MFLE 3

Episode 3. Recruiting New Employees (3)

Ta-da!

A tacky, celebratory sound effect.

A lighthearted chime echoed over the loudspeakers, immediately followed by two heavy, dull thuds.

Thump—thump—

—Now then! Shall we check the number of applicants? Hmm-hmm-hmm~♪

An announcement drifted out, accompanied by hums of unmistakable glee.

Before long, the broadcast resumed sooner than expected.

—…My, my. Is this really happening? —To think there are a whopping thirteen applicants! This is the largest pool of candidates we’ve seen since the founding of our company! —Oh dear… tears are welling up in my eyes… (sniffle). —We dedicate this meaningful moment… to applicant ‘Park Yeon-jung’!

Clack! Clack! Clack!

As if a protagonist had just stepped onto a grand stage, every spotlight converged simultaneously upon one man, forcefully carving out his presence in the brilliant glare.

…I really don’t need this kind of attention.

The man himself was breaking into a cold sweat, his face contorted in distress under the unwanted spotlight.

Screwing his eyes shut against the blinding light, his gaze shifted toward those who had failed to join them on this side.

‘…Eight people.‘

His eyes locked onto the eight individuals who had refused to fill out their application forms, even after listening to that two-faced woman’s provocation.

But there was nothing more he could do for them.

Now, the only thing left within his power was—

“I have a favor to ask.”

A small request directed at the woman who had helped him earlier.

“Please look after the student girls.”

“Pardon? What do you…”

Before she could express her confusion at my objectless request—

Crack—

Once again, everyone’s attention was drawn to the voice filtering through the speakers.

—Now! For a smooth progression going forward, we would like to express our deepest gratitude to the applicants who took the time out of their busy schedules to visit our company… and bid you a regretful ‘farewell.’

Judging by the man’s tone over the broadcast, everyone present must have arrived at the exact same realization.

This place…

We got it wrong.

Several people glared daggers at the woman who had incited them to come here with me, looking ready to tear her limb from limb.

Just five seconds.

That was the mood up until five seconds ago.

—Parting with talented individuals is always so difficult… —Now then! Shall we all wave our right hands together and say ‘farewell’?!

However, among those who had filled out the applications, not a single soul followed the announcement’s instructions.

Far from obeying, they buried their faces in both hands, weeping in despair over what was to come.

In stark contrast…

Color returned to the faces of the eight people who did not belong to our group.

We can leave!

We can finally go home!

You idiots! I’m getting out of here!!

Faces filled with the hope that they could escape this place. In the end, I couldn’t bring myself to look at those expressions.

I lowered my head.

I didn’t have the stomach to watch.

Crack—

—See you next time! —Our company always welcomes ‘courageous’ applicants like you!

Rustle…

“…Huh? Where is this dust coming from?”

Fine powder began falling from the ceiling directly above where the eight overjoyed people stood.

Before those of us watching could even cover our mouths—

BOOM!

With a deafening crash—

CRACK-CRUNCH—!

The ceiling collapsed precisely onto the spot where the remaining eight people stood.

An absolute slaughterhouse, crushed beneath an invisible hydraulic press.

“…”

“…”

“…”

As if they had forgotten how to scream, the thirteen survivors gathered here froze, rendered entirely speechless by the sight unfolding before their eyes.

And the screams they had temporarily forgotten—

Screeech.

—erupted the moment the ceiling ground its way back up, exposing the flattened nightmare below: a tangled heap of ground bone, crushed flesh, and smeared blood.

“Aaaaaah!”

“Aaagh!”

“…Ugh!”

The woman who had questioned my request just moments ago finally seemed to understand. She quickly covered the eyes of the two student girls.

“I… I want to go home…”

One of the girls broke down, spilling the tears she had been desperately holding back.

She had looked fragile from the very beginning.

The short-haired girl beside her, hearing her friend’s sobs, buried herself in the woman’s arms as if trying to hide her trembling body. The quiver of her tiny fists caught my eyes.

That was the normal reaction.

In a place like this, remaining cold-blooded was what made a person abnormal.

Even I, who had anticipated this outcome, felt my knees buckling, on the verge of collapsing to the floor.

…Ugh!

As a foul, copper stench pierced my nostrils, I hurriedly pressed my sleeve against my nose.

Crack—

—Now, now. Let’s leave the tearful farewells at that. Shall our remaining applicants charge toward our company’s bright future?!

Clack!

All the lights cut out once more. When they flickered back on mere moments later, the central hall of the library where we had been standing—along with the flatly pressed corpses sticking to the floor—were gone.

