Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work (Novel) - Chapter 80

Chapter 80

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Translated by Jinmu

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Now. Let’s organize this.

The monster in front of my eyes… that is, the person in a horrific state with pixelated features, was definitely my company peer, Ms. Go Yeong-eun.

Because the wild goat mask was clearly visible.

‘I’m starting to feel sorry for blasting the high-output flashlight right in front of her eyes…’

I gritted my teeth, trying to focus on the mask instead of my aversion.

The problem was that normal communication was impossible!

Since I could not speak, and I couldn’t properly hear the other’s words either…

In any case, conversation was impossible in this situation!

If so, it would be better to expel them from the school.

A destructive urge bubbled up to the back of my throat like acid reflux…

‘Ugh.’

It felt as if the glitch was filling my head too. This is driving me crazy.

In the end, while pondering a method of communication, I pulled out a pen I had brought in my pocket and wrote on the floor, trying my best not to look at her.

Wild Goat?

And I waited silently.

The moment ‘Ms. Go Yeong-eun’ stared at me again and I froze.

A reply returned on the A4 paper on the floor.

Mr. Roe?? Do you have your sense of self right now? Is it possible for you to move independently?

‘Phew.’

It worked.

I wrote my reply while looking at the turned-away monster… no, ‘Ms. Go Yeong-eun’.

Yes. It is possible.

Don’t worry, I am not contaminated. Though I am a bit worried about how it sounds, since I suppose an actually contaminated person would say this too…

I am utilizing a gimmick inside the ghost story.

A gimmick?

Yes.

How should I explain this.

‘Indeed, in this situation… is a straightforward answer the right way?’

Because the peer in front of me was clearly smart. Ultimately, after pondering, I wrote it down immediately without beating around the bush.

The solution sheet to this ghost story indicated by all the world-building baits.

This is a school where a horror game has become reality.

<In the Black Shade>.

This was the name registered for this ghost story’s wiki entry, and the name of the game that served as the cause of all incidents occurring in this nightmare Sekwang Technical High School.

The hints lay in the exploration records that had found world-building baits in the teacher’s office and specific classrooms.

■ Month ■■ Day Confiscated Belongings List: Game Console

When the game console in question is obtained from the 1st-grade teacher’s office and booted up, a pixelated image of the school at midnight briefly pops up on the screen and turns off

A memo on the right corner of the Class 2, 3rd Grade blackboard:

That is the Teacher?

A notebook dropped on the music room floor:

There was a small scribble in the corner.

-I fell asleep and woke up, why am I at school (drawing of a startled puppy) Graduation prep? What does that mean, it’s May right now?

Other notes, items, etc.

If you even located the class and seat of the student whose game console was confiscated and searched the backpack, you could find the empty game case and the plot summary written on the back…

———–

The day before graduation.

■■■■ High School’s graduation ceremony preparation volunteers spend a night at the school.

Of course, preparing for the ceremony was closer to an excuse, and the students joyfully enjoy a nighttime camping atmosphere.

While new couples form, best friends fight, and someone’s secrets are exposed…

Suddenly, an in-school announcement is broadcasted.

[The graduation ceremony has begun.]

[To give penalty points to students who do not attend, the Teacher is now departing from the auditorium.]

The bloody graduation ceremony that had begun.

Will they be able to escape safely from the nightmare school at midnight??

———–

It was revealed naturally like that.

This ghost story was a nightmare where the horror game in question swallowed a real school, repeating its gameplay.

That is why the students have no voices.

‘Because it’s a game without voice acting.’

That is why the 3rd years on the 4th floor cannot leave their spots.

‘Because the main game hasn’t started yet.’

That is why… the students cannot move when the explorers look at them.

‘…Because they are glitches that weren’t originally in the game.’

Exactly.

Moreover, the explorers hadn’t even entered this game as participants.

‘We aren’t even playing the game.’

They were simply dragged in while trying to glimpse the game’s story through a text file downloaded via an unofficial route…

‘Phew.’

Of course, I didn’t explain all of this to my peer in detail, but merely conveyed the logic by selecting things that could serve as clues.

The main point was this.

I obtained the student uniform in a somewhat unique way, attempting to become a participant in this horror game.

And for now, it seems I have succeeded.

A game? Ah, it feels like that! A horror game where you get trapped in a school the night before White Day!

But wouldn’t becoming a game participant inside a ghost story be more dangerous? Besides, you don’t know what will happen if you wear that uniform for too long.

Ms. Go Yeong-eun’s writing, which started off looking slightly excited, was written in a hurried scribble toward the end.

It was a rational concern.

You’re right. I plan to stop immediately if it gets dangerous.

I also intended to flee immediately if things didn’t go as expected.

But since everything had gone as expected so far…

Still, it could become the most clear route that can be recorded in the manual.

I will try it once.

After a brief silence.

Well, I understand for now. Since you are so strong against ghost stories, Mr. Roe…

“…….”

Seriously, it’s a misunderstanding…

Still, I hope you don’t do anything too dangerous.

I wish so too, but things in the world don’t go as one wants…

Ah, in that case, if you stay with me like this, you might be suspected by other students, so I’ll be going now.

Uh, wait?

You really must take care of yourself!

That message was the last.

The moment my freeze was released, I saw Ms. Go Yeong-eun already turned around and walking slowly at the far end of the hallway.

W-Wait a minute, Yeong-eun…!

‘I still have questions left to ask!’

Please help me!

I quickly pursued and tapped Go Yeong-eun’s back very lightly, then hurriedly wrote a new message.

Wait a moment, there is something I want to ask, Wild Goat.

It is professional knowledge that probably only you can answer here.

Yes, yes! Feel free to ask!

Fortunately, Go Yeong-eun turned back and answered kindly.

