"Okay, it looks like we have many choices. There are several doors that we can enter, each most likely containing a certain clue to the elderly lady's husband. My best guess is that each door will pose some sort of challenge, with the 'fear' factor increasing with each subsequent room that we enter."
Entering the room, Idris started to narrate. As an experienced gamer and as someone who had experience in Anomalous-Gates, he was quite aware of the current setup.
To him, this was child's play.
"Okay, the first door looks like it will lead us directly to the kitchen."
Idris guided the cursor slowly across the screen, eyes fixed on the scene unfolding. The room was steeped in shadows, lit only by a single, flickering bulb that swayed gently from a frayed cord above.
The white marble tiles on the floor were cracked and discolored, like bones left too long in the dark. A plain gas stove loomed in the corner, while the open cabinets above creaked slightly, revealing their empty insides.
Creak...
The sound filtered into Idris's room as he raised his brow.
"Hm, this place is rather well designed. But... I wouldn't say this is quite realistic. This place doesn't seem to have been used in quite a long time, and we're all aware of the fact that the old lady lives here. See, look."
Idris pointed towards a certain area where he noticed dust and spiderwebs.
He shook his head.
"...The programmer is clearly trying too hard to make the atmosphere look scary. However, one needs to take into account realism while doing so. Otherwise, it'll just feel forced."
Licking his lips, Idris continued to look around, criticizing any little thing that he saw.
Taking into account his annoyance, he didn't hold back at all. He was brutally honest with everything that he said, ripping the game apart.
"There's also a subtle lag that I feel when moving the character. This dampens the experience quite a little. Then again, I didn't expect much to begin with. This was made after all by an amateur in the space. However, it is still a step up compared to his previous game, so I'll give him his flo—Hm?"
Pausing for a moment, Idris moved the cursor as he suddenly spotted something.
His brows furrowed as he moved the character forward.
"What the..."
It was right at the gap between the cupboard and the stove that he noticed faint markings on the wall. He wasn't able to spot them at first due to the faint lighting, but coming closer, he finally managed to see them.
His brows jumped up the moment he saw the marking.
It was a...
Downward arrow?
"Wait."
Idris frowned in confusion. But as he looked closer, he noticed the arrow was aimed precisely at the narrow gap beside the stove.
With a hesitant nudge, he moved the character forward. The shadows shifted, and just beyond the edge of the appliance, something caught his eye. Something small, partially obscured, lying motionless on the cold tile floor.
"A paper?"
Idris dragged the cursor over the paper, and the paper faded from the spot, appearing right into his character's hands.
Alongside the action was a faint dragging sound. Most likely put there to indicate that the character had moved the stove forward to get the paper.
Idris didn't think too much of it and stared at the paper.
[I think she is hiding something from me.]
[A lover? I don't know. She just doesn't allow me to enter that room.]
[She says that it was her ex-husband's room. I'm not sure. She won't allow me in.]
[It smells horrible in there.]
[Should I divorce her?]
Idris frowned, his fingers brushing against the keys as he stared at the message.
"Some family dispute? Well... It does look like the husband is suspecting her of cheating. There's also something about her ex-husband's room. Some sort of jealousy at play?"
Idris's mind started to churn. All sorts of possibilities and scenarios started to formulate in his mind.
"Looking at our current situation, this seems to be a horror mystery game. We're supposed to figure out clues regarding the husband's disappearance, and looking at the letter, our goal should be to go to the 'ex-husband' room. The old lady also appears to be suspicious. Let's be careful of her."
As he said these words, Idris didn't even realize that his tone had grown a lot more serious than before. Unconsciously, he started to treat the game more seriously.
This was something that he himself had yet to notice as he looked around the kitchen for any more clues before coming back out.
"It doesn't look like there's anything else here. Let's go back out."
Moving out of the kitchen, Idris's gaze fell on the lady. She still appeared where she had left him before, her toothless smile and hollow eyes directed his way.
"Have you found anything? I can help you whenever you'd like. My husband was a very good man. Although he did become quite sick as of late. I wish he had taken his medicine that day..."
Listening to the old lady's words, Idris clicked his tongue.
"This game..."
The fact that he couldn't actually interact with the old lady annoyed him. Otherwise, he would've been able to ask her where the ex-husband's room was.
In the end, shaking his head, he moved towards the other room that was on the same floor.
The room stretched out before him, far larger than the cramped kitchen, its space cluttered with worn sofas, tattered carpets, and faded paintings hanging crookedly on the walls. But despite its size.
Dust coated every surface, thick and suffocating, as if the place hadn't seen a cleaning in years.
WHIM!
The moment Idris took a good look at his surroundings, a certain tune began to play in the air, causing Idris's brow to jump up.
".....?"
He guided the mouse toward the source of the faint music, his eyes soon landing on the old record player positioned beside a weathered wooden table. The record spun in eerie silence, emitting only a thin, creaky sound.
Idris swallowed upon staring at the record player, moving the character forward as he stopped right before it, yet again noticing a strange arrow etched on the table, pointing towards the record.
Idris left-clicked, and the record disappeared, displaying another letter.
[The doctors say that I'm sick.]
[...I think I've been diagnosed with Alzheimer's.]
[I can't remember things really well these days. What was I even so on edge about?]
[Right... Something about her ex. I am not sure. I am starting to see things these days. It all calms down whenever I close my eyes.]
[Could it be because of my sickness?]
[I wish I got better.]
"...."
The frown on Idris's face deepened as he read this letter. He started to piece the two letters together, and new scenarios started to emerge in his mind.
'Could it be that rather than having alzheimer, he got poisoned by the old lady? The more I think about it, the more I feel like there's something up with the old lady. Maybe the ex-husband is still alive, and colluding with her to do something to this guy.'
The more Idris thought about it, the more he felt that this was the case.
"Are you sure? It could just be a simple case of alzheimer. He disappeared after leaving, forgetting the road back."
"Yes, that could also be the case, but I don't think it's that simple. It's never that simple."
"You think so?"
"Ye—!!!"
Idris's eyes shot up in shock as his hands let go of the keyboard and mouse, and he moved back, staring at the screen with wide eyes as he hastily looked around.
His gaze flicked to the corner of the room, and there she was... An old woman, standing unnervingly close, her frail hands gripping a tarnished lamp.
"....!"
She was watching him, her smile thin and unsettling, her gaze lingering over him as though she could... actually see and hear him.
Not the game character, but... him.
Idris's body tensed as he looked at her, lowering his gaze to stare at his hand.
It was there that he realized...
His hand.
It was trembling.
-x-X-x-
"....."
Blankly staring at the old lady on the screen, Idris found himself licking his own lips as he tried his best to remain calm. However, that quickly proved to be a difficult task as he took several deep breaths.
Staring at the smiling old lady on the screen, her hollow eyes focused on him, Idris's lips parted as he asked,
"Hello? Can you hear me?"
In that brief moment, it almost felt as though the old lady had heard his words and was quietly talking with him.
Goosebumps.
Idris felt goosebumps in that moment.
"H-ha."
However, he was quick to recover as he adjusted himself back properly in the seat and looked at the camera that was pointed at him.
"I'm sorry about that. You guys saw that too, right? Haha, it almost felt as though the old lady was talking to me. I was a little taken aback by that. What a stupid coincidence."
Idris shook his head, turning his attention back towards the screen. As he did, his brows furrowed unconsciously.
'Thinking about it, even if it was some freak coincidence, I shouldn't have been this startled. I've encountered far scarier things in the past. I'm not usually this jumpy. Am I getting rusty?'
Idris scratched the back of his head.
However, he eventually shook his head and proceeded with the game. Looking at the old lady who didn't seem like she could talk again, Idris took a silent breath before moving out of the room and onto the next one.
Creaak—
As he entered the next room, he immediately noticed a big difference in the new room. The moment he stepped in, he heard a faint creaking sound coming from the distance, and the lighting appeared to be even dimmer than it was before.
It was so dim that Idris had no choice but to squint his eyes in order to get a better look at the surroundings, and the moment he did, he immediately noticed that he was standing in what appeared to be a bathroom.
Creak. Creak...
The creaking sound continued, forcing Idris to lift the cursor upward. There, a broken cupboard hung by the side of the wall, the door swaying slowly from side to side.
