The First Ghost Story
My body felt lighter. Maybe it was from all the training I did in the Waiting Room. Or perhaps the repeated cycle of muscle damage and recovery through the room’s healing power had acted like rehabilitation. Even without relying on internal energy support, moving with pure muscle power felt much more natural now.
Thud—!
The sound of a massive hunk of scrap metal slamming into the floor echoed through the darkness. Even in the shadows, I could see an even deeper darkness. Those eyes writhing like earthworms. The repulsive pupils stared straight at me.
‘Don’t dodge it,’ the advice had said. So I didn’t. I met its gaze head-on. The statue’s movements froze instantly. Only its wriggling eyes remained vivid and alive.
“Huu….”
I exhaled deeply as I approached the thing. A scorching heat escaped between my lips. The Sacred Fire raging in my middle dantian rampaged through my twelve meridians, as if refusing to submit to such a pathetic worm. It flowed down my arm and seeped into my sword like it had a will of its own.
The sensation I had repeated all day long. I thrust my blade toward its flank.
Severing Mountain—
The blade carved through the air with crushing force.
Claaaang—!
My wrist went numb. It was blocked. The statue’s ringed greatsword had stopped my attack. So it could defend after all? The impact felt like it would shatter my bones, but the muscles I had swung millions of times in the Waiting Room somehow held firm.
‘Look at me.’
I didn’t avert my eyes. I wasn’t afraid anymore. The statue’s greatsword came crashing down from above. Unlike the first time I died, its movements were slow. The high school girl’s advice had been right. Ghost stories had rules, and not avoiding its gaze was apparently one of the most important ones.
I didn’t block it. Instead, I stepped aside.
Boom!
The greatsword split the floor. Cement fragments flew everywhere.
Splitting the Sea—
Rather than targeting the statue first, I swung at the neck of the horse it was riding.
The blade sliced cleanly through the horse’s neck.
As the statue fell with its mount, I drew every ounce of Sacred Fire from my dantian and poured it all into the tip of my sword.
Heavenly Demon Three Swords — Shattering the Heavens.
The condensed Sacred Fire exploded from within the blade.
Bang—!
There was no resistance. The sword slid smoothly through the statue’s neck. Shhh— Its body crumbled into black ash and scattered on the wind.
“Haa… haa…”
The recoil hit me late. My hand holding the sword trembled faintly. Because I had drawn my internal energy without restraint, my middle dantian felt hollow and empty.
It was only the first of five trials. But I had gotten my revenge on that damn decapitation fetishist. Who said revenge was hollow? Even as my legs gave out and I had to support myself with my sword, the thrill was undeniable. Hollow? Clearly spoken by people who had never tried it. Sour grapes, the lot of them.
‘Hmm?’
Something sparkled where the Kim Yu-shin statue had vanished. I narrowed my eyes. In the faint glow of a streetlamp lay a small bead no bigger than a candy.
Crack—
The moment I bent down and picked it up, it shattered. A sinister energy flowed out from the jet-black bead, invading my body through my acupoints. The Sacred Fire immediately flared up and devoured it. The dying flames used the new energy as fuel and roared back to life.
Before I could even savor the strange feeling of discomfort turning into refreshment—
Clank—
A sound like rattling chains suddenly reached my ears. A chill ran down my spine. I had just finished a battle. If a new horror appeared now, could I stop it? Thanks to the bead the statue left behind, my internal energy was stabilizing, but it still needed more time. Even kindling needed time to catch fire. I had regression on my side, but I had no desire to die unnecessarily by pushing myself.
I quickly slipped into a nearby building, calmed my breathing, and erased my presence.
Clank— Clank—
The chain sounds grew closer. Clank. The rattling stopped right in front of me. A powerful urge to check what it was surged up, but I held it back. After all, curiosity killed the cat.
I don’t know how much time passed. Clank— Clank— The sound gradually moved away. Soon the surroundings fell silent. I cautiously looked around. No one was there. Status window? Nothing appeared.
‘Clear conditions.’
Resolve the Five Great Ghost Stories of Inshin Middle School.
1. Statue (Completed)
2. Murderer
3. Human Specimen
4. Security Guard
5. Female Student ???
Oh, it appeared. “Completed” was written next to the statue. The human specimen was probably in the science lab. I was currently at the far end of the long main building. There was usually a floor guide map in the center of the main building.
I carefully walked down the dark hallway. Walking alone through a school with all the lights off made even me feel tense. Something weird could pop out at any moment, just like before.
“Whew.”
Fortunately, there were no interruptions. A massive floor guide map covered the wall of the central lobby. The science lab was on the second floor, and the fourth floor seemed to be regular classrooms. As I alternated my gaze between the map and the lobby stairs, I realized something. The main building had a basement.
Murderer.
Just reading the word made my heart uneasy. If there was a ghost story called “Murderer,” where would it be? The basement seemed most likely. Criminals had to hide their bodies, after all.
Actually, more than the fear the word “murderer” brought, hesitation came first. If it was a person, could I cut them down? Even if it was a heinous murderer, the moment I cut them, I would become a murderer too. Could I handle that?
I paused for a moment in front of the stairs leading to the basement. This was the world of the tower, not the real world. It was just a ghost story. Everything would disappear once I regressed. Even if the murderer in the ghost story was human, it wouldn’t be a real living, breathing person.
‘Let’s think of it that way.’
I tightened my grip on the sword and descended the stairs. A cold, moldy air rose to meet me. The basement was one floor. A narrow hallway stretched straight ahead, with what looked like a machine room and, at the very end, a door that appeared to be a storage room. A faint light leaked out from the storage room.
