────────────────────────────────────
Cleaning Supply Cabinet
'It opened.'
The lock on the back door had come undone on its own.
It wasn't opened with a key or a password.
It was a structure that would only open if you played B-flat on a recorder.
A specific action by the user served as a trigger to disengage the lock.
It was also a familiar element commonly seen in Tsukuru games.
A locking mechanism that couldn't exist in reality, but with the boundary between reality and games crumbling, it was possible now.
'The guard isn't lying in ambush, is he?'
I poked just my head out and surveyed the hallway.
The guard wasn't hiding anywhere.
I stealthily crept out of the classroom.
Then messages popped up one after another.
[Tutorial Complete!]
[You have escaped the classroom within the time limit.]
[Reward Acquired – Status Window]
The appearance of messages meant this was a branching point. Only now could I breathe a sigh of relief.
'I survived...'
It was barely a room escape of about ten minutes, but it felt like I'd lived through ten years.
I rubbed my chest, utterly drained.
Rather than happy, I was just endlessly tired.
If my heart had its way, I would've collapsed right in the middle of the hallway.
'Is it over now?'
Just as I leaned against the wall to calm my weary mind and body, messages popped up in a flurry.
[Chapter 1 – School]
【It had been an unusually tiring day.
Overcome by exhaustion, I closed my eyes for a brief moment.
And didn't wake until midnight.
On top of that, unbelievable and bizarre events kept unfolding before me.
This grotesque and chilling school was different from usual.
How to put it.
An unreality that far exceeded the bounds of reality.
A ghost story.
A sinister premonition crept over me.
Fear took hold, along with the thought that if I stayed here any longer, I wouldn't escape a terrible fate.
I had to get out of here as soon as possible.】
It was an unnecessarily long and cringeworthy monologue.
For the record, I wasn't the one who thought it.
The game system had taken it upon itself to voice the thoughts I would've had on my own.
Well, I'm just moved to tears. Thanks ever so much.
-Ding!
[You have received a quest.]
[Escape the school before sunrise.]
[Reward: Ghost Story Coin x1]
[Failure Penalty: Death]
As if to prove this was a game, a quest had appeared.
The failure penalty was one thing, but the reward was puzzling.
Ghost Story Coin?
Just hearing the name made it sound like something you'd find on an NFT or crypto exchange.
Was it some kind of in-game currency?
It seemed completing quests granted appropriate rewards.
'Come to think of it, there was a reward for escaping the classroom.'
The moment I left the classroom, a reward acquisition message had appeared. Had it been the Status Window?
[The Status Window has been unlocked.]
Getting the Status Window was fine, but I had no idea how to use it.
'Do I just do it like when I open my inventory?'
I muttered in a small voice.
"...Status Window."
-Fwoosh!
[Status Window]
Name: Lee Hyeon
Age: 17
Title: None
Trait: Calm
Special Ability: None
No wonder I felt like I'd become some game character.
Personal details aside, "Title" and "Ability" were words I'd only ever heard in games, making reality feel disconnected.
For some reason, my Trait was set to 'Calm.'
It seemed to be a basic ability I possessed, like a passive skill.
Did it even have an effect?
I tapped it a few times, like bringing up a detailed item description, and the screen changed.
[Calm]
【Thanks to consistently enjoying horror movies and horror games over the past several years, you have a certain immunity to the horror domain.
Even when unreal situations that couldn't exist in reality occur, you are only momentarily flustered before quickly regaining your composure.
Thanks to this personality, even when unexpected emergencies occur, you soon regain your calm and rack your brains to find the correct answer.
However, it is useless against unknown fear that exceeds the limits of your brain's capacity.】
'So what am I supposed to do with this.'
I'd expected a flashy skill like those in web novels since it was called a Trait, but it was just a lengthy description of my personality.
It was no different from the personality test result explanations they handed out every quarter at school.
Was it because it was a default ability?
The kinds of skills you'd see in games or web novels were probably under Special Abilities. I wanted to check what was there, but it was impossible for now.
[You do not possess any Special Abilities.]
I guessed there might be a mechanism to unlock special abilities separately later.
'So I just need to escape the school first.'
Thanks to the linear progression characteristic unique to Tsukuru games, the mission given to me was simple.
Escape the school.
Unable to tell if this was reality or unreality, I obediently followed the quest's instructions for now.
I immediately stepped out into the hallway.
The darkened school hallway evoked a spine-chilling atmosphere, as if something might leap out at any moment.
'I wish I at least had a flashlight.'
[EXIT]
I used the emergency exit light as a guide and followed it.
The green light floating alone was somehow horrifying.
A feeling that I was the only one floating adrift.
The air seeping against the bridge of my nose felt heavy.
'It's not like I'm on some courage test.'
In this atmosphere, no matter what jumped out, I'd be on the verge of fainting.
'Let anyone come at me.'
Out of fear, my combat power actually rose instead. I threw punches into the empty air with sharp swishes.
Jab, jab, hook, uppercut, Rage Art.
I swung my fists in a merciless combo I'd learned from Tekken.
With my current bravado, there was nothing to fear.
I shadow-boxed while running simulations in my head.
Assuming the guard suddenly jumped out from the right, I'd lightly dodge the preemptive strike and bash his temples, pow pow pow.
I even imagined receiving a Brave Citizen Award and taking a photo with the chief of police.
On top of that, I ran dozens of simulations in my head to prepare for sudden situations.
The possibility of the guard waiting at the Main Entrance, the possibility of the guard happily greeting me after opening the classroom door, the possibility of the guard running with a loaf of bread in his mouth and bumping into me.
I kept all possibilities in mind. And reached one conclusion.
'If I run into him, I fucking run.'
My state-of-the-art electronic brain equipped with the latest in self-objectification could see no angle to beat the guard.
