 87L or more of liquid has been withdrawn.)

* * *

"Don't worry! When someone gets their first custom equipment, it's customary for teammates to lend them their own equipment once, free of charge."

"Yeah. Not both pieces, just one. For the other, you either use something of your own or pay to borrow it."

The deputy glanced at our team leader.

"And the team leader... does have the best equipment out of all of us."

I'd expected that. He was the highest-ranking one here, after all.

"If you don't mind, sir, could I see your equipment?"

"Yes."

The lizard pulled something from his pocket.

It was a small knife with an ash-gray sheen.

"It's a butter knife. If I cut a medium used to enter a Darkness, I can slice through space and transport small objects."

Oh.

"So this is what you used when you threw us that AAA battery."

"Yes."

I looked at the butter knife with fresh eyes.

'I'd been hoping for defensive equipment... I guess it won't be that easy.'

Unfortunately, neither of my other superiors had anything defensive, either.

One piece involved deception, the other communication.

'If it comes to it, I could probably get something with similar effects from the Alien Shop...'

I made up my mind.

"Then you're going with the team leader's equipment?"

"Yes."

I bowed out of politeness.

"Thank you, sir."

Section Chief Lee Jaheon nodded slightly and approached the machine.

Old-fashioned lettering appeared on its worn LCD screen.

[Please Give Me Plants 0/2]

I watched the section chief hold his equipment up to the machine to scan its "genetic information."

[Plant Information Saved]

[Please Give Me Plants 1/2]

"Now you just put in whatever you want to use next. ... Oh, wait."

The deputy spoke hurriedly.

"You can put pretty much anything into this machine as long as it's nothing too strange. But there's one thing you absolutely can't use."

The deputy tapped the sign attached to the front of the machine.

※ABSOLUTELY NO PLANTS

"Never put in an actual plant just because it asks for one."

"..."

"The sensors at the door screen out all plants anyway, but I'm telling you just in case."

Now that my eyes had adjusted to the darkness, I could see what the weeds flourishing around us really were.

All fake. Artificial plants.

... An exploration log came to mind unbidden.

* * *

Exploration Log #14 (Irregular)

Employee R plucked weeds growing around the Darkness (presumed dandelions) and inserted them into the machine twice.

The result was [REDACTED], which sprang out with a monstrous shriek [REDACTED][REDACTED]

-The security team required 7 days to complete suppression.

All 3 individuals present, including Employee R, confirmed dead. Removal of all plants confirmed.

※Notice: Any recurrence will result in disciplinary action and termination.

* * *

Hmm. Definitely committing that one to memory.

"Yes. Thank you for telling me."

"No need to thank me."

Meanwhile, having finished registering his equipment and returned the knife to his suit pocket, the section chief straightened up.

"People usually use an ordinary, convenient object for the other slot. In that case, however, the equipment's supernatural traits may be inherited only weakly, or, in rare cases, not at all."

I already knew that, but nodded solemnly in response.

"It can't be helped. I'll accept it even if that happens."

I reached into my pocket and took something out.

"Ohh, so that's why you stopped by your company housing earlier. You had something you wanted to use?"

"Yes."

In my hand was a silver coin.

-Silver Snake

The very item I'd bought at a steep discount from the Alien Shop.

"I'm planning to use this."

I could just use an item in the other slot.

I had quite a few supernatural items on hand!

That was actually why I'd been pleased to learn that the Field Exploration Team used the Friendly Seed Kit.

'I have more sources for items than other people.'

From the black notepad floating in the air that gave me merchandise to the Alien Shop.

Ever since entering this place, I'd been running through my lineup of items.

'And the one likely to have the highest grade...'

Had to be this.

I rolled the round coin bearing a snake across my palm.

'It had the highest original price.'

Besides, considering that Section Chief Lee Jaheon's butter knife was used for "supply delivery," I had some hope it might produce an unusual synergy with this coin, which I presumed was "currency."

I held the coin up to the machine.

The lizard's pupils widened at the sight of the silver.

"What's that?"

"A commemorative coin. I bought it as a souvenir on a trip... and I have a strangely good feeling about it."

"... I see."

... Had he noticed it was an item?

It didn't matter even if he had. Ghost stories were so easy to encounter in this setting that it was perfectly plausible I might be carrying a supernatural object without knowing it...

'And a coin isn't all that suspicious.'

It was small and ordinary.

"Looks easy to carry. I think they'll be a good match."

"Thank you."

I finished the scan as my superiors offered their encouraging comments.

[Plant Information Saved]

[Please Give Me Plants 2/2]

"Ah, now for the final step."

