NOVEL NEXT Ch. 5
Chapter 5: Mystery Room (1)
How long had he been moving through the falling black rain?
Yohan finally arrived in front of a closed-type Gate that had appeared near Exit 3 of Cheonho Station.
‘Good. I’m not late.’
A closed-type Gate had one particular feature — no matter how much time passed, an outbreak would never occur.
In other words, even if one didn’t clear it within the time limit, the monsters inside wouldn’t spill out into the real world.
Aside from that—
Once entered, one couldn’t leave until it was cleared.
The rewards were far greater compared to the difficulty level, with the amount of Magic Stones exceeding three times that of a regular dungeon.
These were some of its other characteristics.
A kind of treasure dungeon.
That was why it was quite popular.
Normally, the large guilds would have been the first to claim it with greedy eyes, but—
With the Apocalypse only a week away, no one would waste their energy chasing after profit now.
‘Thanks to that, quite a lot of people have gathered. Since there’s no tiger, the foxes and rabbits have all swarmed in.’
Small groups of treasure hunters—those chasing after a one-shot fortune—had gathered.
Among them were several whose faces and demeanors already gave off bad vibes.
They looked more like criminals than Hunters.
Chances were high that they’d become rivals inside.
Or perhaps... things could get even uglier than that.
Just then—
“Grade is ‘D’. Due to the nature of a closed-type dungeon, the Association will not intervene. Everything that happens inside is your personal responsibility.”
The Association staff, having finished the measurement, shouted out loud.
In other words, since no outbreak would happen anyway, they were on their own.
With Gates appearing simultaneously all over Seoul, the Association simply didn’t have enough manpower to care.
‘Finally, I get to go inside here.’
In the early part of the Forbidden Book, the protagonist had a line he would constantly repeat like a habit.
If he could return to the past and make the choice again…
He’d go straight for the Gate that appeared at Cheonho Station right after the black rain.
It was incredibly dangerous, but if done right, it offered one of the greatest early opportunities.
He’d said it so many times it still rang in Yohan’s ears.
Not to mention, the episode was filled with key figures and chaotic clashes.
The protagonist had never managed to reach that far, but Yohan—who now stood at the starting line—could do what he could not.
Come to think of it—
If the book he kept entering wasn’t just a Forbidden Book but a true Prophecy, didn’t that mean the protagonist was an actual, living being in this world, not just a fictional character?
The thought of meeting him again soon gave Yohan a strange feeling.
The spiritual being, Seo Changhee.
The protagonist of this world, shackled by an obsession to save humanity—
And the bringer of ruin who managed to mess up everything he touched.
‘How should I establish my relationship with him to make the most of it?’
‘He’s got the worst personality imaginable, and that hero complex of his is extreme… but I’ll have to take that into account.’
Still, the man’s abilities were the real deal.
If Yohan slowly gaslighted him, put a leash on him, and trained him—or bound him through a debt of gratitude—that would be best.
Then, once he polished that rough gem, it would surely become an invaluable asset for conquering future episodes.
While those thoughts ran through his mind—
The first group stepped into the Gate.
Yohan followed behind the others.
Wuuuuung!
His vision went black.
[You have entered the ‘Mystery Room’!]
When his sight returned, an enormous and dazzling room spread before him.
It looked as if a slice of an opulent medieval palace had been cut out and transported here whole.
Inside were all sorts of objects—wall clocks, TVs, fountain pens, tissues, coat hangers, lanterns, and more.
There were enough of them for hundreds of people to choose from without shortage.
“W-what is this place?”
“This is unusual. Are all closed-type dungeons like this?”
“Feels like a five-star hotel. Hey, look at this—there’s even a bidet! Maybe I’ll take a load off before we start, haha!”
“Ugh, you’re disgusting.”
“Oh, this statue looks expensive!”
The people murmured in curiosity as they poked and examined everything.
But these weren’t just simple items.
Each one was closer to an artifact imbued with unique supernatural power.
And if chosen wisely, they could be of immense help in conquering this dungeon.
In other words—
What one chose here would determine the success of this run.
Ding!
Another system window appeared.
[Each person may select only one item.]
[However, once inside the dungeon, there is no limit to how many items you can possess.]
At first glance, this seemed advantageous for those who came as groups.
They could secure multiple items before starting and then use their numbers to plunder more once inside.
However—
‘Just having numbers doesn’t guarantee anything.’
The key was being able to pick out the pearls hidden in the mud.
“We’ll have to check each one carefully before choosing.”
“Right. They all look useful for the dungeon, so we need to be cautious. We’ll take this side.”
“Fine. Then from under that chandelier onward, it’s our area.”
The groups began dividing the room and staking their claims.
But that wouldn’t work.
Because—
[Time limit: 0H : 09M : 59S]
The time to choose was far too short.
Sifting through this many items to find the true treasures? Not easy at all.
Most of them had properties completely different from their ordinary uses.
“H-hurry and pick something!”
“Damn it, which one’s actually useful?”
“Just grab whatever looks valuable!”
“Wait, does this… work like this?”
Fwoosh!
When someone who had picked up a lantern turned it on, a beam of white light burst forth.
