Ji Soyeon was taken aback.
“Why is there a story like this in the textbook?”
Current time: 11:30 PM.
She glanced outside the window, and a sudden doubt arose.
“What kind of school holds classes at night….”
A student raised their hand and spoke.
“Teacher, let’s go play soccer now.”
“Soccer? Is it gym class now?”
“Yes. Don’t you know? Are you even a teacher?”
The students all stood up and left the classroom at once.
The only ones left were Ji Soyeon and another female student.
She was perplexed by the sudden turn of events.
The female student rested her chin on her hand and was staring intently at Ji Soyeon.
Ji Soyeon felt unnerved by the student’s gaze and turned her head away.
“Ah~ it’s gym class; I should go out.”
“Everyone’s gone. Is there still a student who hasn’t gone?”
She muttered to herself unnecessarily, trying to avoid the situation.
This uncomfortable standoff lasted for 10 minutes.
Ji Soyeon started to feel uneasy. Any observer would find the girl strange.
For 10 minutes, she hadn’t changed her posture and had continued to stare at her.
As the standoff continued, Ji Soyeon finally broke the silence.
“Why aren’t you going out?”
The female student raised her head as if she had been waiting for this moment and replied.
“In fact… I don’t have legs.”
Ji Soyeon’s eyes naturally shifted to under the desk.
Beneath the skirt, there was nothing.
Rumble. Boom.
Thunder struck, and a torrential rain began.
“Ah, aa.”
————-<Game>—————–
[‘Legless Ghost’ has appeared.]
————————————–
A semi-transparent message appeared in front of Ji Soyeon.
Suddenly, the world flipped upside down.
The top became the bottom, and the bottom became the top.
Boom.
All the classroom furniture, such as desks and the podium, fell to the floor (ceiling).
Ji Soyeon also fell to the ground.
“Ugh.”
She crashed head-first into the floor.
There was a heavy thumping sound from somewhere.
Plop plop plop plop.
The legless girl was standing upside down.
She was balancing her body with her head, instead of her hands.
“Give me your legs!”
She unconsciously shed a tear.
“AAAAAHHH!”
Ji Soyeon screamed, turned her back, and bolted out of the classroom.
She ran down the hallway. Teachers and students milling about the corridor chased after her.
“Teacher Ji Soyeon! What are you doing? Where are you going without conducting the class?”
“Can you really call yourself a teacher if you act like this?!”
“Are you abandoning your students?”
Ji Soyeon cried while continuing to run.
“HHWEEEEENG! Please save me!”
The more she ran, the more attention she drew, and more people joined the chase.
Plop plop plop plop.
The legless ghost approached, smacking her head against the floor. She was closing in on Ji Soyeon much faster than her running speed.
“Give me your legs!”
Ji Soyeon, who had no weapon, had no way to fight back. All she could do was flee.
When she descended the stairs, Ji Soyeon noticed the ghost’s movement had slowed.
‘The stairs must slow her down a bit.’
She tried to put some distance between them by leaping down two or three steps at a time.
“Huh?”
Suddenly, she lost her footing. She tumbled down the staircase.
Checking the step markers, she saw she was on the second floor.
“It hurts…”
Ji Soyeon bent her knees to get up again.
…
“You don’t have legs now.”
The ‘legless ghost’, located on the 2.5th floor between the second and third floors, said to Ji Soyeon.
“AAAAAHHH!”
Ji Soyeon couldn’t feel anything below her waist. A quick glance confirmed that her legs were really missing.
“My legs… Hwaaang.”
“Kekekeke. Serves you right!”
An odd, eerie laugh.
Ji Soyeon started crawling down the steps with her hands, dragging herself along the floor. The pain from her skin scraping against the floor was nothing compared to the terrifying sound of ‘plop plop’ as the ghost climbed down the stairs.
Eventually, Ji Soyeon managed to reach the first floor, and her face began to brighten.
In the distance, beyond the glass door, Shinnoda was walking upside down on the ceiling like a bat.
Ji Soyeon called out for help in a loud voice.
“Shinnoda! Save me!”
*
I noticed Ji Soyeon, who was now crawling around without legs.
“Ah, she must have fallen.”
When battling the ‘legless ghost’, if you fall during the fight, the ghost uses its skill to remove your legs. Although they can be recovered if you’re caught, losing your legs during the battle is quite a big deal.
I entered the academy building, opening the door.
Instantly, the world flipped again.
The top became the bottom, and the bottom became the top.
I swiftly flipped my body and landed safely on the floor (ceiling).
“What is this?”
“The ‘legless ghost,’ they say. And there are some disgusting-looking people chasing me. Please save me!”
Ji Soyeon hid behind me.
Plop plop plop plop.
I drew my sword.
The ‘legless ghost’ paused for a moment and stared up at me.
Her tangled hair and tear-streaming face made me wince slightly, but I quickly regained my composure.
