The more I look at it, the more ordinary it seems. He doesn’t seem to look fit to be the head of a group of idiots who represent Eungwang High.’
This was the class leader of Year 3 Class 0, seen through the twilight moon and artificial lighting.
He was the type of person that would be easily forgotten if you didn’t look carefully. It would have been difficult to remember if it weren’t for the shocking first meeting, and his title of the class president of the Year 3 Class 0. If there was one peculiar thing, it was that he was wearing a school uniform at this point in time.
‘Looking at the nameplate, the name… Does that read Woo-hwan? Or maybe it’s Ki-Hwan.’
In the game, the Year 3 Class 0 was not directly entangled with the story. However, I had never heard of the name Woo Ki-hwan.
[Anyway, the chief and the second seat are ‘Do Won-Woo-Hwan’.]
These words were repeated every test period among the current Year 3 students of Eungwang.
‘This third-year senior was the crazy person from the representative of that Eungwang incident!’
There were cases like Seong Guk-eon, who belonged to Class 0 for all three years, but was also the student council president this year.
First of all, since he was my senior, I decided to say hello.
“Hello.”
“Hi. Are you the Year 1 Class 0 vice president? What is going on at this hour?”
It was strange.
‘That’s such a very normal and normal reaction!’
There was no sign of madness or childishness in his teacher-like behavior. I guess that was an acquired skill people like student council president Do Won-woo and Jiik president Seong Siwan possessed.
“Because I belong to the newspaper department. I was researching ghost stories.”
“Yes? It’s a lot of trouble until late. I’m reading the school newspaper. Last time, you wrote about forest fire prevention and smoking cessation campaigns in the case of Bang Yoon-seop, right? That was quite hard.”
“…Thank you.”
It was a response worthy of entering the top of the common sense among the people I met in this world. My discomfort with this situation was only getting bigger and bigger.
“But it’s pretty good to be interviewed…”
“Yes?”
Woo Ki-hwa’s eyes widened as he shook his head. “Isn’t the reason you came to Cheoniksan at this time to cover the energy of the universe? Go away!”
Ah, so this guy had some taste.
Perhaps it was because Moon Sae-ron or another newspaper member had lingered around the Year 3 Class 0 students while covering the energy of the universe. “
I’m here to cover ghost stories.,” I said, all while displaying the hologram material I had prepared in advance in case I met someone.
[On a moonless night, all the hiking trails of Mt. Cheonik lead to the Ghost Gate]
Scraps from a general bulletin board related to this topic.
This was the Cheoniksan main hiking trail guide map. There was information on the gates registered in the Player Network, a player-only information sharing site, and a dummy article I wrote halfway through.
Woo Ki-hwan carefully looked at the holograms I had developed. “Are you kidding me again? Well, it’s summer now, so there’s nothing strange about investigating now…”
Woo Ki-hwan, who had his doubts, spoke like the owner of Mt. Cheonik.
“Great. Admission to Cheoniksan is permitted, Class 0 junior!”
Wasn’t this Cheoniksan a noble family? Perhaps the good mood I was expecting for still wasn’t there.
“Now, it will be difficult to get away from you because of this, so I might as well make the most of it. Give the newspaper club some reasonable food.”
Woo Ki-hwan spoke in a tone that was gradually getting worse. It was a shame that I almost treated this madman as common sense until now.
“I’ll tell you the secret story of Cheoniksan. Follow me!”
He didn’t have to tell me that. It was difficult to refuse. ‘It would be awkward for a newspaper clerk who works hard enough to come to Cheoniksan at night to refuse to give material to a senior…’
Thus, the Cheoniksan ghost story tour began with anti-force. I had been thinking about using some excuse to get out of the way.
‘This ended up being more useful than I thought.’
A mountain climber obsessed with the energy of the universe, Woo Ki-hwan, was an expert in Cheoniksan.
He went on to introduce Cheoniksan without a hitch. Hidden side roads, shortcuts, mineral springs, buildings, pavilions, bridges… Information that was not on the Eungwang High website or newspaper department materials was poured out.
