The official and I pressed our backs against the wall and looked down the hallway.
Toward the end of the corridor we had just escaped—Classroom 1-5.
That was when I finally saw it too.
Flicker.
A mannequin-like human figure appeared at the far end of the hallway.
‘…Three of them?’
The number had increased by one.
Two male students, one female student.
The two who had emerged from the classroom were covered in blood, staring this way with smiles on their faces, while the remaining one stood still in a clean school uniform.
When the lights were on, they looked like grotesque, realistic wax dolls or people preserved in a photograph.
But every time the lights went out.
Flicker.
They appeared further ahead.
Continuously.
Even as we moved further back.
Flicker.
They moved exactly as far as the beam of the emergency flashlight could reach.
Revealed under the light, they stood frozen, having drawn closer once again.
They weren't getting further away.
Flicker.
“…….”
I could imagine it… this standoff would end the moment the flashlight battery ran out.
‘Sigh.’
Even as I moved my feet carefully and slowly, that imagination nipped at the back of my neck.
Eventually, we only stopped when we reached the very end of the hallway, a dead end.
And then.
[Ding-dong-dang-dong]
“…….”
[A fatal accident has occurred in Class 3-2.]
Fuck.
[The deceased student is 3rd-year Park Chaeah.]
[Everyone, let us observe five seconds of silence.]
“Get ready.”
I gripped the flashlight tightly and pressed against the wall behind me.
[5]
I swung the flashlight quickly to illuminate all three of them.
Every time the light brushed past and returned, they were closer.
[4]
The official and I shone our lights on two of the entities simultaneously.
…What about the other one?
[3]
The other one,
Where did it go?
No matter how much I panned the flashlight from side to side or checked the blind spots, it wasn't there.
[2]
Time accelerated in my anxiety.
Where, where on earth, where…….
Ah.
Swish.
I lowered the flashlight.
[1]
The light brightly illuminated my feet and….
A bloody white hand just about to grab my ankle.
A hand wearing a school uniform sleeve.
“…….”
A Sekwang Technical High School student, lying flat on the floor, was looking up at me with a grin.
[The moment of silence has ended. May the deceased rest in peace.]
“…….”
Slowly, I pulled my foot away.
‘Haa.’
Crazy, this is crazy!!
If my reflexes had been even slightly slower, I would have died.
‘I’ve never even played a VR horror game in my life…!’
I never expected to experience something like this for real.
I backed away, retreating with backward steps, blinking my eyes one at a time very slowly to ensure I never closed both at once.
My limbs were trembling.
Staring intently at the remaining two student entities, the official said,
“Once you leave the floor, it seems students of that year level don't usually pursue actively.”
I knew that.
If there was still prey left on that floor, they were more likely to go that way….
“Let’s go up the stairs.”
“…Are we going up instead of to the 1st floor?”
“Yes. This mission is to reach the 5th floor, specifically the gymnasium if possible.”
Immediately, the school broadcast I heard at the very beginning came to mind.
-Students of Sekwang Technical High School! The graduation ceremony is about to begin. Please gather in the gymnasium.
“…What is in the gymnasium?”
“Information is currently non-existent. That is why we must investigate.”
Of course it is.
‘The exploration records accumulated up to this point are only in the early-to-mid stages according to the <Dark Exploration Record>.’
In a school within a nightmare, there wouldn't have been many people who obediently went to the place the broadcast told them to ‘gather.’
The few who tried to go up would have likely been caught by students and killed.
Because the higher we went, the more the students would try to hunt us in bolder, more unpredictable, and intelligent ways….
And the even bigger problem was,
Don't ever come up to the 5th floor!! Better to die down there, don't ever come up
-Final recording of the 12th Exploration Record
…That occurs when you dodge all of that and actually make it to the 5th floor.
‘Haa, I really don't want to go….’
But the most tear-inducing part was that I had to go anyway.
Still, should I take comfort in the fact that I had a companion?
