'Wait, wait, wait, what...?'
If I was sleepy before, that was no longer the case now. Staring at the notification that flashed on my phone, I felt my expression change.
I proceeded to read the message again before hastily moving towards the Dock app and logging in.
———
[Error!]
Your account has been suspended on suspicion of botting.We will reach out to you later. Please have some patience.
———
Patience?
Patience my fucking ass!
I almost wanted to throw my phone out of the window of the car. My inner coward prevented me from doing so.
The phone was expensive, and I was in the car of a police officer, so...
'No, that aside... This is really bad.'
I had a time limit for my mission. It was about one week.
Failing resulted in the shop's closure. I couldn't afford to have that happen. The shop was extremely vital for my survival.
It was the only place where I could buy the pills for my disease.
If that closed, then I was as good as dead.
"Ukh."
I ruffled my hair as I stared at the app in front of me. I quickly sent a message telling them that this wasn't some weird botting incident and that I was innocent.. After I was done, I sent another one. And then another one.
I just had to make sure they got my point across.
I only stopped when I felt anymore would piss them off. The only thing I could do after that was hope that they'd unban me before it was too late.
Otherwise, I really was done for...
Lost in my thoughts, I didn't even notice the scenery around me change, and before I knew it, the car came to a sudden stop.
"We're here."
"Hm?"
I looked up to see the Senior Officer looking at me from the front car seat. He had a worried expression on his face.
"Is everything alright?"
"...Yes, everything is alright."
Drawing a deep breath, I forced a smile before taking my stuff and getting out of the car. I had done all I could. All I had to do now was wait for the result.
Coming out of the car and feeling the cool breeze, I stared at the tall structure in the distance. It stood out quite a bit amidst the other tall buildings around.
The Senior Officer was also looking the same way.
"I was originally worried about your safety, but knowing that you're with them, I don't have to worry too much."
As the Senior Officer spoke, he rolled the window back up.
"I'll contact you if anything comes up in the investigation. Have some rest for now. You've earned it."
"Thank you..."
The Senior Officer drove off shortly after that.
Standing dumbly in the middle of the sidewalk, I eventually closed my eyes and walked back towards the Guild.
This was a decision I came to regret shortly after.
***
A few moments prior, Starlight Guild.
Clank—!
A white door creaked open, and a group stepped out into the hallway. At the front were Kyle and Zoey, their faces slick with sweat, like they'd just wrapped up an intense workout.
But they weren't the ones to worry about.
Behind them, the others emerged, pale, trembling, their lips quivering as if the air itself was too much to bear.
They looked shell-shocked.
Only Myles seemed to be holding it together better than the rest, but even he had that distant, unfocused look in his eyes.
Kyle and Zoey eventually stopped, looking back to see how the new recruits were doing. A look of pity flashed across Zoey's face when she saw the state they were in.
"Well, I can't say that you guys did badly. In fact, it was quite good. You only died about five times. That's above average, I would say?"
She looked at Kyle, who shrugged while mumbling, 'I didn't die when I did it so...'
Zoey bit her lip.
'Shit me too...'
"Keum."
She covered her mouth and coughed.
"Whatever the case is, you guys have a promising future!"
"Uekh!"
"...Ku!"
Being reminded of the trauma that they had just experienced, several of the members moved towards the nearby wall and started to lurch as they held onto their stomachs.
This was more or less the reaction Zoey expected to see.
The gate they had just entered was an infamous rank anomalous looping gate. Death was common in such a gate, and it was common to have the new hires to have their first gate experience in such a gate.
This was so that they could get used to the thought of dying.
It was only when an agent could think clearly and assess situations while under extreme danger and fear that they were considered ready for higher-ranking gates. Unfortunately, this wasn't an easy skill to master, with only a rare few truly capable of it.
Zoey and Kyle were prime examples.
...But even they weren't perfect.
"Have some rest. Get everything out of your system. Once you're done, you can go back home and do whatever you want. You don't have to come to work tomorrow or the day after. Take a day off or two to relax your minds."
In order to reduce the risk of PTSD, giving the new hires a few days off to process the events was necessary.
Once she was done checking up on the new recruits, Zoey led them all back to the field agent area, where she saw the other groups slowly entering, their situation somewhat similar.
This was a common sight during recruitment season.
'Oh, right...'
She was about to head back to her dorm when all of a sudden, she recalled something and pulled out her phone.
'...I wonder how that went. I bet he's pissed his pants.'
Zoey suddenly snickered while thinking about seeing that guy jump up in fear. Jamie was quite reliable when it came to scaring people.
"What are you doing? Are you going to check the stream?"
As if seeing right through her actions, Kyle sighed while walking next to her, leaning his head to check the stream.
Myles also moved closer.
They were all somewhat curious to see the continuation of the stream from before.
She was expecting something hilarious.
Instead... her smile vanished.
Her eyes widened.
So did Kyle's.
Myles took a sharp breath.
And then—
"What the fuck?"
Zoey cursed, closing the stream and opening it again. She probably clicked on the wrong stream. It had to be.
It...
"It really is the same stream!"
Her eyes widened in shock as she pulled up the stream to see the endless number of comments.
—This is not real.
—This has to be fake! I refuse to believe this!
—....Does anyone have a short clip of what happened? I really want to see the stream, but I don't have time.
But that wasn't the only thing that left her shocked.
No, it was the number of viewers who were currently watching. It was over thirty thousand! And that was in spite of the stream having already finished.
"What in the world happened?"
Zoey wasn't the only one confused.
Kyle was also confused as he leaned closer to stare at the phone.
"Hey, move your head back a little."
But he was quickly pushed away by Zoey, who scrolled through the phone before finally finding something.
"Here, I've got it!"
It was a short highlight video of what had happened.
She pressed it, and the video began to play.
But a minute into the video, the faces of each and every one present changed as they looked at each other before settling their gaze back over to the video.
What sort of psychopath...
-x-X-x-
The video started like Kyle, Myles, and Zoey had seen.
"I feel like puking.'
The only one that wasn't familiar with the scene was Terrance, who cocked his head the moment he heard Seth's words.
They could also see the chat as the video played. It was moving rather fast, all laughing and making fun of Seth.
Zoey snickered a little as well.
Only Kyle nodded in understanding while mumbling, 'This is the Seth that I know.'
The video then continued to play, skipping to a different scene. This time, Seth was standing in the exhibition room while Jamie started talking to the chat that had now grown somewhat disinterested.
Well, it did seem a little boring.
However, that quickly changed as Seth slowly put on a pair of sunglasses.
Immediately, the chat exploded, and Zoey snickered again while Kyle covered his face. Myles, on the other hand, just smiled, his signature dimples becoming more pronounced.
"Kek... I can't get used to this even after seeing it again. He really is going all out for the stream."
Zoey was starting to get an idea of why the stream had gotten popular.
Seth's antics...
They were really funny!
'Haha, I guess that explains a lot. Maybe the reason why it's so viral is because Jamie did a really good job with the scare.'
The more she watched the stream, the more she thought this was the case.
But then, as the next highlight appeared, her face stiffened.
"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarkh!"
A muffled, blood-curdling scream suddenly reverberated from the speakers of the phones as everyone's attention fell on the phone.
They all saw the noticeable shift in Jamie's demeanor as he looked in the direction of the scream, his face clearly shocked.
And then—
Thump. Thump. Thump.
The steps.
They all heard them.
Jamie and Seth both looked up.
By now, the chat had gone extremely quiet. It was only after a few seconds had passed that someone commented.
—What's going on? Did something happen?
—Nothing probably. Just watch. It's most likely staged.
—Staged? Seriously...? I watch Jamie because he doesn't fake his shit. If this is fake, then I'm out.
Reading the comments, they could see that amidst the confusion, there were several that called out the situation as being fake.
Zoey's eyes narrowed.
'Is this part of the scare?'
She thought this at first, but seeing the genuine look of horror on Jamie's face, she started to second-guess herself.
There was no way, right...?
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The steps moved from the upper floor to the first floor, and the panic on Jamie's face became all too clear. He was scrambling around, trying to rush out, but was promptly stopped by Seth, who guided him towards the second hall where the statue of Saint Marie was located.
"No, that's a dead end..."
