Ghost Story Club - Chapter 3
Warning. This novel is a horror novel rated 15+ and might include content that’s not suitable for all readers, read at your own risk
First Ghost Story – Announcement (3)
[Again, informing that. Due to a power outage in the school there is currently no electricity. New students are requested to come to the playground as we can’t broadcast through the TV.]
The students grumbled as they went out of the classroom.
I sat motionless while dazed.
Memories suddenly filled my mind as most of the students left and only a few people and I were left in the classroom.
“Is the female teacher going to come and send us out of the classroom soon……?’
It had already been three years.
However, the unforgettable memories were still vivid in my mind.
Sure enough, I soon heard footsteps from the hallway, and a young female teacher found us, stopped and looked into the classroom.
“Why aren’t you guys going out?”
“…….”
When I looked around the classroom, I saw three students besides me.
A small girl with a puppy-like face who looked like she still hadn’t gotten out of middle school.
And a small man wearing glasses that looked like a young gentleman from a rich family.
Lastly, a female student that had dyed blonde hair and was lying on her stomach at the back desk.
These three students came back to my eyes.
“Come on, hurry up and leave. Also wake up the kid sleeping in the back.”
After confirming that we were going to leave, the teacher leaned in front of the classroom door with her arms folded as if she was about to leave.
The girl with the puppy face and the boy in glasses hesitated and looked at each other.
That female student that slept in the back seat was the type who looked like a bully.
The blonde hair, as well as the too big and colorful padding.
‘That girl must be scared to go and wake her up.’
I sighed, haa.
I tried remembering what happened last time.
I think she probably woke her up on her own because they waited too long.
I was still dazed at the fact that I came back after three years, but at times like this where I had to act fast it was better to organize my thoughts.
“…I’ll wake her up.”
I spoke to the squabbling students and headed towards the back seat.
No matter what happened, in the end, I had lived three years longer than these kids.
I already finished my high school life, and I was the only one who came back just before the graduation ceremony for a university.
She was a female student so I couldn’t touch her casually, but the hierarchical relationship between the classmates and the school lunches only felt funny to me.
“I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I……”
But why was my voice shaking so much?
Once again, I cleared my voice and continued to talk.
“I… I…”
Hmmm.
“Excuse me… Teacher told us to come out..…”
She didn’t have any reaction so once I gathered the courage to touch the padding the scary girl raised her head with a frown on her face.
Eventually, the four of us followed the teacher out of the hallway.
‘Damn… If we do the entrance ceremony like this, things will go the same way……’
It couldn’t be like this.
I didn’t want to face the situation where I felt the pain of my head exploding or run away until I passed out again.
I had to create a variable, but what should I do?
My first thought was that I should avoid the entrance ceremony.
‘But how?’
It looked like the teacher would also be heading to the playground for the entrance ceremony, so she wouldn’t have to leave us since our paths overlapped.
I desperately wondered if there was a way to secretly hide somewhere, and then decided to pretend to be sick.
“Excuse me, teacher.”
“Yes?”
As we went down the stairs the teacher looked back after I called out.
“I have had anemia since I was young….. If I stand for a long time or get a lot of sunlight, I often pass out.…..”
“Is that so?”
The teacher looked at me observingly with a hmmm sound and said.
“You don’t look that skinny, do you?”
“Actually, there are many prejudices about anemia, but it actually has nothing to do with weight…”
“Really?”
The teacher looked at me carefully, contemplated…
“Is it that bad? Can you not last through the entrance ceremony?”
It seemed like this was my time, so I pretended to be sick and groaned even more.
“Yes, especially today, my head feels very dizzy… It might be a little dangerous if I stood outside……”
I shook my head with a frown with the nuance that I’m already dizzy.
And taking advantage of the shaking eyes of the teacher, I quickly added a few more words.
“When I go out, there will be a lot of people who can see me, so it might be a bit burdensome to pass out in the middle… If I pass out, my mom will cause a scene at school……”
If a problem broke out because of me, my parents would be furious, it gave off an atmosphere of asking if it was okay or not.
In fact, for this person, me participating in the entrance ceremony was not a very important issue.
She just saw some kids messing around on her way and brought them with her, but it’s not something she has to feel responsible for.
The teacher glanced up and down again and nodded to show that she had decided .
