BXBX NOVEL Chapter 49 – Survivors II
Chapter 49 – Survivors II
Chapter 49 – Survivors II
4
“Vice Guild Leader. Can I have a moment?”
My first awareness of Baekhwa Girls’ High School was during the 5th turn.
It was still a time when I lived as the right hand man in the Three Thousand Worlds.
“Yes. What’s the matter, Guild Leader?”
“It’s nothing remarkable, just some news. Have you heard of a place called Baekhwa Girls’ High School?”
Meow, and at that moment, the black cat we kept in the guild (A Witch’s Essential Item) purred on my lap.
“No, I’ve never heard of it.”
“Hmm. Well, there’s apparently a school called Baekhwa Girls’ High School. It got swallowed whole by a gate. Almost a year ago? But it opened last week.”
“For a year. Then there should be no survivors.”
Then and now, I judged by healthy common sense and sound intellect.
Tang Seorin lowered her voice.
“Well… it’s not as surprising as you might think.”
“Yes?”
“Roughly around 20 survived, give or take.”
I widened my eyes.
Meow~ and the black cat cried.
“20? Is that true?”
“Yeah… I wish I could say for sure. But I don’t know exactly. It’s still just a rumor. For now, the information I have is that the ‘gate was closed for a year,’ ‘there are about 20 survivors,’ ‘all those trapped in the gate were high school students,’ and that’s about it.”
“Even high school students.”
I couldn’t help but be astonished.
As I mentioned, even as a regressor, it took me three tries to clear Busan Station. And even then, there was only one survivor.
Both Tang Seorin and I could empathize with how astonishing Baekhwa Girls’ High School’s survival rate must be.
“Guild Leader. If that’s true…”
“Yeah. It would mean among the survivors, there are incredibly talented individuals, possibly some of the greatest Awakeneds in history.”
Tang Seorin reached out and stroked the black cat’s back. The cat trembled.
“So, what I’m saying is. It would be great if Vice Guild Leader could go and investigate personally, even if it’s a bit inconvenient. To see if the rumors are true, if there are indeed top-tier Awakeneds, and if so――”
“We should recruit them into our guild.”
“Yeah.”
“Understood. I’ll make sure to recruit them before other guilds take notice.”
“Reliable as always. Oh, by the way.”
Tang Seorin added as an afterthought.
“If their character is seriously flawed, we don’t necessarily have to employ them.”
Looking back now, our witch might have had the power of prophecy.
In fact, upon sober reflection, it was something that could be expected.
Even physically and mentally sound adults often turned into lunatics after being trapped in the Void for a single stint. What would happen to high school students, in their prime emotional sensitivity, if they were to endure a long period of real-life horror game?
As soon as I arrived at Baekhwa Girls’ High School’s “guild headquarters,” I began to feel the answer.
“…This is the guild building?”
Caw, caw –
Crows cawed.
Just like how the Saintess lived in an aquarium temple and Tang Seorin resided in a train, the mental worlds of extraordinary Awakeneds were remarkable from the design of their homes. Baekhwa Girls’ High School was no different.
Baekhwa Girls’ High School, literally, had turned a real school building into the guild’s hideout.
“(Gyeonggi) Seo■ University 2-person Pass! (Cheers)”
The banner hanging on the gate was already tattered.
The ‘Seoul’ in ‘Seoul National University’ had a hole punched right through it. Of course, it could also have been Sogang University or Seogang University, so it couldn’t be confirmed until observed beforehand.
The playground looked as though it had been pummeled by a meteor shower, with craters all over. The net of the soccer goal was so twisted and tangled that even King Alexander would be shaken to see it.
The most impressive sight was the dormitory and school building, where the walls had collapsed, exposing the steel frame underneath.
“It’s more like an abandoned school than a school.”
I wasn’t the protagonist of a horror game. So I hesitated whether to actually enter or not.
“Um. What brings you here?”
“Oh, um…”
As I stood awkwardly in front of the gate, the security guards approached.
And, uh… the appearance of the security guards was quite unique.
To put it bluntly, their skulls were smashed in.
“…”
In other words, zombies.
The security guards had their skulls completely exposed to the world. However, their attitude towards me was very polite. If they were wearing motorcycle helmets, you wouldn’t have known they were zombies.
“I’m sorry, but if you have no business here, please leave. This is a private school. Outsiders cannot enter freely.”
“Uh, um.”
Even as someone who prided themselves on having quite a bit of experience as a regressor, I found it difficult to decide what to say in this situation.
‘If they’re zombies, aren’t they monsters? Should I attack them as soon as I see them?’
“I came from the Three Thousand Worlds Guild.”
“Three Thousand Worlds? Guild?”
