[Chapter 25] Joint Broadcast (4)

Two monsters chased relentlessly behind him.

As he ran, Dojun spoke to VirtuKing through D-Stock.

“Hyung, did you get away safely?”

— “Yeah. We’re holed up in the admin office, just left of the main stairs on the third floor. You alright?”

“I’m fine. I’ll shake these guys off soon. Just stay hidden and don’t move.”

— “Not like Airi can move anyway—her legs gave out.”

Dojun headed up the central staircase to the second floor.

But before rejoining the others, he needed to lose the monsters.

‘It’s not hard to shake them off.’

They had low intelligence and were highly sensitive to sound—meaning they were easy to bait.

Instead of heading up to the third floor, Dojun paused on the second.

He’d spotted a large mirror earlier—without hesitation, he knocked it over.

CRASH—!!

Shards exploded across the hallway in a thunderous echo.

Using the noise as cover, Dojun darted toward the far end of the corridor.

The monsters, distracted by the sound of the shattering mirror, briefly lost track of him.

At the corridor’s end was a steel door—thankfully already unlocked.

As he sprinted toward it, Dojun thought:

‘Better grab something useful while I’m here.’

He ducked into the faculty room and picked up a chair and a metal rod before heading back toward the steel door.

The monsters finally spotted him.

“GRRRAAAHHH—!!”

Having rediscovered their target, they charged even more ferociously.

“Come on, follow me.”

Dojun slipped through the steel door.

Now out of sight, the monsters resorted to instinct—relying solely on sound to locate him.

Dojun had counted on that.

His true goal was the third floor.

But for now, he moved calmly and deliberately.

‘Should be about time…’

He tossed the chair and metal rod down toward the first floor.

The two clanged violently against each other as they fell, creating a cacophonous racket.

The monsters, just about to push through the steel door, immediately lunged toward the new source of noise—no hesitation, no second thought.

With the monsters gone, Dojun silently reentered the third-floor hallway and reunited with his teammates.

“I’m back.”

“Whoa! How did you get away? I thought for sure it was game over.”

VirtuKing looked like he’d just aged ten years.

Viewers who had watched Dojun’s daring escape live exploded into the chat.

— “Holy sh*t I was holding my breath the whole time”

— “Okay, everyone, you can breathe now”

— “That was terrifying… I nearly pissed myself…”

— “Phantom’s insane. He casually shook off two monsters and made it back like it was nothing.”

┗ “Every time two monsters appeared, Airi would freeze and it was instant game over…”

┗┗ “This is the first time anyone’s survived it lol”

┗┗┗ “Wait… can they actually clear the mission now? Is there hope!?”

A few viewers dared to hope now that Airi had overcome her biggest hurdle.

But others remained skeptical.

— “Okay yeah, Phantom hard-carried this, but let’s be real—it’s still gonna be tough.”

— “Monsters spawn equal to the number of players. There’s still one blocking the final boss room. How will they deal with that?”

— “Right?? There’s no place to bait them down there, no room to escape.”

While the chat argued, Dojun turned to Airi.

“Airi.”

“Y-Yes…?”

She looked like she was about to cry—adorable, but Dojun wasn’t moved in the slightest.

“When you see a monster… you can’t move at all?”

“N-No…”

“Not even if I’m distracting them and you just have to sneak by?”

“No…”

“Even just hearing the sound, without seeing them, makes you freeze?”

“…Yes…”

“…So you’re basically dead weight.”

Dojun let out a heavy sigh. Airi’s face crumpled even further.

It was a serious problem.

They couldn’t kill the monsters.

And constantly distracting them wasn’t sustainable either.

‘Knowing this game, the final segment probably forces a direct confrontation with the monsters.’

The standard strategy was for two players to lure the monsters while one player broke the magic seal.

But the moment you start breaking the seal, all the monsters home in on the power room.

Even then, if a player was within sight, the monsters would prioritize them as targets.

And if any player died, it was instant game over for everyone.

So as long as Airi was part of the team, they had no chance of clearing it.

She couldn’t contribute at all.

Meaning Dojun would have to distract all three monsters alone while VirtuKing worked on the seal.

‘And I’ll need to lure them far away so he can work in peace.’

But not too far.

Monsters were leashed—they’d teleport back if drawn too far from the magic circle.

In short: Dojun would have to keep all three monsters locked onto him within a limited zone, for at least three minutes.

‘It’s not impossible… if the conditions are right.’

“Hyung, I’ve got an idea. Want to try it?”

“What is it?”

“It’s nothing complicated. I’ll lure the three of them, and you and Airi head to the power room to break the seal.”

VirtuKing looked doubtful.

“Will that even work? Last time I tried, the monsters returned in under a minute—it takes at least three to break the seal.”

“If it fails, we’ll try something else. This is only our first real attempt.”

VirtuKing hesitated.

But after witnessing Dojun’s incredible movements, he started to believe—maybe it was possible.

“Alright. You give the signal on D-Stock.”

“Got it.”

First, they needed a clean path to the power room.

It was located in the basement, so they needed a route via the nearest stairs.

They decided to hide in the first-floor gym and wait for an opportunity.

This was the most straightforward way to clear the game.

“Let’s move.”

“Wait.”

Just as VirtuKing and Airi prepared to move, Dojun stopped them.

“What is it?”

“Airi, just stay hidden here.”

“…What?”

“You don’t have to do anything. Just stay right here.”

Dojun’s serious tone sent the chat into chaos.

