Surviving Among the Entities

『Fucking Ghost! So I crossed over because of your ability, huh!? Damn it! Prepare yourself! I won’t go easy like the Ghost Busters, you know!』
『Uwaaaah! Spare me!』

Having grasped the situation, the fervent Republican supporter and cowboy native, American Lee, shoved his shotgun towards Shin Yeong-mun.

『Excuse me! Do you happen to know Seung-hoon by any chance?』
『What? You know that guy?』
『Yes, yes! I’m an acquaintance of Seung-hoon’s!』
『Hmm, then I’ll let this one slide.』

Fortunately, having sensed an odd familiarity with Seung-hoon from Shin Yeong-mun’s quick thinking, a dramatic reconciliation was achieved.

『Instead, I’ll destroy this God Damn School. Ghost stories? It’s the kind of delusion those Democrat brats would love, and it’s caused demonic trouble.』

The Foundation agents had gained an excellent ally.

“Is everyone alright!?”
『Yes, we’re…』
『Fuck!』

Upon seeing Kim Mi-ri, American Lee let out a startled shout.

『What the hell is that old hag!?』
“Pardon? Me? Yeong-mun? Isn’t that an entity?”
『Well, yes, but since it seems related to Seung-hoon, it’s probably on our side. Probably.』
『Good lord! Grandma! No! Even worse than that! Are you a witch? You look young on the outside, but your core is sickeningly old!』
“Ah, no!? I’m only twenty years old!?”
“It seems Mi-ri’s experience during the history question, including the passage of time, is reflected in her appearance.”
『Whew, well, I suppose it’s more strange for a normal human to be around that guy.』

The agents with Kim Mi-ri and the agents with Shin Yeong-mun reunited.

“Pardon? The external special consultant is the original?”
『Of course. But since he’s a separate existence now, don’t conflate them.』
“Ah, in any case, thank you for your help.”
『Killing shitty bastards is the duty of a great American, so no need for formalities.』

With American Lee taking the lead, they explored the school.
Apart from the exams, various entities attacked them as well.

『I need blood! Blood!』
『Should I give you red toilet paper or blue toilet paper?』
『They say if you focus on Korean, English, and Math, you can be number one!』

Within the school, apart from the ghost stories supervising the exams, there were numerous other ghost stories that constantly obstructed their path, but…..

『The Double Barrel Shotgun is the true exorcism tool.』

With a single shot from American Lee’s shotgun, they all turned to dust and vanished.

『I’m not as soft as the Ghost Busters, you see. The true exorcism isn’t capturing ghosts, it’s shooting them dead, isn’t it?』

How was this possible?
Neutralizing entities was supposed to be extremely difficult, yet he easily eliminated them with his shotgun.

『Let’s keep going.』

Hope began to emerge for the agents.

『I’ll kill them all clean.』

『Truly beautiful.』

Admiring the painting drawn by So-hee, the art teacher let out a sigh of admiration.
She seemed entranced by the painting, unable to take her eyes off it.

“So-hee, are you an art university graduate?”
“Ddeuddaei.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Then is it talent? Wow, I didn’t know you could draw like this too.”

It was a painting that elicited awe even from those lacking artistic sensibilities.

“I feel the same emotion as when I first saw the Mona Lisa.”
“I feel the same emotion as when I saw the painting of the Girl with a Pearl Earring.”

Those with even a modest understanding of art gazed at the painting with enraptured expressions, unable to look away.

“You’re doing internet broadcasting with talent like that?”
“Ddeuddaei.”
“She says her dream is to become the top internet broadcaster.”
“…Are you really interpreting that correctly? It doesn’t seem like it to me?”

The casual chatter was short-lived.
Coming to her senses, the art teacher smiled brightly.

『With talent like this, I’ll spare all of you. This is the happiest I’ve ever felt in my life.』
“Ddeu, ddeuddaei!”
『From now on, keep drawing pictures for me.』
“…Ddeuddaei?”

With those words, the art room door closed.

『For your entire lives, keep drawing pictures here.』

The bait had been swallowed too well, far exceeding the pass condition.

『Oh, the silver-haired crimson-eyed loli beauty!』

At that moment, So-hee heard an unfamiliar voice in her ear.

『Completely kawaii-dano! To think I’d meet such a kawaii girl here after fleeing from the scary American Lee! What incredible luck-dano!』

Since no one else reacted, it seemed the voice couldn’t be heard by others.
Cautiously turning her gaze towards the source of the voice, So-hee saw a person inside the metal ferrule of the brush she was holding.

“Ddeu, ddeuddaei?”
『Your voice is cute too-dano! Don’t be surprised-dano! I’m a gentleman-dano!』

A sinister-looking man with a slender build and peculiar way of speaking glinted his glasses as he spoke.

