Alright. Let’s sort through this.
The monster in front of me…
That grotesque figure with its pixelated, distorted appearance, was undoubtedly my colleague, Go Yeongeun.
The goral mask was clearly visible, after all.
‘I feel bad for blasting that high-powered flashlight in her face…’
Clenching my teeth, I tried to focus on the mask instead of my sense of revulsion.
The problem was that normal communication was impossible!
I couldn’t speak, nor could I properly hear what the other person was saying…
There’s no way we can talk anyway!
If that’s the case, might as well kick her out of the school.The urge to destroy everything surged up to my throat like bitter bile…
‘Ugh.’
It felt like my head was filled with errors.
This was driving me crazy.
Unable to think of another way to communicate, I eventually pulled a pen out of my pocket and, avoiding looking at her directly, wrote on the floor.
Ms. Goral?
Then, I waited in silence.
The moment ‘Go Yeongeun’ turned her gaze toward me, I froze.
A reply appeared on the A4 paper on the floor.
Mr. Roe Deer?? Are you self-aware? Can you act independently?
‘Phew.’
Good.
I looked at the monster—no, ‘Go Yeongeun’—and wrote a response.
Yes, I can.
Don’t worry, I’m not contaminated.
Although I imagine even a contaminated person might say something like this, so I’m concerned about how it sounds…
This is all part of this ghost story’s gimmick.
A gimmick?
Yes.
How should I explain this?
‘In this case, it’s probably best to go straight to the point.’
Knowing that the colleague in front of me was clearly intelligent, I decided to forego roundabout explanations and write the direct answer instead.
The solution to this ghost story that all the foreshadowing in its lore pointed toward.
This is a school where a horror game has become reality.
<Within the Shadow of Darkness>.
The name registered in the wiki for this ghost story,
And the cause of all the events happening in this nightmare version of Sekwang Technical High School.
Hints about it can be found in exploration records that uncover the lore in the faculty office and certain classrooms.
Item Confiscation List (Month of ■■, Day ■■) :
Game Console
When obtained from the first-year faculty office and turned on, a pixelated image of the school at night briefly appears on the screen before it shuts off.
Memo in the top-right corner of the blackboard in Class 3-2 :
That’s supposed to be the teacher?
Notebook found on the floor of the music room :
There’s a small doodle in the corner.
– Why am I in school after waking up? (A sketch of a surprised puppy.) Graduation ceremony prep? What does that even mean? It’s May right now!
And various other notes and items.
If you search the bag of the student whose console was confiscated, you can even find an empty game case with a plot summary written on the back.
--------------------
The day before graduation.
Students supporting the graduation ceremony preparations at ■■■■ High School spend the night at school.
Of course, the preparations are mostly an excuse, and the students enjoy the atmosphere of a nighttime camp.
New couples form, best friends argue, and someone’s secrets are exposed…
Then, the school broadcast comes on.
[The graduation ceremony has begun.]
[To penalize students who did not attend, the teacher is now leaving the auditorium.]
The bloody graduation ceremony begins.
Can they escape the nightmare school unscathed?
--------------------
That’s how it becomes evident.
This ghost story is about a horror game that devoured a real school, forcing it to replay the events of the game as a nightmare.
That’s why the students don’t speak.
‘Because it’s a game without voice acting.’
That’s why the third-year students on the fourth floor can’t leave their spots.
‘Because the main game hasn’t started yet.’
That’s why the students can’t move when explorers are watching.
‘…It’s a bug that wasn’t part of the original game.’
In fact, the explorers weren’t even official participants in the game.
‘We’re not playing the game at all.’
We were dragged in after attempting to glimpse the game’s story through an unofficially downloaded text file…
‘Huu.’
Of course, I didn’t explain all of this in full detail to my colleague.
I only shared hints and conveyed the core logic.
Here’s the point.
I obtained a student uniform in an unusual way and tried becoming a participant in this horror game.
For now, it seems to be working.
A game? Oh, it sounds like that one! The horror game where you’re trapped in school the night before White Day!
But isn’t becoming a participant in the ghost story’s game even more dangerous? Especially since you don’t know what might happen if you keep wearing that uniform for too long.
Go Yeongeun’s writing started off energetic but became rushed and frantic toward the end.
It was a reasonable concern.
You’re right. If it gets dangerous, I’ll stop right away.
I also planned to run for it if things didn’t go as expected.
But so far, things were proceeding exactly as I had anticipated…
Still, this might turn out to be the most definitive clear route we can document in the manual.
I’m going to give it a try.
After a brief silence—
Alright, then. I trust you, Mr. Roe Deer. You’ve always been strong against ghost stories…
“……”
Seriously, it’s just a misunderstanding…
Still, please don’t do anything too dangerous.
I’d like that too, but things in life rarely go as planned…
Ah, then, if we stay here together, other students might grow suspicious of you, so I’ll take my leave.
Huuuh?
Please, be careful!
That was the last thing she wrote.
The moment I was unfrozen, I saw Go Yeongeun slowly walking away down the hallway, turning her back to me.
W-Wait a second, Yeongeun-ssi…!
‘I still have things to ask you!’
Please help me!
I hurriedly caught up to her, lightly tapped her back, and hastily wrote out a new note.
Excuse me, Ms. Goral, there’s something I need to ask you.
It’s probably specialized knowledge only you can answer.
Sure! Feel free to ask!
Thankfully, Go Yeongeun turned back and kindly agreed to answer.
Whew!
Grateful, I quickly scribbled out my question.
Can you tell me where each organ is located in the human body?
What??
A-Ack.