However, since we couldn't go like this, let's try to tweak things for thorough preparation.
“If it's okay with you, could we stop and look around the 3rd and 4th floors briefly?”
“Is there a reason?”
“I have a feeling this structure is somehow like a horror game.”
“…!”
“In games, the process of obtaining important items for progression is essential.”
I said as I slowly climbed the stairs backward.
“I'm not sure, but if it were me, I'd first search special classrooms… like the music room, the science lab, or the faculty office. I'd check the yearbooks or student records too.”
“…….”
“I think there might be hints or keys in the props and objects.”
We continued up the stairs.
As we moved further away from the ‘students’ who had been surrounding us, we reached a distance where a single flashlight beam could cover the field of vision needed to track them.
Only then did the official speak.
“Our analysis team reached a similar conclusion. …That it's like a ghost story based on a game.”
Oh.
“They said the name of the fictional high school and the structure of running away from monsters like this are identical.”
“Ah, I thought something similar.”
“But this is the first time someone has suggested this. An investigation centered on objects rather than monsters or people….”
For some reason, the official's eyes seemed to sparkle.
Since he was in his high school form, he didn't have dark circles, so he didn't look bizarre.
“Fine. Let us look through the spaces as much as possible. I will pass the word along as more agents join us….”
More agents… I’d like to pass on that.
However, as if he had become excited, the official went a step further.
“Come to think of it, since you’ve become a temporary agent, it would be better to call each other by codenames. Is there a codename you'd like?”
Good lord.
“Ah, we primarily use historical materials. It’s easier to distinguish if we use terms that aren't everyday words.”
‘You’re letting me use a codename too?’
It felt like he was letting me live out every single trope.
……Ah. Was there a codename I wanted to use if I ever created a named agent of the Disaster Management Bureau in the <Dark Exploration Record>?
There was.
But I have enough shame not to bring it up now….
“…I’ll go with Grapes.”
“A fruit. Simple and good.”
I briefly imagined what Braun would have commented.
‘I miss him a little.’
I pushed aside the void left by my ‘Good Friend’ and continued the conversation.
“What should I call you, Agent?”
“My codename is Bronze.”
“Yes. Agent Bronze.”
The agent who smiled faintly, codename Bronze, nodded quite satisfyingly.
It was as if he were looking at an intern.
‘I feel like I’ve been getting a lot of new-recruit welcomes lately, or is it just my imagination….’
Regardless, until we completely cleared the stairs, we persistently leaned over the railing to check if the students were following.
Of course, during that time, one person was constantly watching the upper floor.
And finally, we arrived.
[3F]
3rd Floor.
The floor where the 2nd-year students stayed.
“……It’s quiet.”
The students from the lower floor had naturally vanished from our sight, but they didn't appear from above the stairs either. It seemed they had found someone else and headed that way…….
Still, just in case, we kept glancing back at the stairs as we stepped into the 3rd-floor hallway.
It was surprisingly clean under the bright lights.
No blood, no filth, no corpses, and no people frozen in terror, weeping while desperately watching the students.
“…….”
Not even a single student entity was visible.
And I thought I knew why.
‘They’ve barricaded all the doors.’
Someone had already locked all the classroom doors.
They had even put chain locks on the front.
‘…! This is definitely the daydream employees.’
It was content from our manual.
Students wearing Sekwang Technical High School uniforms show a certain aversion to damaging school facilities.
If a door is quietly closed and locked without provoking them, they have been observed returning to a deactivated state, sitting at their desks.
Furthermore, if the doors were set up like that, they would inevitably make noise when coming out.
You could perceive the sound and look back immediately.
‘It’s a primary safety measure.’
When there were still quite a few people and the dolls' movements were restricted, it was a fairly viable task if done while moving stealthily.
“…….”
But because the hallway was quiet, we had to be quiet too.
Since those students are aggroed by sound.
‘The 2nd-year faculty office is around the corner.’
