Chapter 13

"You guys were acting like dicks," Chahaya said with a smile, but Gangsan, still feeling guilty, opened the window halfway, saying it was too hot. He glanced at Chahaya, not intentionally trying to read the situation, but it happened.

The ability of the Manshengzhong is evaluated at the level of handling dangerous variants, and Chahaya was a 6th-level (top-tier) variant handler. His classmates, Chasewoon and Handonhee, were also top-tier Manshengzhong.

So far, 6th-level variants have appeared twice, and each guild was in an uproar, claiming they would handle it themselves. In the end, after countless Manshengzhong died, the guilds put aside their greed and joined hands.

At that time, the best from each guild were selected to work together, including Chahaya, Handonhee, and Chasewoon. They all had the common trait of using swords.

Gangsan, who parked the car in front of the empty ticket booth, finally spoke after a long silence.

"Bro, you're not going to rebuild the guild?"

"Ask Chasewoon."

"That... I guess Seoon must have felt pretty disappointed? We might have relied on Seoon too much. Back then, you were also a bit out of it, weren't you?"

Chasewoon, the deputy guild leader of Tachun, was more famous than the guild leader himself.

Before Gangsan manifested as a Manshengzhong, he was someone you could only see on TV or the internet. Not only because of his abilities, but also because of his appearance, people showed great interest in Seoon.

Seoon was so strikingly handsome that it was hard to describe him as just a pretty boy or a beautiful girl. When they first met, Gangsan acted like a broken robot.

Seoon, with his lips tightly closed, exuded a coldness that made it hard to approach him, but once he opened his mouth, he was like a friendly neighborhood big brother. Because of this, everyone quickly figured out his nature. A good big brother who grumbled but took care of things. This led to a power struggle within the guild when he first fell into the Narakga.

"Bro, what are you looking at?"

No matter how much Gangsan talked, Chahaya was focused on his phone.

"Looking for someone suitable for Chasewoon."

"Huh? Are you setting him up? Why don't you start with me? Not as a Manshengzhong, though."

"It's not a setup."

"Then what is it?"

"I'm bringing Matarhari."

"Huh, why?"

"Just because."

Chahaya drew out his words as if drawing a line.

"I'm looking forward to it."

Gangsan furrowed his brows, not understanding what Chahaya meant. Was he looking forward to bringing Matarhari? But he had left her in the guild office all this time.

"Are all the churros in there mine?"

"Ah, yes... Bro, you can have them all."

With all the staff gone, it was uncertain if there were even churros, but Gangsan readily gave in.

"But... Should we not tell Seoon about Hyungil?"

"I'll tell him I killed him."

Chahaya was still searching something on his phone.

"It was self-defense, after all."

"Would an adult beating a child to death with a stone be considered self-defense?"

"......No."

The difference in strength between Chahaya and Hyungil was like that between a child and an adult.

Suddenly, Chahaya frowned and pulled up his mask. A foul smell was gradually wafting from inside the amusement park.

Beep! A harsh honk cut through the quiet parking lot.

The sound of a revving engine followed, and soon the screech of brakes grated on their ears. The car that had braked suddenly stopped next to Chahaya and Gangsan's car, the body shaking from the abrupt stop.

"Ugh!"

The person who hastily opened the passenger door vomited.

"Damn, Handonhee's driving, ugh."

"Our mermaid, with a weak stomach, how do you like it?"

Handonhee, who got out of the driver's seat, pretended to pat Seoon's back. Seoon, whose face had turned pale, opened his sharp eyes even wider.

"Damn, I thought I was going to die!"

"There are no cars, so I wanted to drive. Look at me, okay?"

Handonhee wrapped his arms around Seoon's waist and spun him around.

"Ah, stop! You're crazy! I'm going to throw up!"

Gangsan laughed at their usual antics. Even if they had been out of touch for a while, friends were still friends.

"Bro Chahaya, it's been a long time since we had this kind of atmosphere, right?"

Just as Gangsan was about to say this, he noticed no emotion in Chahaya's eyes above the mask.

