I Activated Cheat Mode in a Bizarre Game

Our first field mission ended with the retrieval of the small marble left behind by the Chameleon.
We returned to headquarters, dragging our exhausted bodies with us.
The small marble was handed over to the research team.

It might be an item—or something else entirely.
And then, just two days later.
After taking a day off to recover from the overnight field mission—

Before the fatigue had even worn off—
Team 15 received another field assignment.
“Whoa! Another field mission?”

“…Yes, it’s strange. There’s been a spike in monster activity lately…”
Han Sora lit up at the thought of hazard pay for another field mission. But even Team Leader Park Cheolwoo tilted his head with uncertainty.
“This time, we’ll be confirming and retrieving items that were left behind in a specific zone.”

Team Leader Park brought up briefing data on the screen as he explained.
The screen displayed a photo of a decrepit and eerie-looking building.
“The high-risk threats were already eliminated by an upper exploration team, but due to the lack of information on the area, and the possibility of unexpected anomalies…”

While listening to his explanation, I suddenly sensed something off and raised my hand.
“Team Leader, but… isn’t item retrieval and cargo transport usually handled by the Transport Team?”
At my question, not only Park Cheolwoo, but Han Sora and Seo Jihyun also looked puzzled.

After a brief pause, Park finally opened his mouth.
“Transport Team? Kim Minjun-ssi, could you be confusing us with another company? We don’t have any department called ‘Transport Team’ in Dongto.”
“…What?”
His words struck me like a brick to the head.

No Transport Team?
Then what about the job I originally applied for—the one that led to that horrific “final interview”?
I wasn’t mixing up companies. I’d been scouted from that process and brought here.

Maybe the Transport Team was just called something else?
Still… judging by the team leader’s expression, he wasn’t lying.
Han Sora and Seo Jihyun also genuinely looked like they had no idea.

“The target location this time is an abandoned hospital on the outskirts of Incheon.”
Whether or not he noticed my confusion, Seo Jihyun continued the briefing in her usual calm voice.
“It was shut down after a certain incident and left neglected since, but recently there have been reports of unidentified phenomena inside. Exploration Team 6 was dispatched and located a monster, which they then eliminated. The initial safety sweep is complete, but unstable elements may still remain. Our job is to proceed with caution and retrieve the item in the designated zone.”

“An abandoned hospital?”
“Yes.”
As I listened to her explanation, one word stuck with me.

Abandoned hospital.
No way…
A certain hospital came to mind—the one I first woke up in.

The starting point of the Tale of Aberrations game.
I looked at the photo on the briefing slide.
Broken white tile floors, peeling wallpaper, the emergency exit sign at the end of the hallway…

It felt familiar.
…It must just look similar.
I convinced myself it was just a coincidence.

There were plenty of hospitals that looked like this.
Abandoned hospitals were the perfect breeding ground for monsters.
“…We’ll be traveling to the site by vehicle. Check your equipment. We depart in five minutes.”

As soon as Seo Jihyun finished speaking, the team began checking their gear.
I tried to shake off the unease and checked my own issued equipment.
But that nagging sense of dread didn’t ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) go away.

I kept a neutral expression as best I could, and followed the team out for our second field mission—
Hoping I was wrong.
***

Through a landscape both familiar and strange, our van finally reached its destination.
An old, abandoned hospital on the outskirts of Incheon.
The gray sky and gloomy building exterior chilled me to the bone.

At the hospital entrance, another Dongto vehicle was already parked. Several agents stood nearby.
It was Team 6—an upper exploration team that handled far more dangerous assignments than ours.
As we stepped out of the van, a man who looked like Team 6’s leader approached Park Cheolwoo.

His face showed fatigue—and something else. A trace of doubt.
“Haa… Ah, you’re Team 15? We just finished clearing the inside.”
The Team 6 leader said.

His voice was calm and low, but his expression showed some lingering unease.
“There was just one monster left inside. It wasn’t particularly dangerous—we handled it easily. But that’s not the issue.”
He paused and scanned us.

“There were two monsters already dealt with before we got there.”
“…Excuse me? Already dealt with?”
Team Leader Park asked in surprise.

