Chapter 50
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Survivor III
Shin Noah
The Academy City was dead, and at the same time, alive.
It grew vigorously like a single massive zombie in its entirety.
In the past, whenever settings like Academy City appeared in creative works, I criticized them for being utterly unrealistic. Now I see I was wrong. I had no choice but to bitterly reflect on how narrow-minded my past self had been.
That's right. Surprisingly, Academy City actually existed. The Academy City's economic power was superior to any other city, it possessed transcendental scientific technology capable of creating something from nothing, and the apex ruling this Academy City was none other than the Student Council President. And, yes. All these propositions were real events.
"You're saying this is real...?"
Even Dang Seo-rin was flustered by the untimely debut of Academy City.
"Vice Guild Master. Is the Korean peninsula's energy just bad? Did Dangun Grandfather get scammed on real estate when he was choosing this land? Fighting the Ten Clans alone is already a headache, but where did this crazy group pop out from?"
"They popped out of a Gate. Did you know? At Baekhwa Girls' High School's swimming pool, there's no water, only zombies in swimsuits flailing on the bottom of the rails."
".... Let's pretend we didn't see that."
Anyone with even a bit of brain in their head took the same attitude toward Academy City.
Complete disregard.
Even in the iterations where I started operating independently under Dang Seo-rin, the basic strategy remained unchanged.
Let's not look at it. Let's not pay attention to it. Let's not speak to it.
The so-called Three No's policy was the proper way to deal with Baekhwa Girls' High School. To protect Pandora's box where Durian was sealed, this truly was the best option.
Even when other guilds were mesmerized by the promotional phrase 'Historic Necromancer' and tried to take a bite, I desperately stopped them. No, no. No! You'll get an upset stomach if you eat that.
"Hah? Who are you to block our guild?"
"If we just have a Necromancer, we can defeat Dang Seo-rin!"
Of course, the guilds didn't follow me obediently from the start. In the end, some guild masters didn't listen to a word I said and insisted on contributing to the establishment of Academy City.
But I didn't get angry. In the long life of a regressor, these people were like immature newborn babies. If you keep caring for them with love and attention, eventually they come to realize their parents' devoted hearts on their own.
"Well, if the Funeral Director says so..."
"Come to think of it, Necromancer does sound unpleasant when you think about it. Controlling corpses and all, what is that."
Ah.
You want to know how to make proud awakeners submit? It's simple. Become a regressor, and subjugate the Ten Clans. Then even steel-clad tsunderes become dere in front of me.
Thus, starting from the 10th iteration when the subjugation of the Ten Clans began, the guild masters meekly followed my control measures.
The front of Baekhwa Girls' High School's main gate was always covered with tape like spiderwebs.
[No Entry] [Safety First] [Danger] [Human Flesh Caution] [Controlled Zone]
It was a truly simple solution, but surprisingly, these yellow tapes demonstrated power comparable to an absolute barrier.
As long as no one stirred things up from the outside, Baekhwa Girls' High School was safe. To the point where one might wonder what they ate and lived on inside, Cheon Yo-hwa and her student council remained shut in.
Really, truly, very occasionally, when Cheon Yo-hwa herself went around gathering supplies, the Saintess would immediately notify me via whisper that 'The Student Council President has appeared.' Even so, large-scale incidents rarely occurred.
Even after the 30th iteration passed.
Even after the 40th iteration flowed by.
Even after exceeding the 50th iteration.
Yellow tapes were still stretched in front of Baekhwa Girls' High School's 'Gate.' I can guarantee that except for the iterations where I went on vacation, the seal here was never broken.
In other words, it meant that in iterations where I quit regressor work and went on vacation, 'Academy City' appeared with very high probability.
The same was true for the 108th iteration when I returned after filming 'Return of Mount Hua' with the Sword Empress.
The Korean peninsula was blazing brightly, as if to prove once again why this land was once called Hell Joseon and bestowed terror upon all people.
-Gru-gu-wi-ru-gu-o!
"Blazing Immortality! Immortality Flower Vastness! Hundred Million Miles Palace Court!"
"Boss, two servings of tteokbokki here!"
The solitary gourmet Ten Clans. The pseudo-religious New Buddha. And added to that, the largest-scale Academy City in history, Baekhwa Girls' High School!
Truly, familiar hometown friends welcomed me enthusiastically.
