Dispatches from the Graduate School of Ghost Stories - Chapter 22

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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 Graduate School (22)
You’re quite something.
The headless serpent thrashed about as though it meant to crush them, a sharp, glass-scraping shriek pouring from its writhing body that set everyone’s nerves on edge. Yet it had no mouth—where on earth was that sound coming from?
Yu Jong-hwa found himself doubting whether the creature was even alive. It hadn’t eaten in all this time without a mouth, so how could it possess such boundless strength? It was a marvel of vitality.
“Jong-hwa! How much longer until morning?”
“An hour and a half!”
All school urban legends end the moment children arrive for classes.
A blessing in disguise: Yeongrok Elementary School’s morning came early. The bell rings at seven, and the first students arrive. So for now, dancing with the serpent until seven was their best hope.
Yu Jong-hwa found himself in deep agreement with Lee Ju-ho’s insistence that stamina and athleticism were essential to surviving an Urban Legend Phenomenon.
Lee Ju-ho set down the strange stone she’d been carrying and jumped with all her strength.
Because she had been the first to touch the stone, the serpent pursued only her. To keep the creature’s attention away from her frail friend and unreliable junior, Ju-ho darted across the Athletic Field, keeping herself as far from the Pond as possible.
Yu Jong-hwa used the moment to examine the stone’s shape.
Time had worn it dim, but tracing the surface with his fingertips, he felt faint rounded lines scattered across it. The texture was arranged with such regularity that it could well be called scales. His hand passed over the vague hint of a round eye socket, then moved cautiously toward what must have been the creature’s mouth.
The opening was small, barely wide enough to wedge in a tiny object.
“Could this stone possibly be… the serpent’s head?”
At his question, So Hui-yeong stepped closer.
In the gap that seemed to be the serpent’s mouth, there was even what looked like a long stone fang.
So Hui-yeong boldly pushed his hand into the crevice. Fortunately, the stone didn’t suddenly bite down on it.
“Think we should try attaching this to that serpent?”
“Would it stick if we just held it in place?”
“Hmm.”
“What’s that? Industrial adhesive?”
Yu Jong-hwa narrowed his eyes at the object So Hui-yeong pulled from his bag.
“I carry it just in case. You never know what might come up.”
What sort of situations did he imagine encountering?
Yu Jong-hwa admired the senior’s preparedness, but he doubted the adhesive would do much good for attaching stone to a serpent.
“I don’t think adhesive will work.”
“Yeah, me neither.”
So the Industrial Adhesive went back into the backpack.
“Anyway, that thing’s an Imoogi… would we need a Yeouiju for it to ascend and become a dragon?”
“Collect seven and your wish comes true, right?”
“Don’t say things like that.”
In any case, the stone serpent’s mouth was opened only slightly—far too small to fit a Yeouiju of the sort people typically imagined.
Had the creature not even screamed when its head was severed?
“That serpent’s stubborn, isn’t it? If it was going to die anyway, it might as well have opened its mouth wide. At least then it could’ve clamped down on a rolling stone.”
“It’s not dead.”
Yu Jong-hwa, having gathered several roundish stones, jammed them recklessly into the gap he believed to be the mouth. Again, nothing happened. He hadn’t expected anything, so there was no disappointment to feel.
“Senior, do you happen to carry any spheres or beads?”
“…I’ll pick some up next time.”
“Ideally, something unusual from an urban legend would be best.”
“You think those are easy to find?”
Though it seemed he’d never have use for it, So Hui-yeong promised Yu Jong-hwa he’d gather a few beads before next time.
Trusting that Lee Ju-ho would hold out until the bell rang, So Hui-yeong took no particular action and simply pulled out a Canned Coffee. It was rather laid-back of him.
But Yu Jong-hwa, himself not far from collapse from exhaustion, gratefully accepted her sacrifice and settled down on the ground. Hui-yeong handed him a can as well.
“I’m dying of sleep.”
“Me too.”
“We can sleep two hours in the morning, then wake up and go back to class. It’ll be rough, but doable.”
“Weren’t we already exposed? What if we left and came back in later?”
“What are you talking about? The teachers won’t remember us anyway. We got our Name Badges, so we should keep trying. Getting permission to enter this place again isn’t easy.”
“Sa Hye will probably remember, I have a feeling…”
“That sixth-grade girl? What’s her deal? Jong-hwa, look—we’ve got a long road ahead of us, so please don’t do anything stupid. Just do what you’re told. It’s hard enough finding successors in a place like this.”
Accepting the senior’s reasonable point, Yu Jong-hwa crushed his empty can and apologized.
“Sorry… I think I was under some kind of spell back there.”
“Yeah. It happens. Just be careful from now on. But what were you doing anyway?”
“I was checking my pockets to see if I had any coins. You throw coins in a pond to make wishes, right? But I didn’t have any.”
“…That’s good thinking. But what’s that then?”
“This? It’s candy I picked up off the Classroom floor. I figured maybe it would work if I tried throwing it in, so I did.”
“…Couldn’t you just use that to escape?”
“I just found it lying around. Could it possibly contain components needed for research?”
With what seemed like sound reasoning, he’d placed an “appropriately-sized object from an urban legend source” into the stone. The senior gripped the back of his neck as though his blood pressure might kill him on the spot.
An unusual vibration emanated from the stone.
