Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work-Chapter 80
The monster in front of me... No, the grotesque figure with its pixelated, horrifying appearance was undoubtedly my coworker, Go Yeongeun.
I could still see the mountain goat mask clearly.
"I’m starting to feel bad about flashing the high-beam flashlight in their face..."
I gritted my teeth and tried to focus on the mask instead of succumbing to the revulsion.
The real problem was that normal communication was impossible!
I couldn’t speak, and I couldn’t properly hear what they were saying either.
"Ugh."
It felt like my mind was being overwhelmed by glitches. This was driving me insane.
After struggling to come up with a way to communicate, I pulled out the pen I had prepared from my pocket and carefully avoided looking at them as I wrote on the floor:
Mountain Goat?
Then, I waited patiently.
As soon as “Go Yeongeun” fixed their gaze on me and I stopped moving, a response came back on the A4 paper on the ground.
Deer? Do you have self-awareness right now? Are you capable of moving on your own volition?
"Phew."
Finally.
I looked at the monster—no, at “Go Yeongeun”—and wrote a response.
Yes. I can.
Don’t worry, I’m not corrupted. Although I realize this might sound like what a corrupted person would say, which might be concerning...
It’s all part of the ghost story gimmick.
Gimmick?
Yes.
How should I explain this?
"Right, I should just give a straightforward answer here."
The person in front of me was obviously smart. After some deliberation, I decided to skip any indirect explanations and wrote down the core of the mystery.
This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.
The solution to all the hints scattered across this ghost story’s lore:
This is a horror game that’s become reality. Welcome to Se Kwang Technical High School, now the setting of the game .
The official entry name for the ghost story in its wiki and the root cause of all the nightmares happening in this school.
There were hints in the exploration records found in the faculty office and specific classrooms:
Confiscated items on ■■월 ■■일: A game console.Obtained from the first-year faculty office, and upon activation, a pixelated image of the school briefly appeared before shutting off.Note in the corner of the chalkboard in Class 3-2:“Is that supposed to be the teacher?”Notebook found on the music room floor, containing a small scribble in the corner:“Why am I at school when I just woke up? (A startled dog doodle) Graduation preparations? What are you talking about—it’s May!”And many more scraps of notes and items.
If you even found the class and seat of the student whose game console was confiscated and searched their bag, you’d discover an empty game case with a summary of the game written on the back:
The day before graduation.
Students who volunteered to help prepare for the graduation ceremony spend the night at school.
The preparation is mostly an excuse, though, as the students enjoy the camp-like atmosphere late into the night. New couples form, best friends argue, and someone’s secrets are revealed.
Suddenly, the school broadcast system comes on.
“The graduation ceremony has begun.”
“To penalize those who haven’t attended, the teacher is now leaving the auditorium.”
Thus begins the blood-soaked graduation.
Will they survive the nightmare in this midnight school?
It all came together naturally.
This ghost story was about a horror game swallowing a real school, trapping it in a cycle of replaying the game’s events.
That’s why the students don’t talk.
"Because it’s a voice-less game."
That’s why the third-year students on the fourth floor can’t leave their seats.
"Because the main gameplay hasn’t started yet."
And that’s why the students can’t move when explorers look at them.
"...Because it’s a bug that wasn’t part of the original game."
Exactly.
Even worse, the explorers hadn’t entered as players of the game.
"We were just pulled in while trying to peek at the game’s story through an unofficially downloaded text file..."
"Phew."
Of course, I didn’t explain all of this in detail to my coworker. Instead, I summarized enough to convey the logic.
The main point was this:
I obtained a student uniform in a rather unusual way and tried becoming a participant in this horror game.
And it seems to have worked.
A game? Oh, it’s like that one! A horror game where you get trapped in school the night before White Day!
But isn’t it dangerous to become a participant in a ghost story’s game? And who knows what might happen if you wear that uniform for too long?
Go Yeongeun’s writing became increasingly hurried toward the end, as if her concern heightened.
It was a valid worry.
You’re right. If it gets too dangerous, I’ll stop immediately.
I was ready to flee at the first sign of trouble if things didn’t go as expected.
But so far, things were going according to plan....
It might also turn out to be the most reliable route to clearing this nightmare, so I think it’s worth a shot.
After a brief pause, the response came.
Hmm. Well, I trust you, Deer. You’re always good with ghost stories....
"..."
That’s such a misunderstanding....
Just don’t do anything too dangerous, okay?
I’d prefer not to, but things rarely go the way I want....
Oh, and if we stay together too long, the other “students” might get suspicious. I should get going.
Huh? Wait...
