I'm a Supporting Role in a Horror Game, Don't Kill Me

[Final chapter: Welcome to PARK]

Seeing the white phrase floating on the monitor, I jumped up from my seat.

“At last!”

‘It took me over three years to get here. The real difficulty is amazing.’

This game, which I still have, was famed for its extremely severe difficulty. Despite the odd genre of a horror mystery game, it was initially extremely successful due to the excellent character modelling. However, after only two months, that much fandom began to dwindle swiftly, and by the end of a year, it had dwindled to the point where it was difficult to locate a streamer who was playing this game.

‘It’s entertaining, but… They frequently die like sunfish, and they frequently have awful endings, therefore they become insane.’

Even though I grumbled, every time I looked at the monitor, I laughed. Even if I didn’t have time, it was rewarding to hold on, even for 10 or 20 minutes every day.

‘At last. Finally, the final chapter.’

When I catch one, I tend to dig into it, whether I like it or not. I’ve heard a lot of people say that I’m foolish, but what can I do with my innate personality? Perhaps for this reason, I am still playing the game that everyone else has given up on. It could be that I am the only one playing this game so far. It’s been a while since a new strategy has been uploaded, and even if I organized a strategy for a route that no one has posted, there were almost no views.

“It’s the final chapter, so let’s try it.”

I placed my mouse cursor over the shiny white text in the middle of the screen and clicked.

* * *

Welcome to the horror game <Night of the Murderers>.

[<Arbitche is a Level 1 character and a total of 3 hearts are provided.]

The first thing I saw as soon as I opened my eyes was an information window that blocked the middle of my field of vision. No matter how many times I blink, the phrase that seemed to be engraved in my pupils does not disappear.

‘What is this?’

I looked around, wondering if it was a dream, but in addition to the information window, I saw a status window on the edge of my field of vision. At the top left are the name ‘Arbitche Green’ and three hearts. At the top right is an information mark that expands options when clicked.

‘Looks exactly like <Night of the Murderers?’

It has to be a dream. And I knew why I was dreaming like this.

‘I played a lot of games, though.’

I blamed myself inwardly. When you play a game, there are moments when you become overly immersed in it. I like the moments when I want to ride the warp because I feel unfair about walking, and I want to open my inventory when I have a lot of things I bought. After playing <The Night of the Murderers> every night, it seemed that I finally had a dream with a system window like this. I couldn’t see the surroundings well because of the status window, so I waved my hand a few times, but it didn’t have much effect.

“Check! Confirmed.”

At the same time as the mumbling voice, the window disappeared as if it had been clicked. When I moved my hands and stepped out, my body followed my perception much more smoothly than when playing VR games. No, it just felt like my own body. I got up and stood in front of the mirror. A young lady with long green hair was facing me with a pale face.

‘Is this me? Arbitche green?’

It’s not awkward to have a different appearance and nickname than my real self in the game. But there was something about this character named Arbitche Green that bothered me.

‘It’s definitely a character I’ve seen somewhere.’

While I was carefully observing my reflection in the mirror, someone opened the door, came in, and saw me with a startled face.

“Oh, are you awake?”

A tall character with round red hair and round glasses Maybe mid-30’s? She was an attractive woman with an impressive contrast between bright red lips and pure white skin. 

She was the beloved representative NPC in the game known as Mr. Blier. The reason she cared for me as the butler in the Learmond family was because she was the character in charge of saving my game. I was a little surprised because I didn’t expect to meet the characters in the game, but it was nice to see Mrs. Blier.

Madam Blier spoke to me again, blinking her eyes.

“Are you okay?”

I nodded quickly at her.

“Sure, that’s fine. Can I save or load the game?”

“…yes?”

“I cannot.”

Mrs. Blier blinked at me for a long time, as if she hadn’t understood my words, and then she smiled faintly.

“Rather than that, I was worried because you have been in a really bad mood these days, but I’m glad that you’ve improved a lot.”

‘These days, she talks as if Arbitche has been here all along.’

“Did I?”

“Oh. You didn’t want to talk to the master or the children at all. Even with the other servants and me.”

Master? Children?

There is no such thing as not talking to Mrs. Blier in this game, despite what you may be saying.

<Night of the Murderers is a game that will kill you if you are not careful for a second. You die if you choose the wrong option; you die if you can’t solve a puzzle with a time limit; you die if you don’t build a good impression… What could be more important than a save load in a game where you die so easily? So, Mrs. Blier is almost like salt and light in this game.

I shrugged my shoulders.

“I don’t know why I didn’t talk to Mrs. Blier. You’re truly indispensable and truly precious.”

Was the earnest sincerity contained in the words conveyed well? Mrs. Blier blinked her well-curled eyelashes as her cheeks turned red with something moving.

“Oh, do you really think so? It’s the first time I’ve heard that.”

Tring-!

[Mrs. Blier’s favorability has increased. Lv. 1(20/99)]

A short phrase appeared in the notification window in the lower left corner of the field of vision.

‘…It’s really a game.’

