Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Became an Academy Guard
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-------------[Dungeon Entry]--------------
[You have entered ‘<DLC04> End of Waiting’.]
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‘Hero Name: ZEUS’ Expansion Pack 4 <Halloween> contained this Easter egg as its starting point.
My vision gradually darkened.
And with that, I lost consciousness.
When I opened my eyes, I was inside the Academy’s main gate guard post.
A translucent window appeared.
------------[Game?]----------------
[You are an Academy guard.
Refer to the duty rules on the desk??]
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Looking out the window, it was a dark night.
But strangely, things that looked like students were wandering around as if it were daytime.
More precisely, things that merely resembled students.
Everyone wandering outside had crudely made faces.
Like characters from a very old 3D game, they had eyes, noses, and mouths, but so roughly formed that they were utterly grotesque.
I read the duty rules on the desk.
-----------[Duty Rules]------------
Academy Guard Duty Rules.
Revised January 2024 (Worker: Yu Gi-tae).
Guards must adhere to the schedule and contact the administrative office whenever leaving their post.
Violating duty rules may negatively impact performance evaluations.
1) Academy attendance time is 9 PM. After 9 PM, close the school gate and prevent anyone from entering or exiting.
2) ■■ ■■■ ■■■ ■ ■■■ ■■■■. ■■ ■■■ ■■ ■■■.
3) Fulfill individual student requests as much as possible, but ignore any girl with white hair and red eyes who speaks to you. No such student exists at this school.
5) If it rains, lock the guard post door and lie face down on the desk. Do not look under the desk at this time.
6) If another guard appears besides yourself, it’s shift change, so you may open the door.
7) Monitor the CCTV screens inside the guard post and immediately intervene if a fight breaks out between students.
8) After 9 PM, no one may leave the Academy. Stop them by any means necessary.
4) If number 6 exists, it is false. There is no number 6 in the duty rules.
PS. Some rules keep changing or disappearing. Guards, please take note. Also, the phone is broken, so do not use it.
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‘End of Waiting’ was a puzzle-type dungeon where you confronted various ghost stories within the school and uncovered their origins.
Party members scattered upon entry.
They were randomly assigned roles, each with different difficulty levels.
The guard was among the highest difficulties.
The guard duty rules were a type of Napoletan ghost story.
Fulfilling death conditions resulted in instant death judgment regardless of user rank.
Even an SSS-rank user could get brutally killed if they slipped up.
The positive part was that Park Ha-yeon hadn’t drawn the guard role.
Role assignment depended on Luck stat—lower Luck meant harder roles.
Thus, with my lowest Luck, I was locked in as guard, so Park Ha-yeon wouldn’t die.
Minimum entry was two people, so I had to bring someone, but fortunately, I had clear experience and got guard.
If another kid had gotten it, things would’ve gotten messy.
Kids who didn’t know Napoletan ghost stories or have clear experience couldn’t possibly complete the mission safely.
In that case, I planned to rush through my role and come help the guard.
Luckily, excluding guard, the difficulties weren’t that bad, so it wasn’t impossible.
I checked the clock first.
Current time: 9:01 PM.
I went out and closed the school gate.
Outside was shrouded in thick fog—nothing visible.
Clang clang.
Suddenly, a student in uniform appeared from the fog and stuck to the gate.
“Mister! I’m late. Open up quick.”
I recalled the first duty rule.
[Academy attendance time is 9 PM. After 9 PM, close the school gate and prevent anyone from entering or exiting.]
“Mister? Mister! Mister! Mister. Mister. Mister.”
She seemed to be yelling noisily, but I ignored her and returned to the guard post.
Even I hadn’t done many expansion pack Easter egg dungeons.
Only cleared guard once.
So I didn’t know every possibility.
In these Napoletan ghost stories, sticking to the rules FM-style was safest.
Theoretically, clearing guard was simple.
Weed out the fakes until that girl from the bathroom shows up, and strictly follow the ‘real’ duty rules.
Ring ring. Ring ring. Ring ring.
Back in the post, the phone was ringing.
I reached for the receiver to answer, then pulled back at the sudden unease.
Without picking up, I checked behind the phone.
No cord connected.
Chills ran down my spine.
“Whew.”
I sat down and focused on the CCTV screens.
“Mister! Open the door! Open it! Openopenopenopenopenopenopenopenopenopen.”
Strange noises from outside, but I pretended not to hear.
Tick tock tick tock.
Time kept passing.
Soon 11:30 PM.
Phone rang occasionally, but I ignored it.
CCTV showed a normal school.
Students in class.
Students playing basketball.
