Alright. Let’s organize this.

The monster in front of me… in other words, the person whose pixels had become distorted into a horrifying shape, was clearly my colleague, Go Yeongeun.

Because the goral mask was clearly visible.

'I feel bad about setting off the high-powered flashlight right in her face….'

I gritted my teeth and tried to focus on the mask instead of the revulsion.

The problem was that normal communication was impossible!

I couldn’t speak, nor could I properly hear what the other person was saying….

Communication is impossible anyway.

If that’s the case, let’s drive it out of the school.

A destructive urge rose in me, bitter like bile, all the way to my throat….

'Ugh.'

It feels like my head is filled with glitches. This is driving me crazy.

After struggling to figure out a way to communicate, I pulled out the pen I had prepared in my pocket and wrote on the floor, avoiding looking at the other person as much as possible.

Ms Goral?

And I waited silently.

When ‘Go Yeongeun’ looked at me again and I froze in place.

A response came back on the A4 paper on the floor.

Roe Deer?? Do you have self-awareness right now? Can you move autonomously?

'Phew.'

It worked.

I turned to look at the monster… no, ‘Go Yeongeun’ and wrote my response.

Yes. I can.

Don’t worry, I’m not contaminated. Although, I’m concerned that even contaminated people might say the same thing, so I wonder how this will sound to you…

I’m utilizing the gimmick within the ghost story.

A gimmick?

Yes.

How should I explain this?

‘In this case… should I just be straightforward with the answer?’

Since the colleague in front of me was clearly smart, I hesitated but then wrote directly without beating around the bush.

The answer sheet to which all the hints in this universe pointed.

This is a school where a horror game has become reality.

<In the Shade of Darkness>.

The name registered as the wiki entry for this legend and the name of the game that causes all the events in this nightmare within Sekwang Technical High School.

The exploration records that uncovered the world-building hints in the teacher’s office and specific classrooms provide clues.

Confiscated items list for ■ Month ■■ Date: Game Console

When the game console is retrieved from the 1st-grade teacher’s office and powered on, a pixelated image of the school at midnight briefly flashes on the screen before turning off.

A note in the top right corner of the blackboard in 3rd-grade Class 2:

That’s supposed to be a teacher?

A notebook dropped on the floor of the music room:

There’s a small doodle in the corner.

-Woke up and why am I at school? (Doodle of a surprised puppy) Graduation prep? What does that even mean, it’s May right now?

Various other notes and items.

If you find the class and seat of the student whose game console was confiscated and search their bag, you can find an empty game case with a storyline summary written on the back….

-------------------------------

The day before the graduation ceremony.

Students who volunteered to prepare for the graduation ceremony at ■■■■ High School spend a night at the school.

Of course, the preparation for the event was more of an excuse, and the students happily enjoyed the nighttime camping vibe.

New couples form, best friends fight, and someone’s secrets get exposed in the midst of it all….

Suddenly, the school broadcast comes on.

[The graduation ceremony has begun.]

[To penalize students who did not attend, the teacher is now leaving the auditorium.]

The bloody graduation ceremony begins.

Can they escape safely from the nightmare school in the middle of the night??

-------------------------------

That’s how it naturally reveals itself.

This ghost story is about a horror game that has consumed a real school, turning the game’s gameplay into a recurring nightmare.

That’s why the students are silent.

'Because it’s a game without voice overs.'

That’s why the 3rd-year students on the 4th floor cannot leave their spots.

'Because the main part of the game hasn’t started yet.'

That’s why… the students cannot move when the explorers are looking at them.

'…Because it’s a bug that wasn’t originally in the game.'

That’s right.

Even the explorers didn’t enter this game as participants.

'We’re not even playing the game.'

They were simply dragged in while trying to peek at the game’s story through a text file they downloaded unofficially….

'Phew.'

Of course, I didn’t explain all of this in detail to my colleague; I just summarized enough hints to convey the logic.

The main point is this.

I obtained a student uniform in a rather unique way to try becoming a participant in this horror game.

And for now, it seems I’ve succeeded.

A game? Oh, this sounds like that! A horror game where you’re trapped in school the night before White Day!

But isn’t becoming a participant in the game within the ghost story more dangerous? And who knows what might happen if you wear that uniform for too long?

Go Yeongeun’s writing, which started off composed, became hastily scribbled toward the end, as if slightly flustered.

It was a reasonable concern.

That’s right. I’ll stop right away if it becomes dangerous.

If things didn’t go as I expected, I also planned to run away immediately.

But so far, things have gone as expected….

Still, this could become the clearest route to a clear ending to include in the manual.

I’ll give it a try.

After a brief silence.

Hmm, alright. Since you’re naturally strong with ghost stories, Roe Deer….

“…….”

Really, it’s a misunderstanding….

Still, I’d prefer if you didn’t do anything too dangerous.

I’d like that too, but things in this world rarely go as planned….

Ah, then staying with me like this might make other students suspicious, so I’ll get going now.

Wh-what?

Really, take care of yourself!

That was the last message.

The moment I was freed from being ‘paused,’ I saw Go Yeongeun slowly walking away, turning her back, at the end of the hallway.

W-wait, Yeongeun…!

'I still have more questions to ask!'

Please, help me!

I quickly chased after her, lightly tapped Go Yeongeun on the back, and hastily wrote a new message.

Excuse me, I have something I’d like to ask you, Ms. Goral.

It’s probably specialized knowledge that only you, Ms. Goral, can answer here.

