Since it was a mansion, there might be a coat or slippers lying around somewhere. It wouldn’t be strange to find one or two of those items since it was a mansion of the dead. Fidelis looked around with blurry eyes and stood in front of the cleanest-looking door, trying to open it, but it only made a clicking sound and wouldn’t budge.

Fidelis considered breaking down the door or forcing it open, but she knew that making a loud noise could make her the first sacrificial lamb for the ghosts. Fidelis’ goal was to survive as thin as a thread and escape from the mansion as quickly as possible, returning to reality. She had no intention of taking any risks. She planned to move around while hiding her body like a coward.

That may not go as planned, but……. Fidelis opened the door next to her, but it wouldn’t budge. She quickly started turning the doorknob, afraid that someone might come. She went through each door, turning the doorknob one by one, until the seventh door made a clicking sound and opened with a thud.

“Fuuu…. Why did it open…. Even if it’s open, it’s still scary…….”

Fidelis’ heart, which had been calm, began to beat rapidly again. The sound of the first door opening was not a relief, but rather made her feel like she was going to die from fear. After taking several short breaths, Fidelis looked around and swallowed her dry saliva.

“Do-don’t come near me…. I warned you….”

Fidelis stepped forward, pretending to be confident, and slowly opened the door. She felt the cold air on her bare feet. She was so scared that she felt like she would die if she made any noise.

“I’m going in! I said I’m going in!”

As Fidelis stepped forward with a candle, she trembled and shuddered at the gloomy atmosphere. “Ahh! Should I go back out? Should I?”

Fidelis, who was tapping her feet, was startled and closed her mouth. Screaming like that was no different from calling the ghosts. She quietly stepped back and looked around, standing still for a moment.

When no sound was heard even after some time, Fidelis cautiously re-entered the room and stretched out her hand holding the candle to look around. Spider webs were hanging in every corner of the ceiling, and the wooden planks on the floor lost their strength, creaking every time Fidelis walked on them. The bed had long since collapsed, and the walls looked even more ominous with dried, twisted streaks of an unknown black liquid running down them.

A foul stench was also emanating from the room. It smelled like charred material, and also like an old wound festering. The curtain that covered the glass door leading to the terrace had long since fallen, and only the moonlight seeping through the glass door further intensified the gloominess of the room.

Outside, the darkness was so deep that nothing could be seen except the moon. The Mansion of the Dead was a very large mansion, so there were many rooms and it was easy to get lost. In fact, Fidelis had ended up somewhere unknown, just running forward without looking around.

Well, it’s just a game anyway. Fidelis, who was comforting herself and shrinking her neck in fear, slowly looked around the spacious room. Hearing no sound and confirming that there was nothing in particular, Fidelis walked towards the glass door.

*Squeak, creak*

Fidelis was scared every time she stepped on the floor and heard the sound coming from it. Tears were about to fill her eyes again. As she looked towards the corner where a collapsed desk was, she saw a slightly broken lantern lying on the floor. For the first time, Fidelis’ expression brightened. She quickly picked up the lantern and used a candle to light it up.

<You have acquired the item, ‘Lantern’.>

Being notified of each action like this made her feel once again that she was really in a game. Looking around at the now brighter surroundings, she felt much more at ease, sniffled, and was heading towards the terrace when she suddenly stopped.

“I should close the door just a bit for now.”

If she left it wide open, someone could suddenly come in and stand behind her.

She really didn’t want that to happen. It would be fine to leave it just a little bit open. As she turned her body to head towards the door, Fidelis screamed at the figure standing tall in front of the door, which she hadn’t noticed had arrived.

“Ahhhh!”

In front of the door, there was a ghost full of burn scars all over its body, swaying from side to side with its head bowed down. Fidelis was so startled that she started to sob, pouring out the tears that had stopped.

*Sob, sniff… hic-hiccup!*

I should have gone out earlier… I shouldn’t have come in! Fidelis covered her mouth and tried to find a way out without provoking the ghosts.

