Dispatches from the Graduate School of Ghost Stories - Chapter 16

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Urban Legends and the Graduate School (16)
King Sejong vs. General Yi Sun-sin
The schoolyard of an elementary school on the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province.
In a few minutes’ time, a grand confrontation the likes of which one could only witness in dreams would unfold here. Tension hung in the cold night air, and the water in the pond surrounding the school building rippled in the wind, lapping against the concrete with a wet slapping sound.
At this crucial moment before an important battle, three graduate students were busy washing dishes.
So Hui-yeong spread a straw mat in front of the statue of King Sejong and carefully arranged the still-warm food onto plates. Lee Ju-ho unfolded a small ritual offering table and placed dishes on it as So Hui-yeong gestured.
“Is there a particular reason we have to make an offering to King Sejong?”
Yu Jong-hwa, standing alone at a distance gazing at the statue of General Yi Sun-sin, lowered his voice as much as possible so the statue of King Sejong wouldn’t hear, and asked his seniors.
To anyone’s eyes, General Yi Sun-sin seemed far more capable in combat. The general’s statue even held a large sword.
“Do you see the book King Sejong is holding?”
Most elementary schools have a statue of King Sejong holding the Hunminjeongeum.
Yu Jong-hwa, remembering that the statue at his own elementary school had held the Hunminjeongeum, looked carefully at the book in the statue’s hands.
The book made of metal was wide open, but it was a crude counterfeit with no characters carved into it whatsoever.
“It doesn’t seem like there’s a problem…”
“No, it’s not. The book is almost finished. Haven’t you heard the rumor that if all the pages turn, the school collapses?”
“Oh! There was something like that when I went to elementary school too!”
Lee Ju-ho nodded quietly, then placed two white candles on the offering table and lit them with a lighter. It was a simple setup, but it had a certain completeness to it.
The seniors had already prepared alcohol and placed it on the table. Yu Jong-hwa sensed the moment and received his cup last of all.
Rotating the cup clockwise over the incense burner made of a paper cup, he asked a question.
“I understand what urban legend this is. But if King Sejong loses this time, will the school really collapse? That seems odd to me. The school has plenty of other anomalies.”
“Everyone thought that way and made offerings to General Yi Sun-sin, which was the problem… because the general really does look like he’d win.”
“If the school collapses, isn’t that good? It becomes safer.”
“We can’t escape, and the school collapses with us. Then the school is fine again by morning.”
“Is there really a researcher who died crushed in the school…?”
Lee Ju-ho couldn’t bring himself to answer and quietly rolled his eyes. After a brief silence, So Hui-yeong answered, sounding exasperated.
“In the early exploration phase, some people died. After that, everyone avoided the challenge. The ones who challenged when only a few pages were left supposedly made offerings to the general and clocked out. We were unlucky. Only one page left, right?”
“I was definitely told that Yeongrok Elementary School was safe. I believed you seniors!”
“It’s okay. Believe in me. I can definitely make King Sejong win.”
“Right. Not me. Believe in Ju-ho. And when we get materials from here, we can leave quickly. It’s worth a try! We brought you because we’re confident!”
“…What do you get if you make an offering to the winning side?”
“That’s it! Jong-hwa. What an accommodating attitude—I like it. Do you know what Okchun is? It’s candy that goes on the offering table. Red and white.”
“I think I know what it looks like. I’ve never eaten it though.”
As Yu Jong-hwa imagined what the candy looked like, he suddenly grew curious. Yeongrok Elementary School was, true to its name, merely a collection of elementary-school-level urban legends.
But why had this particular setting of special food with efficacy come to be attached to it?
It also felt suspicious that principals and teachers regularly gifted something to the humans who arrived with the Urban Legend Phenomenon.
“Isn’t it strange though? Why does something with such good properties only come from this school…?”
Yu Jong-hwa felt a gaze upon him and slowly lifted his head. The faded green statue of the king had somehow rolled its eyes and was now looking down at him.
