The First Ghost Story

I repeated the Breathing of the Body and Absorption of Qi while recalling the pathways of my meridians. A thin thread of true qi lingered at the center of my chest, right at the middle dantian. The phrase from the Heavenly Demon Divine Art manual floated up in my mind: Refine the body, gather the qi.

Even ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠though I had never learned a single Chinese character, the meaning came to me naturally. Qi follows the will. The will guards the dantian. The incantations of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art that had been forcibly hammered into my brain guided the true qi straight to my middle dantian.

True qi didn’t only exist in the air. It existed inside my body too. From the qi that flowed through my twelve principal meridians like air, to the enormous power that lay stagnant in places like molten iron.

“Guh—!”

The moment all the qi from my twelve principal meridians rushed toward the middle dantian, an overwhelming pain engulfed my entire body. It was so intense I wanted to break out of my lotus position and roll across the floor. My whole body burned. It felt like every single blood vessel was being seared with a branding iron. The metallic stench of blood filled my mouth. I clenched my teeth so hard they felt like they might shatter. I endured the agony and kept breathing.

If the qi entering through my breath was a spark, then the power now surging through my twelve meridians toward the middle dantian was lava.

“Krrghhh!”

The smell of burning. A horrible scorched odor leaked out with every groan that slipped between my teeth. The stronger the pain grew, the clearer my will became. A single spark ignited deep inside my heart.

The voice echoed in my head like a hallucination. Swallow the pain. That alone shall become the kindling that fuels the sacred flame.

The instant the pain that had wrapped around my entire body converged at the center of my chest, my vision flashed white.

“Haa…”

I opened my half-closed eyes. The heat that had covered my body was gone without a trace. Instead, a fierce warmth pulsed near my heart. The sacred flame now settled in my middle dantian throbbed steadily, like a second heart. It felt strange, as if I had grown an extra heart.

With trembling fingers, I immediately pressed the write post button.

Being suspected so openly made me feel a little wronged. Maybe I should just show them.

I recited the Heavenly Demon Divine Art incantation again and drew out the spark of sacred flame settled in my middle dantian, pushing it downward.

“Oh.”

It worked. The true qi dug into my chest, traveled down through my abdomen, past my waist and pelvis, and finally reached the soles of my feet. This must be the Yongquan point. I carefully stood up, making sure I didn’t fall.

Aah. Just having true qi circulate through my lower body kept me from falling. I could walk. Slowly, slowly, slowly. I took a step. The forgotten sensation came back to life. So this was how good it felt to walk.

I didn’t even have time to bask in the emotion before the high school girl-jang asked.

Something felt like it was just about to click.

No wonder my doctor couldn’t figure out what was wrong with me. If it was something like this, it made sense.

The molten iron that had pooled in the middle of my twelve meridians. That was the innate qi that had been eating away at my body. The power of the waiting room had sealed the severed meridians, and the leaked innate qi had become fuel for the sacred flame. I no longer had to worry about my terminal illness.

A strange sense of relief washed over me. Suddenly, the image of my doctor’s smile came to mind. If she had known this, would she have been happy? I could never tell her now.

Tick. Tick.

Suddenly, a ticking sound reached my ears. It was perfectly regular, like the second hand of a clock. A clock?

A chill ran down my spine. I switched the screen.

Less than ten seconds left. I sprinted toward the Gate of Time and Space. My feet moved on their own. I could run now. With no time to feel joy, I grabbed the first weapon that caught my hand.

A brilliant blue light filled my vision.

Description: This world originally had no supernatural entities. However, a ritual performed by a female student for fun accidentally connected to the ҉҈̷̸̴̡̢̲̳̍̎̕■҉҈̷̸̴̡̢̲̳̍̎̕■҉҈̷̸̴̡̢̲̳̍̎̕ from beyond.

Aah, a world without supernatural entities. A world with no resistance to them. What would happen if such entities descended upon it?

World destruction.

Even the smallest supernatural entity can lead to world destruction. That is correct! This world was extremely unlucky. The snowball that began as a female student’s prank has grown far too large.

Completely preventing the occurrence of supernatural entities is not permitted. However! It is possible to travel to the moment right after the entities appeared, before they ascend into a world-destroying transcendent horror.

Opposer, you have stepped onto the turning point of the First Sinking Path World. Prevent the supernatural entities and save the First Sinking Path World. Doing so is the only way to save your own world as well.

A damp, musty smell filled the air. The terrible humidity stung my nose and brought me back to my senses.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

“Ptooey.”

I spat out the sand in my mouth, pushed against the ground, and stood up. Asphalt and damp moss. And darkness. It was a pitch-black night where neither the moon nor the stars could be seen. Only a faintly flickering streetlamp provided any light.

