A ghost story set in a school.
It’s a concept with ancient roots, passed down over generations.
When hundreds of teenagers are confined to a single building for hours on end, it’s only natural that eerie rumors, strange rituals, or ghost stories start circting. The Seven Wonders, Bunshinsaba rituals…
Of course, having gone through school myself, I always thought those were pretty entertaining.
Isn’t it a ssic, widely appealing horror narrative?
‘That’s why I was bold enough to contribute to the exploration records for the first time.’
Luckily, my entry didn’t get bombarded with ‘Not Rmended’ votes, and it stayed up. Encouraged by that, I even ended up crafting and posting an entirely original ghost story…
But now.
‘I’m… actually going in <i>there?’</i> The idea gave me a strange feeling.
Sure, hearing about entering a ghost story was chilling enough to make my spine tingle, but there was also this odd queasiness.
It wasn’t like the unease you feel holding apany manual.
It was…
Anticipation? Fear?
‘I don’t even know how to describe it…’
In any case, the manual had already been distributed, and I had to at least attempt to enter.
So, the question became how.
– Perhaps a brief ritual before bedtime is in order? I’d love to know your secret to falling asleep so easily, Mr. Roe Deer!
“It’s not that.”
I quietly made my bed.
“I’m nning to dream the ‘special dream’ thepany told us about.”
– Ah, you’re aiming to go to that ‘high school,’ then?
Exactly.
‘Even if it’s not this, I’ll have to enter some other ghost story anyway.’
Since only a select few met the conditions for entry each time, thepany assigned higher point values for sessful entries into this one.
‘Huu.’
In the dead of night at the officetel, I opened the ‘specific book’ given to me by thepany.
<i>– On a full moon night, read a specific book and fall asleep. You may wake up in a school at night.</i>
It was just as Squad Leader Lee Jaheon had exined.
What was unusual was that the “book” was actually a text file.
<b>Within the Shadow of Darkness.txt</b>
This file was rumored to asionally pop up in the ‘2000s Horror ssics Comption’, a sketchy collection of novels you could download online pletely disregarding copyrightws). R
It looked like it could hold enough content for two books. But when I opened the file…
“It all began on our graduation day.”
That single sentence was the entirety of its content.
Then, as I scrolled further, the text broke into gibberish.
?ub124?uac00?u0020?uc774?u0020?uae00?uc744…
And after a moment.
File cannot be opened.
The file vanished.
Ha.
Nothinges easy, huh?
‘I’m going to die of a heart attack at this rate…’
Just then, I heard cursing from the room next door.
Baek Saheon was likely preparing to enter this ghost story too. It was open to all employees, after all.
‘There’s a chance we might run into each other inside.’
Though the odds of Baek Saheon meeting the conditions for entry were slim.
This ghost story’s entry conditions changed every time it was essible.
‘But I know the <i>guaranteed entry</i> method mentioned in the mid-tote exploration records…’
I’d already prepared ordingly.
The critical question was how much information the employees had at this point.
‘Even if the records aren’t fullypiled, rumors might still circte given the nature of this ghost story.’
With every employee preparing to enter, this aspect was a bit concerning.
Hmm.
‘Maybe I should check.’
It seemed like a good time to deter any unnecessary meddling.
I walked up to Baek Saheon’s door and knocked politely.
<i>Knock, knock.</i>
“W-What the…!”
“I’ming in.”
The door creaked open. Baek Saheon red at me with a mix of surprise, fear, and irritation before forcing a smile.
“Knocking means waiting for a response like ‘Come in’. Isn’t that basic courtesy?”
“Oh, is that so?”
I stepped back out and knocked again.
<i>Knock, knock.</i><i></i>
<i>Knock, knock.</i><i></i>
<i>Knock, knock.</i><i></i>
<i>Knock, knock.</i><i></i>
<i>Knock—</i>
“You little— Aauugh! Juste in already!”
I opened the door and gave him a look of feigned pity.
“The oue would’ve been the same either way.”
“You… live a really inefficient life, huh.”
Baek Saheon seemed on the verge of bursting with frustration but managed to suppress it sessfully. Hmm, it felt like he was finally starting to grasp the basics of social etiquette—what a relief.
“Anyway, I’m really curious about what made you suddenly decide to barge into someone else’s room in the middle of the night for the first time…”
As he spoke, it seemed like he simultaneously came to his own conclusion.
“…Hey, wait. Don’t you have to enter the Darkness ording to thepany’s instructions, too? You know, that high school?”
“Yeah.”
“Ah, I figured. So you’re preparing for it right now?”
Baek Saheon’s eyes darted greedily toward my open door, scanning the area near my bed’s pillow with focused determination.
He was obviously trying to squeeze out any hints.
‘Wow.’
I didn’t bother closing the door, smirking openly.
“Yeah. That’s right.”
“Really? I heard you don’t know if you’ll actually enter until you fall asleep… But you seem so confident. Got some kind of secret method, huh?”
“You sure have a lot of questions.”
“Well, you came all the way to my room, so I figured I should return the favor by listening.”
I casually threw out,
“Need a hint?”
“…Well, if you’re willing to share?”
“Why should I?”
Baek Saheon ground his teeth and forced a smile.
“…How about three days’ sry transferred to you as a bribe?”
“I don’t need money. But I do want to know something.”
“You want to enter, right? Why?”
A brief but intense conflict flickered across Baek Saheon’s face.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to answer. It was that he was calcting if giving me the reason could somehow benefit him further.
Eventually, he came to a decision, speaking with an air of nonchnce.
“…I mean, there’s this rumor going around thepany.”
A rumor?
“Apparently, whatever items you obtain in that ghost story can be brought back into the real world… So, it’s a no-brainer to go in ande out with something, right?”
“They say it’s nearly impossible to die in there, too.”
Hmm.
So that’s how the employees currently perceive it.
A ghost storybeled as ‘profitable to enter’.