Breakdown IV
At this point, it must be emphasized once again that while a weak point is indeed a way to defeat anomalies, it is never a one-way street but always a two-way street.
"Come to rescue you? Student, what do you mean? I’m also caught here."
I replied this way to the kid in front of me not because I was a nasty sadist, nor because I was the eldest of the Gatchaman.
"What?"
"Do you see my name tag? I'm a guard here, a guard. Geez. When I came to my senses, the school had become very strange."
"Oh... So, you’re the guard..."
I felt sorry for the kid, but I had no intention of deviating even 1cm from my guard role-playing.
The reason I could rampage through the ‘School Ghost Stories’ was firstly due to the experience I accumulated as a regressor, and secondly because of my role as a 'guard.'
As a guard, it wasn’t strange for me to wander around the school without issue. That was the job of a guard.
As a guard, it wasn’t strange for me to know how to handle strange incidents occurring in the school. That was the skill of a guard.
In other words, the moment my mask as a 'night patrol guard' was broken, I would lose all the advantages I had enjoyed so far.
I had to help the stranded students of the ‘School Ghost Stories’ within the boundaries of my role-playing.
And for a skilled regressor like me, such restrictions weren’t even a penalty.
"Student, why do you look so haggard? Are you eating well? Here, have some of this."
"What? ...Oh, chocolate?"
It wasn’t just any ordinary chocolate. It was the world’s most powerful dessert. Crunchy chocolate wrapped in beautiful golden foil.
"Really? Can I really eat this?"
"Of course. I’m giving it to you to eat."
A moment later.
"Wow!"
The effect of the crunchy chocolate bar was remarkable.
"We, we didn’t do anything. We just woke up in the dorm and came to school, and suddenly, sniff. Suddenly ghosts appeared, and the teachers were all gone. The ghosts chased us... in the classroom, the bathroom, the playground, the cafeteria, the rooftop, everywhere... so many friends died..."
"There, there."
"I, I’m the student council president, sniff. I should be helping the kids, but I was too busy running away. I was scared. I’m sorry..."
Cheon Yo-hwa of the 117th cycle was undoubtedly the same person as the Cheon Yo-hwa of previous cycles, yet completely different.
Her mind was overwhelmed.
Her emotions were intense.
In other words, she lacked experience.
"It’s okay. Whether you’re the student council president or not, you’re all just young students. Surviving alone is already a big deal."
"Sniff..."
To level up to the 'complete Cheon Yo-hwa,' several more years of suffering and patience were needed.
The kid in front of me was destined to lead the group of survivors until the 750 students were reduced to 17.
But there were definitely advantages that an incomplete version had compared to a complete one. That was why I had personally dived into the ‘School Ghost Stories.’
"There’s plenty of chocolate, so take your time eating. How have you been escaping from the ghosts?"
"Sniff. A strange fairy periodically gave us quests? Some kind of missions. If we completed them, we were guaranteed food and a place to sleep for a short while... Originally, I moved with the other kids, but as soon as the latest quest started, we were forcibly scattered by the fairy..."
"I see."
I responded casually, but my heart was pounding with excitement.
What Cheon Yo-hwa had just said contained the situation I had longed for.
‘...As expected. This version of Cheon Yo-hwa still perceives anomalies correctly.’
Not just the ghosts of the ‘School Ghost Stories,’ but also the fairies of the tutorial.
Originally, the Cheon Yo-hwa of previous cycles couldn’t even perceive the fairies. Brainwashing. Or the effects of perception distortion.
But the current Cheon Yo-hwa showed no signs of any abnormality. She was seeing the anomalies as they were.
‘Then, there’s some trigger that makes her unable to perceive anomalies in the future... What could it be?’
I had to find that out now.
I gave a benevolent smile.
"You've really had a hard time, student. You must be very hungry. Do you want to eat this too?"
"Sniff... Oh, cup noodles!"
"Of course. And there are different flavors too."
"Jajangmyeon flavor and mala flavor!"
"Now, I’ll connect the portable battery I carried for power outages to the kettle, and just wait a bit... There, it’s done."
"Wow! Wow! Yummy!"
For a while, we enjoyed a moment of happiness.
"Guard ahjussi, I realized something. Life... Life is worth living if you can just eat delicious food..."
Cheon Yo-hwa showed a sage-like expression.
