An Exorcist Magical Girl!

I saw the back of Seo Jun’s head as she scribbled on the blackboard.

 

I was back in reality.

 

Does this mean that something is wrong with Yang Ji-won, the first place winner?

 

The other fifteen students slowly started to open their eyes.

 

A rustling sound made Seo Jun look back at the cage behind her in surprise.

 

Quickly assessing the situation, Seo Jun scanned the room.

 

“Two.”

 

She made eye contact with me.

 

“Kwon Yuri and Yang Ji-won. They’re the only two who didn’t get up.”

 

Apparently, my efforts to be the first from behind were completely in vain.

 

 

***

 

 

“Hi. B, you’re here too.”

 

A greeted B with a nervous face.

 

B, who returned the greeting casually, put her things on the corner desk.

 

“It’s vacation time, aren’t you going somewhere? I heard your class is having an end-of-semester party.” 

A asks B casually, and B replies in a light-hearted tone.

 

“A, I should study. I want to do well in the second semester.” “Ahaha! I think you’re good enough. Ah, right. Congratulations on getting first place again.” “Oh, thank you. You got good grades too, congratulations.”

 

 

A’s face crumpled for a moment, but she managed to put it back together.

 “Shall we study?”

 

A interrupted the conversation and picked up his pen.

 

***

 

The clock on the board showed five minutes before the start of sixth period.

 

Time seemed to flow differently in the exam room and in real life.

 

I noticed a mop sticking diagonally through the front and back doors.

 

When Seo Jun saw that some of the students were looking in that direction, she explained,

“What you just experienced was an out-of-body experience, and if someone saw fifteen students fainting in a group, there would be a lot of commotion, so I didn’t want anyone to come in.”

 

Of course, the students’ first thought was to call an ambulance because some of their friends hadn’t woken up yet.

 

To which Seo Jun replied that it would be useless to call an ambulance and that they would be in trouble if they moved the corpse too far away.

 

“Then shouldn’t we call a real exorcist this time? This is a ghost.” “I called.”

Seo Jun said and heard someone else mumbling.

 

“But they won’t come fast enough.”

 

The others nodded in dismay. They all knew that exorcists were not a group of people who were always on call, ready to respond to a call.

 

As if to reassure her classmates, Seo Jun spoke softly.

 “We’ll figure it out. We will.”

 

Min Jiyoon stepped forward like a president and began to organize the situation.

 

“Okay, guys, now that you’re all up, is anyone hurt?” “No.” “I’m fine.” “Like you’re fine?”

 

Each student replied that they were fine.

 

Fortunately, none of them were hit hard when they fell out of their bodies.

 

Most of the students were sitting, except for Min Jiyoon and Yang Ji-won, who were standing at the front of the classroom and leaning against the table when they fell.

 “Okay, let’s start by making sure we’re all experiencing the same thing.”

 

Min Jiyoon quickly confirmed that they were all experiencing the same thing: that their bodies were stiff and they couldn’t move, that they blacked out and woke up to find it was exam day, that they had taken a 10-question Korean and English exam, that their scores were announced on the air after the exam, and that they were taking the whole thing in a strangely natural way.

 

After the story was finished, Joo Yeon-seo gestured to the two who hadn’t regained consciousness yet and asked.

 

“No matter what happens, it’s not right to leave them like this, right? Seo Jun, do you think it’s okay to take them to the infirmary?” “I don’t mind that much.”

 

Seo Jun replied as she finished drawing the symbols on the board, but this time Min Jiyoon objected.

 

“You said we shouldn’t call an ambulance, but the health nurse will probably call one right away if we take them in like this.” “Okay, dismissed.”

Joo Yeon-seo, who had spoken, immediately withdrew her opinion.

 

Seo Jun, who had just finished drawing the symbols, looked at Min Jiyoon and said.

 

“

Me and Baek Iri are going to the place where you took the test.”

 

Min Jiyoon replied nervously.

“Stay out of trouble.”

 

Her attitude was that of a knight on a mission.

 

“Come on, let’s go.”

 

I wanted to ask,

“Uh, how are we going to get there?”

but the atmosphere was so solemn that I couldn’t say it out loud.

 

“Do you see it?” “Yes. I see it.”

 

There was a strange crack in the corner of the blackboard where Seo Jun was pointing with her finger. 

 

Hmm, she’s trying to get in there.

 

I followed Seo Jun’s lead and carefully stepped into the crack.

 

***

 

From the classroom outside the rift, I could hear a few startled voices asking, “What the hell was that?

 

“Is the rift only visible to our eyes?” “Yes.” “Oh, it’s like it just disappeared.”

 

Seo Jun, who had reached the other side of the rift first, spun around.

 

“Baek Iri, are we at the right place?” “Yes.” 

Min Jiyoon was sure because the number of test takers and the test subjects for each class were still written on the board.

 

But only the white letters were left.

 

No one was there to take them.

 

“This suck.”

Seo Jun muttered to herself as she stepped out into the hallway.

 

“You accepted this as a school, didn’t you?” “I didn’t.”

 

Looking at this windowless hallway, no one in their right mind would have thought it was a school.

 

The problem was the kids weren’t sober.