Without realizing it, we had been transported to a space that looked like an ordinary gymnasium.

I knew.

I knew exactly what horrors were about to take place in this seemingly ordinary gym.

—The ‘First Evaluation’ to be held from here on is a simple ‘Aptitude Test’ to determine whether our applicants are suitable talent for our company. —You may think of it as a basic physical fitness test at the elementary school level.

An elementary school-level fitness test? Do elementary schoolers go through life-or-death hellish survival training these days, mister narrator?

Right then, a middle-aged man with a protruding belly muttered cautiously.

“…It looks… normal?”

Others nodded in agreement, echoed by his words.

Even to my eyes, this place looked just like a run-of-the-mill gymnasium.

They had constructed it far too well to look that way.

[Exploration Log: Attempt #3] Assistant Manager Kang Hyuk filled out his application according to the announcement.

Survival.

Considering this a good start, he declared he would take the second step, the ‘Aptitude Test,’ as the very first candidate. (Result: Deceased — Skull Fractured).

The additional cause of the skull fracture was his failure to dodge a falling shot-put cannonball.

If you were to ask why a shot-put ball suddenly dropped from the sky…

I don’t know.

How should I know?

Please don’t ask me.

If I had the ability to analyze and decipher such bizarre phenomena, I would be sitting comfortably as an elite employee at the Ghost Story Records Archive.

And obviously, I had zero desire to enter that world in the first place.

Since this was the location with the second highest casualty rate right after the initial application phase, the best clearing strategy was to secure a position as late as possible in the queue—allowing me to memorize all the trap locations triggered by the pioneers ahead.

In short, the key was the order.

And the method chosen to decide that order was—

—Since the aptitude test will be conducted one person at a time, the order will be determined fairly via a ‘Draw’! —Isn’t that truly fair?

Along with the announcement declaring the draw, a mysterious white glove abruptly materialized in front of us.

The white glove, floating mid-air, approached with a clenched fist. Upon closer inspection, it held thirteen thin slips of paper.

“…”

“…Is it… really okay to pull one?”

As bizarre phenomena unfolded in rapid succession right before their eyes, the crowd’s paranoia spiked.

Hesitant to act, people merely exchanged wary glances. The narrator didn’t seem particularly pleased with their hesitation, as static crackled through the speakers.

Crack.

—…Mmm. How troublesome. Truly troublesome. If we waste time like this during the aptitude test, the executives conducting the next interview will express their dissatisfaction… —How… troublesome.

The one troubled here is me!

[Exploration Log: Attempt #4] Deduce from previous events, Intern Lee Hyuk realized the importance of the order and fell into deep deliberation. When the aptitude test failed to proceed smoothly, an announcement echoed.

‘Due to time constraints, we will begin the aptitude test with all personnel simultaneously.’

(Result: Deceased — Crushed) (Cause of Death: Trampled and crushed under the panicking crowd.)

I am NOT dying to a crush event.

I hurriedly snatched a random piece of paper from the floating white glove.

‘As long as I’m not first, it doesn’t matter.‘

Even though I had read through the entire walkthrough for this ghost story, I didn’t trust my own memory.

I could vaguely recall most trap locations, but there was one I couldn’t remember for the life of me: the very first trap.

The ‘Shot-Put Trap’ where our dear Assistant Manager Kang Hyuk failed to dodge and met a glorious demise.

Please, just not first place.

Just not number one!

[ 2 ]

The number written on the paper pointed precisely to ‘2’—the number right after ‘1’.

I had said anything but first… but I never imagined I’d actually pull number two.

‘…St-Still, it’s better than number one.‘

Let’s think positively.

Seeing that I had drawn a slip without anything terrible happening to me, the others finally began picking their slips one by one.

“…I got number 10!”

“Damn it, I’m number 5.”

Well, I’m number 2.

Isn’t it legally justified to beat up someone flexing like this?

Scanning the faces of the people taking their turns, my eyes drifted back to the woman with horn-rimmed glasses who had caught my attention earlier.

‘…She looks composed.‘

An exceptionally calm expression.

That woman…

She definitely pulled a high number.

There was no way she could be that unfazed otherwise.

I continued scanning the remaining faces until my gaze froze on a specific individual.

I didn’t even need to ask to know.

A female student holding her drawn slip of paper, trembling like an aspen leaf, completely unable to hold herself together.

And her friend, the short-haired girl, who saw her state.

“…No way. Are you…”

“…Min-ji. What… what do I do…?”

“…”

An uncomfortable air lingered between the two girls for a long moment.

Crack.