Now it's so nostalgic I could cry. If a meteor shower fell here too, the Korean Peninsula's Four Heavenly Kings would be complete.
Rather than直观ing that spectacle, it was better to just quietly regress, and I actually did so.
"Hmm."
Upon returning to Busan Station after finishing a vacation season, sage time arrived.
As expected, the performance of vacation was outstanding. The occupational diseases unique to infinite regressors—[Why Only Me] disease, [I'm So Tired Now] disease, [No One Remembers Me] disease, and other truly notorious illnesses were all completely cured.
Instead, the chronic diseases of regressors—[But I Must Solve It] disease, [I'm Completely Fine] disease, [Even If Everyone Forgets, I Will Remember Everyone Forever] disease—relapsed from the opposite direction. Well.
Isn't human life just a record of battling alongside diseases called misfortune or happiness anyway?
A regressor was nothing more than a long-term hospitalized patient who simply experiences the same diseases as others a bit more deeply and handles them a bit more skillfully.
I once again entered the hospital where I had long been staying. In other words, this world. And I quietly observed the Korean peninsula's situation from an angle I hadn't considered before.
'Compared to the Sword Empress... perhaps Cheon Yo-hwa belongs to a very rational conversation partner?'
A true paradigm shift!
It was an enlightenment made possible only because I had served the historic lunatic called the Sword Empress for a full six years.
That's right. Compared to a dog covered in shit, a dog with mustard on it was no different from a cute Shih Tzu.
'High school student council president? Compared to some island nation noble, that's completely normal.'
The 5th iteration regressor who used to tremble at the sight of student zombies no longer existed. There was only the awakener of the 109th iteration who had just experienced being both a marquis of Yul Kingdom and the sect leader of the Hwasan Sect.
They say humans grow.
I, Funeral Director, lightly admired my own growth and began preparation work.
I grabbed the back of SG Nam Seo-gyu's neck and cured his anger management disorder, formed an alliance with the perennial shut-in Saintess, disposed of the Ten Clans and Udambara, then dragged out the Sword Empress who was cultivating internal energy on Ulleungdo and laid all the groundwork.
And several months later.
I alone headed to Baekhwa Girls' High School.
"What business do you have here?"
An NPC stood at the school gate.
It was a familiar-faced security guard.
Just as Dante's Gate of Hell bears the inscription 'Abandon all hope, ye who enter here,' this NPC was in charge of the entrance to a fearsome dungeon.
"I'm sorry, but if you have no business here, please leave. This is a private school. Outsiders cannot enter freely."
"Ah. You work hard. I'm not an outsider."
But to me, who had returned after clearing the existence called the Sword Empress, the security guard was nothing more than a trifling monster.
The Sword Empress who cannot kill me only makes me stronger.
"I am this kind of person."
"Hmm? This is...?"
I politely held out a printout.
The printout had the education office mark kindly printed on it.
[Baekhwa Girls' High School 99th Alumni Association Notice]
"..."
The security guard's pupils shook.
I smiled brightly.
"Hello. I'm a graduate visiting regarding the Baekhwa Girls' High School alumni association this time. Please take care of me."
"...."
The security guard zombie faltered. As if an NPC acting according to its programming had frozen upon seeing a player's completely unexpected behavior.
Naturally, this was a forged document. Not only had I never even entered the education department, but I'd never heard of a real student teacher carrying around a document with such a title.
But what did it matter?
Was this real or not? Would they call the education office or university to check? Those guys emigrated to Mars long ago when half of Seoul was blown away.
"Um, uh... this is a girls' high school?"
"Ah. My gender was converted. It's called TS disease, you see. I awakened such an ability."
"Huh...?"
The zombie security guard was now unable to judge whether he was committing gender discrimination or not if he reacted by asking if such a crazy ability existed in the world right now. It was a somewhat harsh situation for an NPC that only acted according to input patterns.
"Um. Well, uh... could you wait inside for a moment? I'll call the person in charge."
"Ah, I called ahead today saying I'd visit regarding the alumni association, but I guess the message wasn't relayed to the security guard. I'll go wait inside."
"Th, thank you..."
I successfully infiltrated the interior of Baekhwa Girls' High School.
Did you see?
This is the experience of a 109th iteration regressor.
[Is this really the best method...?]
I heard the Saintess's sigh in my ear, but I ignored it.
