Chapter 44: Seven Weird Stories from the Players' Campus!

"Seven incredible events on campus?"

Looking at the few people gathered together and talking in secret, Marui and Jack Sangyuan looked at each other in confusion.

Fuji smiled and said, "Yeah, every school should have such rumors, right?"

"Eh..." Marui scratched his head. Niou Masaharu, who had turned around and put his hand on Marui's shoulder, smiled. "Of course, Rikkai University's Seven Mysterious Incidents are also very famous, puri~"

Marui: "How come I don't know——"

Nioh: "First——"

Amidst Marui's "Hey, hey—Nio already told me how come I didn't know!!", Niio Masaharu raised a finger mysteriously.

"The thirteenth step that doesn't exist."

“…”

"No, no, no, the non-existent thirteenth step?"

After escaping the chaotic student dormitories, Momoshiro Takeshi panted and asked, "W-what non-existent... ten, thirteen steps!?"

Kirihara Akaya's face turned pale: "It's the teaching building! The teaching building!!"

"One of the seven incredible events! The thirteenth step in the teaching building that doesn't exist!!"

"It's said that it appears at night, and if you step on it, you'll be swallowed by the stairs, trapped inside and disappear without a trace!!"

Echizen Ryoma ran off without slowing down his voice, "...This definitely sounds like something to trick children."

Kirihara Akaya argued, "Absolutely not—Nio-senpai said it! In their previous class, a student suddenly disappeared because he stepped on the thirteenth step!!"

"But no matter what, this kind of strange talk is very subtle..."

Kirihara Akaya turned back angrily: "Where is it subtle?!"

Kikumaru Eiji pointed to the staircase of the teaching building that stretched all the way up in front of the five people. "Hmm, no matter how you look at it, there aren't only thirteen steps here, right?"

Kirihara Akaya: “!!!”

Kirihara Akaya: "Oh no!! How could I have ended up here without realizing it!!"

The five people turned around and looked back. Because they were stimulated by the excessive bombs, their minds were gone.

Thinking only of preserving his life, he ran away in panic and unexpectedly came to the teaching building.

"Shall we go back now, meow?" Kikumaru rubbed his cheek.

Oishi Shuichiro was a little worried: "It would be better to quickly inform Tezuka and the others who are still in the student dormitory. After all, they are in the same area with the bomb..."

"But we left so quickly that we didn't bring our phones, meow."

"...Damn it," Dashi clenched his fists fiercely. Then he thought of something and his eyes lit up. "But don't we still have—"

Momoshiro Takeshi and Echizen Ryoma immediately covered Oishi's mouth.

Oishi: "Yeah...%￥#"

Kirihara Akaya looked around nervously, and suddenly heard them talking in the middle of the conversation.

"W-What's wrong with you guys?"

Taocheng Wu laughed, "No, nothing—"

He quickly turned around and whispered, "Oishi-senpai! Don't forget that this guy and Keina are from the same group!"

Oishi: "Tezuka￥%#—..."

Facing Kirihara Akaya's increasingly puzzled gaze, Momoshiro added, "Maybe Oishi-senpai is concerned about the other people in the student dormitory."

"After all... there are bombs with lethal doses..."

At this point, everyone fell silent.

"Do you want to go back?"

"...Will I be blown up into the sky if I go back?"

"What should we do then?"

Momoshiro and Kikumaru looked at each other, and glanced at Kirihara Akaya, who couldn't hide his nervousness and paleness.

Three-person brainwave group dialogue,

Momoshiro: "This guy from Rikkai University seems to be very afraid of the Seven Wonders of the campus. How about we take advantage of this opportunity, pretend to go on an adventure, and then secretly get rid of him. Then we can use the intercom to contact Tezuka and tell everyone to escape quickly?"

Kikumaru: "Good idea, meow!"

Oishi: "...Alas, this is the only way."

Echizen Ryoma, who was looking at the horizon, suddenly said, "It's getting dark."

Kirihara Akaya was startled, and looking at the dark, deep, silent and deserted teaching building, a chill ran up from the soles of his feet.

He spoke with difficulty: "Since it's dark... dark, can we go back...?"

Momoshiro Kikumaru glanced at each other, then quite cheerfully pressed Kirihara Akaya's shoulders from left to right.

"What are you talking about, Kirihara-kun!"

Kirihara Akaya: “Huh?”

Taocheng Wu: "Since we are here, how can we not go in and take a look!"

Kirihara Akaya tried to clarify: "But this isn't a tourist spot..."