The ‘legless ghost’ was actually only a C-class monster and wasn’t all that strong. Despite its S-class monster-like appearance, it wasn’t much.
This place was an event dungeon. While it seemed difficult because even the toughest ‘security guard’ could one-shot an SSS-class, conversely, an F-class could defeat it. Playing the ‘teacher’ role simply required conducting lessons. Of course, if you fumble around or mess up, you may end up attacked by clumsy-looking enemies.
Plop plop plop plop.
The ‘legless ghost’ charged at me, aiming for my legs.
“EEEEEEYAAHH!”
Ji Soyeon clamped her eyes shut. Such a fearful girl indeed.
The ghost reached right in front of my nose in no time at all. Though it moved fast, I could clearly see her every move.
I maintained my stance and waited. Ghost-type monsters are difficult to capture without skills that directly affect their ethereal form. The sword would just pass right through.
Still, there was a moment to capitalize on—when they attack. At that moment, they possess physical form, making them susceptible to a stab from a sword.
The ‘legless ghost’ aimed for my legs. Predictable.
Swish.
My sword sliced through the ghost’s arm.
“KIEEE…Legs….”
One more time. This time, I targeted her neck.
Thud.
The ghost’s head rolled across the floor.
I picked it up. The face was still alive, its mouth opening and closing as if trying to bite my wrist.
I decided to scare Ji Soyeon a little.
After a moment, I made sure there was no sound.
Soon, Ji Soyeon cautiously opened one eye.
What she saw was…
“Legs…”
The ghost’s face, streaming with tears of blood.
“AAAAAAHHHH! HWAANG!”
The horrifying face trembled side to side.
“Ho ho.”
I grabbed her head by the hair and shoved her severed neck in front of Ji Soyeon. She certainly reacted as expected.
I finished her off by stabbing her face with the sword.
————<Game>—————–
[‘Legless Ghost’ has been defeated.]
————————————-
Instantly, the flipped world returned to its original state. Everything on the ceiling (floor) fell to the real floor.
“Are your legs back now?”
Ji Soyeon looked down at her lower body. Both legs were intact again.
“O! They’re back! My legs!”
She flexed her legs, touched them, and expressed gratitude for their return. Then, she pointed with trembling fingers at the severed head.
“You… did you just kill it?!”
“Hmm.”
“That’s impossible! It looked so strong!”
“It’s about the same level as the ‘Luna Bear’ I killed last time.”
Ji Soyeon nodded as if she understood.
One by one, the clumsy people began to appear.
“Teacher Ji Soyeon… How could you just leave?…”
“Teacher, are you going to abandon us?”
“Don’t gooo…”
Ji Soyeon sure attracts a lot of negative attention. This situation was challenging enough.
I left her and stepped into the crowd. Among the D-class monsters, I was like a wolf amidst a flock of sheep. With every swing of my sword, students’ arms, legs, and heads flew into the air.
“Ji Soyeon, have you seen Park Hayeon?”
“Uh-huh.”
“If she’s not here at school now, she’s not the ‘duty student’ but maybe the ‘spectator.'”
If she’s the spectator, she’s probably in the gym storage right about now. Given her personality, she was likely already in a large fight.
“I’ll grab all the orbs from this growth. Okay?”
“Um, yeah, since you killed them…”
Judging from her expression, she clearly thought I deserved them.
I shoved the orbs into my pockets.
“We’re heading to the gym storage.”
I informed Ji Soyeon and started walking. Along the way, she timidly asked.
“Who’s that?”
The person she referred to was a white-haired, red-eyed girl named Jang Seo-yoon. Jang Seo-yoon had been following me since a while ago at a respectful distance, almost like tailing. Whenever she caught sight of my eyes, she would hide.
“Ah, she’s here. Jang Seo-yoon. It’s nothing special.”
“Jang Seo-yoon? I’ve heard that somewhere…Ah, wasn’t she in the textbook?”
Ji Soyeon stared intently at the mischievously lurking Jang Seo-yoon and opened her mouth wide.
“Ah! The bathroom ghost!!”
Shinnoda quickly covered her mouth.
“Hold it right there. She might turn hostile and attack if you mention that.”
If you bring up the ghost story in front of Jang Seo-yoon, it will make the dungeon significantly harder to clear. This space is her world of vicarious satisfaction. If you upset her, infinite streams of students will begin their assault.
“I-I get it.”
Ji Soyeon hesitantly nodded with an uneasy face.
We soon arrived at the gym storage. Normally, I would solve various puzzles by interactively engaging with Jang Seo-yoon, as she follows around. But given I already knew the walkthrough, I skipped everything.
The final destination was the gym storage, located at the far corner of the annex. It was the last spot to clear the dungeon and also the spawning location of the player with the ‘spectator’ role.
When the door opened, a sharp metallic smell of blood and a moldy odor hit our noses.
