The Calamity-Class Artifacts in Ghost Stories Are Obsessed with Me - Chapter 55

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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 Catastrophe-Class Relics: Episode 55
Woo Ju’s hand moved reflexively to brush off the grip on his arm, then froze.
Impossibly, the person holding him was human—though they wore some sort of strange mask on their head.
‘Wait, that’s me too.’
With that fleeting thought, Woo Ju gripped his rescuer firmly and leapt the Main Gate together with them.
Crash!
The landing wasn’t clean—dragging someone else over meant he tumbled several rotations—but he’d achieved the objective all the same.
They’d cleared the Main Gate safely.
A shriek tore through the air behind them.
When he turned, hundreds of black hands writhed at the school’s Main Gate, reaching outward in desperate convulsion.
That instinct to move—the pressure of something closing in—had sent him diving away at the last second, and his instinct proved right.
It seemed the thing couldn’t extend its power beyond the gate itself.
As if an invisible wall stood across the threshold.
“Hah.”
Woo Ju exhaled sharply and brushed himself off, rising to his feet.
That’s when he noticed his companion—the one who’d vaulted the gate with him.
“Nngh…”
They were writhing on the ground, clearly having failed the landing entirely.
“Are you all right?”
“Y-yes, I think so…”
They looked anything but all right, yet the moment Woo Ju extended his hand, they grasped it and struggled upright.
Standing side by side, the height difference was striking—a good ten centimeters at least.
They wore a School Uniform, and that strange mask covered their head.
‘Some kind of animal mask?’
It resembled an animal of some sort, but he couldn’t quite place which one.
Woo Ju tilted his head curiously, then spoke.
“We should move, anyway.”
“Yes!”
Lingering here served no purpose, and besides, Hwa Ryeon had instructed him to make for the designated point immediately after escaping the school.
He’d hesitated briefly about bringing this person along, but decided in the end to take them with him.
‘They’re a rescue, after all.’
And there were questions he wanted to ask them.
Where exactly had they come from at the end? How had they come to be trapped in the school? That sort of thing.
With these thoughts, Woo Ju quickened his pace, and the masked figure hurried along behind him.
Their destination was a small Cafe located near the school buildings.
The interior was nearly empty.
Well, it made sense.
A CLOSED sign hung plainly on the door.
“You’ve arrived earlier than expected.”
Yet when he stepped inside, someone was waiting.
A middle-aged man in a white dress shirt, his beard neatly trimmed and striking.
“Yes. The operation moved faster than anticipated.”
This was Baek Chul Jung, also of the Inspection Bureau.
More precisely, he belonged to the Support Team—staff who handled the logistics of field operations, generally speaking.
Beyond that, he maintained special facilities within the building and assisted with training exercises. The sort of all-purpose utility you’d find anywhere in an organization like this.
“And who’s this?”
Baek Chul Jung’s eyes shifted toward the side, where the masked figure Woo Ju had brought along stood.
Woo Ju answered simply.
“Someone I retrieved while escaping the school.”
“I see.”
That explanation sufficed. Baek Chul Jung, as part of the Support Team, knew well enough what sort of Urban Legend the school was.
“For now, please have a seat and rest. Has the team leader not arrived yet?”
“No. The operation split up mid-way, so she’s handling her portion separately.”
“Understood.”
Woo Ju found a suitable seat and sat. The masked figure hesitated, then began edging toward the chair across from him.
“Hello there. Would you mind a brief conversation?”
“Oh! Y-yes!”
But before they could settle, Baek Chul Jung approached and led them away.
It was perfectly natural, of course.
Anyone extracted from an Urban Legend had to be assessed first, to determine their present condition.
In case he’s seriously contaminated by an urban legend, or even if he isn’t, he might need treatment anyway.
They’ll probably call in another Support Team member to take him for a detailed examination.
After Baek Chul Jung and the masked figure withdrew, Woo Ju leaned back in his chair and finally allowed himself to rest.
‘Exhausted.’
The time spent inside the school urban legend hadn’t been particularly long, but the fatigue was overwhelming.
It was likely because he’d fought in succession without a break at the end.
‘I thought I’d know how to play the student and keep a low profile for a while.’
He hadn’t expected it to end so swiftly.
If it hadn’t been Woo Ju deployed, things would probably have played out that way.
When they came flooding in at the end, there weren’t many operatives who could hold their ground like that and carve through the situation by force alone.
Ding.
Woo Ju, sprawled limply in his chair, turned his head at the sound of the door opening.
Hwa Ryeon was just stepping through the doorway.
At that, Woo Ju sprang up from his chair.
“Team Lead, are you alright?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
Hwa Ryeon nodded and walked over.
Then she dropped heavily into a chair and continued speaking.
“Quite the spectacular mess I left behind. Thanks to that, nobody paid any attention and I could move freely.”
“That’s fortunate. What happened to the school?”
“You’ll see if you look outside. Go take a peek.”
“Is that so?”
Woo Ju was curious about the results anyway, so he walked to the door, cracked it open slightly, and peered outside.
Then he started in surprise.
In the distance, he could see something like black smoke rising up into the sky.
“What is that?”
“I set fires in several places on my way out. Before long, it turned into that.”
Hwa Ryeon smirked as she said it, her expression looking thoroughly satisfied and relieved.
Woo Ju returned to his seat and spoke to her.
“So the school will be shutting down.”
“Obviously. Every faculty member and student is dead, and I burned everything that looked important too. Even if they try to recover it, it’ll take longer than last time.”
“That’s a relief. Oh, but then what happens to the people inside?”
“When the school closes, they’ll naturally be expelled outside. That’s what happened before, apparently. The fire won’t spread to ground level anyway.”
“I see.”
