Chapter 3: A Lucrative Job (1)

<Opening the Magical Warehouse of Morgue.>

Rumble rumble rumble rumble~!

The gates of hell swung wide open.

Beyond them, only thick darkness was visible.

As if entranced, I stepped forward into the void.

Step—step—step—

From the outside, the interior was completely obscured, but once I stepped inside, the surroundings lit up astonishingly.

It’s like a one-way mirror.

Some kind of security magic that prevents outsiders from peering in?

At that moment.

Ding-dong!

<You have entered the “Safe” zone of Morgue’s Magical Warehouse!>

“Safe zone?”

Wondering what that meant, I looked up and surveyed my surroundings.

Soon, a large signpost at the entrance caught my eye.

[Morgue’s Magical Warehouse]  

– 1st Layer: Safe Zone 

– 2nd Layer: Observation Zone  

– 3rd Layer: Unstable Zone  

– 4th Layer: Terror Zone  

– 5th Layer: Incomprehensible Zone  

Morgue’s Magical Warehouse.

So, this warehouse is divided into five layers.

I craned my neck to peer over the edge of the cliff.

An abyss. 

A spiral staircase stretched endlessly downward into the vertical chasm.

The walls were riddled with countless passages, tangled like an ant colony.

A chilling aura emanated from the myriad tunnels, making my legs tremble instinctively.

At that moment.

Ding-dong!

A flurry of glowing message windows began to pop up one after another.

<Morgue’s Magical Warehouse is a boundless space that extends infinitely horizontally and has no bottom vertically.>

<The various personal belongings of the Sorcerous Emperor “T,” the absolute ruler of the Morgue Empire, which once dominated half of the Lokpia continent, are stored here in Morgue’s Magical Warehouse.>

I couldn’t help but be dumbfounded.

“It ruled half of the Lokpia continent?”

The Lokpia continent is larger than all seven continents of Earth combined.

That meant Morgue was a colossal empire, with a territory greater than Asia, Europe, and Africa put together.

But.

If it was such a powerful nation, why is there no information about it?

Not on TV, the internet, or in books.

I had never heard the name “Morgue” anywhere.

Even with so many Awakeners synced with historians of the Lokpia continent.

Wait a second… Is this a dream? 

No, it’s too vivid to be a dream…

My head felt like it was going to explode with all these thoughts.

At that moment, a new message window appeared.

Ding-dong!

<Within Morgue’s Magical Warehouse, various objects exist. Not only the trash discarded by His Majesty the Sorcerous Emperor, but also cherished treasures, beloved artifacts, despised junk, bothersome trinkets, troublesome burdens, and even beings that rebelled against the Emperor are stored here in Morgue’s Magical Warehouse.>

It seems the warehouse doesn’t just contain “objects.”

In the distance, countless items were stored in large and small rooms sealed with bars.

I couldn’t close my gaping mouth.

“…!”

A grimoire radiating blinding golden light floated within one of the cells.

A suit of armor blazing with flames, a sword emitting frosty white gusts—they were all there.

No doubt about it.

Those items were all…

“Could those all be artifacts?”

Artifacts.

Also known as ooparts, items, relics, and so on.

Priceless treasures imbued with special abilities and powers.

And now, a mountain of them was spread out before me.

At that moment.

Clank clank clank clank clank clank—!

The bars of a nearby cell began to rattle fiercely.

Peering inside, I was shocked beyond belief.

[Roarrrrrrr!]

A massive lizard was roaring from behind the bars.

A creature I had never seen or heard of before.

It wasn’t even mentioned in news reports or bestiaries—a completely unknown magical beast.

Its appearance was that of a dragon. Or, more precisely, a pseudo-dragon.

[Raaaargh!]

At that moment.

BOOM—!

A massive tail slammed against the bars with tremendous force.

For a brief moment, the tip of its tail grazed dangerously close to my face.

“Gasp!?”

Startled, I stumbled backward, but soon realized something.

The monster beyond the bars was completely immobilized.

The pseudo-dragon’s body was bound by thick chains exuding dark blue magical energy, and its four legs and neck were restrained with runic shackles.

And that wasn’t all.

A torrent of green liquid poured from the ceiling like a waterfall, drenching the pseudo-dragon’s body.

Sssssssss…

Amidst a haze of white smoke, the creature’s flesh melted like slime, exposing its bones.

[Raaaargh!]

What was astonishing was how quickly the pseudo-dragon’s damaged body regenerated.

It melted under the acidic solution, regenerated, and melted again in an endless cycle.

The monster writhed in ceaseless agony, unable to even dream of escape.

“What the hell is that? Is that one of the Emperor’s collectibles too?”

As I thought this, a book suddenly appeared before me.