I ran simulations, and nine times out of ten, I met a miserable end.
Of course, I meant me, not the guard.
The guard far exceeded the bounds of humanity. He was truly an unreal being.
The thought of fighting and winning against him single-handedly never crossed my mind.
So if we met, fleeing was the best option. Not meeting him at all would be even better.
It wasn't because he was dirty that I was avoiding him.
I was avoiding him because I was scared.
'No way, is he coming right now?'
I perked up my ears. Fortunately, I couldn't hear any footsteps or vibrations.
Still, there was no telling if the guard would chase after me hearing the noise I made.
Carefully, I stood on my tiptoes.
Like a water strider walking on the water's surface.
Like a ballerina showing off elegant lines.
Strength pooled at the tips of my toes.
I walked softly, as if not allowing even a single decibel.
My destination was the Main Entrance.
It wasn't far from Class 1-3, the classroom I'd been in.
If I passed through the Main Entrance and went to the schoolyard, the school gate would be close by.
Besides, at this hour, there were no teachers on watch.
'Let's hurry.'
I urged my steps forward in a rush.
Just as I passed Class 1-4 and 1-5 and reached the front of the Main Entrance.
I discovered a sign plastered conspicuously in the middle of the hallway.
[Notice: Main Entrance Use Restricted]
【Recently, students secretly using the Main Entrance have been caught.
The Main Entrance is off-limits to students for the sake of school order and cleanliness.
Be warned that if you are caught using it behind the faculty's back, you will receive penalty points.】
Was it a few days ago?
I remembered the homeroom teacher mentioning it during morning assembly.
Thus, entry through the Main Entrance was forbidden to students.
So even if it was inconvenient, the proper way was to use the doors at either end of the hallway, but
like I cared.
There was no reason to refuse a space made for people to use.
Wasn't the school a space where students were essentially the masters?
The very idea of restricting student access was strange.
And yet they called a class duty student every day to clean the Main Entrance.
Even though students weren't even allowed to use it.
By similar logic, there was the staff room cleaning.
What absurd tyranny was this?
I couldn't just stand by and watch the Main Entrance, which had become a teacher's privilege.
I lightly ignored the sign.
I strode toward the Main Entrance.
I ruthlessly trampled the line drawn with the sign as the demarcation between the hallway and the Main Entrance.
There wasn't a single teacher around to scold me for it.
'I entered the Main Entrance, whatcha gonna do about it~'
I stomped down hard on the floor, personally resisting the school's authority.
At that moment, a bleak wind blew from afar.
A sudden feeling of uneasiness crept over me.
Wondering what was going on, I turned my head. And I couldn't hide my shock.
At the end of the hallway I'd come from.
Some bluish figure was running this way.
'No way.'
Sure enough, it was the guard.
'Fuck.'
The guard ran toward me with his arms and legs twisted grotesquely, stomp stomp stomp.
He had evolved from his previous screw-bar form into a tornado form.
If I had to compare it to Dragon Ball, it'd be like Cell's 2nd Form.
His appearance was almost like he was dancing.
As if the guard had gotten a sudden burst of youthful energy at an advanced age, he showed off some ecstatic popping.
It felt like I was looking at a beast, not a human.
On the other hand, the guard's sudden appearance felt bizarre.
'He hadn't shown so much as the tip of his nose all this time, and now he crawls out?'
I suddenly looked down at my feet.
My body had completely crossed over from the hallway into the Main Entrance area.
'...No way.'
Tsukuru games have events triggered by specific situations.
It's a format where when the user achieves certain conditions while playing, a pre-set trigger activates and an event occurs.
For example, acquiring a certain item or entering a certain place automatically activates a trigger and causes an event.
[Notice: Main Entrance Use Restricted]
...Just like now.
The guard appeared the instant I entered the Main Entrance.
Timing this perfect couldn't possibly be mere coincidence.
This damned school was set up so that the moment you set foot in the Main Entrance, the guard would chase you.
'Damn it.'
My situational assessment was already done.
I immediately looked for a way to escape.
I sprinted quickly toward the entrance door.
Beyond this door was the schoolyard immediately.
If I just followed the EXIT signs, escaping the school would be a piece of cake.
-Rattle
'What.'
-Rattle rattle
Unfortunately, the door didn't budge.
Looking closely, the handle was wrapped tightly in chains.
I didn't need to see who did it; it was obvious.
'That fucking guard!'
-Rattle rattle
The door was locked so tight it didn't allow even a sliver of a gap.
It wasn't a problem that could be solved by simply applying force.
In the end, I returned to the Main Entrance.
Even then, the guard was fiercely chasing after me.
He boasted superhuman physicality, as if he had two hearts.
At that speed, I'd clearly be caught in no time even if I ran.
To survive the guard, I needed a way other than running.
With the mindset of grasping at straws, I looked around the Main Entrance.
'What about here?'
Suddenly, I discovered the cleaning supply cabinet tucked in a corner. Abandoned unused for the past several years, it was full of dust.
'First, I'll hide in here!'
-Creak
I opened its door, so rusted that merely touching it was unpleasant.
The cleaning supply cabinet opened its mouth with a harsh screech. And it exhaled a breath filled with dust.
The white snowflakes spreading through the air struck my bronchial tubes dead-on.
"*Cough!*"
The effect was tremendous!
I'd been properly ambushed by the cleaning supply cabinet.
My breath caught and my vision grew hazy.
"Fuck..."
It was terribly dirty and unclean, making me hesitate to go inside. But there was no time.
The guard had already passed Class 3 and was heading toward Class 4.
At this speed, he'd reach the Main Entrance in an instant.
'Ugh... To hell with it.'
In the end, I crammed my body into the cleaning supply cabinet, which was no different from a pit of dust.
────────────────────────────────────