At Hwa Ryeon’s answer, Woo Ju felt reassured.
He’d heard the relevant explanation before entering, but even so, he’d been genuinely worried about leaving the school in total ruins.
“By the way, you really did attend school normally, right?”
“Yes, of course.”
Woo Ju answered with an aggrieved expression to Hwa Ryeon’s suspicious question.
At that, Hwa Ryeon smiled and spoke in a low voice.
“You seemed too natural at it, though.”
“It was Method Acting. Method.”
“Hmm.”
As they chatted briefly, another Support Team member soon appeared.
The staff member approached them and spoke in a calm voice.
“The closure procedures for the location are currently underway. The examination is complete, so you may return now.”
“Ah, thank you.”
“Thank you.”
The reason they’d come here and stayed was for the examination.
After returning from an urban legend related to ‘contamination’ like this, one had to undergo at least a basic examination.
The two of them had simply sat, but they’d probably been examined by some method nonetheless.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
Woo Ju stood up along with Hwa Ryeon. Before leaving, though, he paused and spoke to the staff member.
“Um, could you possibly tell me later what happened to the person rescued today?”
“Understood.”
The staff member answered without much deliberation. It must have been a frequent request.
Only then did Woo Ju move again, following Hwa Ryeon outside the building.
They returned by riding in Hwa Ryeon’s car.
“Get some proper rest.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Hwa Ryeon drove Woo Ju to his front door, then said goodbye with a reminder to get some proper rest.
Operations like this normally came with at least a day off, but this time he’d been granted two days.
So for the next two days, he could relax completely.
‘Maybe I’ll sleep for a bit, then order something delicious to eat.’
Woo Ju walked into his home, already savoring the thought of two days off.
* * *
“What?”
Woo Ju sat in his chair, muttering with a serious expression.
“Why is my vacation gone?”
He was now sitting in his office chair. Chung Woo, who’d been sitting across from him, looked up and then back down.
The one who answered was Baek Ho, sitting beside him.
“Gone? You got plenty of rest!”
“No, really—I closed my eyes and opened them, and it feels like the vacation’s already over.”
Woo Ju felt cheated.
He hadn’t done anything at all, and yet by the time he’d come to his senses, the vacation was finished and he was back in the office!
On top of that, the Rest Period had ended. That’s why he’d gone undercover at the School in the first place.
In other words, normal duty started today.
“That’s plenty of rest.”
“That’s right.”
This time even Chung Woo chimed in agreement.
Woo Ju nodded despite making a dejected face.
“I suppose… I did rest a lot… But doesn’t anyone have a call-out today?”
“We’re on standby today.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. Apparently there’s something to brief us on. The team leader will probably come tell us.”
Now that he thought about it, Hwa Ryeon hadn’t shown up yet.
He’d been forgetting about it since she wasn’t usually around the office much.
At that moment, Sub-leader Ryu Seon Dam, who’d overheard the conversation, spoke with a smile.
“She’ll probably be here soon.”
“Understood.”
Woo Ju gave his response and turned his attention back to his desk.
About five minutes later.
“Good morning!”
Hwa Ryeon opened the door and stepped in.
Woo Ju started to greet her in return but stopped short. Someone was following her inside.
And it was a face he recognized quite well… or rather, someone wearing a mask.
“Everyone, say hello! We have a new member joining our team today.”
“What?”
Woo Ju blurted out in surprise.
Hwa Ryeon then turned to Woo Ju and spoke.
“By the way, you’ve met him before, right?”
“Y-yes, we have.”
They had to have met before.
This was the same person Woo Ju had ended up bringing with him when leaving the School.
“Go ahead and introduce yourself.”
“Ah, yes!”
The masked figure bowed respectfully, then spoke in a cheerful and bright voice.
“Hello, everyone! I’m Yeon Woo! As of today, I’ll be working with the Field Response Team! I’m still in my probationary period, but I look forward to working with you all!”
Woo Ju listened to Yeon Woo’s introduction and thought to himself.
‘Come to think of it, I never even asked for their name.’
Back then, things had been too chaotic to think of asking.
Besides, he hadn’t even been sure how much he was allowed to talk to the rescued person in the first place.
In any case, everyone applauded Yeon Woo’s introduction.
And Baek Ho, smiling, spoke up.
“Well, well, a new recruit already? You two must be thrilled—out of the junior ranks in just a few months!”
At that, both Woo Ju and Chae Wol offered awkward smiles.
Then Hwa Ryeon spoke again.
“Alright, everyone, pay attention—we’re not done with the briefing yet.”
“Yes.”
“Yes!”
Today, we’re going to conduct a simple Adaptation Training for Yeon Woo here.
“Adaptation Training, you say?”
“That’s right. You’ll just complete one very simple assignment.”
Hwa Ryeon pointed downward as she spoke.
“You’ll go down into the underground, resolve one urban legend, and come back up. Simple enough, right?”
Simple? I’m not sure about that, but this is also something Woo Ju did back when he was a newcomer.
But Hwa Ryeon’s words didn’t end there.
“The person who’ll go with you is…….”
Hwa Ryeon’s gaze swept across Woo Ju and Chae Wol in turn.
“Woo Ju and Chae Wol. I think it’ll be good for you to go together with these two.”
Continued in the next episode ▶
Catastrophe-Class Relics Within Urban Legends Develop Obsessions
Author
Lee Segyesa Jang
Publishers
Kim Seok Hwan, Choi Se Ra
Published by
Grae Publishing
Inquiries
[email protected]
Publication Date
May 26, 2026
UCI
G720:N+A327-20260410110
※ This e-book is protected under copyright law. Unauthorized reproduction and duplication are prohibited, and violations may result in criminal and civil liability.
※ Pentagram welcomes your precious manuscripts.

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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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