Second Counseling – The Annex Rules Trade
The first thing that came to mind when she mentioned the second counseling ability was raw power.
Why did humans have to die helplessly to the youkai? Because we were weaker than them.
What if I had overwhelming strength? I wouldn't die—hell, the youkai might be the ones running scared.
Turning horror into action with sheer force. Seemed like a solid ability to me.
"Of course, every ability has its limits."
I was already letting my imagination run wild when Soonbaek-i reined me in with her words.
"Limits?"
"Let's take the power you were imagining as an example. How much strength do you want?"
"Uh..."
I'd only been thinking vaguely, but putting an exact number to it was tricky.
In cases like this, it helped to just go extreme.
"One-hit instant kill?"
"For that level of power, restrictions start with the activation target and usage count."
"How many times?"
"Once a day, limited to targets you can clearly recognize."
It didn't feel like that big a restriction.
I couldn't take down even one youkai right now. Being able to snag one a day? That sounded great. Stack them up, and I could clean the school out eventually.
"Naturally, Kkamang-i wouldn't just sit back and watch."
"Ah."
Her words brought back the special report bomb I'd gotten today.
Come to think of it, catching one youkai wouldn't solve everything. Good idea, bad execution. Power was a pass.
At least one of my predecessors must've thought the same way. Rampaging with brute force wouldn't help if I couldn't find the exit. In the end, grasping clues to escape beat getting stronger.
I stared blankly out the window.
This was a dark school classroom, but outside was filled with pure white. It felt bright, but it was really just endless void. Staring at it made me feel insignificant, like my whole life was a joke.
The reason I was killing time like this was simple. Soonbaek-i had told me time flowed differently here from the outside. No matter how long I stayed, only one hour would pass out there.
Plenty of time to think. Subjectively, it had been over two hours already. I shifted around, gazed out the window, pondered.
Soonbaek-i watched me with a serene expression, never seeming bored.
Information, ability, tool.
Ability and tool were basically the same concept. A tool was just a way to self-impose limits on an ability—to use it with fewer restrictions. Picking information meant figuring out what to ask. I'd thought about the exit location at first.
But would none of my predecessors who reached here have asked that? I was curious about her answer, but if it didn't lead to escape, no point hearing it now. I had one more chance anyway.
"Two times."
"Huh?"
"You can visit here using absences two more times."
Two times? That was weird. It shouldn't be two. The Gallery said the third absence killed you.
Probably on the morning of the third absence day, the Admin Office mannequin would come hunt me down.
"You can trade with me on the third one, limited to promising an absence."
"What if I trade, ignore the promise, and go to work anyway?"
"The moment you trade with me, it's automatically an absence."
In other words, on the third trade, paying with an absence, I'd have to find the exit before morning. Last dance. At that point, power might not be a bad pick. If she gave exit info, I'd need strength to reach it; if not, at least I'd go down swinging without regrets.
Of course, that was far off. I hadn't even explored the Annex yet.
......
Come to think of it, I'd completely forgotten about the Annex.
The place so many predecessors challenged—and died in. It wasn't small either. Smaller than the Main Building, but looked like five stories from outside.
Maybe getting help for Annex exploration beat vague escape clues. Worst case, if the exit was in the Annex, I'd burn my second absence right away. Going in blind was suicide.
Thankfully, all that agonizing wasn't pointless. I was narrowing down what to ask Soonbaek-i.
One last question: What did I need to survive the Annex?
An unknown space full of dangers and youkai. Survival meant information. And the first thing that popped up for info was the rule book.
Last time I'd asked about the Annex Rule Book, she said no warnings for that. But this was an absence trade—should work, right?
"Can you make the Annex Rule Book?"
"Yes. Is that what you'll choose?"
Made sense—even one-hit kills were possible, so a rule book wasn't a stretch.
The issue was whether it was the right choice. Best choice was impossible without knowing more. But I didn't want to regret it the second I left.
Think different. Did I need to know the info myself?
"About that status window you mentioned. Could it warn me of threats? Like an alarm."
"That's possible too. How exactly do you want it to work?"
"Um..."
Ideally, Soonbaek-i would handle it perfectly, intuitively. Customizing it myself was awkward.
My alarm idea was her notifying me at the right times.
"Neither I nor Kkamang-i can intervene directly. That's the rule. So I can't notify you. A status window counts as a youkai type, so ambiguous rules make it tricky too."
Any alarm criteria had holes. Ring 10 seconds before danger? Useless if it attacked instantly. Shorter time? No guarantee I'd react. Space-based? Same issue—threats from afar, or too many close ones to prioritize.
Every metric had flaws, so no custom alarm. Back to the rule book.
Actually, it didn't seem like a bad pick. And Soonbaek-i writing it meant high trustworthiness.
"I'll take the Annex Rule Book."
"Got it. One thing you need to decide."
"What?"
"The Main Building Rule Book was issued under duty pretext. But the Annex isn't duty-related. What's your reason for taking it?"
"Is this answer important?"
"It affects things."
She wouldn't say how even if I asked. If it was tellable, she'd have said when I thought it.
Common sense time. Why would a guard visit and lock a non-duty area?
"Facility inspection?"
"Good. I'll distribute the Annex Inspection Rule Book to the guard room."
"Uh... any restrictions?"
"None at this level. Don't worry."
Soonbaek-i stood up.
The long counseling was ending.
"See you next time."
At her gesture, the dark classroom vanished, everything turning white. The counseling room hallway shimmered into view.
I'd seen it before, but it was still amazing.
Back in the guard room, a new rule book sat on the shelf.
Annex Inspection Rule Book
The moment I unfolded it to check the contents, a voice came from outside the guard room.
"Have you thought it over?"
It was Kim Eat-Chil. Time was just past 8. I'd been so wrapped up in counseling, I hadn't considered him at all.
Should've mulled his offer while pondering. Too late now. Had to decide fast.
I set the rule book down and said gravely,
"Can you wait a bit longer?"
"Sure, until break ends." Kim Eat-Chil nodded slightly. About 25 minutes left. Somehow, I had to recruit him in that time.