Interlude: Unlocking Abilities

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'Seon-ah must've been waiting a while.'

Checking the time, it was already 15 minutes past the end of break. The actual encounter with that monster had only lasted about 20 minutes. It'd felt like a brutal, drawn-out fight, but in reality, it hadn't been that long.

With sight and hearing blocked off, my other senses must've sharpened, making even those 20 minutes drag on forever.

A short walk later, a wall came into view. I climbed over it, and there was Seon-ah, trembling like a leaf.

"Seon-ah, sorry for keeping you waiting—"

"Who... who was that?"

Seon-ah's face was pale as a ghost as she stared at me.

"Who the hell was cussing you out like that...?"

"Huh?"

She was shaking, eyes wide with fear. Ah, I got it. She'd been huddled by the wall, but the sound must've carried over. I'd blocked out my hearing, so I hadn't caught it, but that woman must've said something.

"Just some crazy lady. It's fine. I chased her off."

"...Yeah, she seemed off. Creepy... laughing while she... cussed you out so viciously... about you..."

"Yeah. She was a total stranger to me."

I hadn't heard a word, but I played along smoothly.

...At this point, maybe I could just tell her the truth?

I'd left her waiting here while I snuck off to handle things alone—no good excuse had come to mind. But if she'd heard everything, I could probably come clean. At least, a version she could buy.

"Seon-ah, remember that school notice yesterday warning about the smiling woman?"

"Uh... yeah?"

"I don't think it was a misprint. Seems like it was real. This morning during break, I happened to glance out the window and spotted this creepy lady grinning like a maniac, prowling around the back of the school fence with a cutter knife."

Seon-ah looked at me with worry etched on her face.

"It seemed suspicious, so I went to check it out real quick."

"Why would you do something that dangerous... You should've told a teacher..."

"Yeah, you're right. Haha."

I scratched my head with an awkward grin.

"Should've done that. Right? But I chased her off good, so she won't come near the school again."

"...She left?"

"Yeah, she's gone."

Seon-ah's cheeks flushed pink. She averted her eyes, glancing sideways as she mumbled,

"...You're not hurt?"

"I'm good. Totally fine."

I swung my arms around in a goofy, exaggerated gesture to prove it. Her tense expression finally softened, and she let out a soft giggle.

"...Idiot."

"Hahaha."

"A brave idiot..."

I felt a rush of warmth mixed with embarrassment, and couldn't help but laugh.

"You worked hard."

"Haha, nah, it was nothing."

Brave! Worked hard! Here I was, lying to clueless Seon-ah, using her as a lookout from behind. It was flattering and cringey and shameful all at once.

...Heh.

One little word of recognition melted away the day's stress, leaving me puffed up with pride. Yeah, pride.

"Thanks. And honestly, having you there helped... 'cause if anything went wrong, you could've alerted everyone. Let me check things out without worrying."

She tilted her head at me, still smiling.

Instead of answering, she just giggled.

"Anyway, class has been going on for a while now. What do we do?"

At that, Seon-ah burst out laughing, a big, genuine laugh unlike her usual timid chuckles.

"Ahaha, ahaha!"

"Wh-what's so funny?!"

"Ahaha, hahaha! We... we skipped class again. Ahahaha!"

She doubled over, clutching her sides. Her joy was contagious, and I found myself laughing too.

"You're right, kekeke!"

We playfully nudged each other's shoulders, cracking up for a good while before heading back to the main building. Somehow, we felt even closer than before.

"Where the hell were you two? Lucky the homeroom teacher just tossed out these club lists and bailed for this period, telling us to think about clubs on our own. You guys are hopeless."

Kyung-won scolded us as we slipped back into the classroom.

"Eh, it just happened."

Good thing there was no actual class this period. Probably because it was still the first day—teachers were sorting out schedules. Under the guise of self-study, kids were chatting with new friends or playing phone games.

I headed to my seat by the window. Sure enough, Deok-hoon was in his spot next to me, slurping away at some anime.

'Think about clubs?'

Remembering Kyung-won's words, I glanced at my desk. There it was—a printout listing all the school's clubs and intros.

The moment I leaned in to read it—

"Wh-what the?!"

A quest window popped up out of nowhere. Ridiculous. I hadn't even read the list yet, and it was already deciding no club suited me...?

Unbelievable.

The weird tutorial message, this system—it pushed the story along on its own whims.

I sat down and skimmed the printout anyway. The school seemed big on clubs: every Friday afternoon was dedicated club time, no classes. To prevent kids from slacking, everyone ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had to join at least one—"one club per student" rule.

After the list came a blank for name and desired club.

Fill this out and submit, huh.

As I pondered, the homeroom teacher burst in, chuckling "hol hot hot."

"Lunchtime soon! Everyone decide on a club? I've given you plenty of time—let's collect them now~"

Al-already?

"Students in the back row of each section, stand up and collect~"

Damn. I'd barely glanced at it. No choice—I scribbled "Ghost Story Club" on the form as the quest said and handed it in.

Right then, the lunch bell rang.

Mingling with the class, I followed the connecting hallway to the cafeteria. Teachers were directing traffic. The school had passages from each floor to avoid crowds; no upperclassmen meant they were using different ones.

"Freshmen eat on the first floor of the cafeteria building. Sophomores second, juniors third~"

We poured in. Standard cafeteria setup: space for about 300 kids per grade, long tables and benches everywhere.

I lined up, got my tray, and loaded up rice and sides.

Stir-fried sausage and veggies—looks tasty.

Ya-sso, as it was nicknamed—universally popular. Seeing sausage made my stomach growl fiercely.

I'd died twice to the smiling woman and looped back, so I was four hours "behind" on meals. Time reset my body too, so hunger was normal, but mentally, I was starving.

With 300 kids crammed in one floor, the buzz was chaotic. I lost sight of Seon-ah and Kyung-won in the crowd. Some freshmen maneuvered desperately to eat with friends, but I wasn't that desperate—found an empty spot next to Deok-hoon and sat.

This guy kept crossing paths with me—fate or what?

Better than strangers, I guess.

Deok-hoon was chowing down with earbuds in. Leaning close, I caught a girl babbling in Japanese—anime song, obviously.

After eating, back to class. 30 minutes till lunch ended. Time to spend those Ghost Story Points I'd earned.

Main screen.

Hmm.

105 points already. The alert said I could buy abilities with them.

Huh? Causal Rate's up too. What's that even measure?

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Figure it out someday.

Number 1, Status Window.

Buy special abilities here with points?

I tapped the first empty slot.

100 points?!

My head spun. Sure, I hadn't used them yet, but these were hard-earned through near-death loops. Blowing them all at once? Blood-curdling.

Ugh, such a waste.

Mobile games did this too—force a pricey cash item in tutorial, make you use it. Fine, no regrets—tapped to commit.

A cheerful 16-bit jingle blared, and words flashed wildly in the first slot.

...Random?!

Gacha system. Abilities whirled like a slot machine.

Fast Steps? What even is that—super walking speed?!

Not sprinting... No way the first one is some lame-ass ability. Please, something good!

Fast Steps you fucking shit, get lost!

I squeezed my eyes shut as the melody peaked—opened them when it stopped.

"Whoa!!"

Jackpot—something insanely good. S-grade special ability! Consumable sucked, but S-grade meant top-tier!

Lucky me.

Nodding in satisfaction, I coasted through the rest of the afternoon.

Ghost Story Club