[Attention-Seeker System]
Name: Jake Coleman
Title: The Joker
Level: 2
Stamina: 200
Attention Points: 60
Attributes | Shop
….
I stared at the floating blue screen in front of me, flickering faintly in the dark like a glitch in reality.
60 Attention Points. Not bad. Not bad at all.
Just as I was about to explore the Shop, a voice brought me back.
"Jake…"
I turned. James.
His eyes weren't panicked like the others. No—he looked focused, sharp, like a main character asking a vital question mid-chapter.
"You said you know that wall… because of your grandma…" he said slowly. "Tell me… do you know how to beat this story?"
I blinked.
Then I saw the others gathering behind him.
Ryan, looking skeptical but hopeful.
Liza Smith and Locke Alfonso, both battered from the chaos upstairs but attentive.
Tommy, rubbing his temples like the gamer in him was waiting for a walkthrough.
Sophie, with those bright, curious eyes—
(Girl…)
Two other girls stood behind them, their faces pale with fear, but clearly listening.
They were all staring at me.
Liza stepped forward, voice calm. "Do you… really know how to defeat this?"
I took a breath.
Then smirked.
"Well… yeah."
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
+10 Attention Points
→ (Took spotlight as the one with knowledge. Group fully focused on you.)
Attention Points: 70
Sophie's eyes lit up with awe. "Jake… you're kind of amazing…"
(NO. STOP. Not you. That look is reserved for James. James Foster. The protagonist. Not me. Not Jake Coleman. I'm a side character. A comic relief. A system-having chaos gremlin at best.)
Locke narrowed his eyes. "How do you even know this stuff?"
I shrugged, scratching my neck casually.
"Someone said 'grandma,' right? So, I know because of her storybooks."
Which was a total lie.
It wasn't from some sweet bedtime story—
It was from "The Secret Horror Club", a horror novel I read obsessively before I got Isekai'd into this messed-up game-world. I knew every twist, every ghost, every gruesome detail.
But I can't exactly say that now, can I?
So yeah. Grandma.
Totally.
🩸 [SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
+5 Attention Points
→ (Maintained deception while under scrutiny. Bluff successful.)
Attention Points: 75
James studied me for a moment. He didn't say anything—just nodded.
He trusted me a little bit.
That... actually hurt a little.
I looked away. "Alright. Here's what we're dealing with."
Everyone leaned in.
I continued, voice low. "The ghost's name is Ms. Echo. Real name: Eloise Kanner. She died in this music wing after a prank during a choir recital ruined her hearing. She never recovered. The school covered it up."
Tommy muttered, "Classic haunted school shit."
I went on. "She's not your average ghost. She doesn't chase you around with a knife or show up in mirrors. She's a sound-based haunting."
They stared at me. Sophie bit her lip.
"She uses your voices against you," I said. "That's why we heard ourselves upstairs. Echoes of our own shouting, arguments, panic. That's her feeding."
Locke's eyes widened. "So… we just shut up?"
"Exactly. Shut up. Stay close. Don't split. Don't repeat names. Don't play music. Don't argue. The moment she hears too much—she activates. And trust me, her 'chorus' kills."
🩸 [SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
+10 Attention Points
→ (Revealed detailed ghost intel. Team now views you as essential.)
Attention Points: 85
Ryan muttered, "Okay, yeah, grandma's got some dark bedtime stories, man…"
James turned to the others. "You heard him. Stay quiet. Stay close. No more panic."
For a moment, the group looked steadier. Focused. Ready.
And they all looked at me like I was Moses about to part the Red Sea.
Tommy crossed his arms. "So… I don't still understand … how do we beat her again?"
I raised a finger. "Glad you asked Tommy boy."
🩸 [SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
+5 Attention Points
→ (Took command again. Audience locked in.)
Current Attention Points: 90
I cleared my throat dramatically, stepped onto a cracked tile like it was a stage, and grinned.
"Okay let me say it clearly for you brain to understand…There are four ways to beat this ghost."
Tommy blinked. "Four?"
"Yes. Four. Like an overachieving horror villain who studied for her haunting finals."