Fidelis, whose legs were shaking and who couldn’t run away to the hallway because of the ghost blocking the door, looked at the glass door leading to the terrace behind her and brightened up. Without turning her body, she glanced back and moved her stiff legs as much as she could to approach the glass door.

When she felt the cold touch of the glass on her back, she carefully opened the door, but the firmly locked door did not open. She thought the door might be locked and looked at the lock, but it wasn’t. The mansion itself had blocked it. Her plan to escape by jumping out the window was foiled.

Wait a minute. Since it’s glass, maybe I can break it. Fidelis, who didn’t want to miss even a small hope, closed her eyes tightly and hit the glass with her fist, but the glass didn’t budge, only making a hollow sound.

No matter how many times she hit it harder, the result did not change. Fidelis, who confirmed that there was no way out, started to shake more than before. Her teeth were clattering against each other.

The ghost that had been blocking the door took a step into the room. A horribly burnt piece of flesh fell off and dropped to the floor. At the same time, Fidelis felt as if her heart had also dropped into the abyss.

“Oh, God.”

Remembering the name of God that only comes to mind at times like this, Fidelis wanted to faint with her eyes rolled back. She slowly moved her position, maintaining as much distance as possible from the slowly approaching ghost. The foul smell that had been wafting from inside the room was also emanating from the ghost.

In order to leave this room, she first had to get the ghost away from the door. She felt like the ghost would rush at her the moment the lantern went out, but fortunately, the lantern didn’t go out.

[…Pu….]

Pu? Fidelis tilted her head at the faint voice of the ghost mumbling something and looked straight at the ghost.

[Pu… Put out the fire. Put out the fire. Fire! Put it out! Put out the fire! Put out the fire! Put out the fire!]

The murmuring ghost raised its face and began to scream at Fidelis. Its face was already melting, and its eyes were filled with only white. Its mouth, which opened every time it screamed, was torn and had no tongue inside. Fidelis froze for a moment, her pupils trembling, and then she screamed with all her might.

“Ahh, Ahhh! Please forgive me!” *Sob!*

Fidelis screamed and trembled as she begged for forgiveness while facing the ghost. To put out the fire? Fidelis could sense that she would be in danger if she extinguished the fire. She held the lantern tightly as if it were a lifeline and pushed back against the ghost. The ghost staggered back and began to scratch its arms.

[It’s hot! It’s hot! Put out the fire! It’s hot! Put out the fire! I’ll burn you too! I’ll kill you!]

“I don’t want to!”  *Sob!* “I don’t want to burn!”

Fidelis, shedding tears and snot, still managed to respond to the ghost’s words. Every time the ghost scratched its body, the falling pieces of flesh made Fidelis nauseous. Since she hadn’t eaten anything, all that came out was saliva.

“Ugh…….”

Fidelis roughly wiped her eyes and mouth with her sleeve and stretched out the hand holding the lantern as much as she could to threaten the ghost. The ghost couldn’t approach and was busy crying and shouting. As she carefully moved towards the door, she heard faint footsteps in her ears. Her pulse quickened and her whole body throbbed.

“Did-did you call a friend?”

“Ahhhh!”

“Why, why are you doing this…. I was wrong….”

Fidelis didn’t expect a response. She cried and ran in the opposite direction as soon as she reached the door. How many times did she have to run away like this? She wanted to lose her mind instead. Tears blurred her vision, and she couldn’t see clearly. After wiping her eyes with her sleeve, Fidelis bit it tightly and ran and ran until suddenly her legs gave out and she fell down with a thud.

“Ugh!”

Her arm felt burnt as if the skin had been scraped off from being dragged on the floor.

<Your energy has been completely depleted and your health is at 0%. You cannot move until your energy is restored.>

Just as the mechanical voice said, Fidelis couldn’t move a finger. At the same time, the health bar that had filled up to 100% and disappeared reappeared. It said 0% on top. It seemed like she had exhausted her energy due to the terrible encounter with the ghost earlier.