Chapter 87

Breakdown I

They mocked me, calling me a decrepit old monster over a thousand years old, but their assessment was utterly mistaken.

Originally, Old Man Scho was the type to describe raindrops falling beautifully in autumn from a stormy sky as, "Huh, these H2Os are committing mass suicide (he actually said this)." He’s a caustic critic with a twisted tongue and a crooked spine.

Why should I be bothered by the reviews of such a wretched scum?

Referring to me, the Undertaker, with ageist terms like old man or decrepit monster is entirely inappropriate. There's no need to even mention curses filled with hatred and contempt for humanity, like old geezer or boomer.

More neutral titles like 'sunbae' or 'teacher' would be much more appropriate.

A sunbae refers to someone walking ahead.

As a regressor, I, the Undertaker, am always one step ahead of others. It's not about seniority, but quite literally, I'm the sunbae to all humans. Why? Am I wrong?

The same applies to 'teacher'.

Biologically, there are plenty of people older than me. But in terms of mental age, who is older than me? As Old Man Scho said, I'm well over a thousand years old. Thus, I am the teacher of all humans. How about that? Am I wrong?

"What are you talking about, you damn boomer bastard...?"

"......."

However, very few people actually used the titles 'sunbae' or 'teacher' for me.

No, it's not just rare. There were even more old people who persistently called Old Man Scho 'teacher'!

Oh, what a pity.

How can I not lament? That scum being called a teacher? Even in this land once called the country of courtesy, the three bonds and five relationships are torn apart.

But just as heroes appear in times of chaos, there are also sages in times of confusion.

"Oh, doc sunbae!"

A necromancer of the Korean Peninsula, who insists on wearing a white sailor uniform like the white-clad folk rather than black.

The almost only person who calls me 'sunbae', and the 113th student council president of Baekhwa Girls' High School, and the guild leader of Baekwha Guild.

"Sunbae!"

Occasionally, while walking down the hallway of the National Road Management Corps headquarters, I would hear someone calling me, and every time, the owner of the voice would run up with energetic footsteps and greet me with a big smile.

It's a pleasant sight.

Even in the cycle where zombies were rampant on the Korean Peninsula, in the cycle where 'Academy City' was established, and even in the cycle that led to the end of the world, she always had that same smile.

A smile fixed somewhere. A stuffed expression.

"Undertaker sunbae, where are you going~?"

"......."

This is a story about names. About the time it took for the title 'sunbae' to change to 'teacher'.

Let's talk about the Apostle of the Outer Gods, Cheon Yo-hwa.

If I had to pick the two people I least wanted to get involved with on the Korean Peninsula, the first would undoubtedly be the Sword Marquess of the Mount Hua Sect, and the second would be Cheon Yo-hwa.

Go Yuri? First, we need to define whether she’s even ‘human’ or not, so let's exclude her.

If it weren't for the information obtained from the Fairy King in the 89th cycle, I would never have approached Cheon Yo-hwa.

-Tutorial Dungeon Baekhwa Girls' High School.

-The survivor there, Cheon Yo-hwa, is the chosen Apostle of the Fairy King.

I felt like Sherlock Holmes hearing the name James Moriarty.

Or like a general witnessing Cao Cao’s preferences for married women. Suddenly, I realized, "Oh, I've lived my life to hunt down this bastard."

Moreover, in terms of villainy, Infinite Void was a cut above Moriarty.

Unlike Moriarty, whose demonic nature was immediately exposed by Sherlock Holmes’ clairvoyance, Infinite Void never revealed itself until the 89th cycle. I didn't even have a name to call it, so I gave it the name Infinite Void.

Cheon Yo-hwa was the only continuous suspect among these teacherminds of teacherminds, villains of villains.

The little detective inside me couldn't help but eye her intently.

And of course, my detective skills were far superior to those of any British drug-addicted hedonist. That guy can’t even turn back time.

"Seeing your hair color, you must be Cheon Yo-hwa? I've heard a lot about you from the others."

"Oh..."

In the 109th cycle, as I described before, I went to 'Baekhwa Girls' High School Tutorial Dungeon' six months after it opened and met Cheon Yo-hwa.

"I heard a very smart and quick hubae got elected as student council president. The news spread through our alumni network. By the way, I also worked in the student council and am now the alumni president."

"......."

Cheon Yo-hwa, captured!

Thanks to this necromancer, several good things happened, such as the development and nationwide distribution of the 'AI Judge' on the Korean Peninsula... but there was one minor problem.

Actually, it wasn’t minor at all. It was quite serious.

"Yo-hwa."

"Yes, doc sunbae!"

"Are you perhaps close with fairies?"

"Eh?"

"You know, the fairies from the tutorial. Or maybe you've connected with some greater being through such fairies. If you have such experiences, please let me know."

