Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: School Bathroom Ghost Story
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Late at night at school.
The combination of the pitch-black night and the school building created an eerie atmosphere.
It even felt like someone was watching me.
“For now, let’s swing by the temporary training ground.”
Even I couldn’t clear a dungeon barehanded.
I grabbed two swords from the temporary training ground.
The ‘Gigantic Ancient Forest’ had been shut down, and all the weapons from there were piled up in front of the temporary training ground.
I’d told Park Ha-yeon it was just in case something popped up and we needed to fight it off.
She seemed scared and followed without a word.
We entered the annex building.
The empty hallway was truly creepy.
The main building blocked the city lights, and with mountains behind it, we couldn’t see a foot in front of us.
We turned on our smartphone flashlights and pressed forward.
Second-floor girls’ bathroom.
I hesitated for a moment before opening the door.
“I heard this is the prime spot.”
“W-we really have to do it here? It’s scary….”
“Yeah. Let’s go in for now.”
Park Ha-yeon subtly grabbed my hand.
She must have been really freaked out.
I didn’t shake her off and held it back.
Once inside the bathroom, I flipped the light switch first.
…….
The lights didn’t come on.
The academy was a state-of-the-art building—why was this happening?
I took a deep breath and hypnotized myself.
‘Whew. Don’t freak out. I already have a ridiculously powerful ghost attached to me anyway.’
[What?]
Now all that was left was to perform the ritual to summon the gate……
But there was something I had to do first.
I’d had my suspicions, but now I was certain.
I pretended to head deeper into the bathroom, then spun around and reached out.
Toward the spot where I felt something.
“Guhk, guh….”
With my pure stats hitting A-rank, my ki sense had sharpened noticeably.
Something had been pinging my senses ever since the coin karaoke room.
I drew my sword and took a stabbing stance.
“W-wait a sec….”
A frightened woman’s voice.
It sounded familiar.
The spot I’d grabbed turned opaque, and Ji So-yeon revealed herself.
She’d only undone her transparency on her face.
“Ji So-yeon?”
I released my grip on her neck.
Ji So-yeon posed no threat.
“What do I do… I got caught.”
“Why were you tailing me?”
Tailing me was dangerous in itself, though.
Good thing I wasn’t in my ‘Dark Knight’ getup today—if it’d been a hunting night, I would’ve gone for the kill.
Ji So-yeon hemmed and hawed, not opening her mouth properly.
I grabbed her hair and lifted her up.
Her body floated slightly off the ground.
A-rank strength let me hold her weight with one arm.
Ji So-yeon was on her tiptoes, barely touching the floor.
“It hurts…!”
“If it hurts, answer quick. I won’t let go until you do.”
Tears streamed down Ji So-yeon’s cheeks.
“Stop!”
She flailed at me with her hands and feet, resisting.
Was she hanging on with a ‘He’s not gonna kill me, right?’ mindset?
I figured she needed stronger pain.
I let go of her hair, knocked her down, and straddled her.
One hand pinned her throat, the other twisted her finger.
“Kyaaah! It hurts! It hurts!”
“Talk.”
Park Ha-yeon cut in with a worried look.
“Um… that seems a bit too much.”
“This girl was spying on us in secret.”
“Yeah.”
At least the protagonist wasn’t a total pushover. Good.
Some games had protagonists grinning through NTR and betrayals.
I twisted her finger harder.
Ji So-yeon screamed.
“I’ll talk! I’ll talk! Please stop! It’s gonna break!”
I released her finger for now.
Only then did she spill the whole story.
***
After school, Ji So-yeon waited for Yang Min-seo at the school gate.
Yang Min-seo had messaged her to meet up.
After about five minutes,
An imported luxury car radiating overwhelming presence pulled up from afar.
A Bentley Maybach S-Class.
It screamed high-end at first glance.
The rear door opened, and Yang Min-seo stepped out.
“Get in.”
Ji So-yeon brushed off her shoes, worried about dirtying the car.
‘She really is loaded….’
The car stopped at K Hotel.
Korea’s most luxurious hotel, where foreign dignitaries stayed.
Yang Min-seo led Ji So-yeon to the K Hotel lounge.
“Eat whatever you want. It’s on me.”
“Uh, this stuff looks super expensive….”
“Expensive? My aunt runs this place…. Don’t worry about the price—dig in.”
Ji So-yeon saw her chance and shamelessly ordered the priciest desserts and coffee.
The order arrived soon.
Yang Min-seo took a sip of coffee and got to the point.
“You know there are tons of kids on your level, even if Shin Noda and Oh Ha-na don’t realize it, right?”
Transparent Human.
A high-utility power, but its limits were clear.
Even Ji So-yeon thought she lagged far behind Shin Noda or Oh Ha-na.
Yang Min-seo continued.
“But I picked you because, hero or hunter aside, I thought you’d make a fine lackey.”
“Lackey…?”
“I’ve got so many things I want to do. Just between us, Ji So-yeon—I want to climb to the top.”
“The top? You mean, like, chairman of the association?”
Yang Min-seo pressed a finger to her lips and nodded.
“I’ve got countless rivals. Things are gonna get messy. A transparent human can do endless things there—steal key documents, eavesdrop in secret, assassinate targets…….”
