[Scenario will be starting soon. You have thirty minutes. Please get ready!]
Staring at the floating notification in front of me, I felt at a complete loss.
’Scenario? Why am I suddenly in a scenario? What’s going on??’
The last thing I recalled was standing before the painting. That was when my mind blanked. No, wait…
I suddenly recalled the face of the little girl and the hands that reached out for me.
Hastily, I sat up and looked around me.
Could she be…?
“Huh?”
A dull sound escaped my lips.
Not far from where I sat, a mansion rose tall and pale against the soft blue sky, its white walls gleaming under the midday sun. All around me, lush greenery swayed gently, the rough blades of grass grazing my hands and legs as I rested in its midst.
This place…
It looked extremely familiar.
“This is the place within the painting, isn’t it?”
I recognized the small pathway that was within the painting. I could even recognize the spot where the little girl had posed.
Then…?
’I’m in the world of the painting?’
This…
I gradually stood up and dusted my clothes, trying my best to gather my bearings. The situation made no sense to me at all, but I had to remain calm.
“A scenario… I am now inside a scenario…”
In other words, a gate?
The thought made me groan. If this were truly a gate, then I was in serious trouble, especially since I didn’t know the level of the gate.
I was currently in the First Order. This meant that I could only realistically handle <F> to <E> ranked gates.
Clearing higher gates was not impossible, but I needed specific items and ample preparations in order to do so.
But I had neither.
I wasn’t prepared, nor did I have items that were specific to clearing the scenario. In other words, I was fucked.
’Shit, what do I do?’
I looked around me to see if there was some sort of exit, but no matter how hard I looked, I couldn’t see anything.
The only thing I could see was the mansion in the distance, but that was the last place I wanted to go.
Then…? What was I supposed to do?
“No, now’s not the time to panic.”
I had to take several breaths in order to calm my mind down. There was no use panicking at this point.
Whatever happened had happened.
The only thing I could do now was look forward and find a way out of this situation.
I thought back to the second message I received, and a thought occurred to me.
“It says that I have thirty minutes to prepare. That might just be the thing that I need in order to clear this ridiculous scenario.”
Regarding the description of the scenario, I was sure I was going to receive it just before the scenario started.
In that case, the best course of action for me to take was to scout the mansion.
But there was only one problem.
“…I really don’t want to do that.”
Just the sight of the distant mansion made my stomach sick. And yet, I knew that going into the mansion was the only way for me to survive.
As such, pushing my cowardly thoughts away, I headed towards the mansion.
’I hope I’m right about this.’
*
The mansion was only a few minutes walk from where I ’spawned’, if it could even be called that. In order to save time, I jogged all the way there before arriving in front of its large wooden door.
Standing by the door, I felt small.
From the finely polished white stone that made up the structure to the well-kept garden that stood outside the door.
Everything about the place felt rich.
…And yet, the more I looked at it, the more dread I felt.
“I really don’t have a good feeling about this.”
I said this while pushing the doors open, a gentle creak reaching my ears as a large hall appeared in my vision, flanked on either side by sweeping staircases that curved upward toward the second floor.
A tall chandelier stood above, and several doors appeared on each side of the first floor, each open, revealing an empty darkness within.
One that seemed to suck the very light away.
“H-ho.”
My chest trembled as I took a deep breath. The place looked rather eerie as I stepped in, a sudden chill invading my body.
I swallowed silently while taking in my surroundings.
’The scenario hasn’t started yet. In that case, there shouldn’t be any monsters or problems…’
At least, I hoped that was the case.
However, I still remained cautious as I scanned my surroundings, the mansion looking completely deserted.
Step.
The echo of my step echoed as I stepped forward, the silence around me loud.
’This should be the main hall.’
I looked around and memorized every detail of the hall before moving towards one of the doors that was shrouded in darkness.
Despite my nervousness, I moved past the door and entered an entirely different room.
“Ah…”
The moment the light touched my eyes, I realized I was standing in an enormous room, far larger than the entrance hall. Along one side, desks were neatly arranged, each draped with pristine white cloths and topped with gleaming metal buffet platters.
The ceilings above were extremely high, with the brown polished floor gleaming under the lights of the chandeliers above.
Windows lined the walls, veiled in sheer curtains that just barely gave a glimpse of the world outside the large windows.
At the far end, a grand piano rested beneath the chandeliers, its polished black surface catching the light and gleaming like still water under the sun.
“This place…”
I held my breath for a moment, then stepped forward, the sound of my step echoing louder than before. I paused before the tables, where my eyes caught the edge of a certain flyer.
I slowly picked it up.
———
[You Are Cordially Invited]
To the Midnight Masquerade
A Night of Mystery, Music, and Moonlight
Date: Saturday, October 19th
Time: Doors open at 8:00 PM | Unmasking at Midnight
Venue: The Grand Ballroom, Ravenshade Manor
Dress Code: Formal Attire & Mask Required
Beneath the chandeliers and shadows, let secrets dance and silence speak. Join us for an evening of enchantment, where every face hides a story.
No entry without a mask.
———
“A masked ball?”
I read through each line again to pick up any details before placing the flyer down and looking around.
“…Could this be the scenario?”