The zombie guard scratched his bald head.
“Where is that?”
“Well… It’s the most prominent guild in Busan.”
Wait, hold on. Am I explaining things while holding a monster captive?
Suddenly, I realized and composed myself.
“I’m here to meet the person in charge. Is she available?”
“Oh, you’re here to see the guild president, huh.”
Guild president?
“She’s in class right now, so she can’t come out immediately.”
“In class?”
“Yes? Yeah. This is a school. Naturally, if it’s class time, the students would be in class.”
At this point, I already had a feeling.
A very, very familiar sense of foreboding.
It was akin to the unease that washed over me when, in response to Tang Seorin’s offer of employment, I went to Three Thousand Worlds and suddenly heard, “Oh, by the way, anyone who joins our guild has to wear a funny hat no matter where they are.”
After years of living as a regressor, I developed a sixth sense.
The so-called ‘shrewd tentacle.’ A sensory organ unique to regressors.
When a certain level of shrewdness was detected, a tingling sensation shot up from my tailbone to my neck. Especially now, the warning rang out from my fourth cervical vertebra. Considering that meeting Tang Seorin had only made it tingle up to the sixth thoracic vertebra, this was a significant level of shrewdness.
‘Should I run away?’
If I had eaten a bit more rice, I would have immediately retreated in compliance with my body’s sirens.
But by the fifth regression, I had become unnecessarily upright. I clung to a truly meaningless pretext, thinking, ‘Even so, I can’t just abandon the mission Tang Seorin entrusted me with, even if it’s absurd.’
“…I see. Okay. Until when should I wait for class to end?”
“Um.”
The guard turned his head and looked at the clock.
It was a giant clock installed on the school’s outer wall, boasting a design that didn’t clash with the surroundings at all. The hands of the clock were broken, indicating that it wasn’t working at all.
But even the zombie guard seemed to have some kind of sixth sense like me, as he easily checked the time from the broken clock.
“It’s about 15 minutes until break time. It’s a bit awkward to leave a guest standing… Would you like to wait inside?”
“I’ll just stay here.”
I replied promptly. I didn’t want to cross this gate if I could help it. Even though I didn’t run away completely, my decision to wait was based on my spine’s reaction to some extent.
The guard shrugged his shoulders.
“Is that so? Well, feel free to stay however you like.”
It didn’t take long for my judgment to be proven very correct.
“Ding-dong-dang-dong.”
“….?”
I looked at the guard.
Note that I used quotation marks (“”) to indicate that I just wrote the sound effects. So, this ‘ding-dong-dang-dong’ wasn’t a bell ringing. It wasn’t a bell sound broadcast from a speaker or a bell ringing from a bell tower.
The guard, the broken-zombie with his mouth and throat moving, was making the sound.
“Ding-dong-dang-dong.”
“….”
As soon as I saw that scene, my third cervical vertebra tingled.
Just like how rats go crazy before an earthquake, this time, too, my spine’s premonition was not wrong. Zombies poured out of the school building, or more precisely, the closed school building.
“Ding-dong-dang-dong.”
“Ding-dong-dang-dong.”
All the zombies were wearing school uniforms, meaning they were wearing the uniforms of Baekhwa High School. And hundreds of zombies all moved their lips to chant ‘ding-dong-dang-dong.’
“….”
I shuddered.
‘Let’s run.’
But it was already too late.
“You called for me?”
A living human walked out among the hundreds of zombies. Wearing the same white school uniform as the zombies.
Her hair was in a ponytail. Dyed orange.
In a private school with a long tradition, such a hair color would inevitably stand out, so perhaps she received some support from the students, which is why she approached me like a student who was called out by a guest while attending class.
“Who are you?”
It was Cheon Yohwa.
“Hello. I’m Doctor Jang, the deputy guild master of Three Thousand Worlds Guild in Busan.”
“Huh? Guild? Deputy guild master?”
Cheon Yohwa tilted her head. In terms of dialogue alone, it was quite a cute reaction.
The problem was her pupils.
Cheon Yohwa’s eyes lacked focus. It’s like her iris and pupil couldn’t be distinguished. Her pupils were completely immersed in black shadows like wells.
“What’s that? I’ve never heard of it.”
“Well… I see. Um. A guild refers to a group of Awakeneds.”
“Awakeneds?”
“Awakeneds are, uh, people with special abilities.”
Cheon Yohwa blinked her eyes.
In response, my third cervical vertebra also blinked. Quite fiercely.
“Special abilities? What’s that? Um, sir, are you perhaps an otaku?”
“No, I… excuse me, may I ask your name?”
“Oh, I’m Cheon Yohwa.”
In this passage, she also politely bowed her waist to greet me.