[Please Provide the Gardener's Information]

This was why it was called "custom equipment."

I had no idea what it actually did, but it seemed to insist on the genetic information of the guardian who would care for the plant.

'This introduced all sorts of variables.'

Despite my misgivings, I completed the scan.

[Verification Complete]

Here it comes.

[Combining Genetic Information]

[Generating Kit...]

Multicolored smoke billowed from the machine, accompanied by the creaking of turning gears...

[Sowing Complete]

HISS.

The drawer at the very front of the machine opened, revealing a small object.

A gray coin.

More precisely, a toy token like something you'd use at an arcade. A glove was embossed on its glossy face.

"Oh, there it is."

"Congratulations, Roe Deer."

I carefully reached out and picked it up.

My first piece of custom equipment.

* * *

I went straight back to my company housing.

My superiors had said their goodbyes with, "Get plenty of sleep. See you tomorrow."

Apparently, they didn't want to make me do something as stupid as test my equipment's abilities while inside a Darkness.

"... All right."

Sitting on my bed, I took out two coins.

One was the Silver Snake I'd bought from the Alien Shop and used as a "parent plant."

The other was the gray token born from combining the genetic information of that Silver Snake and the department manager's butter knife.

So far, so good. Except...

"... How do I activate it?"

Not even a twitch.

'Come to think of it, the Silver Snake wasn't the sort of item with an explicitly stated supernatural ability, either.'

Surely it hadn't given me a toy token I had to spend like real currency and called it equipment... I broke into a cold sweat.

Fortunately, that fear was soon put to rest.

"I guess this really is what you do with a coin."

I tried one classic move.

Flipping the token with my thumb.

The glove embossed on the face of the token actually sprang out.

"...!"

A translucent silver glove appeared in midair.

Moving like a mime, it traced letters in the air.

[Insert coin]

... It wanted a coin?

I rummaged through my wallet, pulled out a hundred-won coin, and offered it to the glove.

But the glove refused.

"What?"

Did it want a different currency? Or...

"How about this?"

I held out a five-hundred-won coin.

The hand gladly accepted it, slipped it between its fingers, then made it vanish like a magic trick.

'So the amount was the problem.'

Equipment firmly committed to the principles of capitalism.

As I stared in disbelief, the translucent glove approached my hand and merged with it, as though I had put it on.

"...!"

A strange sensation came over me.

'A third... hand?'

A shape like a shadow of my hand floated before my eyes.

It moved as I willed it to.

It could push against walls, open the bathroom door, and even write.

'Its strength and dexterity... are exactly the same as mine.'

So, in short, it was a third, telekinetic hand I could move for a few seconds by feeding it a coin.

Its range was roughly... a three-meter radius.

"Five seconds for five hundred won isn't bad."

Soon, the Shadow Hand floating in the air vanished, and the translucent glove slipped smoothly off my hand.

Then it waved as if saying goodbye and became an embossed image on the face of the token again.

"Hmm."

Pretty decent.

Unlike the team leader's butter knife, it didn't overcome the spatial barrier between a ghost story and reality.

But in exchange, it felt like it offered a wider range of uses within a ghost story. It might actually be more versatile.

Granted, my ammunition was limited by the practical question of how many five-hundred-won coins I could run around with in my suit...

'I'd call this a successful roll.'

And everything had gone smoothly without exposing the fact that my coin was an item. Excellent.

"Make yourself worth the 1,000p I invested."

I tucked the token into my pocket with my other items.

While I was at it, I replenished my used-up Smile Stickers and grabbed another "can bottle."

'People really are adaptable creatures, huh?'

I lay down on the bed.

I felt surprisingly good.

That horrible talk show still appeared vividly whenever I closed my eyes, but I could sleep reasonably well as long as I left the lights on.

Maybe it was because things had ended well.

'... At least I had some luck in the midst of all that bad luck.'

I'd gotten lucky with my group-project teammates, too.

'Maybe it's because I earned so many points in one go, but things feel oddly hopeful...'

I blinked, overcome by drowsiness.

The points I still needed for a Wish Coupon loomed like a mountain, and I had no idea how many more ghost stories I'd have to clear.

But, surprisingly, for the first time, I thought I might actually be able to make it through that stretch...

'Maybe I can quietly hang in there.'

* * *

... That was the ridiculous bit of wishful thinking I briefly indulged in, before I went to work the next day and learned the insane fact that an official notice had gone out declaring, "Wow! New recruit clears major A-grade incident on second day of employment!"

"Roe Deer, sit down a moment. It looks like our... hmm, our assignment's going to change a little."

"What?"

This is only my third day here.