novelburst-info
Chapter 217
Chapter 217
3.
Even after going to school, the uneasy reactions didn’t stop.
“Hiroshi-kun! Are you sure it’s okay to attend school already?”
“What? My name was Hiroshi?”
- Name change, wow
- From now on, you’re Hiroshi!
“Seems like… you’re overdoing it to the point where even your name’s confusing. How about going back home now?”
“No, no. I’m fine. I really want to attend your class, teacher!”
“Heh. There’s no class today.”
“Oops, I should’ve come tomorrow.”
“You seem to have some energy for jokes, so you must be doing better. Heh. Go to class. I’ve already told your classmates, so it won’t be too hard for you.”
“Okay~”
Dashman’s feelings were more than just nostalgia, they were discomforting and strange.
- Why do you seem like a lunch lady?
- Your adaptability is insane
- No matter when I see it, the 'social butterfly' fool never disappoints
“Oh, did I never tell you guys? My highest level of education is high school dropout.”
- What?
- Suddenly?
- Was he really that much of a fool?
“No, I had to awaken because money was urgently needed. I realized it was a waste of time staying in school. I dropped out in the first year of high school to move to the capital with a friend.”
Dashman’s sincere confession.
The chat room flooded with tears.
‘If Eve saw this side of him, she’d probably think he’s a good guy.’
Ha Eung Eung felt a twinge of sympathy.
Dashman greeted his classmates warmly, treating them like real friends.
Despite his intentions, the reactions from the students were as if they had seen a ghost, surprised as though someone who had died had come back to life.
He had wanted a normal school life, but the game Ha Eung Eung had chosen was anything but ordinary.
‘I do feel a little sorry about this.’
The students who gave him stiff greetings.
The teachers who turned pale when they saw him.
It was a reaction that seemed to have something wrong.
What could possibly be the problem?
Why were they reacting like this?
The tension was growing, without any release.
Then a note fell onto Dashman’s desk.
- After school. Audiovisual room. Do you have to come alone?
The girl sitting next to him, who handed him the note, was acting nonchalant.
It seemed unlikely that she’d give a straightforward answer in such a suspicious classroom.
Though it was called an academy, the lessons were not the main focus, so the class time passed quickly, and when the cutscene ended, the notification replaced study time.
[He attended 7th-period physics class.]
[Appropriate textbook.]
[Restless atmosphere, uneasy hearts.]
[Class efficiency... 2 points.]
[Physics experience increased by 2!]
[Physics 3 (EXP 2/100)]
[After school, you can review your notes or preview textbooks to increase your experience!]
[When your learning level increases to a certain point, you might gain unexpected benefits...?]
“Wow, this is well-made. If you just study like a nerd, will something change?”
- Auto-skip study system, lmao
- This system should urgently be implemented in real life
- For real, lol
When the 7th period ended, it was already 4:30.
By the time the homeroom teacher finished the closing remarks, it was 5:00.
Ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding?
The cheerful melody of the school bell echoed, reminiscent of a classic RPG game.
Among the scattering students, Dashman felt an emptiness.
“Is this right...? No one even talked to me today. Even when I tried talking to them, no one responded. Is this really correct??”
- ????
- We’re sorry
- The academy is for raising stats, not for hanging out, lol
- School’s the same...
- Even a social butterfly like Dashman becomes an outcast in the academy, wow
?Destination?
[It’s now the time to leave school. The students quicken their pace to head home to the unnecessary, cheerful ringing of the bell.]
- Go home.
- The note... it told me to come to the audiovisual room, right?
- Let’s have a consultation with the homeroom teacher in the teacher’s office.
[? The note... it told me to come to the audiovisual room, right?]
“I feel like going there will help clear up this suffocating feeling.”
- Agreed
- Movement is auto-skip too
- Seems like unless there’s a special event, everything like lessons or movement is just skipped
The audiovisual room was located on the 4th floor of the main building.
Since the regular class hours were over, no students were around, and the sound of footsteps echoed loudly, grating on Dashman’s nerves.
For a moment, he walked along the empty hallway under pale white-blue lighting.
“Damn. Is this a horror game? Why do my footsteps sound like this? If this Hiroshi guy only recorded footsteps, they could play them in a dungeon and all the monsters would come running.”
- Even a model walk doesn’t sound as loud as this
- The automatic movement system isn’t convenient, it’s just freaking scary, lol
Creeeak
Bang!!
Despite Dashman’s nervous state, Hiroshi, arriving at his destination through auto-move, threw open the sliding door with all his strength, surprising the viewers.
- Aaaah!!
- What the hell, how can you just burst it open without knowing what’s inside!!
- Maybe everyone’s afraid of Hiroshi. Isn’t that a completely normal reaction?
“Ah, that scared me!”
“I was startled too.”
“Open the door carefully!”
“Sorry, sorry. So, was the note from you?”
The name tag attached to his chest: Shin Ah.
She was the classmate who sat next to him in the PV video.
