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– Bang!

Hair whipped around, and the wall next to me dented in.

“Can’t you cross your legs one more time?!”

“I’m trying!”

Song Ah Rin yelled urgently, turning her head again and swinging her hand.

Her hair swung back narrowly missing us as she clicked her tongue and shouted.

“I’m getting used to this slowly!”

It seemed like the frequency of slamming into the walls had noticeably decreased compared to before.

If that’s the case, and assuming there’s no longer a way to physically shake off that monster, how can we possibly escape it?

Desperately racking my brain, I rummaged through my pockets. The only thing I felt was the hard texture of the manual.

Now that I think about it, didn’t those two send the gun away too?

“Hey! Where did you put the guns?!”

I hurriedly glanced at the two of them.

“I lost mine while being chased!”

“I dropped mine when I got caught at the first-floor entrance!”

“The first-floor entrance?! You didn’t call the monster in for me, did you—”

“That’s right!”

Before I could finish my sentence, Yu Da On nodded her head vigorously.

A decision had to be made.

“Let’s tear it apart!”

Upon hearing that, Song Ah Rin nodded with a serious expression.

“…Okay. I’ll handle that—”

“No! I’ll do it!”

“What nonsense is that!”

Song Ah Rin, who had a solemn face, shouted in disbelief.

The reason was simple.

Both Yu Da On and Song Ah Rin seemed physically weaker than me. In reality, it looked like their stamina was already nearing its limit.

On the other hand, I still felt like I could hold on a bit longer.

“When we reach the stairs, Da On goes down first! Then make a loop and let Ah Rin go down!”

“Are you crazy?!”

“And! We either find Chae Yeon or, at the very least, prepare as much as we can for whatever comes next!”

“My—!”

“Just do it!”

When I shouted, both of them flinched, and Yu Da On cautiously began sprinting toward the stairs.

Now it was just me and Song Ah Rin left.

As we got closer to the stairs, Song Ah Rin looked at me several times and said,

“…You absolutely cannot die!”

“I’m not dying, so get moving now!”

“If you really die, I’ll kill you!”

With nonsensical words, she dashed down the stairs.

I turned back to see the creature charging on all fours after me, confirming that it was still chasing me, and began to run again.

From the perspective of a typical predator, it would usually chase down the weaker and slower prey, yet it seemed completely uninterested in Yu Da On and Song Ah Rin as it charged straight at me.

Could it just want a bigger prey? Or is its field of vision that narrow? There was no way to tell right now.

Let’s just make a loop of exactly two laps and then head down.

I swallowed back the pain in my legs and sprinted down the long, old corridor of the classroom.

One lap, and then two laps.

That should be good enough by now.

I prayed that the two of them wouldn’t cross paths with me as they dashed down the stairs.

Second floor, and then first floor.

The first-floor entrance where I had initially hidden appeared.

I ran in the opposite direction from where I had come. Since I heard that Yu Da On got caught around this point…

Found it.

A gun, gleaming black under the moonlight, came into view.

Just now, while I shot the gun, I realized something.

My shooting skills hadn’t rusted at all. I thought my aim was adjusted by my eyes when I shot in the cube last time, but maybe that wasn’t the case?

At some point, it just felt like the gun fit perfectly in my hand.

I rolled on the floor, jumping to grab the pistol.

A familiar sensation and an unfamiliar heavy weight were felt in both my hands, and I quickly pulled the trigger.

– Bang!

The bullet hit the stitched spot of its eyeball, and it let out a scream.

This will buy me a little time—

A warning bell rang in my mind as I prepared to flee.

Wait a second.

Now that I think about it, when I encountered it in the duty room earlier, its eyes were also sewn up with black thread. So, that means it’s been chasing us all this time without eyes.

How? Before I could even think about it, its hair shot toward me.

Could it be that it’s been tracking us all this time through sound?

I swiftly rolled on the ground to dodge its hair.

A manual fell from my pocket, opening to any random page.

[Manual for Office Staff]

[KH – How to deal with Sightless Objects]

1. The best way to handle a sightless object is, of course, to make no noise.

2. However, sometimes there are containment objects that can even hear your heartbeat.

3. In such cases, it is recommended to make noise to distract the object and then escape.

4. Caution: Most beings that have given up sight are considered weak, but conversely, they are those who have survived without it. Always keep this in mind when dealing with containment objects.

Make some noise.

There aren’t many things I can make noise with right now.

I quickly took off my shoes and threw them with all my strength at the wall.

– Thud!

– Bang!

As the shoes hit the wall, they made a sound, and it turned its hair to break the wall.

“Yummy?”

It muttered as it grabbed the shoe tightly.

In that narrow corridor, with that thing above me.

It became clearer when I looked from below.

It was definitely not human.

Only the part where the neck was connected looked human, and below it, there was a spider’s body.

It looked like a creepy attachment of a person’s head and limbs to a spider’s body.

A sense of unease washed over me. A composition that had a human body; it felt familiar somehow.

– Thud, thud.

It picked up the shoe, fiddled with it, and then tossed it away.

“…Yummy…”

With the gun in one hand and the fallen manual in the other, I slowly began to crawl on all fours.

Don’t forget what you learned in training. Move quietly, slowly, never lift your head.

Muttering to myself repeatedly, I started creeping quietly along the floor.

My limbs were sore, but what could I do?

I had no idea how long I crawled, but when I thought I had slipped out of the shadow, I dared to look back.

It was still feeling around, searching for me.

Now I understood how quickly it came when I shattered the vase.

Slowly rising to my feet, I tossed the remaining shoe to the opposite side and tiptoed away.

It was still diligently searching for the source of the noise made by my other shoe.

*

How long had I walked? After confirming several times that I couldn’t hear it anymore, I let out a sigh of relief and walked on.

I need to get to the gym. But before that, I have to find Jang Chae Yeon.

I unfolded the manual.

Could it provide any additional information? It had annotations during the Red Lady incident as well.

“…Starting now, we will begin the registration of containment objects.”

As I whispered, the manual automatically opened and began creating sections.

[PRV – Object Name: Arakne – Recorded by Human Resources Team Kim Jae Heon]

I never mentioned the name Arakne.

Narrowing my eyes, I stared at the object name section, but the manual didn’t erase the text as if it was certain of its correctness.

Let’s see, what should I say?

I need to condense the most important points. For the sake of whoever reads this later. Too much information can make it tiring for the reader.

After several rounds of deliberation and deep discussions with the manual, the containment object encyclopedia was completed as follows:

[PRV – Object Name: Arakne – Recorded by Human Resources Team Kim Jae Heon]

[The object has no eyes. When moving, aim to produce minimal sound.]

[Physical attacks are not very effective. If hypnosis or mental attacks are possible, those methods should be adopted.]

[In spaces where this object is present, bodies become constricted. This has not been clearly confirmed, so any future entrants should adjust accordingly.]

[The object appears to consume human flesh. If individuals are not rescued quickly, it is recommended to abandon them.]

A new registration? Does that mean no one has ever been in here before?

Or did those who came in just not handle the manual? I couldn’t tell.

Well, this should be enough.

Ultimately, there was no additional information.

Clicking my tongue, I slowly closed the manual and started walking aimlessly again.

Where on earth is that woman Jang Chae Yeon?

I was starting to feel anxious. But I couldn’t just shout for her in this situation.

As I moved cautiously, I began to hear the faint sound of scampering footsteps behind me.

The feeling was extremely, extremely bad.

Along with my ominous instincts, a chill ran up my spine.

I really didn’t want to look back, but if I did…

A little girl was following behind me.

＜i>If a child follows you on the way, you must shake them off by any means necessary.

The phrase I had read came to mind.

How do I shake her off?

I took a little jog.

And she followed suit, trotting along behind me.

After walking and running several times, I realized.

This girl kept pace with my speed.

In other words, I had to run to shake her off.

The problem was if I run, it would inevitably make noise, increasing the likelihood of attracting that Arakne monster.

“…”

While desperately racking my brain,

Someone placed a hand on my shoulder.

I jumped, my mouth covered, and turned around.

It was little Jang Chae Yeon.

Dressed in a shabby white t-shirt and gray sweatpants, she looked at me with a relieved expression.

“I found you.”

Not even knowing who was looking for her.

Before I could explode from frustration, a light flickered in my mind.

This might just work.

“Why?”

“Follow me.”

“Okay.”

Nodding at Jang Chae Yeon, who had no questions, I looked back at her and the little girl.

If this works, we might be able to pass through quietly.

“Can you fly?”

“Huh?”

Jang Chae Yeon looked at me with a blank expression.