Chapter 20

Any amusement park with a decent reputation invests a fair amount of money in three kinds of attractions.

One is a roller coaster, another a carousel.

And finally, the premium attraction that eats up the most money, requiring loads of special effects and animatronic figures...

'The dark ride.'

An indoor ride that takes visitors through an enormous, elaborate set introducing the theme park's very theme.

In Korea, the Adventures of Sinbad and Global Village were famous examples, if I remembered right.

And in the Gaiety Theme Park ghost story, that attraction was this one.

"Fantasy Train!"

The researcher spat as he spoke.

"Everyone died on that thing! I'm not riding it!! I said I'm not!"

Testimony #4 (Survivor: Park Yein)

-All four passengers who boarded Fantasy Train went missing.

Stuffed dolls made from their repurposed clothing and bones were subsequently discovered in the souvenir shop. (Presumed dead)

That was certainly what it had said.

And yes, the attraction had caused numerous casualties in the <Records of Dark Exploration> I'd read...

But that wasn't the whole story.

'All those casualties mean this attraction appears that much more often!'

As befitted a board game with random elements, the combination of zones and mascots in the Gaiety Theme Park ghost story changed with every entry.

But Fantasy Train was probably an attraction that always appeared in every version.

Because... its theme was unmistakable.

"Please read the description beneath the sign."

I pointed beneath the <Fantasy Train> sign.

-Meet the inhabitants of each zone in Fantasy Land and discover their stories! A delightful train ride!

"It seems to be an attraction that introduces this theme park."

That was also one of the most important elements in escaping this ghost story.

'How is this theme park divided into zones, and by which colors?'

Let's not forget. This had originated as a board game.

What did choosing a faction in a game mean?

Choosing what made you different.

'And dividing teams by color means those colors come with advantages or disadvantages.'

So understanding that first mattered more than anything here...

Which zone corresponded to your team's color.

And what special characteristics it had.

* * *

Gaiety Theme Park User Guide (Applicable through Exploration Log 64)

4. Each zone in the theme park is colored according to its theme! The place where you first open your eyes is your team's zone!

Respect the zones. The zones matter more than anything look at the colors do not displease the mascots the mascots are everything to their zones

* * *

But persuading people who didn't know that yet required a different argument.

'Get to work, brain.'

My first target... had to be the highest-ranking person here.

"Hmm. But everyone who rode it died?"

Deputy Jin of Team A, wearing her butterfly mask.

To win over this elite with her superiority complex... Right.

Flatter her.

"Wasn't that a single team of civilians?"

"Hmm?"

I deliberately sounded slightly puzzled.

"They approached it without knowing anything, with no more caution than they'd exercise on an ordinary ride. It's unlikely they responded properly to a supernatural situation."

"And?"

"Comparing them to the Field Exploration Team, who clear Darkness professionally with a specific goal in mind... Well."

I frowned slightly.

"That seems a little unfair to the civilians."

"... Hah."

My Team A superior snorted.

"You've certainly got a cheeky way with words. ... Well, you're not wrong."

"N-not wrong, my...!"

"Hey."

She clamped a hand around the researcher's head.

"...!"

A gleaming fingernail dug sharply into his temple.

"Do you think you get a say here?"

"..."

"Want to die here and become food waste that isn't even good enough for a souvenir? Or do you want to ride that?"

The researcher fell quiet again. She was practically his own personal school bully...

"Move."

"..."

Looking utterly miserable, he began dragging his feet.

Toward Fantasy Train.

'Two birds with one stone...'

A success.

That left just one last person, then.

Team Y's recruit, Jang Heoun.

As we followed the signs for Fantasy Train, I slipped back to walk beside him and quietly offered a tip.

"Don't worry."

"Sorry...?"

"What I said just now was only to persuade her... Actually, we're going because I've thought of another trick."

"A trick... meaning?"

"You could call it insider know-how."

I smiled faintly.

"I used to work part-time at a theme park."

"Oh!"

Sorry. That was a lie...

But in an extreme situation this hostile to cowards, did it matter how we got there, as long as the destination was survival?

You'd end up saying, "Wow! Thanks for lying, fellow recruit!" too, you know?

"O-oh, I see. In that case..."

"Yes. It should be reasonably safe."

Just think of it that way, more or less.

Anyway, following the signs soon brought us to Fantasy Train's boarding entrance.

It was a model station with an impressive sign, decorated with elaborate, realistic steam-engine parts and brickwork, but...

"There's nobody here."

"..."

The interior was eerily empty.

Not a soul.

-Haha, enjoy a wonderful train journey! Haha, enjoy a wonderful train journey! Haha, enjoy a wonderful train journey...

The contrast with the cheerful amusement-park music made it feel strange.

All we could see was a train standing beyond the queue.

And a rabbit mascot dressed as an engineer in front of it.

"Another mascot."