"Hooo."
Idris let out a small breath.
By now, Idris was extremely focused. So much so that he even forgot about the video and calmly assessed the situation around.
His entire body was tense, and his eyes were alert.
At this very moment, he had completely forgotten that this was a game.
Creak.
As the creaking persisted, Idris tapped the [W] key as carefully and delicately as possible, inching the character forward. The room ahead was in worse condition than the previous ones. Shattered tiles lined the floor, crunching softly with each step. The shower curtains hung in tatters, discolored and swaying slightly despite the still air.
And then there was the bathtub.
A massive porcelain husk, splintered with deep cracks. Dark stains clung to the edges, and from within the basin, a slow drip echoed.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Idris leaned in, squinting.
The creaking stopped, and for whatever reason, sitting in his own seat, Idris hesitated.
'Move forward, or not? Look into the bathtub, or...?'
"Wait, what am I even doing?"
Snapping out of it, Idris's expression changed as he looked at the screen in front of him. Why was he even hesitating so much? This was just a game. It wasn't real.
Shifting his attention towards the beer on the table, he grabbed it.
"Did I drink too much?"
Thinking about it, that was probably the case. Why else would he be acting like this?
"Tsk."
Clicking his tongue, Idris tossed the can into the trash and moved the character forward, inching it closer to the bathtub to see what was inside.
"Ha, so it's nothing."
A smirk played on his lips the moment he saw that there was nothing. In the end, he really was too drunk.
For a moment, he thought that something would show up in the bathtub.
"Well, there doesn't seem to be anything, I guess. I'm supposed to look for the arrow, right?"
Idris moved away from the bathtub and started looking elsewhere. Because of how hard the surroundings were, it became quite difficult for him to find the small arrow.
"For fuck sake. Who was the genius who decided to make it so dark?"
Growing irritated, Idris moved towards the sink and started to move the cursor around, clicking randomly as he tried to find whatever clue was hidden before him. However, regardless of how hard he tried, he found that he couldn't find a single thing at all.
"Shit. Fuck."
Growing even more frustrated, Idris scratched the side of his neck before bringing the mouse up, meeting the broken mirror that sat right above the sink.
"This is starting to—!"
Halfway through his words, his expression changed, and his heart nearly leaped out of his chest as he caught a glimpse of a tall shadow looming right behind him.
His hand twitched as he hastily jerked the mouse back. But when the screen shifted, he froze.
There was nothing behind him.
"Eh...? I swear I saw something."
Turning his attention back towards the mirror, the only thing he saw was the broken reflection of the game character.
Idris frowned, but soon turned to look at the camera.
"I don't think I saw wrong. This could just be some sort of trick by the game. Anyways, what am I supposed to do now? Looking around, I can't seem to find anything."
Click. Click. Click.
Clicking everywhere, Idris looked at the camera again.
"See? I don't get anything regardless of where I click. Am I missing something? Or is the game glitching? Well, considering how this was made by one person, then I—"
Idris's movements came to an abrupt halt as he stared at the mirror once again. This time, his expression changed.
"What...."
Unconsciously, his breath paused as he stared at the red letters etched into the mirror. They looked freshly written, the blood still sliding down the cracked glass.
[Something is definitely up!]
[I... don't remember. My brain is foggy.]
[I can hardly think. It hurts so much. It hurts, it hurts, but...]
[Whatever you do. Don't look.]
[Don't look!]
Reading the contents of the message, he felt it.
Thump!
The sudden shift in the atmosphere.
"Don't look? What am I supposed to not look at?"
Idirs grew more concerned as he hastily looked around. However, as he did, he saw nothing. In the end, he turned his attention towards the door.
"I've already found the message, so I should get out of here, right?"
Idris didn't waste a single second. He hurried the character out of the room and made his way back into the main area. However, the moment he did, he stopped as his expression tensed.
"Why is it so dark?"
Looking around, the place was a lot darker than it was before. He could hardly see a thing, and even as he increased the brightness to the max, he struggled to see the path ahead.
That was until...
Swoosh!
A dim light cast behind him as an aged face appeared over the stairs that led to the second floor.
"Oh, dear."
Her hollow eyes focused on Idris as she raised the lamp.
"It appears that the lights need replacing. I also see that you're done with the first floor. Why don't you come up? It should be brighter up here."
Idris licked his lips at the sound of the old lady's voice. The longer he stared at her, the more something felt wrong. But as he looked around, it became clear...
He didn't really have much of a choice.
With a hesitant hand, he moved the character forward. The avatar climbed the stairs, each step releasing a faint groan that echoed through his laptop speakers, dragging a sense of unease behind every creak.
In order to ease the tension, he looked at the camera and began speaking.
"So it looks like the next part of the game is about to start. The first floor was probably just an introduction to get the player familiar with the situation and learn more about the husband. Basically, it was setting the tone and building the atmosphere. If I'm right, this is where the real game begins."
Taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down, Idris smiled.
"If so, I'm ready."
"Oh, I'm glad you're ready."
".....!?"
Idris's expression shifted as his head snapped toward the old lady, the breath leaving his lungs all at once.
"That's! That's!"
Maybe he could dismiss it the first time... but a second time?
That couldn't be a coincidence!
'I... is it possible that she can listen to my words?'
No, but how was that possible?
Idris shuddered at the thought. His eyes locked onto the old lady, her face looming just inches from the screen. His lips trembled faintly.
But then...
"You look really excited, officer. I really do hope you find something."
With a smile, the old lady stepped to the side, illuminating the next room.
"...Please."
She nudged toward the door, and as Idris followed her gaze, his expression froze completely.
Then—
His entire body tensed.
Standing just beyond was a tall, lanky black figure, looming in the shadows. It wore a tattered top hat, tilted at an unnatural angle. Its head was swallowed by shadow, hiding whatever lay beneath.
That's when Idris felt it.
Ba... Thump! Ba... Thump!
His own rapidly beating heart.
Ba... Thump! Ba... Thump!
Catching a glimpse of the tall figure by the door, Idris felt his blood run cold. Idris's years as a containment agent kicked in all of a sudden. As if recalling the words he had seen in the bathroom 'Whatever you do. Don't look. Don't look!', his hand snapped down, dragging the cursor away from the figure without thinking.
"....."
The surroundings fell silent, besides the heavy breathing coming from Idris as he took a moment to process the situation. '
'Why did I react like that? Why am I... acting like this? What is going on?'
Idris's leg tapped rapidly against the ground. Something he usually did whenever he was stressed and nervous.
'This is just a game. Why am I reacting like this? I shouldn't be reacting like this.'
The more Idris thought about it, the more he realized that something was wrong. However, the moment he lifted his head in real life, the only thing he could focus on was the monitor in front of him.
It was as if the only thing that existed was the game in front of him, as his surroundings started to twist and curl.
Clutching tightly onto the mouse, Idris slowly moved the cursor up to stare at the door once again.
"Gone. It's gone..."
The figure that had been present before was completely gone. The only one that still remained was the old lady as she looked at him with the same toothless smile of hers as she cocked her head, and asked.
"Is something wrong?"
Idris found his lips opening on their own as he answered back.
"N-no, it's fine."
"That's good."
By now, Idris had long forgotten about the peculiar lady who seemed to be able to interact with him.
At this very moment, he was immersed in the game.
So immersed that he forgot all about the fact that it was one.
"I'll be leaving now."
The old lady pulled the lamp back as the wooden floor creaked under her steps, and she began moving towards another room.
"Best of luck. I will be looking for a way to repair the lights."
Creak. Creak. Creak.
The creaking grew more distant until it completely faded. By the time they were gone, a heavy silence filled the surroundings as Idris continued to stare at the door in front of him.
He stood like that for what felt like forever.
However, this didn't persist for long as he clenched his teeth and he moved towards the door, finally entering it to reveal a large bedroom. The lights were dim, but it was much easier for him to see as the bedroom looked to be in better condition than the areas beneath.
In fact, it... was spotless.
The white sheets were spotless, the wooden floor free of dust, and the entire bedroom appeared well-maintained.
"This..."
Idris's brows furrowed at the sight as he paused for a moment, taking in the surroundings in confusion.
'Why is this place clean and the others aren't? Is this something that only happens on the second floor? Could this be because this is the old lady's room?'