Pop!

An old, worn book that looked like a diary stained with use.

“What’s this…?”

The book opened on its own, its pages flipping with tremendous speed.

Flip flip flip flip~!

A glowing page rose from the open book.

Flutter!

<The Immortal Pseudo-Dragon>  

– Storage Number: MRG-682 

– Storage Grade: Safe  

“The Immortal Pseudo-Dragon,” also known as “The Iron-Eating Pseudo-Dragon.”

The 72nd dragon recorded in the apocalypse, possessing powerful regenerative abilities and drastically enhanced physical capabilities when consuming metal.

Its intelligence is nearly nonexistent, but its temperament is highly aggressive and violent, requiring caution during containment and storage.

“…?”

What? 

Are my eyes playing tricks on me?

This monster’s storage grade is “Safe”?

I looked again at the signpost by the warehouse entrance.

The small text at the bottom finally caught my eye.

[Morgue’s Magical Warehouse]  

– 1st Layer: Safe Zone: Grade for items fully contained and secured  

– 2nd Layer: Observation Zone: Grade for items contained but requiring further monitoring  

– 3rd Layer: Unstable Zone: Grade for items contained but requiring continuous management

– 4th Layer: Terror Zone: Grade for items contained but with unpredictable stability  

– 5th Layer: Incomprehensible Zone: Grade for items whose containment status is unknown  

A hollow laugh escaped me in disbelief.

So, it’s “safe” because it’s locked up in the warehouse?

The standard for “safe” here seems… no, wildly different from common sense.

By that logic, even a nuclear bomb would be considered safe as long as it’s stored in a warehouse.

At that moment, another message window appeared.

Ding-dong!

<Would you like to retrieve MRG-682, “The Immortal Pseudo-Dragon”? … [Yes/No]>

“…Are you insane?”

I frantically tapped the “No” button.

Why would I release that ferocious monster?

It could reduce my neighborhood to rubble in the blink of an eye.

Just then.

[Let me out!]  

[Release me!]  

[Please! Save me!]  

[I’ll kill you all!]  

[Let me out of here!] 

[Oh, I repent! I’m repenting!]  

[Your Majesty! Please, show mercy just once!]  

[I was foolish to oppose you! Please release me!]  

[Aaaaaaaaah!]

Dozens, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of voices began to echo from within the warehouse like a cacophony.

Burning armor, a frozen sword, a glowing grimoire, a melting dragon, a skull impaled on a spike, a mountain-sized spider, a green-skinned old man, a doll bound in chains, and more…

Monsters, artifacts, people, souls, and all manner of incomprehensible things were screaming in desperation.

Listening to the grotesque chorus of wails, my vision blurred, and my legs began to tremble again.

Ding-dong!

<The areas beyond this point may be somewhat challenging for a “Novice Warehouse Keeper” to manage.>

<A “Guidebook” is provided for the new warehouse keeper assigned to the Magical Warehouse!>

<Overexertion on your first day isn’t advisable, so perhaps the newcomer should clock out for now?>

I had reached my limit.

I felt like I was about to lose my mind.

Without looking back, I bolted toward the warehouse exit.

***

Ding-dong!

<“Close” command received.>

<Closing Morgue’s Magical Warehouse.>

The notification sound snapped me awake.

Looking around, I saw the familiar scenery of my basement studio.

…Was it a dream?

Did I fall asleep from exhaustion after the loading and unloading shift?

If it was a dream, where did the dream begin?

The part where I opened the warehouse? Or the part where I awakened as a warehouse keeper?

I immediately opened my status window.

Ding-dong!

[Cha Hasang]  

Job: Novice Warehouse Keeper of Morgue  

Skills: Open (O), Close (C)  

– Morgue’s Magical Warehouse Exploration Rate  

 Safe: 0.01% <UP↑>  

Observation: (Locked)  

Unstable: (Locked)  

Terror: (Locked)  

Incomprehensible: (Locked)  

The status window appeared.

So, the awakening part was real.

But there were new entries in the status window.

“Exploration rate?”

The exploration rate of Morgue’s Magical Warehouse.

Only the “Safe” zone had a separate indicator showing a 0.01% increase.

I recalled the system message from earlier.

<You have entered the “Safe” zone of Morgue’s Magical Warehouse!>

Does that mean the exploration rate increases as I venture deeper inside?

Like revealing a new area’s map in a game.

At that moment, I felt something catch around my ankle.

“What’s this?”

A grimy leather sack was tangled around my pant leg.

It must have been some trash from the warehouse floor that got dragged out in my frantic escape.

The dust-covered sack looked filthy at a glance.

“Ugh, what’s that smell!?”

When I picked it up with my fingers, a stench like rotting meat hit me.

