"I'm not going to explain how to play the game. It's pretty straightforward. If you have any questions, just ask Kyle."
I glanced warily at the three people sitting in their cubicles, their hands awkwardly shifting between keyboard and mouse. It was clear from a single look that they weren't used to games like this.
Not that I cared.
I just wanted to get back to my dorm and finally get cleaned up. I couldn't smell myself, but I knew it had to be bad.
I also felt like shit.
"Once you boot up the game, there should be a multiplayer option. One of you creates a game, and the other two join. Simple."
Just as I was about to leave it at that, something came to mind and I added, "Oh, right. Make sure you're wearing headphones while playing. It'll enhance the experience. You can also talk to each other using the game's mic feature."
That was the latest addition I made to the game.
I'd already tested it. There were still the occasional bugs and glitches, but it was playable and ran well enough.
With that, I also changed the old lady's setting, making her appear whenever the conversation seemed to be most frequent. That usually indicated a certain level of nervousness.
With everything said, I gave a single nod.
"I'm leaving now."
At the same time, I turned to Kyle. He stood by the side, alongside Zeoy, and a few others. Unknowingly, a crowd had formed around the area. It seemed like news of the bet had made its way throughout the entire area.
Just how bored were they?
I shook my head.
"You'll be the one judging. If they make any reaction or scream, then eliminate them from the game. If they end up clearing the game without any reaction, then just give them their fragments."
"Wha, wait—"
Having said all that I wanted to say, I turned around and headed for the dorms. Even as I heard Kyle's voice from behind me, I ignored it and proceeded ahead.
'Ah, I can't wait to take a shower.'
***
"He's gone..."
Kyle's hand dropped as he looked at Seth's parting figure. He could tell that Seth had purposely ignored him.
'Okay, I need to relax. I need to stay calm. Seth is like this. Nothing has changed since the orphanage. Calm... Stay fucking calm...'
Taking a deep breath, Kyle silently clenched his teeth before turning his attention towards the exchange members as they loaded up the game and followed Seth's instructions.
None of them were stupid. Although they weren't familiar with keyboard games, they still knew how to follow instructions and managed to connect with each other.
Now, all that they needed to do was wait for Kyle's approval.
He was going to be the 'judge' of this bet.
"We're ready."
Looking at Kaelen, Serelith, and Sarah, who all stared at him at the same time, Kyle sighed to himself before nodding.
"Okay, you may start."
The three didn't waste a single second and began the game.
Immediately, the screen changed, and the surrounding noise faded as a subtle static noise filled their ears before they were suddenly brought inside a small estate.
—Has the game started?
All of a sudden, Serelith and Sarah heard Kaelen's voice in their ears as they unconsciously turned towards him.
It was too bad that their view was blocked by the sides of the cubicle.
—Can you guys hear me? That guy did say we could communicate in the game.
At Sarah's words, both Kaelen and Serelith understood.
—It's not bad, I guess. Makes it feel a little bit more realistic.
Kaelen couldn't help but praise the feature a little. That being said, looking at the graphics of the game and the generally dim lighting, he didn't find it scary at all.
He laughed while looking around.
—You better not show any reactions, you two. I know for certain I will be coming out of this with several fragments.
As he laughed, Sarah and Serelith remained quiet, probably just not bothered to entertain him.
It was right as the three started to play around with the controls that a sudden change occurred.
Tak. Tak. Tak—
The sound of footsteps echoed in the distance, breaking through the silence and pulling them from their thoughts. A dim light flickered behind one of the open doors, casting long shadows across the hallway.
Then, an old figure appeared, her steps slow.
Something about her sudden presence felt off, enough to make the air feel heavier and the moment stretch uncomfortably long.
[I thought you wouldn't have come, officers.]
The camera for all three of them suddenly panned down to display their uniforms as the old lady pulled the lamp down to display her old and wrinkly face, alongside her hollow eyes.
[...I have been waiting quite a while. I was starting to get impatient.]
—Wow, I guess we're starting off with a creepy old lady.
Kaelen suddenly commented as he studied the old woman before him. She was kind of creepy, but far from scary.
"It hasn't been long since my husband disappeared. Perhaps you might be able to find some clues if you look inside. I am happy to be of your assistance."
The three immediately understood what they needed to do as the old lady stepped to the side to display the surroundings. Looking at each other, the three immediately headed towards the first room where they found the first letter.
[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?]
—A domestic dispute?
Serelith commented while reading the letter. Kaelen shrugged.
—Might be the case. Anyways, let's head to the next room.
Yawning, he headed out of the kitchen. He had yet to feel anything. Talk about scary, this game was actually quite boring.
The three eventually found themselves in the next room.
—Oh, this is a bit bigger than before.
—Looks like we're inside a living room.
The three looked around the place when all of a sudden...
WHIM!
The record player sitting on the wooden table suddenly came to life, its needle dropping with a soft crackle that shattered the surrounding silence. A slow, creaky tune began to play, echoing faintly through the air, each note dragging into their ears.
Immediately, the three of them paused, feeling a certain something stir within them for a brief moment before snapping out of it.
—That's annoying...
Serelith frowned, the sound grating in a way she couldn't quite place, but she showed no other reaction. The same went for the other two. They frowned as well, but said nothing.
—Ignore the music, let's just find the note.
As Sarah spoke, the two nodded and looked around the room. Given that there were three people, finding the arrow was rather easy.
At the very least, they were much faster than Kyle.
[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.]
—I'm kind of confused. So instead of a domestic dispute, it's Alzheimer's? He ran off, maybe?
Sarah said as she looked at the words in front of her.
Her question prompted a shake of Serelith's head.
—I don't think it's that simple.
Serelith studied the letter.
—It's more than that, but we don't have information. Let's go to the next room.
It was the only option they had. But as they stepped out of the room, each of them paused, just for a moment, as that strange tune echoed once more in their minds.
It was only for the briefest of moments, and they soon carried on with whatever they were doing, but the tune... unbeknownst to them, continued to linger at the back of their mind, slowly stripping away at their focus as they entered the next room and found the last words written in red across a shattered mirror.
The moment their eyes fell on the mirror, the atmosphere seemed to freeze. A heavy silence settled over them, and all three stood still, saying nothing.
Crack!
A sharp crunch broke the silence. It sounded like the sound of someone stepping on glass, and as though possessed, Serelith moved toward the mirror as she began reading.
—Something is definitely up...
She paused, her voice threading through the silence like a soft whisper that tickled their ears.
—I don't remember. My brain is foggy.
Serelith's expression changed.
—I can hardly think. It hurts so much. It hurts, it hurts, but...
Her tone hurried.
—Whatever you do. Don't look.
And then—
—Don't look.
She reached the last line. The room seemed to still.
Without realizing it, all three were holding their breath.
-x-X-x-
—Don't look...
Kaelen quietly repeated Serelith's words, his eyes falling on the cracked mirror and the words that were written in blood red.
He swallowed silently, feeling his throat drier than usual.
However, he was quick to snap out of it as he cleared his throat and pulled his gaze away.
—I take it that this must be some sort of clue for the second floor. Given how the tension is slowly rising within the game, I suppose we've yet to encounter the true point of this game.
—You're probably right, but it can also be because he's sick. It did say he's forgetting stuff.
Sarah added while moving a little closer to the words on the mirror in order to see if there was anything else that she might've missed.
As her gaze drifted across the shards of the broken mirror, she froze. Reflected within the jagged glass was a pair of hollow eyes staring back at her, and for a moment, her expression nearly faltered.
—....!?
[Yes, he was indeed sick. That might be the case.]
A brittle, yet soft voice echoed, catching everyone off guard as they immediately turned in the direction of the voice, finding an old lady standing not far from where they were, her frail hands gripping onto her lamp.