Thinking about it, it made sense. The old woman was quite elderly and likely didn't have the energy to maintain such a large house. She probably only kept the areas she used in good condition.
Taking a deep breath, Idris calmed himself down and started looking around the place.
'If my guess isn't wrong, I should be able to find another paper inside here.'
By now, he had completely forgotten about the fact that he was recording himself. The only thing in his view was the screen in front of him as he moved the character around, trying his best to look for clues.
As he did, his mouse eventually hovered over the drawer beside the bed. Pausing, Idris moved toward it, his eyes drifting to the wooden frame resting just above it, along with the small lamp perched beside it.
'A picture?'
He couldn't quite see what was in the frame since it was a little dusty.
Positioning the cursor over the frame, he clicked and picked it up as it appeared before him. Only when it was close did he manage to see through the layer of dust and smudges clouding the glass.
'A young girl and a man?'
Looking at the frame, he was able to see a young man standing next to a young girl in front of a house. The two of them were both posing together as they looked directly at the camera.
Overall, it looked like a regular picture.
However, for some reason, Idris felt his gaze wander towards the man's clothing. A gray suit and a gray top hat.
For whatever reason, staring at the clothing, he felt his heart race.
But why? Why was his heart pounding over something so simple? Idris's thoughts spiraled for several seconds, until, in the corner of the image, in a patch of glass just clean enough to reflect, he caught the shadow of what looked like a top hat looming behind him.
".....!?"
His hand nearly jerked back at the sudden sight of the top hat, and he barely managed to suppress a gasp as he kept the mouse frozen in place.
'Whatever you do. Don't look. Don't look!'
The words from before replayed in his mind over and over again.
"Haa... Haa..."
Idris's breath was heavy as he remained rooted in place, his mind and thoughts coming to a freezing halt as he came to a sudden realization.
Someone. Something... was standing right behind him.
Sweat formed at the palms of his hands as he tried to maintain his composure.
'Calm down. I've encountered similar situations before. I just don't have to look. That's all I have to do. I don't have to lo—!!'
Creaak!
Hearing the floor creak, Idris's body tensed as he hastily pulled his gaze away from the frame and lowered his eyes to stare at the ground. It was also in that moment that he caught sight of a pair of leather shoes, moving carefully in front of him.
'It's really here!'
Idris's pulse quickened.
For a moment, he didn't know what to do. He was starting to panic. However, even though he was panicked, he was still rational enough to understand his current position. So long as he continued to stare at the ground, he was safe.
'I believe the main goal of entering this room is to find the picture.'
A lot of things started to set in Idris's mind. From the picture to the pristineness of the room.
Without a doubt... The figure that was standing right before him was the same man in the picture. Most likely, he was the ex-husband. The reason why the room had been so tidy wasn't because the old lady lived in it, but because he lived in it!
He needed to get out of the room as quickly as possible and head onto the next.
Idris could feel it.
The escalating tension of the game as he turned the character around and moved ahead, his head continuously lowered.
As he moved, he felt the entity that had been standing behind him remain where it was.
Idris breathed a sigh of relief.
'Yes, all I have to do is just keep looking down.'
Coming out of the room, Idris felt a lot more relaxed. In hindsight, so long as he kept his head down, he wouldn't need to worry about the figure that was chasing him.
Subtly moving the cursor up, Idris stared towards the next door and began to move forward again.
He kept the cursor low enough that he could see the door, and he felt much more at ease as he did so. In fact, he felt quite confident. The more he thought about it, the easier he felt that the situation was.
'The main issue is that I can't look up too often since there's a risk that I might end up seeing the figure again, but that's not really a big problem. I can just look up quickly before looking down again.'
Idris planned on doing this in quick bursts that would allow him to see what was ahead before looking down again. So long as he stuck to the plan, he thought that he'd be able to clear the situation rather easily.
However...
The moment he stepped into the next room, that fragile sense of control shattered.
There, sprawled across the floor in thick, smeared red, were the words:
[Everything is a lie!]
[I... I am not sick! They are sick!]
[They try to trick me! They trick me through sight and sound!]
[Run!!]
"Eh...?"
His breath caught.
"Eh...?"
His voice came out weak, almost as if afraid of being heard. He froze in place, and for a moment, nothing moved. Until... He heard it.
Creaaak!
A soft, drawn-out creaking, like weight shifting on old wood.
It came from directly behind him.
A chill stabbed down his spine, and every muscle in his body locked up. His fingers tightened around the mouse.
Then came the voice.
"Oh, you're here. Did you find anything?"
It was the old lady.
...Almost instinctively, Idris turned in the direction of the voice, but all of his experience came rushing through in that moment as he stopped dead in his tracks.
That voice...
Was it really the old lady's?
"A-ah."
That was when it truly hit him.
The fear.
-x-X-x-
"W-who is it...?"
Idris's lips were dry, his breath unsteady as he clutched the mouse with such force that it let out a faint, plastic creak beneath his fingers. A shadow began to stretch beneath the character on the screen, lengthening slowly before his eyes, and with it, a tremor ran through Idris's entire body.
His mind started to swirl with all sorts of thoughts as he struggled to grasp his current situation.
"Officer?"
Hearing the old woman's voice again, Idris felt the urge to turn toward it. But could he? The warning from the previous room echoed in his mind, the words printing themselves before his very vision.
'They try to trick me! They trick me through sight and sound!'
'Run!!'
It was a warning.
A warning that described the current situation properly.
Idris's body trembled harder, each breath coming out more ragged than the last. His eyes darted frantically across the screen, scanning every corner in search of a clue, anything that could explain what was happening or tell him what to do next.
At the same time, he constantly reminded himself to stick to his plan.
'I don't have to turn around. I shouldn't look at anything. So long as I don't look at anything, then I don't have to worry about getting tricked.'
Taking a couple of more breaths to calm himself, Idris moved ahead with the game.
"Officer? Why are you not responding to me? Is something wrong? Did you figure something out?"
The old woman's voice echoed steadily behind him, each word soft and brittle. But Idris refused to acknowledge it, forcing himself to focus entirely on the screen and the task in front of him.
'It's very clear that there's a message in each room. This is the second-to-last room before going to the final room, and if my estimates are correct, then the door will most likely be locked. In that case, the goal should be to find the next message and find the key that will lead me to open up the last door.'
Each floor was comprised of three rooms, from what Idris managed to observe.
The goal of each room was to find the letters and writing, with the game growing progressively more tense with each clue found.
He was just two rooms away from clearing the game.
He had to hold steady.
'Now, where could the next message be?'
"It's right underneath the bed."
".....!?"
Hearing the old lady's voice, which seemed to be able to read his thoughts, Idris's hand shook further as his breathing, which he had managed to steady a few moments prior, suddenly became more erratic.
"...The message that you're looking for is right underneath the bed."
Idris slowly dragged the mouse across the screen until the leg of the bed came into view. From what little he could see, it looked like he was in yet another bedroom.
His throat tightened as he swallowed, placing the cursor over the bed's leg.
The moment he did, every sound vanished.
It felt as if the entire room were holding its breath, and with it, so was he. A suffocating tension gripped the air shortly after that as his finger lifted and he prepared to click the mouse.
However, right as he was about to do so, he stopped.
'No, wait... This could also be a trap!'
Why else would the old lady so blatantly tell him to check the bed? This was obviously a trap!
Yes, it had to be a trap.
Idris quickly pulled the cursor away, no longer daring to look at the bed. As soon as he did, the oppressive silence shattered, replaced by the low, rasping sound of breathing that echoed across the screen.
It seemed to come from right... behind him.
"....H-ho."
Idris's face turned pale as he fought to maintain his grip on the mouse, his fingers slipping slightly from the sweat. With a shaky breath, he pulled his hand away and clenched it into a tight fist, the pressure helping to squeeze out the moisture as he tried to steady himself.
'This is just a game. This is just a game. This is just a game.'
He had to remind himself over and over again that all of this was fake in order to keep his mind steady as he once again had to remind himself that this was just a game.
...A very twisted game.
One that played with the player's mind.
"Hoo."
Taking another deep breath, Idris kept the cursor down, inching forward slowly until he stopped right before a wardrobe. He clicked on it and searched through its contents in order to find something, but...