[B-rank ‘Lantern Emitting Radiation’ has been activated!]
Chiiiiik!
A terrible sizzling sound followed.
“Gaaaah!”
The body of the person who had been hit by the light began to burn.
＊＊＊
“Ghh… aaaaagh! My body… my body!”
The screams continued for quite a while.
The man, whose entire body was covered in blisters, thrashed wildly before collapsing.
“This is insane.”
“Turn it off! Turn off the damn light before I kill you! You think you’re the only one who can use items like that?”
“Damn it. So this is how it’s going to be, huh?”
As soon as one of their own was lost, the place descended into utter chaos.
To figure out what abilities each item possessed—
They had begun using other people as test subjects.
[D-rank ‘Old Fountain Pen’ has been activated!]
As the fountain pen moved, huge letters appeared on a muscular man’s body like tattoos being engraved into his flesh.
“Ah… hahaha! Hahahahaha!”
The man began laughing hysterically like a lunatic.
Foam bubbled from his mouth, and his convulsing body made for a grotesque sight.
“Find cover! We don’t know what abilities these things have—don’t get hit!”
“Yes, sir!”
The ones belonging to guilds moved differently.
Unlike the criminals and treasure hunters running amok, they were calmly assessing the situation.
[C-rank ‘Charcoal Brazier’ has been activated!]
When the flames from the brazier touched someone, their fatigue disappeared and the small wounds on their body began to heal.
So that was a recovery-type item.
Indeed, it was nearly impossible to know an item’s power until one actually used it.
“Alright, say cheese.”
A short-haired woman pointed her camera at a paladin wearing priestly robes.
[A-rank ‘Broken Camera’ has been activated!]
Click!
With a sharp sound, the paladin vanished.
No one knew where he had gone.
It was as if his very existence had been cut out of space itself—completely erased.
“Oh my, he disappeared? I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for that to happen, hehe.”
The short-haired woman bowed politely.
“……!?”
“To think something this wicked could exist…”
“Kill her! She dared lay hands on a servant of the Sun God!”
The paladins and priests belonging to the Priests of the Sun began charging toward the short-haired woman.
Crash! Bang!
They overturned desks and built barricades using bookshelves.
While some items had lethal power, most were non-lethal types.
Still, with so many being used at once, casualties were inevitable.
The time given was only ten minutes, but that brief period felt like an eternity.
“Uaaagh!”
“You—damn—gahhhh!”
Before anyone even entered the dungeon proper, dozens were already dead or missing as countless supernatural powers erupted.
‘As expected… with so few real Hunters, it turned into this mess right from the start.’
Crouching low, Yohan carefully moved through the Mystery Room.
He hadn’t mentioned it earlier, but closed-type dungeons had a third feature.
– The mortality rate was extremely high. However, this wasn’t due to monsters or traps, but rather to attacks from fellow humans.
There was a famous saying among dungeon explorers:
“What happens in the dungeon stays in the dungeon.”
No evidence was ever left behind—only the law of survival of the fittest reigned supreme.
Yohan’s face hardened as he reflected coldly on the grim reality.
Even so, his eyes moved quickly.
There were about five items here that were truly valuable.
Any of them would help in clearing the dungeon and securing hidden pieces, but there was one that suited him perfectly.
Kwa-kwang!
Another heavy explosion echoed.
Whoever it was must’ve obtained a powerful item.
[Remaining Time: 0H : 3M : 52S]
He had to hurry.
Leaping over three display cases like a squirrel, Yohan arrived beside an elegant round sofa.
Just a little further—then he’d reach that.
Since this part of the Mystery Room was along the outer edge, few people were around now.
“P-please! Let me down! You there, below! Uwaaaaah!”
A man whose body had swollen like a balloon bounced helplessly against the ceiling.
Yohan wondered what kind of item could have caused that but deliberately ignored the man’s desperate pleas.
A glance told him the only way to help would be stabbing him with something sharp—and that wasn’t worth the time.
‘This one-week period really is full of surprises.’
For someone like him, a veteran of the Forbidden Book, this was incredibly stimulating content.
Of course—
He was well-versed in theory.
Though he had never been here himself, he’d gathered plenty of information about the Mystery Room and the Withered Garden from countless later cycles.
Ttak.
As he jumped over the sofa, Yohan’s eyes gleamed.
…Found it.
On an old wooden table covered in the marks of time lay a green-covered book, a fancy lighter, a quill, and a coat hanger.
But just as he reached for them—
A white hand suddenly extended from the opposite side.
Both hands touched the book at the same time.
“This is mine.”
The man stood tall—over 188 centimeters—with sculpted features and eyes brimming with conviction.
Just looking into them made it hard to breathe.
It couldn’t be.
Yohan’s lips parted slowly.
He’d lived through 999 cycles and thought he had seen it all.
Wouldn’t anyone think that?
Over such a long time, he had experienced every bizarre event imaginable.
Yet—
The moment he saw the man before him, he realized this world still held countless variables and anomalies.
The man was none other than the spiritual being, Seo Changhee.
The protagonist famous for throwing away endless chances down the toilet—
And someone who, in all those countless runs, had never once appeared in this dungeon.