Chapter 74

A brightly lit classroom inside a ghost story.

"Die! Die!"

Behind me, people desperately pummeled an eerily motionless student.

"Let's wait until they've passed."

In front of me, a government agent watched my coworkers pass with wariness and contempt in his eyes.

And caught between them...

Me, without my companion, having missed my chance.

I had to clear this nightmarish ghost story safely while looking like an innocent civilian to the government agent beside me.

My true identity... an employee of the very pharmaceutical company he despised!

"..."

How much harder was this damn thing going to get...?

'This is driving me insane.'

Meanwhile, the employees had gone off into the distance. I thought I'd even met a few of their eyes, but when I looked away, they obligingly hurried on without speaking to me.

Just as I was thinking that was one small mercy, the lights flickered.

Another blackout.

"Eek!"

But this time, the people were faster than the encroaching darkness.

"... I-it's not moving!"

"We did it!"

I took a deep breath.

When the lights flickered back on, the "Segwang Technical High School student" that had stood frozen like a statue was lying on the floor near the rear door.

"Yeaaah!"

Their frenzied beating had clearly worked. This time, the student hadn't been able to move even with the lights off.

Instead, it seemed to have suffered the accumulated effects of the beating all at once, collapsing as though dead.

But now that it had frozen again, its right hand alone still reached into the air, as though trying to grasp the rear door...

"..."

The people cheered, their faces ecstatic as they held up bloodstained mop handles and chairs.

"It worked! This is it!"

"..."

We had to run.

When one of the student entities enters an immobilized state resembling biological death...

Quickly.

Every student nearby is summoned to that location.

[DING-DONG-DANG-DONG]

["A fatal incident has occurred in Year One, Class Five."]

"Huh...?"

The school PA came on.

Unlike before, the voice was somber.

A slow funeral dirge played beneath it.

"Now."

The agent prodded my back.

"Run."

["The deceased student is Lee Wonyul, a first-year."]

I immediately bolted out the door, taking in as much of the hallway as I could, as quickly as possible.

Locate what I needed, get close to it, and make myself small.

"Should we put our backs to the wall?"

"Precisely."

["Let us observe five seconds of silence."]

I didn't resist as the agent pressed down on my shoulder. With my back against the wall, I sank to the floor.

Then...

CLICK.

The lights went out.

[5]

Through the music came a scraping sound.

The rear door opening.

[4]

"Aaaagh!"

"Agh!"

"Wh-what... urgh."

[3]

"Hel..."

"Hhk."

[2]

Screams, screams, short screams.

[1]

...

...

Silence.

The funeral dirge played on.

["This concludes our moment of silence. May the departed rest in peace."]

I forced my trembling head up and looked into the classroom.

Because I had to look.

A flicker.

The lights returned, restoring my vision.

The classroom was a mess of blood and filth. Bodies were everywhere, flung into the walls or sprawled across the floor and desks.

'... Ha.'

Only two figures stood among them.

Segwang Technical High School students, frozen by my gaze.

One stood trampling a decapitated victim. The other smiled, holding the front door...

And staring at me.

"..."

It had registered me.

'Damn it.'

Sweat dripped from my chin.

"... I'm going to back away a little. At an angle where I can still see inside the classroom."

"..."

The agent gave a slight nod.

Keeping my eyes fixed ahead, I felt along the wall behind me.

The reason I'd chosen this wall.

[Portable Light]

A red emergency flashlight was right nearby.

A portable light source that could keep the students "frozen" even during a blackout.

'An absolute must-have.'

But only one remained in a rack that should have held three.

'The employees must have taken them.'

With that bastard Baek Saheon in their group, I was surprised they hadn't taken all three to keep a spare.

They'd even had the good sense to stuff a wad of paper into the emergency flashlight sensor to prevent the alarm from sounding. Just what I'd expect from veteran ghost-story explorers.

They'd even left an extra sheet of paper in an empty flashlight slot.

'I noticed that too.'

I reached behind me and picked up the paper...

When I brought my hand forward, the writing folded onto its back came into the edge of my vision.

-You owe me.

"..."

Not bad.

I crumpled Baek Saheon's note, reached behind me again, and jammed it into the sensor as I pulled out the flashlight.

'Whew.'

That completed the first stage of temporary blackout preparations.

'Next...'

"...! Did you take a flashlight?"

"Yes."

"... Excellent. Keep it on. ... Now let's retrieve the name tags."

The agent strode to the classroom's front door, right up to the student entity staring fixedly at me.

'Hoooo...'

Just watching felt like warning signals were shooting all the way to the top of my head.

But the agent swiftly removed the name tag from its chest.

Then he went beyond it and retrieved the name tag from the first entity to die, lying by the rear door.

"..."

This was insane.

'There's no taking that step back.'

If you are seen taking a student's name tag, that student will pursue you until you die.

Though perhaps we were already screwed the moment we made eye contact.