Kikumaru patted his shoulder comfortingly: "It's okay, it's almost the same anyway, meow~"

Kirihara Akaya: "..."

He slowly said, "Well, why don't you guys go first? I'll go first..."

Echizen Ryoma said coolly: "Are you scared?"

Kirihara Akaya: "..."

"Hey, hey, you're actually using provocation. This is pretty common for you, little one."

"That's right, no matter how you look at it, there's no way that guy from Rikkai University would be influenced by such a clumsy provocation..."

Kirihara Akaya: "——I! Am! Not! Afraid!"

——You really were affected!?

Kirihara Akaya: "Heh, heh, it's just a school ghost story, just thirteen steps. I'm not scared at all!!"

Oishi: "Eh...but Kirihara-kun, your legs are shaking like noodles."

Kirihara Akaya: “!”

"That's because I was born this way!" Kirihara said stubbornly, protecting everyone in front of him, very generously.

"You go first, I'll cover the rear!"

“…Isn’t this still fear?”

The four of them exchanged glances, but tacitly agreed not to expose the truth.

It was just in time. As long as they could take this opportunity to get rid of this guy from Rikkai University, they could contact Tezuka in the student dormitory and notify everyone to exit in an orderly manner.

After exchanging a subtle glance, the four people from Seigaku walked in front, seeming to be very interested in the campus ghost story.

"So are we going to start counting now?"

"If I count the previous level, it should be pretty quick. It's only the thirteenth level anyway."

"What do you say, Kirihara-kun?"

“Ah…ah, yes, that’s right!”

Kirihara Akaya was the last one to come, holding his breath and looking around carefully.

"Then let Kirihara-kun count. The final number will be the most accurate. What do you think, Kirihara-kun?"

"...Well, since you all say so, then that's fine, alright!"

The four members of Seigaku in front were searching around for a place ahead where they could escape from Kirihara Akaya who was behind them, while Akaya who was lagging behind was shouting "First Level" loudly to boost his courage while slowly following the end of the team.

"Second level... third level... eighth level, ninth level..."

Kirihara Akaya counted while looking around with his peripheral vision.

Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of a passing figure at the bottom of the stairs.

The short guy with a mushroom head and a trash can hat is Kei!

It looks like it's carrying something... Wait, why is it carrying someone?!

He was about to shout,

Suddenly I remembered that there were a few young people in front of me who were obsessed with campus ghost stories.

Seeing how excited they are, it doesn't seem right to interrupt them suddenly.

Kirihara Akaya was calling out the stair numbers, his mind on the younger generation who was about to disappear around the corner carrying someone on his shoulders.

After a difficult balance,

——Damn it, Kei’s side is more important!

I'm sorry!

Everyone from Qingxue, go explore on your own!

Kirihara Akaya dutifully called out the stair numbers while quickly running down the stairs.

—Ahhhh, Kei! Slow down! He can’t keep up!

Momoshiro Takeshi stepped onto the top step and suddenly remembered that he had not heard Kirihara Akaya's voice for a long time.

He turned around in confusion and met the eyes of the other three people who were also confused.

Looking back again,

Empty.

Dashi was startled: "...No, it's gone?"

Kikumaru hesitated: "It seems... it's gone."

There was a sudden silence all around.

It seemed like a breeze was blowing, and the teaching building was backlit and suddenly became dark and gloomy.

It was night again, and no one was moving around. The friction sounds of every movement were amplified to an incomparable level in the extremely quiet environment.

Several people looked at each other, and felt a chill at the same time.

Taocheng said with difficulty: "So, which step did Kirihara count just now?"

Echizen Ryoma was silent for a moment, "Level 13."

The corners of his mouth twitched twice, and Tao Cheng slowly said: "It should be impossible, how could there be such a strange thing?"

Echizen Ryoma said slowly: "Then a box of bombs appearing in a student dormitory... is that normal?"

“…”

“………”

"Ahhh Kirihara-kun—can you still hear me?!"

"Kirhara-kun!! If you were on the steps, you would have responded!"

"Kikumaru-senpai, Oishi-senpai!! Quick!! Let's call Kirihara-kun's name together--!!"

"Kirhara Akaya-kun from the Thirteen Steps!! Please answer if you hear me! Please answer if you hear me!!"

“…”

"Eh... the non-existent thirteenth step? What about the others?"

Niou Masaharu smiled and raised his second finger mysteriously.

"That's Hanako-kun who appeared in the bathroom."

Marui Bunta: "...So, where on earth did these seven incredible events come from?!!"