"Is that this attraction's attendant?"

It was.

We quickly passed through the empty queue and approached. The engineer mascot extended a gloved hand and stamped our bracelets, its eyes vacant.

[(Gaiety) Fantasy Land Admission Ticket ■□□]

One down already, then?

We were then directed to board a small, colorful train that looked like a steam locomotive from a fairy tale.

The mascot returned to its spot and began waving both hands.

Something like, "Enjoy your ride!" I supposed.

Since nothing unusual had happened so far, the researcher and the Team Y recruit looked a little relieved despite themselves.

Unfortunately, I was about to do something unusual.

'Where would it be... Hmm. Only over there?'

After checking all around, I finally fixed my gaze on the mascot.

Then I spoke.

"Deputy Jin."

"What?"

"Where that mascot attendant is standing. Do you see the stand?"

I pointed to a sort of mock ticket-counter desk directly in front of the engineer rabbit.

"Would you be able to use your Exclusive Equipment to turn that stand a little toward us? Quietly, without damaging it."

"Why?"

"There's something on the back."

The Team A deputy gave me a rather odd look, but soon pulled out her index fingernail.

Quickly and quietly.

TICK.

CREEEAK...

Thrown toward the retro teal stand, the false nail caught its corner and turned it with a faint scraping sound.

As it turned halfway, its back came into view—not the wooden finish one might expect.

Instead, there were intricate buttons and circuits.

The attraction's emergency control panel.

"...!"

Found it.

The control panel!

'I definitely read about this in <Records of Dark Exploration>.'

A scene describing how the theme park's rides had working controls, just like real ones!

* * *

Immediately after boarding the basket-shaped attraction named Tomato Express, a label reading <Have fun being crushed by a steel plate!> was discovered attached to the basket.

Search for emergency stop button initiated immediately.

Successfully located at the attraction's departure point. However, all attempts to press the button failed. (Operator: Supervisor Lee Jiwon, Attempts: 6)

All personnel deceased.

* * *

Their attempt had failed, but...

'We can do it.'

I immediately flipped my coin to summon the translucent glove, tossed it a five-hundred-won coin, and gestured for them to merge.

'Five seconds is enough.'

My floating hand approached the half-exposed back of the stand.

My target... the lever.

MIN MAX

∥-----------------∥

▲

"W-wait, Soleum. What exactly is that? Those markings..."

"Hold on tight."

"What? T-to what...?"

"The handgrips on your train seat."

My hand pulled the lever all the way.

"Get a firm grip."

MIN MAX

∥-----------------∥

▲

That instant, the train shot forward at an insane speed.

EEEEEEEE!

-Fantasy Train is departing!

"Hurk!"

"Wh-what the hell?!"

Desperately clutching my seat's handgrips, I answered.

"I pulled the speed lever! To maximum speed!"

"Why the fuck would you do that, you lunatic!"

Because I had something in mind.

"If we're going fast, nothing can mess with the train!"

"...!"

Skipping the events.

'A dark ride normally moves slowly while you look at and experience the decorated interior.'

But what if you tore through it at an insane speed?

'You skip everything!'

The interior scenery, the effects.

Even the mortal danger they posed!

In the case I'd read in <Records of Dark Exploration>, they'd used it to slow down a roller coaster, but what mattered was whether speed controls existed at all!

I'd figured there was a good chance it would work here too.

'Yes!'

Success!

Though... the next stage did present a problem.

I glanced outside.

EEEEEEEE!

I could feel the pressure of the wind.

We were moving practically as fast as a roller coaster.

This speed setting had undoubtedly been included almost exclusively for safety testing.

... Meaning it wasn't intended for actual operation.

'... If I pass out from fright, I'll get flung out of the train, won't I?'

That would mean certain death.

A side effect of having the train race along like a runaway locomotive, you might say.

A fatal drawback for a coward like me, but...

'I have a countermeasure!'

Feel like you're going to faint?

Just don't look!

[Passengers, you've arrived in beautiful Fantasy Land!]

The instant the narration started, I shouted.

"I'm going to close my eyes!"

"What?!"

Throwing caution to the wind, I shut my eyes.

"That narration sounds important! I'll concentrate on it as hard as I can!"

"...!"

"Tell me if we're about to die!"

"You're completely fucking crazy, aren't you?! Haha, I like it!"

Just as the Team A deputy's laughter died away, the narration swept past my ears.

[How did Fantasy Land come into being?]

[Long, long ago, 403930291928494 hours ago, a yellow flower, a blue dragon, and a red rabbit lived together in one land.]

[This very wonderful place!]

"A-a weird flower, the flower is calling m..."

"Duck!"

[But they were so different!]

['You're too noisy!']

['You're too dirty!']

['You're too boring!']

[In the end, unable to accept one another as they were, they began to fight. This is my land!]