If Siddhartha Gautama had tasted modern factory-made jajangmyeon cup noodles under the Bodhi tree, he might have acknowledged that 'life isn’t that painful.'
"Of course. Even in such a world, those who live must continue living. I’m going to look around for other students, so stay healthy."
"Oh."
I turned on my lantern and started to move. Then, Cheon Yo-hwa hesitantly put down the cup noodle container and followed me.
"W-Wait. Guard ahjussi, can’t you take me with you?"
"Hm? You, student?"
"Yes! I, um, I was kind of like a leader before we were forcibly separated. There are many good kids, but there are also some who are mentally stressed... um. When they see the supplies you have, they might get bad ideas..."
I inwardly smiled.
It was a welcome suggestion. My goal from the beginning was to accompany Cheon Yo-hwa.
But there was a big difference between offering help and receiving a voluntary decision. I had slyly cast a line, and she had bitten it admirably.
"Are you saying you'll protect me?"
"Haha... Protecting is a bit much. Seeing you earlier, you seem really strong. I can just help you to avoid unnecessary troubles."
Her playful imitation of throwing one-two punches was amusing, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.
"Are you following me just because you want to eat more cup noodles?"
"Huh, caught... But, um, in such a situation, I think it’s important to move as a group. I’ll always walk ahead!"
"Hm."
Walking ahead in a void meant taking the most dangerous role and trusting me with their back. It meant she would be in a position where betrayal was impossible.
"Alright. If the student council president says so, I should believe you. Let’s move together for a while."
"Yes! Thank you, ahjussi!"
We walked along the 4th-floor corridor.
Suddenly, the back of Cheon Yo-hwa’s head caught my eye.
A gauze bandage stained with dark, crusted blood.
A trace of betrayal. A mental trauma.
"......"
"By the way, guard ahjussi, do you have any news from outside? We know nothing except the sparse information the fairy gives us."
"I don’t know exactly either, but the radio in the guard’s office sometimes picks up outside news. It’s no different here. The country collapsed, the military was wiped out, that’s all."
"Ugh... So, there’s no rescue team coming for us?"
"There won't be."
"I figured..."
Cheon Yo-hwa’s shoulders drooped visibly.
"Although it’s unfortunate, you should also prepare for the worst regarding your family outside. The world is very broken."
"Well, I’m not too worried about my family. They were all brainwashed by a cult and did strange things anyway."
"Hmm. A cult."
Step. Step.
Aside from our footsteps and voices, the entire school was eerie.
But there was no time to get bored.
"The flow of time itself is different between this school and the outside."
"What?"
"How long do you think it’s been since you were trapped here?"
"Um, let me see... Including the days I missed, at least 390 days..."
"Outside, it hasn’t even been three months."
"No way! Really?"
Cheon Yo-hwa's reactions were always exaggerated and varied.
Unlike the necromancer of previous cycles who smiled like a doll.
‘She was originally like this.’
It felt novel.
Despite having lived 117 cycles, there were still wells of human experience I hadn’t yet explored.
"Ahjussi."
Cheon Yo-hwa lowered her voice.
Human voices were fascinating. Surprisingly, simple vibrations and titles could convey a lot of information. I immediately focused on the front.
Thump, thump, thump, thud.
A ghost was opening a classroom door and coming out from the other end of the corridor. But not with its feet, but with its head.
Not a handstand, but moving its head with thumps. Each time it moved, the ghost’s head shattered, spilling blood around.
Thump, thump, thump, thud.
But the shattered skull pieces and blood quickly gathered back into the shape of a head. So, the ghost was repeating death each time its head hit the ground.
"Oh... Thump-thump-thump ghost..."
Cheon Yo-hwa whispered quietly.
"Do you know that ghost?"
"Yes, kind of. I’ve encountered it a few times. It’s slow, so it’s easy to escape. But if you let your guard down and get too close, you suddenly get transported to the rooftop and fall into the playground."
"You sound like you’ve experienced it."
"No, I saw a few kids fall from the rooftop... At least 17 kids died from falling that I saw. So, we call it the thump-thump-thump ghost or just the suicide ghost."
Thump, thump, thump, thud.
The ghost was getting closer, entering the classroom backdoor and exiting the front door.
Defeating the anomaly here was simple. Four exorcism methods immediately came to mind.
But the command I chose was ‘wait.’