‘Shall we crawl there?’
A nod.
Ending the conversation with tiny whispers and a nod of the head, we moved quietly, staying low against the wall to avoid detection.
Even then, we didn't stop staring at corners where someone could appear silently, like the end of the hallway or the stairs.
Cold sweat soaked my back.
‘Just a little, just a little more.’
Slowly.
Just pass through without overdoing it.
When we had covered more than half the distance,
Aaaaack!
…….
Someone screamed from beyond the hallway.
‘No.’
If there’s a sound….
Click.
Click-click-click-click-click-click-click.
I couldn't bring myself to lift my head.
The sound of door handles being pulled was coming from every door with a lock.
…The students had heard the sound too.
Click-click-click-click-click-click-click.
The official and I crawled like mad, staying low, and escaped the hallway.
Then we looked back.
Click…….
“…….”
“…….”
Phew.
Fortunately, perhaps because the scream ended after just once, the sound of pulling door handles vanished.
However, several shadowed human figures could be seen peering out from behind the doors….
“…….”
This is terrifyingly scary.
It was just pure luck they weren't looking this way.
I swallowed hard.
Still, the consoling part was that we had reached our primary destination.
[2nd Year Faculty Office]
It appeared immediately after turning the corner.
However, even this faculty office had locks on all its doors, and the windows were covered from the inside with something like newspaper, making it impossible to see inside.
It was strangely eerie, but I couldn't have been more glad to see it.
“Please maintain perimeter security for a moment.”
The agent equipped a thimble-like item on his finger and poked it into the keyhole of the faculty office lock.
Then, as the thimble entered the hole that didn't even match its size, the lock slid open smoothly.
‘Wow.’
The items issued by the Disaster Management Bureau really have that charm.
“There might be students inside the faculty office as well, so let's enter carefully.”
And when the door opened.
“…!”
“…?!”
A completely unexpected scene unfolded.
“Close the door quietly.”
“….”
“Hurry.”
I closed the door behind me.
There were no students inside.
Instead, about seven people were standing in a standoff, glaring at each other.
Suspicious high schoolers wearing animal masks and suspicious high schoolers holding Transparent Pistols.
It was the Disaster Management Bureau agents and the Daydream Inc. employees.
‘They’re fighting!’
And on the table in the middle of the two opposing forces lay a single fountain pen.
‘…It’s an item.’
It was something I knew as well.
Fountain pen of 2nd-year ■■■
It seemed they were keeping each other in check, refusing to back down in order to claim it.
‘Forget investigating the ghost story, they’re just wasting manpower…!’
They even seemed to notice our entrance a beat late.
“Agent Bronze.”
A few people who looked like agents finally brightened and looked at the man beside me, codename Bronze.
But a rational person like the agent beside me would probably not sympathize with this situation….
“Let’s join them.”
“…??”
Wait a second.
But the agent had already approached and stood at the front of the group of agents.
And I….
“…….”
I was receiving intense stares from the people of my company wearing animal masks.
Especially from the two colleagues who knew my face.
“??”
“??!”
To think I’d see the day Baek Saheon and Jang Heowoon made the exact same expression.
Those eyes, looking back and forth between the iron badge of the Disaster Management Bureau I was wearing and the Translucent Pistol I held, seemed to be saying:
‘Why are you coming out from there…?’
In the midst of that, the official called me again.
“Agent Grapes.”
“Gra—Grapes?”
The official replied coldly.
“To even have the character to laugh at a codename… that’s just like that company.”
“……??”
This is driving me crazy.
“Come this way. It’s better to move away from the door.”
“…….”
‘What do I do?’
I intensely weighed the situation.
And I made my judgment.
‘I can’t betray them.’
I eventually walked forward and stood beside my acquaintance.
“Yes. Agent.”
Right next to Agent Bronze.
“What on—What is…!”
“…….”
Right. I can't betray them.
‘I can't betray my own safety!’
That’s how it is, colleagues.
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