She smiled, exposing her toothless mouth.
That was all she did.
Other than that, she said no other word and just stared at them.
The group of three sat silently, feeling the old lady's gaze to be uncomfortable.
Kaelen clicked his tongue.
—Is this supposed to be scary? It feels kind of cheap.
Although he said that, his grip on the mouse, for the briefest of moments, had tightened.
But this was something that he himself had not noticed.
Still, something about her reply bothered him. It was too well-timed.
'It's just a coincidence, though. No way this game can do that.'
—Let's go. This looks like a cheap attempt at a jump scare.
He shook his head while mumbling, 'What am I even doing?'
He then went ahead to the second floor, Sarah and Serelith looking at each other before following from behind.
Silence hung in the air as the three of them moved towards the second floor.
—Eh? Why is it so dark?
Coming out of the room, he realized the place was a lot darker than before. He could hardly see a thing, and even as he leaned closer to the monitor, he struggled to see ahead.
Then—
Creeeak.
[Oh, dear.]
The old woman's voice again. A faint glow bloomed behind them.
[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.]
She slowly ascended the stairs, lamp swinging gently.
—I guess this is the start of the second phase.
Sarah muttered, plucking her lips together as he turned to look at Kaelen's character and then the old lady.
—...The old lady looks pretty creepy, though.
Creak!
The moment the words left her mouth, the old lady paused, slowly turning around to face her direction.
The lights flickered once, so briefly it was easy to miss.
[That's not very nice.]
—....!?
—!?
Almost instantly, the three of them tensed at the same time as they looked at the old lady, who kept her gaze focused on Sarah, her heart skipping a beat as she felt the old lady's hollow eyes.
In that moment. For the first time.
She forgot about the fact that all of this was a game.
But then...
The old lady cracked a smile as she dangled the lamp forward.
[...I am leading the way up for all of you. It's not nice to stay so far from me. I won't bite.]
Right after that, she beckoned them with her hand.
[Come. Let's not waste any time. Follow me.]
Creaaak!
The steps creaked once more as she moved up.
Kaelen looked at the baffled Sarah before looking towards Kyle, who shook his head.
—Ah, what a pity. I almost thought you had made a face.
—...Tsk. Not that easy to scare me. I was just taken aback.
—Sure thing.
Kaelen smiled while moving the character forward. He looked completely unfazed, but despite his appearance, lingering doubts appeared in his mind.
'Is this really a coincidence? This isn't the first time... Can she hear us?'
Kaelen looked at the back of the old lady as she moved up the stairs and pursed his lips.
Unknowingly, his demeanor grew a little more serious.
The same was true for the other two as they moved up the stairs and reached the second floor, where the old lady waited.
[You look excited, officers. I really do hope you find something.]
The old lady illuminated the room up ahead.
But the moment she did, everyone stopped dead in their tracks, their hands clutching onto their mouse.
There, for the briefest of moments, they caught sight of a tall and lanky figure.
It lingered by the door, its head lowered, revealing only the faint outline of a top hat. In the blink of an eye, the figure vanished as suddenly as it had appeared, leaving behind an unsettling silence. The image burned itself into the minds of the three, who whispered amongst themselves.
—Did you see that?
—Yes, I did.
—Mhm.
Kaelen looked back at the door, his mind recalling the previous warning.
—Looks like this was just a warning. If I'm not wrong, the goal from this point forward will be to not look at it.
—That should be easy enough.
Sarah added, which was soon followed by a soft 'hm' from Sarah.
—Alright, good. So long as you understand, let's enter the next door. If you see anything, quickly report it.
—Yes.
—Mhm.
Kaelen felt a lot more confident upon hearing their confirmations as he pressed the key forward and entered the next room. However, right before he entered, a thought crossed his mind.
'Wait, why am I whispering?'
Before he knew it, Kaelen realized he had been whispering to the others.
The thought made him pause, but he quickly dispelled it and entered the room. It wasn't anything important anyway, and as he entered the room alongside the others, he opened his mouth, prepared to speak normally when...
—This...
He found himself stopping, his gaze falling on the words on the floor written in blood red, seemingly smeared through sheer desperation as the ends faded.
[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!!]
Kaelen held his breath for a moment, feeling his palms sweatier than usual.
Especially when he saw the last line.
But then...
Creaaaaak!
A soft, drawn-out creak echoed, and the surroundings suddenly felt heavier than before.
The silence lingered for what felt like forever as neither of the three moved, recalling the words from before, until...
"Oh, you're here. Did you find anything?"
An all too familiar voice echoed, and the three visibly relaxed.
'So it's the old lady.'
Kaelen smiled faintly, slowly inching the mouse in the direction of the old lady.
However, right as he was about to turn, he heard it.
—Hip!
The soft yelp.
One that was followed by Kyle's voice.
"Sarah has been eliminated."
Kaelen froze, his eyes blinking slowly as he felt goosebumps slowly rise at the back of his neck.
'W-what the hell just happened?'
Replaying Kyle's words in his mind and remembering the small yelp he heard, Kealen was quickly able to piece together what had happened in his mind.
'A trick! The 'monster' copied the old lady's voice, and Sarah looked at it!'
This...
Kaelen's body tensed at the realization.
—It seems like the monster can copy the old lady's voice. Be careful.
Serelith's voice came out rushed.
She also appeared to have come to the same conclusion as him, as she moved her character closer to his.
—We should stick together. This way, we can properly navigate our surroundings. We should also keep our mouses lowered so we stare at the floor.
Hearing Serelith's suggestion, Kaelen agreed.
—Yeah. That's smart.
This seemed to be the most appropriate approach.
Keeping calm, Kaelen's eyes sharpened as he decided to head out of the room alongside Serelith.
'This is a bit different than what I'm used to, but it isn't any scarier than the things I've gone against.'
As someone who came from the hoarding department, Kaelen specialized in combat against hoards of monsters, hence the name 'hoarding' department. He was the type of person to directly go against multiple monsters at the same time, killing them with his skill and precise control.
In many instances, he even managed to defeat monsters that were above his level.
But despite all of his experience there, he suddenly found himself somewhat lost. His accumulated experience at this moment didn't seem to be helping out at all.
Controlling the character and carefully moving towards the next room while keeping the mouse down, for the first time in a very long time, Kaelen felt a certain sense of helplessness.
Usually, he'd be able to attack whatever entity was tracking him or haunting him.
But in this game, he couldn't do that.
And this...
This added a certain sense of helplessness that Kaelen wasn't used to.
The same tension crept over Serelith, her palms growing damp against her mouse as she carefully guided her character.
Creeeeak!
Their movements were followed by a subtle creaking that came from right behind them. The sound was then followed by a soft breath. One that tickled their ears, sending chills down their bodies.
—....!?
—..!!
They froze, their hands hastily reaching for their headphones.
But...
Right as they did, they caught sight of Kyle, who shook his head.
"You do that and you're out."
Their breathing echoed loudly.
In the end, Kaelen and Serelith had no choice but to continue with the game, entering the next room as the soft sound of a breath continued to whisper in their ears, constantly tickling them.
Once inside the next room, they got to work, eyes down, searching for any messages or notes.
This was how the game operated, and so they knew there was something.
And something they soon found.
—The bed...
They both came to the same conclusion while staring at the bed. It wasn't because it was the most obvious option, but it was because the moment they looked at the leg of the bed, the breathing would stop.
—Should we check it out?
Kaelen hesitated.
He was suddenly reminded of how they had been tricked before and frowned.
Soon, he smiled and said,
—It's most likely a trap.
The weird' monster' was probably trying to lure them into looking under the bed. Kaelen could predict what would happen next.
'Cliché stuff.'
Thankfully, he was smart enough to see through the ploy as Serelith stood quietly, her thoughts unknown.
