Chapter 280

I observed the young man before me.
He was a student, a teenager sporting bleached hair and several piercings.
He was a creature born from a urban legend—a ghost story centered on a high school accessible only through dreams during a new moon. It was the kind of entity that remained frozen when observed but turned lethal the moment eyes were averted.
Yet, if one could only decipher the rules of engagement, they were beings capable of logical and sentimental interaction…
‘They are actual people.’
The students held captive within the confines of Segwang Metropolitan City.
My head began to throb with a dizzying realization.
If that were true, then all those spirits who suffered gruesome ends at the hands of the Disaster Management Bureau and the staff of Daydream every new moon were actually…
‘….’
I pressed a hand against my chest, feeling the fabric of the school uniform.
My current condition, labeled as “Contaminated by Sekwang Technical High School,” was strangely rigid. It felt as though I were under a spell, experiencing a hollow void rather than sharp terror, unless my temper was flared.
It was a small mercy.
It kept the dizziness at bay.
It allowed me to keep pushing for answers.
*How are you able to move like this?*
*The rest of the students are all collapsed on the ground.*
He responded.
*It is because of you.*
Because of me?
*Yeah.*
The student, looking irritated, shot me a glance before scowling and putting pen to paper.
*You were the one who moved me to the Infirmary.*
*Since that happened, I’ve started waking up,*
*even when it isn’t time for the graduation ceremony.*
‘…!’
I recalled placing this classmate on a spare cot in the Infirmary to help him recover.
I had even taken his uniform to use as a disguise…
‘That action triggered a change.’
Was this a mechanic that simply didn’t exist in the “In the Dark Shadow” game? Or perhaps a glitch had manifested when I, an outside error, was formally registered as a student?
…Hold on.
*Are you the only student who can move?*
*There might have been others.*
*But for now, I’m the only one.*
*I noticed some empty patches*
*among the kids scattered on the floor.*
*Were those the spots for the ones who could move?*
*Maybe.*
*I’ve seen names and tags*
*scrawled in the library before.*
*Since the graduation ceremony began,*
*have you encountered any of them?*
The delinquent-looking boy remained composed as he wrote his reply.
*No.*
*Once the graduation ceremony starts,*
*kids like that are just bodies in the auditorium.*
‘….’
The Hanbit Library had consumed them.
Those who were unable to escape the library had wandered aimlessly, hunting for clues that weren’t there, until they were eventually caught for some trivial rule break. There were so many…
A sharp pang twisted in my chest.
It was a bizarre sensation of grief, as if a lifelong friend had been murdered before my eyes. It felt as though I was absorbing their collective spite and aggression.
It was the shared sorrow of the Sekwang Technical High School student body.
‘No.’
I fought to keep my composure. Taking a steadying breath, I asked the most vital question.
*Why did this school turn into this nightmare?*
*I don’t know.*
*If I had the answer, do you think I’d still be trapped here?*
*Anything at all—rumors,*
*or even just something that felt off.*
*Were there any warnings before it happened?*
*I don’t know.*
*My last normal memory is coming to school the day before graduation.*
*And then… I’m not sure.*
*I just drifted off after the first lesson started,*
*and when I woke up, it was dark out,*
*and the graduation ceremony was underway.*
*And that teacher who became a monster*
*just slaughters everyone.*
*It’s just a loop that never ends.*
The boy’s eyes were shadowed and hollow.
Despite his rebellious look, he carried a heavy, weary sense of defeat that seemed far too old for a high school student.
*None of this will matter anyway.*
*It’ll all be wiped once the ceremony starts over.*
….
*You don’t have any memory of it?*
*The fact that you’re stuck here and can’t escape?*
*I remember the loop.*
*That’s the extent of it.*
He pressed the pen down with force, leaving deep marks on the paper.
*So, listen, transfer student.*
*Just get out of here.*
His eyes shifted to the volume I was carrying.
<Masterpieces of 2000s Horror Short Stories>.
*I see you found that book, too.*
*Reading it won’t change a thing.*
Things that change.
….
A thought occurred to me.
*Do you know if I’ve ever managed*
*to change how the graduation went before?*
*I killed the teacher.*
*What?*
*Think back carefully.*
*Was there anything different*
*after the ceremony where I showed up?*
The student’s eyes widened slightly.
He looked as if he were mentally sifting through a mountain of identical memories, searching for a discrepancy.
And then…
*There is something.*
‘…!’
*The teacher exits the auditorium much sooner.*
The teacher.
—In order to issue Penalty Points to those who are absent, the teacher will now exit the auditorium.
A nightmare entity constructed from the fused torsos and organs of the school’s faculty. A malevolent ghost typical of a final boss in a horror title.
That thing was moving faster?
‘That sounds like a terrible omen.’
I swallowed hard, feeling a knot in my throat.
*And…*
And?
*This might be a fluke, but*
*since that happened, it hasn’t*
*stepped foot inside the Infirmary.*
‘…!!’
‘The teacher avoids the Infirmary.’
And that room… it was the only one with a window looking out toward the backyard.
‘….’
Wait.