Yes, yes! Feel free to ask!

Fortunately, Go Yeongeun turned around and kindly responded.

Phew!

Grateful, I quickly wrote down my question.

Please tell me where each organ in the human body is located.

What??

Ah, oops.

***

Fortunately, Go Yeongeun didn’t cut ties with me….

She merely asked me about realistic details like company life, accounting, and so on, calmly and strictly verifying multiple times if I was in my right mind.

Once she was certain that I wasn’t completely contaminated and hadn’t turned into a science lab student with a peculiar hobby for dissection, she became kind again.

Got it! I’ll answer as much as I know, haha.

Thank you… sniff.

And so, I spent the remaining time in an intense Q&A session with Go Yeongeun.

Thanks to her, my ‘clear preparation’ was completed in a safer and more reliable way than I had anticipated.

I wish you the best of luck.

I’ll do the same. Thank you!

…Hmm.

Just in case, I added this as well.

If you plan to stay in this dream longer, I recommend staying on the first floor as much as possible.

Because soon, in the truest sense, ‘In the Shade of Darkness’ will begin.

“…….”

And so,

A few minutes after I saw off Go Yeongeun.

[Ding-Dong-Dang-Dong]

[The graduation ceremony has begun.]

A new announcement is made.

…Just like the 13th exploration record I wrote.

Exploration Record #13

2 hours and 13 minutes have passed while staying in the school dressed in Sekwang Technical High School’s uniform.

A new school announcement not described in previous records is made. Its content matches the plot on the back of the ‘In the Shade of Darkness’ game title.

I went up to the 4th floor.

The numerous 3rd-year students crowding the hallway of that floor….

Everyone disappeared.

"……."

An announcement echoes through the empty 4th-floor hallway.

[To penalize students who didn’t attend, the teacher is now leaving the auditorium.]

The exploration record I wrote is coming to life as it is.

The main plot of the horror game begins.

It’s happening.

"……."

I swallowed nervously.

First of all, the atmosphere in the school completely changed.

The once-comfortable school as a student now feels ominous and unsettling.

No….

Seriously, I can hear BGM…!

Classic 8-bit game music with a dark and steep minor tone started to settle in my ears.

And then, there’s a popup too.

Somehow, it feels strange.

Let’s look for other students before it’s too late.

'No.'

I won’t do that.

Since I know a faster route, I’ll make up my mind and first….

'Hide.'

I ran towards the 3rd-grade teacher’s office.

Hiding in a locker here is the standard procedure….

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“…!!”

Again.

'A monster!'

Rejecting the ear-splitting, maddening noise, I quickly slipped into the teacher’s office locker.

The problem was that there was a monster in one of the classrooms right next to the teacher’s office on the 4th floor.

The monster hesitantly opened the door and then fixed its gaze on me.

At my shadowed face beyond the locker.

'…It seems to be wearing a mask.'

Because I was frozen and couldn’t move my face, I couldn’t distinguish what kind of mask it was through the view obstructed by the locker door.

'Anyway, it’s definitely one of our company’s employees.'

But it seemed to have so many name tags that the light they emitted nearly masked the fact it was an error.

'...Wait a second.'

Light?

If it stands out that much….

Footsteps.

“…….”

Over there.

From upstairs, small and large sounds can be heard.

It was the sound of something big walking with small footsteps.

Step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step.

It’s coming down, down, it’s coming!!

…The ‘teacher’!!

'Damn it.'

It’s terrifying to the point of madness. I held my breath.

But the error, seemingly targeting my name tag as well, quickly approached my frozen self….

'Can’t he hear this??'

No, of course he can’t hear. He’s not a game player!

'The error can’t even be recognized or be attacked by the teacher in the first place…!'

That’s part of the setting where it doesn’t even realize the game has started.

However….

Important Note.

In this game.

One way the ‘teacher,’ the pursuing entity in this game, identifies students is through their name tags.

However, since explorers are fundamentally errors, having one or two name tags usually doesn’t make them recognized as players.

So, unless an explorer gets excessively greedy, they won’t be caught.

……For example.

By collecting an excessive amount of name tags, the symbol of a player.

Step.

I stayed frozen, holding my breath.

The approaching error grabbed the locker door where I was hiding.

And pulled the door.

Swish.

A massive, sharp steel plate came crashing down on the masked error.

The crushed form splits apart.

Splat.

Blood splattered across my face.

Right in front of me, separated by the locker door, the bespectacled employee, now vertically split, collapsed.

The body, now just an object, lost its pixelated distortion.

When an explorer, who is an error in the game, stays in the school until the game starts and gets caught by the 'teacher' to be eliminated.

'...Uh,'

It’s a familiar face.

The supervisor was newly assigned to Team D.

Eliminated even in reality.

Just died.

"......"

Step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step, step.

The 'teacher' leaves the office, dragging the supervisor's remaining corpse across the floor.

"……"

Kim Sol-eum. Do you remember that?

How explorers managed to secure high volumes before my exploration record.

By collecting a lot of items like name tags to influence the game or by surviving long enough to grow their presence.

'It’s a shortcut.'

Then, how does a participant properly 'clear' the game?

'…They have to see the ending.'

And usually, in a game, the ending is….

After the boss fight.

"……"

The time has come.

 …The time to not be a coward.

'Let’s go,'

I took out a tattoo sticker with a tomato tree drawn on it.

And with trembling hands, I stuck it on my neck.