Newcomer

Vortex Town—Hostel Scream

Beneath the entrance stairs,

a damp rag lay spread beside the wall,

and Gustav sat there with a tray placed before him.

Any guest entering the hostel had to pass by him. Whenever someone arrived, Gustav would put on a pitiful expression.

As long as he acted like that, there was a good chance he would get a tongue.

After all, the monsters able to stay at the hostel had all been certified by the Green Door. Their regenerative abilities were extremely strong; losing a tongue was nothing.

Gustav himself greatly enjoyed this feeling of "getting something for nothing." In all of Vortex Town, aside from class time, his favorite thing was wasting time at the hostel.

And there was another reason...

Perhaps because the Outer Realm Threat had been cleared away and things had become a little dull lately, the "landlord," who had rarely taken the initiative to interact with others and seldom spoke, had actually appeared in a mimic form.

Leaks began appearing among the various ventilation ducts lining the top of the hostel, ducts that represented "blood vessels."

Drip!

A series of pitch-black contaminants fell and quickly formed a humanoid shape, like a black savage dressed in a ghillie suit.

Just then,

Pumpkin Fran had also returned from work—or rather, he had deliberately chosen this time to return. He held a special deck of cards in his hand.

Without exchanging a word, they began playing cards.

But before they had played for long that day, Gustav, who had just gotten a great hand, suddenly tasted an unfamiliar flavor with his tongue.

Since Vortex Town had established an initial partnership with the Exploration Bureau, it was normal for outsiders to arrive. Teacher Guo also intended to expand the school's scale and had begun recruiting students