Luckily, this time death wasn't painful. The moment he was immersed in the black water, he died instantly. He cursed that fake Saint in his head; he had been so thrilled to be on that planet. He even had wings, for damn's sake!
He looked at his surroundings and realized he was on a moving bus. There were a few people sitting near him, but they didn't move or blink, sitting as still as robots. Outside, a thick fog swallowed the view, making it impossible to see the road. Then, in the blink of an eye, the empty seats were suddenly filled with people, and the eerie silence was replaced by chaotic chatter.
Having seen so much already, Amadeus found he couldn't be truly shocked anymore. He stayed quiet and simply observed.
He was in a double seat. The person who had appeared next to him was busy talking to someone across the aisle.
"No way this is a horror theme." one said.
"...Ugh, just thinking about ghosts scares the shit out of me." the other replied.
"We need to find another person or two in this game. Seems like the villa is filled with traps, too."
"We could ask an NPC for help. We can team up with them in this match."
While listening to the conversation, Amadeus's face turned pale blue. Of all things, he was terrified of ghosts.
"But this NPC beside me is strange." The person next to him said, glancing at Amadeus. "Look at his face. Maybe he's a 'scared' type. Better find another NPC."
NPC? As in, Non-Playable Character? Amadeus thought, his heart sinking. What kind of world am I in now?
Not long after, the bus screeched to a halt. The moment the other "NPCs" stood up from their seats, they suddenly began acting like normal people: blinking, stretching, and chatting. Amadeus quickly followed their lead, masking his confusion.
When he stepped off the bus, he went pale.
In front of them was an ancient, decaying villa. Its windows were shattered and thick, tangled ivy covered most of the walls, hiding whatever beauty the house once had and replacing it with a suffocating, dark vibe.
Groups of players immediately began "recruiting" the NPCs. One by one, the other characters were grabbed, leaving Amadeus standing alone. Because he had been labeled the "Scared NPC" back on the bus, most players avoided him, thinking he'd be a liability.
Finally, the only people left to approach him were the weakest-looking group: a girl and a boy much shorter than him, both looking like stereotypical nerds.
They bowed slightly in greeting. "Hi, I'm Ryan and she's Jane." the boy said, sounding embarrassed as he looked up at the handsome, tall Amadeus. "Do you... do you want to team up?"
Amadeus nodded and introduced himself. He was dying to ask what was actually happening, what this "game" was but he wasn't sure how they would react if an NPC started asking meta-questions. For now, he decided it was safer to remain silent and play the part.
Then the players suddenly stopped, their eyes darting back and forth as if they were reading something in mid-air. Amadeus, who had played his fair share of games on Earth, assumed they were looking at a floating system window.
"Strange... an Anomaly is here?" Jane whispered, her voice trembling slightly.
A new notification had just appeared on every player's screen: an Anomaly had entered the match. The reward for finding and "eliminating" him was far higher than the standard prize money for clearing the villa.
"Wow, lucky me! I can't wait to win this!" someone from another group screamed, their face lighting up with greed.
Suddenly, a heavy revolver materialized in the air before every player. Each one came loaded with six shimmering golden bullets, a gift from the System. These weren't ordinary guns; they were weapons specifically designed to harm an Anomaly.
Amadeus's eyebrow twitched. Didn't Karina say that jumping into that black water would confuse whoever was trying to find me? Either the ritual had only partially worked, or the System was smarter than the Saint.
The groups began entering the villa in a specific order, likely based on their current points. Amadeus and his team were the very last to walk through the heavy oak doors.
"First thing first: we need to find our room." Jane said, squinting at her invisible interface while holding a torch to illuminate the way "It's room 208... so, the second floor. What do you think? Should we explore tonight, or wait until tomorrow so we can see what happens to the others first?"
"I don't know..." Ryan replied, his voice shaky. "I'm low on points and I can't afford any potions. It's too risky to go out there now. Maybe tomorrow morning we can explore and look for some items."
It was clear the boy was much more scared than the girl.
"But what if the other groups take them all by tonight?" the girl said angrily. She looked at the NPC who was following from behind. "Amadeus, do you have something in your bag?"
Amadeus had been carrying a bag since the beginning of the bus ride, but he hadn't been able to peek inside since he was an NPC; he was supposed to already know what was in there. Finally having the chance to satisfy his curiosity, he opened it and pulled out the first thing he saw. It was a framed picture, which he handed to the girl.
"Wha—" The picture suddenly disappeared with a motion of the girl's hand. She looked around to see if anyone had noticed and sighed with relief when she saw they were alone. She grabbed the two boys and rushed them to their room.
"What happened? What's in the picture?" the boy asked curiously, mimicking the girl's to pull out the frame.
"Shhh! Lower your voice." she whispered. The frame reappeared in her hand. It showed a family of three; a mother, a father, and a little boy, standing in front of the villa. Behind them, a line of people stood who looked like the family's servants.
"Shit! This is a massive clue!" the boy exclaimed, and they both giggled like some mad scientist.
"Come on, Amadeus, show us what else you've got." the girl said excitedly.
From the bag, he pulled a black dagger, some chocolate bars, three apples, batteries for the torch, a letter, and a pile of keys.
