Exploration Record #13, added by me.
-If you obtain and wear a school uniform in an appropriate manner, you can be treated as a student.
In truth, this was quite a groundbreaking addition.
It was a choice that, if handled poorly, could dilute the essence of the existing ghost story.
A school ghost story.
A monster that only moves when no one is looking.
"In the Dark Shadow," created by playing on these two clichés, was originally a classic ghost story themed around "the horror of being the one pursued."
A nightmare where a familiar place and familiar people become strange, unfathomable things that chase you until you die.
However, once more than ten Exploration Records accumulate, a bit of buildup starts to seep in.
'It adds the fun of specifically imagining the background of the world.'
Exploration Record #5
Writing found on the chalkboard:
Avoid the teacher because the teacher (The subsequent text was roughly erased.)
In that way, plot hooks are stacked one by one.
They had only been stacking for 12 records, and since this ghost story was quite popular, it felt like they would just keep "stacking."
'By that point, it gets frustrating.'
It becomes difficult to maintain the existing theme of feeling fear from a vacuum of information.
But you see.
'If you can explore as an insider—a student—the fun of resolving these plot hooks yourself is added...!'
The 13th Exploration Record I wrote thus aligned with the demands of the ghost story writers.
As a result, the ghost story "In the Dark Shadow" reached a new turning point.
From the middle to the latter half of the exploration, the eerie hooks of the world scattered in the records are all resolved, revealing a shocking twist.
The latter half became filled with deeper Exploration Records and story elements...
It was a truly wonderful indirect experience.
Watching a seed I planted grow into a larger, newer story through the participation of many people.
'Though I never expected to experience it for real.'
Yes.
Right now, I was planning to experience the culmination of that story a bit earlier.
'Let's go.'
Dressed as a student, I walked the dark corridor on the 3rd floor of Sekwang Technical High School.
In the distance, I could see "monsters" paralyzed with fear slowly disappearing around the corner of the hallway...
The urge to pursue them flared up and then vanished.
'Phew.'
Existing within the school in the role of a student was strangely comfortable.
It felt like I was standing where I belonged.
Consequently, the sense of repulsion and the destructive impulse I felt when witnessing an alien "monster" wandering the school were all the more intense.
Especially.
[A fatal accident has occurred in Class 2, Grade 2.]
As soon as I heard that broadcast for the first time, my heart felt like it dropped.
A stinging sadness and a cold emptiness.
And a sense of duty to find the cause of the accident!
[Everyone, let us observe 5 seconds of silence.]
I wanted to run out freely through the school, which had become bright as day, and willingly eliminate the cause of this error and "observe silence," but...
'I'm not a student.'
I mustn't forget.
Kim Soleum had many things to do.
First, I had to go up to the 4th floor. I stepped onto the stairs...
'Ah.'
Huh?
The classroom for Class 5, Grade 1, which I belong to, is on the 2nd floor.
There seems to be no reason to go up to the 3rd floor.
A thought popped up like a pop-up window.
"……."
So this was why the setting "they rarely leave their respective floors" was attached to the students.
Of course, it wasn't insurmountable. I had only borrowed the uniform; I wasn't an actual student here.
'Phew.'
I moved my feet again.
Step by step.
[4F]
Long before the dazzling "Light of Silence" filling the corridor vanished, I reached the 4th floor.
The place that had been pitch black with broken and flickering lightbulbs.
The 4th floor, where dozens of students had stood still like mannequins in the hallway, staring at people, was now...
Lively.
"…!"
The students were now exchanging glances with vivid expressions or gesturing as they held silent conversations with each other.
I bit my tongue to ensure I didn't make a sound.
The students of Sekwang Technical High School have no voices.
If you speak aloud while wearing the borrowed school uniform, ■■■ ■■■■.
Afterward, you wake up from the dream and regain consciousness.
To think I would be bound by a sentence I wrote myself.
I continued walking through the crowd of students, who either glanced at me before turning away with lack of interest or smiled awkwardly when our eyes met.
Don't look out of place...
'Naturally...'
I passed the corner of the hallway and stopped just before the stairs near the 3rd-grade faculty office.
There was a small iron door.
