Ron blinked, thinking John was joking, and let it slide without a second thought.

  “Sir, if I took it down, my reward won’t get cut, right?”

  “Two ghost shards—you’ll get them, the Bureau doesn’t skimp on these things.”

  “About that…”

  John raised an eyebrow, his face dead serious.

  “Those two shards are the mission reward for William and the others. I’m talking about my personal reward for killing the ghost. I took out a huge menace here—ain’t that worth something extra?”

  “Huh?”

  Ron froze, caught off guard for a split second. Instinctively, he nodded.

  “You’ve got a point. I’ll put in a request to the higher-ups… Wait a minute. No!!”

  “Those two shards are the reward for killing the Footstep Ghost! What the hell kind of extra reward would I even apply for?!”

  “Uh…”

  John’s smile faltered. Damn, he’d failed to pull the wool over his eyes.

  “You little schemer!”

  Ron stared him down, thankful he’d snapped out of it in time.

  If he’d actually filed that request, he would’ve made a total fool of himself…

  “Not even a little something for my bravery, then?”

  “Nope!”

  Ron’s tone was firm. Then a thought crossed his mind, and he added,

  “That said, if you write a truthful combat report, the Bureau might issue you extra ghost shards after their evaluation.”

  “Really?”

  John’s face lit up. He hadn’t expected a nice little bonus like that.

  “And no nonsense about punching through space or erasing ghosts from the river of time!”

  Ron shot him a glare.

  “Stick to the truth. Got it?!”

  “Also, don’t make it all about you. Focus on the Footstep Ghost—its warning signs, its killing methods, that sort of thing.”

  The Footstep Ghost wasn’t the only one of its kind in the world. If people could learn its telltale signs early, their chances of survival would skyrocket the next time one showed up.

  “Got it.”

  John’s shoulders slouched a little in disappointment. So much for bragging about his epic victory…

  “Alright, you four can head back now.”

  Ron waved them off. “I’ve got an urgent matter to handle.”

  The four nodded, not lingering a moment longer, and turned to leave the office.

  As soon as the door closed, Ron fumbled for his phone with his left hand, pressing it to his ear in a hurry.

  “Hey, hook me up with a good bone doctor. A friend of mine’s in a real bind…”

  …

  “Boss John, I’ll bring the two ghost shards to you the second they come in.”

  William and the others had been the ones to take the mission, so the reward would land in their hands first.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  “Sounds good.”

  John nodded, fully trusting William to follow through.

  With that, they went their separate ways, and John headed back to the Intelligence Class.

  Inside the classroom, the other students were watching a horror movie, the room so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

  John glanced at the screen for two seconds, then lost all interest.

  He’d binged enough horror movies the past few weeks—and now that he’d faced a real ghost, these fake scares just paled in comparison.

  “I’ll have to ask Ron if I can take on some supernatural missions myself…”

  John wasn’t a Ghostbearer,

  but after last night’s win, he figured he’d earned the right to dip his toes into real supernatural work, right?

  He was lost in thought when the movie ended, the screen fading to black.

  Just then,

  their homeroom teacher Ethan walked in, clearing his throat.

  “Class, let’s go over the Intelligence Class’s study plan for the weeks ahead.”

  “We’ll be splitting our time between two main courses: Movie Class and Training Class.”

  “Movie Class? Training Class? What the hell is that?”

  The students blinked, exchanging confused looks.

  In regular school, you had math, science, literature—none of them had ever heard of classes like these.

  “Movie Class is simple,” Ethan explained. “We’ll be screening all kinds of horror movies, and the goal is to build up your mental fortitude.”

  Horror movies were fake, so they wouldn’t push the students to the brink of terror—but for now, it was the best the Bureau could do.

  They couldn’t exactly send kids into real supernatural hotspots every single day and make them train with their lives on the line…

  “As for the second course, Training Class, it’s even simpler.”

  Ethan smiled.

  “It’s high-intensity physical training.”

  “Physical training? Like working out?”

  The students stared at each other, all of them confused and perplexed.

  Against the supernatural horrors plaguing the world now, even the strongest body was useless, right?

  Ethan could see the doubt on their faces, so he clarified,

  “I don’t want any of you underestimating raw physical strength. Whether you’re fighting a malevolent ghost or running for your life, your body is your first line of defense!”

  “Fact is, even the Ghostbearer Class does this same high-intensity training. Without a strong body, most of them couldn’t even summon their bound ghosts in the first place.”

  The students nodded, suddenly taking physical fitness a lot more seriously.

  “Also, to keep you all on track, Fifth High of Blackwater City will be holding an exam in two weeks!”

  “An exam?”

  The students blinked, not too concerned. It was just a test—even a bad score wouldn’t be the end of the world.

  Ethan saw exactly what they were thinking,

  and he smiled, speaking slowly.

  “This exam won’t be held at the school. It’ll be held at a real supernatural hotspot.”

  In an instant, every student shot upright in their seats. Some even jumped to their feet unconsciously.

  Are you kidding me?!

  They’d only just started school, and they were already being sent to face a real supernatural incident?

  This was a death sentence!

  “No amount of training or textbook theory can compare to surviving a real run-in with the supernatural,”

  Ethan said, his voice calm. He paused, then added,

  “And let’s be clear: Ghostbearers will be accompanying you, but there’s still a very real chance of death.”

  One student’s heart skipped a beat, and they spoke up, voice shaky. “Sir, it’s just an exam. Is this really necessary?”

  “Necessary?”

  Ethan chuckled, his smile fading a little. “In the supernatural, anyone can die. Even Ghostbearers aren’t safe.”

  “If anyone wants to drop out, speak up now.”

  The classroom fell deathly silent.

  When Ethan said drop out, he didn’t mean just skipping the exam—he meant leaving the Intelligence Class for good.

  After a long, tense pause, a hand slowly went up. The student’s eyes were filled with shame; they’d learned a lot already, even gotten a small stipend from the Bureau, and yet they hadn’t contributed a single thing.

  But when their own life was on the line, courage won out over guilt.

  “Sir, I want to drop out.”

  “Approved.”

  Ethan didn’t try to talk them out of it, agreeing immediately.

  The Bureau had anticipated this from the start, for both the Ghostbearer and Intelligence Classes.

  From the moment the classes were founded, people would leave—one by one, or in groups.

  Only those who stayed to face the fear would become the elite the Bureau truly wanted to train. Resources were limited, after all; they couldn’t afford to waste them on everyone.

  It was survival of the fittest, plain and simple. These students just chose to be the ones who fell by the wayside.

  Once the first student spoke up, more hands shot up in quick succession, one after another.

  In the blink of an eye, their class of fifty had shrunk to just over thirty.

  “I won’t stop any of you who want to leave,”

  Ethan said, his tone steady. “But there’s one rule: this all stays confidential. No talking about what you’ve learned here to anyone outside.”

  The students who’d dropped out nodded furiously. They were just grateful to leave with their lives—they’d never dare cause any trouble.

  The main secret they had to keep was the true state of the world; if word got out, it would spark mass panic and chaos.

  As for the survival tips they’d picked up? The Bureau didn’t make those a strict secret.

  In fact, the Bureau was already planning to release public announcements in the coming days—warning people about malevolent ghosts, teaching them basic survival skills, and more…

  And that fact alone said everything.

  The Bureau was starting to lose control over the supernatural incidents plaguing the world.

  If you wanted to survive, you were only as good as your own wits and strength.