(SSSSSSSS Grade Regressor.)

At the time, he had only skimmed through parts of it out of boredom, mostly because the absurd number of S’s annoyed him enough to become memorable. He hadn’t expected much from it. Just another overdramatic regression story stuffed into a dusty shelf.

But now—

Now he was staring directly into it.

A cold realization crawled quietly up his spine.

His gaze moved across the classroom again, slower this time, searching instinctively.

And then—

He saw her.

At the very back of the classroom, near the farthest window seat where sunlight barely reached properly, sat a girl quietly resting her chin against one hand while looking outside.

Black hair.

Soft features.

School uniform perfectly neat.

Calm.

Still.

Unremarkable enough that most people would overlook her immediately.

But Si Hon recognized her at once.

(Jiso Park...)

The name surfaced in his thoughts almost automatically.

The protagonist.

The center of the entire story.

The regressor.

For a second, Si Hon simply stared.

And then his brain finally caught up.

(Oh my god.)

Another pause.

(It really is SSSSSSSS Grade Regressor Book...)

A longer pause.

Then internally—

(Haha...)

Not because it was funny.

But because his mind had briefly reached the point where laughter became the only remaining defense mechanism.

Beside him, Aeloria tilted her head slightly. "What?"

Si Hon didn’t answer immediately.

His eyes remained fixed on the classroom.

On Jiso Park.

Still sitting there peacefully, unaware that according to the story—

That entire school would eventually drown in death, betrayal, resets, and enough psychological trauma to qualify as a natural disaster.

The bunny announcer noticed his stare instantly.

And smiled.

Slowly.

"Oh?" she hummed softly from above the railing. "You recognize it?"

Si Hon finally looked up toward her.

The bunny girl only grinned wider, ears twitching slightly as if she had just confirmed something interesting.

"Well," she said lightly, "that saves time then."

Behind him, Team Four still looked confused, staring into what appeared to be... I don’t know how to explain this...

A normal school.

Normal students.

Normal life.

Only Si Hon understood how deceptive that image really was.

Because in the story—

The school only stayed peaceful at the beginning.

After that—

People started dying.

By the dragon of course...

Well, again.

It looked...

Normal.

Too normal.

And somehow that made it worse.

The bunny announcer stared at the portal quietly for a second before speaking again.

"Don’t die, okay?"

But once again—

Her eyes remained on Si Hon the entire time she said it.

Like the warning belonged to him more than anyone else.

Then......

Above the arena, the bunny announcer suddenly clapped both hands together brightly, the sharp sound snapping everyone’s attention back toward her before they could fully process the nightmare waiting behind each portal.

"Oh right!"

She flicked her fingers casually.

And instantly—

A microphone appeared beside her in midair with a soft pop of light, floating neatly into her waiting hand.

The bunny girl grabbed it dramatically like a singer returning to the stage after a long hiatus, then smiled so widely it looked almost dangerous.

"I missed my mic," she announced happily into it, her voice now booming across the entire arena with enough force to vibrate the sand and stones beneath their feet.

"Anywayssss!!! You may now enter your portals! And like I said before, I genuinely do not care whether you survive or not..."

She paused.

Then pointed the microphone downward at them accusingly.

"But if you’re going to die," she chirped brightly, "at least make it entertaining, understand?"

Silence.

Below her, all four teams just stared upward.

Not at the words.

At the microphone.

A very strange realization slowly settled across the arena.

(Wait.)

(Was she screaming that loudly this entire time without a mic?)

(What the hell is wrong with her lungs?)

Even Team Two, who had nearly suffered collective psychological collapse earlier, looked briefly distracted by the horrifying implication that the bunny announcer’s natural speaking volume could apparently overpower an entire stadium.

Above them, the bunny girl only grinned wider, clearly pleased with herself as she swung her legs idly over the railing.

Then... uh...

Movement finally began.

The portals waited silently.

And just like that, the humor cracked apart.

Because reality returned all at once.

Team One looked toward their portal again—

And immediately remembered what they had seen inside.

The village.

The thing moving between the houses.

The father clutching his son.

The door shaking beneath violent impacts.

That tall black shape standing in the dark with limbs that bent the wrong way.

The mood shifted instantly.

Not gradually.

Not subtly.

It simply dropped.

The portal before them flickered softly, its surface rippling like a disturbed water, and then—

A gust of air rolled out from inside.

Cold.

Damp.

WETsameasaboveyea...sorryforinfodumb...

It swept across the arena floor hard enough to make several people tense immediately, coats and hair rustling violently as the temperature around them seemed to plunge several degrees in an instant.

But it wasn’t just the cold.

It was the feeling carried with it.

The smell of wet soil after rain.

Old wood.

Mildew.

And beneath all of that—

Something faintly rotten hiding underneath, subtle enough that nobody could fully identify it, yet strong enough to make the back of their throats tighten instinctively.

Several members of Team One visibly shivered.

One rubbed at their arms immediately.

Another took half a step backward before catching themselves.

Even the bulky woman from Red Team lost the easy confidence she’d been carrying earlier. Her grin had vanished completely now, jaw tightening as she stared into the portal ahead like she was trying to measure whether courage alone would be enough to walk into it.

Han Islat remained still beside her, but his eyes had sharpened noticeably.

Because now that the portal stood fully open—

They could hear it.

Not clearly.

Just enough.

The distant creaking of wooden signs swaying in the wind, smthing metallic clanging softly somewhere far away.

The faint rustling sound of movement where there should have been none.

And every now and then—

Very faintly—

What almost sounded like hurried footsteps splashing through puddles before abruptly cutting off.

The portal no longer looked like an entrance.

It looked like the mouth of something waiting to swallow them whole.

Behind Team One, even the spectators watching from afar had gone quieter now. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Because the fear felt real.

Not theatrical.

Not entertaining.

Real enough that simply standing near the portal made people uneasy.

The cold air continued spilling outward slowly, brushing across their skin like invisible fingers while the cloudy skies inside the village darkened further by the second.

And somewhere deep within that silent village— something moved again.

Well anyways...

The earlier laughter and complaining disappeared like it had never existed in the first place, replaced by the heavy awareness that this was no longer an arena game.

This was survival.

The bulky red-haired leader rolled her shoulders once before stepping forward first, expression tightening into something more serious now.

Han Islat followed behind her, his eyes fixed quietly on the portal ahead while the rest of Yellow and Red Team gathered behind them in uneasy silence.

Then—

Together—

They crossed through.