—Let's go look around the room. Maybe we can find the real clue hidden somewhere.
Following his own words, Kaelen got to work and started to look for more clues. As he did, he made sure to keep his mouse lowered so that he wouldn't accidentally 'see' the monster.
—Did you find anything?
Finding the next clue proved a little harder than expected despite there being two people. With them needing to keep their mouse lowered, it became rather inconvenient, and as Kaelen looked around, his gaze eventually fell towards the corner of the room where he spotted a certain arrow.
He immediately tried to tell Serelith about it, but...
—.....!!
His microphone was off.
'Eh?'
Kaelen suddenly paused, his mind frozen. But as if that wasn't bad enough...
—I've... found the clue. It's in my hands.
A certain voice replied.
One that froze Kaelen in his seat.
That's...
That's...!!
—You found it?
Serelith slowly turned around.
'No, don't do it! That's not me!'
Kaelen hastily turned his head, but found that he couldn't see her at all. The wall of the cubicle greeted him.
'Shit, no!'
Kaelen truly started to worry, but it was too late.
Serelith had turned.
Kaelen's in-game avatar twisted unnaturally, one half warping into view, stretching beyond normal proportions.
A tall, shadow-cloaked figure emerged: a black top hat perched atop a sickeningly pale face, its features extremely smooth, exposing its smile that stretched wider than it should have, the corners reaching just under the hat's brim.
It stared directly at her, as if amused.
And then—
Swooosh!
It appeared right before her.
".....?!"
Bang!
Serelith jumped, knocking her chair back as her trembling hands gripped the desk.
Kyle's voice came shortly after.
"Serelith has been eliminated. Kaelen remains."
Kaelen's hands trembled.
'What the hell?! What the hell?! What is happening? How can this be happening?'
He was currently having an inner meltdown. He couldn't understand how the monster had managed to copy his voice while also disabling his microphone.
What sort of game was this?
If it were just the normal him, he would've been able to attack it directly and kill it, but he couldn't do that in the game.
This... sudden sense of helplessness made his hand shake as the mouse suddenly felt a lot heavier than it was before.
However, feeling the multiple eyes that were directed his way, Kaelen pressed forward, a thin smile appeared on his face as he muttered,
—Haha, it looks like I'll be collecting all of the fragments.
He looked rather confident, and no trace of fear appeared on his face. However...
Ba... Thump! Ba... Thump!
His heart beat louder than ever.
It drummed so loudly in his mind, it was all he could think about.
The noise around him faded, and the world around him suddenly felt as though it was closing in on him. The only thing he could see was the monitor in front of him.
He felt...
Suffocated.
Creaaak!
Hearing the all too familiar creaking sound, alongside the soft breath over his ear as he felt the presence of something behind him, Kaelen hurriedly followed the arrow, which pointed towards a separate tile, and he pressed on it.
There, he saw the next 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!]
On the ceiling? Kaelen didn't even question the words. In his mind, he wanted to get this done as quickly as possible.
Flicking the mouse up, he looked towards the ceiling.
However, as he did, he was surprised to see the ceiling was completely blank.
—Eh? There's nothing?
He looked to his left and right and still found nothing.
Confused, Kaelen was about to search more when—
Cra Crack!
A sharp, splintering sound shattered the silence.
Everything went quiet after that.
Kaelen froze, his chest suddenly squeezing.
Ba... Thump! Ba... Thump!
Slowly, hesitantly, he moved the cursor toward the corner of the noise.
The world was quiet.
So quiet it almost felt as though it had been stripped of sound.
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.
"...Shit!"
Kaelen hastily stood up from his seat, the headphones dropping from his head as he stumbled back, his eyes shaking.
"Shit, fuck!"
Cursing several more times, Kaelen stumbled back a few more steps, his face pale and his hands shaking.
And as he did, he also saw them.
The multiple gazes that were directed at him.
And then—
"Kaelen has been eliminated. There's no person left. The game is over. You've lost the bet."
Kyle's words echoed, marking the end of the bet.
They... had lost.
"That's... That's..."
Kaelen stood frozen, lips trembling, his face a shade too pale. Kyle watched him from a couple of meters away, doing his best not to frown.
'What's going on? Why did he get scared?'
He looked around him, and he saw Zoey looking at Kaelen with the same expression as him. The same was true for the others.
'What happened? Why are they reacting like this?'
Mainly because they couldn't hear a single thing that had happened in the game.
For that reason, they didn't get to experience the same thing they did.
Only Rowan was visibly shaken, eyes locked on the monitor, his shoulders subtly quivering.
'I don't get it. What's so scary about the game?'
Kyle thought back on the situation.
Sure, the game had changed slightly. But at its core, it was still the same design. He'd played it himself. From his perspective, the exchange group had simply made mistake after mistake.
'Sarah most likely fell for the old lady's voice trick, while Serelith fell for another trick Seth added. Considering how I heard Kaelen say something about it not being him, I can assume that Seth added a feature that can mimic voices. She likely fell for that, and Kaelen just fell for the fake letter trick.'
All in all, this was a poor performance in Kyle's eyes.
The clues had all been presented at the start of the game, and as one navigated, if they paid close attention to everything that had been presented, none of them should've fallen for the tricks.
But it wasn't like Kyle could exactly blame them entirely for it.
'In the end, it's because they are all inexperienced in how to handle this stuff.'
There was a reason why they didn't bring the exchange members to higher gates despite clearing the lower ones in record time.
It was because once they reached higher gates, they wouldn't be able to brute force their way into clearing the gate. The anomalies that would appear would be far stronger than any monsters they'd ever faced, each one following its own rule.
In order to clear the gate, they needed to follow the rules.
This right here was the result of them not following the rules. And all of it came due to their lack of experience.
Thinking about it, the way Kyle looked at the game that Seth developed changed.
A certain thought crossed his mind as he looked around. In particular, his gaze fell on Rowan, who was still trembling.
'Hmm, it doesn't look like he's faking it. Should I take some time to talk with the Section Chief?'
While the game didn't feel scary to him at all, after witnessing how the exchange members behaved, alongside Rowan, Kyle felt that the game could actually be used by the department in order to train the new recruits.
If it really had an effect on them, then this really could be a good way to train them.
'It'll be much safer than sending them to actual gates, too, and I can train them without needing to be constantly on alert. We can also have as many tries as possible without needing to dive into the dungeon over and over again. That'll probably save up on a lot of the budget.'
The more Kyle thought about it, the more feasible he felt the idea was.
'Still, it might be too early to tell. I might just be overthinking things.'
After all, the game had no effect on him. It was better to just tell the Section Chief or one of the Team Leaders before deciding on what to do with the game.
"This makes no sense!"
Kaelen's voice snapped Kyle out of his thoughts.
He stared at the [Game Over] screen on his monitor, then looked around, locking eyes with Kyle.
"You did something! That's the only explanation!"
Kyle suddenly frowned.
Before he could respond, Zoey cut in.
"You lost fair and square. We didn't do anything. If we really did try something, you would've been able to detect it."
"That's bullshit!"
Kaelen's voice rose as he pointed from his screen to her.
"...You clearly did something. At one point, the old lady... that thing. She replied to my stuff as though she could hear me. That makes no sense. Isn't this developed by one person? You definitely did something—"
"The reason why she was able to speak with you is because you're predictable."
The new voice sliced through the room, drawing Kaelen's attention as a figure stepped out from the department entrance. His hair was still damp, but pulled back, revealing his face to everyone, momentarily stunning the exchange members as they wondered who they were seeing.
He wore a plain white T-shirt, the top buttons undone, paired with black pants.
Wiping his hair dry, he slowly made his way forward. His eyes swept across the monitors, then settled on Kaelen.
"I built an algorithm to simulate responses based on player behavior. If you thought it was listening to you... that just means you're easy to read."