"Aaargh! Snakes, snake monsters, monsters crawling on the ground! Eek! They tried to latch on to the train... but they've fallen behind..."

"Hah."

[The yellow flower said,]

['I hate you! Get out of here!']

The attraction flew past in an instant.

As the train hurtled along, the ride time sped up as though someone had hit fast-forward.

[The blue dragon said,]

['I hate you! You're the one who should get out!']

'The fight's almost over, then...'

Now for the ending.

'This was described a few times too.'

Ultimately, those mascots each wanted to live as they pleased.

So they divided the zones by their respective colors and came to live peacefully in Fantasy Land, each in their own way...

[The red rabbit said,]

[Die.]

...

What.

[The red rabbit decided to eliminate its friends by any means necessary. No, they were no longer friends. Enemies! Enemies! Enemies!]

[One by one, one by one, one by one! Drop them into pits, drown them in water, push them off cliffs!]

[Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!]

DieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDi eDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDieDie

The narration cut off.

Then suddenly resumed.

An unnaturally cheerful voice.

[The red rabbit won!]

The voice crackled with static.

[Only the red rabbit, Magic Bunny, rules this land.]

[Magic Bunny alone is dream, fantasy, and law, and only his ideology is worth enjoying.]

Silence.

My fellow passengers, who had been making a tremendous racket as though witnessing all manner of horrors, were now only breathing heavily.

The gasping sounds of terror.

And...

...the train was slowing down.

I swallowed.

'... The final stop.'

No matter how fast a ride went, it slowed to a stop at the end.

[Magic Bunny's Fantasy Land]

Cold sweat soaked the back of my neck.

A sense of foreboding crept over me.

At last, I raised my head.

[The great Magic Bunny!]

A gigantic rabbit mascot's head appeared directly ahead.

Its bloodred eyes spun wildly. As the grotesque rabbit opened its mouth, the disgusting teeth packed inside thrust forward as though turning inside out.

[Become part of the great Magic Bunny!]

A scenario I'd never seen before.

[Die]

A dizzying cacophony filled the air.

Red rabbits swarmed every window of the train, pressing their heads against the glass and staring straight at us, their mascot suits looking ready to burst.

[Die]

I nearly fainted.

"Haaagh, haaaa...!!"

"D-d-die..."

The snickering narration went berserk. Red lights flashed inside the train, and panicked muttering assaulted me from every direction, clouding my mind.

A voice cut through it.

"Ah. I think I get it."

"... What?"

"It's a sort of initiation, huh? Kill the person beside you... Pretty standard."

What was she talking about?

"You just saw it too. The rabbit killed all its friends, didn't it? Oh. Your eyes were closed, so you wouldn't have seen. Still, you got the gist from the narration, right?"

The Team A employee's voice was perfectly casual.

Turning my head, I saw her looking around at the rabbits in the windows through her butterfly mask as though this were an everyday occurrence.

"Who should we kill, then?"

"What are..."

"Shh."

The eyes beneath the butterfly mask grew sinister.

An appraising stare.

"Hmm."

Team Y.

The researcher.

Me.

Team Y.

The researcher.

Team Y.

The researcher.

The researcher.

Team Y...

"You."

She picked someone.

The instant the Team Y recruit's jaw turned deathly pale, the Team A deputy swung her index finger around.

"Grab that bastard in the white coat."

The researcher.

"...!"

A death sentence.

"W-wai..."

THUMP.

With unnatural movements, the Team Y recruit seized and restrained the researcher's limbs.

"Wh-what are you, what... W-w-wait a minute."

"Cover his mouth too. Oh, and you keep yours shut."

"Mmph!"

"Ah... Do we each need to kill one ourselves? Hey, top recruit."

I reflexively looked at her.

"You kill this one. Let me observe."

"Mmph! Mmmmmph! Mmph mmph!"

"Don't use your Exclusive Equipment. Do it yourself... Oh, right. That rabbit dropped the dragon off a cliff earlier. Throw him out of the train yourself. Let's see if that counts too."

Me?

"Go on."

Stiffly, as if my neck were creaking, I turned to look at the window again, then hastily turned back.

'The mascots are crying blood...!'

Just look at them plastered all over the windows.

There was no way I could open that train window. I'd collapse halfway through and turn into a screaming machine.

Besides, what... kill someone as casually as eating a cup of instant noodles?

No, no. Even setting that aside.

'... This is the total-party-wipe route!'

With another irregularity cropping up and things becoming so terrifying I could barely think, I'd only just realized it, but I was certain.

'We can't cater to that mascot here!'

If we... took this path, we'd all die!

But how on earth could I convince her?

She was the sort of employee who would immediately cut my head off if I said something like, "I've seen more than seventy exploration logs from the future."

'So, so...'

Ah, screw it!

"Wait a moment!"

"What?"

"This is a trap."

Let's bluff my way through.

I launched into a shameless lie!