And I somewhat relaxed at this ‘normal reaction’. It couldn’t be helped, but I’ve always had a weakness for polite people. Even with Koyori.
From then on, a parade of verbal slips erupted from my mouth. At the time, I wasn’t even aware that they were verbal slips.
“I’m in charge of the student council here.”
“Um, didn’t Cheon Yohwa awaken her abilities? I don’t know what kind of ability it is. The abilities of the members here, such as the security guard or the [zombies] roaming around the playground, the abilities of the awakened people here—”
“Huh? Zombies?”
Fatal verbal slip 1.
“Yes. Cheon Yohwa’s ability is very powerful. I don’t know if she turned the already dead [bodies] into zombies or if she turned living people into zombies.”
“…Bodies?”
Fatal verbal slip 2.
“Cheon Yohwa and the guild members here could have a much better environment than now. In our Three Thousand Worlds, we don’t make empty promises. You don’t have to struggle to live in this [abandoned school] where the roof collapses and the outer walls fall off.”
“….”
Fatal verbal slip 3.
“Of course, I’m not suggesting we do anything immediately. Just give us some time to arrange a meeting and we’ll come visit formally…”
“Please leave.”
“Yes?”
“Leave our school immediately.”
Only then did I realize that the surroundings had quieted down.
The security guard who had reacted like a living person until just now, the zombies crowded in the playground, the real students interspersed among them, and Cheon Yohwa in front of me.
They were all silently staring at me.
“….”
“No, don’t go.”
Cheon Yohwa grabbed my wrist.
“It’s already short-staffed with security guards. Yeah, this works out well. Sir, would you like to [work] at our school? Mr. Security Guard. Yeah, it seems like a good idea.”
“….”
“Or you could transfer schools. The basketball team juniors have been complaining lately about the lack of new students.”
My second cervical vertebra triggered a disk symptom.
Even the me from the 5th run, who was not exactly known for his perceptiveness, could sense that this situation was going downhill fast. With a swift motion, I shook off Cheon Yohwa’s hand and fled without hesitation.
I fully expected the ‘enemies’ to chase after me. It was a reasonable assumption, and thus, a wrong one.
The entities affiliated with Baekhwa High School did not pursue me.
Looking back, they hadn’t even taken a step outside the school gates.
“….”
The wall separating the school from the outside world was crumbling in places. But the zombies, as if there was an ‘invisible barrier,’ never crossed the school’s perimeter.
From behind the gate, behind the wall, hundreds of gazes stood glued to me like cicadas on a wall, silently watching this way.
“Ding-dong-dang-dong.”
“Ding-dong-dang-dong.”
“Ding-dong-dang-dong.”
The bell echoed through the abandoned schoolyard. The zombies turned back around.
“Oh, break time’s over.”
Cheon Yohwa muttered emotionlessly. She, too, walked towards the school gate amidst the zombies. Although there were occasional ‘real humans’ mixed in, honestly, I couldn’t tell the difference between them and the zombies.
They seemed like a single, cohesive entity rather than individual beings.
The playground fell silent in an instant.
Listening closely, I could hear voices coming from the school building in the distance. It was English. From another classroom, I could hear the sound of math being taught.
Astoundingly, the guild members of Baekhwa High School, including the zombies, were receiving ‘lessons’ inside the school building.
“…This is insane.”
That was my first encounter with Cheon Yohwa.
First attempt at contact with aliens, failed.
“These kids are crazy.”
Even the experienced Tang Seorin came to the same conclusion after seeing my report.
“Sometimes there are those lunatics. So, what do you think, Vice Guild Leader? Should we intervene, even if it means civilian casualties? If so, we need to take action.”
“I can’t be sure yet, but I don’t think we need to worry about civilian casualties. They’ve set up camp in the abandoned school and haven’t left.”
“Oh, really?”
In response to my advice, Tang Seorin made a highly rational decision.
“In that case, let’s try not to meddle unnecessarily. There’s no need to disturb a hornet’s nest for no reason.”
“A wise decision.”
“I’m always wise.”
“Guild insignia.”
“A decoration that symbolizes my unparalleled wisdom.”
Three Thousand Worlds tidied up their hands.
But in the world, there weren’t only rational humans like us.
5
Human cunning was like the king of fruits, the durian.
No matter how tightly you seal it in a box, it still exudes its overwhelming presence to those around it.
Not long after I returned with a firm determination, all the Awakeneds on the peninsula began to pay attention to Baekhwa High School without exception.
“A necromancer? A mage-type Awakened?”
“And they can control hundreds of corpses at will?”
“They’re a total rookie sensation.”
“Recruit them! Unconditionally, whatever the conditions, bring them over!”
It was the era of human punk, where all resources were replaced with manpower.
