Why is my journey to the world of anime a strange tale of rules?

The next moment she saw what was outside the window...

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Kaguya opened her eyes and got out of bed.

She walked to the door and found that the bedroom door was locked.

Don't worry, we'll definitely find a way.

Gao Hai, who was standing next to her, spoke earnestly.

Kaguya's gaze fell on the only window in the room that she hadn't yet checked.

Unlock the window and slowly open it.

The sound of the rain became clear at that moment.

Kaguya had already opened her eyes and sat up in bed.

We have to find a way to get out of here.

Thinking this, Kaguya got out of bed, her gaze passing over the four people in the room—Takami, Yoshitsugu, and Miyazawa Hana—and looking towards the door. She then stepped forward, deciding to try and open the door to see what was going on.

……

Gao Hai closed the door to the nap room, hesitated for a moment, and finally decided not to lock it.

He walked to one side of the room, found a stool and sat down, then looked at the children lying on the bed, fast asleep.

There are a total of 36 children.

He counted the number of children very carefully several times, and then silently wrote the number 36 on his hand.

For some reason, Gao Hai had a vague feeling that he should write down some important things on his hand and look down at them from time to time. Otherwise, he might forget some things.

But how could that be? His memory has been strengthened through blessings and empowerment, making it virtually impossible for him to forget things.

Everything in front of me is normal.

He knew this was the nap room at Hayate Elementary School; he knew he had entered a dungeon area called "Hayate Elementary School"; he knew he had entered with Kaguya Shinomiya; and his purpose here was to rescue a little maid named Ai Hayasaka. Now, as the teacher in charge of the nap room, he had to ensure that all the students stayed here and slept properly, and that no student would sneak away.

There should be no problem with any of the received information.

However, Gao Hai always felt in his heart that something was definitely wrong.

This place is unsafe; he's likely to encounter danger, or perhaps he already is. Xiong Mi said this instance is "very safe" in a certain sense, which suggests it's not particularly efficient at killing. Therefore, it must be more effective at distorting the mind and tormenting the will.

If that's the case, can I assume that everything I feel is normal right now, everything I see and feel right now, is abnormal?

Unable to calm down and unable to fully trust his senses, Gao Hai observed the students while pondering his next move. It was at this moment that he heard a faint rustling sound.

Turning his head, Gao Hai saw a young girl lying on the bed, drawing something on a piece of paper with crayons.

If I were to fulfill my duties as the teacher in charge of the nap room, I should scold the girl and tell her to sleep properly.

But Gao Hai felt that what he considered normal might now be abnormal, so he needed to take some abnormal actions.

"What are you drawing?"

So Gao Hai walked up to the child, bent down and asked him, while his eyes fell on the paper in the child's hand.

The paper was covered with messy, blurry lines, but you could piece together the shapes of a few people.

What is this?

Gao Hai's brows furrowed deeply.

Even though it was just a child's random doodle, he always felt that he had seen these things in the drawing before, and that he had encountered them somewhere not long ago.

Teacher, don't you know?

The child looked up, blinked, and said...

This is what everyone knows as "dark and black".

Darkness is everywhere, hiding under beds, in closets, behind windows, in all places we can't see. Children, if they're not careful, will be tricked and bullied by it, and never come back. Only teachers are not afraid of the darkness, only they can drive it away, and only they can rescue the children.

[Teacher, do you really not know what Blackie is? It's because the teacher is here that Blackie won't bully us! How could the teacher not know what Blackie is? Are you not the teacher, but Blackie disguised as the teacher to deceive us?]

As the child spoke, he slowly raised his head and gazed at Gao Hai with an innocent and naive expression.

"I...of course I'm a teacher."

Having received no "abnormal" information, Gao Hai frowned, hesitated for a moment, and then slowly spoke.

"I'm a teacher transferred from Fujika Middle School. I came here to experience the different teaching models between elementary and middle school, so I'm not very clear about what the teachers here know. What are those dark things you mentioned, and why can I get rid of them?"

Gao Hai, his expression unchanged, casually made up a fake identity for himself and continued to ask the student questions.

This is something only a teacher should know. I'm just a child, and children don't know anything about this.

But the child just shook his head and pointed behind Gao Hai.

[Teacher, there's a student being lured away by something dark! Go save him!]

Following the child's outstretched finger, Gao Hai looked behind him and saw a door that had been opened at some point, and a boy standing in front of the door, who was clearly facing away from him but was looking at him.

After a low, teasing laugh, the boy ran out the door and disappeared.

Gao Hai followed suit, taking steps forward as if instinctively wanting to run out and check the situation outside.

His steps came to an abrupt halt the next moment.

