Surviving Among the Entities

“Whew.”

Kim Mi-ri, having returned to reality, caught her breath. The final moment of unifying the realm and ascending to the throne, praised by all, was still vivid in her mind’s eye, but the entity did not give her time to savor that fleeting memory.

[Kim Mi-ri: 5 out of 10 questions passed]
[History Exam Passed]

The chalk that had inscribed those words on the blackboard dropped powerlessly.

“It’s over. By the way, everyone seems quite sleepy.”

She pressed the back of the necks of the fallen agents with her fingers.
Each time, the agents convulsed before waking from their slumber.

“Ugh, my head……”
“Ughh……”
“Everyone, take some medicine. These powerful sedatives will quickly calm the turbulent tides of your memories.”

The agents took out pills and swallowed them.
After a while, having regained their senses, they inquired about the situation.

“Don’t worry. I handled the exam well. Now that the history class is over, let’s proceed to resolve the rest.”
“…Agent Kim Mi-ri?”
“Why do you ask? Have you not fully regained your senses yet? You still have time to rest properly.”
“No, why is your way of speaking like that?”
“Are you filming a historical drama right now?”

Belatedly, her face flushed as she corrected her speech.

“No, it’s just… If you live as a king for ten years, it becomes a habit, you know? The way of speaking just sticks!”
“We’re fine. It actually suits you now that you’ve truly become a martial artist.”
“What was the last question? Based on your speech, it seems like China? I noticed some Chinese mixed in just now.”
“Could it be the martial arts? The Unification of the Central Plains?”
“Enough with that, will you!”

The atmosphere was lively, unlike right before the exam.
Having passed one exam, only five remained.
To check the pass/fail status, they headed towards the bulletin board in front of the main entrance.

“……”

However, the conditions on the bulletin board had changed.

[Graduation Requirements]
[Pass 9 exams]
[Exam Subjects: History (Passed) / Physical Education (Passed) / Art (Passed) / Mathematics (In Progress) / Music (Not Taken) / Science (Not Taken) / Korean (Not Taken) / Technology, Home Economics (Not Taken) / Military Training (Not Taken)]
[The pass/fail status of each subject is shared among all students.]
[If all nine subjects are passed, the entire grade level will graduate.]
[If one or fewer subjects are passed every 6 hours, everyone will be held back.]

The number of subjects they had to pass had increased.

“It seems they have no intention of letting us leave.”
“The condition of forcing us to take at least one exam every six hours is also quite malicious.”
“But for the entity’s peculiarities to change in real-time like that, it’s not something you see often, is it?”

Kim Mi-ri offered a speculation.

“The external special consultant said the entity here was born today. Perhaps it’s related to that.”
“So it’s growing and developing as we speak?”
“It’s plausible. Since it’s in the process of growing, its peculiarities and anomalies haven’t been fixed, leading to changes over time.”

One of the agents frowned.

“How malicious. Based on the changes so far, the number of exams we’ll have to pass will likely keep increasing. Perhaps this is just the beginning since not even a day has passed, and even more malicious conditions could arise after a few days.”
“Then we have two options. Either we quickly pass the exams, or we find another way to neutralize the entity.”

While consolidating their opinions, Kim Mi-ri activated her psychic perception to assess the surrounding situation.

‘We’re completely cut off from the outside. I can’t sense any psychic perceptions at all.’

Not just psychic perception, even the air seemed unable to flow in or out, as if the outside didn’t exist.

‘Then leaving is impossible. I can’t help Master.’

She hoped there was a peculiarity causing time to flow faster inside compared to the outside.
After assessing the situation, she led the agents.

“For now, let’s proceed with the goal of cooperation. We have sufficient time until the next exam, and by sharing information together, we may find a solution.”
“Let’s do that.”

Right before departing to search for the other agents, someone spoke up.

“But how did the other team pass two exams?”
“Perhaps it was the work of the external special consultant.”
“Could Shin Yeong-mun have activated his ‘mystical power’? If he properly activates it, he can enjoy the maximum effect. Maybe he passed the exams using that ability.”

At those words, Kim Mi-ri recalled the first time she had witnessed Shin Yeong-mun’s ability.

[Ah.]
[Why is that?]
[Mi-ri, I should apologize in advance.]
[Pardon?]

“Uh.”
“Mi-ri?”
“It’s nothing.”

She shook off the memory from the past.

“I just felt a tingle in my body from suddenly recalling the first time I was struck by lightning.”

『Tok-ddak, tok-ddak.』

The peeled-head math ghost glared at the agents from the lectern.

『Time is passing. The time limit is until my patience runs out. I’ll be counting prime numbers, so answer when you think of the most perfect number.』

If they had at least been clearly informed of the time limit, the tension would have been reduced.
Without that, having been given an uncertain time limit, the agents racked their brains.