Sophie giggled. Liza didn't. Locke just squinted, suspicious.
I held up one finger.
"One — Total Silence Challenge."
Everyone blinked.
"If all of us stay absolutely, completely silent for three minutes while Ms. Echo is nearby, she weakens. Fades out. Buys us breathing room."
Ryan raised a hand. "How silent are we talking?"
"No breathing too loud. No farting. No panicked screaming. One hiccup and—boom—reset."
Locke muttered, "So we just become horror monks for 180 seconds?"
"Exactly," I said, "Zen your lungs or get bodied."
"Two — Replaying Her Solo."
I turned toward the others. "There's a busted VHS tape of her final performance in the music archive. If we fix it and play it on the OG speaker system, it soothes her."
Sophie blinked. "That's… kinda sad."
I nodded. "Yeah, like, ghost-therapy sad. Problem is — the room has to be completely silent while it plays. If someone sneezes during her big high note, we're dead."
Tommy mumbled, "So it's like watching a movie with strict grandparents."
"Exactly!" I snapped, pointing. "Except if they're undead soprano banshees."
"Three — Conduct Her Peacefully."
I took a deep breath. "This one's metal as hell. One person stands at the conductor's podium, finds the original sheet music, and conducts her spirit to the very end."
Ryan raised an eyebrow. "Like… mime conducting?"
"No," I said. "There's a haunted baton involved. You do the full song without a single mistake, she passes on. Screw up even once?"
I sliced my hand across my throat. "Game over, soloist."
Sophie whispered, "That's… beautiful. And terrifying."
Locke scoffed. "That's stupid."
"It's ghost rules, bro," I said. "Not logical rules."
🩸 [SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
+10 Attention Points
→ (Explained ghost mechanics with dramatic flair. Audience half-terrified, half-impressed.)
Current Attention Points: 100
A glowing message appeared in the corner of my eye, but I waved it off. Later. For now—
"Four — Destroy the Sheet Music."
"Sounds easy, right?" I laughed hollowly. "Wrong. The original solo sheet is hidden inside a piano bench. Burn it? She dies. But also…"
I paused.
"…she goes feral. We're talking final boss music, blood-curdling screaming, darkness everywhere, survive ten full minutes in complete silence. No lights. No words. No mistakes."
Tommy's jaw dropped. "So basically: if we go that route, we're like playing Five night at Freddy."
"Bingo."
They all stared at me.
Liza murmured, "Wait… how do you even know all of this?"
I shrugged again. "I told you. My grandma's bedtime stories were metal."
(Actually, it was all in the horror novel The Secret Horror Club, but I'm not about to tell them that I used to read it while eating instant ramen in my crusty bedroom.)
James gave me a long look. "Jake… that's insane. But it makes sense."
I gave him finger guns. "Insanely accurate. You're welcome."
Sophie was still staring at me with sparkling eyes.
(Nope. Nope. Stop that seriously. That look? That's for James. That's for James That's for James (3x)… You fall for him, remember? Again I'm just the guy who knows ghost trivia and makes weird jokes.)
🩸 [SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
→ The group is now depending on you.
→ Your leadership is acknowledged.
→ Team Morale: Slightly Restored.
I let out a breath.
Now all we had to do… was pick one.
And not die.
James stepped forward, eyes locked on me. "So… which one do we choose?"
I blinked.
(Whoa.)
(Okay. I just unlocked a little something-something called 'Trust Point +1'. Damn. That ghost weakness TED Talk really hit different, huh?)
I coughed, doing my best not to look like I was caught off guard. "Ahem… ah, yeah. About that."
My eyes swept over the group — Tommy nervously look at me, Ryan nervously chewing his sleeve, Locke still suspicious, Sophie looking at me like I hung the moon (stop that), and—
Then I looked at Liza Smith.
And everything slowed down for a second.
(Liza… she's James's second love interest. Second. The people chose Sophie because apparently they have a collective obsession with women who stab you in your sleep. Y'all ever heard of therapy? Anyway—back to Liza.)