6
"...You're saying you're our school senior?"
Blink.
Cheon Yo-hwa, who met me in the student council room, kept blinking constantly while observing my every move.
Even the world-renowned Necromancer couldn't hide her bewilderment in front of a self-proclaimed graduate claiming to have TS disease.
"That's right. Looking at your hair color, you must be Cheon Yo-hwa? I heard a lot about you from the kids."
"Oh..."
I treated Cheon Yo-hwa casually.
"The news that an incredibly smart and sharp junior was elected student council president went around our alumni network once."
"Th, um... thank you...?"
"For reference, I also worked in the student council, and now I'm the alumni association president."
"Ah..."
Cheon Yo-hwa became increasingly cowed.
This was the weakness of lunatic-type awakeners who created their own worldview-settings inside their skulls.
They strongly resisted outsiders who ignored their settings, but became infinitely weak against visitors who faithfully followed those settings.
"This time we're holding an alumni association gathering, and my friends said they wanted to see the school after a long time."
"Ah, I see..."
And this was exactly what I intended.
Originally, the natural enemy of lunatics is a lunatic with a higher level of crazy. The truth of crazy-versus-crazy was proven once again.
Why? You said you're a student. Even a student council president of a school boasting history and tradition.
Ah, are you really going to talk back to the senior alumni association president who's as lofty as the sky just because you're a Necromancer or whatever?
"Yes. We'll avoid class times, so could we use the school building briefly after school hours if possible?"
"...W, wait a moment. Please wait just a moment!"
Cheon Yo-hwa stood up and went to the corner of the student council room. Ah, for reference, there were more than ten students gathered in the current student council room besides Cheon Yo-hwa.
They weren't zombies. All of them were properly living humans. These were probably the true members of the 'Baekhwa Girls' High School Guild.'
"Uh, what do we do? They say they're a senior..."
The guild members of Baekhwa whispered to each other.
"No way. Can things like gender changing really happen?"
"Come to think of it, President Yohwa's ability is more amazing, so theoretically it's sufficiently possible..."
"No, it could be a lie."
"But if it's a lie, they knew your name right away without the student council president even introducing herself."
"Let's test them."
"What test?"
"If they're a senior who graduated from here, they'd know everything related to our school. Let's test them with questions that would be absolutely impossible to know unless they're a Baekhwa Girls' High School graduate."
Whisper whisper.
They might think they were keeping their voices down, but I heard everything.
"Um..."
"What?"
"Do you know what our dormitory is called?"
I knew a test like this would come.
And for the past several months, I had prepared thoroughly for exactly this kind of situation.
The result of that preparation whispered to me.
[...It's Baekhwa Hall. But among students, they just call it the dormitory.]
Ah, this is thanks to an awakener called the Saintess――.
With the ability called Clairvoyance, she can observe all awakeners however she wants.
You don't know this, but we've already been sharing joys and sorrows at your side for over half a year. Because I specially asked the Saintess to do so.
"Baekhwa Hall. But usually people just call it the dormitory."
"Oh. Where is our school cafeteria...?"
"Go out here, go down to the first floor, then walk a little way down the left hallway and it's there."
"Our disciplinary committee head teacher's name is..."
"Ah, the gorilla? That person has been working for a really long time. When I was there, the dormitory supervisor teacher always had permed hair. Is she still doing that?"
"...."
Cheon Yo-hwa's pupils shook.
As a last resort, Cheon Yo-hwa took out a graduation album. Since I had said I was from the 96th class, she opened the album corresponding exactly to that year.
Naturally, when she looked at the album, the Saintess also looked at the album.
"C, could I hear the seniors' names..."
"Han Ye-sol. Lee Mi-ri. Park Ha-yun. Kim Ji-yoo. Kim Ye-rin."
"...."
"Those are the ones I was close with. But."
Swish.
I stood up.
"I don't know why you keep asking strange questions."
"What?"
"Our junior isn't suspecting something, is she? Wow, Baekhwa has really gone downhill. In our time, we sent at least two to Seoul National University. Are you preparing well for your CSAT? Being student council president, I assume you're aiming for Seoul National University?"
"...."
"Yohwa."
"Yes..."
"I look forward to working with you."
"Yes, senior..."
On this day, the regressor gained a Necromancer junior who listened well.
- Survivor. End.
I'm an infinite regressor and I'm spinning a yarn.