“Okay, the next one is a small canyon that comes out along the mountain road in Heukseok Valley of Mt. Cheonik. There is an overpass that leads to the canyon on the other side…”
And, with every place we went, Woo Ki-hwan told ghost stories. A dead man wandering through the bridge between the White Rock Canyon and the Black Rock Canyon… Five wells appearing on the ridge leading to Cheoniksan Baekunbong… A goblin fire swaying on fallen leaves… A ghost that can only be seen when it snowed near the star reading rock…. The sound of the barking of a guide dog from the underworld that was wandering in this world was heard from the other side of the Windswept Pass…
‘If there’s a dog barking in the middle… … Maybe that’s Olmu.’
However, the sound of our kind and cute Olmu barking couldn’t possibly be a ghost story. To be a guide dog to the underworld, that was simply nonsense.
Perhaps it was another dog barking, or perhaps it was just hallucinations.
“Oh, come to think of it, I haven’t heard that hell dog barking since this year.”
“From the beginning, there must have been no such thing as a guide dog to the underworld. There is a lot of gossips mixed up in the original ghost stories.”
“I’ve heard it a few times.” “It would be a hallucination. You heard it wrong.”
“…Why are you completely denying this myth? Well, let’s move on to the next joke.”
Woo Ki-hwan tilted his head. With this, we finished the search for the Cheoniksan ghost story spot until dawn. “As long as you don’t cross the cosmic energy, we will always cooperate.”
After finishing exchanging device codes with Woo Ki-hwan, who sounded crazy until the end, I headed back to the dorm room.
‘It was unexpected that I met Woo Ki-hwan, but today’s ghost story tour will make it easier to explore Mt. Cheonik.’
I hadn’t figured out the ghost story yet, but I had checked the hidden myths, side roads, and buildings of Mt. Cheonik. The hologram map I filled while listening to Woo Ki-hwan’s story was now full of notes.
‘Is there any real story in these Cheoniksan ghost stories?’
Hwang Jiho, who only laughed meaningfully, came to mind when talking about the ghost story.
‘He must know something.’
When I thought of him, the best idiot in my class and the protector of a new role, I was reminded of the Deer elixir that had been tormenting me until last week.
‘By the way, my eyes seem to have improved tonight.’
Even when I was wandering around Cheoniksan, I thought I was capable of seeing well even in places without lights.
‘Shall we try it?’ I looked at the other side of Mt. Cheonik through the dormitory window. ‘The darker the baron’s eyes, the better the performance.’
In a game-wise way, the search range of the White Tigers increased as the map became darker. When one was to stare into the distance for a few seconds, the sensation of a synoptic wave in his eyes caused his field of vision to change rapidly.
‘Uh… !’
In the darkness that had not yet risen was a pine tree planted on top of Cheoniksan Mountain. The pine cones on the tree… the pine needles around the pine cones. All of it was clearly visible. After a long distance, I could see all the things that could not normally be seen from this level of illumination and distance.
‘These are the eyes of a baron!’
I blinked once, and a burning pain in my eyes flashed through my eyes for a moment. It wasn’t unbearable, but for a moment I closed my eyes because of the pain, and my vision ended up getting sealed.
‘It’s dangerous to have your sight sealed during battle.’
I still felt that my body couldn’t keep up with the improved performance of my eyes. You may need to practice a little more. Then, suddenly, an important fact came to mind.
‘There was a special skill in the eyes of the baron.’
If one were to really get the Baron’s Eye, their skill would increase by one. Although there was still pain in the side of the eyeball, I was able to sleep comfortably because I thought that there would be one more piece that could be used. Eventually, I felt the reward of enduring the taste of hell.
* * *
Late hours, inside the house that was decorated like a cafe.
After she studied at the school library until late at night, Kim Yuri returned to her home with no one. She had a dark expression on her face.
‘It’s like using Da-in…’
At this point, the final exams were about a month away. It was not unusual to start studying for them. However, because she did not want to be alone, she studied with An Da-in until late.
‘…I need to check the notice from the association.’
With this, Kim Yuri checked the notice she had never opened at school.
[Player Safety Management Planning Office Youth Player Support Team]
After confirming the caller, she checked her contents with her trembling hands.
[Sealing Art technique cannot be extended]
From the moment she read the first line, her eyes went dark.
To summarize what followed, it was impossible to seal Kim Yuri’s Gwanglim in the future with the level of the existing sealing technique. A few days ago, she had been informed that the sealing technique could not be extended. This notice was the result of immediately requesting a re-examination of the heterogeneous group.
