The Prize in the Box

This story has been translated from Japanese by Saya.

This is a cryptic story!

The old man said to the young man,
"Shall we play a game?"

His explanation of the rules was as follows:
There is a prize amounting to a large sum of money inside a box, and if the young man manages to pry open the box the prize will be his.

The box is extremely stout and it is impossible to open it by bare hands, but surrounding the box are a variety of weapons such as an axe, which the young man is free to use.
There is no time limit whatsoever.

The young man replied that he would play it with much enthusiasm.
It appeared there was no risk at all involved.

The old man nodded and said,
"Actually, there are a few difficult challenges you have to go through before you are able to reach the box. If, however, you are willing to pay me 5o,ooo yens right now, I will let you start from a place closest to the prize."

The young man joyfully handed 50,000 yens over to the old man.

Then the game started.
From the very beginning, the prize was right in front of the young man.

Comments

Unknown said…
Hi Saya long time fan here. Hmm, this is a tricky one. I can't really figure out what the prize is in front of him. Also I want to say i'm glad you're back. :)
Dethyl said…
He paid 50,000 yen to be locked in the box with prize in front of him. However, the box is physically impossible to open using one's bare hands. The weapons that could possibly open the box are outside the box.

So, the old man used some form of magic to transport the young man into the treasure box, where he is going to die of suffocation or starvation. Oh dear, looks like the young man really didn't think this through.

Also, since the old man just said there's a lot of money in a box and didn't specify where the box actually was... it might be at the bottom of the ocean or somewhere else that's dangerous.
First of all I gotta tell you how happy I am that you're active again lol. I used to read your blog in the 10th grade and I graduated high school recently so it's been a while! Ok, so I think the young man has to kill the old man? Old men tend to be stout and human beings are impossible to open with bare hands so maybe the box is really the old man? I feel like I'm completely wrong lmao
Shakey_makey said…
The box is the wallet ?___?
Diogo Valverde said…
This one actually got me stumped. I have a few theories, but none that would be airtight.

I've said this already, but I'd like to stress how great it is to see you again. I was starting to think you had watched one too many cursed videos or done one too many rituals, haha. It's absolutely wonderful that you're doing alright, and I'm looking forward to commenting on the posts again!
CreanJinSung said…
My theory is that the prize is the gift of friendship with the old man ;)

In all seriousness, I believe he has to murder someone (Human being the "box") and the "prize amounting to a large sum of money" is the person's organs because we all know how valuable those are.

However, if you are to harvest organs they would become unusable quickly unless well preserved. I may have been reading to much morbid things to come to a theory like this.

Anyway, that's my theory or hypothesis.
Angel said…
is it because the prize is actually 50.000 yen money?
Visser said…
holy shit you're back

すごくびっくりしたよー!
Gabriel said…
Oh heavens, I'm so happy to see that you've returned, Saya! Welcome back, I hope you've been doing fine!!! Life was just not the same without your amazing blog. (or it would be more correct to say - without new posts to look forward to, lol)

And you got right back on track with the awesome cryptic stories, nice! This one made me chuckle, it's pretty simple but quite clever too, at least from what I gathered. The prize is, naturally, the 50.000 yen that he just handed over to the old man, and if he wants the money back, he'll have to kill him. Morbid.

Thanks for your hard work as usual, Saya. See you, and take care!
CY said…
This one explains people's greed. Similar to those email saying I am a prince of some country and requires you to wire him some money first. Anyway, the prize money is that 50000 yens or less (subtracted the handling fee).
Unknown said…
Holly heck, you are still alive and kicking! I just wanted to say thank you! I've had a blast reading the stories you have over and over, you practically introduced me to japanese horror, and through the purest form of horror there is, I think (written, aside from told to your friends, any other medium I've found to be insufficient).
There was also night in a hostel with two friends, a girl with a Hatsune Miku costume on and a male friend, given nobody wanted to sleep, that I started to tell stories of your website and trying them to break down your cryptic stories and it was funny and a moment I'll remember.
I just wanted to be able to say you this. Keep going strong and thank you for everything again.
I'm sure you've heard this a bunch already, but welcome back Saya! I love re-reading the stories, but it was the most euphoric experience to come onto your site and see updates xD
Thank you very much everyone, for your contribution by leaving comments and making the experience of being at this blog much more interesting.

The "answer" to this cryptic story generally seems to be that the young man ends up trapped inside the box and now he can't get out and is left to die there.
But of course, all sorts of other theories are still possible. That's why cryptic stories are so fun to read! :D


@Unkown 14 July Thank you! It makes me happy to hear you a long time fan of my blog. What a joy to hear from you. More great stories are coming, so stay tuned!:D

@Dethyl You really are as sharp as ever, to have figured it out by yourself. I must admit I'm not so good at solving these cryptic stories. I confess I always read other people's answers soon after I read these stories, and don't even try to think by myself XD

But you are right, the box might be at the bottom of the ocean or some bizarre place for all we know. That's a really scary thought!!

@El Abdeltam Hi! :D I'm glad that I'm making you happy although it feels somehow weird to be making people happy by doing a horror blog XD

But, oh, you were that small when you first found my blog? Time flies, doesn't it? Congratulations for graduating! :D

That would be really horrific if the box was actually the old man! Thank you for your interesting theory!

@Shakey-makey Maybe, maybe!:D

@Diogo It's OK! Every time I'm gone people assume the same things as you did XD
I'm sorry I made you worry, and thank you for your unwavering support! :D

@CreanJinsung Aww that's an interesting theory and a gruesome one too! Don'T watch too many morbid things though, otherwise you'll become like me. Haha XD Thank you for commenting!

@En-jel Yes, perhaps! :D

@Visser びっくりした?XD Sorry about that!

@Unknown 16 July Thank you, dear. Aww so you also think the young man has to kill the old man? That's so scary. Thank you for your support! Take care and I look forward to hearing from you again too! :D

@CY Aww I never get that sort of email. I had to look it up on the internetXD Anyway, that's another good theory! Thank you!

@Alraisen Yes, yes, I know rumours have been going around that I've been killed by a ghost! XD But fear not! I'm alive and in good health too!!

I'm honoured that you enjoy my blog so much and that my blog has been part of your precious memories. I really appreciate your message because it gives me a very good reason to continue the blog. If, in the future, I feel demotivated again, I shall remember your words. Thank you very much!

@Ofelia Thank you very much for your kind words, dear. I feel very motivated by your words! :D


Thank you again, everyone! I will see you at the next post! ;)
Destinneena said…
I was thinking that the money he gave the old man was the large sum of money he would get, but I like everyone's thoughts on this better then mine.
Unknown said…
I think the old man is saying I can put you in the box(closest) and the gift of life is what is most valuable cause its priceless hahahah. you can't open the box with bare hands because you will be trapped inside ....hahaha................:<
Nunu. said…
My take was that the prize was the 50,000 yens box itself.
If the young man attempted to open the box by the weapons, surely the box would be destroyed, and there may or may not be anything left inside the box.
It was a scam and the young man fell for it.

However, I do like the idea in the comments about the young man getting trapped inside the box.

This one got me stumped, Saya :D Thank you.

-nunu-
Unknown said…
I'M GLAD YOU'RE BACK SAYA OMG!
My theory is.... the old man asked for the 50.000 yen bc it's actually the prize. so he'll lose nothing bc it's the young man's money.
@Ghina Tsabitah Thank you dear. I'm happy to be back too :D
Mimi said…
Aww, I was thinking that the old man was the prize and he had to use the axe to take the prize (organs or the old man swallowed something valuable).

Good one though!