It Seems I Must Go to Work Even After Falling into a Horror Story 079

My additional Exploration Record 13.

– If you wear a school uniform obtained in an appropriate manner, you can be treated as a student.

In fact, this is quite a shocking piece of information.

If handled incorrectly, it could distort the essence of the existing horror story.

School horror stories.

Monsters that only move when there’s no one watching.

“Under the Black Shadow,” created by remixing two clichés, is originally a classic horror theme of “the fear of being chased.”

A nightmare where familiar places and figures become strange entities that chase me until death.

However, when the Exploration Records exceed ten, a bit of buildup begins to seep in.

“It adds fun to specifically imagining the world background.”

Thus, tidbits pile up one after another.

Having only accumulated for 12 occurrences, the atmosphere suggested that this horror story was quite popular, so it seemed to just keep “piling up.”

“At that point, it gets frustrating.”

It becomes difficult to maintain the existing theme of feeling fear from gaps in information.

But you know.

“If I can explore as an insider student, the fun of retrieving these tidbits adds to it…!”

My 13th Exploration Record thus perfectly matched the needs of the horror story writers.

Thus, the horror story “Under the Black Shadow” reached a new turning point.

From then on, in the mid to later explorations, all the eerie tidbits sprinkled throughout the records gathered, revealing shocking twists.

It would be filled with exploration records of deeper, more story-rich elements.

That was truly an amazing indirect experience.

Seeing the seeds I planted grow into a bigger and new story through various people’s participation.

“But can I really experience it for real?”

Yeah.

Right now, I planned to experience the pivotal moment of that story a little earlier.

“Let’s go.”

I walked down the dark hallway on the 3rd floor of Seokwang Technical High School in the guise of a student.

In the distance, I could see “monsters” disappearing slowly between the corners of the hallway in sheer terror…

The urge to chase surged up but then dissipated.

“Phew.”

Existing as a student within the school felt strangely comfortable.

It felt like standing where I belonged.

The rejection and urge to destroy were even stronger when witnessing the bizarre “monsters” roaming about campus.

Especially.

[A fatal accident occurred in 2nd Year Class 2.]

As soon as I heard that broadcast, my heart dropped.

A bittersweet sorrow and a chilling emptiness.

And a sense of duty to uncover the cause of the accident!

[Let’s observe a moment of silence for 5 seconds.]

Then, even though I wanted to sprint outside, brightened like daytime, ready to eliminate the cause of this error and “observe”…

“I’m not a student.”

I must not forget.

Kim Sol-eum had lots to do.

First, I had to go up to the 4th floor. I stepped onto the stairs…

“Ah.”

A thought popped up like a notification.

“……”

This is why the setting “doesn’t easily leave each floor” was established for the students.

Of course, it’s not impossible. I just borrowed a school uniform; I’m not actually a student here.

“Phew.”

I resumed my steps.

One step at a time.

[4F]

Long before the radiant “silence’s light” in the hallway faded, I reached the 4th floor.

That place dim and flickering with broken bulbs.

The students stood motionless like mannequins, gazing at a person in the hallway, but now…

It was lively.

“…!”

The students exchanged lively expressions, making silent gestures and chatting amongst themselves.

To avoid making a sound, I bit my tongue.

I never thought that I’d be bound by the sentences I wrote.

I walked past students who glanced at me and either turned their eyes away or smiled awkwardly when our gazes met.

Don’t look awkward…

“Be natural…”

I paused just before the stairs close to the 3rd-year teacher’s office.

There was a small iron door.

[Teacher’s Office Storage]

It was usually a small space to store cleaning tools and the like in a school.

And right in front of it, there were a handful of students seated together.

Had I not been wearing the school uniform of Seokwang Technical High School, I wouldn’t have dared to approach this dense gathering…

“Now I can enter.”

I stepped inside.

The students looked at me with puzzled expressions.

Why has a first-year come up here?

It was as if they were saying that.

I took out an A4 sheet I had prepared from the nurse’s office and began to write slowly.

The seniors told me to find a ladder from the storage.

Can I take it out?

One of the students laughed, grabbed my pen, and replied.

Okay, haha.

Clank.

As I looked up, another student was already waving a set of keys in front of me.

I accepted the bundle.

Then I directly unlocked the storage door with the key marked “4th Floor Storage,” and stepped inside…

A place only students could enter.

Creeeak.

The light flickered through the crack of the door and stabbed at my eyes.

The items inside the storage gleamed as if exuding presence all around.

Just like the name tag I received from Jang Heo-woon.

“Oh my gosh.”

I expected it, but its bizarre appearance exceeded my thoughts. I closed the storage door properly and reached out toward the items…

Ignoring the popping thought once more, I rummaged through the various dazzling items—buckets, mops, small whiteboards, etc.—and…

At last, I found what I was looking for.

“……”

It was a decorative brooch.

A somewhat clunky decoration made out of thick paper coated as if it were made by an amateur.

I pocketed the “Name Tag Decoration,” which shone the brightest.

“Alright.”

I now had the essentials to “攻略” this horror story.

Afterward, I wandered through various student-only places, checking if anything contradicted the information I had on the Exploration Records.

Borrowing books from the library or briefly playing the piano keys in the music room…

“If even a tiny piece is off, it’s better to quickly die and wake up.”

But fortunately, everything matched perfectly.

“…Alright.”

During this process, I definitely didn’t go up to the 5th floor, where the “auditorium preparing for the graduation ceremony” was.

It wasn’t time yet.

“I wonder when the notification will come.”

I held my tense breath, waiting slowly…

Then it happened.

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An enormous, deafening sound hit my ears.

“……!”

