Ultimate Evolution I Became the Master of the World

The creepy knocking kept going, like some messed-up alarm clock that wouldn't shut up.

The classroom door wasn't locked, not even latched. Just kinda closed. A little nudge and it'd swing right open.

But the freaky part was that the old man outside, covered in corpse spots, didn't even try to push it open. He just stood there, stiff as a board, knocking away with no plans to come in.

Even though he stayed put, the thick darkness from the hallway started oozing in.

The whole classroom started to get all kinds of messed up.

The walls, which were pretty new, got all moldy and gross, paint peeling off like old scabs. Black and green mold spread everywhere, stinking up the place with a cold, damp smell. The books on the desks turned yellow and rotten in no time, and even the cement floor started to crack and crumble, showing rusty rebar. Some spots even started caving in.

It was like decades passed in a blink.

But the lights were still fighting the darkness, flickering like a candle about to go out, barely holding on.

Fear was written all over the students' faces. Some screamed, some yelled for help, others just shook like leaves.

The only one keeping it together was Nikolai up at the front.

He stood there, eyes darting around, watching every move.

A ghost this powerful, with Ghost Realm, was way out of his league.

He needed to find a way out and get these kids to safety, even if it was just a few of them.

"Nikolai, look."

Henrik suddenly shouted, looking freaked out, pointing at some students slumped over their desks.

No one had noticed before, but now it was clear that a bunch of students were lying motionless on their desks. Their eyes and mouths wide open, faces pale as death, stinking like they'd been dead for days. The knocking came again.

Just then, a boy in the crowd shuddered and dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes.

"Javier Rodriguez, you okay?" Someone tried to help him up, but as soon as they touched him, they screamed and jumped back.

Javier was cold and stiff, like a corpse.

Javier, just like the others, had wide-open eyes and mouth, a pale face, no sign of life, and he started to smell like rot. He was dead.

And not just him, at least six or seven students were lying there, not moving, faces pale as ghosts.

"How could this happen? Someone save us," a girl cried, sitting on the floor, scared out of her mind.

"They were fine just a moment ago, how did they suddenly die?" someone else said, voice shaking.

Henrik's face was dark, shouting, "Shut up. There's a ghost outside the door. We could die in any way. You'll soon understand how terrifying a ghost with a Ghost Realm is."

The others stared at him, eyes wide with terror, like animals trapped in a cage, shaking with fear.

"Nikolai, you got a plan yet? If you don't, we're all toast," Henrik snapped, his voice shaking.

He was scared too, 'cause in the Ghost Realm, anyone could bite the dust, including him.

"If you can't wait, make a run for it yourself. Don't count on me," Nikolai shot back, just as anxious, not wanting to make a wrong move.

"Running around in a Ghost Realm is a death wish. You think I don't know that?" Henrik retorted.

"If you know, then stay put. If the ghost outside wants to kill us, everyone's gonna die. No one could escape. Don't think you're special just 'cause you know a thing or two. In front of a ghost, we're all the same," Nikolai said. "Fuck," Henrik cursed under his breath.

Michael's hands and feet were ice-cold. He forced himself to stay calm 'cause this was real people were already dead, and not just one. If this kept up, a lot more would die.

But then he noticed the blackboard, almost falling off the wall, and he froze.

His eyes locked onto the three sentences Nikolai had written earlier, especially the last one, "Understand the ghost's pattern."

"Nikolai's not making a move 'cause he's watching the old man outside, trying to figure out his pattern. Only when he gets it will he act. Stay cool, what's this old man's deal?" His mind started racing.

He thought back to everything he'd read on the forum and linked it to what was happening now.

There had to be some common ground.

The doctor was at home, door closed. The old man knocked, came in, knocked again at the bedroom door, and came in again.

'Now, this ghost is outside in the hallway, knocking but not coming in. Why did the old man come in at the doctor's house but not here? Same situation, same event, what's different? Not enough time? What time? Could it be the knocking time? Maybe that's the key,' he thought.

Suddenly, Michael found his courage and shouted, "Nikolai, it's the knocking."

"The knocking?"

Nikolai's eyes zeroed in on the student who spoke up, "What is it?"

Michael, swallowing his fear, said, "It's just a guess, but I think he's killing people through the knocking. Maybe the old man is timing it or something, but it has to do with the knocking. If we can stop him from knocking, it might help." Killing through knocking? If that was true, this ghost was next-level scary.

Henrik glared at Michael and said, "This guy's potential is showing so quickly."

His fists clenched tight. "Michael can't leave this school alive."