He stiffened rigidly and silently cast a desperate look toward his seniors.
So Hui-yeong whispered quickly.
“Don’t be curious. In urban legends, you do your job and leave. If you try to know too much, things never end well.”
Then she suddenly raised her voice and spoke to Lee Ju-ho brightly, like an actor committed to her role.
“All right, here—Ju-ho, take this!”
So Hui-yeong naturally rummaged through her bag. Lee Ju-ho’s face remained impassive. She received fingerless gloves and protective gear from So Hui-yeong, put them on, and began stretching.
Yu Jong-hwa learned from his seniors what attitude he ought to adopt in the Urban Legend Phenomenon. He wiped all his questions from his mind and raised his hand, speaking as a naive newcomer.
“Does Ju-ho fight instead of the King…?”
“Of course. Why would the king fight directly? Shouldn’t retainers be the ones taking the hits?”
“Then… do I fight too?”
Lee Ju-ho chuckled softly and handed him something.
“I’ll do the fighting, but if things get dangerous, use this to draw attention from behind.”
“What?! What is this?”
“A flamethrower.”
Yu Jong-hwa pressed the trigger of the mysterious object he’d been handed.
One corner of the dark schoolyard lit up as flames shot into the air. Before the heat could singe his bangs, he hastily turned off the flamethrower.
It was definitely an illegally modified weapon.
“Are you going to… melt the statues?”
“Yeah.”
So Hui-yeong nodded, her expression serious.
“Have you always lived like this, seniors?”
“No. Hui-yeong isn’t like that. I’m the only one who’s lived this way.”
I see.
Lee Ju-ho was defending So Hui-yeong, calling it a misunderstanding—even though So Hui-yeong herself seemed to take pride in her physical solution.
Whether it was the nature of the Urban Legend Phenomenon that made them not think too deeply, or whether his seniors had always been this way, he couldn’t tell anymore.
Still, Yu Jong-hwa felt he’d found a perfect fit for this research lab.
Because he didn’t want to spend his life using his head either.
“I thought we should be more careful with Urban Legend Phenomena related to historical figures.”
As Yu Jong-hwa murmured with a considerably lighter heart, his seniors answered in unison.
“If an Urban Legend Phenomenon had actually occurred at a real historical site, we wouldn’t be doing this. We’d have treated it with the utmost respect. Other researchers would’ve been much more meticulous with their reports too.”
“But this is just a statue in an elementary school, so…”
Lee Ju-ho, attempting rationalization to the last, gazed at the clock installed on the upper part of the school building. The hand creeping toward the number twelve told him midnight was near.
“Hui-yeong, it’s time.”
He called to her with a gesture.
As if answering, Hui-yeong shouted a familiar line at the top of her voice from somewhere.
“King Sejong, make your entrance!”
[♩♪♬♪♬♩]
Unlike the daytime, the school bell rang out across the Schoolyard with a heavy, transformed tone.
Without a sound, Yi Sun-sin’s Statue descended from its pedestal and drew a sword from its scabbard.
As he walked toward them with heavy footfalls, Sejong’s Statue sat quietly upon his throne.
“But the general uses a sword, doesn’t he? Isn’t King Sejong at a terrible disadvantage?”
As if answering Yu Jong-hwa’s question, Sejong’s Statue slowly rose from the throne and faced the general.
In one hand, a book unfurled, and the opposite palm extended—Sejong’s eyes began to glow red.
“Listen, Jong-hwa. Think about it. Kids are more reasonable than you’d think. You really think they’d have the king fight without any weapon?”
“Moving statues are famous enough—there’s romance in the anomaly.”
While Hui-yeong scolded him like a neighbor’s grandmother, Lee Ju-ho watched the statues’ battle, making sounds of bewilderment.
As Sejong’s Statue opened his mouth, red light spilled forth and a beam erupted.
“Swordsmen traditionally duel with mages, after all.”
“Seniors. The king is shooting a beam from his mouth right now. Is that magic?!”
