I Became A Ghost In A Horror Game

"Is this the place?"

"Yes, Director Carol."

Carol gets out of the helicopter.

She kicked away a piece of debris from the fight between Pinocchio and Alice.

They really managed to shatter such a thick wall like this.

"Alice did it in a flashy way. It's not as bad as when she dropped the nuke last time, but..."

Carol pulls a detector from her pocket.

Searching through the debris one by one to find what you want is...

Quite inefficient.

However, the detector's response was strange.

The signal was weak.

"Urgh! It's not working well because reality is distorted by reality manipulation!"

Carol shouted nervously, and the attendant next to her flinched.

Seeing this, Carol awkwardly twists her hair.

"I'm sorry. Lately, I've been so annoyed by all the things going on... It's all because of that Mephisto guy. That guy only likes to cause trouble and never takes care of it, you know? Look at this! If Alice hadn't stopped Pinocchio, the Ruler or whatever would've created a mess!"

Carol alternates between apologizing and venting her frustration.

You can tell that she usually gets quite stressed out.

As Carol continued to curse Mephisto inwardly, leaving the attendant behind who looked troubled, he said a word to cheer her up.

"But at least we have a chance to get some materials."

"That's good to hear, but..."

Carol sighed and stopped cursing, then rummaged through the wreckage and put the detector on each one.

After about 5 minutes, a red light came on from the detector.

Carol immediately put on her special gloves and cleared the debris to get the broken gear.

"Okay. With this in hand and after reporting to the higher-ups, we can finally go see Alice again."

"Um, what about the punishment...?"

The attendant asked Carol and then covered his mouth as if he made a mistake.

He had expected that she would at least be separated from Alice, but he was surprised when Carol said something unexpected, so he unconsciously asked.

Still, orders given by the higher-ups are basically secrets.

It wasn't something to be asked lightly, so he had to be prepared to be scolded.

However, Carol didn't care.

"Well... I guess you could say there was no punishment, but I received various demands. The details are a secret. Hehe. Even the higher-ups are like that. Their vague orders make it clear they're still wavering over whether to approve or disapprove of what Mephistopheles did."

"..."

Even though the details were kept secret, what that loose-lipped woman said was a considerable amount of information.

In the first place, bringing up the story about Mephisto Pheles was a top secret of top secrets.

The attendant was even considering taking an amnestic.

Carol, who was looking at the attendant who was struggling alone as if she was having a hard time, thought to herself.

'No matter what outcome the Institution and Mephisto Pheles aim for, I have no intention of going along with it.'

"Let's hurry and get back."

Carol got on the helicopter, told the driver the destination, and looked out the window.

They soon left the base and saw an ordinary city.

What kind of monsters were hiding in that peaceful-looking, everyday landscape?

Carol frowned slightly at that thought.

[Don't you get it yet, Carol? The world is the greatest joke! So... I hope you don't hate this world too much.]

"..."

Why is that suddenly coming to mind?

Carol glanced out the window and saw her attendant.

He was smiling faintly while sending a message to someone else on his smartphone.

Carol asked.

"If you don't mind, can I ask what's so fun about it?"

"Haha. My daughter just asked me what I'm going to do for Halloween in a few months."

"Is that so? You know we don't have any holidays, right? If you want to take a vacation, it's better to request time off in advance."

"Yes, I understand."

After a short conversation, Carol looked out the window again.

She looked a little lonely.

'Halloween... I'm reminded of an old friend. Where did you go, leaving only those words behind...'

...

POV Switch - Alice

"Here, Alice! This is the new spicy ramen! Try it!"

It's after school now.

Suddenly, noodles covered in spicy sauce are trying to invade my mouth.

And I resisted it with my teeth, and finally pushed Eun-jeong away and asked her.

"...I wouldn't say I can't eat it, but Eun-jeong, why do you keep trying to feed me spicy food?"

"I want to see Alice panting from the heat!"

"So you're not even trying to hide it anymore?!"

"Eek!"