“I see. Then teacher will take you to the nurse’s office. Since you don’t know where it is, let’s go together. You can just rest there during the entrance ceremony.”
“Yes, thank you.”
It seemed to be a success.
“The three of you must go to the entrance ceremony instead of taking a different path in the middle. Okay?
“Yes……”
The remaining three people helplessly headed to the playground.
The expression of the bully’s eating shit was worth seeing.
The teacher took me to the nurse’s office and then went to the playground.
I laid in bed and rested for a while, then went back to the classroom while no one was watching.
“I am scared that I will get attacked if I just lay in bed.’
How to change this situation… I had to find a variable.
Variables!
Come to think of it, when I watched TV in the hospital after surviving in my last life, I remembered that experts mentioned the word variable while sharing opinions on the case.
[Then what was the difference between the survivors and the dead? The survivors were also attending the entrance ceremony with them.]
[Eh, that’s really questionable. First of all, most people who quickly fled the scene survived, so it’s important to know how quickly they left the scene, but in reality, some of the people who escaped from the scene first also died.]
[It’s not just how quickly you got out of the scene, there are more variables to it.]
[It is like that.]
In fact, even though I jumped over the main gate and left school the first time, my head still exploded and I died.
And the second one, I barely survived, perhaps because I ran farther away.
I heard that some of the people who ran away to a similar distance as me also had their heads explode.
It wasn’t about running away quickly or far.
There must be something more that helped us survive.
‘What could it be? Why did I survive then?’
Creaaak.
When I opened the door of the classroom while thinking about the situation, I saw an unexpected scene.
The three who looked like they were going out to the playground were here.
A young-looking girl, a man with glasses, and a girl that looks like a bully.
They were sitting back in the classroom.
What was this situation?
“Why are you here?”
“Oh, well…”
When I asked suddenly, the young-looking girl hesitated in embarrassment and replied while pointing to the girl lying down.
“Well, I was going to go… Suddenly, she went back to the classroom and we……”
While the teacher was taking me to the nurse’s office, there was no one watching, so it looks like the bully coolly came back to the classroom.
And it seems that this girl and the man with glasses just followed along……
“You guys are quite courageous.””
“That……”
She was a visibly fidgety girl.
Of course, we may be the same age, but her actions and appearance made her seem younger than me.
I was resting because of a proper reason, but they seemed to be worried since they were just playing around
Still, she didn’t have to be so restless.
‘I’m also in the same position.’
Since this happened, I thought I should at least talk to them and find some clues.
Unlike my usual personality, I introduced myself first.
“My name is Lee Jun. The name only has one syllable.”
Then the girl hesitating also said her name.
“My name is Yoo Seonah……”
She also added a nice to meet you in a timid voice while blushing.
Looks like she was not good at talking to people.
Then, the man next to her with glasses also looked at me in a hard tone and greeted me.
“I’m An Gyeongwon. I heard you had anemia. Is it alright for you to stay here?”
I referred to him as the man with glasses because he wore glasses, but I didn’t expect his name to actually be related to glasses.
(An Gyeong (안경) means glasses)
“Yes, It’s okay. The anemia was just a lie.”
“What?”
Gyeongwon the man with glasses was shocked while Seonah who looked young giggled.
“I think it’s you, not us, who has a strong courage.”
“Well… Somehow.”
At first I wondered ‘Why did he use such a hard tone’ but then I thought of how at the beginning of first semester everyone has to set up a rough concept for themselves.
The bully girl who was sitting behind was just sitting in a sleeping position, I wasn’t sure if she intended on participating in the conversation.
I asked Gyeongwon and Seonah to see if I could find a clue.
“But why were you sitting in the classroom instead of going out in the first place?”
“I……”
Seonah hesitated and answered first.
“I am usually slow to move……”
“I see.”
I guess there wasn’t much of a reason.
It was then.
A message popped up in my mind in front of me.
[Your understanding of Yoon Seonah has increased by 5.]
[You can check the details after unlocking the status window.]
‘A mysterious game-like system…… ‘
When I tilted the message while thinking, Gyeongwon replied.
“I didn’t go out because It reminded me of the ghost story from the school announcement……”
“What?”
“Announcement broadcast ghost story. It’s about a blackout.”
Gyeongwon, who noticed my puzzled expression after saying that, explained further.
