Chapter 18
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Ventilation Shaft
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Ventilation Shaft
[Sacrifice's Diary #1]
【A diary from an unknown person. It is yellowed with age.】
“Looks like it was written by a student who went to our school a long time ago.”
Although it was just a single-page diary, there were more than a few suspicious things about it.
First, the owner of this diary was anonymous. But the system listed it like this.
Sacrifice.
If 'sacrifice' here meant what I thought it did, it was a bit strange.
'Sacrifice' is a word you'd typically hear in the context of a ritual or ceremony, not something you'd associate with a school.
Moreover, the year this diary was written was also highly suspicious.
The 1900s.
That's at least two decades ago, a distant past. The fact that such a diary still existed today was strange in itself.
But it didn't seem to be fake.
The yellowed, damp diary looked as old as it felt, showing clear signs of its age.
“It really looks like a diary from the '90s.”
“Heeey, then maybe that rumor is true. The one about this school being built on a cemetery.”
“We don't know that yet.”
Furthermore, the system name for this diary had a '#1' attached to it.
That meant a sequel or the next page was hidden somewhere in this school.
The diary we found was just the beginning. To uncover the truth of this school, we had to find the next page.
‘Is there really any reason to dig up the school's secrets?’
My only goal was to escape the school. Nothing more, nothing less.
I didn't want to get involved in occult stuff like the 'Seven Wonders of the School' or 'The Truth That Lies Beneath!'
But reality is rarely so simple. My current situation was inside a horror game disguised as reality.
It was clear that investigating the school in a linear fashion would naturally lead me to the truth.
After all, the progression in these Horror Tsukuru games is always pretty much the same.
‘What a pain.’
This school was on a much larger scale than I'd thought. A mere one-page diary suddenly felt overwhelmingly significant.
“The diary's owner is called a 'sacrifice.' Does that ring any bells for you?”
“Maybe they performed human sacrifices at the school.”
“...Don't say such ominous things.”
Dayeon trotted over to where we had found the diary.
She thumped on the glass case where the human-shaped specimen was displayed.
“This person was offered to the school as a human sacrifice.”
Dayeon pointed confidently at the specimen.
The human-shaped specimen seemed to be faintly clad in rags.
Looking closer, I saw it was an old piece of clothing, like a school uniform from the '90s.
Then, I couldn't help but be horrified.
“...It's a real person.”
This specimen wasn't just something shaped like a person.
It was a person.
Its grotesque, emaciated form looked more like a mummy than a person.
To be precise, it was a form of sagging skin draped over a thin, bony frame.
Its shoulder blades and ribs were clearly visible.
I had barely managed to believe it wasn't a real person, but now I couldn't deny it.
The sight of the corpse was so gruesome I couldn't bear to look, and I felt a wave of nausea.
“Urp...”
“See? I was right, wasn't I?”
Dayeon subtly shrugged her shoulders with a smug look.
She seemed quite pleased with herself for guessing it was a human specimen.
“You really can't do anything without me, huh? Right?”
-Ribbit
The shock of seeing the corpse made her words go in one ear and out the other.
Only after turning my head away could I finally calm my stomach.
“Huu... Instead of messing around with the frog, go find a way out of here.”
“But I already looked everywhere. I'll go ask the mummy man, just in case.”
“Do whatever.”
Dayeon scurried over to the glass case.
She began to observe the human specimen intently.
To be so unfazed after seeing a corpse.
It was enough to make me faint.
‘If I leave her like that, she'll probably stay quiet for a while.’
I didn't bother her. Leaving her be was better for my sanity.
With Dayeon occupied, I slowly investigated the cold storage room.
Now that there was no risk of freezing to death, searching was much easier.
But it was the same as before—no items were appearing.
There were no notes that could be clues, and no hidden places.
Just as I was about to conclude I'd wasted my time and come up empty-handed...
Thud!
A loud noise came from Dayeon's direction.
It was the sound of someone banging on the glass case.
“Stop messing around. You'll break the glass and get hurt.”
“Okay.”
It's not like I'm disciplining a child.
But Dayeon didn't listen to me at all.
Thump, thump!
Once again, a dull thudding sound echoed from the glass case.
I was already on edge because I couldn't find any items, and it felt like Dayeon was just pouring oil on the fire.
“What on earth are you doing to cause such a ruckus...”
Having no choice, I walked over to Dayeon.
The corpse was a bit unsettling, but I couldn't just leave her be.
“I told you to stop messing around.”
“I was investigating hard in my own way. Nothing came of it, though.”
“Then what was that thumping sound just now?”
“Huh?”
Dayeon tilted her head. She looked like she had no idea what I was talking about.
How can someone be so shameless?
I was about to give her a sharp scolding.
Thump, thump, thump!
A rather violent vibration came from the glass case. But Dayeon was right in front of me.
“What? That wasn't you just now?”
“Huh? Explain what you think I did.”
“I mean, this thumping sound—”
Thump, thump, thump, thump!
Before I could finish my sentence.
The glass case rocked forward and slowly began to tilt.
Crash!
The case toppled over completely, shattering into pieces that scattered in all directions.
From within the wreckage, a human figure slowly revealed itself.
“No way...”
“Oh,”
Its identity was the corpse that had been in the glass case. The thing that should have been dead was now slowly walking toward us.
It was truly a walking dead.
“Look at that. The person came back to life.”
“Damn it, really.”
I grabbed Dayeon and bolted.
The door, of course, wouldn't open.
We were trapped.
-Rattle, rattle
Struggling with all my might was useless.
