Chương 251: Three

Gilepre had known from the very beginning that he had been caught in an immensely powerful ability. He didn't need to experience the trials himself to know that… The Nightmare Plague had already caused so much damage in the past… However, seeing things for himself, being a victim of the horror that were the incessant nightmares, he had come to understand that this couldn't simply be that his dreams and nightmares were being twisted.

It felt more like the moment he fell asleep, his soul, mind, and all that ethereal business… All of it was taken somewhere else. Perhaps another realm. Maybe a different dimension, or mayhaps a pocket space. He couldn't know for certain, but these nightmares he went through had to require something to support them. They were far too complex and sprawling to be mere manipulations of what was already inside his head. This so-called 'pre-final trial' was atrociously detailed.

It felt like a real, physical place, and more importantly… There was a story to this place. There was the implication that it operated like a normal business during the day, even though it really was just a building floating in a void. The agent would often explore the place before finishing a shift, attempting to seek anything out that might help him–He had actually found some of the ways to deal with several of the automatons thanks to doing so.

Some non-existent employees would leave notes on the corkboard of the breakroom. These notes would often detail some behaviours of the automatons, such as a supposed other night watcher who was to one who had noticed Violettid couldn't help but fill in at an arcade with a game playing on it. The guy had mentioned it playfully, since he wasn't getting hunted down by them, though…

"I don't think I've ever been back there" Previously, he was considered to be a new hire, so he was unable to access certain rooms and areas, such as the backrooms where many automaton parts and the like were stored. It was considered a sensitive zone with all of the supposedly pricey equipment kept there. As such, a new hire wasn't deemed trustworthy enough to access it. Gilepre had seen it through the cameras a little bit.

There were an absurd number of them in the backrooms, but since the place was constantly drowning in darkness without any windows in sight, seeing anything clearly had been difficult through the cameras. He debated whether to go check or leave for a few moments… In the end, his previous findings pushed him to be curious. This trial seemed to like to hide crucial information, so not exploring would be a bad move–Nonetheless, Gilepre remained on guard.

Even if this shift should be over, he didn't doubt that this accursed place wouldn't hesitate to try to kill him if given an opportunity to.

"Where is the light switch in here…?" He still had a flashlight he had found a while back. Its light was rather dim, but in the near-total darkness surrounding him, even that was like a beacon–He managed to locate a light switch, which was just a button here for some reason, and the dark was soon chased away in favour of a blinding brightness accompanied by a subtle buzzing noise.

Gilepre had half-expected to see Blaunellie or another clown gal just standing where darkness had been permeating a moment ago, but the long hallway was empty as it should be. No automatons, no shadow retreating behind a distant corner, and no noises echoing from far away. Just a regular hallway… This perhaps made Gilepre more uncomfortable than the alternatives. Something so banal was suspicious inside of this torturous nightmare. Regardless, Gilepre moved deeper into the hallway.

Right now, he was close to the entrance to the backroom–Or rather, one of the entrances. There were a few dispersed through the building so that employees didn't have to trek through the establishment to get there if necessary. The entrance nearby was hidden near the main stage, and as such, the rooms dedicated to performing maintenance on the three main automatons were right here. Gilepre couldn't even begin to fathom what the point of having specific, separate rooms for each of the automatons was.

Surely, the job could be done in the same room for all of them… He peered into the rooms he passed by whilst going deeper, but none of them held anything of interest. They were mostly filled with things like extra tables and chairs. Just stuff that might need to be replaced every so often. After a little while, he finally stepped into a much larger room filled with shelves made out of steel.

These things held the heavy parts of the automatons, with each shelf bearing a sign detailing what exactly it was dedicated to storing. Since the automatons were all unique, this meant that there was a need to have specific parts for all of them. For example, they were of different heights, meaning that the limbs intended for one couldn't be used for another, and the same was true for the Flex Suits. Each F. S was specifically made for each of the robotic performers.

"There's no way this place could operate in reality, not without a crap load of money, at least…" He muttered to himself whilst exploring, only to eventually find himself in another hallway, only that this was plastered with posters of other groups of entertainment automatons.

"The Foxtrotters… Frank and The Farmyard… The Cuddles… Benjack And Nathaniel…?" The posters depicted automatons of different styles than the clown gals. Seemingly far less advanced, and clearly behind in terms of aesthetics, being far more obviously robotic than the ones Gilepre was used to at this point. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. The hallway led into a workshop with a nametag that just said 'Boss', so this was certainly where the owner worked.

