Chapter 90
Chapter 90
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 90
Chapter Title: Responder IV: Shin Noah 7
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One thing I needed to emphasize again at this point was that blind spots—those weaknesses—were indeed a way to defeat the anomalies, but they were never one-way streets. They were always two-way.
“Coming to rescue me? Kid, what are you talking about? I got caught too.”
In short, my retort to the child in front of me wasn’t because I was some sadistic jerk with a bad personality, and certainly not because I was the eldest of the Eagle Five Brothers.
“Huh?”
“Look at my name tag. I’m a security guard here, a security guard. Oh man. I came to and the school had turned into this freakish place.”
“Oh... You’re the security guard uncle...”
Sorry, kid, but I had zero intention of breaking character by even a centimeter.
The reason I could rampage unchecked in the “school ghost stories” was, first of all, obviously thanks to the experience I’d piled up as a regressor. Second, it was because of my “security guard” role.
As a security guard, it wasn’t weird to wander around every corner of the school without suspicion. That was a security guard’s job.
As a security guard, it wasn’t weird to know how to handle bizarre incidents at school. That was a security guard’s skill.
In other words, the moment the “night patrol security guard” mask shattered, I’d lose every advantage I’d enjoyed so far.
I had to help the shipwrecked victims of the school ghost stories strictly within the bounds of my role-play.
And for a seasoned regressor, such restrictions weren’t even penalties.
“Kid, why do you look so hollow-eyed? You eating properly? Here, have some of this.”
“Huh? ...Gasp, chocolate?”
It wasn’t just any ordinary chocolate. It was the strongest dessert on earth. A Crunchy chocolate bar wrapped in beautiful golden foil.
“C-Can I really eat it?”
“Of course. I’m giving it to you to eat.”
A moment later.
“Fwaaaaaah!”
The effect of the Crunchy chocolate bar was tremendous.
“W-We didn’t do anything wrong. We just woke up in the dorms and came to school, and suddenly, sob. Suddenly ghosts started popping up everywhere, and all the teachers were gone. The ghosts chased us into... the classrooms, bathrooms, playground, cafeteria, rooftop—everywhere... So many friends died...”
“There, there.”
“I-I’m the student council president, sob. I’m supposed to help the kids, but I was too busy running away. I was scared, I’m sorry...”
The Cheon Yo-hwa of the 117th round was unmistakably the same person as in previous rounds, yet completely different.
Her mind was concentrated.
Her emotions were thick and intense.
In other words, she lacked experience points.
“It’s okay. Student council president or whatever, you’re all just kids. Surviving alone makes you amazing.”
“Euuung...”
To level up to “complete Cheon Yo-hwa,” she still needed years of pain and endurance.
The child in front of me was fated to lead the survivor group until the 750 boarding students dwindled to 17.
But the incomplete version had clear advantages over the complete one. That’s why I’d thrown myself directly into the school ghost stories.
“There’s plenty more chocolate, so eat it slow. How’d you manage to evade the ghosts all this time?”
“...Sniff. Some weird-looking fairy kept giving us quests? Like missions or something. Completing them guaranteed food and a place to sleep for a bit... I usually moved with the other kids, but right when this quest started, the fairy forced us all to scatter...”
“I see.”
I replied casually, but my heart skipped an irregular beat inside my chest.
What Cheon Yo-hwa had just said perfectly matched the situation I’d been hoping for.
‘...As expected. Cheon Yo-hwa at this stage can still clearly perceive the anomalies.’
Not just the school ghost story ghosts, but even the tutorial fairy.
In previous rounds, Cheon Yo-hwa couldn’t even perceive the fairy. Brainwashing. Or perception distortion.
But the current Cheon Yo-hwa showed no such anomalies. She saw the anomalies for what they truly were.
‘That means something triggers her to lose the ability to perceive anomalies from here on... Wonder what it is.’
That’s what I needed to investigate from now on.
I wore a kindly smile.
“You’ve been through a lot, kid. You must be starving. Want to try this too?”
“Eung... Gasp, cup ramen!”
“Sure. All kinds of flavors.”
“Black bean and mala!”
“If I connect this portable battery I carry for blackouts to the port and wait a sec... There, all done.”