Familiar with the place, Zoey facepalmed. Going into the second hall was a dumb decision. There was no way out from there, and they were, in essence, trapped like mice in a cage.
She wasn't the only one who thought this way.
—What kind of idiotic script is this?
—That's... so stupid. They should've left while they had the chance.
—This so ass.
Everyone was cursing Seth, who seemed wholly unaware of the situation as he looked back before knocking into the statue.
That was when they all heard it.
The noise in the chat stopped, and Zoey, Kyle, and the others found themselves leaning closer to the screen.
Before they knew it, they found themselves absorbed in the stream.
"Get in!"
Moving the statue and revealing the trapdoor, Zoey's face changed the most.
'This...'
She was beginning to realize that this might not be part of Jamie's scare scenario. This was real.
This became especially apparent when they saw the trapdoor close and darkness swallow the camera, a couple of ragged breaths echoing through the speakers.
—What's going on?
—What happened?
Even the chat was now absorbed in the scenario.
Soon, Jamie turned on his flashlight, illuminating a dark tunnel and his face, as everyone could see his disheveled hair and sweaty face.
"...This makes no sense at all. Where are we? How come nobody discovered this place before? Did you all... notice the statue? It was fake. But I'm sure it wasn't like this before. There's something... sinister about the situation. And... And..."
Rattle~
The trapdoor above rattled, and Jamie's face changed drastically, his feet sprinting forward.
Seth followed right after.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The distant footsteps returned, and the number of viewers practically shot up by now.
—What's going on?
—Why is this suddenly trending? Is this real?
—...Oh my god! Run!! Someone call the police! I don't think this is fake!
Seth and Jamie continued to run forward, eventually taking off their shoes in order to hide the sound of their steps. As they ran, they eventually caught a glimpse of an orange light, heading straight towards it.
However, just before entering, they stopped, and the camera moved forward to scan the room and display it for everyone to see.
They all saw what Seth and Jamie saw.
...And at the same time, they all saw that there was no exit.
"Oh my god"
"How in the world do they get out of this?"
Kyle's face was filled with worry as he looked at the scene. If not for the fact that he was aware they got out of this situation, he would've started panicking by now.
Soon, they all saw Seth and Jamie enter the wardrobe at the end of the room.
As darkness swallowed the camera once more, the sound of their breath echoed silently into the camera.
Tensions were at an all-time high, and Zoey and the others vividly felt the tension. They felt it even more than when running their own gates. Because, unlike before, they weren't in control of what was happening here.
The unpredictability of the situation and their lack of control made everything incredibly tense.
The same was true for the chat that had slowed down significantly. Clearly, many were holding their breaths.
But the next sequence of scenes took their breath away.
From the dead bodies to the corpse of the little girl. They all caught a glimpse of it through the narrow crack of the wardrobe.
And then—
An eye appeared, staring right into them.
"....!?"
Zoey and the others nearly jumped out in fright.
—Ahhhhhhh!
—HOIhfioehjfioasdhbuiofha
—Uhahjfksjffuck
The chat was spammed with all sorts of gibberish the moment the eye appeared, as many most likely jumped out of their seats.
But then—
Clank!
They saw Seth suddenly kick the door, a muffled sound echoing right after.
"Run..."
"Intruders!"
"Catch them quickly!"
The chase began there as the camera shook, moving with each swing of Jamie's hand. The viewers lost sight of the situation, only hearing Jamie's and Seth's voices as they seemed to make it back to the trapdoor.
However, just as they were about to get out, they heard a certain sound, and it was also then that the vision became clear.
"Oh my god..."
It was there that they saw several hands clamp up over Seth's ankle as he looked behind, his face looking strangely dead.
He didn't even show much of a reaction.
But soon, Jamie sprang into action, the camera smacking down against the skinny and pale hand.
Thump! Thump!
Each smack seemed to resonate with the beat of the heart of everyone present, until...
Crack!
They heard a cracking sound, and the camera fell.
Everything turned dark from there. They could only hear the sounds from that point.
—What's going on? What happened?
—Did the selfie stick break?
—Someone, tell me what is happening!
Viewership had hit an all-time high, everyone was glued to the unfolding chaos. With the screen plunged into darkness, every sound felt magnified.
The panic in Jamie's voice as he realized the door was locked, the ominous footsteps behind them, and the slow, eerie creak of the stairs.
Everything...
Everyone heard it, their faces growing tense.
And then, just as the tensions were at an all-time high, their vision returned, Seth's face appearing before everyone.
He looked to be within a certain room, and as he locked eyes with the camera, he paused for a moment.
All eyes focused on him, waiting for him to say something.
And soon...
"Hello, chat."
He started to speak, his voice quiet as Zoey and the others looked at him with extremely serious expressions.
"...Given my current circumstances, I can't talk too much. However, I wanted to get a certain message across."
Message? What message?
Was he trying to leave a message before dying? Zoey thought as she swallowed her saliva, waiting for him to say his next piece.
But the moment Seth opened his mouth again, her face changed.
The same was for Kyle.
"I made a horror game called A Regular Day in the Office. It's a very scary game. It was only just recently released, so I wanted to take the chance to let you all know about it. It's only $5 on Dock. Please support me."
Seriously?
Now of all times?!
—What the hell did he just say?
—A regular day in the office? He's a game developer?
—Wtf is he doing? This shit has to be fake!
—LMAOOOOO! This is so obviously staged. Who in their fucking minds would advertise this shit in the middle of a situation like this?
Seth's words made the chat instantly explode, and the number of viewers increased as those with malicious intentions added fuel to the fire.
—This is bought through a production.
—I almost got fooled lol.
Though it was obvious that some sort of 'hidden' competition was manipulating the chat, it still didn't take away from the fact that the entire stream suddenly felt fake.
"Oh, so that's the case..."
Zoey felt a similar feeling as she leaned back on her chair, expression easing a little. For a moment, it almost had her fooled.
'Jamie really went all out with the production.'
Zoey didn't know how to feel. On one hand, he had done the task as she requested, on the other... he kind of went a little overboard.
The others also seemed a little more relaxed at the realization.
But that didn't last for very long as Kyle's voice echoed shortly after.
"Wait, hold on.."
His expression changed as he looked at his phone.
"What? What is it?"
"...Is something wrong?"
Noticing the sudden change in his demenour, the others grew curious. Just as they were starting to grow impatient with his actions, Kyle slowly turned his phone to display the guild alert system.
———
Location: Velora Art Museum.
Danger:
N/A (Estimated to be Second Order)
Alert: Suspicious activity detected in the region. Possible gate opening reported. Further investigation required. Field Agents will be dispatched shortly.
———
"Velora Art Museum..." Zoey mumbled the title of the location for a brief moment before her gaze changed drastically as she hastily looked at Kyle. "Isn't that...!"
"Yes."
Kyle replied, his expression growing tense as he looked at Zoey's phone.
His voice grew a little strained.
"..The stream might not be fake after all."
The app he was using was the Guild App. It indicated and displayed any event that was happening within the Guild and needed the Guild's attention.
Seeing the new alert and the description, Kyle understood the gravity of the situation.
"That's... but..."
Zoey was at a total loss for words as she turned her head slowly towards her phone. She found herself staring at Seth's figure as he appeared in the video, calmly detailing information about his game in spite of his current situation.
To make things even worse...
He was doing all of this while wearing sunglasses.
"Keep the video playing. I want to see what happens next."
Hearing Kyle's words, Zoey bit her lips before nodding faintly and continuing the video. That was when they saw Seth move all the furniture toward the door.
—What is he doing?
—He's trying to block the door.
—Isn't he being chased by those weird guys in white? He's making too much noise.
In spite of everyone calling the entire stream fake, everyone was still absorbed in the stream. They all found themselves immersed in the situation, and just as everyone was starting to doubt Seth's actions, they saw him turn the camera away from himself.
However, it wasn't fully turned. They still managed to catch a glimpse of him and the door.
It was also then that it happened.
BANG!
Terrance flinched as a loud crashing sound echoed.
Zoey and the others were able to remain unaffected, but it wasn't as though their bodies didn't tense a little.
But this was only up until the moment they saw the cold gleam of the axe and the eye that came right after.
"He's here!"