“Yes. One of them even seemed fairly dangerous.”
“…Who the hell—”
“Had its skull completely smashed in. Looked like it’d been shot.”

With that, the Team 6 leader began describing the creature.
“You’ll see it as soon as you go inside. It’s tall—unnaturally tall—and was wearing a doctor’s coat.”
At those words, I inhaled sharply.

A monster in a lab coat. Abnormally tall.
Memories surged into my mind like a replay.
I pressed my lips tightly together.

Trying not to let my expression change.
“We haven’t identified who did it. Could’ve been a monster-on-monster fight, or maybe someone used an item to take it down… Either way, we didn’t find any additional threats during our sweep.”
His gaze sharpened as he looked at us.

“But you never know what could happen. Stay alert while retrieving the item. If anything seems off, contact us immediately. We’ll be guarding the perimeter.”
“…Understood. Thank you.”
While Team Leader Park responded, my full attention was on the hospital before me.

Yeah—I recognized it.
This is it…
The cracked tiles on the outer walls, the shape of the main entrance, the faintly visible stairwell just beyond—

No matter how I looked at it, this was the same place where I first woke up in this world.
The tutorial level of Tale of Aberrations.
How… did I end up back here?

Fate really was persistent.
I escaped, somehow joined this company—and now here I was, right back at the beginning.
“Creepy place, huh.”

“Ah, yeah… seriously…”
I pretended to be seeing the hospital for the first time, echoing the team leader’s line.
“Alright, let’s move in. Seo Jihyun-ssi, double-check the interior layout. Han Sora-ssi, keep watch on our surroundings. Minjun-ssi?”

When Park called my name, I paused to steady my breathing before answering.
“Yes.”
“No need to be nervous. There shouldn’t be any fighting.”

“Got it.”
“Our goal is the item. If any monsters appear, we don’t need to engage.”
Strangely enough…

I wasn’t that nervous.
Maybe because I’d already escaped this hospital once before?
As I stepped through the doors, that same familiar yet chilling air hit my nose.

A mixture of stale disinfectant, dust—and something vaguely metallic.
Tap, tap.
Our footsteps echoed through the empty space, sounding unnaturally loud.

I followed at the back of the group.
We proceeded carefully inside, guided by the lights Team 6 had set up. And soon enough, we found “it” in the center of the lobby.
“…Oh my god.”

Han Sora gasped.
There it was—the remains of the monster in the doctor’s coat.
Its body and limbs were mostly intact, but the head was a mess—unrecognizable, crushed to pulp.

Like a watermelon had exploded—black-red fragments and some kind of fluid splattered across the walls and floor.
“…”
Back then, I’d been too busy escaping to get a good look.

So this is what happened.
Seo Jihyun crouched down, not touching the remains but observing them carefully.
“The monster’s skull was completely shattered by external blunt force. It could’ve been attacked by a stronger monster… or hit by a powerful item.”

“Who the hell did this…? Wait, was it another monster?”
Team Leader Park murmured in disbelief.
His face showed both confusion and concern.

I stood beside them, doing my best to fake a naturally surprised expression.
“…Everyone, stay sharp. The monster that did this might still be nearby. Don’t lower your guard.”
He seemed convinced this was the work of another monster.

With Team Leader Park’s warning in our ears, we resumed the mission.
He pulled a palm-sized detection device from his coat.
With a few beeps, the device lit up and pointed in a specific direction.

“This way. We’ve detected the item’s signal.”
We followed him through a creepy corridor, climbed a set of stairs, and arrived at a hospital room door.
[Room 302].

Beep, beep. Beep-beep.
The device responded strongly from within the room.
“We found it.”

Team Leader Park said—but he didn’t look relieved.
He stopped Han Sora from reaching for the doorknob and warned us in a low voice.
“As you know, just because something’s an ‘item’ doesn’t mean it’s safe.”

There was a different weight to his tone now.
“Unregistered items can be just as dangerous—maybe even more dangerous—than monsters. Everyone, stay cautious and act carefully.”
At his warning, we all looked at each other tensely.

We held our breath again—
And slowly opened the door.