Take care of yourself, okay?!
Those were her last words.
The moment my paralysis lifted, I saw Go Yeongeun already turning the corner of the hallway.
"Wait, Yeongeun! I still have more to ask you!"
Please help me!
I quickly ran after her, lightly tapping her back before scribbling down my next message in a rush.
Wait! I need to ask you something, Mountain Goat.
It’s something only you can answer with your expertise.
Go ahead, ask away!
Thankfully, Go Yeongeun turned around and responded kindly.
Relieved, I quickly wrote down my question.
Can you tell me where all the organs in the human body are located?
What??
Oh. Right.
***
Here’s the translation of the provided text for Got Dropped into a Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work (Light Novel):
Fortunately, Go Yeongeun didn’t completely cut ties with me.
Instead, she calmly and strictly verified my sanity multiple times by asking about mundane things like work, accounting, and other real-life details.
Once she was convinced that I wasn’t some corrupted science lab student with a newfound hobby for dissections, her kindness returned.
"Alright! I’ll answer what I can, as best as I know, haha."
"Thank you... sniff."
And so, I spent the rest of the time locked in an intense Q&A session with Go Yeongeun.
Thanks to her, I was able to finish my “clearance preparation” in a much safer and more reliable way than I had expected.
"Good luck."
"Same to you. Thank you!"
...Hmm.
Just in case, I added a warning:
"If you plan to stay in this dream for a while longer, I’d recommend sticking to the first floor as much as possible."
That’s because very soon, the game Under the Black Shade would truly begin in earnest.
“......”
And so,
A few minutes after I bid farewell to Go Yeongeun:
Ding-dong-dang-dong.
"The graduation ceremony has begun."
A new announcement echoed through the school.
...Just like the thirteenth exploration record I’d written.
Exploration Record #13
Elapsed time in Se Kwang Technical High School in uniform: 2 hours, 13 minutes.
*A new school announcement occurred, one not described in prior records. The content matches the plot summary on the back of the game Under the Black Shade.
I ascended to the fourth floor.
The hallways, once crowded with countless third-year students, were now...
Empty.
“......”
The broadcast continued through the desolate fourth-floor corridor.
"To penalize absent students, the teacher is now departing from the auditorium."
Exactly as I’d written in the exploration record.
The main plot of the horror game was now unfolding.
“......”
I swallowed hard.
The atmosphere inside the school had changed completely.
What once felt like a relatively safe space for students now reeked of unease and dread.
No...
I could actually hear it.
BGM.
A classic 8-bit game soundtrack, eerie and harsh in its descending minor scale, began to play faintly in my ears.
And then, a pop-up appeared.
"You feel something is off.
Look for other students before it’s too late."
‘No.’
I wasn’t going to do that.
I knew a faster route, and I steeled myself.
For now...
Hide.
I sprinted toward the third-year faculty office.
Hiding in a locker here was the standard strategy...
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“...!!”
Again.
A monster!
As I resisted the deafening, maddening noise, I quickly slid into a locker in the office.
The problem was, a monster was in the adjacent fourth-floor classroom.
The creature emerged, hesitatingly stepping through the door until its gaze locked onto me.
Through the cracks in the locker, its shadowed face peered at mine.
‘...It’s wearing a mask.’
Since I couldn’t move my face due to the paralysis mechanic, I couldn’t tell exactly what kind of mask it was.
But one thing was clear—
‘It’s definitely one of my coworkers.’
Although their nametag shone so brightly, I could hardly discern anything else through the visual glitches.
‘...Wait a second.’
Light?
If it’s glowing that much, then...
Step.
“......”
From upstairs, I heard faint, deliberate footsteps.
It was the sound of something large trying to make small steps.
Step. Step. Step. Step. Step.
It’s coming.
Down.
Closer.
...The teacher!
Damn.
Terrified, I held my breath.
But the glitching figure also seemed fixated on my nametag, approaching me rapidly as I remained frozen.
‘Can’t they hear it?!’
Of course not. They aren’t players of the game!
The glitching NPC couldn’t detect or be attacked by the teacher.
That’s part of the game’s lore—
The “teacher” doesn’t acknowledge the NPCs at all.
However...
A critical detail:
In this game, one way the “teacher” identifies and hunts players is by their nametags.
Explorers like us, being essentially glitches, typically wouldn’t be flagged as players for having one or two nametags.
So, unless someone got greedy...
For example, by collecting a ridiculous number of player-style nametags.
Step.
I held my breath, frozen.
The glitching NPC reached the locker where I was hiding.
It grabbed the door.
And pulled it open.
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