A hoarse voice echoed shortly after, bringing the tension to the upper limit. In that moment, they all felt as though they were there in Seth's shoes, and that only served to heighten the growing tension.
Would he be able to get out?
This situation... It looked completely hopeless.
And yet, as opposed to them, Seth remained 'calm'. Besides the obvious increase in the pace of his breath, he didn't look at all fazed.
This suddenly reminded Zoey of the time when he came out of the trial. He was the same back then, and it started to make her question whether he could be scared at all.
Myles's brows furrowed slightly, while Terrance drew a deep breath.
The only one that didn't look confused by Seth's calmness was Kyle.
'He's probably holding his puke back.'
Kyle knew Seth well enough to know this. He really did have a weak stomach when it came to situations such as this.
It was a good thing that he was still able to think in spite of the situation that he found himself in.
But soon...
BANG!
The axe smashed against the door, over and over again. The furniture rattled as Seth tried his best to keep the furniture by the door, preventing them from entering. However, that seemed like a futile struggle from his end as splinters flew all over his face, hands reaching out to grasp it.
Unknowingly, everyone forgot how to breathe in that moment.
—Run! What are you doing!?
—Shit!!
—Fuck, fake or not this is creepy as fuckkk!!
—HFIAHISHDFI
Everyone was on the edge of their seats as the situation turned desperate. BANG! And just as the door split apart again, they saw Seth fiddle with his phone before tossing it away, or at least, that's what it seemed to be.
The camera angle made it hard for them to see.
BANG!
The door shattered, and Seth fell back, his eyes staring at the raised axe.
...The creepiest part of it all was his lack of reaction as he stared at the axe.
And just as the situation appeared to have turned for the worse...
WHEEEE— WHEEEE!
A sudden blaring sound echoed, and the men in white stopped.
"Crap!"
"...The police?!"
Seth quickly came out of view shortly after, as he started screaming.
"They're here! Help!!!! Second floor! Get here quickly!"
His shouts were loud, and the people in white grew startled.
"Over here! Second floor! If you get here quickly, you can stop them on the first floor!"
With clear and visible bloodlust, the people in white stared in the direction of where Seth was before turning around and scrambling back.
The sound of the sirens continued for a little while until Seth moved into frame again, his phone in hand.
"So that's the case..."
It was then that everyone realized what he had done.
—Wait, so the police never came?
—It was all a recording?
—Holy shit!
The number of viewers had now spiraled towards the thirty thousand that Zoey had previously seen before opening the stream. It was also not long after that the sound of the real cops echoed in the distance.
Zoey was just about to end the video when all of a sudden, Seth's voice echoed once again.
"Ha..."
Was that a chuckle?
His next words made everyone freeze.
"...It was boring."
The chat went deathly quiet, too. That was also when the video ended.
The surroundings turned silent as everyone stared at the phone in Zoey's hands. But the silence only lasted until they felt a certain presence coming in the distance.
Slowly raising their heads, they saw the man in question enter the area, his shoulders slumped and eyes baggy.
As if sensing their gazes, he raised his head, and their gazes met.
He was just about to speak when...
"Ha, shit."
Terrance suddenly took a step back, his expression pale.
"I fucking knew it. I... knew it."
His lips trembled as he took another step back.
"That guy... he's just like Kyle. Lunatic freak. Total freak."
The moment I came into the Guild, I saw over a dozen pairs of eyes staring in my direction. They were all from people whom I more or less knew.
'What's up with them?'
I tried to ignore their stares, but they were burning holes into my face. It almost felt as though they were looking at some sort of wild animal from the zoo.
I touched my face.
Was there something on my face?
...Did the axe somehow manage to graze my face?
'No, I don't think so.'
I didn't feel any pain on my face, and the cops would've probably said something about it.
Then...?
"Oh."
My eyes eventually fell on Zoey's phone, and everything became clear to me. My heart sank.
'So they saw the stream.'
It made sense when thinking about it. After all, Zoey had been the one to instigate Jamie to do something to scare me. In the end, that never happened as a result of the weird cultists coming out of nowhere.
With a sigh, I was just about to approach them when I saw Terrance...? Yes, I think that was his name... I saw him take a step back, his face a little pale as he alternated his gaze between me and Kyle.
He started mumbling some strange words that I couldn't hear, and before I could get a word out, he scurried away.
The hell?
His reaction felt a little off.
Myles was next to leave, waving his hand at me as the dimples on his face felt a little stiff. I waved back, but at the same time, remained extremely cautious.
Ever since realizing his identity, I had tried my best to keep a certain distance from him.
In the past, Myles had tried multiple times to invite me out for dinner, but I somehow managed to weasel my way out of those situations by simply telling him that I was too busy with work and that I wouldn't be able to.
My terrible sleeping schedule also helped in that regard.
Eventually, Myles appeared to have gotten the message and stopped interacting with me as much.
I was happy with this.
It was always good to avoid snakes.
'Well, I guess there's only Kyle and Zoey left...'
I opened my mouth to speak, but was promptly cut off by Zoey, who shook her head.
"You shouldn't have rejected the Section Chief's offer. What a waste."
And then, standing up, she shook her head again before leaving. I felt lost.
What in the world was going on today?
"....."
I eventually turned my attention towards Kyle. Just like that, of the four people who were present, only one remained.
"You're not going to leave like the others, right?"
"No? Why would I?"
Kyle looked around before leaning a bit closer, his voice lowered into a whisper.
"Did you end up puking in the end?"
I pressed my lips tightly and looked around before shaking my head and whispering back, "I was about to, but there was no bathroom."
"That's good. Think about bringing your own bag next time."
"That's actually a good suggestion."
It would save me a lot of trouble, actually.
"That aside... Kek"
Kyle suddenly stifled a laugh, his face slowly turning red as he looked at me.
What's up with him?
"Pftt."
Kyle held back another laugh as he took out his phone and showed me his screen. That was when I saw it. A picture of myself, standing in the middle of a familiar bedroom with sunglasses on.
The worst part of the picture was the caption above it that read: Meet the Lunatic with the Sunglasses.
There were quite a few comments and likes on the picture.
I could see that it was starting to go viral.
'Oh....'
Kyle put the phone down before suddenly bending over, his mouth open as he laughed without making a sound. I could tell from how red his face was that he was trying his best to laugh, but he was laughing so hard that no noise came out.
I kind of just wanted to pinch his nose and let him suffocate in his own laugh.
But I was too nice for that.
Without paying him any more mind, I rubbed my eyes and headed back to my office.
I was way too tired to care about things like this.
Clank!
Closing the door behind me, I looked around before settling my gaze on the wall where the large III was present.
Staring at it, I felt a growing pressure mount on my chest as I dropped my stuff and slumped down on the nearby chair.
'Right, I need to handle that too...'
The countdown felt like a schytte hanging over my neck, ready to slice it off at any given second.
'Thankfully, the conductor has yet to make any movements just yet, but... I don't know how long that will be.'
He was coming.
Of that, I was sure.
"Huu."
Letting out a breath, I settled my gaze over the painting on the wall, and I checked the time.
"There are twenty minutes left until one... Do I really still have to look at it?"
And what about the quest? Was it still not completed?
I sighed while massaging my face. The situation didn't quite make sense, and after a little bit of thought, I retrieved my laptop and booted it open.
I was about to open the system app when I paused and turned my attention toward the Dock App. Its logo was that of a black joystick. Thinking about my current situation, I opened the app and tried to get to the bottom of the situation.
"So I've been suspended because of botting. However, that doesn't mean that the game isn't being sold, right?"
The only thing that was blocked was just my account.
In that case, the game was still up for purchase.
I typed the name of the game on the search bar to see if that was the case. And sure enough, it was still up!
My heart raced a little when I saw this.
I was extremely curious to see how it was doing. Surely for the account to be suspected of botting, it must've been doing quite well...
'Maybe it also got reported by those in the stream. That could be the reason.'
That no longer mattered since I was more curious to see how the game was doing. However, checking the statistics of the game, my brows slowly furrowed.
"It's still not updated yet...?"
I couldn't see any reviews or details about the game.
This wasn't exactly strange. It usually took a while for the information to load. I was really curious to see how the game was faring, but it seemed like I had to wait a little longer. That was how I spent the next dozen minutes, but even as that much time passed, there was no real change.