I stretched Eun-jeong's cheeks and teased her.

It's a big mistake to think that I'll be teased all the time!

While I was stroking Eun-jeong's head because she was sobbing and I felt guilty, Ha-rim asked me.

"So... Did you solve the problem you had to solve last time?"

"Umm... Well, that's right. I wonder what happened to her."

Even after being ejected from Pinocchio's consciousness, she still seemed confused.

When I looked at her, she noticed my gaze, muttered something about seeing me later, and quickly disappeared.

"I couldn't catch her for some reason."

Hmm... While it wasn't impossible to catch her then, I had a hunch I'll run into her again soon.

It seemed like she had no intention of antagonizing me or attacking the Institution anymore.

I seemed to have let them go of Peter Pan the same way too... We'll have to wait and see what happens.

They're kind of like me in a way, so I don't want to be too harsh on them.

"So what are you going to do today?"

When Ha-rim asked that, I thought deeply.

Is there anything light and enjoyable to do?

"Hmm~ Let's take it easy today? Do you want to do the homework the teacher gave us today?"

As I said that, I took out my textbooks from my bag and handed them to the kids.

The kids' reactions were quite cold.

"Alice... I'm disappointed."

"N-No, I'm joking!"

I put the textbooks away right away and started thinking again.

Should I give them a tour of the mirror world?

"I have a good idea. Let's analyze ghost stories!"

At that moment, Ha-rim suggested.

"Analyzing ghost stories?"

When I asked again, she nodded.

"Ghost stories. I used to think they were stories made up of about 90% fiction and 10% truth... There really are scary things in the world. Do you understand what I mean?"

Kyeong-min listened quietly and nodded.

"Aha. I think I know what you're trying to say. There's a possibility that ghost stories themselves are true, right? That's why we're going to analyze ghost stories and track down the real ones."

"That's right!"

James also said that ghost stories may be caused by the Institution's memory erasure or information control not being perfect.

Like Mary, in which the actual entity was a bug-shaped monster.

"It seems like it would be good for relieving boredom. Well, let's not really try to meet the monsters in ghost stories. Let's spend the day peacefully."

"Why are you so obsessed with being peaceful?"

"We had a big day yesterday. I destroyed the scrap metal Ruler I mentioned last time."

"Eh~ You went without us?"

Ha-rim whining was cute.

I smiled slightly and tried to comfort her.

"Hehehe... Sorry. It's not because I didn't trust you that I didn't take you, so don't be too disappointed."

"If Alice is like that..."

Ha-rim understood and went near the blackboard and spoke.

"Okay. Since we don't have any specific materials, let's analyze the ghost stories that come to mind today. Does anyone have any?"

"Um... How about a doppelganger ghost story?"

I thought Kyeong-min or Ha-rim would raise their hands first, but surprisingly, it was Suho.

"Doppelganger..."

"Didn't you meet a doppelganger before?"

The doppelganger monster was one of the monsters I met when I was Ella.

He was a guy who left quite a bad impression, but looking back, he also warned me about the time that the half-demon had twisted.

...If I had noticed it then, would things have been different?

"Yeah, that's right. But the doppelganger we met wasn't the main character in the ghost story, but a derivative of a ghost story. If a ghost story is the chicken, then the doppelganger was the egg. Uh... Anyway. My question is this. Why did the saying that one of you dies when you meet a doppelganger come about? Is it because whatever qualifies as a doppelganger kills the other person?"

"That's right. If the legend isn't just exaggerated, why would one die upon meeting the other?"

While I was responding to Suho's words, the mirror I had put in my skirt shook.

Shake, shake.

'Doppelganger bastard. He wants to come out and tell his story.'

Thwack.

I lightly hit the mirror and warned him not to come out.

I felt bad for the doppelganger in the mirror that quickly became quiet, but I didn't want to make things awkward.

'They copy not only the appearance of a person but also their memories, so they don't even know that they're a monster, so it's annoying because they run wild.'