[Faculty Office Storage]
It was a small space usually used in schools to store cleaning tools and the like.
And right in front of it, five or six students were gathered, sitting in a circle.
It was a dense formation I would never have been able to approach if I weren't wearing the Sekwang Technical High School uniform...
'Now, I can enter.'
I stepped inside the circle.
The students looked at me with puzzled expressions.
Why did a 1st-year come all the way up here?
They seemed to be saying exactly that.
I took out the A4 paper I had brought from the Infirmary and slowly wrote.
The seniors told me to find a ladder in the storage room.
Would it be okay if I took it?
One of the students smiled, took my pen, and wrote a reply.
Okay lol
Jingle.
When I looked up, another student was already holding a bundle of keys and shaking them in front of me.
I took the bundle.
And personally, using the key labeled "4th Floor Storage," I opened the door and entered...
A place only a student can enter.
Creak.
A brilliant light from between the door gaps pierced my eyes.
It was because various objects inside the storage room were shining as if asserting their presence.
Just like the name tag I received from Jang Heowoon.
'Oh my god.'
I had expected it, but it was a more bizarre sight than I thought. After closing the storage door tightly, I immediately reached for the objects...
It doesn't seem like an item I can take yet.
Ignoring the thought that popped up once more, I rummaged through the various shining objects—buckets, mops, a small whiteboard, etc.—and...
I finally found what I was looking for.
"……."
It was a decorative brooch.
A slightly clumsy-looking ornament made by laminating thick paper, as if handmade by an amateur.
You have obtained 'Name Tag Decoration'!
Name Tag Decoration: A floral decoration with the words "Congratulations on your Graduation" written on it. It seems to have been made in the shape of a royal azalea, the school flower of Sekwang Technical High School.
Is it intended as a gift for graduates?
I took this "Name Tag Decoration," which had been shining the most, and tucked it into my pocket.
'That's it.'
I have now obtained the essential item for "clearing" this ghost story.
After that, I visited various places only accessible to students, checking if there were any discrepancies with the information in the Exploration Records I knew.
Borrowing a book from the library, briefly tapping the piano keys in the music room...
'It's better to die quickly and wake up if even one thing is off.'
Fortunately, everything was consistent.
'…Good.'
During this process, I never went up to the 5th floor, where the "auditorium preparing for the graduation ceremony" was located.
Because the time hadn't come yet.
'When will the notification come?'
I took a tense breath and waited slowly...
It was then.
아아아악!! 저리 가!! 저리...
A tremendous roar struck my ears.
"……!"
Would a glitch sound like this if it became audio?
This insane noise, like hundreds of people scratching a chalkboard with their fingernails!!
I also knew what it was.
'…It's the monsters!'
They were clearly the voices of explorers who appeared to me as glitched monsters!
A massive amount of noise from whatever they were blathering about on the lower floor hit my ears—no, my very brain.
An overwhelming impulse enveloped my body.
'So this is why they tracked down the noisy people first!'
I wanted to silence at least the sound...
'…! Calm down, let's stay calm….'
Instead of running down the stairs unable to endure it any longer, I suppressed the impulse as much as possible for a few seconds.
'Let's go now.'
Only after I had become sufficiently calm did I move and check the monsters on the other side of the 4th-floor corridor.
The monsters were in a confrontation with a student.
No, it was already almost over. The student lay prone on the floor, immobilized.
However, the monsters hadn't all retired.
'Damn it.'
I prepared myself.
Only one monster had survived intact.
It looked at the student lying on the floor...
And turned to look at me.
It stopped me in my tracks.
…….
I looked at the monster in the distance that had stopped me. A human figure with a horrific form whose face was melting into a mass of pixels.
But there was one thing different from the other monsters.
'It's wearing a mask.'
And the shape of that mask was...
A Goral!
'…Ms. Go Yeongeun!'
"Wow."
I'm the only one left.
Go Yeongeun leaned against the wall in the corridor, catching her breath.
Before her eyes, the last student of (presumably) this 3rd floor lay prone and immobilized.
The student seemed to still be alive, but she didn't feel like killing it.
'If I kill it, the power will go out again and they'll swarm... Sigh.'