I frowned while thinking about the game, and that was when something hit me.
"Streams!"
I thought about the stream that I had just done.
"Surely someone might be streaming the game, right?"
The stream was doing very well the last time I remembered. If that were the case, then someone could be playing the game.
I felt my heart race at the thought as I opened the streaming application. However, just as I was about to do so, I looked at the time and I paused.
"Ah..."
Right, I need to do that first.
I could only silently close the game before settling my gaze on the painting before me. I suddenly grew nervous as I got up from the chair and stood in front of it.
Tik, Tik—
The seconds ticked, and the arm eventually reached 12.
1:00 AM.
The time began, and I held my breath.
Just as my body began to tense...
Ding!
I heard the sound of a notification coming from my computer.
I paused and blinked my eyes by accident. Oh, shit! I started to panic, but a second later, I realized something...
'Nothing.'
Nothing had happened despite my blinking. Then...? Slowly turning around and settling my gaze over my computer, I took a slow step towards it until I caught a glimpse of the screen.
That was when I saw it.
[Congratulations on completing the quest!]
"Oh..."
[Optional Quest Completed!]
• Difficulty: Second Order
• Reward: 5,000 SP
• Objective: Investigate the painting's origins.
• Location: Velora Art Museum
Description: Clues hide within the museum's halls. Travel to the Velora Art Museum and uncover the story behind the mysterious painting.
Time Limit: 2 days
I watched as my balance went from 1,450 to 6,350 SP in a matter of seconds.
Seeing this, I almost jumped up with joy.
This was massive. With the additional 5000 SP, the number of items that I could purchase from the shop had increased by a lot.
With this, I felt a lot more confident in handling the conductor.
It finally made me feel like I could breathe again.
But it didn't take more than a couple of seconds for the system to pour cold water over my joy as several notifications appeared on the screen.
[• You have uncovered the dark secret hidden within the painting: the young girl was being raised from childhood as a living sacrifice for the cult leader's ascension. When she learned the truth, she tried to take her own life, but her efforts were in vain.]
[• By disrupting their plans and exposing part of their scheme, you have drawn their attention. You are now one of their targets.]
[• Be cautious. This cult is no ordinary gathering. They are backed by some of the wealthiest and most powerful families, with influence that reaches the deepest parts of this land. They know your face now, and they will be watching.]
[• Caution advised]
Ding!
[Continuation Quest Activated]
• Difficulty: Third Order
• Reward: 40,000 SP
• Objective: Expose the cult and its plans.
• Location: N/A
Description: The cult has now set its target on you. You must be careful not to get caught by them. Only death awaits if you get caught by them. Find a way around the situation and expose them.
Time Limit: 2 months.
"You really couldn't just let me enjoy my moment for one second, right?"
Staring at the sudden quest window, I felt my head throb.
However, that only lasted for a brief moment. This wasn't outside of my expectations. I had more or less guessed that something like this was going to happen after hearing the Senior Officer's words.
"40,000 SP and 2 months time limit... That's good enough."
Thankfully, I had quite a bit of time to complete the quest, and the rewards were equally as appealing.
I guess there was a silver lining to the situation.
Furthermore, I was going to have to deal with the situation regardless. Getting a reward for it was just an added bonus.
"This also means that I no longer have to look at the painting every day."
I sighed in relief while taking a glimpse of the painting.
Recalling my first experience, I really didn't want to go through the same situation again.
"In that case, since everything is done, I should check out the streams to see if anybody is playing my game.'
This was the aspect that I was most curious and nervous about.
I wanted to see if my game was going to be well-received. There wasn't much time left until the quest expiry date, and the conductor was making its presence known more and more.
In order to be absolutely ready for its eventual arrival, I had to make sure that my game was well-received.
The better it was, the more it was going to sell, and the more SP I was going to make.
This was going to be crucial for my future.
"...I also need to find a way to reach the second order."
Only by reaching the second order would I be able to upgrade the shop. Perhaps then I'd be able to find more pills to heal my situation.
"Alright."
Taking a deep breath and closing down the app, I didn't delay the situation and opened the streaming app, quickly searching for my game in the search bar.
A Regular Day in the Office.
"Five?"
The number of results ended up being a measly five.
Looking at the streams, they also didn't have that many viewers watching them, with the one with the most only having 115 viewers.
My heart sank at the sight, but I soon realized the reason for this.
"Right, it's one am..."
Who was going to watch the stream at this time?
In fact, the fact that there were five people streaming the game was quite good.
I drummed my fingers over the table before closing the computer down.
"I guess I should go to sleep now. I'll most likely see the true impact of the game tomorrow."
If by the next day there had still been hardly any streams or talk about it, alongside a lack of reviews on the website, then it could very well have been considered a flop.
I felt extremely nervous thinking about that.
I couldn't afford to fail. Especially when taking into consideration the consequences that would come from such failure.
The more I started to think about it, the more nervous I became.
"Let's just forget about it."
Putting the computer away, I quickly moved out of the office and headed back to the dorms. I wanted to get some sleep so I could forget all about the situation.
'Hopefully, by tomorrow I'll see something.'
***
Horror games weren't particularly popular.
This much was the common consensus between those who worked in the entertainment industry. Be it's game developers or streamers, they all understood the lack of appeal of horror games.
But just because there wasn't much of an appeal, it didn't mean that there was no interest in them.
Within a small one-bedroom apartment.
The lights from the monitor flashed in the otherwise dark space. Sitting on his chair with his feet resting on it, Karl opened a certain game.
"...The game has finally finished downloading. Honestly, this doesn't look like much, but I'll give it a try."
Karl glanced at his second monitor as he spoke.
The game he was currently playing was called A Regular Day in the Office. It was a game he heard about after watching a certain clip. Seeing the clip catch some stream, he immediately bought the game and was prepared to try it.
It was nighttime, and the lights were off.
There was no better time to play a horror game than now.
Karl made sure that everything was ready for the game as he looked at the viewer score.
● Live
Viewers: 115
'115? That's not too bad...'
Considering what time it was, this was quite good. Furthermore, he was playing a rather niche genre, so he was satisfied with the current viewer count.
"Alright, it looks like the game is booting."
He drummed his fingers on the table while looking at the chat.
"What's the likelihood of me getting scared?"
He chuckled after seeing the message.
"...I doubt I'll be scared, to be honest. I've played too much shit like this to get scared these days. You guys saw what happened when I played Gentle Whispers by Nightmare Forge Studios. It was ass."
Indeed, Karl's expectations of the game were extremely low.
This was especially after taking note of the fact that it was developed by a single person.
"That stream had most likely been a marketing stunt to get people to try the game. But just because his clip was funny, it doesn't mean his game was any good. It kind of felt a little desperate to me."
These were Karl's honest opinions as he opened the game and looked at its simple interface.
His already low expectations were further lowered.
As someone extremely experienced in this industry, he understood what sort of game he was about to play — a low-budget, poorly rendered game that would try to scare you with cheap jump scares.
He already wanted to do something else, but wanting to ride the recent trend, he steeled himself and pressed play.
'Alright, let's just get this over with.'
In that moment, Karl wasn't the only one who decided to play the game.
There were quite a few others who also began to play that game.
All curious about the game, they pressed [Play].
[Welcome to the world of a simple salary man]
Their game soon began.
The game started rather plainly.
'This is my third year working for the company. Every day is a struggle, and I hardly get any sleep. I am so tired that I think I'm starting to hear things whenever I leave my office. The only thing keeping me sane is my playbox. Only when I play it do I feel safe.'
It started with a long and boring message that filled the entire screen.
Karl's eyes narrowed as he read the message.
"Not even a voice audio? Seriously...?"
While he already had low expectations for the game, this was even worse than he had originally imagined.
"And take a look at the graphics. It hardly renders anything. This is the type of stuff you'd expect to have been developed twenty years ago."
His comments were met with similar criticism from the chat.
—Low budget.
—Could still be scary, right?
—Bah... This looks boring. Switch to the next game. I'll switch stream if you continue to play.
—I could probably do better lol.
Reading the comment, Karl almost felt tempted to quit on the spot.
