Chapter 3

2 “It’s a goblin!” someone exclaimed when the creature appeared. I’m not sure why I suddenly remembered that sentence from TWSA. The train, dead still on the track. The sudden power outage. These alone shouldn’t have been enough to make me feel déjà vu. Emergency stops aren’t common, but they do happen. So why was it that the all-too-familiar opening of the novel kept playing in my head? Surely that couldn’t be. There’s no way, right? That was when the front door of car 3807 suddenly opened and the lights came back on. Sangah quietly mumbled beside me. “……a goblin?” It felt as if a siren was going off in my head. As a novel I’d read began to overlap with reality, I felt a pang of disorientation. Two Small Horns A bizarre creature, covered in fuzzy hair and dressed in rags, floated in midair. It looked too creepy to be a fairy, too evil to be an angel, and too innocent to be a demon. Therefore, it came to be called a goblin. And I already knew what that goblin was going to say first. &AH#@!&AH#@!… &AH#@!&AH#@!… At that moment, reality and fantasy converged. “What is it saying?” “Is this some kinda augmented reality event?” Despite the uneasy murmurs all around me, I felt as though I’d been thrown into another world by myself. There’s no doubt about it—that’s a goblin. In the thousands of chapters of TWSA, it was often this very type of creature that heralded the next tale of tragedy and bloodshed. It was Sangah’s voice that woke me up from my thoughts. “That sounded like Spanish. Should I try talking to it?” I felt a little silly as I asked, “Do you even know what that is? Are you gonna ask it to lend you money?” “No, but…” It was then that we heard clearly pronounced Korean. Ah, ah. Can you hear me now? Aw man, that Korean language patch was giving me so much trouble. Can everyone hear me? The sound of a familiar language seemed to have a calming effect on the people. The first person to speak up was a big man in a suit. “Hey, what’s all this about?” …Pardon? “Is it some kinda film shoot? I’m gonna be late for my audition, you know?” I didn’t recognize him, so he must’ve been an aspiring actor. If I were the casting director, I’d have hired him on the spot for the energy in his voice alone. Unfortunately, the creature in front of him was not a casting director. Aha! An audition, hmm? I see. So people are busy at this time, too. Ha-ha. Guess I should’ve done more research. I was told that starting the paid content at 7 p.m. would get me the most people. “Huh? What’re you talking about?” Now, now. Please calm down, everyone. Have a seat and listen to me. I have something important to tell you! I felt a creeping sense of dread. “What? Hell no! Get the train moving already!” “Somebody contact the subway operator!” “I didn’t sign up for this! Do you have a permit?!” “Mommy, what’s that? A cartoon?” At this point, there was no more room for doubt. This was the story I was familiar with, and I knew how this was going to play out. I had to stop them, but how? People wouldn’t listen to that tiny and cute CG-looking creature. All I could do was stop Sangah, who was about to get up from her seat. “Sangah, don’t move. It’s dangerous.” “What?” Her eyes went wide. I’d blurted that out, but I had no way of explaining to her all that I knew about the current situation. Or rather, there was no need to explain it to her. Ha-ha. You people are so noisy. After all, the creature in front of us could be very persuasive. I told you to be quiet. The goblin slowly closed its eyes, and when it opened them again, they gleamed a dangerous shade of red. There was a sound like something bursting, and the subway went silent. “Ah, uh, uh……” The aspiring actor who had been on his way to an audition had a large hole in his forehead. His lips twitched, as if trying to say something, then his eyes went blank, and he fell down where he stood. This is not a film shoot. Again, there was a sound like a melon bursting open. This time, it was the woman who had been whining about contacting the operator. This isn’t a dream, or a novel. One by one, people’s heads began to explode, spraying blood into the air. They were the ones who’d been complaining to the goblin, yelling, or making a scene. Anyone who had made any kind of noise ended up with a hole in their head. It only took a moment for the subway car to be covered in blood. In fact, this is not reality as you knew it! You got that? Now shut up and listen to me. More than half the people in the car were now dead. The subway train that had been full of commuters riding back home was now filled with blood and gore from the dead bodies. People couldn’t even scream anymore. They stared at the goblin, dumbstruck, like prehistoric apes frozen in terror at the sight of an apex predator. Sangah was hiccuping from shock next to me. I quietly squeezed her shoulder as I tried to calm my own breathing. This is real. When I’d heard the strange message, even when the goblin had appeared, a part me had still refused believe it. But as I looked around at the blood-splattered subway car, the reality of the situation finally began to set in. You’ve all had quite the cozy life, haven’t you? The goblin glanced at the priority seats. The elderly who were seated there trembled and lowered their heads under its gaze. As if to scoff at them, the goblin continued its speech. From the day you were born, you’ve had a free ride! Breathing, eating, and shitting without a care in the world. Breeding like flies! Ha! What a wonderful world you’ve lived in! A free ride? Not a single person here had had such a thing. This was an evening rush-hour train—everyone in this car was struggling one way or another to make a living. However, no one was foolish enough to point this out to the goblin. Well, too bad. The good times are over. There’s no such thing as a free lunch, you know? If you want a happy ending, you gotta pay for it. That’s just common sense, don’t you agree? No one said anything. The only sound in the subway car was heavy breathing, as people desperately tried to stave off panic. At that moment, a man cautiously raised his hand. “I-is it money you want?” I wondered who on earth could be that stupid. Surprisingly, it was a familiar face. “Sangah, isn’t that Manager Han from finance?” “…You’re right.” There was no mistaking it. The man who had gotten his position through connections, the last person any new employee wanted to work under—Manager Myeongoh Han from finance. But why was he on the subway? “How much do you want? I’ll pay you. H-here’s my business card.” Handing his business card to a murderous entity…Manager Han’s unbelievable feat of bravery seemed to bring some hope back into people’s eyes. “As you can see, money’s not an issue for me. You want a million won? Two?” It was quite a large amount for a department manager at a small company to offer so casually. I wondered if the rumor of him being the chairman’s youngest son was true after all. Hmm, you’re offering me human currency? “Th-that’s right! I don’t have much cash on me right now…but if you let me go, I can pay you as much as you want.” Money’s nice. Plant fiber assigned value based on what humans agreed upon. Manager Han’s face lit up. He’d apparently understood the goblin’s remark as an affirmation of his belief that money could solve all problems. How pitiful. “Uh, this is all I have for now. So why don’t you—” But only in your space-time. “What?” A ball of fire appeared out of thin air. The bills in Manager Han’s hand went up in flames. He screamed in panic. Those scraps of paper don’t mean anything in the greater dimensions. Try that again and I’ll blow your head off. Got it? “U-ugh…” The brief spark of hope in the people’s eyes turned back into fear. Their thoughts were written clearly on their faces, like a clichéd novel. [What’s gonna happen to us now?] And I was the only one who knew exactly how this would play out. Haah. Your debt is accruing even as we stand here yammering away. Whatever. Let’s skip the explanation and have you try making some money on your own. The goblin’s horns stretched out like antennae, and its body floated up toward the ceiling. Soon after, I heard the messages. [Channel #BI-7623 is open.] [Constellations have entered the channel.] Message windows popped up above the heads of commuters who were blinking in disbelief. [A main scenario has arrived!] <Main Scenario #1 - Prove Your Worth> Category: Main Difficulty: F Mission: Kill one or more living creatures. Time Limit: 30 minutes Reward: 300 coins Penalty for Failure: Death The goblin’s body grew transparent, and it smiled as it faded through the wall into the next subway car. Well, then. Good luck, everyone. Please, show me a fun story.