Unless I smashed the doorknob with a blunt object, forcing it open was impossible.
“Damn it.”
“It's locked. Is there anything we can use to melt it?”
“Melt it? ...Is this any time to be joking?”
Not breaking it, but a way to melt a sturdy iron door...
‘Wait, there is one.’
I suddenly opened my item window. And I carefully took out an item I had acquired a while ago.
[Sulfuric Acid]
【A colorless, odorless chemical solution. A warning label says 'Handle with care.'】
‘With this...’
I felt a pang of anxiety that it might not work, but there was no time to hesitate.
[Grooo, oooan...!]
The corpse trudged closer. Since we were by the exit, we were cornered.
With nowhere left to run, the sulfuric acid was our only hope.
[Use Sulfuric Acid?]
[Drink / Pour]
‘Drink it? What the hell...’
Just imagining it was terrifying. The moment I chugged sulfuric acid, I'd be meeting my maker.
I quickly chose 'Pour' and dumped the sulfuric acid all over the doorknob.
Sizzzzzle!
The doorknob spewed thick smoke.
Being sulfuric acid fumes, getting too close would be bad for my health. I quietly took a step back.
“Cover your nose.”
“How am I supposed to breathe? With my mouth?”
“Just do it when I tell you to.”
I quickly clamped my hand over her chattering mouth.
Seeing Dayeon so calm even in an emergency made me anxious, and my hand moved before I knew it.
I wish she'd be a little more serious at times like this.
“Mmph, mmph.”
Dayeon mumbled even with her mouth covered. I stayed still, figuring whatever she had to say wouldn't be helpful anyway.
Clink.
Not long after pouring the acid, the doorknob corroded and fell to the floor.
‘It worked...!’
At this point, I could open it with brute force.
Careful not to touch the acid, I kicked the iron door with all my might.
KABOOM!
With a tremendous crash, the door swung open, battered.
We immediately escaped the cold storage room.
[Groooan...]
The corpse followed, but I quickly slammed the door shut.
A couple of its fingers stuck out from under the door, but after a few stomps, they crumbled like old rags.
‘I'm really losing my mind...’
The finger joints, which fell off with a thud and not a single drop of blood, were simply grotesque.
I forced myself to look away and slammed the door shut.
Thump, thump! THUMP!!
The corpse pounded on the door as if trying to break it down. To make sure it couldn't be opened, I sealed the entrance tight with a mop handle.
But this wasn't enough.
To prevent any unforeseen accidents, it was better to block it completely with the display case.
“It might suddenly burst out, so we have to block it with the display case. You push too.”
“Mmph, mmph, mmph.”
“Stop messing around.”
“Okay.”
Ruuuumble.
Just like before, with the two of us pushing, it moved quickly.
The display case firmly blocked the cold storage room. Now, there was absolutely no way the corpse could get out.
“Phew...”
As I gasped for breath, relieved to be alive, Dayeon sidled up close to me.
“You were pretty rough back there.”
“What was?”
Is she talking about when I covered her mouth?
The situation was so urgent, I couldn't help it.
Besides, the sulfuric acid fumes are actually very harmful to the human body.
Just as I was about to offer a logical rebuttal, Dayeon tilted her head to one side and spoke.
“Well, maybe it wasn't so bad?”
“...What's that supposed to mean?”
“Hmm, take a guess.”
Dayeon trotted away. She really was hopeless and unpredictable.
‘Good grief.’
Then, I used the key from the cold storage room to open the display case.
I carefully took out the lungs hanging on the wall.
“Ugh.”
“So this is what lungs look like.”
The tough, stiff texture was just unpleasant.
I quickly took them and fitted them into the anatomical model.
The lungs slid into place like a puzzle piece.
-Click
The sound of a mechanism opening came from somewhere.
When I turned around, the cover of a ventilation shaft was wide open.
“A ventilation shaft?”
“I've seen it in spy movies. They always use the vents to sneak in.”
Vents have always been a classic secret passage in games and movies.
In the game *White Day*, don't you first see the janitor through a vent?
It was that much of a time-honored secret passage.
“It's a lot narrower than I thought.”
Dayeon was already squeezing herself into the vent. In fact, her upper body was already long gone inside.
‘This girl, really...’
From my point of view, only Dayeon's lower half was visible. Thanks to that, an awkward scene was created.
“...Please, just hurry up and get in.”
“I'll try.”
I tried to avert my gaze until Dayeon was completely inside the vent.
The blood of an adolescent boy boiled deep within me, but I managed to calm myself with a high degree of composure.
“How long are you going to take...”
“Sorry, I'm having trouble getting in.”
Dayeon lingered for a good while with only her lower half sticking out.
The sight only made my position more awkward.
‘Hoo, calm down.’
I took a long, deep breath, mustering concentration from the pit of my stomach.
This was much harder than facing the walking corpse from before.
After a long, long period of endurance, Dayeon finally made it into the vent.
“All set. Come on in.”
Her voice echoed from deep inside. Only then did I belatedly start to climb in myself.
I got in quickly, grunting as I crawled on my belly. The inside of the vent was so narrow and low that even turning my body was difficult.
‘Ugh, even moving is a pain.’
Dayeon, having gone in first, seemed to have already adapted to the vent's structure, as she wriggled along quite well.
“If you lift your head and sneak a peek at my legs, I'm gonna call you a pervert.”
“I won't look, so don't worry about it.”
I placed my hand down to follow Dayeon further into the vent.
‘What's this?’
For some reason, a sticky liquid coated my hand.