However, thinking about how he could still make a quick buck from the 'hype' the clip had, he clenched his teeth and decided to press on.
Another long line of text appeared.
It gave a rough outline of the situation. Tired worker. One who committed suicide. Music box helping him feel safe. Just a bunch of nonsense that was put in order to add some psychological effect on the player.
"Fuck, I can't even skip this part."
The fact that he couldn't skip all the boring intro made him want to tear his hair apart. A good horror game didn't need a cheap introduction like this.
This was a typical case of show and not tell.
'Hopefully this shit won't last long.'
He could see his viewers getting fed up.
Thankfully, it really didn't last long as he soon found himself in front of a door, as he pressed his mouse and the scene changed to a long corridor.
A simple key tutorial appeared on the right of the screen.
"So I just walk?"
The commands looked rather simple, and Karl proceeded to move forward with the character.
"So far, the game feels somewhat laggy. My best guess is that the developer used U-Engine to develop the game, but rushed the game. The lack of rendering also seems to be because of that...? The sound also doesn't seem to be well placed. The steps are a little uneven, and the breathing is too consistent. Who even breathes like that?"
Karl started commenting while playing the game.
"The game cost about 5$, but I've seen cheaper games better done than thi—"
Flick!
The screen suddenly turned black, and the darkness swallowed Karl from all directions except the side monitor that displayed the chat.
"What?"
Karl looked at the screen in confusion, then quickly realized what was happening.
"Ah, I see what's going on here."
He calmly pressed the 'W' key as the echo of the character's steps made its way into his ears.
"...Similar to gentle whispers, it appears that this game plays on sound and the lack of visuals in order to create tension while eventually giving rise to the jump scare in the end."
This was the standard structure of horror games, and as an experienced player, Karl saw right through the game's intentions.
But...
Flick!
The light soon turned back on and he cocked his head.
"Oh? Was I wrong?"
He turned the corridor to see a familiar corridor in the distance. He had a look of understanding then.
"An endless labyrinth-type game? Okay, I think I've played this one before..."
He was trying his very best to make the stream entertaining, but looking at the chat and the lack of engagement, he felt his heart twitch.
'I should get this game over with.'
He pressed 'Shift' and made the character move faster. By now, he didn't even care that he was wasting the character's stamina. He just wanted to die and move on to the next game.
However, just as he was about halfway through the corridor, the character stopped and took out his MP3.
"Eh?"
Before Karl could figure out what was happening, a certain tune began to play from the speakers of his computer.
It was a gentle tune that seemed soothing to the ears, prompting his mind to gradually relax.
—Wow, this is not bad.
—Yeah... I like it.
—Lmao. Did the developer spend all of his money on the music?
Karl found himself nodding at the comments.
The music was somewhat pleasant to the ears, unknowingly starting to make his body relax.
And this...
This was the moment the game changed.
Flick!
The darkness swallowed the room once more, and Karl felt his body tense.
"Eh?"
The sudden rise in tension threw him off completely.
He took several deep breaths, trying to calm himself down before continuing forward. At the same time, he glanced at the chat, only to find that it was currently quiet.
'Huh? What happened...?'
Karl didn't have enough time to figure out what was going on before the lights suddenly flickered back on.
Flick!
Turning the corner and into a different corridor, he noticed a change.
His expression grew grim when he saw the flowers on the door and the message that read;
[In memory of Ramille Niel]
He felt his heart pound at the sight of the message, and just as he quietly swallowed his saliva, the lights turned off.
Flick!
"Huak!"
Karl flinched, his hand reaching for his shirt as he looked around.
It was only after a second that he realized that the light had turned off, and he looked at the camera, embarrassed. He was just about to joke with the chat when—
Step!
He suddenly heard the sound of a step coming from behind.
Because he was wearing headphones, the sound felt more pronounced, as though it was really coming from behind him, and his entire body shuddered, his palms sweaty.
"Oh, shit, oh, shit..."
Gone was his previous confident demenour.
Pressing 'W', he urged the character forward, the steps echoing loudly from behind.
'Faster, move faster!'
He pressed shift, but soon stopped when he realized he was draining the character's stamina.
"Oh, fuck."
His face turned pale when he saw that the stamina wasn't regenerating fast.
With a twitch of his fingers, he looked at the chat in order to distract himself, but—
Empty.
No one made a single comment.
'What happened? Did they leave?'
That quickly proved not to be the case as he saw the number of viewers almost double. Unfortunately, he couldn't pay much attention to them as he continued to hear the sounds of the steps coming from behind him.
"Akh, shit!....!?"
He hurried forward.
Karl soon began to find himself in a terrifying cycle of fear. Every time the light turned on, he would breathe before suddenly holding his breath whenever the darkness and the steps came.
Before he knew it, his entire body was drenched in sweat.
"Shit, run! Run faster! Haaak!"
By now, the steps behind him were running at him incredibly fast. Karl felt his heart in his throat as he tried his best to run, but it was of no use.
The character couldn't keep up.
His entire body tensed, his head moving away from the monitor as he hastily tapped on the keys of his keyboard.
"No, fucking run! Run!!"
He was practically screaming at this point, his hands shaking as he pressed shift, but soon enough...
[You have run out of stamina]
A notification popped up, and the character stopped.
"No! Why are you stopping!? Ah, shit———!"
A crunching sound echoed shortly after as the head snapped back, displaying a terrifying empty face. Karl's entire body trembled as he fell back, his mouth and keyboard falling away.
"Kyaaaaaaaaaaa!"
The scream pierced through the room.
It was loud, and the raw fear contained within it woke up several of the nearby neighbors.
"What's going on?"
"...Did something happen? That was a scream, right?"
"Let me call the police. This might be serious..."
Such a scene repeated throughout the entire night as several screams filled the neighborhoods.
On that day, the police received more calls than it was used to.
And on that day...
A Regular Day in the Office started to trend.
"Huaam."
For once, I woke up on time.
I looked at my watch and saw that it was 8 AM. Rubbing my eyes and stretching my body, I got out of bed before taking a quick shower and getting ready to work.
'Right, I did say I would check once I woke up...'
As I was brushing my teeth, I turned my attention towards my phone.
I suddenly grew curious about the game.
How was it doing?
Opening the phone, I stared at it nervously, my thumb hovering over the Dock app. My heartbeat was a little too fast as I tapped the icon, watching as the app loaded slowly.
The moment it opened, my eyes were drawn to the account status: Suspended.
My heart sank, just a little, but it wasn't like I hadn't been expecting this. I just hoped they'd have resolved the situation by now.
'It's not strange, though, they usually take a day or two with this stuff.'
I was still confident I'd get my account reinstated soon enough.
What was most important was to see how the actual game was doing. Did the marketing stunt work or not?
I swallowed my saliva while nervously typing the name of the game in the search bar.
My mind couldn't help but wander to the worst possible scenarios. I started to think about Kyle's reaction and the things I'd have to do in case I failed the mission.
The few seconds it took for me to type the name of the game felt like forever, and once I searched the name of the game and pressed on it, a series of results appeared.
Soon, my eyes fell on my game, and my expression slowly grew slack shortly after.
Tak!
The toothbrush fell from my mouth, my mind blank.
It took a moment for me to snap out of it, and when I did, I felt the toothpaste slip away from my mouth.
"That... that...."
Quickly whipping the toothpaste away, I blinked to make sure I wasn't seeing things. I even double-checked to see if it was the correct game that I pressed on.
But even as I blinked, no change occurred. It was the right game, and it was all real.
"A-h."
[Recent Reviews] (Neutral) 731 reviews
My hand shook as I stared at the number of reviews that were on the game's page.
While the 'neutral' on the review page meant that the game had mixed opinions, what mattered was the number of reviews.
731...?
That was a ridiculous number of reviews! This was especially so when taking into account that only a small player base would go out of their way to send a review.
This meant that the game had sold quite a lot of copies!
"H-ho."
I could hardly contain my excitement as my chest trembled with each breath, and I started to search for my game on the web.
I wanted to see the reason for its sudden explosion in popularity.
"Is it because of the stream? If so, I should do it more often..."
However, the moment the first search loaded, my excitement almost faded. In its stead, I found my face slowly starting to stiffen.
"Well..."