'Nothing.'
There was nothing useful.
Pressing his lips together, Idris guided the cursor toward another part of the room, clinging to the hope that he might find something.
Anything.
He checked the drawer beside the bed, then moved to the small desk resting opposite it. His eyes scanned every detail, every corner, but no matter how thoroughly he searched, the room offered nothing.
Instead, the more he looked, the rougher and louder the breathing behind him became, and as he moved away from the desk, he felt his ear shiver as the skin around his neck crawled.
"What the hell am I supposed to do? There's nothing. Literally nothing at all!"
With the increasing tension, Idris also felt a sense of frustration. His previously calm emotions now started to run rampant as the frustration was starting to get to his head, making him less rational.
In the end, his mouse once again fell on the leg of the bed, and he paused.
The room fell silent shortly after as the breathing behind him stopped, and everything came to a pause.
The signs were all there.
No matter how he thought about it, he had to look under the bed.
This was clearly the next part of the game, and yet...
Yet..
"I... don't want to."
Looking at the bed, his heartbeat quickened.
Ba... Thump! Ba... Thump!
It drummed so loudly that for a moment, Idris struggled to concentrate.
'I really don't want to look under the bed. I feel like it's a trap. I know when my guts are right. There has to be something else. Another way...'
Biting his lips and feeling the sting, Idris once again pulled the mouse away from the bed frame.
The moment he did, the breathing returned.
Everything was as it was before.
Or at least... until a faint flickering sound echoed.
Flick. Flick.
"....!?"
The light above flickered violently, casting erratic shadows across the room. Idris's legs locked around the chair, muscles tense as his body braced itself.
"Haaa... Haaa...."
His breathing grew faster, unintentionally syncing with the heavy, rhythmic breaths of whatever stood behind him.
Idris's hand shook as he moved the mouse, his face paler than it was before.
The tension was at an all-time high, and cold sweat trickled down his back. His shirt clung damp against his back, but he forced himself to ignore the discomfort, pushing onward as he continued to move cautiously around the room, every nerve screaming in protest.
"Huh?"
It was just as he was growing desperate that he spotted something near the corner of the room, and his eyes lit up.
'This...!'
Looking towards the wall, it was there that he spotted an arrow, and his eyes lit up.
"I knew it! I knew that it was a trap!"
A triumphant smile flickered across his face as he followed the arrow pointing toward the floor. There, a small gap between the wooden tiles caught his eye. Without hesitation, Idris clicked on it, pushing it slightly as a result and revealing a folded piece of paper hidden beneath.
Idris quickly read the message.
[I... did it!]
[I found a way to get into the room.]
[...She doesn't know it, and she will never know it!]
[I left the clue right above. It's... It's... Where is it?]
[Hmm... Oh, right!]
[On the ceiling! It's on the ceiling!]
Reading the message, Idris breathed a sigh of relief. He could feel it. The end was near.
He was also certain that this was the correct message.
'Looks like all I have to do now is get into the room. The game is almost over. I should be done soon.'
Breathing another sigh of relief, Idris patted his chest.
Easy. This was easy.
Pulling the cursor away from the message, Idris brought it up towards the ceiling, thinking about his next set of actions.
As he looked up, he was met with the sight of a blank white wall.
Faint cracks spread across the wall as a small lamp hung up above.
"Hm? I don't see anything?"
Squinting his eyes, Idris tried to look for the clue that was left behind by the husband. However, regardless of how hard he looked, he couldn't find a thing.
Or at least that was until...
Cra Crack!
A sharp, splintering sound shattered the silence.
Idris froze, heart hammering in his chest.
Ba... Thump! Ba... Thump!
Slowly, hesitantly, he moved the cursor toward the corner of the ceiling.
All noise ceased.
And then...
He saw it.
The tall figure that lurked in the corner of the ceiling. It clung to the ceiling like a grotesque spider, dressed in a dark suit and top hat. Its eyes bore into him, and that twisted, unnatural smile stretched wide enough to chill his very soul.
Before he could react—
".....!!"
It lunged forward, moving with unnatural speed.
"...Heaakk!!"
A heartwrenching scream tore through the air.
"Haa... Haa..."
Breathing roughly, Idris stared at the monitor in front of him, his chest heaving up and down unevenly.
[Game Over]
Staring at the two words scrawled in deep red, he remained frozen for a few seconds before finally leaning back in his chair, snapping out of it.
"H-holy shit.."
He took a moment to recall everything that had happened and his subsequent reaction.
Then... slowly lifting his head, he stared at the camera.
'Thank god I'm not live.'
Had he been live then...
"No, it's best not to think about it."
Taking several deep breaths, Idris tried to steady himself, but to his dismay, the panic refused to fade. His hand kept trembling, and his heart pounded relentlessly against his chest.
'What's going on with me? Why can't I calm myself down? Damn it! Damn it!'
Taking several deep breaths, Idris tried to steady himself, but the fear refused to leave him. His hand wouldn't stop shaking, and his heart slammed against his ribs with every passing second.
For whatever reason, he was reminded of what had transpired, and another wave of fear coursed through him.
It took at least five minutes for him to finally calm down as he blankly stared at the game.
"T-this makes no sense at all. Why am I still so hung up on the game?"
It shouldn't be like this. He was someone who had ventured through some of the worst gates ever. How could he be scared of a game like this?
Lowering his head, he glanced at the box of beers that rested beneath the desk.
"Damn it! It's because I'm drunk! That's the only explanation!"
Looking towards the camera, Idris put it on stand-by before drinking a bottle of water in order to calm his mind down.
Then, pacing around the room for the next several minutes, he sat back down on his chair and booted up the game.
"Again!"
He didn't believe for one second that he'd be scared this time.
Not only that, he made sure to dim the lights around him further as he turned on the camera again.
'Okay, round two. Since the cameras weren't live, I can just erase that video and treat it as if it never existed. I'll make sure this is the real video. Now that I know exactly what is happening, there's no need for me to be scared.'
Not that he was going to be scared even if he didn't know. He was drunk then, but he was much better now.
"Alright."
Pressing start, a familiar view came before him.
"I thought you wouldn't have come, officer."
The familiar old lady's voice echoed, and for the briefest of moments, his hand trembled.
However, he was quick to snap out of it as he clenched his teeth.
"Nothing. This is nothing..."
He kept mumbling the words under his breath as he restarted the game, his confidence shooting up with each subsequent room he passed.
However, his confidence didn't last for very long.
"..."
By the time he reached the second floor, his entire body was drenched in sweat. His hand trembled, gripping the mouse so tightly it began to squeak under the pressure once more.
Everything was the same.
He was in the same room as before, and he no longer fell for the same trick as before.
This time, he was even more careful as his gaze hovered towards the leg of the desk. Clearly, his thoughts were wrong before. The real message was under the bed, and he brought the mouse towards the bed.
However, right as he did, he suddenly saw a shadow form right beneath the bed, stretching towards him, and his expression changed as he hastily turned around.
"....Shit!"
But right as he did, a figure appeared right behind him.
Idris's face changed drastically, but it was too late.
"Aaahhhhh!!"
Bang!
His scream finally tore out as he tumbled back from his chair, his entire body trembling. He scrambled further away, eyes wide and quivering as they locked onto the massive [Game Over] hovering on the screen.
"Impossible. This... is impossible!"
He had been tricked again!
Sitting up, Idris's trembling eyes settled onto the camera that was recording, and his face paled.
It was right as his thoughts drifted back to the game when he suddenly heard a faint trembling sound coming from his left, causing his body to twitch.
Trr—
"....!?"
Hasitantly looking in the direction of the vibration, Idris found it to be his phone, and he slowly reached for it.
It was there that he saw a simple message.
It came from Jamie.
It read;
[So? How was it? Was the game scary?]
His face flushed red.
***
"....Still no response?"
Looking at my phone, I was a little bit sad. It had been a while since I had sent the game over to Jamie, but I had yet to receive any words from him.
I was probably being a little impatient, but how could I not be?
I really was quite confident with my game.
I had spent quite a lot of time developing, and if one managed to reach the end, they'd notice a nice little twist.
But in order to do that, they'd need to get to the end.
"Oh, well."
I sighed lightly.