Kaidou Xun was jogging towards the student dormitory.

After witnessing the torturous scene at noon, he successfully avoided dinner and did extra training.

When I finished the extra training and jogged back to the student dormitory, it was almost dark, with only a few faint rays of sunset illuminating the road ahead.

The bushes suddenly shook, and Kaidou Xun noticed it keenly and looked over with a frown.

"What?"

The bushes shook again, and in an instant, all kinds of bad thoughts came to mind. Maintaining his composure, Haitang did not turn around and run.

I took two steps forward, bravely pushed aside the bushes,

What caught my eye was a trash can lid!

Wait, a trash can lid?

He was confused and lowered his head.

Meeting the pair of eyes with a layer of dark green under the scattered light,

Kaidou Xun: "..."

Trash can lid: "..."

Kaidou Xun: "..."

Trash can lid: "...meow."

It was the cat I saw during the day... the cat that was kept by most of the Rikkai staff.

Haitang looked left and right,

No one!

He slowly stretched out his hand, trying to tease the cat.

"Hey... come here... Damn it, if I had known there were cats at Rikkai University, I should have brought more cat strips."

The cat holding the lid of the trash can stared at him for a while, and before his hand could reach out, it quickly pulled away and ran away.

Kaidou Xun chased after him reflexively.

After chasing it for a distance, I found that the cat ran two steps and waited two steps, ran two steps and waited two steps,

"It seems like she's inviting him to play with her," Kaidou maintained a stern face, but in his actions he chased after her sincerely.

Really, what a naughty guy.

With a slight feeling of pampering and helplessness, Kaidou Xun chased the cat all the way to the bathroom of the student dormitory.

The cubicles were tightly closed and it was impossible to tell whether anyone was inside.

There was no trace of the cat, and Kaidou knocked on the door twice, but there was no response.

'strangeness? '

He went to the wash basin and washed his face. He wanted to continue training after the level he had in Rikkai University during the day.

The training level is one level higher than usual.

But I have to admit that even this level of training is just the most ordinary daily routine. Rikkai University... is so terrifying.

The water rushed towards the wash basin.

Soon a pool of water accumulated. Kaidou Xun took off his headband and sank his head into the water. He raised his head and shook it with his eyes closed.

Suddenly, a rustling sound reached my ears.

Kaidou Xun: "..."

"cat?"

He wiped his face and looked back at the mirror while calling the cat.

I met a pale face standing upside down from the ventilation duct.

Kaidou Xun: "..."

Players passing by: “…”

Eh?

NPC, poke it.

The player A clicked on the NPC who suddenly froze for some reason.

No response?

Another A.

Kaidou Xun's pupils trembled as he watched the figure hanging upside down from the ceiling slowly reaching out his hand to him... reaching out his hand,

Even from behind, I could hear voices like "Did you see...", "Did you see...", "Where...", "Where are you..."

It would be fine if it was just a sound, but the most important thing is,

The thing he was witnessing right now...its mouth wasn't moving at all? ! ! !

And there was nothing on his back except the mirror!

The player wondered why this NPC felt so hard.

Not sure, touch it again.

Haitang felt cold all over, and he could even feel his heart beating heavily.

Something that doesn't feel like human body temperature is wandering around in my body...

No, no... run away quickly!

Can't die here!!

Qingxue, he and Qingxue have to go back!!

He didn't know where the strength came from, but it made him loosen all the joints in his body and suddenly rushed forward.

He rushed forward without caring about anything else,

He opened the bathroom door and took a step forward when he bumped into a figure who was about to open the door.

Kirihara Akaya, who had followed the junior all the way to the student dormitory, was shouting "Kyu, where are you?", "Have you seen Kei?", "Kyu, please say something.", and was about to open the door.

Suddenly, without any defense, it was smashed open from the inside out.

Kirihara Akaya: “?”

What's going on?

The toilet exploded?

With lightning speed, a tumbling and crawling figure rushed out from inside.

Kirihara Akaya: "Hey... why are you so..."

Kaidou Xun grabbed it casually and said, "Run, run!"

Kirihara Akaya: "QuQ?"

Kaidou Kaoru: "——There's danger here!"

Kirihara Akaya: “…Huh??”

There's no danger in the bathroom...

Eh, wait, Kei——EIEIEIEIEIEI!!

Kirihara Akaya, who caught the shadowy figure of Mushroom Head crawling out of the corner of his eye, just stretched out his hand when Kaidou Xun flew out in a 100-meter sprint.

"Let go of me, uh ah ah ah gurgle gurgle..."

