The living room had more of an artistic vibe. Looking at it, it was your standard horror-setting room. Statues were lying around; even a human body structure model was there.
"Hey, look at the piece of paper."
We finally got our first plot after walking for a while. I took the piece of paper and read what was written.
eαglesnᴏνel "This house is haunted... I should have never come to a place like this... For those reading this note, it probably already means I'm dead. Escape while you can. It's not worth it to stay here. You might get lucky if the door wasn't locked. But if it is, then I can only pray. I have nothing valuable but only tips on how to survive. Stealth is vital. They are susceptible to sound."
That was all the paper could fit. Whether they were attracted to sound or not, all I needed to do was beat them up.
This game was supposed to be stealthy. I don't know if the game intended that I could kill these monsters, but it was something I could do. With the first note read, Courtney held my clothes tightly in shock behind me.
"Charles, I think we better run."
I looked toward Courtney's field of vision, and we saw statues floating in the sky.
The human body structure model moved differently from the rest. Unlike the others, who were floating, the model walked toward us in a freaky fashion.
"PLEASE RUN!!!"
"???"
I didn't expect the model to speak. Not to mention, he spoke words we could understand. What made it weird was that it was warning us of something.
"Who the fuck are you to tell me what to do?"
Instead of a horror game, I turned this into a fighting game. The model I punched had splattered, turning its body into goo. For a toy, it was oddly realistic to see its organ bleed from my punch. Dead from my punch, all the statues fell, shattering into a million pieces.
"Courtney, are you alright?"
"With you here, it's less terrifying."
"You're damn right."
After killing a few of these monsters, I knew nothing in this game could match my strength.
The living room was a bust, but it gave us three options for our next destination—the next room, upstairs, and the basement.
"Courtney, want to try the basement? There's always the most clue in that place."
"Base... Basement???"
Not only should there be more clues but also scary events. Courtney didn't seem down for it, but I thought it would be the most interesting.
"We can go somewhere else if you like."
"No... The basement is fine... Everywhere would be scary..."
Well, she's not wrong. To calm her down, I could only give her physical contact.
"Courtney, all you need to do is remember that I am here. I will protect you all the way."
What I said was pretty cheesy, but it was needed to calm Courtney's nerves.
[Third Person POV]
"I wish those couples would die!!!"
Watching two couples in a game was hard to stomach for those alone in the crowd. It made them jealous, seeing that they had no significant other.
"Hey, Jill. Do you think they will escape?"
"Of course they will! All the challenges are destroyed."
Someone had answered in Jill's stead. To the audience, the results were noticeable. With no threat, there was no way for Charles and Courtney to lose. Jill, however, said nothing. She stared at the screen intensely without moving an inch.
"When do you think they will finish? They have been inside for almost an hour."
"Are you new? These types of games take hours. Do you think an hour will be enough? They will need to play at least three times an hour."
One long-time visitor of this place had said explaining the details of how these types of games worked.
"Look! They went to the basement!"
"I mean, why wouldn't they? The monsters are bugged. If you aren't going to the basement, then something is wrong with your mind."
With that said, Charles and Courtney went down to the basement. Unlike any other place, the basement they went to was almost impossible to see. Due to the darkness, it was almost impossible to find the path.
"Is there any damn light in this place?"
"Maybe we took the wrong steps."
"Should I create the light source myself?"
"Huh? You can do that?"
"I mean, this place is made out of wood."
"..."
Everyone hearing what Charles said had tried to check their ears. Was Charles going to burn the whole house? And was that even possible?
The house was entirely made of wood. Charles removed a chunk of the wall and started creating fire with his two hands.
With the wood lighting up, some parts of the basement could now be seen. Charles hadn't thought of it, but the wood he had lit up had spread everywhere.
While fire doesn't hurt him, he releases it just in case the fire could harm him in the illusion. After dropping the lit piece of wood, the fire spread to the house.
"Oops. What do we do now? This house is going to burn down."
"There's nothing we can do!"
Courtney didn't have an idea of what to do. With the fire spreading, all the two could do was wait for everything to transpire.
"You have escaped!"
"..."
"Who knew burning down the house would give you a win?"
Everyone thought Charles was a madman. What kind of game gives you the win if you destroy everything by complete accident?
"Jill, correct?"
"Yeah?"
"This game is too easy. I just want to give my input."
"..."
Charles said this for petty motives. Jill had used Courtney's curiosity against her, so Charles only told Jill the truth about this game.
"Thanks for your input..."
Everyone could tell Jill was angry at what Charles had said. No one can blame him. If anyone in the room had the chance, they would have done the same.
"Jill, why don't I have a go next? It's unsatisfying to see a victory like that."
Since the game was buggy, everyone in the store wanted to play it in easy mode.
"If you pay five times the price, I will let you on."
"Deal!"
By paying $25,000, the person who made the call got access to the game. Charles and Courtney stayed and wanted to see the game from the perspective of others.
"Let's make a bet on how long it will take for him to clear. Anyone in?"
Betting in a setting like this was expected. Not only was everyone here rich, but it made the viewing experience much more exciting. Of course, there was a limit on how much one could bet since no one here was looking to bankrupt anyone.
"Then I will bet that he fails."
Charles' bet has everyone looking. Everyone thought that he was crazy when the threats were useless. Since everyone thought that it was free money, no one here complained.
Once again, the familiar dark forest had appeared. Experiencing this game was much different than watching it from afar.
Upon entering, you could feel the atmosphere of the game. The illusions made all the senses active and made the game fair by locking everyone's skill.
"Charles. Why do you think that he will fail?"
Courtney wondered why he made a bet about this person's loss. Courtney thought the game should be easy, but when she thought about it, it was Charles she was thinking about. Everything he did was irregular.
"Did you by pass the illusion?"
Courtney whispered into Charles's ears, only loud enough for him to hear. All Charles did was nod, confirming what Courtney said was true.
"Heh. Everyone! Watch me heroically finish off this scrub in one punch!"
"Shameless!"
"What a fucking loser!"
The crowd shouted at the man's bragging rights. With the first monster there, everyone had already expected the outcome.
"Heroic! Mega! Sexy! Punch!"
Doing a weird pose, he punched the monster in the face. What the man did not anticipate was that his punch would be ineffective. Looking at the monster, he knew he had messed up.
"Shit!"
The monster had strangled the man with his tentacles for an arm. It was a one-sided fight that took little effort for the monster to win. In five minutes, the man had lost the game.
"So. Can I get my cash? I won the bet."
"..."
Charles had earned a million credits from these poor people. It was chump change to him, but it had increased his numbers even a little.
"Jill!!! Did you fix the game right after!"
The man screamed in anger. He was scammed out of the price and had even embarrassed himself.
"Sorry, but I changed nothing. Maybe the first load had a glitch. I have refunded you if that made you happy."
Jill had made the correct choice, and now that he got his money back, he really couldn't complain. For the whole day, Charles and Courtney looked around and tried all sorts of games.
