Chapter 90
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The Solver IV
Shin Noa
7
At this point, I need to emphasize once more that while vulnerabilities are the path to defeating these strange beings, they are not one-way streets—they are always two-way streets.
"You came to rescue me? Student, what do you mean? I'm captured too."
In other words, when I responded to the child before me like this, it wasn't because I was a sadist with a terrible personality, and certainly not because I was the eldest of the Eagle Five Brothers.
"Huh?"
"Can you see my name tag? I'm a security guard here. Guard. My goodness. When I came to my senses, the school had turned completely strange."
"Ah... so you're the security guard uncle..."
I felt bad for the kid, but I had no intention of deviating even a single centimeter from my security guard roleplay.
The reason I could rampage through the 'School Ghost Story' was, first, naturally thanks to the experience I'd accumulated as a regressor, and second, because of the 'security guard' role.
If you were a security guard, it wasn't strange 'to wander around here and there in the school as if it were nothing.' That was a security guard's profession.
If you were a security guard, it wasn't strange 'to know how to handle strange incidents occurring at school.' That was a security guard's capability.
In other words, the moment the mask of 'night patrol security guard' shattered, I would lose every advantage I had enjoyed until now.
I had to help the stranded victims of the School Ghost Story only within the bounds of never stepping out of my roleplay.
And for a seasoned regressor, such restrictive conditions weren't even a penalty.
"Student, why does your face look so hollow? Are you eating properly? Have some of this."
"Huh? ...Gasp, chocolate?"
It wasn't just ordinary chocolate. It was the strongest dessert on earth. A Crunchy Chocolate Bar with beautiful golden wrapping.
"C-can I really eat this?"
"Of course. I'm giving it to you to eat."
A short while later.
"Waaaaaah!"
The effects of the Crunchy Chocolate Bar were tremendous.
"W-we, we didn't do anything. We just woke up in the dormitory and came to school, and suddenly, *sniff*. Suddenly ghosts started appearing, and all the teachers were gone. The g-ghosts were chasing us... in the classrooms, in the bathrooms, on the playground, in the cafeteria, on the rooftop, everywhere, everywhere... my friends, so many of them died..."
"There, there."
"I-I'm the student council president, *hic*. I'm supposed to help the kids, but I was too busy running away. I was scared, I'm, I'm sorry..."
Even though the 117th iteration's Cheon Yohwa should be the exact same person as the Cheon Yohwa from previous iterations, she was completely different.
Her spirit was gathered.
The density of her emotions was rich.
In other words, she lacked experience.
"It's alright. Whether student council president or whatever, you're all just young students the same. Just surviving is amazing."
"Waaaaaah..."
To achieve leveling up to 'Complete Cheon Yohwa,' she still needed several more years of pain and endurance.
The child before me was destined to lead the survivor group until the 750 enrolled students were reduced to 17.
But incomplete forms definitely had advantages over complete forms. That was precisely why I had personally thrown myself into the School Ghost Story.
"There's plenty of chocolate, so eat slowly. In the meantime, how have you been escaping from the ghosts?"
"...*sniff*. A strangely-shaped fairy periodically gave us quests? Something like, missions. If we accomplished them, food and a place to sleep were guaranteed for a short while... Originally I was moving together with other kids too, but as soon as this quest started, the fairy forced us to scatter in all directions..."
"I see."
I answered calmly, but inside my chest, my heart skipped an unusual beat.
Because what Cheon Yohwa had just said contained exactly the situation I had been hoping for.
'...As expected. The Cheon Yohwa of this period still clearly recognizes the strange beings.'
Not just the School Ghost Story's ghosts, but even the tutorial fairy.
Originally, the Cheon Yohwa from previous iterations couldn't even perceive the fairy. The influence of brainwashing. Or perception distortion.
But in the current Cheon Yohwa, not a single abnormal phenomenon was detected. She viewed the strange beings properly as strange beings.
'Then that means something changes in the future that makes her unable to recognize the strange beings... What kind of trigger could it be.'
I needed to find that out now.
I put on a benevolent smile.
"You've really been through a lot, student. Then you must be very hungry too. Would you like to eat this as well?"
"Waaah... Gasp, cup noodles!"
"Yes. There are various flavors too."
"Jajang flavor and mala flavor!"
"Now I just connect the pot to the portable battery I've been carrying for power outages, wait a little while... and there, it's complete."
"Whoa! Whoa! Woooah!"
A happy time continued for a while.
"Security guard uncle. I, I've realized something. The world... Life, it turns out, becomes mostly worth living if you just eat delicious foods..."
Cheon Yohwa wore the expression of a sage.