"No, I won't let you go! Let's live together!!"

Roaring, Kaidou Kaoru grabbed Kirihara Akaya and rushed out.

“…”

In the bedroom,

"Why do I hear Akaya's voice?"

"...I think I heard Kaidou's voice too."

Niou Masaharu shook his finger and said, "No, what you heard right now is all illusion. Only what I say is the ultimate truth."

Jack Kuwahara said slowly: "Um, Bunta, don't we really need to take some measures?"

Marui Fumita said weakly: "Do you think we can do anything to this guy now?..."

Niou Masaharu smiled mysteriously, "Then the next one is the third of the seven wonders!"

"A shadow man with long arms and legs that can walk automatically—"

"……I'm done,"

Marui Bunta endured it again and again, but finally rushed out of the door.

Jack Sangyuan Erkang's hand: "Bunta——"

"——At least leave the door open!!"

Marui just pushed the door open and pulled it down, staring at the door handle in his hand and remained silent for a while.

He quietly carried the door and walked away.

Jack Sangyuan nodded and apologized: "I'm sorry, I'll go get Men... No, get Wen Tai back..."

“…”

“………”

Niou Masaharu lifted his pigtails mysteriously and coolly, "You didn't say there's no way, so we can't continue talking, right, Piyo?"

The player watched the NPC rush out of the door.

I stared silently at the empty place... Oh no, there are two NPCs.

Pull down three NPCs brought back by the players simultaneously from the ceiling ventilation duct.

It was none other than Hyotei's Mukaito, Shishido Ryo, and Houchotaro!

At this moment, the status of the three people showed [Fainting].

If A hadn't reached the end, these three NPCs would have played [Emergency Mission: Warmth of Home] to the players.

Even if the player is asked to send these three NPCs back to the dormitory, the player will not come back immediately.

Speaking of which... where are these three NPC dormitories?

The player reviewed the dialogue text, trying to find details.

I felt something touching under my feet, and when I looked down, it was Gui.

Gui circled around the three unconscious NPCs twice and squatted down in front of them as if he was very interested.

The player looked at Gui, then looked at the three NPCs.

The player came up with a good idea.

“…”

"Hey, Bunta, let's go back..."

"Don't try to persuade me! Kuwabara, there's no way I'm going back!!"

Jack Sangyuan looked helplessly at Marui who was stubbornly stomping on the floor in front of him. He slowly said:

"But at least... you have to return the door..."

"Really? What are the seven wonders of campus?" Marui said angrily.

"Don't say things that might cause bad associations just to provoke Beakhead at a time like this!"

Jack Sangyuan knew him best, so he scratched his bald head helplessly and said, "Then we won't listen. It's getting late, so let's go back to the dormitory and rest."

"...Damn it!" Marui muttered, "I didn't leave because I was scared!"

“Yes, yes, yes—”

Jack Sangyuan tried to take back the door while comforting him. The two walked and walked until they reached the corner.

"Speaking of which, Kuwabara, I seemed to hear Akaya's voice just now. I wonder where that kid Akaya has gone to..."

Marui lowered his head and looked sideways while speaking:

"Sangyuan? Sangyuan? Why are you silent?"

Jack Sangyuan's face gradually turned pale.

His eyes were fixed on the distorted shadow cast in front of him.

"M-Mrs. Wen..."

Jack Sangyuan's hands trembled as he slowly pointed forward, "W-What is that thing?"

"--ha?"

Marui's tone was wrong. "It's already this late. You know I'll be angry if you scare me on purpose, right?"

He mumbled and slowly raised his head, "That's why everyone says you shouldn't hang out with that guy Niwang..."

Twisted like long bamboo joints, one joint after another, facing the darkness, with only a head with long flowing hair hanging at the highest point.

Under the head with long flowing hair, the body is almost three people tall, twisting and struggling as if it is about to overwhelm others!

Marui Fumita was at a loss.

Jack Sangyuan said slowly: "That's a human, a human...right?"

Marui swallowed slowly, "If it's a head... a human head, it should be..."

"But...his feet didn't move at all..."

In the darkness, beneath the three-meter-tall twisted human body, the legs did not move at all.

It's only twisting sideways, but its entire body... is actually moving forward!?

Marui took a step back slowly, and Jack Sangyuan suddenly thought of something.

The two looked at each other with difficulty and said together:

"——Shadow Man!"

"Run, run away, Kuwabara..."

"I, I, I can't move... Bunta..."

He immediately blocked the door in front of him, grabbed his partner Kuwabara tightly, and Marui Bunta quickly turned around and ran away.