*Does that teacher*
*carry a small piece of paper?*
*A piece of paper?*
*Like a card from the library!*
*It’s ripped in half,*
*and it has a Talisman drawn on it.*
*I haven’t checked.*
The classmate locked eyes with me.
*If you want me to,*
*I can go look right now.*
*The faculty are hanging around the auditorium.*
….
*Let’s do it.*
*Please.*
*Fine.*
*Come on.*
The boy pushed himself up from the Infirmary floor…
Thud.
A Black Silhouette suddenly lunged, pinning the student down.
‘…!’
I almost struck out at the shadow before catching myself.
‘It’s the Wolf Leader.’
Of course.
The Wolf Leader… he manifests as a Black Silhouette here.
Like a living shadow.
I didn’t feel the usual revulsion or violent urge that I felt toward other explorers who blundered into the school during the new moon.
He just seemed foreign.
A source of danger.
An outsider.
Something beyond the reach of normal communication…
‘So that’s why the kid tried to bolt.’
Actually, running was the only sane response.
I fought the urge to pull away from the dark figure of the Wolf Leader. Instead, I held up the paper containing our written dialogue for him to see.
I added one more line to the bottom.
We are heading out to scout the auditorium area.
It is a high-risk zone
that demands extreme caution.
With that, the shadow restraining the boy dissolved into nothingness.
‘Whew.’
The boy and I stepped out of the Infirmary, the Black Silhouette trailing silently behind us like a haunting…
‘….’
We began the slow trek up the stairs toward the fifth floor.
As we passed the fourth floor, I noticed several gaps among the third-year Seonbaes who were laid out across the floor.
The boy walked past them with a practiced indifference, but I had to grit my teeth against the sharp ache in my chest as we continued upward. To the fifth floor.
And then.
[Good heavens.]
The moment my feet touched the landing of the fifth floor.
I understood why the student had used the plural when referring to the “teachers.”
[It has a certain… aesthetic.]
The figures arranged across the fifth floor were not children.
They were adults.
And in this environment, there was only one group that fit that description.
*They are the faculty.*
…The teachers.
They were in a much more horrific state than the students.
‘….’
I saw liquified torsos and a jumble of internal organs.
Grotesque human shapes with melted features or skeletal frames—states that defied the possibility of life—were laid out in rows, their eyes wide and staring…
It looked as if they had been harvested from the main “teacher” entity and placed in cold storage.
Some “teachers” were nothing more than a stray patch of skin, a single eye, a knot of hair, or a pile of guts.
…As a student of Sekwang High, I felt a wave of profound sorrow and dread rather than simple disgust.
*Do they ever wake up?*
*No.*
*They never even move from the floor.*
Then I saw it.
‘They’re holding onto each other…’
Every figure that still possessed hands was gripping the person next to them.
As if they were bracing for an impact.
‘….’
The fifth floor was a nightmare of flesh and Talismans, just as I remembered, but the organic matter seemed to have lost its luster. The slime had dried, leaving it looking like parched parchment.
The Talismans…
As I studied the markings, I knew for sure.
‘It’s that specific Talisman.’
The one from the shattered glass lantern in the backyard. The other half of the torn scrap I had found.
It was as if the complete image was being broadcast right here.
I reached toward one of the symbols.
A professional from the Disaster Management Bureau could probably have read the script, but I finally recognized the full character.
It was a stylized, calligraphic Chinese character.
Protect.
The symbol for “protection.”
[My, my. Doesn’t that look familiar, Mr. Roe Deer?]
…!
I remembered now.
—A collection of items that had been draped over me fell to the floor.
—They were clear orbs, the perfect size for a glass hand cannon.
—The ultimate prize for finishing the game’s final act!
Glass spheres, each etched with that very same character.
The moment I had awakened after defeating the teacher, finishing the graduation, and earning an A-rank in “In the Dark Shadow.”
Those reward items had been scattered across my bed.
‘….’
That implies…
‘They were definitely meant for the glass hand cannon…!’
They must have belonged to the agents who buried the lantern here in an attempt to safeguard the children. Or, at the very least, there was a direct connection.
And since they were given to the player who cleared the story by “saving the students” and returning to reality…
….
‘Are they the key to a rescue mission?’
I have to confirm this.
I need to find a way back and talk to the agents.
‘But for now, the plan remains: gather every clue and find an exit.’
I mentally mapped out my next moves, took a breath, and scanned the fifth floor one last time.
That’s when I saw it.
‘…That thing.’
At the very end of the shadowed hallway.
The entrance to the auditorium.
Pinned to those massive double doors—doors that were sealed shut and smeared with bloody handprints—was another figure.
Its limbs were stretched tight by cords of flesh.
A horrific torso, suspended in the air.
‘That isn’t a student.’
The attire was definitely not a school uniform.
But from this distance, it was impossible to tell what they were wearing…
*Is that another teacher?*
*I don’t know.*
*We aren’t allowed to go in there.*
You can’t go in?
Wondering if it was a protective instinct or a rule of the ghost story, I took a cautious step forward, trying to avoid the crusty flesh on the floor.
But in that instant.
‘…!’