There she stood. Jet-black bob framing her pale face, silver-gray eyes that looked like they knew too much and said too little. She wasn't flashy like Sophie, or loud like Tommy. But you could feel her power even when she just stood there — like the air around her was holding its breath.
She met my gaze without flinching.
And I remembered.
Graviton Field.
The girl could bend weight with her hands. Float books. Slow people. Walk on walls. You know, normal teenager stuff.
She could be our ace.
I rubbed the back of my neck. "Okay, so… real talk? Some of those options are way harder than others."
James stared at me like I had the answer to life itself. "So… which one do we choose?"
I scratched my head. "Ahem… yeah, about that…"
I glanced at the group. All eyes on me. Locke had his arms crossed, still doubting me. Ryan looked like he was trying to manifest muscles to fight a ghost. Tommy was already half-hiding behind Sophie. And Sophie—goddammit—was giving me that "sparkly yandere approval" stare.
(Stop that. Please. For my blood pressure. Look at James. Love James. Stab James, not me.)
I turned away and muttered under my breath, "Focus, Jake. Focus. You're the reader here. Use your nerd powers."
Alright. I couldn't tell them Liza had gravity powers. They didn't know. Heck, even Liza probably didn't want them to know yet. So…
I raised a finger. "Okay, listen. Out of all the options? One stands out as… y'know. Slightly less suicidal."
James narrowed his eyes. "Which one?"
I cleared my throat.
🩸 [INTERNAL SYSTEM MENU OPENED – ATTENTION SEEKER SYSTEM]
→ Choosing Ghost Strategy:
Total Silence Challenge
Replaying Her Solo
Conduct Her Peacefully
Destroy the Sheet Music
I tapped on option 2 in my mind.
🩸 [You have selected: REPLAYING HER SOLO]
"We go with the VHS tape." I said aloud.
Locke raised an eyebrow. "The what?"
I explained quickly, trying not to sound like I was quoting a Wiki article. "There's a music room with an old broken VHS. Her final recital. If we restore it and play it back, she chills out. No chasing, no stabbing, no getting turned into a musical corpse."
Tommy frowned. "That… sounds almost too easy?"
"Right?" I said, nodding. "That's why it's probably the safest. We just have to sit in a room and let the tape play. Total silence. No interruptions. No mistakes."
Ryan asked, "And where's the tape?"
I paused. "…In the music archive room. Which is… potentially haunted and locked, and might smell like mold and regret."
Locke, who was definitely not a scaredy-cat maybe, just gave a casual nod. "You'd think a ghost would be into VHS tapes. I mean, retro is in, right?"
Ryan, however, was already starting to sweat. "But… what if she, like, doesn't chill out? What if she doesn't like the tape?"
I raised an eyebrow. "Ryan, man, you gotta stop overthinking it. It's a ghost. It's not like it's going to suddenly start throwing a tantrum."
Ryan wasn't convinced, clutching his school uniform with hoodie in it, both hands. "I still don't like the idea of us sitting in a room playing her recital while she's, like, watching us from the shadows."
I sighed and clapped him on the back. "Listen, man, if she shows up, we'll deal with it then. But right now? The tape is our best shot."
James looked at me. "Alright. We're going with that plan then."
🩸 [SYSTEM UPDATE – STRATEGY SELECTED: "Replaying Her Solo"]
→ Objective: Find the VHS tape
→ Optional: Avoid attention while searching. +Bonus AP if you do it stylishly.
As we started moving, I caught Liza's gaze for a moment. Just a flicker of something — calm, observant, unreadable. She didn't say anything, but for a second, I swear thought she knew that I knew.
(Don't worry, Liza. I won't blow your secret. Yet.)
I gave her a little nod and turned back to the group.
"Alright," I said, clapping my hands once. "Let's go find ourselves a haunted tape and not die, sound good?"
Tommy rolled his eyes with a little bit scared grin. "Easy money. I've survived worse playing horror games in VR. Ghosts don't scare me."
Ryan, on the other hand, was already fidgeting. "Yeah, sure, Tommy. You're gonna be the first to pull a jump scare. Watch."
We made our way down the hallway, the air feeling heavier with every step.
To be continue