Eric asked bluntly, "Melissa died on our side. After the incident last night, the three of us didn't encounter any danger. How come two of you are gone? Was the summoned Pen Spirit… more violent?"
His question was straightforward. Anthony's face was bitter, with deep shadows beneath his eyes from lack of sleep.
"I have no idea either. After the game ended, we tried to send the Pen Spirit off, but it wouldn't leave no matter how long we tried. The pen snapped, the candle extinguished on its own, and we didn't dare to sleep. We pulled down the quilts and made beds on the floor. I kept hearing noises throughout the night but didn't dare to move. Eventually, I drifted into sleep… When I woke up, the two of them were gone, and we found their bodies on the beds. I don't know whether they climbed up themselves or if…"
Stephanie nodded. "Seems staying still really works."
"If only it were that simple," Thomas muttered grimly. "It's only the first night and already three are dead. What comes next… I don't even dare to imagine."
"Maybe the Pen Spirit's killings have limitations. Melissa died alone on the way to the restroom. So far, it seems staying together keeps us safe. You really have no clues?" Eric turned to Thomas.
Thomas shook his head.
Eric couldn't help but be impressed by how soundly they had slept through the night. How could anyone sleep so deeply?
Class began.
Distracted, the players attended the lesson half-heartedly. Eric counted the students in the classroom—two fewer than last night.
As the teacher droned on, Eric absentmindedly doodled on her paper. The Pen Spirit game had already been played. So when would the halo appear?
Could it be… that the game wasn't truly over? That, because the Pen Spirit hadn't been sent away, it was still ongoing?
Covering her left eye, she peered with her right. Unlike the night before, the Pen Spirit didn't appear, but she could feel its presence lingering around her, Stephanie, and Deborah.
The summer heat felt like icy water soaking her skin.
Two ceiling fans whirled above. Eric broke out in a cold sweat from anxiety. The warm wind hit her and she felt both scorching and freezing.
Creak—creak—
On the platform, the teacher lectured with fervor.
Below, the NPC students took diligent notes, pens flying across pages.
Creak—creak—crack—
Her ears twitched. Sharpened senses, honed from surviving past scenarios, made Eric instinctively glance up.
"What's wrong?" Stephanie asked.
The fan spun fast, a blurred silhouette in motion.
In a blink, the blur split—and something flew out.
"Run!" Eric lunged outward with all her might.
Stephanie's hair stood on end. The moment she heard "Run," she fled her seat.
It all happened in an instant.
*Crash!*
A blade-like fan panel shot from the ceiling and embedded itself in their desk, shattering into pieces.
"Ahhh!" NPC students screamed in terror.
Stephanie tumbled to the floor, stunned.
Across the aisle, Deborah stood up in alarm and rushed over. "Are you okay?!"
"I'm fine—thanks to Eric. Eric, are you hurt?"
Eric patted her knees. "I'm good." She dashed toward the wall by the classroom door and switched off the ceiling fans.
She'd been sitting in the back; the broken fan had been overhead.
As the fan gradually slowed to a halt, Eric saw that only three blades remained. Her right eye ached faintly—on the fan, a shadow flickered.
The teacher halted the lecture, frowning. "I'll call someone to fix this," he said, soothing the panicked students.
"Teacher, I feel dizzy… and nauseous. May I rest in the dormitory?" Eric pressed her hand to her chest, feigning weakness. Stephanie chimed in, "I'm not feeling well either."
"I'll approve your leave. Head back to rest."
Deborah immediately raised her hand. "Teacher, we share a dorm. I think they're badly shaken—let me take care of them."
"Very well."
Anthony and Thomas no longer dared to stay. They quickly raised their hands to request leave too.
"Final exams are coming up! Just because others ask for leave doesn't mean you can too. What do you take this for?" The teacher refused.
The two exchanged a glance and decided to sneak out once class ended.
As soon as the bell rang, Anthony and Thomas slipped away. They'd wanted to find the girls, but had no idea where they had gone.
Thomas kept glancing behind, making Anthony uneasy. "What's with you?"
Thomas looked deathly pale, his pupils quivering. He licked his lips. "Don't you feel… like someone's following us?"
Anthony broke into a cold sweat.
Meanwhile, Eric, Stephanie, and Deborah didn't actually return to the dorm.