'They're definitely going to chase us.'

Even with a flashlight, moving through this school at night with two students on your tail was madness for an ordinary person.

It was an option available to a Disaster Management Bureau agent with equipment and colleagues.

'... Still, I'd have done it differently.'

But the damage was done, and thinking rationally...

Having my identity exposed to the agent.

Dying in a nightmarish ghost story.

No matter how I looked at it, the former was more dangerous. I'd probably end up singled out and investigated, with dying here thrown in as a bonus.

'I guess I have no choice but to trust this Bureau agent's next move.'

Still, I should pull my weight... pull my weight.

'If I'm doing this, I'd better do it fast.'

As the agent moved, I approached the inside of the classroom too.

Then I reached toward the student near the rear door and pulled off its name tag.

'Urrrrgh!'

God, this was terrifying.

The motionless student looked as if it might turn toward me at any moment and smash my head to pulp...

But nothing of the sort happened. I'd succeeded.

'Whew.'

I was clenching my hand, tingling with chills, when it happened.

"P-please save me..."

I heard it.

"..."

I'd thought the student entity was only standing on a dead person's neck, but I was wrong.

Someone lay beneath it, tears streaming down their face.

"P-please..."

Someone was still alive.

Apparently without the strength or fight left to shout, they whispered thinly to me.

"..."

After a brief, fierce internal debate, I took a certain action.

...

"...! Hhk, hh... Yes..."

My eyes were fully occupied watching the student-shaped entity, so I couldn't be sure, but I thought the person beneath it gave a faint nod...

"..."

I slowly backed away to rejoin the agent. Then we backed into the hallway and began moving quickly.

"Watch ahead. I'll watch the classroom."

"... Yes."

The agent took out his own flashlight.

He watched the back of the entity's head—the one that had stared straight at us from the front door.

I watched the hallway ahead to "freeze" any new entities that might appear.

We moved close to the wall, covering each other's blind spots as thoroughly as possible.

"..."

Our movements were silent, desperate, and quick.

As the classroom receded from view... around the time I thought the one entity still inside must have vanished completely from sight, the agent, who would have been watching it, murmured in puzzlement.

"Why isn't it following... Could it be..."

With our backs pressed together, I felt his agitation.

"... Was someone still alive inside? Are they watching it?"

"... Yes."

The agent took a deep breath.

"They must have been too badly injured to move. ... You did the right thing. In a disaster, you secure your own safety first, then help others."

"..."

"Head for the stairs. We'll stop by the fire hydrant."

"Yes."

I moved. And...

A flicker.

... Another blackout.

"I'm keeping the flashlight on them."

"Yes."

I kept moving.

Then I realized.

During that last blackout, the person I'd given the name tag to had died.

'They're coming after us.'

The two entities would be emerging from the classroom now.

But I had to keep watching ahead, so I couldn't turn to look... and that was making my hair stand on end.

"Don't panic. There's still a chance."

"..."

"You acquired a name tag earlier, correct?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now you just need to kill yourself."

I nearly fainted.

"Let's do it as soon as we stop by the emergency light. You're so pale that it would be best to wake you from this nightmare quickly. You have a name tag, so there shouldn't be a problem."

"... Um."

But here was the thing.

I swallowed.

"I did acquire a name tag, but I don't have it anymore."

"...!"

"I gave it to the person who was still alive in the classroom."

Yes.

Earlier, I'd deliberately dropped the name tag onto the floor so the person pinned under the "student" could take it.

["Hold on to that, and you'll wake up from this dream."]

["...! Hhk, hh... Yes..."]

"They had a name tag, so they'll wake up safely."

And they'd bought us some time in the process.

"...!"

The agent let out a short breath laden with conflicting emotions and stress.

Then he spoke in an even more tired, businesslike voice.

"... Were you counting on my spare name tag?"

"No. You don't have to give me that. You earned it."

"..."

"You need more name tags, don't you? You'll need to give them to your fellow agents too."

"... That's..."

Of course, I wasn't saying this because I was some hopeless sucker.

'It really is fine.'

Why?

'Because I never planned to just get a name tag and kill myself in the first place!'

Exploration Record #13

The exploration record I intended to base my escape on—the wiki entry I'd written—was the account of an explorer who had never obtained a name tag to begin with.

Besides, I'd analyzed this ghost story and considered its variables thoroughly enough to write an exploration record.

And I'd reached this conclusion.

'Only by performing a certain action without possessing a name tag can you clear this place without physically dying...!'

That was also the strategy that let you take home the highest-grade Dream Essence solution.

'Then I have to do it.'

Team D... In other words, I needed to prove I could keep delivering comparable results even under new circumstances.

"Do you know what happens if you die without a name tag?"

I did.

"You'll be dragged back here whenever you sleep on the last day of the lunar month. You'll forget when you wake up, leaving you unable to prepare."

"..."

"Can you handle that?"