"I'll probably receive some feedback soon enough. I did think of giving the game to the exchange people, but they don't seem very friendly."
In that case...
"Should I have Kyle try the game?"
It was worth a shot. The last time I got him to play my game, it ended up in utter humiliation for me.
This time...
I was a lot more confident than I was before.
'Certainly, I'm sure he'll at least react a little.'
That was all I needed.
Thinking about him showing some sort of reaction while playing my game brought a small smile to my face.
I couldn't wait.
"With that being said..."
Turning my attention to my laptop, I opened the app and turned my attention towards the new area that had appeared. In fact, it had been there for quite a while, but I had been so preoccupied with the development of the game that I never really paid much attention to it.
But things were different now.
Waiting to receive feedback from Jamie, I didn't really have much to do.
In that case, I could now focus do other things.
Like...
[Lucky Wheel x1]
"I almost completely forgot this was a thing."
This was one of the rewards that was included in the previous quest. I did remember getting a little excited about it, but given everything that had happened and where my priorities had been for the past several weeks, I had completely forgotten about it.
Now that I was suddenly reminded, it was time for me to open up the reward.
"I wonder what I'll get."
Opening the wheel wasn't very difficult. The moment I pressed on it, the screen changed, and a wheel of multiple colors appeared before me. The colors most likely indicated the type of reward. From items to software and so on.
There were all sorts of things written, and a large button appeared right below the wheel.
It read: [Start]
"Hoo."
Letting out a few breaths, I pressed the button, and the wheel began to spin.
Trrrr—
It spun and spun and spun, alternating with all sorts of different colors as I stared at the screen in anticipation.
Every second dragged for what felt like an eternity, until—
It finally stopped.
Holding my breath, I followed the arrow and read the reward.
Yellow. Software.
"Mirror Voice?"
What in the world...?
Reading the name of the reward and noting the color assigned to it, I could tell it was a software. But as I mentally ran through all the available programs in the shop, none of them matched the one I had just received — Mirror Voices.
In that case, this was a unique software.
One that wasn't even available in the shop yet.
My heart raced at the thought as I quickly looked down, where a pop-up appeared.
[Congratulations! Your wheel has landed on a prize!]
[Would you like to collect it?]
▶[Yes] ▷[No]
"Yes!"
I didn't even hesitate and pressed yes.
Immediately, the screen flashed white as the wheel dissapeared and I was brought back to the main app where I opened the Game Developing area.
It was right there that I saw a new software added, and I immediately clicked on it to read its description.
The moment I did, my eyes widened.
"Holy... shit."
This was massive.
─────
[Mirror Voices]
Type/Software
A software that is capable of recording and mimicking the voices of anyone who is playing the game. For the software to function, the microphone must be switched on. Software can be applied to the game 'actors'.
: Non-consumable.
─────
Just one look was enough to make my heart race. All sorts of possibilities crossed my mind as I re-read the description of the software.
"This... I can definitely make this work for the game I just developed."
It wasn't like I hadn't thought of adding this feature to the game, but actually programming something like this was simply too difficult without a team. Not only that, but it wasn't like it would be of much use anyway.
'So what if I can make it so that the 'Twisted Man' can mimic the voice of the person playing the game? That would only just creep them out a little. However, it wouldn't be enough to trick them into looking at the Twisted Man.'
This was fundamentally why I gave up on the idea.
However, now that the software presented itself before me, my mind couldn't help but churn at all the possibilities that had opened up for me.
But still, there was a fundamental problem that I had to address.
How exactly could I trick a player with their own voice?
"If I get the 'Twisted Man' to copy their voice, would it make them turn?"
No, it wouldn't.
At the very least, I wouldn't turn. I wasn't that stupid.
Then...
How exactly could I trick the player to turn?
"What if I alter their voice? Hmm, that would make them not turn even more. I already got the Twisted Man to copy the old woman's voice. I also already got it to copy the sound of objects. From creaking to other things. What else...? What else..."
My brows furrowed as I mulled over the situation, but then I abruptly lifted my head, attracted by the muffled sound of footsteps echoing from outside.
"Hm?"
Then—
To Tok—!
I heard a sudden knock on the door, and I blinked my eyes.
"Who?"
"...It's me."
The voice sounded rather tired, but it was without a doubt Kyle's. Tilting my head, I was just about to reply when the knob turned and he opened the door.
"I'm coming i—Eukh!"
Just a few steps into the office, Kyle's face turned ghostly pale. His hands shot up to his neck, as if an invisible force were strangling him.
With bloodshot eyes, he looked at me, his eyes filled with both shock and disgust.
I merely nodded once I felt his gaze.
'Yeah, looks about right.'
The room had no windows or ventilation. Plus, with me having stayed and slept in this place for the past couple of weeks, I didn't doubt that this place smelled terrible.
"Take it as a lesson to never enter my office without getting permission from me."
I did try to warn him before coming in. It was just a pity that he entered before I could say so.
"Kek."
Oh, shit.
Looking up, I covered my mouth.
I slipped up without noticing.
"Hurk."
Glaring at me, Kyle let out a small grunt before stepping out of the room to take several deep breaths and entering again, his hand against his nose as he opened his mouth to speak.
"Bastard, what have you done to this place? This is a crime!"
His voice sounded rather funny.
I shrugged.
"Like I said, ask before entering."
"That doesn't change anything! What have you done to this place? Did you kill a person? It smells like someone left a body to rot in this place."
"You sound like someone who has smell—"
"Yes, I have. Multiple times at that."
"...Oh."
Right.
This job...
"It's not my fault this place has no windows and ventilation."
"I..."
Holding himself back, Kyle brought his face outside of the office again to take a deep breath before bringing his head back in. In the end, looking at me, he just shook his head.
"Whatever, this is not the reason why I'm here."
He looked behind him.
"I'm here to talk about something else. It involves you to some extent."
"Me?"
Why would I be involved?
I had stayed relatively low-key recently. I didn't think I offended anyone, and the Section Chief also appeared rather busy lately.
So what could it be?
"It involves your most recent game."
"My most recent game?"
The hell? While I did tell him about my game, I didn't show it to him, or anyone in fact. The only one who had it was Jamie.
'Could it be that Jamie gave the game to Zoey?'
No, that wouldn't make sense. Zoey didn't strike me as a person who would be interested in that stuff.
Then...?
"Remember when Rowan started screaming and that stuff? Something about it being due to your game. A small conflict occurred between them and Rowan, and well... it ended up being some sort of bet, with Rowan saying that they'd be scared."
"Huh?"
Oh, wait!
It was there that I recalled.
Indeed, Rowan played the game. The others had also seen it.
Right... Right...
That did happen.
"Don't worry about it. They didn't take the bet. They didn't look that interested in it."
"Wait, they didn't?"
"Nope."
Kyle shook his head.
"Like I said, they weren't interested. In the end, the situation ended there."
"...Oh."
For some reason, I felt rather disappointed hearing that. With Jamie not replying to me, I was dying to know how good the game was. It worked on Rowan, but would it work on people who were even stronger than him?
I was really dying to know.
'Damn it! It would've been a great opportunity!'
I really felt like pulling my hair out at the moment. But with that being said... If the bet didn't go through, why was he telling me this?
As if reading my thoughts, Kyle brought his head out and back in before replying.
"I just wanted to mention it since you might get asked about your game later. I don't know if it'll happen, but Rowan's reaction did make a few people curious."
"...I see."
Well, that's good.
I suppose all the time I spent helping Rowan ended up paying off after all.
Wait.
My eyes sharpened as I looked at Kyle.
Could it be...?
"You want to try the game too?"
"Well..."
Kyle scratched the side of his cheek, his eyes looking down. Seeing his reaction, I suddenly smiled and stood up, pointing at my seat.
"Please. The two of us are like brothers, Kyle. If you want to play the game, just tell me... kuk."
Oh, no.
I had to hold it in.
Licking my lips, I looked at the laptop and was just about to boot up the game when Kyle's voice echoed.
"Wait, wait."
"What...?"
Was he having second thoughts?
No, I couldn—
"About where we can play the game. Can we do it outside? This place is a bit...."
I paused, blinking before pursing my lips.
"Right, of course."
"....."
"....."