The sun blazed down, but the chill still clung to their skin. Silent, they left the teaching building. Stephanie kept glancing around nervously, her face tense.
"Don't panic," Eric said. "There must be rules."
"…Right." Stephanie understood what she meant. The Pen Spirit must follow certain conditions to kill, or else all eight players would've died last night.
After surviving the classroom incident, they were likely in a temporary "safe zone."
They headed toward the school gate—but as expected, they couldn't leave. The entire map of this scenario was confined to the school.
The guard shouted, "Where are you three going? It's not vacation yet—you can't leave! Which class are you from?" As he emerged from the security room, the three bolted.
Returning to the classroom or dorm wasn't an option. For safety, Eric suggested, "Let's go to the playground."
Stephanie and Deborah agreed.
Other classes were in PE, with students milling about. The three found a quiet corner to sit. The sunshine offered a false sense of security. Still, they didn't sit too close—Eric and Stephanie had nearly died together just moments ago.
Eric squinted under the glaring sun, watching students kick shuttlecocks. Suddenly, her right eyelid twitched rapidly. Her heart raced—the ghost eye was activating again!
And indeed, she saw the shadow.
It was the Pen Spirit from the night before.
Like a black-and-white television screen clearing into focus, the Pen Spirit crouched before her—face-to-face.
Eric blinked naturally, her gaze passing through the spirit, continuing to observe the carefree students.
The ghostly red eye roamed greedily over her body. Eric remained utterly still, seemingly oblivious.
The Pen Spirit stretched out a withered, branch-like hand toward her neck. Eric casually reclined, hands behind her head. "What a lovely day to sunbathe," she sighed, eyes blissfully closed.
Foiled in its attempt, the ghost did not give up. It turned to Stephanie.
Stephanie sighed. "You're surprisingly calm, still in the mood to sunbathe."
The ghost hand was less than an inch from her throat.
"Let's sunbathe together, then!" Eric laughed, tackling Stephanie to the ground. They rolled together on the grass.
Stephanie was startled. *Eric isn't normally like this*, she thought—just as her peripheral vision caught Deborah standing up and walking away.
"Huh? Deborah going to the bathroom?" she asked, sitting up.
Turning to Eric, she was shocked—Eric's face was pale, lips bloodless.
"Quick! Go after Deborah!" Eric sprang up and ran.
Stephanie followed anxiously—and then saw it. Deborah wasn't walking—she was being dragged. Her feet scraped the ground without stepping.
Just moments before, Deborah had been smiling, about to tease them. Then, suddenly, an invisible force clutched her neck.
It hoisted her into the air—she couldn't break free.
*Help me!* Her mouth formed the words, but no sound came. She struggled desperately—until she heard a *snap*, and everything went dark.
Eric and Stephanie gave chase, just in time to see Deborah's limp body lifted under the horizontal bar—her neck caught on it.
"I'll lift her down—catch her!" Eric leapt up and grabbed the bar, raising Deborah's head.
At that moment, her heart sank.
Deborah's head lolled back like a snapped flower.
Her body dropped, and Stephanie barely caught her before collapsing with her.
Eric climbed down, then heaved Deborah off Stephanie. Her body was still soft, but death's pallor had already claimed her face. Finger-shaped bruises marked her neck—just like Melissa's.
Gently repositioning her head, Eric felt a sting in her eyes.
A living person—just like that, her neck twisted, gone.
If it weren't for her ghost eye, she would be the one lying there. Stephanie, dragged down with her, narrowly escaped. Deborah had taken their place.
Her heart felt steeped in ice.
Stephanie's eyes reddened.
They carried Deborah's corpse to the nearby grove and buried her in a shallow grave scraped with branches.
"…You saved me. Thank you." Stephanie paused. "You must have a special item, right? I heard some dungeons have tools to fight ghosts."
"No. I exchanged my eye in a past scenario…" Eric mentioned briefly.
Stephanie instinctively touched her own eye. "That must've hurt. But this power… it compensates for your suffering. Eric, I'll be counting on you. Even a small warning—I'll be grateful."
She handed Eric a paranormal healing kit in thanks.
Eric didn't accept it.
Only the two of them remained. In such a dire situation, there was no need to keep track of debts. They had to survive together.