Students standing in the hall as punishment.
Despite my high tension, nothing happened.
Outside the gate, that one student was still throwing a tantrum demanding entry.
“Huh.”
The ground rumbled.
Thud thud thud.
Dozens of footsteps.
Looking out, a massive horde of students was charging toward the gate.
Students running while making savage noises.
“Open the gate quick!”
“Open it!”
“Or you die!”
“Die!”
The uncanny valley horde charging en masse was pretty scary.
I drew my sword and stood before the gate.
‘Finally here.’
I’d done this before.
A defense game where no student could cross the gate.
Even one getting through meant instant death for me.
I swung at the lead student.
One stroke, two halves.
The student’s upper and lower body separated and collapsed.
These crudely made students had D-rank monster stats.
No way they could withstand my Strength A-rank, Agility B-rank strike.
Next, I stabbed the back of one climbing the gate.
Twisted and pulled out the blade; it went limp.
No time for ‘Inheritance’.
Every second mattered.
I eyed the next target.
One scaling the wall beside the gate.
Grabbed its leg with telekinesis and yanked.
Slashed the throat of the dazed one that hit the ground.
The blade bent slightly.
Mass-produced and well-worn, it felt unstable.
I figured I’d have to push hard and hurry.
“Laura! How do I use Magic Engraving?”
[Follow me. Overload.]
“Overload.”
Intense heat surged through my body.
Vast mana circulated, activating the magic engraving.
The geometric patterns etched into my skin began glowing red.
Now I could unleash higher-level telekinesis.
I spread telekinesis like a net, gathering the students.
My brain throbbed like it’d burst.
Even my forehead’s engraving provided computation assist, making it possible.
‘Just a bit more… just a bit!’
I bunched them up like penned fish.
They were squeezed tight, unable to move.
The crude humans clumped together were gross.
Maintaining focus, I approached slowly.
Slashed their throats one by one.
Dozens of headless corpses didn’t take long.
I panted roughly, scanning around.
All incoming students blocked.
By the last one, the blade was so dull it was trouble.
Took multiple hacks to sever the neck.
Harvest: three Orbs of Growth.
Shoved them roughly into my pouch.
Give to Park Ha-yeon later.
Outside the gate, that one student was still rampaging.
“Open the damn door! You fucker. Know who my dad is? Open it!”
Now cursing too.
Got a bit annoyed, so I shot back.
“Didn’t your mom tell you?”
Returned to the post.
Rumble—crash.
Thunder and rain started.
[If it rains, lock the guard post door and lie face down on the desk. Do not look under the desk at this time.]
Rule 5.
I locked the door and lay face down on the desk.
But the desk was small, hard not to see underneath.
Had to consciously lift my head a bit.
Pouring rain hammered the window like it’d shatter it.
Not even summer, yet a brutal downpour.
Suddenly, a weird energy from under my legs.
Something climbing up my leg.
“Ugh.”
Suppressed an involuntary sound.
Definitely a hand.
A wet, dripping hand.
It was stroking my leg.
Then a male voice from outside the window.
Hard to hear through glass and rain.
“Hey! ■■ You gotta come out! I’m ■■■ too! I’m Yu Gi-tae■■■■ but I know the duty rules ■■■ guy!”
Ignored it.
[If it rains, lock the guard post door and lie face down on the desk. Do not look under the desk at this time.]
Stay like this until rain stops.
“You ■■ look like ■■■! ■■, a ghost’s got your body ■■■■ it says! Or you’ll ■■ die!”
Doubt started creeping in.
Yu Gi-tae was the name on the rules.
Recalled my past clear.
‘Was there a scene like this?’
Couldn’t remember no matter what.
‘Guess it’s random encounter style.’
Didn’t happen in my playthrough.
So events weren’t fixed.
Randomly drawn from an event list.
‘What to do…….’
Now it was real gambling.
Facing a true ‘first-time’ ‘no-answer’ situation, my body trembled.
Until now, I knew the future.
No matter how tough, never scared.
But now?
‘Fucked. What to do….’
Thud thud thud.
Tapping on the glass.
Couldn’t help listening.
“Saw the duty rules ■■■ but those ■■■ change! Weird bastards keep ■■■■! Trust only that and you’ll ■■■ die! Don’t trust duty rules! Trust me■!”
The hand stroking my leg had reached my waist.
Something heavy on my thigh.
Imagining… probably a head?
Felt damp hair.
Goosebumps everywhere.
Rumble—crash.
Lightning struck.
‘Fuck. Just go out? Duty rules aren’t always right.’
One wrong choice here, instant death.
I truly felt my life threatened.