Cheon Yo-hwa had just joined my party. It was customary to test the newbie’s skills.
"Alright. Please wait a moment."
Cheon Yo-hwa didn’t refuse this implicit test. A deep breath echoed in the dark corridor.
"... not. af..., sts..."
Murmuring sound.
I enhanced my hearing to listen in.
"...I am not afraid. Cheon Yo-hwa is not afraid of ghosts. Cheon Yo-hwa has strong courage..."
Darkness gathered around Cheon Yo-hwa's outline, tightening.
Thump, like a stretched rubber band snapping back, Cheon Yo-hwa dashed forward.
Her movements were as agile as they had been during our first encounter.
It wasn’t the kind of patronizing compliment like ‘good movements for an ordinary person.’
Cheon Yo-hwa was no ordinary person. She was an Awakener.
And she had survived 390 days in a tutorial dungeon of unprecedented difficulty.
Cheon Yo-hwa, with ‘good movements even for an awakener,’ quickly closed in on the ghost.
When she was about 4 meters away, she started to slow down. Then, swish, like a gymnast, she smoothly went into a handstand.
Thump, thump, thwack!
Cheon Yo-hwa's legs spun like windmills. In the upside-down position, her skills were good enough for a breakdancer to recruit her on the spot.
The ghost wobbled under her kicks. After two, three, and four hits, its balance was bound to break.
-Uwooooh...
"Hyahaaa!"
Cheon Yo-hwa grabbed the ghost by the hair and jumped up. The ghost, whose hair was wholly grabbed, had no choice but to be pulled up.
-Oh, oh, oh, oh.
"Hoh."
I almost whistled.
The ‘ghost that had to move with its head’ was standing upright. Its weak point had been struck.
Whether Cheon Yo-hwa instinctively grasped the exorcism method or stumbled upon it didn’t matter. In a fight against anomalies, results mattered.
Thud—
The ghost, whose hair was grabbed by Cheon Yo-hwa, turned into chunks of flesh from the toes up and fell.
In less than 7 seconds, its legs, body, upper torso, and head shattered and scattered across the corridor. The last bits of hair slipped through Cheon Yo-hwa's fingers.
Cheon Yo-hwa shook her hands in disgust.
"Ugh, gross... Anyway, how was that, guard ahjussi? I fight pretty well, right?"
"Not just well. There’s a reason you were picked as the leader. I’ll rely on you from now on."
"Hehe. Yes!"
The outcome of this battle wasn’t just about confirming Cheon Yo-hwa's combat abilities.
Anyway, that kid would eventually become one of the strongest awakeners in Korea, along with Dang Seo-rin. Her potential was already verified.
The real achievement lay elsewhere.
‘That kid. She just brainwashed herself.’
The secret to Cheon Yo-hwa's strength.
Right before she charged at the thump-thump-thump ghost, Cheon Yo-hwa had definitely murmured to herself.
-I am not afraid.
-Cheon Yo-hwa is not afraid of ghosts.
-Cheon Yo-hwa has strong courage.
It wasn’t merely reciting a prayer to boost her courage.
Because Cheon Yo-hwa's ability was necromancy, more precisely, ‘the ability to input the thought processes and behavioral principles of NPCs.’
‘She was slowly changing her own thought processes and behavioral principles to be advantageous for survival and combat.’
I entered the classroom where the thump-thump-thump ghost had emerged. I glanced at places where it was hard to notice, like the underside of the teacher’s desk, inside the school desks' drawers, and the locker.
死. 死. 死. 死.
Sure enough, there were talismans. Just like the ones found in the restroom. All were curses written in human blood.
The attendance book on the teacher’s desk had, coincidentally, the name Cheon Yo-hwa, suggesting this was her classroom.
"......"
"Ahjussi, it seems there’s no one around here! Let’s try over there! I’m sure some kids hid to escape the thump-thump-thump ghost!"
The sky outside was red. Through the broken windows, white birch trees were bleeding onto the corridor. The entire corridor was blood-red, like it had been pierced and torn apart.
"Alright."
In the middle of such a corridor, I lightly waved back at Cheon Yo-hwa, who was brightly waving her arm at me.
How had that kid come to be unable to perceive anomalies? Why had she attracted the interest of the Infinite Void and become its apostle?
And why were there so many curse talismans in Baekhwa Girls' High School?
I felt the answers were slowly forming in my mind.
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