"If this legend wasn't just made scary for the sake of it, there must be a reason it started. It's weird to think someone would die just because they look alike.Unless it actually happened."

"Hmm..."

The children began to worry as Suho continued to ask questions.

At that time, Eun-jeong, who was struggling to eat spicy ramen by herself, asked.

"But how do you die? A heart attack?"

"Usually, one person dies from a heart attack or the other person kills the other!"

"Then, isn't the truth that they're a murderer who's actually disguised?"

Ha-rim guessed that the original doppelganger was a murderer who was good at disguising.

Of course, this is a guess based on the assumption that the identity of the doppelganger is something that can be identified.

"Oh..."

When I showed interest in the novel answer, Eun-jeong brought up another opinion.

"Maybe the doppelganger eats them!"

The doppelganger eats them?

"Why?"

"Um... To replace them? They eat them to replace the person, just like in the story of the mouse that eats fingernails."¹

It's much less believable than Ha-rim's.

Still, in a world where supernatural monsters rule, it seems worth thinking about.

"Both are interesting hypotheses. Okay, let's list both."

Ha-rim listened to me and wrote down both opinions on the blackboard with chalk.

The identity of the doppelganger: A monster that tries to replace a person, a murderer who is good at disguise.

This ghost story was likely made up by people who felt creepy when they saw their own reflection in a dark space.

Furthermore, it is possible that someone who was surprised by seeing themselves in the mirror died from a heart attack as a result of this ghost story.

But let's skip it because it's fun to guess.

"It's somehow exciting. Next... Kyeong-min, you should try it."

"The ghost story I thought of is about werewolves."

The ghost story Kyeong-min came up with was truly an unexpected one.

Eun-jeong tilted her head slightly.

"Werewolfs? That's not really a ghost story..."

Werewolves, like vampires, were the kind of monsters that only appear in old movies. Right.

They're closer to legends than ghost stories.

Even in legends, half-human, half-beast monsters are a common subject.

"It's a legend. But in essence, it doesn't seem that different."

Ha-rim added strength to Kyeong-min's words.

In a broad sense, legends fall within the scope of human ominous imagination, so it wasn't wrong.

However, Kyeong-min denied the keyword legend.

"No. It's a ghost story. It's a ghost story that's been trending recently."

Kyeong-min then showed several eyewitness accounts using webpage photos captured on his phone.

There are quite a few at a glance.

Of course, there are no direct photos, and there are only vague photos and eyewitness accounts that say they heard the sound of wolves howling.

"Isn't it strange? It's rare for old legends to become a topic of conversation like this."

To Kyeong-min, who was raising questions, I simply gave a clear answer.

"That must be a real werewolf."

"Huh? I thought it might be a psychopath wearing a costume, but I didn't know Alice would confirm it."

"Yeah. I've seen something like that before. I even fought one."

I encountered wolf-like monsters at the place where I first met the kids.

It was just a few, but since there must have been a lot of them, the Institution might have missed some.

There must have been many eyewitness accounts as a result.

The interesting thing is that the werewolf story that was simply a rumor was actually involved in something bigger.

It wasn't just that werewolves survived like endangered animals and were living in hiding, but that an entire foreign region had turned into a forest, and the werewolf monsters that jumped out from there easily overpowered the Institution's numbers.

The truth behind that huge incident is also a mystery that must be solved someday.

Hehehe... I'll save that story for later~

"Wow. This ghost story was real."

I gave a little warning to Kyeong-min, who was surprised.

"There's a possibility that there are more werewolves, so be careful if you hear animal sounds on the street."

"That's creepy."

"Okay, next!"

Ha-rim summarized it on the board again.

Werewolves: There really are. There seem to be a lot of them.

This time, Ha-rim, who had been writing on the board, raised her hand.

When I gestured, she said.

"Do you know about this guy called This Man?"

Kyeong-min nodded as if he knew.

Of course, I know that ghost story too.

"I know. It's a ghost story about the man everyone has seen in their dreams."