“Wow! Wow! Fwaaaah!”
A happy time followed for a while.
“Security guard uncle. I-I realized something. The world... life... it’s all pretty livable if you just eat delicious food...”
Cheon Yo-hwa wore the expression of a sage.
Well, if Gautama Siddhartha had tasted factory-made black bean cup ramen under the Bodhi tree, he might’ve admitted, “Life isn’t that painful after all.”
“You bet. Even in a world like this, people gotta live. I’m gonna go check for other students, so you stay healthy.”
“Ah.”
I turned on my lantern and started moving. Then Cheon Yo-hwa hesitantly set down her cup ramen container and followed.
“W-Wait. Security guard uncle. Can you take me with you?”
“Hm? You?”
“Yeah! Um, even though I look like this, I was kinda like the leader before the kids got forcibly separated. There are good kids, but some with intense personalities... Ugh. They might get bad ideas seeing your supplies...”
I chuckled inwardly.
Music to my ears. Teaming up with Cheon Yo-hwa had been my goal from the start.
But there was a big difference between me suggesting it and her deciding on her own. I’d dangled the bait lightly, and she bit admirably.
“You’ll protect me, kid?”
“Ahaha... Protect is too much. You seemed super strong earlier. I can just assist from the side to avoid any trouble!”
Her fake jab and punch were so cute I couldn’t help but chuckle a little.
“Not just following ‘cause you want more cup ramen?”
“Eep, caught... But, um. In situations like this, sticking together as a group is key. I’ll always take the front!”
“Hm.”
Taking the lead through the void meant taking the most dangerous role and entrusting her back to me. It meant placing herself in a position where betrayal was impossible.
“Alright, if the student council president insists that much, I trust you. Let’s move together for now.”
“Yup! Thanks, uncle!”
We walked down the fourth-floor hallway.
Suddenly, the back of Cheon Yo-hwa’s head caught my eye.
Gauze bandages crusted with dark blood scabs.
Traces of betrayal. A mental scar.
“...”
“By the way, security guard uncle, heard any outside news? We only know what the fairy barely tells us.”
“Not exactly. The radio in the security office picks up outside news sometimes, but it’s not much different. Country’s fallen, military wiped out, that kinda stuff.”
“Uwaaa... So no rescue team coming to save us...?”
“Nope.”
“As expected...”
Cheon Yo-hwa’s shoulders visibly slumped.
“You should brace yourself for the worst with your family outside too, probably. The world’s a mess.”
“Ah, whatever. I’m not worried about them. They were just cult weirdos doing crazy stuff anyway.”
“Hmm. Cult, huh.”
Step. Step.
Aside from our footsteps and voices, the whole school was eerily silent.
But there was no time to get bored.
“The school and the outside world have completely different time flows to begin with.”
“Huh?”
“How long do you think it’s been since you got trapped here?”
“Uh. Lemme think... Skipping some days I missed, but based on sleep cycles, at least 390 days...”
“Outside, it’s not even been 3 months.”
“No way! Really?”
Every one of Cheon Yo-hwa’s reactions was exaggerated and vivid.
Unlike the previous rounds’ necromancer, who smiled like a doll somehow.
‘So this is what she was really like.’
It hit me anew.
Even after 117 rounds of life, there were still wells of people I hadn’t peered into.
“...Uncle.”
Cheon Yo-hwa lowered her voice.
Human voices are amazing—simple tones and honorifics convey tons of info. I immediately focused ahead.
Thud- Thud- Thud- Splatter.
A ghost was emerging from a classroom door at the end of the hall. Not on footsteps, but its head.
Not a headstand—it moved by bouncing its head. Each bounce shattered its skull, spraying blood around.
Thud- Thud- Thud- Splatter.
But the skull fragments and blood on the floor instantly gathered back into head form. So the ghost died repeatedly every time its head hit the ground.
“Ah... The thud-thud-thud ghost...”
Cheon Yo-hwa muttered softly.
“You know it?”
“Yeah, sorta. Bumped into it a few times. Easy to run from since it’s not fast. But if you let your guard down and get too close, it suddenly teleports you to the rooftop and you plummet to the playground.”
“Sounds like personal experience.”
