The first sensation I felt was dampness.

Squish.

As I inserted my hand soaked in saltwater into the hole, I felt a peculiar chill, as though I had plunged my hand into ink.

Then, I was sucked in.

“…!”

The suction, which began at my hand, soon engulfed my entire body.

‘I can’t breathe.’

It felt like wet paper clinging to my body, constricting me.

In the swirling darkness of sight and sensation, my vision spun round and round until—

“Gasp!”

Thud.

I gasped for air in the chill of empty space.

I opened my eyes.

Instead of stars, the nightscape of a provincial city, lit by neon signs, unfolded before me.

A Korean autumn night.

‘…I’m alive.’

I was back in reality.

“Phew.”

I tried to stand on my trembling legs but almost fell.

From beneath my feet, a trail of dark red ink oozed out.

“……”

I followed the trace of ink with my gaze.

A piece of old hanji paper (traditional Korean paper) lay there, its ink wash painting smudged and faded.

It looked as though time had long since weathered the painting, with fresh ink poured on top, leaving it barely recognizable.

‘…That must be one of the paintings leading to that insane mountain.’

Feeling an eerie chill, I quickly looked away and instead focused on the people scattered on the ground.

One, two, three… seven. Everyone was here.

It seemed the painting had spat them out after me.

“Ugh…”

“Are you all right?”

“Ugh… huh?! W-We’re out!!”

Manager Lee Byungjin looked around at the open air and shouted.

“Haha! We-we’re alive!! We’re alive!!”

Then, with a face full of joy and tears, he turned to me and bowed deeply.

“Th-Thank you. For saving us…”

“You saved yourself, Manager. You’re the one who performed the ritual, weren’t you?”

“…Haha, you’re too modest… I’m embarrassed, really.”

Manager Lee Byungjin bowed again, looking somehow touched.

It wasn’t modesty so much as flattery, but I let him interpret it as he pleased.

“Oh, ohhh?!”

The next to come to their senses were the middle schoolers, and as I tended to them, I learned a startling story.

“This is the location for your school trip?”

“Yes!!”

Now that they mentioned it, the description of the “pavilion behind the lodge” they’d given earlier fit this place perfectly.

‘So this is where it spat us out.’

…At least it wasn’t in that bizarre office space in the company basement. That was a relief.

I didn’t stop the kids, who hugged each other and cried in relief, from immediately trying to rush down the mountain. I only gave them a warning.

“Watch your step and make sure to meet an adult when you get down. Call your parents right away, got it?”

But the kids looked hesitant, even scared.

“You’re not coming with us…?”

Oh… of course, they’d feel that way.

Whether I ended up mistaken for a kidnapper or hailed as a hero for saving them, the moment I set foot in a police station, the company wouldn’t be too happy about it.

‘As long as they get back safely.’

I shook my head slowly and said, “We have somewhere else to go. You all head straight down. Don’t look back.”

They might trip otherwise.

“…! Okay.”

The kids, seemingly rejuvenated by some great resolve, stiffened up and, as I instructed, carefully leaned on one another as they began descending the mountain.

‘That’s that.’

It was a well-maintained trail on a gentle hill, so they’d be down in five minutes.

As I watched their backs fade away, it happened.

Tap, tap.

“Excuse me…”

The security team captain, who had gotten up early and was staggering about, tapped me on the shoulder.

“Here, take this…”

“Oh.”

He held out a wooden stick with a greenish-blue ginseng dangling from it.

‘Why didn’t he just leave it behind?’

Still, I took the fainted ginseng without thinking, and the security team captain turned around and started walking away with heavy steps.

“…Where are you going?”

“The company… Still on duty…”

Ah.

‘But we’re in Gyeongju.’

Wouldn’t his shift end by the time he went back?

Anyway, I followed him since I needed to get back to Seoul.

With graduate student Go Seonha, who was still sprawled out, slung over my back.

‘Might as well drop her off at the police station on the way.’

Then it happened.

“Oh! You two are from the security team and need to return quickly, right? I’ll follow you! Haha! The missing person you were looking for has to go, doesn’t she? Let’s go together!”

I looked back at Manager Lee Byungjin.

He was scurrying after us like a sycophant (someone who sucks up to people), clearly afraid of losing his safety net.

Hmm, now that we’ve escaped… maybe it’s time to reveal the truth.

“And oh, after everything’s settled, I’ll visit both of you at your workplace to formally thank you. Haha! Where does the security team work…?”

“No.”

“…?”

“You wouldn’t find us with the security team.”

“Huh?”

“I’m from the Field Exploration Team.”

A heavy silence followed.