Whew!

I quickly wrote down the question with a grateful heart.

Please tell me where each organ is located in the human body.

Pardon??

Ah, oops.

* * *

Fortunately, Ms. Go Yeong-eun didn’t cut me off…

She merely asked me about company life, accounting, and other realistic details, verifying calmly and strictly multiple times whether I was in my right mind.

And once she was assured that I hadn’t become some science lab student with a unique hobby for dissection due to being completely contaminated, she became kind again.

Understood! I’ll answer as much as I know haha.

Thank you… sob.

In that manner, I spent the remaining time sharing intense questions and answers with Ms. Go Yeong-eun.

Thanks to that, ‘preparation for clearing’ was completed in a safer and surer way than I had expected.

I wish you good luck.

I will do the same. Thank you!

…Hmm.

Just in case, I also added these words.

If you intend to stay in this dream longer, it would be better to remain on the 1st floor if possible.

Because soon, in the truest sense, ‘In the Black Shade’ would begin.

“…….”

Like that,

a few minutes after I saw Ms. Go Yeong-eun off,

[Ding-Dong-Dang-Dong-]

[The graduation ceremony has begun.]

A new announcement was broadcasted.

…Just like the 13th exploration record I had written.

Exploration Record #13

Elapsed 2 hours and 13 minutes of staying on school premises in the Sekwang Technical High School uniform.

A new in-school announcement not described in previous records is broadcasted. Its content matches the plot on the back of the game title ‘In the Black Shade’.

I went up to the 4th floor.

The numerous 3rd-grade students who had densely filled the hallway of that floor…

had all vanished.

“…….”

An announcement echoed in the empty 4th-floor hallway.

[To give penalty points to students who do not attend, the Teacher is now departing from the auditorium.]

The exploration record I wrote was exactly,

entering the main game development of the horror game in question,

manifesting.

“…….”

I swallowed hard.

First, the atmosphere of the school changed completely.

An ominous and uncomfortable atmosphere hovered in the school, which had been extremely comfortable as a student.

No…

Truly, the BGM could be heard…!

Classic 8-bit game music in a dreary and steep minor key began to settle in my ears.

And pop-up notifications too.

For some reason, I feel strange.

Let’s find other students before it’s too late.

‘No.’

I wouldn’t do that.

Since I knew a faster route, bracing myself, for now…

‘Hide.’

I ran toward the 3rd-grade teacher’s office.

First, hiding inside a locker here was standard…

What the fuck is this??

“…!!”

Again.

‘A monster!’

I quickly stepped inside a locker in the teacher’s office, refusing the ear-splitting crazy noise.

The problem was that one of the monsters was in one of the 4th-floor classrooms right next to the office.

The monster shuffled out of the door and looked straight at me.

My shadowed face beyond the locker.

‘…It seems to be wearing a mask.’

Because I couldn’t move my face since I was frozen, I couldn’t distinguish what mask it was from the field of vision blocked by the locker door.

‘Anyway, it is indeed an employee of our company.’

However, because of the light radiating from how many name tags they held, it was almost unrecognizable as a glitch.

‘…Wait a minute.’

Light?

If it stands out that much…

Step.

“…….”

Over there.

Small and large sounds could be heard from the floor above.

That is, the sound of something large walking while making small footsteps—that was it.

Step-step-step-step-step-step-step…

It’s coming down, it’s coming, it’s coming!!

…The ‘Teacher’!!

‘Damn it.’

It was terrifying to the point of madness. I held my breath.

But whether the glitch was targeting my name tag as well, it approached me quickly while I was frozen…

‘Can’t they hear this??’

No, of course they couldn’t hear. That side wasn’t a game player!

‘In the first place, glitches can neither recognize the Teacher nor be attacked by him…!’

It was a setting where they didn’t even realize the game had started.

However…

Points to note.

In this game,

one of the ways the ‘aberration’ pursuing the player, the Teacher, recognizes the students is by their name tags.

But because the explorers were inherently glitches, they weren’t easily recognized as players just by having one or two name tags.

In other words, they wouldn’t get caught unless they were an excessively greedy explorer.

…For example,

by gathering a massive amount of name tags, which were the symbol of a player.

Step.

I held my breath while frozen.

The approaching glitch grabbed the locker door I was hiding in.

And pulled the door.

Slash

A giant, sharp steel plate slammed down on top of the masked glitch.

The pixelated form split.

Thud.

Blood splattered on my face.

In front of me, with the locker door between us, the supervisor wearing glasses, split vertically, collapsed.

The human body, becoming an object called a corpse, lost its pixelated distortion.

If an explorer, a glitch of the game, remains on the school premises until the game starts and is detected and eliminated by the ‘Teacher’…

‘…Ah.’

It was a familiar face.

The supervisor who had been recently assigned to Group D.

He is eliminated in reality too.

He just died.

“…….”

Step-step-step-step-step-step-step-step…

The ‘Teacher’ walked out of the teacher’s office.

Dragging the supervisor’s remaining corpse on the floor.

…!

I covered my mouth.

It was my first time seeing someone assigned to the same team get split in half before my eyes.

‘Calm down.’

Nothing changes no matter what you do right now.

What you must do from now on doesn’t change either…

“…….”

Kim Sol-eum.

Do you remember that?

The way explorers secured high capacity before my exploration record.

Name tags like items were gathered to influence the game, or they survived long to increase their presence.

‘Those were shortcuts.’

If so, what must a participant do to properly ‘clear’ the game?

‘…They must see the ending.’

And in normal cases, the ending in a game is…

after the boss fight.

“…….”

The time has come.

…The time not to be a coward.

‘Let’s go.’

I pulled out the tattoo sticker with a tomato tree drawn on it.

And with trembling hands, I pasted it onto my neck.