— “LOL he benched her”

— “Translation: You’re helping more by doing nothing”

— “LMAO pre-battle purge of internal threats”

— “Okay, even if she’s useless, isn’t this a bit much…”

┗ “It’s not harsh—it’s facts. She’s a liability.”

┗┗ “Phantom, don’t break our sweet Airi’s heart…”

┗┗┗ “Honestly? Airi failing is better. We want that 24-hour punishment stream!!”

So Airi was officially left behind, and Dojun and VirtuKing set off as a duo.

Luckily, VirtuKing had great instincts and quickly slipped past the monsters, making it to the gym without issue.

One monster was on the second floor.

Another, based on Airi’s update, was lurking on the third.

“This is our best shot. Let’s go.”

“Just a sec. I want to grab something first.”

Dojun picked something up off the ground.

A flagpole—like the kind used during school sports days, about two meters long.

VirtuKing stared blankly at him.

“…You’re not thinking of fighting, are you?”

“I’ll use it to buy time. I’m heading out.”

Dojun sprinted out of the gym and into the basement corridor.

The staircase was a little longer than the others.

At the bottom stood a single hulking monster—blocking the path to the magic circle.

“Hey.”

Dojun called out.

“GRRAAAHH—!!”

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.

The monster charged.

Dojun turned and sprinted back upstairs.

From above, he heard the ceiling creak.

‘That’d be the second-floor monster—probably heard the noise.’

And most likely, the one on the third floor would follow soon after.

The first to reach him was the monster from the basement.

Dojun let it chase him past the gym.

“Now!”

As soon as he gave the signal, VirtuKing bolted for the power room.

It would take about 30 seconds to reach it.

Meaning Dojun had to stall for at least 3 minutes and 30 seconds.

When the monster’s attention flickered toward VirtuKing, Dojun gently tapped its head with the flagpole.

“Hey now. Eyes on me.”

The monster instantly redirected its rage at Dojun.

It swung—Dojun dodged effortlessly and took his position near the basement’s steel door.

Suddenly, another monster appeared at the top of the stairs.

And not long after, the last one showed up too.

— “All three are here…”

— “Can he even stall this??”

— “Not even Astra could pull this off…”

┗ “Pfft. Astra would wipe the floor with them.”

It looked like Dojun was about to get wrecked.

But he grinned—and slammed the steel door shut.

CREEAAAAK—!! CLANG!!

“You’re not getting past this.”

Whether they understood his words or not, the monsters roared in fury.

Just as the closest one swung—

Dojun struck with the blunt end of the flagpole, uppercutting its chin.

SMACK!

It was a perfect counter.

The monster toppled backward like a sack of bricks.

The next one charged.

Dojun waited—then struck it clean in the throat, using its own momentum against it.

It collapsed, choking.

‘They avoid cabinet collisions… which means they feel pain.’

When the final monster lunged, Dojun slid the pole under its foot.

It tripped and crashed hard to the ground.

It all happened in seconds.

Three massive monsters lay sprawled on the floor, writhing in pain.

“I thought you were immortal? Ever felt pain so bad you wish you could die?”

Viewers were stunned.

— “That reflex is cracked.”

— “Wait… he’s fighting?! And winning?!”

— “Bro this is a horror game! Why aren’t you running?!”

— “Dude… this isn’t how you play…”

┗ “Phantom’s ruining the essence of the horror genre LOL”

┗┗ “Horror game strat: If it chases you, beat it to death.”

┗┗┗ “Easy game!”

┗┗┗┗ “Fr though lmao”

“These low-IQ brutes are easy. They only have one move—charge head-on.”

Just as he said, Dojun kept landing perfect counters every time they rushed in.

They’d get up, charge, and get smacked down again.

— “Never seen horror gameplay like this lmao”

— “I feel bad for the monsters…”

— “Wait, he’s really gonna carry Airi’s mission like this?”

— “Maybe this is the real strategy… Maybe we’ve been brainwashed into thinking horror = run”

┗ “You’re right!! This is it!!”

┗┗ “Ahh… Phantom, it’s you again, isn’t it…”

Over three minutes passed, and suddenly—

The monsters vanished into thin air.

VirtuKing must’ve finished breaking the seal.

“We… we did it!! I don’t have to do a 24-hour stream!!”

“We’ve been trying to beat this for a month… and he clears it first try. Insane.”

Airi and VirtuKing sounded stunned on D-Stock.

The ending scene rolled.

White School—cleared, just like that.

★★ Mission Complete!!! ₩3,470,000 in rewards has been deposited. ★★

The prize money was transferred directly to VirtuKing.

“Thanks, Phantom. I’ll send the prize money your way. Let’s catch up again sometime.”

“Thanks, hyung.”

They began wrapping up the stream.

“Thank you too, Phantom!!” Airi bowed sweetly.

But then Dojun grinned at her and said,

“You still hate bugs, huh, noona?”

Airi blinked, confused.

“…What do you mean?”

“You don’t remember me? I’ve probably cleaned up a truckload of your broken dishes.”

Airi’s eyes went wide.

Her jaw dropped.

“No way… you’re…?”

She stared at him, realizing his identity.

“When you have time, let’s catch up. Good luck with your stream, Yeon-noona.”

With that casual goodbye, Dojun vanished from D-Stock.

“H-Huh!? Hey!! Hey!!”

Too late.

He was gone.

“What kind of person drops that and disappears?!”

Airi screamed at the screen, nearly in tears.