This Man is a ghost story that started on a website where they put up a picture of a strange-looking man that you'll remember once you see it and ask, Have you ever seen this guy in your dreams?

It was known in Korea as This man, derived from the phrase Ever Dream This Man?.

The interesting thing about this ghost story is that many people said they had seen This Man.

Whether it was the manipulation of some force or someone who actually knew about it, this ghost story with a rather creepy atmosphere quickly gained popularity and became famous.

"But that's a fake made by a marketing strategist."

"Oh."

That's how it turned out, but...

"Hey. It's not fun to think that way. There's a secret institution that controls information, so who knows if it's a lie?"

"That makes sense."

"It's only half-fun, but Suho is serious~"

When Eun-jeong teased Suho, Suho stuffed more noodles into Eun-jeong's mouth, who was taking a break from eating spicy ramen for a moment.

"Fine, fine~ But even if that's a lie, I've never seen this person in my dreams?"

"Honestly, me neither."

"Me too! I think this ghost story is fake."

There's a reason why ghost stories end up as ghost stories.

People say they've seen This Man, but I guess no one has actually seen him in their dreams.

"I thought he might be a mind control psychic, but I didn't know about This Man before I heard this ghost story. I think he might be fake."

"That's disappointing."

Ha-rim was blatantly disappointed by my words.

Compared to what came before, it's a disappointing conclusion.

"Then what about the 200 won coin?"

Kyeong-min asks.

200 won coin.

It's a ghost story that became a hot topic on internet communities, and it's about a 200 won coin actually existing in the past.

A netizen brought up a story about a 200 won coin, and it spread as several people agreed with it.

It's similar to This Man.

"Oh, that's also a mystery. But I don't know anything about 200 won coins."

The other kids only heard of the ghost story, but they had never actually seen a 200 won coin.

In the end, the story ended with the idea that this was just a mistake made by people who played with toy currency that was popular in the old days.

Until the last ghost story Eun-jeong told.

"...Then is the ghost story of the smiling girl like that?"

"Huh?"

"Oh, right! There was that too, right?"

When I was about to ask what kind of ghost story it was, the kids started to react.

Since I had never heard of such a ghost story, I just had an invisible question mark floating above my head.

"Unlike This man or the 200 won coin, I think I've seen that girl before."

In the case of Suho and Kyeong-min, they were not sure, but Eun-jeong and Ha-rim said they definitely had seen it.

It seems that everyone is different, but the fact that they reacted more to this than 200 won coin or This Man seems strange.

I felt a chill down my spine, suspecting that they had been brainwashed as a group.

"Wait a minute, you guys. What are you talking about?"

"Huh? Haven't you seen Alice?"

"..."

When I asked for an explanation, they briefly explained about the girl that everyone vaguely knew.

Her hair was brown. She had a ribbon on her head. She was laughing as if she was having fun.

And every time I thought of her, I felt a strange chill.

It was suspicious because it was so specific for a dream, and most importantly, because the kids all knew about it.

I asked other people through Kyeong-min's cell phone, and it seemed like 3 out of 5 people knew about the girl.

'If there were so many people who knew about it, it would have been a hot topic in the community, but it's also very suspicious that it remains as a small ghost story that only those who know about it know.'

Could it be that the Institution controls internet information?

If something happened in the past, they could have just erased their memories, so why bother?

...Maybe there is something in human memory that even they can't erase.

"Everything we've said before seems fake, but it's quite suspicious that we all know the brown-haired girl."

"What on earth is this phenomenon? Did everyone in the world meet that girl at least once?"

"Hey, everyone in the world? That's ridiculous."

"Didn't we meet in a past life? The intense memories just follow us into this life!"

"Why doesn't Alice know?"

The kids talked about this and that, but no one came up with an opinion that could resolve it. The ghost story analysis time that was meant to be light ended on an uneasy note.

I thought that maybe it was the most ghost story-like ending to any story so far.

And what if.

If that ghost story was caused by something abnormal that occurred in this world, then the inside story might be bigger than anything I've ever seen.