"That's..."
Kaelen stiffened. His face twisted with something between anger and confusion.
But Seth didn't seem to care as he sat down on one of the chairs and looked at the time they spent on each game.
"If you're still hesitant about the game, then you can have it tested by someone you trust. You can even have someone look at the surroundings to see if some sort of item has been used to influence your mind. It doesn't really matter to me."
He spoke with a disarming nonchalance, his eyes just a shade less lifeless than before. But that same eerie quality still lingered, and it was that very presence that kept Kaelen and the others from arguing.
There was something about him that felt deeply unsettling.
That was why neither Sarah nor Serelith said a word as Seth's lips pulled into a thin smile and uneasy smile as he turned his attention towards Kyle.
He pointed at the time on the bottom of the screen.
"They hardly lasted as long as you. I guess the game is scary after all."
"Haha."
Kyle forced a smile.
Was it really?
However, looking at the members of the exchange group, Kyle could only concede.
"I guess..."
"Good."
Seth suddenly clapped his hands and looked at the three exchange members.
"Since you've lost your bet, it's time to pay up."
Seth added a finger with each member that he pointed at.
"Three of you, so that would be fifteen fragments."
Standing up, he patted his hands again, his lifeless eyes showing some sort of sign of life.
"If you don't have them with you now, you can directly give them to me later, or give them to Kyle."
He turned to face Kyle.
"Give them to me once they hand them to you. I've got a few other things that I need to do."
Having said everything that he wanted to say, Seth quietly moved towards his office before entering.
Clank!
The door closed.
Silence settled over the department a few moments later.
And just like that, the bet came to an end.
The three exchange members. The stars of their departments.
They all lost.
-x-X-x-
"Haaa."
Returning to my office, I released a slow, quiet breath and pressed a hand over my face. I had done my best to keep up appearances, but the dull throb in my head refused to fade.
I could hardly think straight, but it wasn't bad enough that I couldn't function.
...And I also felt a lot better after thinking about the bet.
'Fifteen fragments. This is definitely a good haul.'
I was sure that Kyle would question me about the fragments. About why I would need them, but I already had an answer for that.
Money.
I'd just tell him I planned to sell the fragments for money.
Money I could use to invest in building an even better game. It was a solid excuse, even if it couldn't be further from the truth. At the very least, it might get Kyle off my back.
"I also planned on going to a black market to purchase more, but I never really ended up finding one. I should ask Kyle when he gives me the fragments. He might know something."
I wasn't worried about the purity of the fragments.
With the fax machine, I planned on just mass-converting the fragments into pure ones.
'The only issue would be the type of fragment. While the purity isn't important, the type is.'
The Dreamwalker required 'Conceptualization' fragments. Preferably, I would want to get those. However, it wasn't a 'must'.
The most important thing was getting to the Third Order.
'On a different note, I wonder what sort of fragment Mirelle needs in order for me to evolve her.'
Turning my attention towards the painting in front of me, I tilted my head slightly.
Not even a second later, a head popped out.
"Did you bring them? Did you? You promised you would. You have to. Give them to me."
"...I do. Relax."
I reached into the drawer, pulled out a bag of crisps, and tossed it toward Mirelle. She caught it with a clumsy grab, then immediately tore it open and began devouring it without hesitation.
Crunch! Crunch!
"Don't eat too fast. It's not good for you."
Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!
My words were completely ignored as I shook my head. What was I even going to do with her?
"Oh, right. Mirelle."
"....Hm?"
Pausing, Mirelle's large, crystal eyes settled on me as her eyes squinted and she brought the chips closer to her. However, as though she felt bad, she took out one chip and stared at it and then at me.
Her small brows furrowed, and after a lot of contemplation, she brought the chip to her mouth.
Crunch!
"...."
...Really?
'Whatever.'
"What type of decree do you follow?"
"Decree?"
Mirelle tilted her head, seemingly clueless to my words. I scratched the side of my face.
"Power?"
"Hm?"
She looked even more confused. In the end, she resumed eating her chips, and I felt the headache I was experiencing growing even more pronounced.
'I guess I'll find out through trial and error.'
I was just about to receive fifteen fragments anyway.
I was bound to figure it out sooner or later.
'Onto more important things...'
I turned my attention towards my laptop and booted it on. Now that I was sure that the game worked, it was time for me to add a few more changes before officially launching it on Dock.
"I'll first launch it without multiplayer, and add that feature later."
The only reason why I was able to add multiplayer in the first place was because of all the corners that I cut. However, if I wanted to really add multiplayer, then it would take me at least two weeks.
"Since I've already gotten all the testing that I wanted, and I know that it works, all I have to do is launch the game and—"
Trr! Trrr—
A sudden vibration brought me out of my thoughts.
Curious, I retrieved my phone and I saw a simple message appear on the screen.
"A link?"
Looking at the name of the sender and seeing that it was Jamie, I decided to click on the link as it loaded me towards a certain video.
It took a couple of seconds for the video to load, and when it did, the first thing that caught my attention was the title.
[A shitty game that makes you scared!]
"Wait, what sort of title is that?"
I wasn't stupid. I knew it was referring directly to my game. A shitty game? The hell?
And as the video loaded better, my brows jumped up in surprise.
[Views: 231,507]
"Holy shit!"
I scrolled through the comments.
—LMAO. Look at how scared you were! That doesn't look scary at all.
—Is this a paid promotion? How the fuck can a seasoned containment expert get scared? This must be a paid promotion.
—Yeah, I'd believe it if he played Amnesia, but this? Bullshit.
—Lol, how much did they pay you, Idris?
—Could you have been lying about your prior experience?
The comments were numerous, but each comment pretty much said the same thing.'How much did you get paid?', and 'That game doesn't look scary at all'. Nobody believed that my game could scare someone who claimed to have been an expert in the containment department or was a gate diver.
I didn't blame them. Had I been in their position, I'd also feel the same.
Trrr—
It was as I was scrolling through the messages that I felt another vibration.
When I looked down, I saw that it came from Jamie as it said; [There's no better time to launch the game now. Give me the link as soon as possible, and I'll send it to Idris. Expect a bunch of sales coming soon.]
"..."
I sat there dazed for a moment, staring at the message and then the link over and over.
I sat like that for what felt like forever, until—
"Shit!"
I immediately jumped up and got to work.
***
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The hurried, impatient tapping of fingers drummed across the table, echoing through the otherwise silent room, where empty beer cans lay scattered in careless disarray.
"What's the holdup? Why isn't he replying?"
Idris stared impatiently at his phone and then the monitor in front of him.
It had been a couple of hours since the release of his new video, and the views had skyrocketed by quite a bit. This video was performing far better than he had ever expected.
But at the same time...
—You should retire. You're getting old.
—Old thing. I didn't know you were that desperate for money. Here, I'll send you a dollar.
"These motherfuckers!"
Idris felt his blood pressure rise.
Just a single look at the comments was enough to make him want to smash his phone.
"Damn it! Why isn't he replying? My name is at stake!"
Idris hurriedly typed a message to Jamie.
He desperately wanted to have his viewers try the game so that his name would be cleared. But there was only one issue. The game was nowhere to be found!
He also didn't have the name of the game.
Right now, everyone was pointing fingers at him, saying how he had sold out and all that nonsense.
"What bullshit!"
The more he thought about it, the more his blood pressure rose, and as he looked down at his phone again, his brows jumped up when he saw a message come from Jamie.
Trr!
He immediately tapped on the notification and stared at the link sent to him by Jamie.
"Yes, finally!"
He clicked the link, which opened a specific Dock page, and the moment the game title appeared on screen, his eyes fixed on it, and he froze.
With a complicated expression, he muttered,
"...Somehow, it fits."
