Surviving as an Office Worker in Monster Management Bureau

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I once read a novel about a murder case that took place at the Gwigok Mountain Lodge when I was young.

At that time, I wondered how terrifying it would be to walk through the darkened corridor of the Gwigok Mountain Lodge.

“How long are you going to walk like that?”

“I told you not to talk to me…!”

Due to someone with dark purple hair walking in front of me, my nerves were on edge, and I didn’t feel any fear at all.

The ridiculous reason that she didn’t want to walk behind me was because she couldn’t see my back, and at this point, it felt like I was facing a fan in front of an idol, so it wasn’t surprising.

By the way, shouldn’t Jang Chae Yeon be less talkative if she connected with the method? Why is she so chatty?

If my imagination was correct, I expected her to say things like ‘Shut up.’ or ‘Die.’

“We need to get off here.”

“Eek!”

At my words, Yu Da On nodded and looked down, while Song Ah Rin just continued to make foolish sounds and flinch.

But even though she resembles Jang Chae Yeon, Jang Chae Yeon has never been that dramatic with me.

I looked at the back of Jang Chae Yeon in front of me.

Her white, or silver-white hair seemed to absorb light and shine even in the darkness as she discussed something with Yu Da On.

“I’m going down.”

“I’ll go first, so the rest of you follow in order.”

It seemed their meeting was over.

After Jang Chae Yeon looked at the three of us and spoke, Yu Da On slowly began to walk down the stairs.

A very faint creaking sound could be heard.

Surely, the stairs creaked when we walked, but how could she go down so quietly?

“I’ll go first.”

Song Ah Rin started walking in front.

She too made minimal noise as she walked down the stairs, and then—

“Let’s jump down.”

“Excuse me?”

Jang Chae Yeon looked at me and dropped a bombshell.

“You think we can go down that quietly?”

“…I don’t think so.”

“Right. So jump down with me. I’ll catch you.”

Jang Chae Yeon smiled gently and extended her hand.

It felt like she was doing it on purpose.

“Understood.”

I had no reason to refuse.

I placed my hand on top of Jang Chae Yeon’s hand and followed her as she jumped over the stair railing.

Holding her hand, I too jumped over the railing, and—

“…Oh.”

Just before we hit the floor, we gently landed.

The two behind us looked at us with stunned faces.

“Let’s go.”

Jang Chae Yeon, while fixing her hair, walked ahead. Somehow, there seemed to be a sense of confidence in her voice that wasn’t just my imagination.

After all, if we’re together like this… Aren’t we invincible?

With a bit of hope, I looked around.

It was hard to believe it was the same place where we had just had a meat party; it was eerily quiet.

I couldn’t tell when they finished cleaning, but the place was neat, and there were no traces or signs of people at all.

“What time is it now?”

“7:30.”

It’s definitely not time to go back yet.

As I squinted and surveyed the area, my eyes locked onto an odd object on the table.

If one were to mold a newborn baby out of clay, I imagined it might look like this.

It gave off an unsettlingly creepy feeling.

Soon, something hovered above the statue.

[Name: Sad Past]

[Age: Created 18 years ago]

[Characteristics: Clone]

[Talent: -]

[Background: Oh you, who do not understand the words of the gods, now that the words have come true, it has come to be here.]

[Vulnerability: All tears will be wiped away from those eyes, and there shall be no death nor mourning nor crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.]

This is giving me a headache.

“…!”

While I was wrestling with the vulnerabilities, Song Ah Rin quickly turned her body away from the statue.

“What is it?”

“…This.”

With an unsettled voice, Song Ah Rin still turned away and pointed her finger at the statue.

“This is what I showed you, and I lost my memory.”

Is this it?

But I don’t feel any headache at all.

I observed the statue closely, but again, I felt no particular sensation.

“Don’t touch it.”

“Who in their right mind would touch something like this? It’s disgusting.”

“Did you just say it’s creepy?”

A hoarse voice came from the front, and I instinctively pulled out my gun, aiming it ahead.

The figure still had a grotesquely long neck, bloodshot eyes peeking through, and a hunched back.

She was no different from the woman I had seen earlier.

No, one thing was different.

“…I can’t see.”

There was nothing visible above the woman’s head.

Is she not human?

No, that doesn’t make sense. I’ve clearly seen non-human entities before, so it doesn’t logically follow that I suddenly can’t see her now.

“Should I subdue her?”

“Go ahead.”

Before the woman could open her mouth, Jang Chae Yeon reached out her hand, and immediately, something invisible swirled and pushed the woman away.

That should’ve worked.

“…!”

Jang Chae Yeon looked flustered, and I couldn’t help but stare at the woman in surprise.

The woman didn’t budge an inch.

Jang Chae Yeon swung her hand again.

-Bang!

The ground around her twisted.

With enough force that an ordinary person would have already been flattened like a squished frog.

However, she was still looking at us without moving.

“…It’s not working. We have to find another way—”

“Sorry to break it to you, but it won’t be hypnotized either.”

As if predicting the next move, Song Ah Rin added.

“Are you done, kid?”

The woman chuckled ominously.

“With a power unlike any human, and remaining calm in this situation, I see the Management Agency has come again.”

Again?

I glanced at Jang Chae Yeon, and she met my gaze.

“…Are you talking about the Mountain God?”

“Are you pretending not to know after killing the Mountain God!?”

The woman shouted loudly, shaking the ground.

“I heard it’s been a while since an outsider came, but Management Agency brats are quite the feast.”

“Everyone, move aside!”

Jang Chae Yeon charged forward and held out her hand.

-Kaboom!!!

The floor cracked, and the lodge literally ‘exploded.’

Smoke filled my view, but there were no fragments hitting my body.

“Is everyone okay?”

“I’m alive!”

“I’m fine too!”

Voices of Song Ah Rin and Yu Da On.

“Chae Yeon, are you okay?”

There was no answer.

“Chae Yeon!”

I called Jang Chae Yeon’s name amidst the thick dust, but she didn’t respond.

“What’s happening—”

In my startled vision, I saw a translucent window rushing toward me through the fog.

It was too late to shoot.

I quickly crossed my arms to brace for impact and—

“Ugh!”

I let out a groan as a kitchen knife’s sharp pain pierced my arm.

“Kim Jae Heon!”

Yu Da On, who had rushed over, kicked the person charging at me away.

“Are you okay?!”

“I’m fine.”

Ignoring the sharp pain in my arm, I looked at the person Yu Da On kicked away.

It was the lodge owner.

He charged at me again, holding a kitchen knife.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

Yu Da On caught the man’s knife with her gloved hand, and a brawl began between them.

I quickly pulled out my gun again, aiming at the man.

My target was…

It shifted from his head to his leg.

-Bang!

“Ugh!”

As the man faltered, I shot, hitting the top of his foot, and he collapsed while grabbing his foot, leaving no delay for Yu Da On’s leg to rise sharply and cleanly hit his chin.

“Ughhh…”

The man fell with bubbles coming out of his mouth, and Song Ah Rin urgently dashed over to me.

“Are you hurt?!”

“That’s not important right now. Where’s Chae Yeon?”

“You should know best!”

“Well, I can’t see her!”

I could see Yu Da On’s spear and Song Ah Rin’s spear.

But I couldn’t see Jang Chae Yeon’s spear at all.

It felt as if she had suddenly evaporated from the world.

The dust began to settle.

Only the place where Yu Da On, Song Ah Rin, and I stood remained untouched, looking immaculate.

In contrast, all other areas were utterly devastated.

A cloudless night sky spread above our heads.

Jang Chae Yeon was nowhere to be seen. Neither was the Team Leader.

“…It’s all collapsed. This is all that’s left.”

Song Ah Rin murmured in shock.

“We need to contact the headquarters—”

“…Look over there.”

Yu Da On interrupted Song Ah Rin, pointing somewhere with her finger.

In the dark forest surrounding the lodge.

There were people inside the forest.

No, they were not people.

It was something made of dirt.

Memories of making figures with clay in elementary school resurfaced.

Uneven limbs, a composition that totally ignored hands and feet, and faces awkwardly carved with a plastic knife.

The difference from when I was in elementary school was that all of them were hiding behind trees, looking at us with bright smiles as if they had been drawn with a carving knife.

“…Let’s run.”

Song Ah Rin murmured.

“What about Chae Yeon?”

“If we can find her now, then look. Can you see her?”

“…”

I glanced around once more.

The name Jang Chae Yeon did not appear anywhere.

“We’re not just running far away. We need to regroup first. Then we can search for that woman. There’s no way for the three of us to stop them here.”

It was annoyingly accurate.

The things hiding behind the trees began to move slowly toward us.

“This way!”

At Yu Da On’s voice, both Song Ah Rin and I turned our heads.

Before we knew it, she was sitting in the driver’s seat of the van we had arrived in.

“Get in! Hurry!”

As they began to jog toward us, they suddenly started to run.

-Thud! Thud!

The ground shook.

As if we had a pact, Song Ah Rin and I stood up from our spots and began to run toward the car, while Yu Da On leaned out the window and beckoned us.

Fortunately, we were faster.

I quickly jumped into the passenger seat while Song Ah Rin sat in the back, slamming the door shut roughly.

“Let’s go!”

Yu Da On skillfully released the handbrake, shifted gears, and pressed the accelerator.

The van sped off like a shot.

Where on earth did Jang Chae Yeon go, and what the heck just happened?

I glanced in the side mirror at the mud people chasing after us.

Before they disappeared from my sight, I noticed the information finally appearing in my eyes.

[Name: Human]

[Age: -]

[Characteristics: -]

[Talent: -]

[Background: God formed man from the dust of the earth and breathed life into his nostrils, and man became a living being.]

[Vulnerability: All humans will eventually be buried in the ground upon death.]