I stood in silence, staring at Kyle who turned his attention towards me, his face awkward as he scratched the side of his face.
"...Is this it?"
I opened my mouth. Is this it? Is... this it? I really felt like lunging at him and beating him to a pulp, but then looking at the monitor right before Kyle, and the glaring [Game Cleared] that appeared on it, I pursed my lips and felt my shoulders deflate.
'He... didn't even flinch.'
The entire time, he cleared the game without so much as a change in expression. He did mumble things like, 'Oh, I like this. Not bad. Kind of cool...' but that was about it.
He still cleared the game effortlessly.
I had felt so confident in the game, and yet...
'Damn it, at least show me something!'
While I did expect Kyle to clear the game to some extent, I was still confident in what I had created. I was hoping he'd show some sort of reaction, but the fact that he showed nothing made me grow extremely worried.
'Did I overestimate the game? It can be just because it's Kyle... I mean Rowan did show some sort of reaction. No, it was a great reaction, but will it be effective for other people? To what extent?'
I felt like ripping my own hair out in frustration.
"Err..."
As if sensing my inner turmoil, Kyle looked at me.
"You know... I can just try again. Maybe next time I might get a little scared? I mean I can tell that the game is definitely better than the previous one. It's quite good actually. Unique even."
The more Kyle praised the game, the shittier I felt.
This also felt a lot like Deja vu.
'Ah, right. He did say the same thing in the past when the first game didn't scare him.'
I clicked my tongue.
This bastard...
"So? Should I...?"
"Do whatever you want."
I waved him off absentmindedly, my mind busy searching for any item I could buy from the shop to enhance the game. Whatever it took, I was going to make him react!
However, regardless of how much I thought about it, I couldn't think of anything.
Blank.
My thoughts were completely blank.
'...Maybe things would be different if the recording was more effective, but this is its limit.'
The recording was after all just a recording. It was the key piece required in most of my games in order to lower the guard of anyone playing the game. Things would be different if I had put a direct piece from the conductor, but right now, the conductor was the last thing I wanted to think about.
Although there was still a little bit of time until my meeting with the conductor, it wasn't a lot of time.
'I think its just about a month and a half.'
I really needed to think about how to assess that situation.
'Ah, fuck. So many annoying things!'
***
'Maybe I should raise the mouse a little bit? Just enough to make me see the weird monster? That might make me a little bit more scared?'
Kyle was currently facing a predicament. Following the exchange with Rowan and the exchange members, he learned about Seth's new game and how it was supposedly scary.
Thinking about Seth's previous game and how unscary it was, Kyle grew curious.
Perhaps he had learned from then and improved his game. Maybe it could also now scare him.
The thought made Kyle happy. If Seth managed to create a game that could scare him, then he was sure it was going to be a hit.
Kyle wished nothing but success for Seth.
But still, Seth's path was quite a difficult one.
The demand for horror games was low because they rarely scared anyone. But low demand didn't mean they all flopped. In fact, a few horror games did succeed on a global scale, earning their developers a significant amount of money.
'It's just a pity that all those games are created using Virtual Technology.'
There was a limit to how immersive a PC and mouse game was.
In order to reach the top, Seth would need to eventually start developing his own VR games. Only that way would he be able to truly create an immersive experience and tell the story that he wanted to tell.
But...
That path was anything but easy. He'd be competing against gigantic corporations that could afford a team of developers, actors, and marketing funds.
Kyle didn't see how Seth would be able to reach that point.
In Kyle's eyes, the best-case scenario would be Seth getting scouted by one of those companies.
By then he would get a good salary and do the thing he liked.
Still, Seth was a long way from that goal. To reach it, he needed to create a game good enough to catch the attention of those companies.
It was just unfortunate that he was still far off from that goal.
"What are you doing?"
Just then, Kyle heard a sudden voice and turned to see several familiar figures leaning into his cubicle.
"Are you playing a game?"
Zoey looked in particularly interested as she leaned close to check the game.
"Oh, it looks like you just started."
Zeoy's eyes lit up the moment she saw the interface. But after a quick glance at the graphics and overall tone, her expression shifted. She seemed to understand something, and her interest quickly faded.
"This is... err."
Kyle paused and turned to check on Seth, but stopped when he saw him standing a little farther away, hands tangled in his hair. Was he trying to rip them?
'Never mind.'
"It's a horror game. I tried it, and I ended up clearing it."
"Wait, I recognize that game.."
Just then, Rowan stepped in, eyes wide as he stared at the monitor before glancing over at Kyle.
"Wait, so you managed to clear it?!"
"...Ah, yes."
Kyle scratched the back of his head. Well, it wasn't that difficult. In fact, It was quite easy.
He just didn't say it out loud in case Seth heard.
"It was a bit challenging, but I still managed to clear it. I was quite lucky."
"You got lucky?"
Rowan stared at Kyle with a complicated look. He was all too familiar with the game. Having played it himself, he knew just how scary it was.
Kyle was just being humble, afraid of offending Seth or hurting his pride.
...And that made things the weirder for Rowan who got scared by the very same game.
'Is he just different? How did he not get scared?'
Wait, if Kyle didn't get scared then would the exchange members get scared?
Rowan suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, feeling Kaelen's rejection back then to be a god-sent gift.
"Hm? What's this?"
Lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice the approaching footsteps until it was too late. A group appeared behind them, led by an all too familiar figure, whose gaze briefly locked onto Kyle and the game on his screen.
"I was just coming back to check up on something, but you're playing games?"
"Oh, this..."
Kyle was just about to reply and tell them he was just trying Seth's game when he paused, his expression conflicting before he closed down the laptop.
"I was. Needed to relax a bit."
"You guys sure have fun here, don't you?"
Kaelen's eyes narrowed as he looked at Kyle. To be playing games in the middle of work... How low could this department get?
Shaking his head, Kaelen was about to leave when his gaze fell on Rowan. Noticing Rowan suddenly look away, Kaelen raised an eyebrow.
'Hm?'
Curious, Kaelen tried to get their eyes to meet, but Rowan kept his gaze away, staring in a completely different direction.
'How strange. He was so arrogant before. Where did his arrogance g—'
Right then, Kaelen paused, and his gaze hovered towards Kyle's laptop and then Rowan.
He alternated his gaze between the two until realization dawned on him and his lips pulled into a smile.
'So that's how it is...'
-x-X-x-
'What must I realistically have to do in order to scare Kyle with a game? Do I have to get more software or do I just have to improve the game even further?'
The second game was certainly better than the first one. The storyline was clearer, and with each subsequent room that one entered, the tension rose.
Obviously, the game was far from perfect. The storyline and the path were still linear. There was no real challenge in figuring out what to do next. Just enter the room, then find the clue.
I understood this perfectly, and although I wanted to create non-linear games, it was impossible for the current me. Just developing this game took me so much time.
A non-linear game would require a team or a lot of time. I had neither.
'Maybe if the second game is a hit, and I manage to get enough funds... but I'd still need to develop the game using the game developer system. In that case, how can I develop better games?'
The thought stopped me cold. I felt like I'd reached my limit. Even if I added more software, it would only improve the game by small margins.
It wouldn't provide that qualitative jump that I needed in order to scare Kyle.
Then what...?
What could I do?
"No. It's too late for that. The bet is off the table..."
A sudden voice snapped me out of my thoughts. When I looked up, I was surprised to see a group gathered around Kyle. Rowan, Zoey, Myles... Several familiar faces appeared before me. They all seemed focused on a particular group who were staring intently at Rowan.
'Some sort of conflict?'
I could see that the mood wasn't quite right.
'Now that I look closely, the group looks to be those from the exchange program?'
I couldn't quite remember their faces since I'd barely spent any time with them. Still, I wasn't completely clueless. I was still there when they introduced themselves and, as such, was able to recognize one of them. With his black hair, pristine white uniform, and half-slanted eyes, he was hard to miss.
'Kaelen, I think...'
Thinking back to Kyle's words, everything started to make sense to me.
"Why is it suddenly off the table? It wasn't too long ago when you were saying you'd bet five fragments if I got scared by the game."
"Like I said the bet is no longer in play."
"What?" Kaelen said, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Suddenly not so confident in the game?"
"That's not it..."
Rowan tried to respond, but Kaelen cut him off, turning his attention back to the game.