Then, without wasting a single second, he copied the link and pasted it into his video.
[To whoever says that I sold out, here's the game. Try it yourself!]
Idris let out a satisfied grin, feeling a massive wave of relief.
'Bastards... I can't wait for all of you to feel the same sense of despair that I felt.'
On that day, a new game was released.
It was called...
'A Twisted Game'.
-x-X-x-
—Lol, how much commission do you get from this?
—It can't be that cheap, right? Kek.
—I bet it's at least over fifty percent. There's no way he'd advertise a game like this unless he's going to have a high percentage.
The moment the game was released, the comments flared.
—Hey, at least the game isn't very expensive. It's only five dollars.
—That's pretty cheap. I guess he doesn't expect to sell that many.
—Looks like I was right lol.
"Tsk. Tsk."
Carmen clicked his tongue as he typed out the message online. As the comments reflected on the surface of his glasses, he brushed his greasy hair back while turning his attention towards the link posted by Idris.
Ever since releasing the link, Idris had been rather quiet.
"I guess he has a sense of shame."
This was an obvious money pull to Carmen. The type that ran rampant among streamers and V-tubers.
"At least he isn't creating his own coin or some shit. That's when you know they're broke."
Chuckling to himself, Carmen ended up clicking on the link, which brought him to the game website. Staring at the title of the game, he chuckled.
"A Twisted Game? What sort of game is that?"
He had seen the entire video. In his mind, the game felt rather easy. It was quite ingenious how it tried to trick the player into looking at the monster, but Carmen didn't think he'd fall for such an easy trick.
Still, thinking back to the video he witnessed, and the expression that Idris ended up making by the end, he unknowingly found the cursor of his mouse hovering above the [purchase] button.
While he didn't believe the game would scare him, he still felt intrigued to try it.
"Right, this could be a great way to prove that it's all a scam. I might even make some views off of it by calling out Idris and his nonsense."
Carmen's eyes glinted, and he didn't hesitate to press [purchase].
Moments after the purchase came through, the game loaded on his computer. The icon was a simple top hat, and upon clicking on the game, Carmen was brought to a very plain interface.
"Alright."
He quickly set up his camera and stretched his fingers.
"Let's get started."
He clicked [Start] and the game began.
Everything from that point went smoothly. He proceeded with the game as he remembered from Idris's video. He collected the clues, and he sped through the first floor in record time.
"Yeah, this is easy."
Everything was going great.
Until...
It just wasn't.
"....."
Feeling the hot breath running down his ear. The small shadows that lurked all over, and the sound of items dropping, Carmen found himself frozen in fear.
Tick. Tick...
He felt disoriented. Every sound struck him as a trap, designed to lure him into turning. Everything he saw seemed like an illusion, carefully crafted to deceive him into making that one fatal mistake.
Everything... felt like it was out there to get him, and Carmen felt a sudden sense of suffocation.
He didn't know what to do.
'What do I do? What do I do? What do I do...?'
His thoughts swam in all directions as he tried to think of a way out of the situation. However, regardless of how much he thought, he couldn't think of a thing.
And then...
It came.
The Twisted Man.
"Haaaa—!"
What followed was a terrified scream as Carmen fell back on his seat, his face drenched in sweat and his hand trembling.
Staring at the game interface in front of him, he muttered.
"C-cursed."
The game.
It was cursed.
Such a scene didn't just happen in Carmen's place. They happened in several floating islands, with many displaying ever more drastic reactions than Carmen's.
They all realized it then.
Idris hadn't lied. His reaction was genuine.
And as a result.
The game started to trend.
***
At the same time, within a quiet office.
"So you're suggesting that we should use this game to train the new hires?"
Slowly lifting his head, the Section Chief scratched the stubble on his chin while staring at Kyle, who stood with his back straight, both hands behind his back.
Kyle wore a black vest over a crisp white shirt, paired with black pants.
He looked rather professional at the moment.
On the other hand, the section chief's shirt was missing a few buttons, and it hung untucked over his brown pants as he crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair.
He glanced at his laptop.
"...I'll be frank, I don't see how this will be of any use."
The Section Chief closed the laptop.
"It's a nice game and all. I can see it has drawn inspiration from your most recent event, but I don't see how this will help with the training."
The Section Chief's words came after trying the game. He, just like Kyle, didn't see anything special about the game. It was unique, yes, but was it scary?
The answer was no.
He thought Kyle would leave things there, but he was surprised to see Kyle insist.
"Section Chief, I also thought the same, but... that was until I learned that several people got scared by the game."
"Some people got scared? Who?"
To be scared of a game like that...
Who would be so incom—
"It's Rowan and the exchange members. More specifically, Serelith, Kaelen, and Sarah. The top stars of their respective departments.
"..."
The Section Chief's thoughts paused for a short moment as he tried to understand Kyle's words. Eventually, however, his eyes couldn't help but widen slightly.
"Rowan got scared?"
The exchange members he could get, but Rowan?
The Section Chief was well acquainted with Rowan. He was one of the people whom he personally thought had good potential. To be on par with Kyle and Zoey if given time.
That Rowan get scared?
"Yes, I've seen it with my own eyes."
Upon hearing Kyle's confirmation, the Section Chief drew a cold breath as he stared at the laptop in front of him again.
'If it's true that the game truly managed to scare them, then it might not be a bad idea to listen to Kyle and use the game for training. I'll need to do some tests myself and see if the claims are true. I'm not picking up anything unusual from the laptop either, so there doesn't seem to be any foul play involved.'
Pinching his cheeks slightly, the Section Chief glanced at Kyle.
"...Alright, if what you said is true, then I'll give it some thought."
"Really?"
Kyle's brows jumped up in pleasant surprise as he tried his best to hide his smile. Unfortunately, he wasn't subtle enough to escape the Section Chief's gaze.
"Don't be too happy just yet. All I'm saying is that I'll give it some thought."
Shaking his head, the Section Chief smiled before suddenly recalling something, and his expression turned serious.
Noticing the sudden shift in the atmosphere, Kyle's expression also turned serious.
"Right, I almost forgot about that."
Picking up a paper from his desk, the Section Chief casually flicked it in Kyle's direction as he caught it.
"A new mission popped up. I'll need you to check things around here. You can go with a team or solo. That's up to you."
As he spoke, the Section Chief noticed the subtle change in Kyle's expression as he slid a couple of files across the desk.
"I thought you'd be the best person for the mission."
He opened the files and tapped on the map.
"...If I'm not wrong, the orphanage you grew up in is there, is it not?"
-x-X-x-
"Huaam."
I slowly opened my eyes and sat up, rubbing the back of my head while shielding my eyes from the light streaming through the window.
"Ugh, what time is it?"
I tapped around the bed until I finally managed to find my phone and checked the time.
"Two?"
My eyes immediately shot wide awake.
"Holy, shit! How long did I sleep for?"
The last thing I remembered was heading back to the dorm after quickly releasing the game and passing out the moment I reached the bed. While I did remember that it was late, I knew it wasn't that late.
It was at most five in the morning.
'How in the world did I end up sleeping for so long?'
If I truly did sleep at seven in the morning, and it was now two in the afternoon, then...
"I slept for seven hours?!"
How absurd!
What sort of foreign concept was this?!
"No, no, no. I've wasted too much time sleeping."
I hopped off the bed and rushed into the bathroom, taking a quick shower before changing and sprinting back to the office.
'There's still so much that I need to do. I can't afford to be sleeping in like this. Shit. It's not like I can suddenly hire a team to help me out with the multiplayer system. Oh, right. I also remember sending the link to Jamie. I wonder how the sales of the games are...'
All sorts of thoughts ran through my mind as I dashed into the Guild and ran to the elevators that quickly brought me down toward the familiar department.
Back then, this place felt extremely stuffy and suffocating to me.
