Chapter 36
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: The Second Playthrough
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2nd Playthrough
I stared blankly around.
Only one thing had changed.
I was back at the school. That was all.
“What the...”
My mind was a jumbled mess.
The memories of what happened before flashed by like a panorama.
I’m sure I escaped the school.
But my memories after that?
They were hazy. It felt like someone else's memories were being forcibly injected into my head.
My head throbbed, a sensation like my body and soul were being forcibly separated. As I looked around, a familiar scene unfolded.
Strange. The school I'd seen recently didn't look like this.
I carefully retraced my memories.
Something faintly came to mind, but it didn't feel like my own memory.
It was on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn't quite grasp it. It eventually sank back beneath the surface, unable to be fully recalled.
My mind was as foggy as trying to remember a dream at dawn.
From the depths of my memory, the last message I saw suddenly surfaced.
And with it, a new message appeared.
[Unreality Chapter. 1 – School]
[Beginning the 2nd Playthrough.]
“A second playthrough?”
I had escaped this school. But time had turned back. Along with a message about a second playthrough.
It didn't take long to guess what this meant. I had escaped the school.
But the situation hadn't changed.
For some reason, I was back at the school. Back to the last save point from the diary.
Suddenly, I remembered the message I saw in the dream.
[END – BAD]
【Theft】
A bad ending.
For a moment, it felt like my heart had stopped, and the scene from the dream came flooding back in vivid detail.
I escaped the school.
I returned home.
I went to school.
I listened in class.
And I was happy.
But.
...That wasn't me.
It looked just like me—no, it *was* me. But the person inside was someone else.
“So this is why it was a bad ending...”
My legs gave out, and I collapsed onto the hallway floor. I couldn't calm down.
I had definitely found the bolt cutters in the basement and succeeded in escaping. And the result was nothing short of tragic.
That was the ending I met in my first playthrough.
The horrifying, miserable end sent shivers down my spine. It would have been far better to just die.
It was a huge relief that the Tsukuru system surrounding me hadn't disappeared.
If it weren't for the save function, everything would have ended right there.
Just as I was calming my pounding heart, a new message appeared.
*Fwaat!*
[New Feature!]
[Omake Mode has been unlocked!]
[You can now purchase various items and special abilities!]
“Omake?”
I blinked my empty eyes. I was bewildered, wondering if it was what I thought it was.
Omake. Simply put, an extras menu. A kind of event that opens up after you clear a game.
It usually includes things like behind-the-scenes stories, initial character designs, illustrations, and BGM.
But this isn't a normal Tsukuru game; it's reality.
The fact that Omake Mode was given as a reward for the first playthrough was extremely important.
Do I just open it like the status window?
Praying there was something, anything, inside, I opened the Omake Mode. Messages streamed into view.
[Omake Mode]
1. Purchase Items
2. [To be updated later!]
3. [To be updated later!]
4. [To be updated later!]
‘Update my ass.’
I couldn't hide my disappointment as soon as I saw the message. I had hoped for something, but the contents of the Omake Mode were ridiculously lacking.
Everything except for option 1, Purchase Items, was blocked.
There was nothing I could do. Still, just in case, I selected "Purchase Items."
*Fwaat!*
The screen shifted and changed.
[Omake Shop]
[*There is currently (1) item officially registered in the shop.]
1. Monitor Power Cable
[Ghost Story Coins in Possession: 1]
A shop window appeared, just like something you'd see in an RPG Tsukuru game.
For some reason, the only item available for purchase was a single CCTV power cable.
It's not even a key. What am I supposed to do with this?
I had no idea what I was meant to use it for. Still, just in case, I checked the item's detailed description.
[Monitor Power Cable]
【A power cable used to connect a monitor. With this, you can watch videos without interruption.】
...So what is this?
Reading the description only made me more confused.
It didn't harbor any spiritual powers, nor was there any hidden ability to seal ghosts.
It was just an ordinary monitor power cable.
And it boasted a price of one whole Ghost Story Coin.
But there were no other options besides the power cable. What's more, I currently had exactly one Ghost Story Coin.
The price matched perfectly. It was like the system was blatantly telling me to buy the cable.
“I'll hold off for now.”
I closed the Omake window so I wouldn't fall for the cheap temptation.
A situation might arise where I needed the Ghost Story Coin, so a rash decision was out of the question.
If a moment came when I truly needed the cable, I could just buy it then.
Having made up my mind, I surveyed my surroundings.
The cold, creepy hallway stretched out before me. What point in time was this?
Ah, I remember.
It was right after I got out of the school store. To be precise, right after Dayeon got trapped inside.
“Dayeon...”
I glanced back toward the school store. Dayeon was waiting endlessly for me in there.
But I couldn't bring myself to trust her. Because of my memories from the last playthrough.
If everything from the dream was real, then Dayeon had betrayed me. This raised a question. Why?
I didn't want to believe that Dayeon had betrayed me.
Maybe there were unavoidable circumstances, or some story she couldn't tell.
There could be any number of reasons.
If not that, then...
“Maybe the Dayeon who escaped with me wasn't the Dayeon I know...”
I tried to shake off the ominous thought. Like I said before, rash judgments were forbidden.
I needed at least some evidence before drawing a conclusion. Still, I was sure of one thing.
The Dayeon currently trapped in the school store is definitely the real one. And she would never betray me.
Of course, that last part was just a gut feeling.