『But….. Is this true-dano?』
“Ddeu?”
『I’ve peered into your core-dano. But were you originally a man who became a TS-dano!』

How did he know that fact!?
The startled So-hee stammered:

“Ddeu, ddeu, ddeuddaei.”
『Huehyeok! So it was true-dano!』

He understood everything she said.

『In this world! A silver-haired crimson-eyed loli TS beauty actually exists! And she even does broadcasting! This is straight out of a web novel protagonist-dano!』
『What’s that?』

Perhaps due to her excessive chatter?
The art teacher, having noticed, approached closer.

『There’s something strange here, isn’t there?』
『What’s your name-dano?』
“Ddeuddaei.”
『So-hee-chan! What a cute name too-dano! But is this thing bothering you, So-hee-chan?』
『What’s with that disgusting way of speaking? Come here! I’ll deal with that thing right now…..』

So-hee vigorously shook her head.

“Ddeuddaeit!”
『Then I’ll take care of it-dano!』

In that moment, the art teacher vanished.

『Isekai truck, complete.』

The person inside the metal ferrule waved a book around.

『This was a gift for the original, but I used it here instead-dano! What a waste, but it was for So-hee-chan’s sake, so I had no choice-dano!』
“Ddeu, ddeu?”
『Are you curious what this is-dano? It’s like this-dano.』

He showed her the book’s cover.

“Book of Isekai Transference for Those Who Want to Go to Another World 5: Martial Arts”

It was a book with a strange title.

『I found this in the warehouse of a bankrupt library-dano! Instead of rolling dice, this one makes a one-time contract to forcibly transfer a desired target to the martial arts world-dano!』
“Ddeuddaahwata.”
『You’re truly amazing-dano. Most wouldn’t understand, but you accept it so readily – the embodiment of a TS beauty’s open-mindedness-dano!』

Now, the others had also noticed his presence.

『No need to whisper anymore-dano! Then allow me to introduce myself-dano!』

The man elegantly introduced himself.

『I am Satoshi Watashi-dano! It’s a pleasure to meet you, So-hee-chan!』

『Kusso-!』
『Ugh, it hurts!』

Kim Go-deuk exhaled a ragged breath. But he was so exhausted that he could barely even breathe properly.

『Ittaiddesu!』
『Hmph! This is hide-and-seek, so what’s with the hitting!』

He had staked his life. However, he failed to defeat the far sturdier and more formidable statue of Admiral Yi Sun-sin, who could freely use instantaneous teleportation, unlike the girl reading the book statue.

‘What a pity.’

He had wanted to witness his disciple’s growth.
Did this mean he had accomplished nothing?

『Kusso! Shimaiddesu!』
『I’ll read the book again! Fool!』

A martial artist must live without regrets.
Since death is always by their side, they must live without regrets, so they can depart without lingering attachments when sudden death arrives.

‘I have lingering attachments.’

He had wanted to watch his disciple’s growth.
Did this mean he had not only failed to witness it but had even robbed his disciple of the opportunity to grow as a master?

‘At least, the girl reading the book……’

But there was no more time.
His innate primordial energy was depleted, and his life force was like a candle about to be extinguished.

‘Is there no final resurgence?’

And the statue of Admiral Yi Sun-sin was approaching to sever his neck.

『Wral!』

It was at that moment that an impossible sound was heard – the bark of a dog.

『Wral wral!』

A stout puppy had taken residence within Admiral Yi Sun-sin’s bronze sword.

‘Have I gone mad?’

But before he could ponder that thought further, he had already been dragged to a parched wasteland.

“Wral wral!”
“Huhuh, what a strange occurrence. I knew that in a world with entities, all sorts of demons run rampant, but to think a stout puppy was the grim reaper?”

Strangely, he could understand the puppy’s speech.

“Yes, take me now.”

Passing through the desolate wasteland, he arrived at a solemn land with a towering waterfall and cliff.

“Wral!”
“That’s my core?”
“Wral wral!”

On top of the cliff was a single sword.
The sword was heavily corroded, on the verge of breaking apart, but as the puppy diligently licked it, it gradually began to restore itself.

“Huhuh.”

The rust fell away, the missing edges returned, and a brilliant luster settled in, until finally, it became an exquisite sword.

“Truly a divine weapon.”

Kim Go-deuk pulled the sword from the ground.

“This is my core.”

Gazing upon it, he felt an indescribable sense of emotion welling up within him.

“My life.”

He had pursued the martial path his entire life.
In modern society, martial arts were considered a mere fiction.
Everyone mocked him, but he believed in martial arts and through ceaseless self-cultivation, he had attained them.