“Hic… hic…”
A very faint sobbing echoed down the hallway. Suppressing the goosebumps rising on my arms, I cautiously entered the storage room.
“Hic…”
Someone was crouched in the corner, facing the wall. Long black hair, small frame. A female student in a school uniform? Wariness and confusion hit me at the same time. Why was a girl alone here? Was she a ghost? The “female student” ghost story from the clear conditions?
While I was debating whether to speak to her, the girl turned around. She didn’t look like a ghost story at all—she seemed extremely ordinary.
“Who… are you?”
I had prepared all sorts of exaggerated fake identities—exorcist, occult solver, police officer—in case she screamed, but she asked calmly, much more calmly than expected. Not even startled by a strange man with a sword suddenly barging in. This girl was no ordinary person either. Or maybe she was so terrified that her sense of reality had shut down.
“I’m here to resolve what’s happening in this place.”
So I answered calmly as well. The female student looked me up and down and tilted her head.
“…Our school?”
“My uniform is a disguise, so don’t worry about it.”
“Ah… hic.”
The girl who had been sniffling wiped her tears and stood up. Even in the dim light, she was a stunning beauty who caught the eye. Was she training to be an idol or something? Her large, round blue eyes looked at me.
“Can you explain what happened?”
“I don’t really know. My friend sent me a fun ghost story on KakaoTalk, so I followed along… then it suddenly got dark, something weird appeared, and… hic.”
A female student alone in the place where I expected the murderer ghost story to be. I glanced behind her, toward where the faint light was shining.
“Did your friend do it with you?”
Her shoulders twitched slightly. I lowered my gaze. White shoes and the tops of her feet visible beneath her short school skirt. They were too clean for being in a dusty storage room. There were no tear stains on the floor either.
“I did it alone… weird things appeared so I was running around hiding in a panic and ended up here… hic.”
“Last question.”
“W-why are you being so scary…”
“You. Why don’t you have a shadow?”
I naturally took a step back and gripped the hilt of my sword tightly. The Sacred Fire in my middle dantian boiled explosively and then…
“A shadow? Huh, why, why isn’t there one? Why?”
Her reaction, more panicked than mine, caused the energy to subside sharply. Strange. If this was the moment she revealed her true form, shouldn’t she be saying something classic like “I’ll tear that uncle’s mouth beautifully” or “I’ll cut that uncle’s neck into a sparkling star shape”?
“What do I do, Mommm…”
Now she was fully curled up again, crying and calling for her mom. Let’s put her on hold for now. On the surface, she just looked like a terrified middle school girl.
Of course, I reached out toward the female student.
Swoosh—
My hand passed right through her body. Her eyes widened at the sight.
“Uwaaaaang, Mooooommm…!”
She began to wail loudly. If her crying attracted every ghost story in the area, I wouldn’t be surprised.
“Calm down. If you keep this up, all those weird things will come. Stop it.”
My head throbbed from having to comfort a kid when it wasn’t even in my nature.
“Hic.”
Even though she was a ghost, she seemed scared of weird things too, because she stopped crying.
“What’s your name?”
“■■■.”
What did she say? I clearly heard her voice, but I couldn’t make out the word.
“…What?”
“I said ■■■.”
A sharp beeping noise like a flatline on a vital signs monitor assaulted my ears. I looked at her name tag. ■■■. It looked like someone had scribbled over it with a marker.
“Looks like you’ve become a ghost.”
“I knowww… what do I do, Mom…”
The female student hugged her knees and sniffled. I stood beside her, keeping watch on the entrance. The chain sound I heard earlier kept echoing in my head.
“Since when have you been here?”
“What do you mean?”
“Crouching here like this.”
“…I don’t know. It was dark and scary.”
“Where were you when you followed the ghost story?”
“My classroom. On the fourth floor here.”
Was this girl really the “female student” ghost story, number five on the clear conditions? If she was, how was I supposed to resolve it? I had come down to the basement thinking the murderer ghost story would be here, but no matter how I looked at her, she seemed far too harmless to be the protagonist of a murderer story. My thoughts were getting complicated.
“Want to wait here? I’ll come back after resolving the other ghost stories.”
“No! Being alone is too scary… hic.”
She immediately protested. As expected. Even I wouldn’t want to stay alone in a place like this after finally meeting someone. Even though she was a ghost, she seemed like an ordinary middle school girl on the inside.
“I have conditions.”
“Conditions?”
“Don’t interfere while I’m moving. When I fight, stay far away.”
“…I’m a ghost. What could I even do?”
“That’s the problem. Neither you nor I know what a ghost can do. You might suddenly change.”
She was docile now, but who could guarantee she wouldn’t suddenly turn into a classic horror story?
The girl looked down at her own hands. Hands that couldn’t hold anything. Realizing it anew, her eyes grew moist again.
“I shouldn’t cry, right?”
“Yeah.”
“…You’re mean.”
The girl pouted.
“It’s all for your sake.”
“I know. I won’t cry.”
She brushed herself off and stood up.
Clank— Clank—
At the same time, an unpleasant sound came from the hallway outside the storage room. I immediately looked at the girl and put a finger to my lips. She nodded and hid in the corner. She was a ghost, yet she covered her mouth with both hands. Cute and admirable. I should give her a certificate later.
The ghost story approaching now was probably either the murderer or the security guard. If it had a physical body, the solution was simple. I’d cut it down.
Clank—
A massive shadow stretched across the gap in the storage room door. The Sacred Fire responded to my will and blazed up. The heat from my middle dantian flowed down my twelve meridians and settled into the blade of my sword. The Heavenly Demon Three Swords emphasized striking first—victory belonged to the one who attacked first.
Thud—
I exploded with Sacred Fire, kicked off the ground, and charged out.