I didn't need evidence.
We've been through so much together; I have to trust her.
My faith is the evidence. With that thought, I headed straight for the main entrance.
Normally, the fake would have shown up when I went to the classroom to find the computer password.
What would happen if, unlike the last playthrough, I didn't go to the classroom?
Where would the fake appear from, and what would happen to Dayeon?
I needed to find out the difference to confirm how the first playthrough had unfolded.
As soon as I arrived at the computer room, I immediately entered the password.
“6805..., 6805...”
I'd already checked and memorized the password.
There was no reason to go through the hassle of going back and forth to the classroom as the hint suggested.
I bypassed the computer's security in an instant.
When I booted it up, three files appeared.
[X Student MissXng Article.pdf]
[Mass DisapXearance Article.pdf]
[Sacrifice's Diary.txt]
Previously, I had checked the files with the fake Dayeon accompanying me.
But now, since I hadn't gone to the classroom as the hint instructed, I hadn't run into the fake.
This was clearly a different situation from the last playthrough. This was the crucial part. How would the fake Dayeon act now?
I waited with bated breath in the computer room. Soon, an announcement with a mechanical voice rang out.
*Ding-dong-dang-dong~♬*
-This is an announcement from the school broadcasting room.
-Student Lee Hyeon, please come to the 2nd-floor broadcasting room immediately.
It was an announcement telling me to come to the broadcasting room alone. Up to this point, the flow of events was no different from the last playthrough.
“I wonder if anything will be different if I go to the broadcasting room.”
Contrary to my faint hopes, the situation in the broadcasting room was the same.
The rows of CCTV monitors were broadcasting the entire school live, and among them was the sight of Dayeon lying peacefully in the school store.
The only difference this time was the existence of the fake Dayeon. She hadn't shown herself even once.
It was because I hadn't given her an opening. I couldn't let my guard down.
There was no telling when or where she might pop up and sow confusion between me and Dayeon.
First, meeting up with Dayeon was the priority. I connected the microphone and activated the school store's speaker.
“Ah, ah, can you hear me?”
After that, it was the same as last time.
I told her about the key on the vending machine and instructed her to come to the broadcasting room.
Dayeon in the store made a big circle with her arms above her head and obediently followed my words.
If it's the same up to this point, then where did it all go wrong?
There were no anomalies. Dayeon successfully escaped the school store. And the fake's whereabouts were still a complete mystery.
I was deep in thought, waiting for Dayeon to come up to the broadcasting room.
*Knock, knock.*
A knock came from beyond the door. I naturally sensed an ominous presence.
It was an impossible speed for Dayeon to get from the school store to the broadcasting room.
And sure enough, Dayeon was clearly visible on the 1st-floor hallway CCTV.
Then who was the one knocking? It didn't take much thought to figure it out.
It was the fake.
“I'm here. Open the door.”
Dayeon's voice came through clearly.
Still, I couldn't be fooled.
That was undoubtedly the fake.
Just like last time, I used a chair as a latch and firmly wedged it against the door.
*Clank, clank.*
“It won't open. Please open the door.”
The fake shamelessly pretended to be Dayeon.
I ignored her without saying a word.
She wasn't worth a response.
What happened after this?
I suddenly glanced at the CCTV monitor. Dayeon had already passed the main entrance and was coming up to the second floor.
If I remembered correctly, the CCTV monitor went off right before Dayeon arrived at the broadcasting room.
And when the monitor turned back on a short while later, the fake was gone without a trace.
Only Dayeon was left standing alone in front of the broadcasting room door.
Where, how, and when did the fake disappear? There were more than a few suspicious points.
Even if I wanted to know the details of what happened, I couldn't, because the monitor was off.
Unless there was a feature to keep the CCTV running, I didn't have any all-powerful item like that.
Wait a minute, an item?
I opened the Omake Mode without thinking. Then I opened the item purchase window. A single item was listed for sale.
[Monitor Power Cable]
It was an incredibly ordinary item. You could buy one cheap anywhere online, so purchasing this would make me a sucker.
But my gaze remained fixed on the item's detailed description.
【A power cable used to connect a monitor. With this, you can watch videos without interruption.】
Watch videos without interruption.
Given the nature of Tsukuru games, this couldn't be just a simple description. A thought crossed my mind.
[You have purchased the Monitor Power Cable.]
I ended up buying the item impulsively. I don't know why, but I felt like I had to act on it right now.
The item appeared in my inventory immediately. As I approached the main unit where the CCTV monitor cables were connected, a message appeared.
[Do you want to replace the monitor power cable?]
...This is it.
*Click.*
I swapped the old, worn-out power cable with the new one.
The newly connected CCTV monitor worked normally.
With this, there wouldn't be any mishaps like the screen suddenly turning off.
The answer was here all along.
Dayeon had now reached the 2nd-floor hallway.
It wouldn't be long before she arrived at the broadcasting room.
The CCTV monitor didn't turn off, continuing to broadcast the scene from the 2nd-floor hallway in vivid detail.
She was almost here. The moment she turned the corner, she would be at the broadcasting room.
What in the world happened during the time the monitor was off in the last playthrough?
Soon, Dayeon would come face-to-face with the fake.
My eyes wide, I focused my gaze on the 2nd-floor hallway CCTV monitor. And then,
“...What the.”
An unbelievable sight unfolded on the other side of the monitor.