The civilians she had been accompanied by were already all dead.
'At least the last three went back with name tags...'
According to the company manual, one could live a normal life in reality even if they died here, but it felt uncomfortable that the fluid in the Dream Collector only filled up when a "name tag" was obtained.
'…I think there's something to it.'
Go Yeongeun had subtly talked about the name tags to her group and shared them, somewhat giving up on a high-grade clear by greedily collecting them herself.
And those people had all just died.
'Ugh...'
Perhaps because she had become quite accustomed to these gory slaughterhouses, monsters, and ghosts while working for this company, she wasn't overwhelmed.
She had completed her anatomy studies and cadaver labs without issue, so she might have been strong to begin with.
'It's a relief they didn't really die...'
She had reached the point where she could think such things quite indifferently.
'…Should I head upstairs now?'
It was the moment Go Yeongeun decided to catch her breath before moving.
Flicker.
"…!!"
From across the corridor.
Another student appeared.
A student of Sekwang Technical High School with a tall stature and a somewhat rebellious way of wearing his uniform.
'Hah.'
Wow...
I can't do this anymore!
'Let's just go.'
If I've held out this long, there shouldn't be any issues with my performance review.
Exhausted, Go Yeongeun felt like just taking off the high-powered headlamp she was wearing.
She was about to prepare to wake up from this shitty nightmare...
Flicker.
…Eh?
'W-wait a minute.'
The student's features were faintly visible under the dim lights.
An impression that was cool-headed and tidy, almost indifferent.
"…Mr. Roe Deer?"
It was Kim Soleum.
She wondered if it was just a student who looked like him, and although he looked a bit younger than usual, she was certain.
It was definitely him.
A chill ran down Go Yeongeun's spine.
'W-wait a minute...!'
What on earth was going on?
Could it be! If certain conditions were met in this ghost story, would one become "contaminated" and get caught like that...?
As a monster known as a student?
"Ah……."
Having worked for several months, she knew a fair amount about the Contamination of ghost stories, so fear surged within her...
But in the next moment, she made up her mind.
'Let's check.'
If she woke up like this and things had truly gone wrong, she would hate herself for just running away in the middle.
'It's fine even if I die now and wake up from the dream.'
She approached the corridor, trying her hardest not to blink both eyes at the same time.
The more she approached the frozen student's exterior, the more she became convinced it was Kim Soleum...
'…He doesn't have that Rabbit Doll either.'
The plush doll keychain he used to carry, perhaps because it had some story behind it, was nowhere to be seen either. Go Yeongeun felt a mixture of bitterness and melancholy as she advanced further.
Flicker.
The light flickered, but thanks to the headlamp on her head, it wasn't a problem.
'Just a little more.'
Let's get closer.
However.
Flash.
Suddenly, a light like a lightning bolt pierced Go Yeongeun's eyes.
"…!!"
Her vision temporarily vanished.
The cause was a flashlight in Kim Soleum's hand.
He had set it to go off after a few seconds using a timer.
To temporarily paralyze the eyes of whoever approached.
Go Yeongeun, who couldn't identify exactly what object it was, grasped the situation and was struck dumb.
'He set a trap... in advance?!'
For a moment, she felt a dizzying emotion, but at the same time, she quickly organized her thoughts.
'It can't be helped.'
She only regretted not being able to accurately figure out what kind of bizarre thing this was.
But she wouldn't be able to hold onto this thought for long. Those monsters were incredibly fast.
In the next moment, I will di...
"……??"
I'm not dead?
There was no pain, nor the floating sensation of waking from a dream.
…She was fine!
'What?'
Go Yeongeun, having adjusted to the aftereffects of the flash, looked up at the "student" with a bewildered expression to "freeze" him.
…….
Kim Soleum, wearing the Sekwang Technical High School uniform, wasn't looking at Go Yeongeun.
Instead, he was looking down at the floor.
'The floor?'
Go Yeongeun stepped back slightly so she could see both Kim Soleum and the floor at the same time...
"…!"
Writing had appeared on the floor.
An A4 paper that had been laid down before she knew it, with words written on it.
Ms. Goral?
Euaaaaak!
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