“One day, there was a power outage at school, and suddenly a broadcast sounded out from the broadcasting room asking students to go to the playground. This is a really famous story, you didn’t know about it??”
“Ghost story……?”
Ghost Story.
I can’t believe this word was mentioned here.
I put up the message window in front of me.
「Welcome to Nakseong High School that is full of mysteries and secrets.
Uncover the dark secrets hidden around the school, or fight against urban legends and ghost stories……」
A word that I had seen over and over again even after death, ghost story.
Did it have anything to do with my current situation?
“……I’m sorry, but can you explain it in more detail?”
“Huh?”
When I asked him too seriously, Gyeongwon seemed to have gotten embarrassed for a moment.
“What part?”
“That ghost story. I want to hear it in more detail.”
“Well…….”
He looked around puzzled, but soon nodded and started talking as if reading a book.
“One day, during study hall there was a power outage at school. The students were surprised since it suddenly became dark, but soon after, an announcement broadcast sounded out. It was a broadcast asking students to gather at the playground because they would have everyone go home early because of the blackout.”
Perhaps he was the type that liked to brag about his knowledge, but Gyeongwon continued the story without feeling awkward.
[Your understanding of An Gyeongwon has increased by 10.]
[You can check the details after unlocking the status window.]
Before I knew it, Seonah was also quietly focusing on the story next to me.
The ghost story of the announcement broadcast was as follows.
There was a power outage, so a broadcast was made asking students to come out to the playground.
The students were overjoyed and hurried out to the playground with their bags packed, but the top student of the school just sat there in the classroom.
The second-place student asked the top student why he didn’t go out out of curiosity.
Then the top student of the school answered.
‘How can there be an announcement when there’s a blackout?’
“……”
I waited patiently for the next sentence and when it didn’t come asked.
“Is that it?”
“Yes, this is the end. Is it your first time hearing it?”
“No, I think I heard it a long time ago……”
Was it ‘I Like Scary Things’?
I believe I had read it in a book once when I was young.
“Is there no behind-the-scenes to the story?”
“Yeah, it’s supposed to end here.””
“…I see.”
Looking at my serious face, Gyeongwon coughed once and added to it.
“But there are so many versions of this, so there is a version where it says that the 1st and 2nd place of the school looked out the window and saw that the playground was a bloodbath……”
The playground was a bloodbath.
Reflecting on those words, I asked subsequently.
“What happened to the 1st and 2nd place in the school? Did they survive?”
“Well, judging by the flow he probably survived. But I can’t say for sure after all it didn’t really happen, it’s just a ghost story.”
Gyeongwon replied with a smile, wondering if I was strange trying to dig into these useless stories.
“You sure are being serious about a kids story……”
And then someone laughs.
“But didn’t you also choose to not go outside because you thought about it seriously?”
“Well, it did bother me. But it’s not necessarily because of that.”
Gyeongwon was a little shy, but he started talking about how he liked this situation, where he could brag about how smart he was.
[Your understanding of An Gyeongwon has increased by 10.]
[You can check the details after unlocking the status window.]
“If there is a power outage, we wouldn’t be able to use the microphone equipment on the podium anyway, so I wondered how the entrance ceremony would continue, and if it didn’t work, we would be called back to the classrooms.”
So his situation was not wanting to go back and forth for no reason.
“So I sat down because I thought it would be easier not to go out from the beginning.”
“…I see.”
In other words, it was just annoying.
This guy also didn’t have a serious reason.
“By the way, what do you think about the fact that the speaker actually sounded during a power outage?”
At least Gyeongwon seems to know more than I did.
ISo asked the question that came to my mind.
Although we were talking as if it was a joke, the speaker could be heard even though there was an actual power outage.
How did it actually happen?
“Hmm, that’s……”
He thought about my question for a moment.
Then he slightly frowned his eyebrows and replied.
“Isn’t it just that the nuclear power plant that generates electricity is different?”
“……Really?”
“It’s a guess. I don’t actually know.”
The nuclear power plants that generate electricity are different.
Was that possible?
Of course, I didn’t know since I was not an electrician.
However, I didn’t think it was a good idea to bring scientific principles as a way of ignoring this phenomenon.
Behind this was an indescribable mystery, such as the explosion of a healthy person’s head.
I read the floating message again.