He had indeed seen in several places that the automatons were all created by the one who owned Glown's Wonderland, which might explain why it was possible for the automatons to be so diverse. This place didn't need to pay anyone to build these things. There were a few unfinished steel skeletons inside the workshop, but it was mostly blueprints and schematics all over the place.

They showed alternate, improved versions of the automatons from these posters, so Gilepre guessed that the story here was that the owner had bought out some rival companies, and was planning to use their automatons for something new, perhaps expand this already enormous place further with a wider array of characters. Though the agent felt like that would be absurd, so he instead assumed that this was about opening new locations using already existing characters that people could recognise.

"... Don't tell me I'll have to deal with those as well…" As he sighed at what was probably an inevitable outcome, he noticed a door tucked away in a corner, partly obstructed by an empty fabric suit slumped against it. He moved the suit out of the way and pushed the door open, being met by nothing but darkness. Thankfully, the light switch was within reach.

"What the hell?!" Inside the room were three bulky automatons with steel exteriors hanging from the walls via hooks placed under their armpits. Not only were these clown-themed automatons quite awful-looking due to their oversized heads and unmoving grins, but one of them was covered in dried blood, whilst also having a huge puddle beneath it. This particular automaton's eyes lit up, and its head turned to face Gilepre.

"It hurts… It hurts… You need to help me! She locked me inside the suit!" Gilepre took a preemptive step back and also turned his body so that he would be in the perfect posture to start running away if necessary.

"Buddy, judging by the amount of blood, I doubt I can help you" The automaton lifted itself up, attempting to get off the hooks holding its feet above the ground. By then, Gilepre had already taken off running, shutting the doors behind him as he made a mad dash all the way to the exit. When he turned around right before being taken to the rest area, he saw the clown staring at him from inside the building. Everything faded to black as he was transported away.

"What the fuck was this thing?"

GJB SNPRF, BAR JVYY NYY BS GURZ NF BAR BAR SNPR, BCCBFVAT JVYYF Ah, what a wonderful nap! How long have I been sleeping like a log? I am pretty sure I heard Nara yawn. … Mmh… One month. That was quicker than I expected. I wonder why–Oh, that's why. This evolution might have caused an uproar, as I feared What happened? I didn't think the effect would be so strong but… To put it simply, when evolving, most things go dormant and inactive… Your innate abilities, the ability to change form, the upgrades…

All that business is basically sleeping, but on the other side, certain things are instead empowered to aid in the evolutionary process Basically, your ability to absorb curses and ghosts was increased quite severely, and in reach much further than I was expecting, resulting in the good effect of accelerating the evolution, but also in the bad effect of making it obvious something had happened, and also… It might have also boosted the tapes and such appearing all over the place…

It should go back to what it used to be, but it seems like quite a lot of people got infected with nightmares while we were gone Oh my. Will it be a real problem, though? I doubt it. They've definitely taken notice of what was happening, and also probably realised that it was linked to an evolution, but since nothing happened to you, it seemed like no one was able to detect your location Splendid.

Let me get out of this hole before I start checking what was gained from this evolution–Hold on, wasn't I buried into the wall? Why am I exposed outside now? As I wondered about this, I pushed myself to my feet, and soon realised what had happened. I had experienced a bit of a growth spurt during the evolution, and it hadn't just boosted my height. I had become wider, and my steel bones were thicker as well, and as a result, I had received a substantial strength boost.

Before, my 'Base Form' had been the same height as my human self had been, but now… I was actually fifteen centimeters taller, meaning that I was two meters tall, coupled with my long arms, I might actually be able to punch people in the head across a room now. Now that's already a great boon. Being bigger might cause a few issues here and there, but the strength this brought was not negligible in the least, and this would probably carry over to some extent to my other forms as well.

I needed to get used to my new height and weight, but I was able to crawl out of this pit despite the rather stark difference in the length of my limbs. I could already wrap my hand around a grown man's head before, but now it was somewhat ridiculous just how big my hands were. Yep, I'll definitely need a little while not to knock the walls and the ceiling. Hopefully, I don't break anything in Leou's tower…

I brought my ghostly little sisters, as they had been stuck inside the Mindscape for a full month, and they hadn't changed much. Unfortunately, the effects of evolution did not extend to them, like it certainly had for Coco.

"I hope–ope you girls didn't get too bored in there–there" How swell, my voice is less glitchy than before, too. I am truly getting a very good feeling about this evolution. After I finished catching up with my adorable little sisters, I sat down, looking out as the filthy water of the sewers flowed down the canal. This place was rather lacking in the feeling of grandeur that my evolution should inspire, but I wanted to check what I had gained before going back to the tower.

I wouldn't want to accidentally activate any new innate abilities or the like with anyone around. Alright, let's see the goods!