『2, 3, 5, 7.』

Since it was counting prime numbers, perhaps a prime number was the correct answer?
But among the prime numbers, was there one that could be considered the “most perfect”?

『11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31.』

Their opponent was an entity.
A being born from the ghost stories created by students.
Surely the students wouldn’t have specifically defined what the “most perfect number” was.

『101, 103, 107, 109, 113, 127, 131.』

In the end, they would have to randomly call out numbers and hope to be acknowledged as correct by chance.
In other words, overwhelming luck was required.
The agents’ gazes turned towards Shin Yeong-mun.

‘Should I use it?’

No matter how exceptional an agent’s knowledge and physical abilities were.
Even with the aid of the Foundation’s transcendent medical and weaponry technologies.
They had always fallen short against entities, and in those final moments, they ultimately had nowhere to rely except their own abilities.

[Here, there are only friendly entities or completely safe entities whose experiments have concluded. Agents whose wavelengths or conditions match these entities can gain abilities from them.]

Therefore, the Foundation had devised a means.
To bestow powerful abilities upon their agents by utilizing the entities they could exploit.
This had proven highly successful, and 1% of all agents had been granted abilities called “mystical powers” by the entities.

For example, the mystical power to seduce the opposite sex.
For example, the mystical power to occasionally experience prophetic dreams.
For example, the mystical power to ensure any bullets fired hit their desired target.

Of course, since such mystical powers carried the risk of abuse, only A-Class agents had been eligible to receive these benefits. However, the Foundation, now facing a severe shortage of personnel, had extended these measures even to new recruits.

‘Whew, I should use it! At this rate, the only future is being torn to shreds!’

And in this batch, 3 agents had been granted mystical powers, one of whom was Shin Yeong-mun.

‘……’

He closed his eyes. Focusing his mind and activating his ability, the flow of external time froze.
Soon, beyond the darkness of his closed eyes, a lamp illuminated, revealing a small table beneath it.

“You’ve come?”
“Yes.”
“Have a seat. It’s been boring without you.”

His counterpart was a shadow. A humanoid shadow with only its mouth possessing substance.

“You know the rules, right?”
“One-on-one riichi mahjong, all local rules apply, hand exchange allowed at the start, dora tiles present.”
“Recite the stakes as well.”
“If victorious, I receive luck corresponding to the completed hand for 24 hours.”
“And?”
“From 1-han to 4-han, it’s the same, then hanemanhan, baiman, sanbaiman, yakuman in ascending order of luck. For yakuman, the luck level rises sharply based on the completion difficulty.”
“Is that all?”
“Yakuman can also stack, with the luck level increasing exponentially when stacked.”
“Anything else?”
“And……”

Shin Yeong-mun suppressed his pounding heart.
Despite being a ghost, his heart would beat like a living person’s whenever he entered this place.

“The same calculations apply for defeat, but instead of luck, misfortune is bestowed.”
“You almost forgot the last part.”
“All luck and misfortune are shared with those around me whom I perceive as allies. It is not shared with enemies, and the game cannot be played again for 24 hours after it ends.”

The reason he had been reluctant to use his ability was precisely because of that last part.

“You know the rules well. I’m sorry for asking every time, but there are occasional players who pretend not to know the rules.”
“Haha, are there really such people?”
“Quite a lot. Those who cannot accept defeat. The depths of human nature are unsightly, you see. When they’re doing well, they act all high and mighty, like they’ll give you anything. But when they fall into ruin, they shower you with sneers and curses. And with a brazen face, they throw tantrums, eventually sprawling on the ground and demanding you cut open their bellies.”

Luck was fine.
But misfortune? While he was a ghost and could only receive a limited amount of misfortune, those around him were not so fortunate.

“That’s why I like you. Every time you come, you start off acting like a beginner, stammering, and consistently speak politely. Please, don’t ever forget that attitude.”

He still remembered when Kim Mi-ri had been struck by lightning five consecutive times in the same spot. If not for the Foundation, and if she hadn’t learned martial arts, she would have died or been permanently disabled.

“Alright, let’s begin.”
“Yes.”

The tiles were stacked, and 13 tiles were dealt.
Shin Yeong-mun quickly calculated his hand.

‘Manzu 1, 2, 3. Pinzu 1, 2, 3. Souzuu 1, 2, 5. East, West, North, Green.’

He was lucky. If his luck held, he could complete a triple chii straight with an outside hand.

‘This is the East round by default, so with a bit more luck, I could even get a self-drawn hand.’

If that happened, he could aim for one dealer repeat, one self-drawn, two triple chii straight menzen limits, two outside hand menzen limits, and one dora 1-man tile, potentially going up to 7 han. And if he succeeded in riichi, he could even hope for a dora draw.

‘Even if I go for a full straight, that’s a minimum of 5 han, so a minimum of hanemanhan if I riichi. Let’s start from baiman!’