I hurled the sack toward the entrance.

Whoosh!

It felt like the foul smell had already clung to my fingertips.

“Ugh, I’ll have to throw it out with the trash later.”

Just then, a familiar book on my bed caught my eye.

That’s…

On the black leather cover, written in neat handwriting, was:

<Guidebook for Novice Warehouse Keepers>

I swallowed hard and slowly reached for the thick book cover.

As I did, the book opened, and a page floated into the air.

Flutter!

<Guidebook for Novice Warehouse Keepers>  

– Storage Number: MRG-3021  

– Storage Grade: Safe  

The work log of Morgue Mu Featherback, the last warehouse keeper, detailing the operations of the Magical Warehouse.

It contains detailed information necessary for a rookie warehouse keeper to become the final warehouse keeper.

“May the one who opens this journal be a qualified being.” 

– Morgue Mu Featherback

Come to think of it, I vaguely recalled a system message about a guidebook while I was fleeing.

“So that book that appeared earlier was the guidebook.”

It seems to be a guidebook for Morgue’s Magical Warehouse.

It also provided detailed information about that “Immortal Pseudo-Dragon” or whatever it was.

By the way, something had been bothering me.

…Where is Featherback right now?

The person I synced with, Morgue Mu Featherback.

This guidebook seems to be a handover document for their successor.

Does that mean Featherback is no longer managing Morgue’s Magical Warehouse?

For now, I should read through the guidebook.

Maybe I’ll find out more.

I reached to turn the page.

But.

Creak creak creak—

The pages were stuck together like they were welded, refusing to budge.

“What’s this? Why won’t it turn?”

At that moment, a system window appeared before me.

“May the one who opens this journal be a qualified being.”  

– Morgue Mu Featherback  

It was the phrase written at the end of the earlier page.

It seems I need to meet some kind of “qualification” to turn to the next page.

So, what’s the qualification?

The critical information was missing.

It’s probably something related to performing tasks in the Magical Warehouse.

But for today, I had no desire to set foot in that place again.

“Will this ability actually make me any money? If I’m not careful, I might end up dead in a heartbeat.”

As I grumbled to myself.

Ding-dong!

Another spine-chilling notification sound rang out.

But.

“Young man, are you in there?”

What followed was the warm voice of the landlady.

Thankfully, it was just the doorbell.

The front door opened, and the landlady stepped inside.

“Oh my, you left the door open like I told you? Such a good listener~ So sweet~.”

The landlady set down a large kimchi container on the floor, chuckling warmly.

I scratched my head, feeling guilty.

“Grandma, I’m really sorry about this month’s rent. If you could wait just a few more days, I’ll definitely…”

“No, no! It’s fine~ I told you, I came to drop off some kimchi.”

“I’m sorry. I know things must be tough for you too.”

The landlady’s financial situation wasn’t great either.

You could tell just by the stack of overdue notices piling up in the mailboxes of this mostly vacant building.

The landlady looked at me quietly and gave a soft chuckle.

“Young man, you’re having a hard time, aren’t you?”

“Huh?”

“It’s tough at your age, isn’t it? But don’t worry~ Good days will come soon, young man.”

It had been so long since I’d heard words of comfort that tears welled up in my eyes.

I took the kimchi container and bowed deeply.

The landlady set it down and looked around the room.

“And even if it’s tough, try to keep your place clean. You’re such a handsome young man! How can you live in such a messy room?”

Her gaze landed on the grimy leather sack lying by the entrance.

With a nod and a smile, the landlady stepped out.

Thud—!

After the front door closed, I looked at the filthy sack again.

A nauseating stench wafted from it, making me gag.

“Ugh, the smell… Should I just throw this out with the food waste?”

I put on rubber gloves and picked it up.

Worried that some rancid liquid might leak out, I shook it over the sink.

At that moment.

Sparkle!

A faint light glimmered from the sack.

“What’s this…?”

Before I could identify it.

Clatter clatter clatter clatter clatter~!

An enormous amount of something began pouring out of the sack.

Clink clink clink clink clink clink clink clink clink clink clink clink clink clink clink clink clink clink clink clink clink clink clink clink clink clink clink clink clink clink clink clink clink clink clink…!

A staggering amount of gold coins, gold bars, and dazzling multicolored gems cascaded into the sink.

“!?”

My eyes widened at the sight of the treasure filling the sink.

At that moment, the guidebook opened, its pages flipping rapidly.

Flip flip flip flip flip flip~!

A moment later.

A page rose from the open guidebook.

What was written on it…

“This, this is…!”

Ding-dong!

– Storage Number: MRG-1689  

– Storage Grade: Safe  

The contents were anything but ordinary.