"Ghost, ghost, ghost… ghost!"
Fujiwara Chika didn't notice that she had just committed a foul by dribbling the ball. Instead, she nervously grabbed Amamiya Natsuki's sleeve, eyes wide with panic.
Hey, aren't you the natural?
I'm not afraid of any vengeful spirit in the Ghost Academy—why should I be afraid of ghosts?
Amamiya rubbed his nose, but the corner of his eye twitched.
On the corridor roof, a massive, terrifying vengeful spirit lay coiled like a giant snake. Its head was oddly human-like, framed by long black hair that spilled down, nearly covering the whole corridor. The hair writhed and hissed as if alive.
Mr. Zhou Shuren's stories of the beautiful snake seducing victims with her beauty were nothing compared to the nightmare in front of him—this spirit was a walking car crash of horror.
A monster from the depths of nightmares.
Ordinary people would have their sanity crumble and goosebumps spike just by glancing at it.
Sorry.
I misjudged you, Fujiwara-san.
Anyone who saw this thing would be terrified, even the most naïve.
Even Miss Kaguya was no exception. She involuntarily stepped back, though her face remained cold and composed. Above her head, faint emoticons floated: so scary, so scary, so scary.
"You… can see me?"
The long-haired spirit, dazed on the corridor roof, suddenly stirred. More than a dozen glowing scarlet eyes fixed on the trio, and a sinister voice slithered through the air:
"Look…"
Fujiwara's eyes welled with tears.
Before she could say more, Amamiya clamped a hand over her mouth.
"Don't talk." He whispered fiercely into her ear, "Pretend you didn't see anything."
Since officially becoming a player, Amamiya could see the world's true face.
To be honest, compared to the real world, the spirits in the Vengeful Spirit Academy seemed almost tame. They all had human forms, some barely different from normal people except their pale faces and quiet footsteps.
But the spirits haunting the real world were far more terrifying.
The corridor spirit clearly didn't believe them. It coiled tighter, scarlet light blazing in its eyes, black hair whipping violently.
"You saw me! I'm going to eat you!"
Fortunately, Amamiya had activated the halo that repelled spirits. The hair hissed as it entered the halo's radius, burning quickly like dry brush in fire.
Flames spread upward along the black strands.
The spirit's expression blanked in shock. It screamed, slapped the flames on its body, then fled in a frantic panic.
"…gone."
Kaguya let out a relieved breath, palms sweating despite herself.
Even the Ice Princess feared ghosts.
Or rather, only perverts could remain indifferent to something so terrifying.
"What was that?"
Fujiwara's eyes shimmered with tears.
"That was way too scary!"
"Someone's coming." Kaguya pressed her brows. "Let's get back to class."
Meanwhile—
"See? Are you okay?"
A girl with short orange hair waved her hand in front of Yotsuya Miko's face.
"Why did you freeze just now?"
Yurikawa glanced up at the empty sky and around.
"There's nothing in the corridor."
You're wrong.
A terrifying spirit had lurked there moments ago.
"I'm fine," Miko said, shaking her head.
"I just suddenly remembered something important…"
"What is it?"
"When you called me, I forgot about it."
"Oh, sorry."
Miko muttered as she walked upstairs, her mind replaying the scene.
The snake-like spirit on the roof had burst into flames when it neared Xia Shu, then fled.
What was going on?
Miko recalled the incident at the convenience store this morning, where the spirit wearing the uniform vanished suddenly.
It must be connected to Natsuki.
Clenching her fists, the tired but hopeful girl smiled for the first time in a while.
Great news!
There's finally hope in this gloomy world.
A week ago, after starting school, Miko had returned home to find terrifying spirits appearing everywhere.
She tried everything—sprinkling salt, crossing herself, garlic, holy water, shrine guardians.
She even bought a peach wood sword online, gritting her teeth against the price.
All useless.
Nobody else could see or banish these spirits.
Miko felt like a lone husky trapped in a wolf pack.
If discovered, she'd be torn apart.
Her life was shrouded in fear and darkness.
But now…
"Hey~!"
It's decided.
Tonight, we take the initiative!
We're childhood friends. Someone suddenly appearing is impossible, right?
In the classroom.
Natsuki Amamiya set down his bag, the room nearly empty and silent save for a few students.
"Kaguya-chan, can you tell me now?"
Fujiwara asked quietly, "Why is reality scarier than the game?"
"I don't know…"
Kaguya pursed her lips, absentmindedly twisting a strand of hair.
She recounted everything from yesterday to now with a cold, emotionless voice.
"My intuition says if those spirits know we can see them… something terrible will happen."
Fujiwara felt like crying but no tears came.
Regret.
Super regret.
No cure for that.
"The halo that drove the spirit away was something I got from a blind box…"
Amamiya explained when Fujiwara looked at him expectantly.
"Huh? You can open blind boxes?"
"No. I just always get lucky."
"You can see that when you open the game store."
"I saw it." Fujiwara muttered, staring at the air.
"There's a permanent attribute next to it, costs fifty game coins."
Amamiya looked but saw nothing—he couldn't see other players' panels.
Too bad. Can't help if I can't see their items.
"The attribute's called 'One Centimeter Miracle.' After buying it, any part of your body can grow one centimeter…"
Fujiwara's eyes went wide.
"What? What's the use of growing one centimeter taller?"
Amamiya fell into thought.
Where's the best place to add one centimeter miracle?