Chapter 1: Whiteboard and The Numbers

My head felt dizzy, so I decided to wash my face. "Sir, permission to use the toilet," I blurted impulsively to the missing teacher.

I gasped unintentionally as I noticed my own palm going red. So, what's going on right now? Even after I scrubbed my hands vigorously, which were initially brownish-white, nothing changed, as if they had been painted.

Maybe I should go to the toilet this time, simply to see whether the water can wash away the red stain on my hands.

Some kind of notification ringing sounded out of nowhere just as I got up from my study chair and took a new step-newly, and the whiteboard that was originally still white-strange indeed seeing the other wall was mixed by random red patterns, but the board in front seemed to be still pure, now showing the number 15.

Eh? Why did numbers suddenly appear out of nowhere? Is it possible that I made a mistake? Ugh, I can't think straight at this time; perhaps it's just a notification or anything; the important thing is that I get out and going to toilet.

The numbers continued to diminish as I took one step forward after another, until I noticed the number on the board had dropped to 9.

I came to a halt and heard the same sound as before, still trying to make sense of what had occurred; why was the same sound ringing again? Was it because I came to a halt, the number on the board, or both?

So, what happens when the number reaches 0?

Ah! In astonishment, I ruffled my hair.

The numbers on the whiteoard, on the other hand, were currently silent, indicating that the numbers were not a representation of time-after all, walking from the chair to this point didn't take 6 seconds, but something else.

It seemed to be counting my steps, but for what purpose? Huh, I can't think anything of it, so there's no harm in trying, right?

However, that was not a wise decision. The number on the whiteboard changed to 7 as soon as my foot walked on the next section of floor.

What the hell! Why did the number drop to a whopping double this time? Well, I'm only halfway to the exit anyway. Should I take the leap? It's so bothersome. But, I'm also anxious about the computations that modified the rules in the middle like this.

What would happen if the number actually fell to zero? Maybe nothing awful would happen later if there wasn't an expedited drop in numbers right now, but this time there must be an ulterior motivation that drove me to reduce my steps or else bad things would happen.

I braced myself, preparing for the best jump; at the very least, this first jump would get me out of the chair-table row zone, and the area would be more spacious, making it easier for me to jump without bumping into unwanted objects; at the very least, all I had to worry about was landing smoothly so as not to slip and speed up the number reduction.

Hap! My distance from the exit was now only around 5 meters straight without any barriers, and the whiteboard still indicated a two-number drop to 5 after I jumped, demonstrating that distance was not the measure of the computation.

Yosh! In two more jumps, I'll be done! I may need to stoop even lower to extend the repulsion further than before. Okay, let's hope i don't fall, let's hope i don't fall.

Slowly but steadily, with that precise jump, I was able to cut the space between me and the door in half, and it felt fantastic! This is the first time I've exercised my body this excitedly hehe, I normally just move my body lazily when sports courses take place, after all, if the score given by teacher is same, why burn too much energy?

The joy was short-lived, however, as the notification sound rung again! Even though there was only a smidgeon left, damn. I shifted my gaze to the left and noticed the number 3 written on the whiteboard.

I wiped my oily face, which had become greasy from the stress of battling the numbers on the whiteboard.

So what would happen if my next move reduced the number on the board by three?

My body was suddenly depleted of energy, so I crouched down and planned my next move—complete with a head massage, of course.

Isn't the speed of subtraction on the whiteboard determined by the distance? If that's the case, it won't matter how far I walk, unless I can go straight out from here, but this classroom door is a sliding type that will be tough to open from distance, and the brooms are all broken in half, bad class indeed!

Oh, good! I was also the one who broke one of the brooms in this class; now I regret causing damage to school property.

I took a close look at the classroom door. There could still be time if I rapidly opened the door and walked out of the classroom, praying that the door wasn't as difficult to open as usual or, worse, locked, or otherwise it would all be for naught, not to mention the consequences of the number on the whiteboard showing 0.

What will happen next?

That question was now occupying my mind. Does it have anything to do with the class's new red and white color scheme? Is it possible that it's the blood of my departed friends? But where have their bodies gone? Even blood can only explain the dispersed red tint, so why did this light blue class turn white?

Am I still dreaming right now? 

Ugh no matter how much I think there isn't any evidence that makes me sure other than the last question, this isn't a dream, my face really hurts when I slap it, aww!

To hell with what happens next, I can't forever squat like a poop, at least I don't die of curiosity if indeed I'm going to die when that damn number turns to 0.

Everything happened so fast, the moment I managed to jump and land right in front of the door, the notification sound rang three times as I forcefully pulled open the door that was a bit difficult to open—luckily it wasn't locked, but I gasped when I saw a black figure standing right in front of the door as if it had been waiting for me for a long time.

Then my head felt heavy, and I passed out.