I didn't think I could, but what choice did I have...?

Of course, it would have been much safer to keep carrying a name tag and relinquish ownership at the crucial moment.

But as long as this agent was with me, acquiring a name tag and tossing it away when necessary wasn't an option.

So I'd accepted the risk and given it away naturally instead.

"There will be another chance."

And I'd give it away again.

As long as I was with you.

"And I'll seize that chance myself. Don't worry. I won't ask you for yours."

"..."

And at this point...

Why not at least try?

I continued in a voice that sounded as though I'd come to a decision.

"... I really think we should split up here."

"...!"

"If you need it, I'll even give you my flashlight."

'I brought a super-powerful flashlight anyway.'

And plenty of other things besides.

Once we split up, I could stop pretending to be a civilian and use them. Just let me leave!

Traveling alone was frightening, but I couldn't go on with my hands tied like this.

Civilians or coworkers—either would be better!

'I need to join a larger group.'

This ghost story had a strange structure: more eyes meant greater safety, but more noise meant greater danger.

'I need to form a party of about four, quickly.'

Given the risk posed by my being a Daydream Inc. employee, I couldn't keep traveling with this agent.

I needed a situation where I could take more initiative.

'Let's part ways as if I'm reluctantly giving in.'

"I think I'll only get in your way. I'll... manage on my own somehow."

You said to assume civilians caught in a disaster were dead anyway! Just accept there's nothing you can do and let us split up!

But the response was completely unexpected.

"... I was mistaken."

"...?"

The agent looked at me with an inexplicably resolute expression.

"I'd intended to carry out a mercy killing as soon as you acquired a name tag."

Excuse me?!

'You lunatic.'

Even if dying would wake me up, how could he talk so openly about killing someone right to their face?

Feeling cold sweat run down my back, I forced a smile.

"Oh, yes. Taking your own life is difficult, even in a dream..."

"Yes. But... if you're willing, I'd like you to accompany me as I investigate this disaster."

...

What?

The agent spoke quickly.

"You'd become a temporary agent. This isn't a solo assignment, so normally I'd need another agent's consent, but... Ah."

The agent rummaged inside his clothes, took something out, and handed it to me.

"If you eat this, they'll accept it as an expedited procedure."

My eyelids trembled as I looked at the small rectangular caramel candy wrapped in silver foil that had dropped into my palm.

... That was Bureau-issued equipment!

* * *

Sour and Sweet

A chewy candy with a caramel-like consistency.

After ingestion, lying causes an unpleasant pain each time, compelling the user to speak the truth.

* * *

"It's a simple truth-verification procedure."

No, that's practically a truth serum used for torture.

"If you take this and accompany me, you'll also receive a modest payment."

"..."

"If that's too difficult, I'll give you a name tag and shoot you to send you back."

Wow. F*cking hell.

"Sir?"

How wonderful it would have been to pretend to eat it and slip it into my tattoo. But now that I'd completely reverted to my high-school self, my dream body didn't even have the tattoo.

After fiercely weighing my options...

"... All right."

I diligently chewed and swallowed the torture-grade truth serum.

Its pleasant sweet-and-sour taste made it catch in my throat, but I chewed it down.

'Getting caught throwing it away or refusing to eat it would be worse.'

That would mean I knew what this caramel was.

"I've swallowed it."

I wanted to cry.

But didn't they say the stick came with a carrot?

Unexpected carrots began pouring in.

"Well done. Now take this."

"...??"

The agent quickly placed something else in my empty hand.

It was an iron-gray badge that looked somewhat like the Silver Heart Badge.

Huh?

"An agent identification badge. Wear it, and other agents you encounter should assist you."

"..."

"And this."

No sooner had I put on the badge than he swiftly handed me a small ivory pistol.

Tiny multicolored glass marbles glittered like bullets inside its translucent cylinder.

This thing, clearly extraordinary at a glance, was...

* * *

Glass Hand Cannon

An exorcism pistol loaded with specially manufactured glass marbles from the Disaster Management Bureau. Small enough to resemble a toy or a lighter.

* * *

"It's a weapon for dealing with supernatural disasters. It should certainly work on those 'students' too. Keep it with you."

"..."

Wow.

This was the basic Bureau agent issue kit I'd only ever seen on the wiki.

Like Daydream Inc.'s Dream Essence Collectors and masks, these items were practically a way to identify agents.

'I never thought I'd get to wear all this.'

Now it looked like I'd even be playing the part of a Bureau agent, something I'd never imagined.

'What even is this situation?'

Absurdly, I thought I might be a little excited, but at the same time, I desperately wanted to run.

For now, though...

'I don't have the luxury of worrying about that.'

"... It's begun."

A flicker.

"We're nearly at the end of the hallway, so look this way now too. ... Whatever you do, don't lose your flashlight."

...

I adjusted my grip on the unfamiliar pistol.

They were closing in.