A violent wave of repulsion slammed into my body.
‘What is this?’
I realized the cause immediately.
‘…The Talismans.’
The symbols plastered across the walls were arranged in a specific pattern designed to keep students off the fifth floor.
‘….’
I retreated.
*I don’t see any checkout cards*
*on these teachers.*
Looking away from the fifth floor, the rebellious student began to write.
*If that thing on the door is a teacher,*
*I’ll check it during the graduation.*
He paused then.
He seemed to remember that once the ceremony began, his memory of this conversation would vanish, swallowed by the activation of the “In the Dark Shadow” legend.
I replied with a suggestion.
*Could you write a note on your hand?*
*My hand?*
*Yeah.*
*If you write it there, the ink might still be visible*
*when you wake up on the day of the ceremony.*
He looked down at his palm.
*You might see it, get curious,*
*and check the door, right?*
*Fine.*
The boy agreed much faster than I expected.
He looked almost hopeful for a split second before his face went blank again.
He was protecting himself from disappointment.
‘….’
He wrote another line with a casual air.
*You aren’t really a new student, are you?*
I am not.
*Why did you come here?*
The question, though framed by a lack of hope, held a flicker of something else.
He seemed to be waiting for me to say I was there to save them.
‘….’
*To be honest, I’m not sure.*
*I just found myself here*
*inside a dream.*
He gave me a look of pure disbelief.
*Even so, I’m going to do everything I can*
*to figure out why this is happening*
*and put an end to it.*
*As an honorary citizen of Sekwang.*
I gave the uniform I was wearing a little pat.
*You were the one who lent me the clothes, after all.*
The student let out a quiet, huffing laugh.
*Whatever.*
Then he asked.
*By the way,*
*what’s your name?*
….
Giving a real name inside a haunting is usually a fatal error.
However.
‘Sekwang Technical High requires a name just to pass the gate.’
And forming a bond with this student—the only one who could stay awake—was likely the key to solving the mysteries ahead.
I wrote it out.
*I’m Kim Soleum.*
*That’s a strange name.*
*What about yours?*
*You already saw my tag.*
*Lee Gyeol.*
*First Year, Class 4.*
*I see.*
*It’s good to meet you, Lee Gyeol.*
And with that, Lee Gyeol and I were officially introduced.
After we made our way back to the Infirmary.
I forced the active Contamination back into my heart tattoo, shifting back into my true form.
“Whew.”
*I probably look like a Black Silhouette to you now,*
*but can we keep talking like this through the paper?*
As he had said he would, the boy just stared at me with a stony expression, but he didn’t try to fight or flee.
The Wolf Leader also shed his shadow form, returning to his normal appearance as a member of the team.
“I’ve kept up with the whole conversation. Your questioning was very controlled. It seems this Darkness on the new moon creates a unique environment. Mind filling me in?”
“…Yes.”
I gave him a fairly thorough rundown of what I knew about “Sekwang Technical High School.”
But his focus was elsewhere.
He was fascinated by the fact that I had managed to turn into a resident of the school.
“That’s quite the technique. You’re utilizing Contamination, aren’t you?”
“….”
“I had a feeling the company would move in that direction eventually.”
The Wolf Leader studied me through the slits of his mask.
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
“Still, it’s a step ahead of where we are now. Currently, it’s just a game of chicken.”
“…You mean, seeing if you get fully Contaminated before you secure a Wish Token?”
“Precisely. You’re a sharp one, Employee Yong.”
A grin spread beneath the Wolf Mask.
“Though, the clever ones find ways to manage it for themselves within the rules.”
“….”
I didn’t doubt he was one of them.
“Now, shall we head back to the library? Since the student knows the layout, having him guide us should make our exit a lot smoother.”
“…Yes.”
I asked Lee Gyeol to lead us to a specific part of the library.
Specifically, the area where <Masterpieces of 2000s Horror Short Stories> was kept.
*Follow me.*
Following our surprisingly helpful guide, we navigated the school’s library to reach the other wing of the Hanbit Library…
“It’s a very straightforward path, isn’t it?”
“…Yes.”
Suddenly, a question burned in my mind.
What exactly does the Wolf Leader want?
He’s someone so focused on the Wish Token that he views the whole process as a gamble. If I asked him now, he might actually tell me…
But asking him that felt like a betrayal of the Security Chief.
So I remained silent and kept walking.
Eventually, we arrived back at the point where it all began.
The aisle of shelves where three separate strands of Yarn were now braided together.
The section of the Hanbit Library housing <Masterpieces of 2000s Horror Short Stories>.
I reached down to inspect the gap on the shelf.
“Time to return the book…”
Suddenly, a hand clamped over my mouth.
“Quiet.”
“…!”
The Wolf Leader yanked me back, pulling me around the corner of the shelf and into the shadows.
He began tracing words onto my back with a finger.
—Something else is approaching.
“…!”
Then.
From around the far corner, a figure emerged.
“…!!”
I could only stare in shock. It was…
“This is… where the Yarn is at its most concentrated…”
The Security Chief.
And right beside him…
*Excellent work.*
The Golden Mascot.
Me.

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