"......."

Blink. Cheon Yo-hwa blinked her eyes.

"Fairies? Sunbae?"

"Huh?"

"Is that some kind of code? Or a novel? Oh, come on, sunbae. There’s no such thing as fairies in the world. You’re teasing me too much—."

The name plaque, which should have been elegantly inscribed with the school name in Chinese characters, was partially damaged, leaving only '■■女子高等學校'.

"Comrade! The vanguard has opened the blood path!"

"Hmm. Let's advance."

The flowerbeds surrounding the academic buildings were filled with blooming red spider lilies, also known as Lycoris Radiata. Beyond the hill of spider lilies, white birch trees formed a forest.

The fairy shouted towards it.

"Full speed ahead! Perish the oppression of the bourgeoisie! For the Comrade Leader, I will lay down my life!"

The moment we set foot inside the school.

"Heeek?"

Bang!

Sensing the intruder, the security chief hurriedly ran out from inside.

Of course, the real security guard was lying dead near the gate, and this was just a new fairy wearing an armband in the 'Baekhwa Girls' High School Tutorial Dungeon'.

The opposing fairy, upon seeing us, was shocked and her eyes widened.

"Fairy? Human? Heek? Why a human?"

"Hoek! To distinguish fairies and humans by race! Humans can only be distinguished by ideology...! That one is surely a lackey of the bourgeoisie!"

"Heek? Heek? Heek?"

The opposing fairy was confused.

"I-I am fairy number 16, responsible for this tutorial! It's highly suspicious to intrude with a human without prior notice...! State your rank and name!"

"I am number 264! My number is revolutionary as bestowed upon me by destiny! Despicable bourgeoisie lackey, surrender your head to the guillotine!"

"Heeek! Rebellion! It's a rebellion! Guards! Guaaardsss!"

The moment fairy number 16 pulled out a magic wand to kill us, our number 264 also grabbed her magic wand.

"Where do you think you're going―"

"Heek!"

Bang!

The fairies exploded simultaneously. The explosion was perfectly timed.

There was a sad story behind this. Originally, all fairies were created with exactly the same combat power.

When fairies decide to fight each other, the outcome was destined to end in mutual destruction. If this were a martial arts novel rather than modern fantasy, the protagonist might not be them, but they could certainly be listed among the "Top 10 Memorable Side Characters Who Died Elegantly." If it were the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, they could be brothers who kept the Oath of the Peach Garden.

‘Now, Infinite Void's surveillance of Baekhwa Girls' High School would be temporarily gone.’

From now on, speed was of the essence.

First, I stripped the uniform off the guard's corpse and stuffed it into a leather trunk. Then I entered the school building.

I was already familiar with the building’s structure from previous cycles, but indeed, as expected of the void, the geography was constantly twisting in real time.

-Uoooooo...

-Hee, hee, hee, hee.

See? Just setting foot at the entrance, all sorts of bizarre sounds warmly welcomed the visitor.

This place was no longer Baekhwa Girls' High School.

'School Ghost Stories'.

Whether it’s toilet ghosts or the seven mysteries, all the anomalies related to the ‘school’ were realized in this labyrinth.

There were 750 people trapped in the void 'School Ghost Stories'. All were students of Baekhwa Girls' High School.

After 11 months of struggle, only 19 would survive... and two of them would soon jump off the roof to commit suicide. Considering that in 'School Ghost Stories,' suicides were virtually murders by ghosts, those two should also be counted as victims.

A survival rate of 2.26%.

The worst tutorial dungeon on the Korean Peninsula.

But... no matter how strong the anomalies and void are, or rather, the stronger they are, the more room for maneuver exists.

I call this the pain point of anomalies or voids. So-called weak points.

The difficulty of the void varies greatly depending on whether you know these weak points or not.

The old adage 'Knowledge is power' by Bacon became even truer at the end of the century.

So here's the question.

What is the most suitable weak point that an outsider, especially an older man compared to Baekhwa Girls' High students, can exploit in 'School Ghost Stories'?

What disguise should I use to navigate this place without appearing 'suspicious' in the void?

"...Alright. Found it."

The answer was written on the document I held in my hand.

[Baekhwa Girls' High School Guard Shift Schedule]

I quickly wrote my name in the last slot with a pen I brought from outside.

Then, I hurriedly changed into the guard uniform taken from the school gate. Hat on the head. A nameplate reading 'Guard Undertaker' pinned on the chest.

Disguise complete.

"...Ah, this cold and heavy feeling. It's been a while."

Lastly, I held the must-have item for a guard, a 'flashlight,' in my left hand. My reflection in the duty room mirror was perfect.

Now, this Undertaker would be working as a school guard in this cycle.

The strongest job in 'School Ghost Stories' had arrived.

Footnotes:

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