—It seems the drawing has concluded with great success! Once again, our thanks go out to applicant ‘Park Yeon-jung’ for following our instructions so dutifully! —Clack-clack-clack-clack-clack-clack!

The sound of applause was becoming somewhat familiar now.

More importantly, why did that guy over the broadcast keep dropping my name since earlier…?

It was uncomfortable.

It made me uneasy.

However, I forced myself to focus on the situation at hand.

—Now then, now then, now then! Will applicant Number 1 please step forward to the white line! —…You must be terribly nervous being the very first.

At the call for Applicant Number 1, everyone gathered here turned their eyes toward a single girl, as if they had orchestrated it in advance.

“…S-Student. You’re Number 1, aren’t you?”

“N-No! I… I am…”

The girl, Kim Hye-sun, began to stammer.

She seemed to be trying her absolute best to hide the fact that she was Number 1… but she was an child utterly incapable of lying.

“I’m…”

And that clumsy lie was a fatal misstep for a candidate interviewing at this company.

—Mmm… Applicant Number 1. —Is Applicant Number 1 not present?

The male voice over the broadcast, which had maintained a cheerful tone until now, was now laced with unmistakable irritation.

Sensing the mounting danger, the remaining applicants were the first to react.

“Hey, kid! Get out there, fast! They’re calling Number 1!”

“Didn’t you see those people earlier?! If we stay like this, we’re all going to die!”

“N-No… I’m…”

Under the harsh pressure of the adults around her, the girl looked ready to collapse onto the floor at any moment.

—Appli… ■ant Number 1… is not… ■■here?

Heavy static began to distort the broadcast. As the situation rapidly spiraled into a dire crisis—

“Hey! Get the hell out there, you damn brat!”

Unable to contain his rage, a middle-aged man grabbed the girl by her wrist and dragged her forward.

“No, I don’t want to! Save me… please save me! I don’t want to die!!”

The people who had just been badgering the girl watched the middle-aged man forcibly dragging her away with expressions of pity.

They just watched.

Not a single person tried to stop him.

“…M-Min-ji! Min-ji! Hey! Jung Min-ji!”

“…”

When Hye-sun desperately called out to her friend Min-ji, only for Min-ji to avoid her eyes and turn her head away—

“…Min… ji?”

From that moment on, Kim Hye-sun stopped screaming altogether.

—…Wait. It appears Applicant Number 1 was simply nervous.

His voice remained dropped low.

Nevertheless, upon confirming that the forced Applicant Number 1 had finally stepped up to the starting line, the narrator resumed his upbeat tone.

—…I understand. Anyone submitting an application to an outstanding company like ours would naturally feel nervous, thinking, ‘What if I fail?’ Oh, indeed! I understand completely!!

It was astounding how anyone could frame the situation that had just transpired in such a manner.

—However, one must still forge ahead! For if you do not step forward, you cannot claim greater authority!

Instantly, a barrage of hidden traps began revealing themselves before our eyes.

—A balance beam with falling shot-put balls! —A 500-meter dash featuring active hydraulic compression presses! —Push-ups over a bed of steel spikes! —A time-attack sit-up station where the mat progressively shrinks! —A long jump across a river of flowing magma!

—Now then, let us begin Applicant Number 1’s aptitude test—

“…I have a question.”

—…Pardon?

The person who had boldly raised his right hand high, halting the progression of the aptitude test, was none other than Park Yeon-jung.

Me.

—…Ah. It’s our applicant ‘Park Yeon-jung’!

Fortunately, I seemed to have made a favorable impression on the narrator. His darkened tone instantly shifted back to its original cheerfulness.

“I questioned whether there is any need to conduct this aptitude test in the first place, so I took the liberty of asking.”

—…

The broadcast fell silent, as if the speaker were deep in thought.

Please. I prayed silently.

I needed him to respond not with rage at my sheer impudence, but with cold, calculated judgment.

“…Sniffle.”

And after my sudden intervention, my eyes met those of the Number 1 student girl, who was desperately swallowing back her tears and snot.

At this moment, everyone gathered here was probably thinking the same thing about my action.

A hero complex.

Or a hypocrite.

A reckless, worst-possible move that could jeopardize everyone.

‘They’re probably cursing me out in their heads right now.‘

My ears were already burning.

But it couldn’t be helped.

I was confident that this choice was the absolute best move available to me right now.

Hero complex?

Hypocrite?

Let them think whatever they want.

I won’t change my mind.

…Why?

Because knowing the location of every trap only matters if your physical body can actually keep up with it.

And me?

I have the physical stamina of a wet paper bag.