The serpent, which had been engaged in a titanic struggle on the far side of the Athletic Field, seemed to sense the stone’s trembling and writhing, and began crawling toward the Pond at a terrifying speed, its massive body coiling and uncoiling.
Lee Ju-ho, alarmed, picked up a fragment of the Cloud Bridge and hurled it at the snake’s neck, but the throw—so weak compared to her usual strength—failed to slow the creature’s advance.
An empty canned coffee can lodged itself in Yu Jong-hwa’s hair.
“You block-headed idiot!”
So Hui-yeong unleashed a torrent of creative profanity in a booming voice that rang like a bell in their ears.
Yu Jong-hwa, indignant, leaped to his feet and pointed back accusingly.
“Why? The report never said that canned coffee was an available resource! And in a situation like this, isn’t it better to try anything that might work?”
“Better to go out there empty-handed and make an excuse about trying! Do you think we’re getting paid to advance research? Either way, I’m just making an effort to do what I’m told—that’s what the paycheck is for!”
“I don’t want to get cursed by that snake and have an accident! I can’t take a leave of absence! If I fall behind on graduation, I’m finished! I had to do something!”
While he was being cursed for his recklessness, the stone continued to transform, growing darker and smoother.
Thwack.
Yu Jong-hwa drove his foot hard into the snake’s head as it lunged to bite him, sending it plummeting into the Pond.
The impact with the hard surface sent a sharp sting through his toes.
Following the head as it splashed down, the headless serpent launched itself into the black water with tremendous force, sending up geysers in its wake.
The severed head showed no inclination to reunite with its body.
Between the foam and waves, a streamlined form rippled across the surface, only to vanish and appear again, the water churning and heaving.
The Pond was pitifully small. A monstrous creature of irregular shape writhed and contorted in the cramped space—the sight was both sublime and grotesque.
Beings that humans should never witness have a way of leaving an unwelcome mark upon those who see them.
As Yu Jong-hwa watched the Pond roiling with the serpent’s convulsions, he felt his stomach turn and retched dryly.
A strangled sound escaped him, followed by a gagging noise. Only then did he turn to glance at So Hui-yeong, whose face had gone slack, a trickle of blood dripping unheeded from his nose—he looked seconds away from losing consciousness.
Lee Ju-ho, her face drained of color, rushed over and grabbed So Hui-yeong by the shoulders, turning him away so he couldn’t see the snake. She stood as a barrier before her colleagues, waiting for the creature’s thrashing to end.
At last, the violent struggle ceased, and the Pond, hazily veiled in mist, grew still.
Water had splashed everywhere, drenching the surroundings, and the Pond’s water level had visibly dropped.
Whoooosh…….
The serpent, now whole once more, rose up from the water and tilted its head—faint seam marks still visible along the line where it had been severed—toward Yu Jong-hwa.
“Um…… hello? Are you alright now?”
It was Yu Jong-hwa’s first time meeting the snake’s gaze, and he wondered whether he ought to offer a proper greeting—”pleased to meet you” and such. But unable to fathom what the creature might be thinking, he settled for asking after its well-being.
The snake offered no thanks for having its head retrieved.
Instead, it opened its maw and bared its fangs.
Not a sight anyone would have wanted to see.
The rank, fetid smell of the marshland wafted up, sickening in its intensity.
Backing away, Yu Jong-hwa noticed something small and bright yellow resting on the creature’s tongue—a piece of candy.
Fortunately, the snake had no intention of attacking them.
It merely displayed itself, turned toward the humans, and waited.
“It seems docile. Should we run?”
Lee Ju-ho frowned at the massive serpent, as large as the school building itself. So Hui-yeong, still refusing to look at the creature, asked the question in a hoarse voice.
“Did something…… change about it? Does it look like a dragon?”
“No? Not at all. It’s just a sna——”
Yu Jong-hwa was about to object—it was nothing but a large black water snake—when So Hui-yeong suddenly reached out and clamped a firm hand over his mouth, silencing him.
“Wait. There’s a saying that for an Imoogi to become a dragon, the first human it encounters must call it a dragon. I remember hearing folktales about it.”
Upon hearing his words, Yu Jong-hwa recalled similar stories from somewhere in his memory.
According to legend, when an Imoogi appeared before a human on the verge of ascending to dragon status, if it was called a dragon, it would ascend; if called a snake, it would remain a snake for all its days. If it was called the wrong thing and ascension failed, the creature would harbor a grudge and curse the humans responsible. That’s why, whenever someone encountered a great serpent in the mountains, they were always supposed to claim they’d seen a dragon.
An Imoogi of this stature ought to have conviction of its own; instead, it depended on others’ judgments. Truly an annoying creature.
“……You’re a dragon, sir.”
“Wow, a dragon.”
Following Ju-ho’s flat declaration, Yu Jong-hwa released an equally spiritless exclamation.
A dragon, saw a dragon. So Hui-yeong covered his eyes and mumbled the words in a tone devoid of all feeling.
The serpent was satisfied.
With a final gulp, the dark water snake closed its mouth and shot upward toward the brightening morning sun, launching itself into the air.
Holding not a Yeouiju, but a piece of candy.
“It won’t even grant wishes?!”
“At least it didn’t curse us…….”
[♪♪♬♩♬♪]
The first school bell of the day rang through Yeongrok Elementary School’s aged speakers.
The exhausted researchers gazed toward the school gates, anticipating the start of another day at the elementary school.
But no matter how long they waited, not a single child entered the school.
Something had gone wrong.

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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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