However, things were different now.
This place now felt more like home than my own dorm, and as I moved past the main working area and finally saw my office, I was suddenly stopped by a certain hand that went on to grasp my shoulder.
"Hold on a second."
"Hm? Kyle?"
Turning around and seeing Kyle, I paused.
"Good morning...?"
"It's the afternoon."
"Oh. It's the same."
So long as there was light, it was morning to me.
"That's..."
Kyle looked like he wanted to say more, but he just shook his head.
"Whatever. There's something that I'd like to talk with you about."
"What?"
Looking at his face and seeing that it was somewhat serious, I decided to nod and point towards my office.
"Good, since that's the case, I also have a few things that I want to talk about."
Basically, a way to enter the black market.
This was something I had been dying to find out for a while.
"You have something to talk about? Hm, wait. I think I know what you want."
"You do?"
I glanced at Kyle, surprised, but he didn't say anything more. He just headed toward my office. I followed closely, and once we reached the door, I opened it, led him inside, and shut it behind us.
"Alright."
Now certain that there was no prying ear, Kyle turned to face me as he handed me a small sack.
"This is?"
"The fragments that you won in the bet."
"Oh!"
My eyes lit up.
'Yes, right! I almost forgot!'
I grabbed the bag excitedly and looked through it, counting every one of them to make sure that there was none missing. Once I was certain that it was all there, I couldn't help but grin from ear to ear.
"You look happy?"
"Happy?"
Of course, I was happy. With this, I was now a step closer to reaching the Third Order.
"Well, although I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, the fragments that you're currently holding are all of rather poor purity. While they might still fetch a good sum of money, they aren't usable."
As his words paused there, his expression turned serious.
So serious that for a brief moment, I felt my heart skip a beat.
"When I mean unusable, I mean that in no way should a person even think or consider using the fragments in order to awaken. Doing so will lead to disastrous consequences, like the potential of several fractures, or even worse, developing a Cognitive Shard."
Kyle's tone grew even more serious.
"I repeat, don't even think about consuming the fragments unless you want to die. Is that clear?"
"....Yes."
Somehow, I couldn't help but find Kyle's serious parental talk to be amusing. However, I knew that his words came from a place of concern, and I naturally nodded my head.
I wasn't planning on consuming them in that state anyway.
"That's good."
Following my confirmation, Kyle appeared a little more relieved as he took out a file and slapped it on the table.
Pa!
"Hm? This is...?"
Looking at the file, I opened it curiously and slowly started to read through it. There were a lot of words, and I skimmed right through them. At the end of the day, this didn't really concern me.
However, what caught my interest were several drawings.
Each drawing looked like a quick, careless doodle. Something a child might sketch. A man in clown makeup, his bright, mismatched clothes, oversized red nose, wild red curls, and the ever-present red balloon.
But what stood out most were the eyes: deep black voids, scribbled in heavy, swirling strokes that grew denser with each ring, as if the artist had spiraled into obsession trying to get them just right.
What sort of...
"This is a most recent case that I've been assigned by the Section Chief. It involves a recent Anomaly that has been discovered. They call it 'The Hiding Clown'. No one has yet seen the anomaly in person, nor is there much information about it. We don't know its class or its rules. The only reason why we know of its existence is because of the drawings in the file."
"....Oh."
I put the file down.
'I can already tell that this smells like trouble. Let's just stay as far away as possible from thi—'
"The ones who drew this are children who belong to a specific orphanage. One called 'Happy Kids Orphanage'."
My thoughts immediately froze upon hearing Kyle's words, and as I slowly turned my head, I saw him slowly nod his head.
"Yes, it's the same orphanage where the two of us grew up."
The moment he confirmed it, my heart gradually sank as my eyes slowly closed.
"...Fuck."
Of all places, it had to be that place.
"I've been told by the Section Chief that I can create a team in order to go. Normally, I wouldn't bring you there, but given how you performed before, I thought that maybe you might be interested. And..."
Kyle paused, his expression turning a little complicated.
"...The Matriarch wants to see you. She says that it's about time that you came back to visit. There's a lot that the two of you need to talk about."
No, there wasn't.
Of all people, she was the last person that I wanted to talk to. She was also the main reason why I hardly visited.
But...
"Okay, I'll go."
I ended up quietly nodding my head and agreeing.
Not because of her, but because of the children. They were all in some way my siblings.
And most importantly...
'Maybe if I go there, I might be able to find some clues about myself before the world changed.'
Maybe.
Just maybe.
...I could find something useful.
-x-X-x-
The decision to go with Kyle was probably one that came from the spur of the moment, but the moment I thought about the orphanage, I felt my heart growing weaker.
I... couldn't find it in myself to refuse.
"I knew you'd join."
Kyle gave me a knowing smile while looking at me. He looked rather confident that I'd join him on this trip.
I could already feel my stomach sink at the upcoming situation, but if it helped me learn more about this world and the previous 'Seth', then it had to be done.
I knew that I'd have to go there one day or another.
'Might as well go now rather than later.'
"Well, since you're joining, I'll give you a better rundown on the situation and what we're supposed to do. I know you don't like scary stuff..." Kyle paused, narrowing his eyes slightly while looking at me. "You don't like it, right?"
"I don't."
What was up with his expression?
For a moment, it almost felt like he was doubting me.
"I really don't like it."
"....So you say, but you seem to enjoy it when people get scared by your games."
"That's..."
I struggled to come up with a proper rebuke.
"That's a different matter. And who said that I like it when they get scared? I would never take joy in people's screams."
"Never?"
Kyle raised his brow, the doubt on his face becoming even more obvious.
I felt offended.
"You know, Seth."
Kyle tapped his finger over the table while looking at me.
"I would believe you if you just didn't smile or chuckle to yourself whenever someone flinched or reacted to your game. You were doing that to me whenever a scary part was coming."
"Eh...?"
I did that?
Kyle tilted his head.
"Thinking about it, maybe you're the reason why I didn't find the game so scary. Whenever a scary part would come, you'd just giggle to yourself."
"....."
I wasn't sure what sort of expression I was making at the moment, but it was certainly not a very good one.
With a shake of his head, Kyle brought his attention back to the files.
"Back to the point, this mission is purely reconnaissance. We're there to gather intel on the anomaly, to determine if it's a threat or not. The Section Chief has appointed me as Team Leader and given me the authority to select three people. You're the first one I'm bringing."
"...Oh. I'm thankful."
Kyle rolled his eyes.
"I'm unsure about who to bring next. I'll think it over in the next couple of hours before deciding. In the meantime, you should start packing up your stuff."
"Pack up? Now?"
"Of course."
Kyle clapped his hands.
"We'll be leaving in a couple of hours. Why else wouldn't you pack? I've already contacted the Matriarch. We'll be staying there for the next couple of days to a week. The faster we go, the faster we can get this done."
With a grin, Kyle looked around the room before settling his gaze onto the painting on the wall.
"Hm? This is?"
"That's..."
Shit!
I immediately started sweating bullets, recalling how I had forgotten to put the painting away while Kyle was in. He was somewhat filled in on the entire museum situation, and while I wasn't sure if he recognized the painting, I didn't want to take any risks.
"Right, Kyle. There's something that I'd like to ask you about."
"Hm?"
Turning his attention back towards me, Kyle blinked his eyes.
"Sure, what's up?"
"That... Ehm." I scratched the side of my cheek while raising the sack in my hand. The one filled with fragments. "Now that I've got the fragments, I'm thinking of selling them. However, I know the Guild might not be interested in them. Do you have any idea if there's some sort of black market around?"
"You're thinking of going to the black market to sell the fragments?"
Kyle's expression turned even weirder as he looked me up and down.
"Are you planning on losing your organs?"
"What, no..."