I lifted my head slightly. Next to a rusted iron gate the color of dried blood, a tilted signboard came into view.

It was an ominous name. With a creak, the iron gate opened by itself. The sound was like nails scraping across a chalkboard. I instinctively stepped back. That was when I realized it. A wall. The area around me was blocked off as if surrounded by an invisible barrier. The only opening was that sinister iron gate leading into the school.

Feeling a bit suffocated, I patted myself down. The patient gown I had been wearing in the waiting room had changed into a neat school uniform. So it automatically gives you clothes that fit the world’s setting.

I thought of the gallery. I hadn’t even finished talking before I was pulled away. I tried to open the gallery in a hurry, but—

It wouldn’t open. I couldn’t get real-time advice. For now, I picked up the weapon that had fallen to the ground. It was a sword shorter than a wooden practice blade, but surprisingly heavy. I hadn’t even properly asked about swordsmanship in the gallery. Would I even be able to swing it?

I had to. There was no way a sword would be placed in the waiting room for no reason. It would definitely be useful. I sent the flame I had drawn from the sacred fire in my middle dantian not only to my lower body but to my upper body as well. Let the flames flow. Thinking of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art calmed my mind.

I gripped the sword and gave it a test swing. Whoosh. Much lighter than before. After swinging it a few more times, I started to get the feel for it. Good. With this, I could do it. Confidence welled up from somewhere inside me.

I gripped the sword tightly and cautiously stepped through the school gate. The sight of the old concrete building turned dark and grimy, along with the creaking of wooden structures whenever the wind blew, made goosebumps rise all over my body. The desolate school scenery wrapped in darkness was enough to send chills down my spine just by looking at it. My legs trembled from instinctive fear.

School Ghost Stories was the most basic classic horror tale. Why was it basic? Why was it a classic? Because it worked so well. Of course, compared to Hospital Ghost Stories, which was also a basic classic, school ghost stories were nothing but a lesser counterpart.

I had spent over ten years lying in a hospital bed. Every time I misbehaved, my doctor would scare me with countless hospital ghost stories, and I had overcome every single one of them. Thinking like that stopped my legs from shaking.

I moved forward slowly, warily scanning my surroundings. Thud. Thud. Thud. The sound of something regularly striking the ground grew closer. Something enormous was moving in the pitch-black darkness.

The first clear condition: The Statue. There was no need for a long explanation. A statue of General Kim Yu-sin on horseback was blocking the entrance path. If I wanted to enter the school, I had to deal with it first.

I looked back and forth between the sword in my hand and the moving Kim Yu-sin statue. That thing? The statue looked at least three meters tall. The weapon it held was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a massive ring-pommel sword nearly two meters long. With this? On the other hand, my sword was a cute little thing only eighty centimeters long. They wanted me to take down that hunk of iron with this adorable little sword?

The confidence that had risen inside me sank straight to the bottom. There were no other entrances. Anywhere else I tried to go was blocked by an invisible wall. My thoughts accelerated like lightning. There had to be some method. Even though it was grandly called the First Sinking Path World, this was essentially floor one. Floor one was basically a tutorial. There was no way the difficulty would be set that high.

A strategy. Yeah, there had to be a strategy. Find a hint, find a hint, a hint… There wasn’t one. No matter how much I looked around, there was no hint to be found. Or was it a luck-based challenge? The thought crossed my mind, but I couldn’t bet my life on luck. The only things I could rely on now were the Heavenly Demon Divine Art I had just begun learning and the sword in my hand.

If I poured all the sacred flame from my middle dantian into the hand taiyang meridians and swung with everything I had… It would put an enormous strain on my meridians and muscles, but it was worth trying.

I organized my thoughts.

1. If it’s luck-based, I’ll put it off until later. It said to resolve the five major ghost stories, but it didn’t specify the order.

2. Even if it’s not, I’ll run away as much as possible.

3. If I can’t avoid it, I’ll use my final strike.

I circulated the sacred flame little by little through the hand taiyang meridians and finished my test. I could feel my breath growing hot as it slipped between my lips. I moved forward as quietly as possible, muffling my footsteps.

Thud. The thing stopped. It was looking at me. I instinctively avoided its gaze.

Slice.

Pain flooded in. My mouth opened but no sound came out. A scream caught in my throat, and only a hissing sound of air leaked out.

Thud. The world spun round and round, and something falling echoed in my ears. Only then did I realize. It wasn’t the world that was spinning. It was my head.

Black earthworms wriggled. The wriggling black earthworms were looking at me. The moment I saw those disgusting, repulsive eyes, uncontrollable rage surged up.

I’m dying like this? After finally escaping my terminal illness? So pointlessly? To a ridiculous monster like this?

My thoughts grew fainter. I can’t accept this. I can’t accept an ending like this…