“You went wild just now, like a madman. Why did you suddenly calm down? Everyone was freaked out, we thought we were going to die.”
“Me?? Sorry, but I don’t really remember much from yesterday. What did I do?”
“You don’t remember? Of all people, you? If you don’t want to say it, just keep quiet. Why make up such a ridiculous lie? Not just to others, but to me as well.”
Despite Shin Ah’s words, Dashman just looked confused.
“No, sorry, I really don’t know anything. When I woke up this morning, everyone’s reactions were strange, from my sisters to the homeroom teacher and my classmates. Do you know why they’re like this?”
“You... are you really serious?”
“I’m really serious.”
“Hmm. Do you remember your ability?”
“Ability?”
“You must have completely erased it. I don’t even know if telling you is a good idea...”
Shin Ah looked at Dashman with a complicated expression.
No matter her mood, Dashman couldn’t help but feel a little flustered and blushed.
‘A lucky guy, huh.’
Whether Ha Eung Eung looked down on him with disdain or not, Dashman kept urging her.
“Just tell me, I can’t take it anymore.”
“You asked for it, so don’t regret it later.”
“I’m prepared.”
“First, your ability is a Memorial Album. You can store information you’ve seen or heard in your mind like an album. To save it, you just hold the medium and recall the memory. Try doing it while sitting here.”
A computer in the audiovisual room powered on.
Dashman, holding the mouse, sat there blankly.
“......”
What the heck was he doing?
It was starting to feel like a 'wise man' moment.
[A new album has been created.]
[A new photo has been saved.]
[April 15, xx (001) - Asadayo!]
[April 15, xx (002) - Egg Crepes]
[April 15, xx (003) - Happy School Morning]
[April 15, xx (004) - Kind Homeroom Teacher]
[April 15, xx (005) - Ignoring Classmates]
[April 15, xx (006) - Lonely Lunch]
[April 15, xx (007) - Note, Come to the Audiovisual Room]
[April 15, xx (008) - Memorial Album]
“Wow. It’s real.”
“Would I lie to you? Looking at the album subtitles... seems like you really did it.”
“Did it? What do you mean?”
“Initialization.”
“Initialization?”
“If you can freely store memories, you can also erase them.”
“Me? My memories?”
“Yeah. You.”
It wasn’t Dashman anymore, it was Hiroshi.
A chilling story.
The player simply has a body with a past, but the protagonist doesn’t know that past.
And the ability to store memories?
By his own will, he had erased his own memories.
Why did he do that?
“April 15th. What happened before that?”
“I don’t want to tell you. I’m not even sure if you’re ready for it.”
“Something happened, didn’t it?”
“Your life with your sisters... aren’t you happy enough with it now?”
Shin Ah pointed to the subtitle of the photos on the monitor.
Asadayo, Egg Crepes, Happy School Morning.
‘Maybe the second daughter wasn’t to his liking?’
Ha Eung Eung realized something, noticing that one of the sisters was missing from the memory list.
But the joyful times spent with the three sisters...
The mornings spent with them were real moments of happiness for Dashman.
The fact that this happiness could shatter in an instant made him anxious.
“...Sorry. It’s probably ridiculous to say this after bringing it up, but honestly, I like it the way it is now. There must have been a reason I forgot those memories.”
Shin Ah’s eyes were filled with disappointment.
Though Dashman wondered if he’d said the wrong thing, she quickly stood up.
“The audiovisual room. This seat is yours. There’s a password, so others can’t view the photos stored here. I’ll leave it at that.”
“Thanks. And... one more thing I’d like to ask.”
“This is the last one.”
“We’re friends, right?”
“Friends... Yeah. We were friends. We were.”
“...”
“You can call me Shin Ah.”
“Okay! Shin Ah, thanks for helping me with everything!”
“You really can’t adjust, can you? That face while cheerfully saying it...”
Shin Ah left the audiovisual room with a forced smile.
Dashman, smiling brightly, silently followed her footsteps with his heightened senses, listening for her descent down the stairs.
After a while.
A bit of time passed.
- So how did you know the password?
- What’s the password, seriously?
- It’s not too late, Dashman, you should run away now!!
- Why is this game so scary???
- I’m getting chills
“I know, you idiots... I’m scared shitless right now...”
Dashman’s resentful gaze turned toward the silent swordsman sitting next to him.
“Guildmaster, what kind of game did you bring? This game is seriously harmful to the heart.”
- So, are you not going to play it?
“Ack. My sisters are hostages, huh. Damn hostage game.”
Dashman couldn’t give up his life with his sisters.
He resolved firmly.
“I’ll never abandon my cute little sisters. Unlike some people, I’ll stick through it and finish the game!”
Dashman enjoyed his life with his sisters.
Or he tried to.
[April 22, xx.]
“Wait? Where did the week go?”
A skipped week.
“On?-chan! Asadayo!”
The same beginning.
“Attendance number 19, Shin Ah. Unexcused absence.”
“!!”
Until the day he faces a different kind of day.