“N-no way. Killing people…? That’s villain stuff!”
“Just examples. I can change your life, Ji So-yeon. Every time you do me a favor, I’ll pay you an astronomical sum. And if things go south and you get caught, I’ll bail you out somehow.”
Ji So-yeon agonized.
Her family had been average middle-class, but recently her dad had racked up massive debt.
He’d gone all-in on KOSPI stocks and crypto and lost it all.
With the house as collateral, her mom cried every day.
Timid by nature, Ji So-yeon never would’ve accepted under normal circumstances.
But her family situation swayed her.
“O-okay. I mean, yes, ma’am?”
“No need for formalities. Be casual. Casual.”
“Yeah.”
“Then here’s your first request: After academy ends, keep tabs on what Shin Noda’s up to.”
Ji So-yeon tilted her head.
“Shin Noda?”
“I had an agency look into him, but there’s a lot that doesn’t add up. Looks like I need eyes on the ground. Anything’s fine—small stuff. What he eats. His hobbies. What he does after school… Find out.”
“Oh.”
“No need to get too close. Like, don’t follow him home or anything. Getting caught would be trouble. Tail a classmate? Heh.”
And so she started tailing Shin Noda.
But getting too close out of curiosity when he brought a girl to school at night was her mistake.
His instincts were sharper than she’d thought.
She got nabbed.
***
Ji So-yeon finished explaining.
Yang Min-seo had put her up to it.
Classic move from the original unlikeable character—scheming behind the scenes.
I’d started thinking she was kinda cute lately. Disappointing.
“This pisses me off. Snooping around like that. Gotta confront Yang Min-seo.”
“P-please. Can’t you pretend I never said anything?”
“No can do. You don’t get off scot-free. Gotta teach you not to tail people recklessly.”
I raised my sword.
“Left hand or right—pick one. We’ll spare the pinky.”
It was a used blade with nicks everywhere, so I wasn’t sure it’d cut clean.
Ji So-yeon freaked out, bawling her eyes out.
She clung to my leg.
Her concentration broke, transparency fully off, revealing her pale naked body.
“Waaah. Please spare me. Just for tailing you?! Cutting off a finger? Nooo.”
“Yang Min-seo probably didn’t mean any harm…. Waaah. Isn’t she just curious about you?!”
Even Park Ha-yeon looked grave as she held me back.
“Yeah. That does seem too harsh.”
I grinned and sheathed the sword.
“Kidding.”
I took off my coat and gave it to Ji So-yeon.
She’d stripped naked to stay invisible.
I turned to Park Ha-yeon.
“Anyway, shall we do what we came for? One extra person, but no biggie. We’ll just do it with three. I’ll make sure it all goes to you.”
Her face flushed beet red as she waved her hands wildly.
“W-what?! With three?! No way! Outdoors, at night, at school… I’m out! I only came because you insisted on here. But with some girl I’ve never met?!”
“What’re you talking about?”
Our conversation wasn’t meshing.
Park Ha-yeon had misunderstood something.
No idea what, though.
I opened the fourth stall in the girls’ bathroom.
The door said ‘Out of Order’.
‘Yeah, it would be.’
I stepped inside and locked the door.
“What’re you doing, Shin Noda!”
Park Ha-yeon’s panicked voice.
Fair enough.
I climbed onto the toilet and hopped over to the next stall, coming out.
“Door’s locked, right? I heard you lock the fourth stall, splash water in there, and a ghost comes out.”
“We’re here for a guts test?”
Park Ha-yeon’s face was bright red.
‘She’s been on edge all night.’
“Obviously. What’d you think it was?”
“Oh… yeah, I knew. Sure.”
I went to the janitor’s closet and grabbed a bucket.
Filled it with water and splashed it into the fourth stall.
All conditions met.
Park Ha-yeon and Ji So-yeon stared at my face, clueless.
Clunk.
Then the fourth stall’s lock unlatched.
Even though no one was inside.
The door opened.
A girl in school uniform slid out.
No legs visible.
Her red eyes bored into us.
White hair, snow-white skin.
The girl had an unreal appearance.
A dreamlike, ethereal vibe.
She didn’t feel of this world.
“Kyaaah!”
“What the—!”
Park Ha-yeon and Ji So-yeon jumped in terror.
Makes sense—popping out like a ghost.
Well, she was a ghost.
The girl spoke.
“Save me… It hurts… Can’t breathe… Please… save me.”
Her voice carried every torment of the world.
Her despair hit so hard it stirred pity more than fear.
Soon, her eyeballs popped from their sockets.
Eyeballs rolling across the bathroom floor.
Endless deep sockets oozed red liquid.
Blood. Blood. Blood. Blood.
The same as ran through our veins.
The bathroom started turning red.
“Kyaaah!”
Ji So-yeon, who’d been horror-movie reacting all along,
Turned to flee the bathroom.
“Not gonna happen.”
Click. Click.
The bathroom door was locked tight.
I flashed a slight smile.
-------------[Dungeon Entry]--------------
[You have entered ‘<DLC04> End of Waiting’.]
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The start of the easter egg in Hero Name: ZEUS’s fourth expansion pack <Halloween>.