“I don’t know. I really don’t know.”
I couldn’t quite put it into words, but a growing tension stirred inside me, tightening with every thought of what might come next.
“I’m almost certain that this might be related to the cult. In that case, I need to write everything that I heard in the call down before it’s too late.”
Taking a piece of paper, I wrote everything down.
From the sounds, the smells, and every small detail I had managed to pick up during the interaction.
I thought back to the event and recalled how realistic everything was.
“…Maybe next time I can try to explore better? No, I’m not sure.”
The thing that bothered me about the call was that it was realistic.
Too realistic.
From the sounds, the smells, and everything…
It really felt as though I was there.
’This is also why I think there’s a good chance that by the time the next call comes, if I try, I might be able to find out more.’
The thought made my stomach rumble, but I knew that this was something that I needed to do.
“Ugh.”
Covering my forehead, I groaned.
This entire situation was really giving me a headache.
Nonetheless, I knew that I couldn’t back down.
It was already too late for me to back down.
Therefore, after a brief pause, I looked at the phone and placed it in my pocket. This was now something that I couldn’t afford to not have with me. not to
The next call…
I had to answer it.
***
The chaos that followed the Section Chief’s press conference was quite large.
Media outlets covered the entire situation, and within the island of Malovia, nobody could stop talking about the Severed Star Guild.
Arrogant.
…Lost their touch.
Delusional.
All sorts of labels were placed on them.
And yet, the Guild seemed completely unaffected by the labels. It was as if the Section Chief’s words reflected their attitude.
As a result, their name started to trend more.
But more than anything…
A Twisted Game also started to hit higher on trending.
Once the chaos died down and everyone processed the press conference, everyone turned their heads towards the game mentioned by the Section Chief. Many speculated that this was some sort of quick cash grab by the Guild in order to fund their operations.
Be it the journalists, the citizens, or anyone who had been paying close attention to the entire ordeal.
No one believed the Section Chief’s words.
And yet…
Despite not believing his words, people still flocked to Dock and decided to purchase the game.
Overnight, the sales of ’A Twisted Game’ shot up.
So much so that it hit the first page of Dock. And while it was still nowhere near the numbers of the top games, the fact that such a small game could reach the front page of Dock was a massive feat in itself.
With a certain household.
“Haa… Haa…”
Heavy breathing filled the room as a lone figure sat hunched over the desk, their face drained of color. Their trembling eyes locked onto the monitor, and their grip on the mouse was tense, knuckles white from the pressure.
’Don’t lock. Don’t look. Don’t look…’
The man kept repeating to himself.
And yet…
He still looked.
“Haaak!”
A scream pierced through the room as the figure fell back.
Bang!
Within the darkness, the figure stared breathlessly at the monitor in front of him.
“…It was real.”
He muttered, feeling his chest growing heavier and heavier.
“It wasn’t a lie…”
Such scenes occurred throughout the entire island.
But not everywhere was like this.
The high-ranking Guilds that were paying close attention to the situation all decided to give the game a try and see if there was anything noteworthy with it.
However…
“…It’s okay.”
“Hm. It’s not really that scary.”
They didn’t feel anything when playing the games.
The main issue lay in the fact that those who did try it were all high-ranking members of the Guild. Given how serious the Section Chief had been with his press conference, the higher-ups themselves were the ones who tried it.
In the end, none of them thought anything of the game.
In fact, most of them only laughed.
The Severed Stars Guild…
It really was starting to fall low.
*
I woke up the next morning feeling rather groggy.
But besides that, there was still a certain amount of joy. How could I not feel happy? Today was my rest day. After working out so much, it was finally time to take a break.
I couldn’t help but feel excited.
I hated exercising. I only did it because I had no choice but to.
“I wonder how the game’s sales are.”
I opened up my phone and checked the Dock app. I was expecting a fairly good amount of sales, but the moment I opened the app and saw the amount that was written on there, I had to rub my eyes a couple of times to make sure that I wasn’t seeing wrong.
However…
“Holy shit!”
I really wasn’t.
Staring at the number presented before me, it was as if my breath had been taken away from my body.
It just…
How could the impact be so big?
[Sales: 148,091]
This number… It was simply astronomical.
’If I take into account that each game sells for 5$ and Dock takes about thirty percent, then I’ve made around…’
I paused and opened the calculator app.
My estimates were around half a million, and… it indeed was.
Around 518,000 to be exact.
“This is insane.”
This was so much money. It was around 50,000SP if I converted it all. And the best part of it all…?
This was all mine.
This was all the money that I had managed to earn by myself.
“…I don’t even have to invest this money into my games anymore since the Guild can now directly fund my games.”
I could do whatever I wanted with this money.
This alone made me feel even better.
Hopping off the bed, I quickly got changed before heading to the Guild. It would still take some time for me to receive my money. About a week until the end of the month. In the meantime, I still needed to work.
Today was apparently my first day as Squad Leader.
“Ugh.”
Just the thought gave me a headache.
I didn’t know the first thing about being a Squad Leader.
However, since this was good for me, I didn’t find it in myself to refuse.
“Oh, right.”
Leaving the dorm, I opened up the file that the Section Chief had sent to me the day prior. It was the list of the people who were going to be in my squad.
There were six in total, and they were the same people who had taken the training session using my game.
“Min, Mia, Joanna, Niel, Nora, and Sarah.”
These were the names of all six members, and as I read each name, I also looked through each of their profiles.
It was also during that moment that my expression slowly started to change.
“…Are you kidding me?”
I looked back at the Section Chief’s number.
“I’m supposed to be the squad leader of these people?”
If anything…
They should be the ones leading me!