Come to think of it, if Gautama Siddhartha had tasted modern civilization's factory-made jajang-flavor cup noodles under the bodhi tree, he might have admitted that 'life doesn't seem to be suffering after all.'
"That's right. Even in a world like this, those who must live should live. I'm going to check if there are any other students, so you stay healthy too."
"Ah."
I turned on the lantern and started moving. Then Cheon Yohwa hesitantly put down the cup noodles container and followed after me.
"W-wait a moment. Security guard uncle. Can't you take me with you?"
"Hm? You?"
"Yes! Well... um, even though I look like this, I was in a leader-like position until the kids were forcibly separated. There are some good kids, but also some people whose minds are a bit scattered... Mmmm. They might have some, bad thoughts seeing the supplies you have..."
I inwardly smiled.
Those were welcome words. Wasn't traveling with Cheon Yohwa my purpose to begin with?
But there was a big difference in spontaneity between this side suggesting it and that side deciding it on their own. I had subtly cast my fishing line, and admirably, she bit right away.
"You're saying you'll protect me?"
"Ahaha... 'Protect' is too much of an exaggeration. Seeing you earlier, uncle, you looked really strong. Just, I can assist you from the side so no troublesome things happen!"
She threw some one-two punches in the air, which was amusing enough that I couldn't help but let out a small laugh.
"You're not following me just to eat more cup noodles, are you?"
"Heuh, you caught me... But, um. I think in situations like this, moving together as a group is important. Instead, I'll always walk at the front!"
"Hmm."
Walking at the front from the void meant not only taking on the most dangerous role but also entrusting her back to this side. It meant she would stand in a position where she absolutely couldn't betray.
"Well, if the student council president says that much, I should trust you. Let's move together for a while."
"Yes! Thank you, uncle!"
We walked down the 4th floor corridor.
Suddenly, the back of Cheon Yohwa's head caught my eye.
A bandage with dark bloody scabs stuck to it.
A trace of being betrayed. A trauma of the heart.
"..."
"By the way, security guard uncle, did you hear any news from outside? We don't know anything except for the tiny bits of information the fairy tells us."
"I don't know exactly either. But sometimes the radio in the security guard duty room picks up outside news, and it's not much different from here. The country fell, the military was wiped out, just that kind of talk."
"Ugh... So rescue teams coming to save us isn't..."
"Probably not."
"I figured as much..."
Cheon Yohwa's shoulders visibly slumped.
"It's probably something that can't be helped, but you should prepare yourself about your families outside too. The world has been badly broken."
"Ah, well. I don't really worry about my family. They were people who were entranced by a cult and just went around doing strange things anyway."
"Hmm. A cult."
Step. Step.
Aside from the footsteps and voices of the two of us, the entire school was eerie.
But there was no time to get bored.
"To begin with, the flow of time itself is different between this school and the outside."
"Huh?"
"How much time do you think has passed since you were trapped here?"
"Um. Wait a moment... There are some days I missed in between, but still, if I count based on when I woke up, at least about 390 days..."
"Outside, less than 3 months have passed."
"That doesn't make sense! Really?"
Every single one of Cheon Yohwa's reactions was exaggerated and colorful.
Unlike the necromancer from previous iterations who always smiled like a doll somehow.
'So this was what she was originally like.'
It felt new.
Even though my life had reached the 117th iteration, there were still wells of people I hadn't yet fathomed.
"...Uncle."
Cheon Yohwa lowered her voice.
Human voices were strange things—with just a simple resonance or a simple form of address, they could convey a lot of information. I immediately looked forward.
Thud- Thud- Thud- Crash.
From the far end of the corridor, a ghost was just coming out of a classroom door. Not with footsteps, but with its head.
Not a handstand, but literally moving by banging its head thud thud-. Every time it moved, the ghost's skull shattered and blood gushed out around it.
Thud- Thud- Thud- Crash.
But the skull fragments and blood spilled in the corridor instantly gathered again to form the shape of a head. In other words, that ghost was repeating death every time its head hit the ground.
"Ah... the Thud-Thud-Thud Ghost..."
Cheon Yohwa let out a low groan.
"Do you know this ghost?"
"Yes, well. I've encountered it a few times. It's not fast so it's easy to run away. But if you let your guard down and get too close, your body suddenly gets teleported to the rooftop and falls in a cluster to the playground."
"That sounds like you've experienced it directly."
"No. I saw kids falling from the rooftop through the window... Just the ones I saw directly, 17 of them fell and died. So we call it the Suicide Ghost instead of the Thud-Thud-Thud Ghost."
Thud- Thud- Thud- Crash.
The ghost entered through the back doors of classrooms and came out through the front doors, gradually getting closer to this side.
It would be simple for me to subjugate the strange being here. Four exorcism methods immediately came to mind.