I was strangely impressed with this game-like situation, even the likability system, but Mr. Blier squeezed my hand as I was standing blankly as if she were moved. I was astounded by the pointless gesture and looked down at her hands.

‘What’s this… It’s so creepily realistic.’

Was it a dream? It’s really a dream, but can there be such a realistic touch? And then, so are the colors. There have been days when, on very rare occasions, I believe that I have seen a certain color in my dream, but I have never seen a dream so full of color.

As I started to think it was strange, I saw more and more suspicious things.

‘The smell of old furniture, the wind you can feel on your skin… How could this be all a dream?’

But… It must be a dream, even including these suspicious things, right?

‘When I come to my senses, I can think of it as a very creative dream. Is that right?’

The moment I was about to let go of Mrs. Blier’s hand, a high-pitched scream rang out.

“Kya!!”

Startled, we turned our heads to the window.

“What was that?”

“I know, right.”

I opened the window and looked out. It was only then that I realized that this desolate and narrow attic was part of a huge old mansion that I was terribly familiar with. And I am familiar with the foggy evening scenery, the carriages that come and go through the rows of gas lights, the acrid air, and the distant fireworks. This was the representative building from the trailer for <Night of the Murderers.

Beep-!

“Ask for more help! I can’t catch the fire!”

“That way! catch it! You son of a bitch, I won’t let you run away today!”

“Catch it! Don’t go alone!”

‘I’m very familiar with that whistle and those words.’

I heard it every time I retried this game, and I had no choice but to memorize it perfectly. <Night of the Murderers, Day 1, was the prologue line that predicted the fifth serial murder.

‘Of course… Even if I pick and choose, is it this game?’

I clicked my tongue inwardly. If we were going to have a dream that felt realistic like this, there would be many games with a better atmosphere.

‘Furthermore, it is very unsettling that the first day’s development is exactly the same…’

Could it be that in this strangely realistic dream, not only were the characters the same, but the flow of events and the development of the game itself were the same? If that’s the case, then I’ve become a supporting character in a cartoon starring Conan or Kim Jeon-il.

‘What do you mean, you don’t know when you’ll die?’

These are some specifications. I woke up from my dream and was tugging at my cheek to look at it, but Mr. Blier murmured urgently.

“The master is still outside, but it looks like something big has happened outside.”

“If you are talking about the master, do you mean the Lakers?”

“Yes.”

Lakers?

‘You mean that damn handsome character? In this game, there was no character other than the Lakers that could be called a master.’

“I have to send someone, so I’ll just go.”

“Yes? What… yes.”

Watching Mrs. Blier disappear in a hurry, I strangely felt like I had won the lottery.

‘Lakers Rearmond.’

He was the most attractive main character in this game. The perfect shape captivated the hearts of all players without burning their taste buds. Blond hair, gray eyes, pale skin, and a beautiful smile. He was so handsome that it gave me goosebumps. Of course, I liked him to the point that I deliberately collected bad endings and repeated the same scenario several times for an event where I could see his face more closely.

‘They say that celebrities appear in dreams… Will the dream end when Lakers come out?’

Thinking of seeing him in person, even in a dream, made my heart flutter a little, but if I were to ask him if this was a dream, I wouldn’t think so.

‘With that handsome face, the role is murderer.’

At least judging from the scenario I played right up to the final chapter, it was 99% certain that he was the culprit. It might be scary to meet in person, even in a dream. I was pounding alone over the Lakers, whom I hadn’t met yet, and then I heard a sound from outside again.

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!“

That horrifying scream woke me up. I then looked around to see where I was standing.

‘What…’

I was in a small attic room without proper, bright lighting. It was terrifying to be there alone and hear the loud screams. My eyes were drawn to the white curtains that kept rustling, and I felt I heard a rustle somewhere. I broke out in a cold sweat, and the downy hair stood on end along my back.

‘I’m not in a horror game for nothing, really.’

I opened the door slowly and went outside. The long hallway on both sides was also not very bright and quiet. While going down the stairs to the first floor, I ran into a few workers, but they didn’t comfort me at all, as they just sneaked away when they saw me. Eventually, as I walked nervously, I arrived at the entrance on the first floor before I knew it.

‘It might be better if I go outside.’

The moment I put my hand on the round iron handle carved in the shape of a crow with a mixture of excitement and anxiety, I stood still.

‘…what’s this?’

I looked down at my hands. Countless senses have been ignored since before. But this time, it could never be ignored. The very cold feel of iron in the palm of your hand The feeling that the temperature of the handle, which used to be crisply cool in your hand while holding it, gradually becomes lukewarm due to your body temperature

‘This can never be a dream…?’

What if it’s not a dream? What if not? Did I even get into the game? I turned my gaze and looked at the name written on the status window once more.

‘Arbitche Green’.

I barely remembered who the character I was playing was. Then, feeling my hair stand on end, I slowly let go of the doorknob.

‘I thought I was familiar with it…’

If this isn’t a dream, then I’ve chosen the wrong character. Arbitche Green was the name of one of the victims whose bodies were found not long after the game started.

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Translator Note: