It was dark.
In the darkness, I couldn’t feel a single thing.
But I was still conscious of the darkness around me.
In a weird sense, it felt comforting.
It felt…
Natural.
It was as if I was part of the darkness and the darkness was part of me.
But that darkness didn’t last for long.
Beep! Beep—!
A gentle beeping called to me from beyond the black, like a metronome tapping at the edge of sleep.
I didn’t want to leave the darkness, but this wasn’t a choice I could make.
Something twitched.
Was it my eyelids?
“…..”
As I opened my eyes, a bright light flooded my vision, leaving me momentarily dazed.
The first thing I saw was a white ceiling.
Alongside the ceiling was the same rhythmic beeping sound.
It was annoying.
Be— Beep!
But as I turned my head, I finally realized what it was.
It was an electrocardiogram
’I’m at a hospital?’
“Hm.”
Slowly sitting up, I couldn’t suppress a groan as I clutched my head.
It hurt…
My head. It hurt like crazy.
The pain was barely tolerable, forcing me to take several deep breaths just to steady myself. Even so, it did little to dull the pain.
’Damn it!’
Thankfully, I was familiar with this pain.
It hurt, but I could handle it.
I didn’t know how long passed like that, but by the time the pain was able to subside enough for me to think properly, I was exhausted as I slumped back onto the bed.
’…What in the world happened?’
I was still confused about the entire situation as I tried to recall the moments leading up to the current situation.
It was then that I recalled something, and I hastily opened the system window.
─────
Game Developer : Seth Thorne
Status : Second Order ▶ [See More]
▪ Basic Node : Containment Vessel
▶ Dreamwalker
▶ Mirelle
▶ Mr. Jingles
▪ Basic Node : Trait Transfer
Items :
▪ Blank Mask
▪ Purity Enhancer
▪ Spectral Glasses
▪ Quickstitch Outfit
▪ Echo Compass
Shop : Open
Quests : Unlocked (Available : 3)
▪ Locate the main branch of the cult.
– Reward: 210,000 SP
– Time Limit : 6 months.
▪ Prove the conductor wrong.
– Reward : Conductor
– Time Limit : 3 months.
Developed Games :
[Gentle Whispers] Rating : ⯪☆☆☆☆(0.5)
[A regular day in the office] Rating : ★☆☆☆☆(1.0)
[A Twisted game] Rating : ★★☆☆☆(2.0)
Balance : 100, 229 SP
─────
“…..”
Staring at the window in front of me, I didn’t feel happy at all.
Not even when I saw my current balance.
Instead, I was pissed.
’Stupid. Stupid. Stupid…’
Now that my head was clear, and I could think straight again, I realized just how stupid I had been throughout the entire ordeal. There were so many things that I could’ve done better, but more than anything, I had grown arrogant.
With everything that had happened, I had come to the stupid thought that even if I accepted the quests, I’d just somehow get lucky with them and solve them.
I had almost lost my life multiple times in a Second Order mission, and yet, for some reason, I came to the conclusion that I was somehow capable of clearing a Third Order one.
’Stupid.’
No, the mission was solvable.
I knew that it was solvable.
However, the way that I had approached it was wrong.
I had been so fixated with the spectral glasses that I had completely neglected an important item that could’ve helped me solve this entire ordeal faster.
Echo Compass.
It was an item that I had bought not too long ago for around 70,000 SP during the Twisted Man mission.
’I had the compass with me the entire time, and yet, for some reason, I was fixed with the glasses the entire time. No, not just the glasses. The shop items too.’
Why was this…?
There were only two things in my mind that could explain this.
Stupidity, and lack of experience.
It was a mix of both sides, but it was more stupidity than anything else.
I came to a full understanding just now.
’I can’t believe I forgot something like that…’
Just the thought of me forgetting something so important made me want to beat myself up. The fact that I was still alive was all due to luck.
No, it was more like…
It was all thanks to Kyle and Zoey.
Had it not been for them in the last moments, I would’ve without a doubt have turned into one of those puppets.
This wasn’t something that I was happy about.
It just went to show that I was still not ready for Third Order missions. I was still at the Second Order, and as such, it only made sense that I wouldn’t be able to solve them.
The fact that I even accepted the mission was simply because of how complacent I had become.
“…..”
Blankly staring at my ceiling, I closed my eyes.
Outside of just being mad, I knew that this wasn’t going to be the last time I’d enter a quest or scenario like this.
In the last moments, I understood that I had aggravated my injury.
I had no choice but to carry on with the quests.
To… get the medicine.
The only thing I could do right now was reflect on what I had done wrong and never repeat the same mistakes again.
While it wasn’t okay to make a mistake in such dangerous situations, now that I was still alive, I could learn something from it.
’Experience. That’s what I need. I just have to be more careful, more aware. No more stupid mistakes like forgetting a crucial item I could’ve used.’
Letting out a short breath, I opened my eyes again.
I was a lot calmer than before. But at the same time, I still felt gloomy about the entire situation.
But then—
Clank!
The door suddenly opened, and a figure calmly walked into the room.
Slowly turning my head, our eyes met and a smile blossomed over his features as he moved in.
“You’re finally awake.”
“…Yeah.”
It was Kyle.
He looked well put-together in his Guild uniform, with neatly kept hair and a surprisingly fresh face.
’Looks like I was out for quite a bit.’
“Are you feeling okay? Does anything hurt? The doctor said that you just fainted out of exhaustion. How are you feeling?”
“…I am, the best that I can be.”
I answered with a forced smile. I actually felt like shit, and my head was hurting like crazy, but it wasn’t like I could tell him about my disease.
The system wouldn’t allow me.
After all, how would I even explain to him how I was still treating it?
’No, wait…’
I suddenly thought about the orphanage and the thing that I had found.
Maybe…?
“Looks like you’re doing just fine.”
A smile blossomed on Kyle’s face as he patted my shoulder.
“You got really lucky there. Zoey and I did too. Even though we were keeping the anomaly in check, it was still tough for both of us. Thankfully, Myles managed to take care of it.”
“Oh, I se—Eh?”
I blinked my eyes in confusion.
Did he just say Myles managed to take care of it?
’I’m not hearing wrong, am I?’
“Myles…?”
“Oh, yeah.”
Kyle patted me on the shoulder again.
“He really came through for all of us in the end. You should thank him when you see him later. He’s currently the man of the hour. I’m sure he’ll be receiving quite the award later.”
Kyle laughed as he spoke, but the more I heard his words, the greater the gloom in my heart became.
He took care of it?
I suddenly recalled how he had been controlled by Mr. Jingles and had almost screwed me over.
I suddenly recalled how I had managed to tame Mr. Jingles, and he had been nowhere in sight.
Did he really clear it?
I highly doubted it.
’I fucking knew it!’
I clenched my teeth slowly.
’A rat is always a rat.’