This... I wouldn't be sent to jail for this, right?
I didn't even know how to react when staring at the first title that appeared.
[Screams rattle neighborhoods, flooding police lines with panicked calls. The culprit? A game called A Regular Day in the Office]
I clicked on the website to see a long article about the events that transpired this past night, and how several neighborhoods were terrorized by such screams.
"H-haha."
I forced out a laugh before finally looking at the reviews on the game.
The more I read them, the more I covered my face.
[Terrible! Just terrible! I couldn't sleep at all because of this! The police were called, and everyone was questioned! Terrible!"
[Awful game! Just awful!]
The page was flooded with negative reviews.
Most of them seemed to come from the victims who had suffered the previous night due to the screams. However, there were also quite a few nice reviews right beneath.
[I am not an avid fan of horror games, but I decided to try this because of the stream. The quality of the game is nothing to be proud of. The rendering sucks, and I could tell the developer cut corners in several areas. But... but... despite all of these flaws, the game managed to make me scream. Loud enough to make my neighbors concerned. And for that, I can only give it a high score. I recommend.]
One review in particular stood out to me. Not only because of the number of likes it received, but also because of how genuine it felt.
I read it a couple of times before liking it.
"....."
Shortly after, I just found myself standing by the mirror, my expression oddly calm.
To say the negative reviews didn't affect me would be a lie. They did to some extent. The game, while a bit rushed, was still something that I had developed after a lot of struggle and suffering.
To see people trash my work didn't feel good.
But even though the bad reviews bothered me, it didn't surpass the other feeling that I felt as I leaned closer to the sink, staring at my reflection within the mirror.
Though not as bad as before, my eyes were still baggy while my disheveled hair covered my face.
Gripping the edges of the sink, my arms shook like they could barely hold me up.
I hated horror.
I hated it so much it made me sick.
Made me want to puke my guts out.
And yet...
I lowered my head, staring at my trembling hands, feeling something ugly coil tighter inside me. My lips pressed into a hard, bitter line.
"I-I'm more twisted than I thought."
Because no matter how much I hated it...
...I realized just how much I loved to traumatize people with my very own creations.
More.
I wanted to do more.
***
On the outskirts of the Velora Art Museum, several footsteps crunched through the overgrown greenery.
Following the incident that had occurred the previous day, and after careful investigation by the police, it was found that the situation was a lot more serious than previously anticipated, necessitating to involvement of the BAU directly, and forcing a specialized team to come and investigate the situation.
This matter became especially concerning when the agents dispatched on the mission heard a certain beeping noise coming from the energy detection meter.
Beep! Beep!
One of the agents, a tall man with a sharp jawline, frowned as he stared at the blinking light on his device. "I'm getting a reading," he said, his voice tense as he brushed the shoulders of his suit. "It's coming from inside the building."
"Same here."
Another agent responded, his expression tight.
"I'm getting a strong signal."
The third agent, a woman with dark, intense eyes, glanced up from her screen and met the others' gaze.
"Something's wrong. This... this is no ordinary energy reading."
The fourth agent, a younger man, swallowed, his fingers tightening around the device.
"We need to be careful. This isn't just a routine situation. There's something else going on here."
A reading suggested an abnormal presence of excess energy. This was not good news.
"Let's go."
The agents walked into the building with caution, their steps careful as they followed the beeps of the meters in their hands.
Coming to a stop in front of a trapdoor, they looked at each other before walking in and slowly walking past a long and narrow tunnel, the sound of their steps echoing loudly in their ears alongside the beeps of their devices.
The tunnel opened up into a small, dimly lit room. A single, empty coffin lay in the center, its polished wood gleaming faintly in the weak light. The beeping now rang in their ears, growing more frantic with each passing second.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
The expressions of the four agents changed as they settled their gazes on the empty coffin that sat in the middle of the room.
"It's coming from right here."
The agents grew tense as they stared at the coffin, and as one approached it, he took a deep breath before slowly opening it.
Creaak!
A creaking sound echoed as the agent slowly opened the lid of the casket.
As the lid slowly rose, the agents' eyes widened in shock. There, swirling inside the coffin, was a vortex of black, a void so dark it seemed to suck in the light around it. The air in the room grew heavier, colder, and everyone's faces changed drastically.
"Shit!"
The woman hissed, her hand reaching out for her phone.
"...A gate has opened! Quickly report the situation to the Bureau!"
News of a gate opening quickly reached the ears of all the major guilds within the island.
There were a total of seventy-two guilds within the island, of which only two were of the King grade. Guilds were ranked according to the chessboard hierarchy, with pawn-grade guilds at the bottom and King-grade guilds at the top.
The Severed Star Guild was a newly promoted Queen-grade guild, just shy of the King-grade.
They still lacked the necessary achievements and members to reach the King-grade. But that wasn't an issue. Even though they had yet to reach the King-grade, they were considered to be the Guild with the highest chance of advancing to such a grade.
After all, each one of their departments had several 'geniuses' that could make any other guild salivate with envy.
At this very moment, a meeting was taking place on the Guild's 50th floor.
The top floor and the Guild Master's floor.
"The gate has been identified as a ranked Anomalous Type Gate. There are already several guilds that are trying to get their hands on the Gate. In particular, Crownfall and Ivory Dominion."
"That's a little worrying..."
A middle-aged man replied, his voice low and steady. He wore a dark suit that strained against his broad frame while his black hair and beard were neatly trimmed.
Wearing a flat expression, the Guild Master leaned back in his chair as light poured through the massive windows behind him.
"...If those two are trying to take the gates, then things will be rather complicated for us. I'm sure they will try their best to make sure we don't get a spot."
The rise of another King-grade Guild wasn't good for them. And so, it wasn't strange for them to try their best to make things harder for themselves.
"We can't afford to lose this gate. Especially not when we have found so many talented recruits."
The reason why gates were important was because of the fragments that they managed to collect from them. Not only were the fragments extremely valuable, providing extremely clean energy to sustain the island and several other important operations, they were also crucial in the development of an awakened.
There existed several types of fragments, and each Decree required a specific sequence or number of specific types of fragments in order to advance to the next Order and unlock the next node.
The higher the order, the more absurd the requirement.
It was for this reason that they couldn't give up on the gate.
"Guild Master, if I may say something..."
Interrupting the Guild Master's thoughts, his assistant stepped forward, a folder clutched tightly to her chest as she adjusted her sharp, angular glasses.
"There's actually something interesting that I've managed to find while investigating the recent gate."
"Oh? Do tell."
Interest flashed across the Guild Master's eyes. What could Adeline have possibly found?
"Take a look over here."
Adeline placed a file on the desk, revealing a photo of a man who stood out immediately, mostly because of the sunglasses he wore.
She pointed at the image.
"He, along with another streamer known as JamieTV, was responsible for uncovering the anomaly within the museum."
"And...?"
"This guy right here."
She pointed at the man with sunglasses.
"He's actually within our Guild as an observer for one of the stars of the Containment department. If we play our cards right, we might be able to claim a spot in the raid."
"Mhm."
The Guild Master crossed his arms, his gaze focused on the man with the sunglasses. So he was within the Guild?
Well, that changed the situation.
One of the rules set by the Bureau was that whoever discovered a gate had the right to claim a spot for it. If the young man with the sunglasses was truly within their Guild, then all they needed to do was convince him to join, and the spot would be theirs.
The Guild Master made his decision then.
"Get in contact with him. Offer him a job here."
"Understood. How much should I offer him?"
"Hmm."
The Guild Master pondered for a moment before looking back at his assistant.
"Which department was it again? Containment?"
"Yes."
"Alright, let me make a call."
The Guild Master reached for the phone next to him and dialed a number. A rough voice echoed from the speakers a few seconds later.
—Er? Guild Master? Why are you calling? I'm kind of a little busy right now...
Adeline bitterly smiled when hearing the voice coming from the speaker. Only he would speak to the Guild Master in that manner.
—...It's kind of a life and death situation, you know? It's... errkkkh!
"What's going on? Are you in the middle of a gate? If so—"
—No, I'm just constipated.
"...."
The room fell silent before the Guild Master suddenly burst out laughing. His laugh echoed within the quiet space as Adeline covered her face and shook her head.
Seriously...