"If you go to the black market to sell the fragments, you'll definitely get scammed. Your best bet is to go to a smaller Guild and sell the fragments to them. You know what, how about this? I can get you in contact with someone to help you sell the fragments. How about that?"
Hearing Kyle's offer, I didn't know whether to smile or cry.
I... just wanted to go to the black market, damn it.
"Err. I think I'd rather go to the black market."
"What? Why...?"
Kyle's expression grew serious, suspicious as well. I could tell from the expression he was making that he was thinking things like, 'Why does he want to go to the black market so badly? Is he hiding something?'
Licking my lips, I quickly came up with an excuse.
"...I'll be honest. I just need to pick up some things to defend myself. I've found myself in too many strange situations lately, and since the Guild only offers these items to members, I can't exactly buy them myself."
This was the best excuse that I could come up with.
And it wasn't like I was lying. The (BAU) prevented any Guilds from selling special items to regular people. The only way one could get such items would be by joining a Guild and paying for them through Guild points.
Since I was only a Trauma Counselor, I didn't have many points.
I couldn't buy any item even if I wanted to.
"....."
Feeling Kyle's gaze, I felt a little fidgety. Did he believe my excuse? Or is he still suspicious? Feeling my heart beat loudly inside of my chest, I found myself growing nervous.
The silence felt like it lasted for a very long time until Kyle eventually sighed.
"Fine."
"...Oh?"
I hastily raised my head, looking at Kyle while suppressing my excitement.
'He's really going to tell me?'
"You raise a good point. I would like to give you one of my items, but that's illegal. I'll get in a lot of trouble. This might be better, actually."
Looking around, Kyle grabbed a pen and started jotting something down on a piece of paper before sliding it over to me.
"You can go here once everything is over. For now, get ready. We're going to be leaving soon."
"Got it."
I hastily grabbed the paper and put it in the drawer.
Kyle gave me a small nod before quietly leaving the room. I stood in silence for a short while before letting out a small breath and reaching out for the fragments, and then turning my attention towards the fax machine.
"Since I've only got one hour, I guess I'll have to make the most of it."
***
Clank!
Coming out of Seth's door, Kyle's relaxed expression gradually turned more and more serious.
'Seth is definitely hiding something from me.'
Kyle had been watching Seth closely for quite some time now. While he was mostly the same as the Seth that he knew, something about him felt off.
From claiming he was scared of horror to acting like the complete opposite, to suddenly asking about the black market, everything felt off. Even his games, which made some people scared, were strange.
His excuse regarding the black market seemed believable, but Kyle couldn't ignore the subtle spark of excitement in his eyes when he gave him the location.
'...I don't really understand what he's hiding, but since he isn't telling me, it might be something that he doesn't want to share or can't share. I hope it's nothing dangerous.'
One of the main reasons why Kyle decided to bring Seth wasn't just because they were going back to the old orphanage.
But because the Matriarch was there.
'If it's her, then maybe...'
Kyle shook his head.
"Well, whatever. I'll think about it more later. For now, I should get packing too."
Perhaps, he was thinking too much.
-x-X-x-
I didn't have the fondest of memories of the orphanage.
It wasn't because I was neglected or because they mistreated me. That was the furthest thing from the truth.
In actuality, it was mainly because I was sick.
The medicine needed in order to keep me alive was rather expensive, and it ate up the orphanage's funding. This resulted in fewer toys for the kids and also fewer trips.
Everyone was aware of this. Even the kids, and as a result, I was left shunned by most of the children there.
The only one who stuck with me was Kyle.
He was the only one who played with me when I was young, and why the two of us were so close.
He was the only reason why I didn't completely hate my time in the orphanage.
'I still did end up getting 'kicked' out by the time I reached eighteen, but it's not like I can blame them.'
In fact, some children probably still resented me for hogging all of the funding.
"Haa."
I exhaled slowly, letting the fresh air brush against my face. I felt like shit. Like utter shit at the moment, and it was all because of Kyle.
That bastard...
'You're a star member. Why didn't we use the private jet? Why did you end up using such a shitty plane?!'
I felt like puking.
But...
'It's good to be back.'
In the distance, a small villa came into view, nestled in greenery. The grass stood at the height of my knees, bending under the strong wind that carried through the surroundings. Faint laughter drifted from afar, and the sound of children playing carried gently on the breeze.
The air felt cool, and as I looked up at the sky and saw the clouds turning gray, I knew it wouldn't be long before the rain began.
"This brings back memories." Kyle suddenly mumbled from beside me as I slowly turned my head to see him holding onto a trolley. With his other hand in the pocket of his gray Kashmir jacket, he looked rather stylish.
"...It does."
I slowly nodded my head while looking back towards the orphanage.
Because of the sudden world change, the location of the orphanage was in an entirely different place than I knew. It sat on one of the minor islands orbiting Andora, the central island, just like Malovia.
Sire Island.
With a population of about three hundred thousand people, the island was a lot smaller than Malovia, with the general buildings and infrastructure a lot more rundown and developed.
In general, it looked like the countryside.
A lot of greenery and a small town. This was how Sire Island was.
"Wait here for a second."
Pausing, Kyle held me by the shoulder and stopped me.
"....?"
"I've already said it before, but I'll repeat it again. While we're here to visit the children and the Matriarch, we're also here on a mission. The others will join us later, but for now, it is just the two of us. The goal is to investigate the drawings and determine if the anomaly is a dangerous one, and which potential class it is. If things get too dangerous, immediately evacuate the orphanage. Is that clear?"
"...Yes."
How many times have I heard the same words coming from him?
He had been at it during the entire three hours that we spent on the plane to get to this island. It wasn't even the private jet, but some rundown plane that Kyle somehow knew how to fly.
Just thinking about it gave me chills.
Especially when the plane hovered over the dark mist.
Goosebumps.
All I felt were goosebumps.
"You're not going to run off and do your own thing, right?"
Kyle's eyes narrowed as he asked.
I was taken aback.
"What do you take me for? And where would I even run off?"
Besides the orphanage, there was not a single house in sight. The closest village was a one-hour walk from where we were.
"...I'm just asking. Lately, you've been acting rather weird."
"Is that so?"
I pursed my lips. Well, he wasn't wrong on this aspect. However, it wasn't like this was something that I could control.
I was... just doing everything that I could possibly do in order to survive.
'Talking about survival, how is my game doing? Are the sales doing well?'
I hadn't checked ever since waking up. The moment I got into the office, Kyle appeared, and he dragged me to the orphanage, which left me traumatized as I held onto dear life.
"I think I've said all I needed to say. Let's head inside."
Picking up his bags, Kyle started to head towards the orphanage, but I remained standing where I was.
"You go without me."
"Hm?"
I showed him my phone.
"Work."
"...Oh. Sure."
With a look of understanding, Kyle didn't say anything else and started heading towards the orphanage. I waited for him to enter the place before opening the Dock app and checking the stats page.
The moment I did, as though the air had suddenly been stripped away from my lungs, I forgot to breathe.
"No way..."
I had to blink a couple of times in order to make sure I wasn't seeing things wrongly.
[Sales: 57,910]
But even as I blinked and saw that the stats remained the same, I felt as though my mind had suddenly exploded.
"Holy shit!"
Nearly sixty thousand sales? And all of it within half a day of the game release?!
What sort of numbers were these!?
It had to be noted that my first-ever game sold around thirty thousand copies. This was already almost double that!
"How did it sell so much? I don't... understand."
Was it because of the video that Jamie sent to me? Going back to our chat, I opened the link he sent me and went back to the video.
The moment I did, my eyes widened.
[Views: 501,887]
"...No wonder."
With so many views, it was no wonder my game was doing so well. Not only that, but looking at the reviews on my game, which averaged to [Mixed], I felt a lot better. This was certainly a step up from my previous game.