The two looked excited after seeing the keys, and they reached for the letter. "Ah- sorry, can we read this?" the girl asked politely. Even though he was an NPC, it was good to gain some points by earning his trust.
Amadeus was, of course, more curious than they were, so he grabbed the letter back and read it to them. He was afraid they would keep it without showing him.
From the letter, they discovered that Amadeus was, in fact, the great-grandchild of the former housekeeper. She had sent him the keys so he could retrieve something she lost in the house after the "accident": the heirloom ring of the Bennett family, who were the owners of the villa.
"Ryan, hold me, because I think I'm hallucinating." They had actually found a golden spoon! Luckily, no one else wanted him because he seemed scared. Those fools!
"No, you slap me! This could be our luckiest match!" Ryan exclaimed, shaking the girl by the shoulders.
Amadeus started to wonder: were they talking this carelessly in front of him because an NPC isn't supposed to understand that this is a game? He was itching to ask what "match" they were talking about. After finally finding an alibi, he put the items back inside his bag, including the keys and the frame. "I need to go find it; my great-grandmother is dying soon." he said with a tint of sadness in his eyes.
The other two nodded fanatically and stood up, determined to follow him. When they stepped out into the corridor, they found other groups roaming around. "Should we start searching from the ground floor first?" Ryan asked. Since no one opposed him, they started to go down the stairs. But then Amadeus, who was behind them, felt a hand push his shoulder. Thankfully, he quickly grabbed the handrail; otherwise, he surely would have tumbled down the stairs.
"Amadeus, are you all right?" the girl asked, frightened by the NPC's sudden movement.
"I felt someone pushing me." He paled and looked behind him, but there was no one there.
Ryan gulped and placed his own hand on the handrail. "We should be more careful. This place is dangerous."
They found many rooms, but some were already filled with players looting, so they moved further until they found an empty living room. Ryan began searching the desk and Jane looked through the bookshelves, while Amadeus stared out the window.
He was scared, but he wanted to see if the movies were right. If you watched outside long enough, would the figure of a ghost appear? He wanted to see if it would really happen.
The window glass was shattered. Outside, he could see a garden and an old fountain covered in moss. He was so concentrated on staying calm that when he felt a hand on his shoulder, he jolted. He looked at Ryan.
"Did you see something?" Ryan asked as he also looked out the window, only to see a white face with no eyes and hair flowing in the air.
"AHHHH!" Ryan fell back and started to crawl away. "B-b... behind you!" he exclaimed.
Amadeus didn't look back; instead, he ran away from the window before finally turning around. He saw nothing and sighed with relief.
Jane, hearing the commotion, looked at the window and also saw nothing. "You know this place is filled with ghosts. Don't go looking for trouble, you idiots." she said, rolling her eyes.
"Did you find something on the desk?" Amadeus asked as he helped Ryan stand up.
"Nothing interesting, just some work papers, but they can't be read because they are so old." Ryan sighed. He started to look inside the closet, only to get a face full of dust when he opened one. He began to cough and stepped back. "If someone runs after us, I don't think I would survive inside one of these." he commented, disgusted by the idea.
They stayed there searching for ten minutes more until they heard someone scream in the room beside them, followed by the sound of people running out.
The group of three peeked from their door, but they soon regretted letting their curiosity win. They saw a player covered in blood from head to toe with a knife stuck in his hand.
[A player has triggered a curse. Run before he kills you to pass the curse on!]
All the players received the warning and immediately panicked. The other players, who were farther away, could find a place to hide, but these three were right beside the door where the "red player" was. He saw them immediately.
Amadeus, of course, didn't see the system's warning, but he knew this was something dangerous. He instantly grabbed the two and started to run in the opposite direction of the player chasing them. He shouldn't meddle too much as a fake NPC, but it would be troublesome to let these two little fellas die so soon after meeting them.
He ran and ran. When he found other players trying to find a hiding spot, he yelled toward them, "Help!" He looked behind him, not seeing the enemy yet, and tried to open a door, but it was locked.
"Amadeus, there!" Jane, who was panting from all the running, pointed toward where the other players were also trying to enter. He sprinted, entered before them, and locked the door.
The other players banged on the door angrily but gave up pretty soon as they saw the player covered in red.
Finally, Ryan and Jane fell to the floor, sweating and panting. They had been dragged all around and had to struggle to keep up. "Why didn't you let them in?!" Jane was a little furious, but she knew she had asked a stupid question, the other players would have done the same.
Amadeus, who was also sweating, looked at the girl with a scared expression. "I-I was scared to die." he faked. Luckily, he was the "scared" NPC, so it was a believable motivation.
Jane nodded, not questioning him further. She knew that NPCs were coded to act like normal people anyway, and she had already met others like Amadeus. NPCs were only good for extra bonus points if protected and for providing free information.
"Ehm, g-guys... l-l-look over there." Ryan had been silent for a while, terrified that what he was seeing was real. He shined his torch straight into the middle of the room. A transparent child was sitting in an armchair, his legs swinging happily. In his hands, he was holding his own bloody head, which was humming a happy rhythm.
Wendy, Dear Wendy, why not play with me?
I'm not crazy, I just wanna play a game.