—Errk. Guild Master. Th... his is no laughing matter. I'm actually dying over here. Can you make it quick?
"Yes, I will."
With a shake of his head, the Guild Master went straight to the point.
"I need you to tell me about the observer that one of your recruits brought in. What do you think about him?"
—Eh?
As if forgetting all about his situation, the line fell quiet.
It remained quiet for a few seconds before his voice echoed again.
—Are you talking about the boy called Seth?
"Seth?"
The Guild Master turned to look at Adeline, who slowly nodded her head.
"Yes, him. What do you think about him?"
—Haa.
A tired sound escaped the Section Chief as the line fell quiet again. Seeing Sebastian act like this, the Guild Master grew even more curious. While Sebsastian tended to act chaotically and erratically, he was an extremely competent man.
There was a reason why he was the Section Chief of the Containment department.
And his next words made the Guild Master extremely surprised.
—I.. really want him.
He could feel the desire in the Section Chief's voice as he spoke.
—Guild Master... have you not watched the stream?
"The stream?"
The Guild Master looked to his assistant, who readily displayed to him a certain video. He watched tentatively as the Section Chief spoke over the phone.
—The first time I was impressed was during the newbie trials. He was just there to look, but decided to have a go. He... ended up setting the record for the fastest run in the game. I gave up thinking that I might be jumping the gun, but then I saw his stream. That guy... he might just be a monster.
The Guild Master's eyes narrowed as he skipped past several scenes and witnessed the subject with heavy scrutiny.
He analyzed everything. From the speed of his thoughts, his handling of the situation, and his general calmness.
He was slowly starting to see what the Section Chief was talking about.
But then...
—I ended up offering him a position, but he refused me.
"Hm?"
The Guild Master turned his attention to the phone again.
"He refused?"
—Yes.
"What did you offer him?"
—Very good terms. Top even for the top recruits in their first year.
"But he still rejected?"
—Yes, he said that he wanted to continue developing games.
"Games?"
The Guild Master paused, his eyes blinking rapidly before he suddenly burst out laughing again. His laugh this time was even louder than the previous, the amusement clear on his face.
Eventually, calming himself down, he looked towards Adeline
"Draft up a contract."
—Guild Master? Are you going to offer him a contract? I'm afraid he's still going to reject it. He-
"Add the title of 'Trauma Consultant'. Give him a base salary of around 2,500$ a month and tell him he can do whatever he wants. We just need him for the gate."
Adeline took the orders seriously and jotted everything down.
Then, finished everything she bowed before leaving.
—Eh?
On the phone, the Section Chief remained stunned. Eventually, however, he recovered and started speaking hurriedly.
—Wait, you're giving him a bogus position? What for? Ah, wait... is it for the gate?
"Correct."
The Guild Master nodded.
"If he works for us, then we will get a claim to the gate. The profit that we'll make from the gate will far outstrip the salary that we're offering him."
—Ah...
The Section Chief started to understand. However, he soon chuckled.
—But that's not the only reason, right? I bet you have other motives behind your actions.
The Guild Master merely smiled without answering.
The Section Chief pressed on.
—You're smiling, aren't you? Fuck. Just thinking about it is giving me goosebumps. Shit. I-
"Aren't you constipated?
—Huh?
The line paused before the Section Chief sighed.
—...I was lying.
"Oh?"
The Guild Master didn't sound surprised.
"And what exactly were you doing?"
—I was playing football. Recently, I feel like my leg hasn't exactly been as strong as it once was. The last time I tried to kic-
Du. Du.
The Guild Master ended the call there, allowing for the silence to return to the office.
Then...
Slowly turning his attention towards the sunglasses-wearing figure in the file before him, he drummed his fingers on the table.
"For the Section Chief to say something like that... I'm starting to become interested myself."
"....."
I sat in silence, staring blankly at my laptop.
'How many sales exactly do I have?'
The quest never specifically said that I needed to make money. The criteria were for me to hit ten thousand sales. Staring at the number of reviews, I felt that I had hit that number or was close to hitting it.
"If that's the case, then maybe it shouldn't matter if I'm currently suspended?"
I checked the app on my laptop, but had yet to see the quest completion notification.
That most likely meant that I had yet to hit ten thousand sales.
"Hm, but if that's the case, I don't see why they'd think I was botting."
While ten thousand was a high number to me, it was still considered a small number within the industry. It wasn't a number large enough to make Dock suspicious about me 'botting'.
In that case, could the reason be something else?
Like...
"Someone reported my account?"
I groaned when thinking about this far. It made sense when taking into account the fact that there were a lot of trolls online.
If they really did do something like that, then I needed to do something quick.
And so, after a lot of thought, I came up with one conclusion.
"I'll open an official account on Robes and send a message there. Hopefully, people see it and do something."
Robes was the social media platform that people used here. It was also where Zoey posted, and where her account was.
I scrolled through her posts to see how she managed her account, but all I saw were photos of her in weird poses and different clothing.
I read the caption of one of them.
[About to enter a gate! Wish me luck~]
The photo above was a selfie of her with a gate in the distance. Not far, I could even see Kyle, his eyes half-closed mid-yawn.
"That's funny."
I chuckled at the sight as I tried to pinch the photo to get a better look.
But just as I did...
"Oh, crap."
I accidentally scrolled down and liked the next photo. Just her in a dress standing by a café, sunglasses lowered, with a caption that read:"
[Am I pretty?]
"....."
I sat in silence for a short moment before sighing. Well, whatever. She has a lot of followers, so she won't notice it... I then shifted my attention back towards my own page.
It was very plain, with my name on the page, Seth Thorne.
'It's definitely plain.'
There were also no posts. I wasn't the type to use social media, so this was nothing to be surprised about.
Another thing about the account was that it didn't really stand out. There were quite a few other accounts with the same name and surname.
As a result, I changed the name to make it more obvious.
─────
[Horror Game Developer - Seth Thorne]
Posts: 0 Followers: 0 Following: 0
─────
"Yes, this looks much better."
I nodded in satisfaction when I saw the name.
'This will definitely make it obvious that I'm a game developer.'
I didn't waste any more time after that. I quickly got to work and wrote a message detailing my situation and how my account had been suspended before posting it.
"There."
I didn't stop there.
In order to truly get the news to spread, I sorted through my contacts and sent a message to Jamie.
[I've just created an account on Robes. Would you mind sharing this with your followers? I have an important message there]
I didn't wait long to receive a message from him.
[I got you]
"Nice."
With that sorted, I felt a lot more relaxed. While I didn't know if this would help or not, I knew that creating an account was important.
This was so that when my next game came out, news would spread fast.
I closed the page and went online to check for any updates about my game, but just as the browser loaded, there was a knock at the door.
To Tok—
"Huh?"
I looked at the door in confusion.
Who could it be? It couldn't be Kyle since he told me he was busy. Then...?
"May I come in?"
An unfamiliar female voice echoed from the other side of the door. I was stunned, but I still replied.
"...Yes."
"Okay."
The door opened, and moments later, a woman stepped inside. She dressed in a sharp suit, her hair pulled back into a tight bun, and angular glasses framing her sharp eyes.
"It's nice to meet you."
She was the first one to greet me as I stood up and extended my hand in her direction.
For some reason, I felt nervous while looking at her.
"Yes."
"...I'll get straight to the point then."
The woman dropped a file on my desk.
"We would like to offer you a position within the Guild."
"Eh?"
A sudden job offer? Why? Could it be because of the Section Chief?
If so...
"I'm sorry but—"
"We took your rejection into account. That's why we're not offering you an official position."
"You're not?"
I was surprised to hear this. But I was also confused. If they weren't going to offer me an official position, what exactly were they planning on offering me?
"Have a look."
The lady pointed at the file on the desk, and that was when I finally took a good look at it, opening it and reading the contents.
It took me about ten minutes to read the entire time, and once I was done, I found myself unable to say a single word.
What could I even say...?
"What do you think? If there's anything that you're dissatisfied with, we can make adjustments."
"It's good..."
The terms were really good. A base salary of 2,500$ for a job as a Trauma Consultant. But despite the job title, I didn't really have to do anything. It was just a random name thrown in for the job.
'So, essentially, I get paid for doing nothing?'
This made no sense.
Was this Kyle's doing?
As if sensing my suspicion, the lady adjusted her glasses.
"Kyle is one of our star performers within the Guild. We do not wish for him to be poached by other Guilds. This is one of the reasons why we're offering you these terms."
"Ah..."
So it was because of Kyle.
This made a lot more sense.
But still, surely this wasn't all, right?
"There's another reason."
There it is.
"A gate recently opened in the museum that you previously streamed in. Because of your direct involvement with the situation, you can be considered to have contributed to the finding of the gate. We need you to be our employee to ensure us a spot."
"So that's the case..."
I felt a lot more relaxed knowing the real reason behind the sudden job offer. If it had just been because of Kyle, I would've still felt a little suspicious.
But this...?
It made a lot of sense.
"Does that satisfy your curiosity?"
"Yes, it does."
I looked at the file in front of me and nodded.
I was just about to sign it when I stopped. Looking at the lady, a thought crossed my mind, and I hesitated. But as if sensing my hesitation, the lady spoke,
"Is there anything?"
"...Actually, yes."
"Please let me know."
I scratched the side of my face, a little embarrassed.
"Is it possible to give me a down payment of 10,000$. You can deduct it from my salary. I just need the money fast."
With the threat of the conductor looming, as well as the cult, I needed as much money as possible. For that reason, I felt the need to ask for ten thousand directly. This would convert to 1,000 SP, which would help me gain access to more items.
"Ten thousand?"
Thankfully, it didn't seem to be a difficult request.
"...That can be done. Is there anything else?"
"Hm, n—"
I stopped mid-sentence, laughing awkwardly as I looked at her.
"Actually, there is something else."
"Yes?"
I hesitated before looking at my phone, and then at her.
Surely they can, right?
"...Is it possible for you guys to reinstate a game?"
-x-X-x-
[Your account has been reinstated]
I stared blankly at the notification that appeared on my computer.
"....That was fast."
Not even a few hours after I had made my request to the Guild and my account got reinstated. I didn't even know how to feel.
To think that a Guild's influence was this big...
'Wait, does that mean that the post I made on Robes is useless?'
It wasn't a big issue. Either way, the account was going to be useful for me later down the line. I just logged in and deleted the post that I had previously made.
Jamie had yet to make the announcement, so the follower count was still stuck at zero.
But that was irrelevant.
Ding!
[You have been transferred 10,000$]
I couldn't contain my smile when I saw the new notification that appeared on my phone. I didn't even hesitate to convert all of it into SP, netting myself 1000 SP.
"It's a bit of a pity, but this is necessary."
I now only had enough money for food and basic necessities. Rent was free, and so was the office space. My general expenses were low to begin with.
With that being said, I opened the Dock application and checked the statistics.
I was really curious to see how much money I had made and the number of sales.
"It's here, right?"
I fumbled around the page for a few moments before finally locating the section, and just as I clicked on the statistics, the smile on my face slowly faded.
"Eh...?"
I had to blink several times to make sure I wasn't seeing things. However, blinking again and seeing no change in the data in front of me, I slumped back onto my chair.
"That's..."
My mind could hardly process the number in front of me.
I had originally thought the number of sales had almost reached 10,000, but I was wrong.
...I was very wrong.
I drew a deep breath, trying my best to calm my trembling hands as I stared at the number on the screen in front of me.
[Sales: 17,319]
"This is insane."
The number was far greater than I had originally anticipated. In fact, it had far surpassed it.
I then looked at the income generated section, and drew another cold breath.
[Income: 60,617$]
This was the first time I had ever earned this much money before, and the previous excitement that I felt from receiving 10,000$ felt like almost nothing.
To make things even better?
The sales were still going up. This was far from the final income I was going to make from the game.
The thought drove me mad.
But there was only one issue with the situation.
"I can't withdraw the money until the end of the month."
Dock paid every end of the month, and it was currently January 17. There were still fourteen days left until the end of the month.
"I guess... it was still a good idea for me to request the money immediately."
Taking a deep breath, I started to look through the statistics of the game. I was curious to see what else I could find. But right as I got into it, a notification appeared on my computer.
[Market your game!]
[Quest Completed]
"Oh..."
So now you decide to show up?
I shook my head. Very clearly, I had fulfilled the criteria of the system several hours ago. And yet it was only now that I received the notification. This also happened back when I completed the museum quest.
Was there a specific criterion for the completion mark notification to appear, or was the system just trying its best to mess around with me?
I really wasn't sure, but the sudden flood of notifications made all those thoughts pass away.
[Calculating rewards...]
The calculation didn't take very long.
It didn't take long before 3,000 SP was added to my account. Taking into account the extra 1,000 SP that I had just recently added to my account, I had a total of 10,450 SP.
"Holy shit."
I looked at the system shop.
"With this amount of money, I can literally buy anything..."
The most expensive item was the butcher's knife. It was also the most intriguing item as it was a growth type, but I didn't choose to buy it immediately.
'If my guess is right, since it's a growth-type weapon, it'll start off rather weak. That wouldn't be ideal, considering that I only have a day and a half left before the conductor comes. I should hold off on buying it for now.'
It was a bit of a pity, but I knew that by the end of the month, with the amount of money I'd rake in, I'd be able to buy the knife.
I just needed to be careful with my points.
"Okay, then..."
Leaning back onto my chair, I scrolled through all the listed items.
"What should I buy?"
***
"Seriously?"
Zoey mumbled while she sat in her cubicle, her leg resting on her desk as she fiddled with the phone in her hand.
She had just received a message from Jamie.
Originally, she had expected him to ask for the shoutout, but that never happened.
Instead, he was messaging her about something else.
[Seth has just started a page of Robes. He's asked me to promote it and authenticate it.]
[Oh, that's cool...]
"But what does it have to do with me?"
Zoey's expression turned strange.
"Don't tell me he wants me to promote the page..."
Zoey didn't know how to feel about that. In part, she felt responsible for the incident, but at the same time, it wasn't really her fault.
He was the one who had chosen that place.
Furthermore, she had gotten him in contact with Jamie to help him...
'But should I reject it? If Jamie asks then...'
[Don't worry. I'm not asking you to promote his account. That would be useless since it would be filled with a bunch of your fans that have nothing to do with what he does. They'll just be a nuisance to him.]
"Oh..."
Contrary to her expectations, Jamie didn't ask her to promote his page.
Then what exactly did he want?
[I want you to help him manage his page. I just looked at his page and...]
He didn't finish his sentence, but from the way he was texting, it was clear that it wasn't very good.
Zoey sighed. But at the same time, she was curious.
Surely it couldn't be too bad, right?
[Alright, send me his page.]
Jamie didn't waste a single second and sent the Robes page over.
Zoey tapped the link, and her app launched instantly.
Moments later, a simple page appeared. Her eyes were drawn straight to the name at the top and the photo beneath it.
"Pftt."
She burst out laughing shortly after.
"What the hell, hahaha."
Despite her best efforts, Zoey couldn't hold back a laugh as she eyed his profile picture. A picture of Seth wearing a pair of sunglasses and looking far too pleased with himself.
"He looks nothing like a game developer, pftt—"
Not only that, but looking at his bio, she couldn't help but laugh again.
● I am not liable for any damages caused by my games. All responsibility falls on you for screaming and waking up your neighbor.
"What the hell, haha "
The more she looked at the profile, the funnier she found it.
It was a strange feeling.... almost unfamiliar. How long had it been since she'd laughed like this? Ever since the incident with her parents, she'd buried herself in work, her goal clear.
She wanted to become stronger.
Strong enough to prevent incidents like her own from happening again, as well as conquering Sentriest Island.
She didn't have much time to laugh.
And yet... Somehow, in just the past few days, she'd laughed more than she had in her entire time here.
It felt weird.
"So damn weird."
Zoey rubbed her eyes while looking at Seth's profile.
She shook her head and snooped around the page. The account looked pretty new. He didn't seem to have done much with it.
Fiddling around, she looked at his like history, not expecting much, but...
"Eh?"
Her face froze.
[Horror Game Developer - Seth Thorne has previously liked this post by Zoey Terline]
She then looked down to see a very familiar photo.
Her face froze.
"What the fuck...?"