 “I’ll go to the bathroom, Seo Jun, you go to the office. How about that?” “Okay.” 

We split up like we did on our last park mission and took both ends of the hallway.

 

But what we, or more precisely Seo Jun, found was something other than two people.

 

“Back up, they’ve moved.” “What?” “Let me explain. It’s going to be a long story, so why don’t we sit down?” 

Back in the classroom where the test was being given, Seo Jun and I had an exchange of information, telling each other what had happened.

 

I started by explaining that everyone here was in a trance, that I was the only one who was sane, and that after the results were announced on the air, all but two of us came back to reality.

 

I still had my test papers in my desk drawer, so I pulled them out and showed them to her.

 

I didn’t have to explain much because Min Jiyoon and her classmates had already checked the story in class.

 

Next, Seo Jun started her story.

 

“I was trapped by the ghost and barely escaped before the ghost destroyed itself. As soon as I was freed from the ghost, you all fell unconscious as a group.” “You had a close call, Seo Jun. Ah, so if you were able to escape the ghost, does that mean you closed the loop properly?” “Yes. I think I mentioned it before, remember?” 

Seo Jun continued to explain.

 

“When the last shards of the ghost disintegrated, there was a red glow, and it wasn’t just a flash, it was like a laser or something. Ah! It’s hard to describe. I mean, it was like a scan of our classroom and part of the hallway in the real world.” “Scanned? Oh, it’s just a copy of the scenery for the test! That’s how this place was built.”

 

Fifteen minds had been sent to this place, which had been created by taking apart and reassembling only the parts of the real world they needed.

 

“That seems to be the most likely explanation, so I tried the skill in the real classroom first.” “Skills?”

 

Actually, things like talent rankings, skill totals, and skills are not revealed even to close friends.

 

It’s similar to how even close friends don’t share their original scores and grades on practice tests.

 

Seo Jun probably doesn’t know exactly what my skills are either.

 

Just like I don’t know much about Seo Jun’s skills.

 

“Oh, I never told you, it’s a skill I use to track through space, usually by recognizing traces left behind and using them to locate myself, but never mind the details. What I used when you were knocked out earlier was a way to find the weaknesses in space-time, and I’ve gotten much better at it since the Park mission.” “I’m still not very good at it,”

Seo Jun adds.

 

“What exactly is a weakness?” “An area that is soft or weak enough to create a way out, or a condition that creates or opens a way out.” “Oh, so that crack you saw earlier was a weakness?” “Yes. To be precise, I cracked it in a place of weakness.”

 

Seo Jun nodded and pointed at the board.

 “There was a thin line between the blackboard in the real world and the classroom in my dream.”

 

A dream classroom. I can’t think of a better name for the classroom where fifteen of us took the test.

 

Or the playground where I was dragged last time. A dream world is the most accurate way to describe it, because that’s where my mind was sent while my body was unconscious.

 

“And the symbols on the board?” “Preparations to create a passage by breaking a weakness.” “Aha. A cracking symbol.” “I only needed to draw one or two more, but you beat me to it.”

 

The thought of Seo Jun out there fighting alone made me wince.

 

“Good job, Seo Jun.” “Not really…”

 

I patted her shoulder, and she quickly changed the subject, embarrassed.

 

“From the way you were talking earlier, you guys have been here for about two or three hours, is that right?” “Uh-huh. Two hours to take the test and then another little while to wait for the results.” “Well, it was about three or four minutes in the real world. If I had to guess, I’d say a minute in real life is about an hour here. “It’s like a dream. Why, they say all dreams are made up in the last 30 seconds before you wake up, no matter how many years you’ve been dreaming, it’s all in your head.” “I didn’t know that was a thing.” “You should know.” “Is this scientifically proven?” “I don’t know, who cares, just explain to me if it’s like the transit ghost or whatever!” 

At my urging, Seo Jun comes back to the point.

 “I used the ability I mentioned earlier and found traces of a spatial shift, which means I entered a new space.” 

Wow, this is like a dream.

 

Even in dreams, the background can change suddenly and dramatically.

 “Can you find a weak spot like when you came in?” “I’ll do my best.” “Oh, right.” “What?” “You called the exorcist? Who did you call?” “The teachers at our training center.” “Oh?” “I didn’t have any money, so I just called the teachers, but they are out in the morning and it will take them an hour or two to get here.” “No! Don’t you usually let the school pay in that case?” 

Seo Jun stared at me in disbelief.

 

With her eyes she said,

“Will the school pay?”

 

“Oh…”

I was quickly convinced.

 

Maybe they could keep the teachers out?

 

“Anyway, I’ll find a weakness.” “Uh-uh, have fun.”

 

Well, what can I do in the meantime? I can’t just sit around and wait. What can I do to help right now?

 

Then my eyes fell on the test paper.

 

What was she trying to say?

 

“Oh, this one? No, it’s a different subject, and the questions are completely different.”

 

I repeated her last words.

 

Uninteresting?

 

I’m sure that’s not what she meant to say.

 

I think she meant

“similar.”

 

Was I missing the forest for the trees?

 

Flipping through the test paper, I read the fingerprints again.

 

And I soon realized why it was Yang Ji-won and Kwon Yuri who hadn’t woken up and not me who had gotten a zero.