“Just accept it in your heart. It’s a ghost story for elementary school kids, after all.”
Magic or not, the Hangul Beam was far more powerful than expected.
The beam burned through flower beds and left scorch marks on the old stone stairs before striking Yi Sun-sin’s Statue directly.
The general’s Statue blocked the red beam with difficulty using his sword, then charged at the king.
As the general’s Statue closed in, Sejong’s Statue struck it back with the Hunminjeongeum Haeryebun Commentary, then performed a nimble side roll to evade. He fired another beam, this time aiming at the general’s head.
Watching the fight unfold more evenly than expected, Yu Jong-hwa tilted his head and asked Hui-yeong.
“But the king fights well too. Why was he getting overwhelmed before?”
The answer became clear not long after.
Sejong’s Statue, plainly exhausted, trudged back to his throne and slumped down onto it.
“Get up! We need to start!”
As if he’d been waiting for this moment, Lee Ju-ho burst forward with force and raised his gloved hand to block Yi Sun-sin’s sword.
Clang.
A crisp, metallic note rang out sharply across the darkened Schoolyard.
How could a human hand possibly produce such a sound when blocking a sword?
Each time sword and hand collided, small sparks flew, illuminating the two figures locked in combat.
“Jong-hwa! Go help him!”
“What about you?”
“Me? I’m weak!”
“Sure you are.”
“Thanks, you bastard.”
Yu Jong-hwa rushed off and, staying behind Yi Sun-sin’s Statue, unleashed flames from his Flamethrower.
Like swatting an annoying gnat, the general’s Statue irritably swung his hand at him.
Seizing the opening, Lee Ju-ho delivered a powerful kick to the general’s Statue’s shoulder.
A low, clear metallic ring—like the tolling of a great bell—resonated from the general’s mouth.
“Your Majesty, if you’ve rested enough, you should get up now. Please fire one more beam for us.”
Like a coach spurring on a boxer, So Hui-yeong positioned herself beside Sejong’s Statue and barked out strategy as it sagged with fatigue.
She even draped a Sports Towel around the king’s neck, and the statue went through the motions of wiping itself down.
“Fair people! Make way! Your king shall deliver the final blow!”
So Hui-yeong announced Sejong’s return to battle in a loud voice.
After confirming the statue had risen, Lee Ju-ho and Yu Jong-hwa rolled away in opposite directions to safety.
Not a word had passed between them, yet their teamwork was perfect.
A red beam cleaved precisely down the middle of where they had stood, striking Yi Sun-sin’s Statue directly through the heart.
The general’s Statue knelt and, acknowledging defeat, sheathed his sword.
“We won!”
Yu Jong-hwa clapped his hands in delight, and the statues stepped back onto their respective pedestals, losing all animation in an instant.
The clock pointed precisely to 12:22.
“The pages never turned, though…….”
Lee Ju-ho, checking the Hunminjeongeum Haeryebun that Sejong held, furrowed his brow.
The dishes that had been arranged on the ritual offering table were empty, and nothing had been left behind in return.
So Hui-yeong let out a long sigh and began clearing the dishes.
“It seems we can’t just fight them outright.”
“Three against one is a bit unfair, isn’t it…….”
“Well, we’ve already delayed the school’s destruction day, so maybe they’ll be satisfied.”
With Lee Ju-ho’s words, the three of them trudged back into the building.
This assignment looked like it was going to take a while.
“Are there no other anomalies where we could gather materials besides the statues?”
“No. For tonight, let’s just head back to the Music Room and rest. We can deal with it once classes start tomorrow…….”
While So Hui-yeong and Yu Jong-hwa were murmuring quietly, Lee Ju-ho, who had been walking ahead, stopped in his tracks.
The glass door they had just pushed open shuddered, then gradually came to rest.
Lee Ju-ho approached the door again and tried to go back outside, but it wouldn’t budge.
“Be careful. The school’s structure has changed completely.”
At her cool voice, Yu Jong-hwa lifted his head.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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