‘No…’
When she first received the notice that Gwanglim’s Sealing Art could not be extended, Kim Yuri could not forget the desperate expression plastered across her father’s face.
Said father, who tried to exhort her, eventually developed heart failure and ended up getting hospitalized. None of them told her anything, but she could guess that he had ended up worrying too much about her, and this put a strain on his weak heart.
‘What should I do, what should I do?’
Underneath Kim Yuri’s long-sleeved school uniform shirt and thick fringe, the seal of the Gwanglim Sealing Art was gradually changing. Sitting alone in the living room with the lights on, she trembled with fear, unable to sleep.
* * *
The next morning, Year 1 Class 0 classroom.
“Yuri, did you not sleep yesterday? There are dark spots under your eyes.”
“My eyes are a little red.”
As I opened the classroom door, I heard the worried voices of Kwon Lena and Han-yi.
“Haha, I slept a little late yesterday because I was studying for the final exam.” Kim Yuri answered in a bright tone as usual. Her face looked tired, but on the outside, she looked like a student tired of studying for the exam, although she looked different to me, who knew about what really happened from the in-game information.
‘It seems that you have received a re-notification from the Association that the sealing technique cannot be extended. … … I couldn’t even sleep.’
After hearing Kim Yuri’s answer, the class was worried.
“The final exam was in early July, wasn’t it? There is still a lot of time left, so don’t overdo it!” “Class monitor… … Are you okay?”
“Thank you for your concern…!”
Although Kim Yuri was talking with a smile, she seemed half-bluffed. I then decided to make the best offer I can at this point. “It’s a little early, but shall we organize a study group for the final exam? This time, I want to do it with all the classmates.”
As the topic of final exams came out, the timing was right.
The people who heard my suggestion said one word at a time.
“Last time, it was only with the dorm students. This is because only dormitory students can enter the study room at the Jiik Hall…”
“Huh. People who commute to school often find themselves going home too late. I wish we could study together!”
“… Unless it’s too late, I want to do it too.”
Everyone’s reaction turned out to be positive.
“Then, shall we find accommodation in Eunkwang-gu? Or I’ll get permission to use Class 0’s classroom until late.”
When I said this, Yuri Kim stood up from her seat. “I, there. Our house is empty for a while!”
As expected, Yuri Kim had stepped in.
‘There was a description of Kim Yuri, who was constantly drowning in negative thoughts alone at home without her family at this time.’
My plan was to hold a study meeting at her house in order to increase her time with our other classmates as much as possible.
“Yes, that can be… But being indebted to it for a long time is a bit…”
“I’m a little nervous about my grades, so I’d appreciate Yuri’s help… But I just might get in the way.”
“Nope. It’s totally fine! Rather, I was lonely because my parents weren’t there. I wish we could have a study meeting at our house!” Kim Yuri said in a bright voice.
Like her talented class leader, she immediately got up and started planning a study meeting. This final exam study meeting was likely to be attended by all the classmates currently attending school.
“You look like you have a plan.”
“What did you say?”
While the kids were engrossed in planning a study meeting, Hwang Jiho lowered his voice and said, “Green’s malicious comments were found to be a little annoying as a result of the investigation.”
A little annoying?
“Someone fearlessly bought and sold Eungwang High community IDs. Most of the people who made malicious comments on Min Green were using their trading IDs.”
Did you even write malicious comments to Min Green while doing that?
“It’s not just one or two trading IDs. The person in charge of the silver webpage had his job done. Faculty members whose contract period had expired and students who had been expelled from the Eungwang High in the past were still operating in a state where they could make use of this.”
“Now, people who are no different from outsiders have sold their IDs to someone.”
“Yes. Someone who bought that ID wrote malicious comments.”
There were times when the atmosphere of the general bulletin board was so mixed that I couldn’t understand it, but there must have been a reason.
“Thanks to you, there are a lot of things to investigate and it’s complicated. The circumstances of the transaction, the identity of the buyer, the history of malicious comments, and manipulation of public opinion… I stopped all of the preferential trading IDs to prevent malicious comments, but it will take some time to catch the culprit.”
At the end of Hwang Jiho’s words, Yong Je-geon, who seemed very happy today, came in, and thus the ordinance began.
As I pondered what number to put in the future, I poured out the ordinances of the dragon clan of the game world.
