Today was Friday, and the school buzzed with that familiar weekend energy students chatting more animatedly in the hallways, teachers seeming slightly more relaxed, and an overall atmosphere of anticipation for the two days of freedom ahead.
Because of the original owner's solitary personality and poor social skills, despite Surya's objectively handsome face, he had no real friends in his class. The other students had formed their established social circles long ago, and the original Surya had never made the effort to break into any of them.
No one particularly cared about him, and he did not need to invest emotional energy in caring about others either. It was a lonely existence, but it had its advantages—no social drama, no obligations, no need to pretend to be interested in teenage gossip.
He ate lunch alone in the school cafeteria as usual.
The 50-rupee combo meal rice, dal, vegetables, and a small serving of curd paired with a glass of cold nimbu paani, actually tasted pretty decent for institutional food.
While eating, he could not help but overhear a few students chatting at a nearby table, their voices carrying that excited tone that teenagers get when discussing something they find thrilling.
"Have you heard? The churail story is getting really popular again recently."
"I know, I know! And I also heard that you can actually see her if you go to the bathroom on the third floor of the west academic building at midnight and call her name three times."
"My cousin's friend tried it last week and swears she saw something..."
The students at Delhi Public School seemed genuinely fascinated by popular urban legends and ghost stories, which struck Surya as somewhat ironic given his current circumstances with an actual supernatural game.
If they only knew what he dealt with every day.
Surya remained distracted and absent-minded during his afternoon classes.
His attention kept drifting from the math teacher's enthusiastic explanation of quadratic equations and the English teacher's passionate discussion of Shakespeare, his mind constantly circling back to thoughts about "Bhoot Katha" and everything he had experienced in that twisted mirror world.
Finally, school ended for the day.
Surya deliberately lingered around campus until around 6:20 PM, then made his way directly to the gulmohar grove where his strange adventures always began.
The substitute paper doll had refreshed as promised, and once again it was time to enter the game world.
Ignoring the haunting sobs of the headless student echoing from deep within the grove, Surya quickly left the tree-covered area behind.
This time he decided to explore the western section of the school the area containing the main cafeteria and the artificial lake where students often gathered during break times.
There were numerous headless students wandering around near the cafeteria building, making it impossible for Surya to approach that area safely for the time being. Instead, he carefully made his way toward the artificial lake.
Under normal circumstances, the area around the artificial lake was considered one of the most beautiful spots on campus.
But after being filtered through the game's supernatural lens, the entire area had taken on an indescribably eerie atmosphere. The lake itself appeared completely stagnant, its surface unnaturally still, yet somehow giving off the distinct impression that something unspeakable was lurking in its dark depths.
Surya carefully avoided the scattered headless students and walked cautiously around the lake's perimeter before discovering something genuinely interesting....
There was another figure by the water's edge, also wearing a school uniform, but the style looked distinctly different from the current dress code.
Most notably, this figure was completely soaked from head to toe. Water dripped steadily from muddy, waterlogged clothing. The skin was unnaturally pale, almost translucent, and dark green aquatic plants were wrapped around both arms and tangled in long, wet hair.
The most important detail was immediately obvious—this figure had a head. An actual, intact head!
"It has a head, but it definitely looks like a water spirit," Surya observed quietly to himself. "But if the Red Demon can function as an NPC, there is no reason why a Water Ghost cannot serve the same purpose."
After considering his options, Surya began cautiously moving closer to the suspected water spirit.
When he approached within speaking distance, the water spirit slowly raised its pale, waterlogged arms. When it spoke, its voice sounded muffled and distant, as if the words were traveling through water: "I need... help..."
The gamble had paid off! This water spirit could communicate!
Surya tried to keep his voice calm: "What can I do for you?"
"A letter... to Karan Sharma... bring it back here... I will give you... your reward..."
The water spirit reached into its soaked clothing and withdrew a water-damaged piece of white paper. Without hesitation, Surya accepted the mysterious task: "Karan Sharma? Where should I go to find him?"
Finally! A normal beginner quest with a clearly stated reward system!
The water spirit lowered its arms and repeated in that same watery voice: "To Karan Sharma..."
Classic NPC behavior endlessly repeating scripted dialogue.
Buzz.
[The Water Spirit by the Lake, Priya Gupta, needs you to deliver an important letter to Karan Sharma. Try searching the Sharma Trading Company building, with luck, you might find the person you are looking for there.]
His phone vibrated as game text appeared on the screen.
"Sharma Trading Company building... I have not even unlocked that map yet. Also, Priya Gupta so this water spirit actually has a name."
Surya suddenly remembered that in the original owner's memories, there had indeed been some kind of incident at the real Delhi Public School many years ago involving a student who had drowned in the artificial lake.
Had that student been Priya Gupta? The details were frustratingly hazy.
After trying unsuccessfully to engage the water spirit in further conversation, Surya realized there was nothing more he could accomplish here until he managed to unlock access to the Sharma Trading Company building map.
This raised an interesting question about the game's design. The monsters populating this twisted version of Delhi Public School were primarily headless students supernatural entities that had presumably once been regular teenagers.
The Sharma Trading Company sounded like a typical office building full of working professionals. What kinds of spirits would the game populate that environment with?
Overworked corporate spirits, perhaps?
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