Is this what glitching sounds like?

A maddening noise that felt as if hundreds were scratching a blackboard with their nails!

I now understood its identity.

‘…Monsters!’

It was undoubtedly the voice of explorers who appeared to be glitched!

What on earth were they yelling about on the lower floor? An immense noise struck my ears, no, my brain.

An overwhelming impulse enveloped me.

‘This is why I tracked the loud people first!’

I wanted to silence at least the noise…

‘…! Calm down, calm down…’

Unable to hold it in any longer, I took off down the stairs, suppressing the impulse for a few seconds.

“Let’s go.”

Only after calming sufficiently did I move, checking the monsters across the hallway on the 4th floor.

The monsters were in a face-off with the students.

No, it was already almost over. A student lay on the floor, unable to move and stopped.

However, the monsters did not retire.

“Dammit.”

I prepared myself.

One monster still standing intact.

It was staring at the student lying on the floor…

And then it turned to look at me.

Stopped me.

…

I beheld the monster that halted me from afar. A horrifying silhouette with a face melting away pixel by pixel.

However, there was one thing that set it apart from the other monsters.

‘It’s wearing a mask.’

And the shape of that mask…

Was a goat!

‘…Ko Yeong-eun!’

“Whoa.”

I was the last one left.

Ko Yeong-eun leaned against the wall in the hallway, catching her breath.

In front of her lay (most likely) the last student on this 3rd floor, unable to move.

Though they still seemed alive, I had no intention of killing them.

‘If I kill them, the power will go out, and they’ll swarm in… Ha.’

The civilians accompanying me had all already perished.

‘At least the last three went back with their name tags….’

According to the company manual, even just dying lets you live your life normally in reality, but the Dream Collection Device’s liquid only fills up when the ‘name tag’ is acquired, which felt unsettling.

‘…I feel like something’s off.’

Ko Yeong-eun had slightly given up on clearing at a high level and kept subtly talking about name tags with her companions.

Then those people just died.

‘Ugh….’

Perhaps due to getting somewhat accustomed to this gruesome slaughter scene and the monsters and ghosts, I wasn’t overwhelmed.

After all, she had smoothly completed anatomy studies and cadaver practice, so she was probably strong to begin with.

‘Thank goodness she didn’t really die…’

Now I was at a point where I could think such thoughts calmly.

‘…Should I go up to the upper floors now?’

It was the moment Ko Yeong-eun decided to catch her breath and move.

Flashes.

“…!!”

From beyond the hallway.

Another student appeared.

A tall student dressed somewhat delinquently in a Seokwang Technical High School uniform.

‘Aah.’

Wow…

I can’t do this any longer!

‘Let’s just go.’

If I held on for this long, I wouldn’t have any issues with performance ratings.

Ko Yeong-eun felt exhausted and wanted to remove even the heavy-duty headlamp she was wearing.

She just wanted to prepare to wake up from this damned nightmare…

Flashes.

…Huh?

‘Wait a minute.’

Under the dark light, the student’s features briefly appeared.

Cold, composed, and neat impression.

“…Doe?”

Kim Sol-eum.

I wondered if it was just a similar-looking student, but she indeed looked slightly younger than the usual face I saw.

It was definitely her.

Ko Yeong-eun’s spine went cold.

‘Wait a second…!’

What on earth is this situation supposed to be?

Could it be that in this horror story, if certain conditions are met, one becomes “contaminated” and caught like that…?

As a monster disguised as a student?

“Ah…”

Since I had worked for several months, I already knew somewhat about the contamination of horror stories, so fear swept over me…

But in the next moment, I made up my mind.

‘Let’s check it out.’

If I woke up with things having gone wrong, I would dislike myself for running away in the middle of it.

‘It’s okay even if I die now and wake up from the dream.’

She approached the rigid-looking student, trying not to blink.

The appearance of the student only confirmed to me that it was definitely Kim Sol-eum…

‘…Where’s that rabbit doll?’

It wasn’t there, nor was the keyring of the stuffed animal she used to carry around, which made Ko Yeong-eun feel an emotion that was either bitterness or gloom as she advanced further.

Flashes.

The light flickered, but thanks to the headlamp on my head, there was no issue.

‘Just a little more.’

The closer I got.

But.

Thud.

Suddenly, a flash of light struck Ko Yeong-eun’s eyes.

“…!!”

For a moment, her vision vanished.

The cause was the flashlight held in Kim Sol-eum’s hand.

It was timed to explode a few seconds later.

To temporarily blind the approaching opponent’s eyes.

Though Ko Yeong-eun couldn’t find out specifically what object it was, she quickly grasped the situation and was taken aback.

‘Did she set it up in advance…?!’

It was a trap.

In that instant, I felt a dizzying emotion, but I quickly sorted out my thoughts.

‘It can’t be helped.’

However, it was disappointing not to grasp exactly what kind of bizarre event this was.

But I wouldn’t have time to dwell on this thought; those monsters are incredibly fast.

In the next moment, I died…

“……??”

I didn’t die?

There was no pain or the floating feeling of waking from a dream.

…Everything was fine!

‘What the?’

Adapting to the aftereffects of the flash, Ko Yeong-eun, with a bewildered expression, hastily looked up at the “student” to “freeze” them.

…

Kim Sol-eum, dressed in the Seokwang Technical High School uniform, was not looking at Ko Yeong-eun.

Instead, she was staring down at the floor.

‘The floor?’

Ko Yeong-eun slightly stepped back to get both Kim Sol-eum and the floor in her sight…

“…!”

Words were written on the floor.

Somehow spread-out A4 sheets lay on the ground with writing on them.

Doe?

Aaaaah!