Even if all other resources were scarce, corpses were plentifully excavated, making the necromancer profession itself quite appealing.
Of course, I knew that this overflowing charm was just like Pandora’s box. In other words, as soon as you open the package, it means that Santa Claus will deliver disasters to the whole world.
“Everyone, that place is nothing but a hollow cave. I strongly recommend not going in.”
“Is Three Thousand Worlds afraid of the advancement of our guild?”
“Just leave it. They failed to recruit them, so they’re probably trying to provoke us. Ignore them.”
Foolishly, the guild leaders ignored my friendly advice.
They were distracted by the appearance of an exceptional rookie.
“Wow! Not even a fake virus, but a real zombie horde controlled by a necromancer!”
“Step aside… Everyone step aside! With just a dark magician, we might be able to overthrow Tang Seorin’s dictatorship!”
When Three Thousand Worlds, the biggest guild, declared that they would be absent from this FA transfer market, other guild leaders rushed in as if they were crazy.
They each selected the most attractive candidates from their guilds and fervently pressed the ‘recruit’ button.
The only difference between me and the other candidates was the presence or absence of spinal nerves.
“Why… Why aren’t they coming back from Baekhwa High School?”
“Are yours the same? Our guild members are also missing in action.”
Even though the guild leaders waited, the candidates did not return.
In the end, guild leaders, exhausted from waiting, visited Baekhwa High School themselves and witnessed a surprising sight.
“Why… Why are you working here?”
“Yes? I’m just an ordinary security guard.”
“What?”
The candidates sent by the guilds all ended up getting hired by Baekhwa High School, of all places.
During the job interviews, it seemed like their skulls had holes drilled in them because the rookie security guards all leaked their memories along with their brain fluids. They couldn’t even recognize the faces of the guild leaders they had served in the past.
Just as when you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back at you, sending out new talents with the intention of hiring them, but instead losing their existing talents is always a possibility. However, the guild leaders were not mature enough to accept such a truth.
“What the hell… Damn it, this won’t do. Screw it!”
And those who seek to screw others over must be prepared to be screwed over themselves.
The guilds, seeking revenge on Baekhwa High School, all succeeded in ‘hiring’ without exception. In an era of job scarcity, Baekhwa High School single-handedly lowered the unemployment rate in the peninsula.
“This is insane… What is this?”
“Doctor Jang was right after all?”
The guild leaders were astonished.
“We should never mess with them.”
“Damn, did you see what they’re eating in the school cafeteria? Human flesh! They’re sitting there eating human flesh! Crazy bastards.”
“Damn, they weren’t just unable to eat, they were unable to eat zombies.”
But it was already too late.
Pandora’s box had been opened.
Baekhwa High School reached a temporary saturation point. It was natural, considering the sudden influx of rookie security guards. Even for a prestigious school boasting history and tradition, 136 security guards felt a bit excessive.
The unplanned increase in manpower inevitably placed a heavy burden on Baekhwa High School’s financial operations.
If Cheon Yohwa were an ordinary corporate CEO, she would have wielded the three swords of ‘workforce reduction,’ ‘mass layoffs,’ and ‘restructuring’ here.
But Cheon Yohwa was no ordinary person. She was different. She judged that now was precisely the time to aggressively push forward with a merger policy.
“Um, um?”
“Why… why are they increasing?”
Literally, the ‘school’ had expanded.
More precisely, the scope of the school had been gradually expanding.
The building in front of Baekhwa High School had become a ‘tteokbokki restaurant’ and a ‘convenience store’ at some point. It wasn’t just a story about selling tteokbokki in the store.
“Hello, boss. Please give me two servings of tteokbokki with three fried dumplings added!”
If a zombie student said this,
“Our student is so pretty, so I added one more fried dumpling.”
the zombie boss would reply.
Nothing was exchanged between them. The zombie student handed over transparent banknotes, and the zombie boss handed over transparent tteokbokki. And both of them laughed happily.
This was somewhat on the normal side, at least.
Sometimes, there were even cases where they handed over transparent banknotes and received ‘human flesh tteokbokki’ in return.
Laughter from students never ceased at the snack bar in front of the school. The stores thrived during lunchtime and after school. This was the true essence of a creative economy.
“Hello! I’m Cheon Yohwa, the student council president of Baekhwa High School!”
“Eek…! H-help me!”
“Oops, hold on a moment. These days, our students are really interested in extracurricular activities! Are you perhaps interested in working with our school?”
“Not interested! Leave me alone!”
“Thank you!”
…
The guilds that had been gaining ground around Baekhwa High School gradually succumbed to the school’s educational fervor.
In less than a year, the Korean Peninsula saw the birth of a mega-academy city.