The art room.
The swimming pool.
The school infirmary...
With her cat-ear headband, Kaguya was no longer an ordinary girl. Wherever she went, she was unstoppable.
Word about these three people soon spread throughout the entire Ghost Academy.
The last time a school-wide wanted poster was issued, not a single vengeful spirit dared to approach them. Instead, they all fled as fast and far as they could.
'"She's coming, she's coming! She's coming with the Dean!"'
"It feels like we're bullying the ghosts," Chika muttered, looking at the trembling ghost in the infirmary.
"More like a fox flaunting the tiger's power," Amamiya corrected. "Come on, be honest, how does it feel?"
Chika blinked and quickly raised both hands in a mock salute, saying, "Kaguya-chan, the eternal god!"
Amamiya nodded, echoing, "Shinomiya-san, the eternal god."
"Shut up," Kaguya snapped, arms folded across her chest, her gaze icy.
'Bzzz—'
Suddenly, a red light flashed in the Dean's eyes.
Without anyone needing to say a word, Kaguya knew exactly what she had to do next. She gave a soft, reluctant sigh and added with a resigned tone, "Meow~"
The Dean, now content, settled down.
At the same time, a new game notification appeared in front of all players.
---
[Attention, All Players]
[Players 'The Evil of This World,' 'Cancer of the Earth,' and 'Cat Girl Kaguya' have successfully cleared all scenes and achieved the highest MV rank in the game. Important scenes are now broken, key characters lost, and many vengeful students require psychological counseling.]
[Analyzing data...]
[Ghost Academy will soon close. The dungeon's reopening time is TBD.]
[All players will be ejected from the instance in 10 seconds. Please be ready.]
[Ten, nine, eight...]
---
There were many unfortunate players still stuck in Ghost Academy, cautiously fighting for survival. When the game's announcement suddenly appeared, they were left in shock.
'"What the hell?"'
'"I barely survived the first scene, and someone's already cleared the entire dungeon?"'
'"With a title like that, it's obvious these guys are elite... no, more like the Big Three!"'
'"It's like they are the three admirals in One Piece, so I guess it's only natural for the three to clear the horror game easily?"'
'"But something feels... off about that cat girl's playstyle..."'
---
Amidst the confusion, the countdown quickly reached its end.
For a moment, Amamiya's vision blurred.
---
In the next instant, the trio found themselves back on the sunlit campus. A gentle breeze rustled the air, and delicate pink and white cherry blossoms fluttered down like snow. Girls in short skirts skipped along happily, their laughter light and cheerful. It was a world completely different from the gloomy, oppressive atmosphere of Ghost Academy.
"Uhm..."
Chika rubbed her temples with two fingers, shaking her head as if waking from a dream. She blinked, then cheerfully called out, "Good morning, Kaguya-chan~! I think I just had the weirdest hallucination. It felt like the three of us—Natsuki-san, you, and I—were trapped in a school haunted by vengeful spirits."
Amamiya and Kaguya remained silent, exchanging a brief glance.
'"Eh?"' Chika blinked again. '"Why aren't you saying anything?"'
"That wasn't a hallucination," Kaguya replied coolly.
"W-What? But our clothes are perfectly clean! There's no way we went anywhere crazy. Are you two playing a prank on me?"
Amamiya paused for a couple of seconds before declaring, "Shinomiya-san, the eternal god."
"..."
Kaguya's lips twitched.
What eternal god? She's clearly just a mascot!
"Eh, eh?" Chika's eyes widened. "So... everything that just happened was real? That wasn't an illusion?"
"Let me explain..."
Kaguya pressed her fingers to her temples and let out a small sigh before calmly recounting everything that had happened since last night.
"I get it now," Chika nodded enthusiastically, her eyes sparkling. "So, Kaguya-chan, you encountered some kind of mysterious supernatural event. That's so exciting!"
"It wasn't exciting at all," Kaguya replied, her face remaining cold and expressionless.
"But Kaguya-chan, you didn't seem scared at all!" Chika teased, tilting her head playfully.
Some people just pretend not to be afraid, but inside, they're trembling with fear!
At this, Amamiya's gaze subtly shifted to the top of Kaguya's head. A line of text appeared over the black-haired girl's head:
'"So scary, so scary, so scary... I don't want to deal with anything like that ever again!"'
"I'm heading to class," Amamiya whispered before starting to walk away.
The three of them were standing in front of the hall's shoe lockers, drawing the attention of nearby students. Sure enough, a few curious glances were already being cast in their direction.
"Let's go too," Kaguya said, folding her arms and striding upstairs with her usual icy composure.
"Kaguya-chan, wait for me!" Chika quickly followed.
Amamiya, lagging slightly behind, carried his school bag over one shoulder, his mind wandering toward thoughts of the future.
Sixteen years of ordinary life, only to suddenly find himself thrust into the nightmare of a horror game world. He sighed inwardly.
It seemed like you couldn't just escape after surviving one game. Amamiya had learned last night that players were forced into these games periodically, with no end in sight.
Previously, his life plans had been simple: study hard, get into a good university, maybe have a cute girlfriend... or more than one.
He had dreams of dating a senior with black stockings... or a legal cute loli too if possible. If he could have both, life would be perfect!
But now... survival came first.
Lost in thought, Amamiya opened his game interface.
---
[Game Results Complete. Scroll down to view.]
[Player Title: 'The Evil of the World,' generated based on your performance.]
[You completed seven side quests and earned 70 game coins.]
[You've unlocked new items in the store.]
---
[Special Note: Multiple complaints from Ghost Academy students have resulted in a temporary ban from re-entering the academy.]
---
"Getting reported by evil spirits... that's new," Amamiya muttered, shaking his head. He glanced at the updated game store, noting the new feature next to the usual blind box: attribute points.
---
[Today's Attribute: Endurance]
[Price: 50 Game Coins]
[Description: Increases permanent endurance stats.]
[Note: Endurance is important, especially in married life... provided you have a wife or girlfriend first.]
---
Amamiya let out a long, dissatisfied sigh.
'"Cold, so cold... Sweat dripping down my back and I don't even have a girlfriend. What's that got to do with anything?"'
'"What's wrong with being single? It's not like I'm hurting anyone!"'
Suddenly, a panicked cry rang out.
Startled, Amamiya glanced up just in time to see Chika stumbling ahead of him. She misstepped, flailing in panic. Before he could react, everything went black.