"Okay, okay. I shouldn't get too excited. This is because of the video. The sales might cool off later. In that case, I should quickly get the multiplayer function running. Get it out while the game is still hot."
But did I even have enough time to do that?
"Ugh. I really want to get back to work."
But...
Slowly lifting my head and staring at the distant orphanage, I could only sigh.
'Well, I'll see what I can do. I'd like to pay someone to optimize multiplayer and just add the Mirror Voices software later, but I'm currently broke, so...'
With a resigned sigh, I prepared to put my phone away.
But right as I was about to, I received a sudden message.
Trrr—
"Hm?"
Thinking it was maybe from Jamie, I looked at it, but I was surprised to see it come from a completely unknown number.
Blinking slowly, I read the message, and when I did, I found myself unable to close my mouth.
[To : Seth Thorne]
[We from Nova Studio would like to extend our sincere congratulations and are pleased to offer you a position with our team.
We were thoroughly impressed by your skills, experience, and creative approach, and we believe that you will be a valuable addition to our growing studio.
This offer includes...]
This...
"A scouting offer?"
I stood stunned for what felt like forever.
Reading the first few lines over and over again, I struggled to believe what I was seeing. A studio was offering a position to me?
To me...?
"No, wait. This shouldn't be strange."
Thinking about it, I had released two fairly successful individual games.
This offer wasn't at all strange.
'Yes, right. I'm no longer just some unknown game developer anymore. My first game trended for a little while, while my second game is en route to beating my first game by a large margin. My current worth is relatively high.'
Thinking thus far, I calmed down and looked at the offer more calmly.
As a result, I found rather quickly that it wasn't a very good offer. The salary that they offered was decent, but it wasn't anything close to the amount of money I would make from the game I created myself.
It was also a fixed salary, and I wouldn't get any percentage from the games I developed.
While they did provide me with more advanced technology to work with, that was irrelevant to me since I had to make money.
In that case, there was no longer a need for me to look at the offer.
"Still, I shouldn't reject the offer outright. I'll give them my terms and see if they accept them. If not, well, it's a pity."
The terms weren't even that many.
A good percentage of the revenue from the games that I developed.
A designated team that would work with me in developing said games.
Lastly, creative freedom to create my own games.
I could see how the demands sounded unreasonable, and they were, but why would I downgrade literally on everything to work in some crappy studio?
"It's just stupid."
And with that, I put my phone in my pocket and headed towards the orphanage.
*
"Haha, play with me!"
"No, me!"
"Okay, relax. I don't have an infinite number of hands. One at a time. I'll play with everyone."
The first thing I saw while coming into the orphanage was Kyle being surrounded by a bunch of kids. They all hopped on his legs, jumping up and down while demanding he throw them in the air.
This wasn't an unusual sight.
Kyle was generally popular with the children.
Me, on the other hand?
"Ah!!"
"Who is that?!"
Well, I tended to scare them.
I didn't even know why.
"A ghost!"
Okay, maybe I did.
"Relax, guys! That's just Seth! He used to be part of the orphanage like you guys."
With a helpless smile, Kyle patted the children in the back while looking at me. I shrugged. What was I even supposed to do? This was way out of my control.
Thankfully, not all children were scared of me, with some curiously walking up to me. One in particular, a girl with twin tails and a round, chubby face, walked up with a finger resting near her mouth.
She looked adorable.
Tugging my pants, she shyly asked,
"Are you really from the same orphanage?"
"...I am."
I tried my best to smile while talking to her.
She lowered her head a little.
"Will I turn out like you in the future?"
"Well..."
"I don't want to. I.. I... don't want to! Whaaa!"
"....."
The chubby girl suddenly burst out crying, leaving me at a complete loss for words.
Feeling Kyle's glare, I was speechless.
I didn't do anything!
"Whaa! I don't want to! I don't wwant toooo!"
Hearing the girl's cries, I was suddenly reminded of the Section Chief's motto, and my leg started to twitch.
'She may not be a ghost, but—'
"Oh, sweetie. Please don't cry. There's no need to cry."
All of a sudden, a soft and warm voice echoed, and two elderly hands reached out for the little girl, picking her up from the ground as she buried her face into the chest of a woman whom I knew all too well.
My expression turned a little complicated as I lowered my head.
"It's nice to see you, Matriarch."
"...It's good to see you, too, Seth."
Her smile was as warm as I remembered. She looked older now, her face containing a lot more wrinkles than I remembered, and her previous brown hair containing a lot more gray.
She changed a lot, but that smile of hers...
It hadn't changed one bit as I pursed my lips tightly, feeling a sudden surge of emotions.
Amongst them, guilt was the one I felt the most.
She was the person I was most indebted to in my life. She was the person who had insisted on keeping me in the orphanage despite my condition, and she was also the one whom I refused to meet after leaving the orphanage.
I wanted to come back and show her how much I had changed.
That I was successful, but...
All I did was loiter away with my life in a company that made me work overtime while slowly waiting for the disease to consume me.
I... became nothing but a failure, and as such, never found the guts to visit her.
"Why aren't you looking at me, Seth? Is something the matter?"
Feeling her warm hand on my shoulder, I shook my head and properly looked at her for the first time in a very long time. Her pure blue eyes were still the same.
"...No, nothing. I was just thinking about the girl's previous words. If I were in her position, I'd also not want to be me."
The Matriarch paused for a moment before suddenly smiling, her hand smacking against my shoulder.
"Oh, you! You're still as silly as before."
No, I wasn't really joking...
I really wouldn't wish anyone to be in my position.
Putting the girl down, the Matriarch patted her on the back, 'Go on. Go play with Uncle Kyle while I talk with Uncle Seth.'
"Mhm."
The little girl nodded before trotting away to Kyle.
A smile blossomed on her face the moment she moved to him, and my leg twitched once again.
'This little bi—'
"Don't blame the little girl. It's not really her fault. Your eyes are really intense."
"My eyes are intense?"
I turned to face the Matriarch as she placed her hands on my cheeks and positioned my face straight.
"Mhm. They've gotten even more intense than before. It's no wonder the children are scared of you. This isn't much different than in the past."
Letting go of my face, she nudged me with her finger.
"Come, there's someone that I'd like you to meet."
"Oh?"
Curious, I decided to follow her to the orphanage. The set-up was the same as I remembered. Besides the stairs in the middle that led to the second floor where the children rested, the first floor was separated into three sections. The kitchen, the play area, and the teaching area.
This excluded the garden where the playground was.
The playroom was amongst the largest areas within the orphanage, with toys strewn all over, and small tables flipped all over.
Moving into the playroom, the Matriarch stopped for a moment as she looked towards the corner where a child with black hair sat by himself, his hand holding onto a small pencil as he focused on drawing.
The child looked no older than ten. As he sat quietly on his stool, the other children seemed to steer clear of him; some were busy playing with the large plastic castles behind him, while others were focused on the TV across the room.
Looking at the TV, I couldn't help but make a face.
'Why is that thing still here?'
The TV was something that had been present since I was a kid. It was... rather old.
Unaware of my thoughts, the Matriarch spoke.
"That's Chris over there, and he's a lot like you when you were young. He usually keeps to himself and spends most of his time drawing. I've tried many times to get him involved with the others, but he always goes back to doing his own thing. I wanted you to meet him to see if you could do anything about it. Maybe you might know how to get him to engage with the other children."
Despite the Matriarch's words, I wasn't able to focus at all on them.
Because...
Ding!
...Of the sudden notification that I received.
Ding!
[Quest Activated]
• Difficulty: Third Order
• Reward: 50,000 SP
• Objective: Hide and Seek.
• Location: N/A
Description: Find Mr. Jingles before it's too late!
Time Limit: 2 days.