“But you’re wearing a security team uniform—”

“It was borrowed.”

“…!?”

At the security team captain’s remark, Manager Lee Byungjin’s face twisted in confusion, but he quickly seemed to piece together an explanation in his head.

“Oh! Oh! So that’s it. But I don’t recognize you… Don’t you get administrative support? Oh! Are you in an elite unit, maybe? Is that why you’re in the uniform…?”

“I’m a new hire.”

“…?”

“A rookie in Team D.”

“…???”

* * *

Everything after that was handled fairly quickly.

Manager Lee Byungjin kept shouting “Lies!” all the way back to the company, but when he confirmed my personnel file upon our return, his face went blank.

Then, surprisingly, he didn’t switch his demeanor as I’d expected.

‘Why not?’

I thought he’d immediately start looking down on me as a rookie on the Field Exploration Team, but instead, he acted unusually polite, constantly watching my reactions.

However, he did try to act more boisterous and casual as if to appear in charge.

“Uh, Sol-eum, did you hear? The kids and the grad student, you know—they got back safely, it seems.”

A few days later, he told me that the people who escaped with us had been registered as civilian survivors by Daydream Incorporation.

He even hinted that they’d received a decent amount of money as an information fee.

“In a way, it’s ironic to say their financial luck turned around, isn’t it? Life’s funny like that, huh?”

And irony found its way to me, too.

“Anyway, Sol-eum, you can just count on me from now on, okay?”

“…Um, sure.”

“Hahaha!”

Manager Lee Byungjin expedited the review of my manual.

…Just mine.

‘Is it really okay to show up after a week of unexplained absence and act like this?’

Anyway, it was a good thing for me.

The passageway to the "Mountain Lord" ghost story, the scroll, was quickly collected as a darkness under the <Daydream Inc.>, and in that process, my solo escape method was once again accepted as a manual.

Moreover, the manual revision, the application under Team A, which had been pending, passed through the review swiftly.

Thus, the amount that appeared in my bank account was…

Manual Revision payment: ₩100,000,000 

“......”

‘Insane.’

The amount that appeared was shaking my hands.

With two manual revisions under my belt, an amount I never imagined showed up on my bank app.

It wasn’t an officially assigned task, so I wasn’t eligible for point payments, and receiving the money felt like a secondary option, but when the amount was this high, it was enough to make anyone dizzy.

‘When the manual review team is this friendly, shouldn’t I try to target as much new darkness as I can…?’

But voluntarily meeting all sorts of ghosts and monsters and traveling alone wasn’t something I could bring myself to do, so for now…

‘I’ll have to use this 100 million wisely.’

What would make it seem like I spent it well?

Actually, 30% of it already had a planned destination.

The starting point of all this painful work.

“Congratulations, Braun.”

“– Ooooh!”

Bloodlust Bath – ₩29,999,999

= ₩29,999,999

Purchase successful.

Luckily, the Bloodlust Bath was still available at the alien shop, and I was able to fulfill the promise I made to the moving plush doll.

‘I wonder if it’ll come by rocket delivery again.’

Thinking of the post office delivery box that appeared out of nowhere made me a little hesitant.

From what I knew, the Bloodlust Bath was… a four-legged bathtub the size of a large family bathtub.

It even had gold-plated legs, making it look rather extravagant, but to have that drop in my one-room-sized dormitory room?

‘...Should I order it from the bathroom?’

I figured I should move the bed and desk a bit to clear some space and click the order button from here since there wasn’t enough room in the bathroom.

“...Alright. Ordering now.”

“– How exciting! My heart is racing.”

In a room lit only by a flashlight, talking to the plushie with no heartbeat, I finally clicked the ‘Order’ button.

Screech.

As with the previous times, the space tore apart. The tension rose.

But surprisingly, the tear in the space… was small?

Thunk.

The package was spit out.

And the package… was small…?

“…?”

I opened the post office box, which was less than a quarter of the expected size.

A product box appeared.

[Bath of Youth – Foot Massage Edition]

“......”

It seemed cheap.

Now that I think about it, these items were from the home shopping ghost stories, so it seemed like there were many editions and versions recorded…

Except for a few special cases, there wasn’t much meaningful difference—just fun little details.

‘But I never imagined there’d be a footbath version.’

It seemed like a special edition with a shiny gold sticker and a warranty included.

[10-Year Free A/S]

Totally meaningless…

‘I’m not going to apply for A/S anyway.’

[Note: A/S = After-sales service or in simpler terms, customer service.]

Still, I opened it.

There was no record in <Chronicles of Darkness Exploration> of anyone getting their blood drawn just by touching the Bloodlust Bath.

When I opened the angular box, I found an item wrapped in expensive-looking packaging, just like brands trying to show off luxury.

Then, as I peeled off the packaging, it finally revealed itself.

‘...Bath of youth.’

Otherwise known as the Bloodlust Bath.

It was a shiny ceramic bathtub with black-and-white checkered patterns, radiating a sleek, polished shine.

The entire tub had graceful curves, supported by golden cat-shaped legs from all four sides.

It looked quite impressive.

‘...Except for the fact that it’s a footbath.’

But someone who matched the exact size of the tub seemed extremely excited.

“– Roe Deer! Please put me in there! With bath salts…”

Wait, the bath salts for the Bloodlust Bath would be….

“…You’re talking about my blood?”

“– That’s right! You’re very perceptive, Roe Deer.”

This is crazy.

For a moment, I considered either escaping or arguing, but

“– Haha! Just kidding, friend!”

“......”

“– There’s no way I’d make such an unreasonable request without an audience or camera!”

What about when there is an audience and camera?

However, I didn’t voice it. The one with regrets usually has to keep quiet.

But I couldn’t help saying something.

“I’d prefer you not make those kinds of jokes, please. They’re not funny and are actually kind of scary.”

“– Oh, I understand. Humor is something that varies greatly with culture, so it should always be handled carefully!”

Was that careful?

“– Anyway, to get back on track… isn’t there something more suitable as bath salts in this space?”

“– Oh, let’s see if our Roe Deer can guess!”

Something more suitable?

I turned my head.

‘There’s no way he’s talking about Baek Saheon who’s in the next room, right…?’

No way. It shouldn’t be.

Let’s rule that out and think.

But something did catch my eye.

With a sour expression, I pointed to what had been occupying the corner of my desk for a few days.

“…This ginseng?”

“– Excellent!”

That’s right.

The fallen purple mountain ginseng from the ‘Mountain Lord’ ghost story.

‘It definitely seemed like there was some kind of liquid, maybe blood, flowing through it.’

However, the ginseng had just been sitting there for days, with only its purple color intact, and hadn’t woken up.

When it did wake up, I was thinking I’d juice it and either drink it or just hand it over to the company if it was too much to handle, but surprisingly, it didn’t wake up.

‘It was stupid of me to stay awake, fully alert, that day…’

Braun had also commented about it.

“– I don’t think it’ll wake up anytime soon. After all, a weak beast will play dead when it senses danger, right?”

Maybe being pulled from the "Mountain Lord’s Tomb," or whatever that cursed space was traumatizing for it.

“– Anyway, friend, if you're worried, I’ll keep an eye on it for you.”

And up until now, there’d been no problem.

So, the ginseng was what I was supposed to use.

‘Hmm, that might be worth trying.’

If no ghosts are involved, it was just a matter of handling juicy ginseng.

Plus… honestly, I was a little curious to see how the Bloodlust Bath would work.

‘It’s pretty interesting.’

I was curious, so I’d been browsing the ghost story wiki during my free time at work…

There weren’t many ghost stories that were intact enough to be viewed as images.

Instead of blood, this would operate on juice, so I wanted to take advantage of this opportunity.

“– Ooooh!”

I grabbed rubber gloves and scissors from the kitchen.

A low, excited voice came from the plushie under the bed.

“– Now, please put me in the bathtub!”

“Wait.”

Before I did, I had something to say.

“This bath is for rejuvenation, but do you really need rejuvenation? Hmm… you already look young enough.”

I wanted to point out if a plushie could even understand that concept, but I held back.

But the plushie laughed heartily. It sounded like a crisp recording of a show’s laugh track.

“– Hahaha! You’re considering ‘rejuvenation’ too narrowly, my friend! It’s alright. I’m here, a good listener and great speaker!”

“– ‘Rejuvenation’ is... right. In cultures that use Chinese characters, it means ‘returning to spring.’ So, technically, it means ‘returning to one’s prime.’”

“– Strangely, with my body feeling heavy and out of balance, it’s exactly what I need!”

But… you’re a plush doll.

Also, the instructions said it was good for healing wounds, relieving fatigue, treating arthritis, and improving skin.

‘...Aaah, I don’t know.’

But if it’s going to talk like that…

Well, there weren’t any records in the wiki that suggested the friendly beings have ever turned on their owners after being treated well.

Disasters happened only when they were handled roughly, though.

I stopped thinking any further before it got too scary.

Instead, I put on the gloves and grabbed the scissors in one hand and the ginseng in the other.

‘Let’s give it a try.’

Then, I reached for the Bloodlust Bath.