But the command I chose was 'wait.'
Cheon Yohwa had just joined my party. It was customary to test what the newcomer's skills were like.
"Alright. Please wait a moment."
Cheon Yohwa didn't refuse this implicit test either. A sound of deeply inhaling—hoooh—echoed through the dark corridor.
"...not. ...is."
A murmuring sound.
I enhanced my hearing to eavesdrop.
"...I am not scared. Cheon Yohwa is a person with a personality that doesn't fear ghosts. Cheon Yohwa has strong nerves..."
Darkness gathered around Cheon Yohwa's silhouette, tensing tightly. As if a rubber band stretched to its limit had snapped, Cheon Yohwa burst out.
As I had admired during our first encounter, her movements were agile.
It was far from the kind of patronizing praise like 'good movements for an ordinary person.'
To begin with, Cheon Yohwa was no ordinary person. She was an Awakened.
And she was also a survivor who had lived 390 days in a tutorial dungeon of extreme difficulty.
With 'good movements even for an Awakened,' Cheon Yohwa instantly closed in on the ghost.
When the distance had decreased by about 4 meters, Cheon Yohwa gradually slowed down. Then whoosh—lightly assuming a handstand position like a gymnast.
Thud- Thud- Wham!
Cheon Yohwa's legs spun like a windmill. Still in her inverted position. If a breakdancing specialist had seen it, they would have immediately scouted her for their team.
The ghost's body wobbled from Cheon Yohwa's kicks. After being struck twice, three times, four times, its balance had no choice but to tip.
-Grrroooah...
"Hwaaaaah!"
Cheon Yohwa pulled the ghost by its hair. Then hup—she jumped up in place. The ghost with its hair grabbed whole had no choice but to be lifted up as well.
-Oh, oh, oh, oh.
"Hoho."
I almost whistled without thinking.
The 'ghost that had to move on its head while flipped upside down' was now standing upright. Its vulnerability had been pierced.
Whether Cheon Yohwa had learned the method of exorcism through innate intuition or had stumbled upon the strategy by chance didn't matter. In battles with strange beings, results were what mattered.
Thud-
The ghost whose hair was grabbed by Cheon Yohwa fell in pieces from its toes, scattering thump thump.
In less than 7 seconds, legs, torso, upper body, and head were all shattered and scattered in the corridor. Even the last remaining hair slipped through Cheon Yohwa's fingers.
Cheon Yohwa freaked out and shook her palm.
"Eeek, that's gross... Um. Anyway, how was it, security guard uncle? I fight pretty well, right?"
"Not just 'pretty well.' There's a reason you were chosen as leader. I look forward to working with you."
"Hehe. Yes!"
The achievement of this battle was not only confirming Cheon Yohwa's combat ability.
That kid would have become one of the strongest Awakened on the Korean peninsula alongside Dang Seo-rin even if left alone. Her potential was already verified.
The true achievement was something else.
'That kid. Just now, she brainwashed herself.'
The secret to why Cheon Yohwa could become stronger.
Just before rushing at the Thud-Thud-Thud Ghost, Cheon Yohwa had definitely murmured to herself.
-I am not scared.
-Cheon Yohwa is a person with a personality that doesn't fear ghosts.
-Cheon Yohwa has strong nerves.
It was far from an act of reciting a prayer to boost courage.
Because Cheon Yohwa's ability was necromancy, or more precisely, 'the ability to input the thought patterns and behavioral principles of NPCs.'
'She was even changing her own thought patterns and behavioral principles bit by bit. To favor survival and combat.'
I entered the classroom where the Thud-Thud-Thud Ghost had emerged. Then I glanced over places that don't catch the eye easily—lockers, the underside of the teacher's desk, the desk drawers.
Death. Death. Death. Death.
As expected, talismans were discovered. They were identical to the talismans found in the bathroom. All were curses written in human fresh blood.
On the attendance book placed on the teacher's desk—as it happened, this was also that child's classroom—the name Cheon Yohwa (天寥化) was written.
"..."
"Uncle, there doesn't seem to be anyone around here! Let's go that way this time! There must be kids hiding while avoiding the Thud-Thud-Thud Ghost nearby!"
Outside the window was red. Through the broken windows, the skin of white birch trees was bleeding and spilling into the corridor. The entire corridor was slashed red as if pierced and torn apart by harpoons.
"Alright."
In the middle of such a corridor, I too lightly waved my hand toward Cheon Yohwa who was brightly waving her arm at me.
How that child came to be unable to recognize strange beings. Why she drew the interest of 'Mugan' and became an apostate.
And why Baekhwa Girls' High School had so many curse talismans plastered all over.
The pieces of the answer were starting to come together in my head.