Gangsan felt as if he had made some mistake and cleared his throat.

"Chahaya."

"......Yes, bro."

"Maybe we should have come in one car."

Chahaya, who finally met Gangsan's eyes, smiled under his mask.

***

The theme park, which they hadn't visited in nearly five years, hadn't changed much from Seoon's old memories. The ticket booth was still in the same spot, and the gate of the castle where a princess might live was still there.

"Since there's no one, shall we start with the rides?"

Of course, there was no trace of childlike innocence in the four men standing at the entrance.

"Who's going to operate them?"

Seoon interjected at Handonhee's question.

"Ah, right. But why are you dressed like that?"

"My eyesight is bad. Chasewoon is wearing a cute hoodie."

Chahaya lifted Seoon's hoodie. Seoon pushed it away as it was lifted.

"What about Matarhari?"

"I left her behind. I just wanted to explain the situation briefly and leave."

"Why?"

"Why?"

Handonhee and Gangsan asked simultaneously, puzzled. Seoon glanced at Chahaya, who had put on his mask during this brief moment. He had been honest with Chahaya about his situation, but not with the others.

At least, could he tell Handonhee?

The thoughts that began as soon as he got into Handonhee's car had long been diluted by the rough driving. The dangerous stunts made it hard to think, and he barely held on to his life.

Seoon squatted in front of the puzzled faces, pulled out a chalk holder from his hoodie pocket, and clicked it to steady his nerves. As the deputy guild leader, Seoon always came up with the strategy, so the chalk was a must-have item. There were countless times he had used the floor as a blackboard, like today.

"Let me explain first."

[Variant 232, hallucination-inducing crazy mushroom, expected to appear at 3 PM tomorrow]

Seoon drew the umbrella-shaped mushroom he had eaten, trying to recall it as best as he could.

"What kind of mushroom?"

Handonhee looked down at the drawing. Seoon's drawings were always intuitive and easy to understand.

"I know the time it will appear, but not the location."

"Then we can just deal with it when it shows up."

Seoon circled "hallucination-inducing."

"This is just a hunch, but the variant might be hard to spot."

"Oh, like the ant ghost?"

The 4th-level variant that Seoon and Chahaya handled in Cheonggye Mountain.

Originally, the ant ghost dug holes in the ground and ate the ants that fell in. However, the variant targeted humans. It took several days to find the main body because it moved through the ground in Cheonggye Mountain.

While variants like the African Zakana, which attack openly, are relatively easy to handle, those with remaining characteristics, like the ant ghost, are more difficult to deal with.

"Think about it, mushrooms reproduce by spores, right?"

"Is that so?"

Gangsan blinked.

"Let's assume that. We can't ignore the possibility that the spores will spread throughout the theme park and cause hallucinations."

Real poisonous mushrooms only cause symptoms when ingested or touched, but this is a variant, after all. All possibilities must be considered. Also, since mushrooms don't have sharp teeth or claws like predators, it's likely that this variant has retained its characteristics.

"Then, should we try to find and handle it before it fully manifests?"

"How do we find such a mushroom in this vast area?"

Handonhee's counterargument made Gangsan look at Seoon, as if asking for support.

"Don's right. Even if we bring all the Narakga searchers here, it would be difficult."

Chahaya was looking at his phone during this exchange. While he didn't expect Chahaya to focus on him, Seoon, as the person holding the chalk, felt a bit hurt.

<If you take away his pride, Chasewoon is just a corpse!>

The messenger's words were annoying, but the timing was perfect. It seemed to be giving a hint.

<Variant 232 is indeed a hallucination-inducing mushroom. If it's not found before it awakens, it will be a tough battle. It could even make Seoon hallucinate and stage a 'parade show' by himself.>

Ignoring the strange descriptors, Seoon pondered the messenger's words. It seemed that hallucination spores would spread throughout the amusement park, as he had suspected.

<Ding dong dong. Since 'Detective Chasewoon' got the answer right, here's the reward. The place where Variant 232 will awaken is the 'Haunted House'!>

"Haunted House...?"

Seoon muttered to himself.