Gao Hai turned his head and looked at the nap room again, at the beds in the room.

Looking at the things lying on the bed, one after another, blurry and indistinct, like a child's scribbles, randomly created and disordered.

1, 2, 3...

Gao Hai's gaze swept over the beds, silently counting the number of figures in his mind.

One.

His gaze fell on the second-to-last bed, and on the twisted line that had already sat up.

One.

His gaze passed over the last bed and the thing that was already standing beside it.

37...?

And finally, there was this thing standing in front of me, holding a graffiti drawing, a human-shaped object made of twisted lines.

[Teacher, could it be that you're not actually a teacher, but a student just like us? Are you lying to us, pretending to be a teacher?]

The children's innocent voices surrounded Gao Hai.

Tuk-tuk-tuk——

Amidst the constant knocking on the window, Gao Hai opened his eyes and slowly sat up on the single bed in the small bedroom.

Chapter Seven: Normal and Abnormal Things in My Understanding

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Amidst the seemingly endless sound of rain, Gao Hai sat on the bed in the small bedroom, looking down at the number [36] written on his hand.

He remembered that he had just used that ticket and then entered the Hayate Elementary School instance with Kaguya Shinomiya.

In other words, this should be the very beginning of this mission.

But marks that shouldn't have appeared appeared on his hands.

Why am I writing this on my hand?

Gao Hai frowned. He had no recollection of when he had written down that number, and no matter how hard he tried to remember, he couldn't recall even the slightest detail.

But the handwriting looked exactly like his own; he was absolutely certain it was his own. And, vaguely, he could sense a disorientation, a feeling that everything he was seeing and thinking at that moment might not be as simple as he perceived it, not as self-evident as he thought.

This place is not safe.

The situation I am facing now is very dangerous.

I didn't see anything that could be considered a threat, and everything here seemed perfectly normal.

Gao Hai, however, had a vague feeling that he was already in danger.

Something must be wrong.

Xiong Mi stated that this dungeon has a much higher survival rate compared to other Red Moon-level dungeons, but it inflicts severe psychological torment on players. Data gathered from player forums also indicates that many players who successfully cleared the dungeon and left alive suffered from serious mental illnesses or developed self-harm tendencies.

It's important to understand that most players who can enter this dungeon are Red Moon level players, who have already received numerous blessings, enhancements, and various items imbued with their willpower, making them inherently very strong. The fact that such players are experiencing mental distress suggests that the problems within this dungeon are likely quite severe.

So, this handwriting... maybe I left it myself. Did I leave the number [36] because I saw it somewhere and wrote it down? Does this mean that the number has some special meaning?

Regardless, let's take action first.

I need to reunite with Kaguya as soon as possible, then work together to find Hayasaka Ai, and finally figure out how to solve this mysterious dungeon.

Thinking this, Gao Hai raised his head and looked at Ji Gang, who was sitting on the chair by the bed, writing something on the computer.

I need to write down what I know; it will help me organize my thoughts.

When he saw Gao Hai looking over, Ji Gang turned to him, smiled, and said something.

This is indeed a method, but one should be careful when recording information, since the information itself may be somewhat contaminated in such places.

Kaguya, standing beside him, nodded and said so, while Takami also expressed his agreement.

Takai stood by the wall, still sighing softly, while Miyazawa Hana gently patted Takai's waist, as if comforting him in this way.

One, two... a total of six people were standing in front of me. That's right, I entered this instance with all six of them to find Hayasaka Ai. This is normal, there's nothing to worry about.

Lowering his head, Gao Hai looked again at the number [36] written on his hand.

I still don't understand why this thing is on my hand. Is it the influence of some strange force? But I didn't feel anything.

I didn't feel anything, which means my mind wasn't contaminated. If it wasn't contaminated, then everything is normal... No, that's not right, there's also cognitive blockage. If a red cloth, when receiving visual signals, has its visual cognitive signals altered from red to blue, then after processing by thought, this information will lead the brain to the perception that "this cloth is blue," and this "normal" is definitely not normal.

So, am I no longer in a normal state?

Takahashi glanced at Yoshitsugu, who was still typing intently, at Takai, who was sighing, and at Miyazawa Hana, who was comforting him. He looked at Kaguya Shinomiya, who was deep in thought, and at Takahashi himself, who was staring at him. He felt that nothing was abnormal about any of this. Neither he nor the six people standing in front of him were abnormal at all.

With a furrowed brow, Gao Hai looked down once more at the numbers written on his hand.

I've only just entered this instance, only just begun exploring this place alone. But... no, if my perception has indeed been affected, if I've indeed experienced some kind of cognitive blockade, then it's understandable that I can't react in time.