「Welcome to Nakseong High School that is full of mysteries and secrets. Uncover the dark secrets hidden around the school, or fight against urban legends and ghost stories…….」
Ghost stories.
That one word bothered me a lot.
Was it related to this incident that is happening now?
‘If so……’
The reason why the broadcast could flow out even though there was a power outage was due to the intervention of the ghost story.
If the ‘Nakseong High School, the heads of 300 people exploded’ and ‘Announcement Broadcast Ghost Story’ are related to each other, the first method I will try is rather simple.
I just have to sit in the classroom like the school’s 1st and 2nd places in the ghost story.
They seem to have survived like that in the story.
“Excuse me……”
Suddenly, Seonah hesitantly spoke out.
“I also think it’s a fun story……”
What was it all of a sudden?
Seonah spoke a few beats slowly.
She said she was slow but this slow?
‘Oh, I see.’
I didn’t notice it since I was thinking about the system message in the air, but Seonah was looking at me beyond the message window.
I was reading the window, but Seonah seemed to have felt that I was staring at her.
Then, in the end, she expressed her own appreciation of the story.
“Sorry, sorry! I wasn’t looking at you for an answer.”
“Ah……”
It was then.
I started hearing the principal’s voice as he began his speech from the window.
“Ah, Dear freshman of Nakseong High School.”
Without knowing anything, the principal smiled and tried to start his speech.
Originally, the principal’s head would explode before he could speak even 3 sentences.
“It really is a pleasure to meet you.”
I prayed that the method of just sitting still would work.
“First of all, I would like to sincerely welcome you to this school.”
Please…
“I’m the principal of this school……”
My heart pounded.
“As the one in charge……”
“Is…”
“……My name is Shin Munhyeop. Our Nakseong High School is Gwanak-gu’s leading school with its history and tradition of 40 years that has produced numerous outstanding talents since it’s opening in 1984. And all of you, who will become a global talent in the 21st century, are creative people that will lead the future of the Ubiquitous network…… .”
Survive!
I survived!
[D-class ghost story – You have survived by encountering the announcement broadcast ghost story.]
[You have acquired 5 ghost story points.]
At the same time, a message popped up in front of my eyes.
“Haaaa… Damn……”
I put my hand on my chest.
I couldn’t believe I was done with this!
All I had to do was have one person sit still in the classroom but I had been running around all this time!
‘Had there been no freshmen in their classrooms till now…….?
Soon, the reason came up.
The female teacher.
This was because that damned female teacher walked around the hallway and took all the students out of their classroom……
It was ridiculous, but at the same time, I felt the tension go away as my body relaxed.
My body and mind were so nervous ahead of my third death.
I thought we would be the only ones who survived while everyone else died like in the story.
Was it because the tutorial was the tutorial, or was it because there were several versions of the story like Gyeongwon said?
Anyway, I think this situation has been resolved.
‘All you have to do is sit still…… Wooo.’
I suddenly felt stupid……
Gyeongwon and Seonah were the types who didn’t have much tolerance for swearing, so they were a little startled when I suddenly said ‘Damn’.
However, he seems to be moving on without paying much attention.
As I swept my chest, other messages came to mind.
[Tutorial – Entrance Ceremony]
「You are an ordinary, shy student who is not good at anything in particular, and led a boring school life because of your ordinary charms.
Today is the first day of high school.
It’s a day full of excitement for others, but you had no special expectations just like the things that had happened until now.
However as the entrance ceremony took place, you had the feeling of ‘this school doesn’t seem like an ordinary place’.
And this ominous premonition is that the events you will experience from now on are not simple criminal ones.
It’s hinting that you are going to face things that are far more bizarre and crazy, but anyways, today is the first day of a long three years.
You ignore the feeling.」
〈Quest-Tutorial〉
○ Make 3 friends to create a club. (Progress 3/3)
○ Rewards: 10 Ghost Story Points, Unlocking Status Window.
[You have completed a quest.]
[You have acquired 10 ghost story points.]
[The status window has been unlocked.]
Several messages, such as the game system, popped up in my mind, but I had no time to look at them.
“You can’t imagine what I just went through.”
“……?”
They both looked at me with strange eyes.
Whether they understood or not, I simply sighed and shook my head.
And first of all, I decided to spend this time happily chatting with my two new friends in front of me.
There was nothing like useless chatter with friends when feeling anxious.
