The Manual Ghost Story's Demise

My head hurt. Not in the metaphorical sense of things going beyond my expectations and complicating matters—no, it was a literal, skull-splitting pain. Groaning amid the excruciating headache, I struggled to piece together the situation.

My original plan had been to lure the Manual Ghost Story all the way to the Outer God's seal and observe how it behaved outside its domain. Like a fish dragged from water—how ferocious would it get? How long could it last? How far could it go? I'd staked my life on it just to measure the ghost story's limits one final time.

But then an unforeseen mishap occurred. I couldn't explain exactly what happened. All I knew for sure was that the Manual Ghost Story had been exorcised because of it.

I recalled the message that appeared when the Manual Ghost Story vanished.

Static crackle.

The unreadable, fractured name in the resolution message for the Manual Ghost Story. And for some unknown reason, that fractured name suddenly vanished from the message window.

This was the first time since acquiring my Gift that the status window's contents had been altered in real time—but from it, I managed to find my own answers.

The root of all this lay in the location itself. The Manual Ghost Story had set foot in this Outer God's seal, stimulating it.

The Outer God sealed underground.

So the Outer God moved.

Yeah. Those fractured characters that appeared in the ghost story resolution message—■■■■—weren't a person's name at all.

Not a human. It was the Outer God.

The one who erased the Manual Ghost Story was the Outer God itself!

The unbelievably chilling truth was that throughout the entire process, the Outer God had remained fully sealed.

Which meant the power it projected onto the Manual Ghost Story was, metaphorically speaking, like scooping a single bucket of water from the ocean.

Yet even that was enough to obliterate the Manual Ghost Story without any meaningful resistance.

The flickering between students' appearances and the tentacle-covered monster? That was the Outer God's power assimilating the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Manual Ghost Story into itself.

Right before the exorcism, what looked like the Manual Ghost Story resisting the Outer God's influence? That wasn't the ghost story's power—it was the seal's. The seal was actively erasing the Outer God's influence on reality in real time.

Gulp. Feeling the gap between the Outer God and me all too keenly once more, I swallowed dryly.

Truth be told, I'd been thinking it while exorcising ghost stories up to now. That maybe the Outer God wasn't all that impressive.

But seeing it unfold right before my eyes like this, I had no choice but to realize the truth.

The Manual Ghost Story was the trickiest, most cunning ghost story I'd encountered since arriving at Everlight Academy. And it wasn't just scheming—it had real power as a ghost story. For me, even escaping was the best I could manage, let alone solving it.

And that ghost story died like an ant.

It's on a different level.

Compared to it, the differences between the Manual Ghost Story and other ghost stories were negligible.

As if mocking me by shoving our gap in my face—dismissing all my desperate struggles as pointless with effortless ease.

My arrogance up to now shattered in an instant.

Having grasped the full truth of what transpired underground, I headed straight back to the academy.

The academy, ascended once more from the depths, was still in the dead of night. The eerily silent, pitch-black corridors greeted me, but after the Outer God's seal, even that chilling quiet felt almost comforting.

"I thought the Outer God's seal was just some ordinary place with a god sealed in it... but to think it was this dangerous."

Thinking back to how I'd hidden there during the Infinite Loop Ghost Story, deluding myself it was safe—my spine chills just remembering it.

From now on, I shouldn't mess with the Outer God's seal so recklessly. You don't tease a chained mad dog.

It might look safe now because of the chain, but keep provoking it like this, and who knows what unforeseen accident might happen next.

This time, that accident luckily erased the Manual Ghost Story. But there's no guarantee the ghost story will be the one vanishing next time.

Still, for now... I need some rest. At least tonight, no more ghost story influence.

Returning to the on-duty room like that, exhaustion pulled me into sleep.

Just before drifting off, in my hazy state, a thought flickered.

Come to think of it, when the Outer God erased the Manual Ghost Story... I think our "eyes" met.

I think it said something to me... or maybe not...

If it... did speak to me...

What did it... say...?

....

....

....

.

.

.

The next morning.

Having safely finished my night shift, I clocked out to the Teachers' Dormitory, caught some sleep, and only returned to the academy after lunchtime.

My destination: the club room.

To share everything that happened during last night's shift.

"Teacher's safe, and no regression triggered, so nothing happened overnight, right? Good thing. Haha. I overreacted for nothing. Right?"

"...."

Elaine greeted me with a bright smile as I entered the club room. I stared at her silently, saying nothing.

"...W-Why? Why are you looking at me like that all of a sudden...?"

"...."

"Ah, Teacher Allen?"

"How could you actually not show your face at the academy just because I told you not to come!?"

.

.

.

Like that, I vented shamelessly at the students for a good while.

Payback for that fake ghost yesterday.

With my stress relieved, I soon turned serious and explained last night's events to them.

Getting trapped in the Manual Ghost Story.

Its otherworldly level.

And finally, how it got tangled with the sealed Outer God and vanished.

I tried to emphasize the Outer God's danger, but since they hadn't experienced it firsthand, it didn't seem to sink in.

Instead, what caught their ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠interest was that the resentment from resolving the Manual Ghost Story allowed Gift strengthening.

"Gift strengthening? That's a completely new concept to me."

"If you think about it, even awakening Gifts postnatally was unheard of from the start."

"Monks chant for blessings, but they eye the rice cakes." ...I wanted to say.

Truth be told, my heart was racing too.

My Observation Gift already outperformed others by miles. Its utility went without saying.

But if it grew even stronger here—what would it become?

I'd be lying if I said ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I wasn't excited.

"But Teacher, strengthening now would leave no resentment spare. Wouldn't it be better to stockpile extra for filling regression uses if needed, then strengthen afterward?"

While everyone, myself included, buzzed with anticipation for our first-ever Gift strengthening, only Elaine offered a cautious opinion.

"Prioritize more regressions, you mean?"

"Yes. Rather than an unknown strengthening whose changes we can't predict, shouldn't we value the immediately useful regression ability?"

"That's a solid point. Better the stable path than uncertain gamble. But we can't do that."

I'd thought the same as Elaine at first.

Even if Gift strengthening was possible, save it for when we had leeway—basic resentment use is for regression.

In other words, regression is always top priority, strengthening second.

Sure, that's orthodox and safe.

But witnessing even a fragment of the Outer God's power made me realize.

To beat the Outer God, we don't need more rewinds of the past.

We need power to elevate our level itself.

No matter how much we rewind, if it's the current us doing it, we'll never reach the Outer God—no matter if it's ten times, a hundred.

That just wastes resentment down the drain.

To resolve the Outer God, top priority is growth.

Regression is powerful, but the resentment it consumes is gone forever.

Gifts, once grown, last permanently.

So actually, growth should be top priority—regression second.

Elaine raised no further objections when I put it that way.

Thus, under my club members' watchful eyes, I finally opened the message window I'd been holding off since the Manual Ghost Story's demise.

My answer: Yes.

My Gift strengthening began.