"What do you mean it's not? That's clearly the case." Kaelen chuckled, "You thought it would scare someone because it scared you, but now that Kyle here wasn't scared, you're having second thoughts. Am I right?"
"What about you?"
Zoey frowned, suddenly chiming in on the conversation.
"Aren't you only interested in taking the game because Kyle didn't get scared? If it wasn't for Kyle, you'd still be running away from the game."
"Hahaha."
Kaelen suddenly laughed, looking at Zoey as though she was an idiot.
"The only reason I hadn't played the game was that I wasn't interested. But after watching Kyle, I realized five fragments are still five fragments. Who wouldn't accept such a generous gift?"
"That's bullshit."
Zoey suddenly chimed, her brows furrowing tightly as she didn't bother hiding her annoyance.
"If you had thought this way you would've accepted the deal before. The same goes for the others."
Zoey turned her head towards the other members, who were all staring at the scene with different expressions. Some looked bored, while others looked amused.
"Oh? We could participate?"
Suddenly, a girl with long white hair spoke. Hugging her spear, she tilted her head slightly, exposing her crystal blue eyes as she looked at Rowan with a certain glint.
"I would've taken the deal if we were allowed."
"Can't say I disagree."
Another woman chimed in, her hand by her cheek as she looked at Rowan in disappointment.
"I didn't know we weren't allowed. What a pity."
As others joined, the situation began to escalate. Watching the scene, my brow furrowed tightly.
It wasn't so much because of the conflict. Rather, the more I stared at the exchange members, and then Rowan, the more a certain possibility dawned on me, and my heart couldn't help but suddenly race with a surge of excitement.
'Yes, that's possible. It can be done...'
"If the opportunity presents itself again, I'd take it. Like he said, it's free fragments. Why would I give up free fragments?"
"Same here."
The mood plummeted further, and the tensions seemed to rise to an all-time high.
Kyle, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly lifted his head to address the others and try to calm things down, but before he could speak, I stepped forward.
"Wait."
"Hm?"
The moment I spoke, several heads turned toward me. Some faces frowned, others showed flickers of disgust. I couldn't blame them; I didn't exactly look my best right now.
"Who is this?" One of the exchange members asked, looking back while trying their best to keep their expressions even.
"...Ah, wait. Isn't he the guy from before?"
"Oh, right. Why does he look homeless?"
That...
Although it was true, it still kind of hurt.
"Keum."
Coughing, I tried my best to remain calm as I looked at the game and then at Rowan.
"Actually, it's not impossible for you to play the game and still go on with the bet."
"Oh?"
"Hm?"
Finally, I seemed to have gathered their interest as Kaelen and the other two girls both looked at me.
"You're saying that the bet can still be taken?"
"Wait, Seth, what are—"
I stopped Kyle and nodded.
"In fact, I can set it up so all of you can play at the same time. The bet stays the same. Everyone puts in five fragments. If anyone screams, or so much as reacts, they're out. When only two remain, the remaining fragments will be split between the winners. How does that sound?"
As I spoke, I looked at Kaelon. He looked to be the most interested in the bet.
I didn't wait long for him to speak.
"So you're saying that all of us have to contribute five fragments? And what happens if none of us scream or make a single sound?"
"You'll still get two fragments.
As I spoke, I saw Kyle's eyes and the others' widen. Their expressions clearly said, "Wait, why are you betting with fragments? You don't have any. What do you even need them for?"
I ignored such stares and just looked at Rowan and Kyle.
Of course, either one of them was going to chip in for me. I was poor. I didn't have any fragments at my disposal.
"That's..."
"Hm."
The faces of the exchange members changed subtly as they looked at each other. I could see that they were tempted. They even started to whisper amongst each other.
Eventually, they turned to me again.
The girl with silver hair spoke.
"You said we can play together. How many people at once?"
"Hmm. Three."
Thinking about it, this was probably the best I could do.
"Three?"
The exchange members looked at each other before eventually a smile formed on Kaelen's face and he stepped forward, bringing his hand towards me.
"We've got a deal."
"I'm in too."
"Same."
Two others joined in, with both of them bringing their hands forward, only to pull them back after getting near me. Even Kaelen's face twitched once he got close enough to me, but before he could pull away, I reached out and grabbed his hand.
"Perfect."
As I shook the hand, I tried to hide the smile that was threatening to form on my face. On the other hand, Kaelen was trying his best not to wince.
Win or lose, I didn't care.
I had now found a use for the software I had just received.
Multiplayer!
And what better testing dummies than them?
-x-X-x-
"I guess that's a deal."
Kaelen pulled his hand away from the 'weirdo' and hurriedly wiped it on his pants. He didn't even bother hiding his disgust as he looked ahead. The man before him looked like he'd just crawled out of a dumpster. His hair was unkempt, his clothes wrinkled and dotted with stains.
'Let's not even talk about the smell.'
He smelled like a dead corpse. No, even corpses smelled better than him.
Just thinking about it made Kaelen wipe his hand onto his pants with even more vigor.
'Ah, fuck. This is so disgusting.'
Looking at Kaelen with hints of pity, Sarah turned in Kyle's direction, her gaze falling on Kyle's laptop where the game was loaded.
"It's best if we get this over with. Should I go first?"
"Go first?" Kaelen turned to stare in her direction before looking back at the 'weirdo'.
"Didn't you say that you can make us all play at the same time?"
"Yes."
The 'weirdo' replied, his eyes hidden beneath his unkept bangs as he turned to look in the direction of the laptop.
"So...?"
Without answering, the 'weirdo' picked up the laptop from the desk and moved towards his office. Just one glance at it was enough to make anyone's stomach churn. If he smelled this bad, what about his office?
"Wait. Hold on."
Suddenly realizing something, Kaelen called out for the 'weirdo'.
"Wait, where are you going? Aren't we supposed to play the game? Why are we going into that place? Don't tell me we have to play there. If it—"
"No, I need to add some tweaks to the game."
"Tweaks?"
"Yes."
The 'weirdo' replied flatly while fiddling with the laptop.
"In order to make multiplayer work, I need to start syncing the different angles and commands. Since we're using LAN, I can cut corners in some aspects. It should take me about a day or two to sync."
"Wait, what are you saying?"
Whatever the weirdo was saying sounded like a lot of gibberish to Kaelen, who found himself at a complete loss. He wanted to ask more, but the moment he tried, he was met with the direct sound of a door smack as the 'weirdo' faded from everyone's sight.
Clank!
"That..."
Kaelen stared at the office speechlessly before turning around to look at the others. They all wore similar expressions to him, mumbling things along the lines of, 'What just happened? Did he just leave like that?'
On the other hand, Kyle and the rest had grown used to Seth's behavior. They didn't really think there was anything strange about his actions.
In fact, they'd be more worried if he didn't do that.
"So..." Sarah's voice trailed off, looking at the others in confusion. "Is the bet off or something? That's a bummer. I thought we had something."
"Just wait, like he said."
Kyle suddenly chimed in, leaning back on his chair with both a smile and an exasperated expression.
"We've all seen the bet. You also don't have to worry about him suddenly running away. He may be like that, but he usually is a man of his word."
"Two days, huh?"
Kaelen scratched his chin. However, although he wasn't there the entire time to see Kyle play the game, Kaelen had been in the office long enough to see Kyle look rather unfazed during the time he played the game. It was that sight that made him smile.
'If it doesn't scare him, then it won't scare me.'
It was as simple as that.
"Alright, then. We'll wait."
So what if he was the star of the containment department? Kaelen had already shown that he could handle this stuff. To him who had stayed in the Containment Department for almost a month, he felt that things weren't that much different than his usual work.
In fact, it felt easier to him.
One day. Two days. It no longer mattered to him.
These were easy fragments for him.
"...I hope you're right and he keeps his word. It would be pretty embarrassing if that weren't the case."
Kaelen proceeded to turn around and head for his own cubicle. As he did, the others started to disperse, leaving Kyle and the rest standing around his cubicle.
The first one to break the silence was Zoey, who looked rather worried.
"Do you really think Seth will hold up the end of his deal?"
"...I don't know."
"Huh? Then..."
"He looked confident, so..."
"Wait, wait, wait."
Zoey's mouth hung open as she looked at Kyle in shock.
"Then what about the game? Was it at least scary?"
"Scary?"
Kyle's lips trembled as he recalled the game he just played. From the old lady whose features were sharp to the monster that was clearly inspired by the 'Twisted Man' and was trying to outsmart him into falling for its tricks... Kyle recalled everything.
And as he did, he shook his head.
"...No."
"Ah, shit."
Zoey covered her forehead as she looked at Kyle with pity. Who told him to be like this? Well, it was just six fragments... She also looked at the pale-faced Rowan. From the looks of things, he was going to chip in too.
But that only made Kyle feel worse. He buried his face in both hands, gloom weighing heavily on him as he fought the growing urge to slap himself.
'Why did I even speak? Even if I don't have to fork out the fragments, just thinking about giving it to them... That's a lot of money. Damn it...'
Kyle really wanted to cry at this moment.
If only he weren't so overprotective...
***
"That fool really fell for it."
By fool, I meant Kyle. He really was going to pay my debt in case those from the exchange program didn't scream or show any reaction. They were also fools for taking up the bet, but given their position, I could understand.
However, I was more confident with them than with Kyle.
While they were all star members of their own departments, they weren't like Kyle, who was a seasoned Containment Expert. Besides constantly facing monsters, they didn't know true fear.
This was why I was certain that I could scare them with the game.
'And the best part of it all is that if I do end up winning the bet, I'll get a lot of fragments.'
Considering how I needed twenty fragments in order to reach the Third Order, this would prove to be a massive boon for me. Just thinking about the next possible skill that I could gain made me salivate.
Not only that but perhaps once I reached the third order, I'd be able to find out what Mirelle's skill was. That would certainly help me out for future scenarios.
Of course, I needed to take into consideration the purity of the fragment.
There was no way they were going to give me pure fragments.
In fact, they were probably going to give me some scrappy ones that could be used to convert to money.
Thankfully, I wasn't worried about that.
I had the fax machine!
"....."
Never mind.
I was fucked.
"Well, whatever. They'll still serve as good testing dummies."
Putting the laptop on the table and loading the app, I immediately booted the Game Developer Mode and got to work.
"Two days. That's all I need. Just two days..."
-x-X-x-
Adding multiplayer to a game was actually extremely difficult.
In fact, even for a skilled solo developer, it could take two to three weeks just to get the basics in place. And that's not even considering the server infrastructure. Beyond simply connecting players, one had to ensure that everyone saw the same world at the same time.
This was anything but easy when one had to deal with latency, synchronization, and unpredictable network conditions.
On top of that, the core game mechanics had to be rethought to accommodate multiple players, often requiring big changes to how systems like movement, actions, and interactions were handled.
'Just thinking about the interactions is giving me a headache.'
The dialogue of the old lady had to be changed a little bit, and I had to make sure she looked at all three of them instead of just one person.
"Haa."
I sighed while thinking about it.
All in all, it was hard.
However, although it was hard, it wasn't impossible.
The reason why I was so confident in applying a multiplayer system was that I could just make everyone play on the same network (LAN).
I wasn't planning on investing too much time creating a multiplayer option, with a designated server, when I was unaware of whether it would work or not. Thankfully, the perfect guinea pigs had shown up right before me.
'It's not like I'll be investing too much time. Taking everything into consideration, it'll just be another two days of grind. I'm already used to grin—'
"Cough!"
A sudden wave of pain engulfed my chest, throwing me out of my thoughts as I grabbed tightly onto my chest and leaned against the desk.
'Ah, fuck. I'm having an attack...'
How long had it been since the last one I had? Everything had been going so smoothly that I had almost forgotte—!
"Cough...! Cough!"
It was as if my lungs were engulfed in flames, like they were being held under a blazing bonfire.
It hurt. It really hurt.
"Kh—!"
The pain was a familiar one, but alongside the pain in my chest, I felt a massive throb in my head as my vision grew blurry and I nearly passed out. This... I could clearly feel that the situation was about to turn for the worse.
'Pills. Where are they? Where did I leave them? Ah, here!'
Without hesitation, I grabbed one of the pills I'd bought earlier in the system shop and I'd tossed into my drawer in case of emergencies, and popped it into my mouth, quickly chasing it with a gulp of water from the bottle beside me.
"Pukh!"
However, halfway through my motion, I found myself spitting the water back out as I had to take a deep breath before trying again.
This time, the water went down my throat, and I slumped back against the chair, feeling the throb in my head slowly starting to subside alongside the chest pain.
"Haaa... Haa..."
Leaning against the chair as I breathed heavily, I blankly stared at the empty ceiling above me.
This...
How did things turn out like this? Everything had been going so well that I had almost forgotten about the thing that used to haunt me.
I took the medicine nearly every day, and the one I had just taken was the second dose of the day. What could this mean?
'The disease is worsening. The amount of time left is less...'
As sweat beaded on my forehead, I wiped it away and then turned my attention back to the monitor.
'Right, the medicine isn't actually curing me. It's only delaying the inevitable.'
Yet again, I was reminded of my goal. Of the reasons why I did all of this.
It wasn't just because I loved to traumatize people.
No.
That wasn't the case at all.
This was all... for survival.
"Survive."
I needed to survive.
***
Two days passed quickly.
The entire time, Seth remained cooped up in his room. Nobody caught sight of even the smallest traces of him during the entire time. Usually, even at his busiest, they'd catch a glimpse of him roaming the kitchen area like some sort of ghost, but for the past couple of days, it was as if he had completely disappeared from the face of the earth.
"Well?"
The day of the bet had finally arrived, and the exchange members gathered around Kyle's cubicle, all eyes fixed on the direction of Seth's office.
"What do you think the chances of him rescinding the bet are?"
Kaelen suddenly spoke up, glancing toward Serelith and Sarah, who were seated nearby. Serelith was calmly polishing the tip of her spear while Sarah busied herself with her phone. At the sound of Kaelen's voice, Sarah lifted her head.
"You wanna make another bet?"
"...Haha, maybe another time."
Kaelen replied with a laugh, prompting Sarah to silently click her tongue while she mumbled, "And here I thought I could've gained more fragments."
Kaelen simply smiled and turned his gaze to Serelith, who remained focused on cleaning her spear. She showed no sign of having heard him, and in the end, he could only shrug it off.
'How boring.'
While they were all part of the exchange program, they weren't friends by any means. The only reason they even tolerated each other was because of the program.
Otherwise, they would've probably ignored each other.
"Huam."
Kaelen let out an unexpected yawn and glanced once more toward the office, his eyes narrowing. A quick check of the time showed they were already a few minutes past the deadline. When he looked at Kyle, Kaelen found him staring at the office as well, his face unable to hide the nervousness it contained.
'Where was all the confidence from before?'
The sight felt rather amusing to Kaelen as he looked at Kyle and the others next to him. Although they weren't as nervous as Kyle, they all looked rather worried.
Kaelen shook his head.
'If you aren't confident in a bet, don't take it.'
Time continued to tick like this. Five minutes. Ten minutes.
As the minutes passed, patience started to run thin. Kaelen's brows were now tightly furrowed, and his gaze towards the office space in the distance appeared quite sharp. He was just about to rise in frustration when, at last, he heard movement by the door, and then it opened.
Clank!
Coming out of the door was the same haggard-looking figure from before, his hair even messier than before, and the smell coming off him even worse.
"Ah, shit."
"...Ukh."
As soon as Seth moved toward Kyle, the expressions of several people shifted at the smell wafting off him. Kyle glanced up at him and said, "I think it's time you cleaned yourself up."
"I will."
Seth replied calmly, brushing his hair back to reveal his eyes.
The moment he did, the atmosphere turned to ice, a slow, creeping tension spreading through the room. For some reason, the instant their eyes met his, everyone felt a heavy pressure settle over them.
His gaze was unsettling.
Glaring black circles aside, there was something about his eyes that made everyone tense.
They looked...
Lifeless.
No, not just lifeless.
There was a coldness to them, an emptiness that made the room feel even quieter. It was hard to put into words, but the silence that hung in the air was deafening.
"Here."
Seth's voice cut through the tension as he brought out a USB stick.
"Get three laptops out. I've completed the game."
-x-X-x-