“My way.”

But how could one always maintain the same mindset?
Doubts had occasionally assailed him, leading him to question his path hundreds of times and regret it tens of thousands of times.

“My future.”

If only he had a master.
If there were those who had walked the path before him, he could have learned from them or found solace in their guidance.
But Kim Go-deuk had none of that, for he was the first martial artist and the first challenger.

“Huhuh.”

Even with the unperturbed mind cultivated through inner cultivation techniques, his already wounded heart could not be mended.
Therefore, he had thought that if his heart were visible, it would certainly not be beautiful.
But his core was a divine weapon, and his heart was a scenic spot where even immortals would enjoy the arts, was it not?

“My life was not in vain.”

The worries and concerns of being the first challenger, with no one to acknowledge him, washed away cleanly.
As his worries and concerns dissipated, an indescribable elation surged through him like a tidal wave of inner energy.

“Hmm.”

His upper and lower spirit channels opened.
The inner energy circulating through these two channels bestowed upon him an indescribable clarity.

“So this is enlightenment.”

When he opened his eyes again, only an instant had passed in the real world.

‘My body feels light.’

His lost innate primordial energy had fully recovered.
His inner energy was immaculately pure, incomparable to before, and the same amount felt as weighty as a fortune in gold.

“Huh!”

Kim Go-deuk observed his own reflection in Admiral Yi Sun-sin’s approaching sword.
His face appeared 30 years younger than before, now looking to be in his early 50s or late 40s.

“Regaining youth? A complete rebirth? Not quite perfect, it seems.”

He unleashed his stance, his once-black hair whipping about.

“Hyeolhwayeompor (Blood-Refining Blazing Terror).”

Eventually, he extended his fist.

“Geum (Metal).”

From the tip of his fist, his clear inner energy compressed the world. Twisting space, the accumulated inner energy surpassed its limits and soon physically manifested in the world.

“This is.”

An inner energy compressed into a space with the cool, crisp hue of an autumn sky burst forth.

“Fist energy.”
『Nani?』

Those were Admiral Yi Sun-sin’s final words.
When the erupting fist energy struck the statue, it turned to dust and vanished with a single blow.

“Whew, I’m still not used to it.”

After stretching his body once, Kim Go-deuk let out a wry smile.

“Shall I go capture the girl reading the book?”

‘Is this it?’

On the way to the club room, he had contemplated many things.

[The nurse’s office has long been the source of ghost stories!]

The nurse’s office was not the center of ghost stories.
When he had first re-entered the main building, the first place he visited was the nurse’s office, but nothing had happened there.

[Of course, what I intend to create is not limited to just one…….]

Secondly, Dr. Janus had likely only created a single entity.

[I’m going to submit a new rare animal I collected from the Family Zoo for the submission this time!]

While there might be no entry restrictions for the Family Zoo, quality would be more important than quantity to win a prize.
Rather than creating multiple entities, it was more likely for him to make a single, perfect entity, and connecting that to his earlier statement, there was a high probability that a single, powerful entity had spawned derivative entities.

[Today was supposed to be the birth date, so I came to retrieve it. It’s easiest to tame them right after birth.]

Thirdly, the entity was born today, and it’s easiest to tame right after birth.

‘Current questions are the significance of the nurse’s office and how to tame the newly born entity.’

It was unlikely the creator had instilled an inherent compulsion to follow him.

[Since we don’t know when the stalker will disappear, and it’ll become difficult to tame if we miss the timing, I’ll have to create a new organism elsewhere.]

He had said it would become difficult for even him to tame it after some time passes.

‘If he had wanted to, he could have made it that way, but perhaps he didn’t due to budget constraints.’

Eventually, he arrived at the floor where the club rooms were located.
Walking down the hallway, he soon found his desired destination.

[Ghost Story Club]
[No Entry for Outsiders!]

He opened the door and entered.
At that moment, Sarang activated.

『Seung-hoon, I have successfully connected to the outside world.』
“Sarang, look up one thing for me.”
『Yes, please go ahead.』

Gathering information is the only way to survive entities.

“Can you find all the messages and call logs of the graduates of this school discussing ghost stories?”
Sarang replied:

『It is possible.』
“Then please do so.”

Sarang’s battery was consumed.

『Beginning information gathering.』

『Bbwik, kkwak, heuk!』
In the gymnasium where the still-convulsing physical education teacher lay.
The door there slowly opened.

『…….』

Following that, a black shadow appeared.
The shadow stopped in its tracks and eventually spoke.

『Who the hell did this?』

In a voice filled with extreme rage.

『Which bastard smoked a cigarette in this school?』