But the moment he put the dormitory door in front of him,

"Ding" sound, my hair stood on end.

Something dark green suddenly stared at me!

Jack Sangyuan's voice was getting weaker and weaker. "Wen, Wenta... it, that, that thing... seems to be coming over!!"

Marui Bunta was trying to pull the person and hold the door, "Don't be afraid, Kuwabara! I'll help you escape!!"

He struggled hard and turned around, and suddenly, an unknown creature as tall as three people - the "Shadow Man" was chasing him, shaking and twisting like an indescribable thing!

Bunta Marui: "!!!"

“——Ahhhhh what the hell is this!!!”

There were ghostly howls along the way, and the afterimages flew past Dormitory 17, past the bathroom, and past the player's door.

The player was taking out the bomb from the storage box and putting it into the backpack. With a 'ding' sound, the task bar showed completion.

So fast?

It seems that the player's impromptu decision to tie the three NPCs together with Gui was the right choice!

It’s just that it’s a little difficult to tie the NPC’s feet and head together, but this little thing won’t bother the players!

Gui, a good helper for players!

I could actually understand the instruction to go in when I saw the dormitory door.

It’s worthy of being a player’s cat!

A surprise box as a reward!

After equipping the surprise box to the returning Katsura, the player happily left the dormitory with a backpack full of bombs.

The players who were climbing walls and running across the eaves just happened to pass by the ministers' team that were returning in groups.

There were two "swish" sounds, and Sanada seemed to notice something, and glanced towards a corner.

But it was all dark and I couldn't see anything clearly.

Beside him, the ministers from the four schools finished arranging the training schedule for tomorrow.

A faint light shone from the intercom in Atobe's hand.

From some unknown time on, the only sound on the other side of the intercom was ghostly howling.

Atobe hummed, "It's really not gorgeous, is it, Karachi."

Takahiro Karachi followed him silently like a shadow: "USU."

Liu noticed some key words that came from the intercom earlier, "Campus ghost story?"

They took a detour and came from the back mountain.

It's some distance from the student dormitory.

In the silence, since Liu had spoken, Tezuka, Atobe and Tachibana naturally paid some attention to him.

Liu said calmly, "There are also related strange stories in the back mountain."

"Oh?" Atobe piqued his interest. "Coming from the mouth of the professor of data tennis, it seems to have a bit more credibility."

Liu: "This is the fourth strange incident on Rikkai University's campus."

Liu: "——An unknown object that attacks people silently."

Atobe raised an eyebrow: "That's all?"

Liu: "The probability that it's just a rumor among students is 87%."

Tachibana smiled and said, "I understand. Fudo Peak also has similar rumors, such as the slit-mouthed woman, Jack Scissorhands, and the Beethoven of the teaching building..."

Tezuka pushed up his glasses, "Same for Seigaku."

"Thinking about it this way, it can barely be considered the characteristics of each school."

"Hmph... My Hyotei wouldn't have such boring weird stories..."

"Bang!"

'Bang!'

Suddenly, several sounds came one after another.

It was incredibly clear in the silent darkness.

“…”

“………”

Atobe frowned: "...Why did I hear a strange sound?"

Ju looked around, "I think I heard it too."

Tezuka inexplicably felt that the voice sounded familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere before.

Sanada and Yanagi looked at each other across the darkness, slowly frowning.

Such a familiar voice, where is it from...

Atobe snapped his fingers gorgeously, "Heh, that's all."

He tapped his brow with his fingertips and said in a deep voice, "Whether it's a human or a ghost, they will never threaten this master Deeeeeee——"

“——eeeeeeee!!!”

"Bang!!"

"——Bang!"

In the darkness, several people looked at each other.

Slowly, Ju hesitated: "Why did I just hear... the sound of something being knocked away?"

Tezuka was silent: "Me too."

"But what's going on here that can knock people away... Haha, it's not the one from the daytime."

Sanada and Yanagi paused.

The back hills, farmland, crops...huge crops!!!

“…”

"... Is there someone missing among us..."

Ju was stunned.

Tezuka also looked over.

People started signing up.

"I'm Liu,"

"...Sanada."

"...Tangerine,"

"Tezuka."

“USU.”

Waited and waited,

Slowly,

"Um, Atobe... Where's Atobe-kun?"

“…”

“………”

"It should...fly."

-----------------------

The author has something to say: Atobe: "..."

——Even if I'm knocking you away, I'm the most spectacular!!

It has become art at this point.