“The atmosphere is downright chilling.”
I had to agree with Nini. The hallway felt eerily different from when we first arrived. So much so that it was hard to believe it was the same place.
The overhead light flickered, as if on the verge of going out. Maybe it was just my imagination, but there was a faint, unpleasant smell in the air.
It was nothing like seeing it through the screen when playing. A shiver ran down my arms, and I instinctively rubbed them.
“Are we the only ones here?”
Nini muttered, glancing around. His words snapped me back to focus. We didn’t have time to stand around.
“We should split up and look for the others.”
“Let’s stay together.”
“That’s too inefficient, though.”
“And wandering off alone in a situation like this isn’t inefficient?”
…He had a point.
“Fine. But let’s at least—hey, why are you grabbing my hand?”
“If you get lost, that’d be a problem.”
I doubted we needed to go that far. I tried to pull away, but Nini immediately latched on again.
“And my hands are cold.”
This sly little—
“Fine, whatever. Let’s just go.”
Only then did Nini follow me.
“But, Sis, you’re really calm about all this. Aren’t you scared?”
“Of course I am.”
If anything, knowing exactly what was happening made it even scarier. It just didn’t show on my face, that’s all.
“Hmm.”
From the look on his face, something was clearly bothering him again. Before I could figure out if I needed to add an explanation to avoid suspicion—
“Ahh!”
Something brushed against my foot. The sensation was too distinct to ignore, and I yelped in surprise.
“A bloody rat!”
“…Sis.”
My heart was still pounding when Nini called me. That’s when I realized—I had instinctively latched onto him, both hands gripping his arm tightly.
“It was just a reflex.”
I let go, stepping away with an awkward cough.
“I didn’t say anything.”
You piece…
He was smirking, clearly enjoying himself.
I shot him a glare, but instead of backing off, he reached for my hand again.
Just as my heartbeat finally returned to normal, and I prepared to move on, a noise caught my attention.
“Did you hear that just now?”
“Hear what? I didn’t catch anything.”
“I’m sure I heard something. Come on.”
Grabbing Nini’s hand, I started heading toward the sound.
“Hic…”
The closer we got, the louder the sobbing became.
“Is someone there?”
“Ka… Kate? Kate, is that you?”
The trembling, fear-stricken voice unmistakably belonged to Jamie.
“Yes. It’s me.”
“O-over here! I’m here!”
“I still can’t see you… Can you move a little?”
At that, something stirred in the darkness. I ran toward the sound, shining my lantern in that direction.
“Ah!”
Jamie flinched and shielded her eyes with her arm, startled by the sudden burst of light.
“Sorry.”
I angled the lantern away and reached out to help her up. Her face was a mess. She had been crying for quite some time, apparently.
“Enough with the tears. If you keep crying, you’ll just wear yourself out.”
“That’s so mean! Shouldn’t you be comforting me first?”
Will comfort save us?
The words nearly escaped my lips, but I swallowed them down. It wasn’t something I should say to someone who had just been sobbing alone in the dark.
“You know we don’t have time for that. Did you see anyone else?”
“No… Do you think they’re dead?”
“Don’t say things like that.”
I shut down her grim speculation, and Jamie pouted, glancing around.
“But seriously, what the hell is going on? The mansion was fine before. Why did it suddenly change?”
“We don’t know that much either.”
“Ugh, this is so frustrating.”
Still, at least we had found Jamie. The others would appear as we progressed through the quest. For now, I wanted to take solace in the fact that we had completed one side quest.
Congratulations!
You have completed the side quest: Escape the Room and Find Your Party.
You have been rewarded with 50G and a Beginner’s Weapon.
Yes! This is what I mean!
At last, I had earned some real money and a weapon. Now, even if another set of choices appeared, I could breathe a little easier. But wait. Where was the Beginner’s Weapon?
I rummaged through my inventory, but nothing appeared.
Ah, I see.
Weapons usually meant swords, spears, guns, or bows… something along those lines. But if a large weapon suddenly materialized out of thin air, it would break immersion. The system should have been set up in a more natural way to introduce it.
Huh. They put more thought into this than I expected.
Thud.
“Hyahhh!”
Just as I was piecing things together, something fell from the statue beside Jamie, making her shriek. Nini stooped, picking up the object that had hit the floor.
“A… recorder?”
No way. This can’t be it.
You have received the Beginner’s Weapon: Sturdy Recorder as a quest reward
This is utter sh***.
I barely suppressed the string of curses that threatened to burst out.
A gun wouldn’t have been enough, and yet they gave me a recorder? What the hell was I supposed to do with this?
“Should we take it? I mean… we could use it to hit something if we need to.”
“…Yeah. Better than nothing, I guess.”
My voice had lost all its energy, and as if mocking me, the next quest popped up.
MAIN QUEST: Hidden Treasure Hunt has begun
You must now find the three treasures owned by the sisters. Clues about their whereabouts should be hidden somewhere.
Time Limit: 24 hours
Success Reward: 3,000OG / Random Weapon
Failure Consequence: Someone will bleed.
The three treasures… They were most likely the key elements needed for the ritual to summon the demon. Unfortunately, I couldn’t quite remember exactly what they were.
Regardless, 24 hours wasn’t as long as it seemed. We needed to move fast.
Log into the next quest — Chapter 8
- ▸ Yes
- ▸ No
