外伝：俺たちは自由にやる！！ (Part1)
Side Story: We Do As We Please!!
First off, this story has almost nothing to do with the "Winning Dungeon."
As previously stated, this is a tale from Kazuya Torino’s student days.
However, he is not the protagonist. Well, he is *part* of the protagonist group, in a sense...
Also, there will be some spoilers regarding Kazuya’s abilities, so if you’d rather avoid that, please stop reading now.
If you’re okay with that, prepare yourself.
To put it bluntly, this is absolute chaos.
And you will soon understand what Yuki meant when he called it a "forbidden technique."
Seriously, don't come crying to me if you regret reading this.
Now, enjoy.
Oh, and if you find yourself thinking, "This is awful," "This is nonsense," or "This is related to K-On," then you’re out—go do a tap dance.
We Do As We Please!!
Step 243: It Happens Often.
The world stretches out infinitely.
From the bottom of the sea to the edge of the universe, from the microscopic realm to vast galaxies, the exploration of the heart, and the enigma that is Earth.
The more knowledge people polish, the more they realize how much they don't know.
And so, they struggle to understand it, weaving it into the fabric of tomorrow.
Surely, that is because it satisfies the thirst for exploration.
It proves that the world has no end, and that there are still places left to adventure.
Therefore, you understand, don't you?
That there are many worlds and mysteries that the majority of humanity has yet to perceive.
In a certain region of Japan, in a certain town, an incident was occurring.
No, it hadn't quite reached the level of an "incident."
It was just a rumor.
"Anyone who enters that abandoned school at 6:00 PM will never come out again."
It’s a standard ghost story, the kind you find anywhere.
Due to the declining birthrate in recent years, the number of abandoned schools is on the rise. This school was one of them.
Normally, the contents would be disposed of, but in a rural area like this, there’s no budget for that. The desks, chairs, and other equipment remain exactly where they were left.
That’s why there’s no end to the people who enter the abandoned school on a whim to test their courage.
The caretaker can’t monitor it every day, and naturally, no one wants to spend their nights guarding a creepy, abandoned building.
But in a sense, this rumor was true.
It was a secret of the world that ordinary people were never meant to know.
That day, a group of four students visited the abandoned school.
Their reason was mundane: a test of courage.
They would come to regret this action deeply.
"Damn, it won't open."
"What do you mean 'it won't open'!?"
The group of four had heard the rumors and snuck into the school building at 18:00, only to find the door blocked, trapping them inside.
It was clearly not something done by human hands.
"The windows are a no-go, too."
"You’ve got to be kidding me!?"
The windows were also fixed firmly in place, refusing to budge.
The plan had been to explore quickly and head home immediately.
"So, should we break them?"
"No, that’s dangerous. That’s breaking and entering!?"
Three of them talked lazily, while one was desperately playing the straight man.
They, too, had become victims of this mysterious ghost story.
"But the rumors were true. Does that mean this is the real deal?" one boy asked.
He was the shortest of the four, barely over 140cm. A boy you could find anywhere, with short hair and no styling products.
"If it’s the real deal, that means the stuff from the ghost stories is going to show up, right!! Awesome, I hit the jackpot for once!!"
One boy struck a victory pose. He was the tallest of the four, likely over 175cm. He had long hair for a man, tied messily in the back, swaying every time he moved.
"…So, what do we do?" another boy asked, looking for a plan. He was the second tallest, also around 175cm. His hair was short, wavy, and spiked up in places.
"No, let’s just look for another exit. In these situations, the rule is that there’s always an item somewhere that leads to an exit!! If there isn't, we’re in trouble!!"
The last boy desperately pleaded about the abnormality of the situation, but his words were ignored by the others. He was the second shortest, though at over 170cm, calling him "short" was a stretch. His hair was grown out to the limit of school regulations—no waves, no styling, a model of compliance.
"Well, well, no point in panicking. Actually, like you said, if this is some kind of escape-horror game, shouting like that is going to..."
As the long-haired boy said that, a strange sound echoed from the depths of the hallway.
"Hmm? Isn't that just the wood creaking?"
The shortest boy judged the sound without much concern.
Being an abandoned school, the structure was old in places. The hallways were wooden, as were the doors.
"No, I hear something dripping. And something is being dragged."
The wavy-haired boy listened closely and reported his findings.
"Don't say such creepy things. Let’s just assume there are other people here. Okay? Let’s just say we’re just locked in. Okay?"
The "normal" boy expressed his hope. If he didn't, he felt he would be crushed by the reality of the situation.
But reality is cruel.
They had truly been caught up in a ghost story.
The proof was the source of the sound echoing from the back of the hallway...
"Ah, oh? Aaaaaah..."
Making a sound that couldn't possibly come from a human throat, a figure appeared—a woman with disheveled hair, lacking a lower half.
The dripping sound the wavy-haired boy mentioned was the sound of blood spilling; the dragging sound was her crawling through the hallway with her hands.
"Wait...!?"
The boy who had been desperately insisting they were in a reality governed by common sense could not utter another word.
Because there, at the end of the hallway, was something that could only be described as a ghost or a spirit.
"Oh, ahahahaha...!!"
Perhaps hearing that faint scream, the woman without a lower half looked toward them and lunged forward with terrifying speed, flapping her hands.
The boys, perhaps frozen by terror, couldn't move a muscle, and were swallowed by the unreal.
And now, time returns to before the boys were trapped in the abandoned school.
There was a girl inside the school.
"What is this? Such a foul stagnation. This isn't just a rumor. ...Good grief, I wonder how many victims there have been?"
The girl muttered this, passing through the same door the boys would later enter, and like them, she found the door wouldn't open...
"Hmm. Just as expected, the door won't open... What a nasty sense of humor."
There was no trace of panic on her face.