“No. I saw a few kids fall from the roof out the window... At least 17 I saw myself died that way. So we call it the suicide ghost instead of thud-thud-thud.”
Thud- Thud- Thud- Splatter.
The ghost went in the back door of classrooms and out the front, drawing closer.
Exorcising it here would’ve been easy. Four spells came to mind instantly.
But my command was “wait.”
Cheon Yo-hwa had just joined my party. Testing a newbie’s skills was standard.
“Alright. Hold on a sec.”
Cheon Yo-hwa didn’t refuse the unspoken test. Fwhooo—deep breath echoed in the dark hall.
“...Not scared. ...I am... not.”
Mumbling.
I enhanced my hearing to eavesdrop.
“...I am not scared. Cheon Yo-hwa is a person whose personality doesn’t fear ghosts. Cheon Yo-hwa is brave...”
Darkness gathered taut around Cheon Yo-hwa’s silhouette. Twang—like a rubber band snapped to its limit, she sprang forward.
Her movements were nimble, as I’d admired at our first meeting.
Far beyond “good for a civilian” charity praise.
Cheon Yo-hwa wasn’t a civilian to begin with. She was an awakener.
A survivor who’d lasted 390 days in a top-tier tutorial dungeon.
“Good moves for an awakener”—she closed in on the ghost in a flash.
When the distance shrank to about 4 meters, she slowed. Then whoosh—like a gymnast, she effortlessly went into a handstand.
Thud- Thud- Baaaam!
Her legs spun like a windmill. Upside down. A breaking dancer would’ve scouted her on the spot.
The ghost’s body wobbled from her kicks. Two, three, four hits—it lost balance.
-Grrooooaaar...
“Hrahhh!”
Cheon Yo-hwa grabbed the ghost’s hair tuft and hopped up in place. The ghost, hair yanked, got pulled upright too.
-O, uh, uh, uh.
“Hoo.”
I nearly whistled.
The “head-bouncing upside-down mover” was forced to stand properly. Its weakness exploited.
Whether Cheon Yo-hwa had innate instinct or lucked into the method didn’t matter. Results counted in anomaly fights.
Splatter—
The ghost, hair gripped, dissolved from toes to chunks, raining down.
In under 7 seconds, legs, torso, upper body, head—all shattered onto the floor. The last hair strands slipped through her fingers.
Cheon Yo-hwa shook her hand in disgust.
“Eww, gross... Anyway, how was that, security guard uncle? I’m decent at fighting, right?”
“More than decent. No wonder they picked you leader. Looking forward to more.”
“Hehe. Yup!”
This battle’s gains weren’t just confirming her combat prowess.
She’d become one of Korea’s top awakeners alongside Dang Seo-rin even if left alone. Potential proven.
The real achievement was elsewhere.
‘That kid just brainwashed herself.’
The secret to Cheon Yo-hwa’s strength.
Right before charging the thud-thud-thud ghost, she’d definitely muttered to herself.
-I am not scared.
-Cheon Yo-hwa is a person whose personality doesn’t fear ghosts.
-Cheon Yo-hwa is brave.
Far from simple prayer for courage.
Because her ability was necromancy—more precisely, “inputting NPC thought patterns and behavioral principles.”
‘She’s been tweaking her own thought patterns and principles bit by bit. For survival and combat advantage.’
I entered the classroom where the thud-thud-thud ghost had emerged. I glanced at lockers, undersides of desks, drawers—spots hard to see.
死. 死. 死. 死.
Talismans as expected. Identical to the bathroom ones. All curse spells written in human blood.
The attendance book on the desk had Cheon Yo-hwa’s name—confirming this was her classroom.
“...”
“Uncle, no one around here! Let’s try that way! Gotta be kids hiding from the thud-thud-thud ghost nearby!”
Outside the window was red. Through broken glass, white birch trees bled skin onto the hall. The corridor impaled and shredded like by harpoons, dyed red.
“Sure.”
In the middle of that hall, I lightly waved back at Cheon Yo-hwa brightly waving at me.
How she lost anomaly perception. Why she drew “Mu’s” interest to become an apostle.
And why Baekhwa Girls’ High School was plastered with curse talismans.
The pieces were starting to form in my head.