With his hand nearly complete, and mahjong being a race to complete one’s hand first, this was the perfect opportunity.
But just as Shin Yeong-mun was about to make his move, his hand froze.

‘But will this be enough?’

He had experienced the luck of baiman before.
While walking, he had found 50,000 won ten times, and a single lottery ticket had three 4th-prize wins. When he operated a vending machine, ten additional drinks came out.

‘I haven’t experienced sanbaiman yet, but it should be better than hanemanhan. Still, it might not be enough.’

Their opponent wasn’t just the math ghost before them.
This entire school was the enemy, and there was no telling how many more entities existed.

‘Let’s aim for something greater!’

Shin Yeong-mun exchanged his tiles.
Discarding all but the honors tiles, his eyes widened for a moment at his new hand.

“Alright, let me roll the dice. Oh, looks like you’ll start first? Go ahead, tsumo.”
“…Yes.”

As the game progressed, the shadow asked him:

“How’s life at the Foundation?”
“Yes, it’s manageable. While dangerous, I enjoy the sensation of feeling alive when facing enemies.”
“I suppose even if wealth is lost, it lasts three generations – the Foundation is still the Foundation.”

Four turns passed.

“But it seems you’ve found a more interesting place? I’ve been observing from within, and it’s been quite intriguing.”
“Pardon? You can see the outside?”
“If you can see it, so can I.”
“Everything I’m seeing!?”
“Yes, ah! Don’t worry! I’m not the type to pass judgment on others’ sexual preferences. But can ghosts even get erections? Can you have sex?”
“Ughh!”
“But you watch more manga than porn, which is a bit odd. Well, I suppose situations like in ‘Becoming a Ghost to Peep and Devour at Will!’ can only occur in manga……”
“Th, that’s enough!”
“If you search thoroughly, you might find similar Japanese porn productions. They’ve got everything, those guys.”

Eight turns passed.

“Riichi.”

The shadow called riichi first.

“Riichi.”

Shin Yeong-mun also called pursuit riichi.

“Looks like it’s come down to this.”
“I’ll go.”

The shadow discarded their first tile.
The discarded tile was the North wind.

“Ron.”

Even before his turn came, the outcome was decided.
Shin Yeong-mun revealed his hand.

“Oho.”

North, North, White Dragon, White Dragon, White Dragon, Green Dragon, Green Dragon, Green Dragon, Manzu 4, 5, 6, East, East.
And the final tile drawn, another North wind.

“Yakuman, Daisangen.”
“But why did you call riichi?”
“Ah, you’re right.”
“There’s no real advantage to calling riichi when going for yakuman. Didn’t you know, considering you have people around you to inform?”
“I had learned it, but I forgot in the heat of the moment.”

The small table faded into darkness.

“Anyway, congratulations on your first yakuman. You achieved one of the Three Great Yakuman hands with a 0.039% probability. But you could have aimed higher. With some luck, you could have gone for Daisangen Suu-ankou as well.”
“I considered it, but I got flustered when you called riichi first.”
“Oh, my bad. In any case, congratulations. Luck befitting your achievement will find its way to you.”

As the shadow vanished, it offered a piece of advice.

“Remember, my friend, school ghost stories are ultimately created by the students.”
“Pardon?”
“The true masters of school ghost stories are the students themselves. I’ll see you next time.”

Having returned to reality, Shin Yeong-mun mulled over those words.

‘The masters of school ghost stories are the students.’

He seemed to understand something.
Before that, he raised his hand to resolve the question.

『I will answer what the most perfect number is.』
『What is the most perfect number?』

Of course, he didn’t actually know what it was.
Instead, he had luck on his side.

『42?』

The overwhelming luck he had obtained by achieving the Daisangen yakuman.

『Wrong!』
『Pardon?』
『How could the number 42, which isn’t even a prime, possibly be the most perfect number!』
『Ah, no! That’s not it!』
『I’ll tear you into 907 pieces!』
『Uwaaah!』

At that moment, accompanied by a thunderous boom as if struck by lightning, a large hole opened in the math ghost’s chest.

『Ah, ah, Riemann……]』

The math ghost disintegrated into dust and vanished.
Startled by the sudden turn of events, the agents’ ears were graced by a crisp yet refined mechanical voice.

『Hey, my Man In Black friends?』

The sound that stirs a man’s heart as a pump-action shotgun is chambered.
On the freshly cleaned blackboard, a man appeared.

『You see, I was on vacation in Florida Beach? I’ve been working too much lately, you know, so I was enjoying my vacation when some fucking portal just dragged me here.』

A Caucasian man wearing a “Make America Great Again” t-shirt aimed his shotgun at the agents.

『In a word, my mood is very shit. Like when Harris got elected. So you’d better answer properly.』

After lighting his cigar with a match and exhaling smoke, he asked:

『You guys, are you Republican or Democrat?』