Chapter 27
5. Stay Strong, Evelyn (2)
[Halloway cannot find you.]
[Halloway cannot smell your scent.]
My scent? What scent, you bastard.
[Halloway is displeased.]
What? He’s displeased by my scent?
[Hidden feature “Anxiety Syndrome” has been activated!]
How bad does my smell have to be for that to activate?!
Did my scent upset you that much?
I cautiously raised my arm and sniffed.
No, I didn’t smell that bad…
God, this is depressing.
[Halloway’s current anxiety level: 0.5%]
[Anxiety Syndrome: The longer Halloway is separated from you, the more unpredictable his actions become.
The higher the anxiety level, the stronger his possessiveness toward you grows!
Please stay close to poor, beautiful Halloway to lower his anxiety!]
[Possessiveness +0.2%]
[Jealousy: 13% / Anxiety: 0.5%]
Honestly, this guy talks more than I do.
I didn’t even have time to focus on the monsters closing in from both sides — new messages just kept popping up one after another.
“Now there’s an anxiety syndrome, too?”
As if jealousy wasn’t enough — now this?
Why not just unlock every single negative emotion at this point?
As soon as I muttered, the hawk-eyed system — which apparently missed nothing — hurried to display another window.
[Would you like to activate Halloway’s “Stress”?]
“No.”
Go away.
I clicked “No” several times in a row.
[Cancelled activation of Halloway’s “Stress.”]
What, there’s stress too?
Can’t even speak freely now?
This world is too cruel, guys.
Please, just let me live…
[“Future Conqueror of This World” Halloway’s Emotional Stats!
Affection: 10.5%
Attachment: 11%
Possessiveness: 12.2%]
[“Future Conqueror of This World” Halloway’s ★★!
Jealousy: 13%
Anxiety: 0.5%
(=Linked Emotion: Possessiveness)
????
????
…]
Seeing that long string of question marks made tears well up in my eyes.
Doesn’t that mean those will eventually unlock too…?
Raising one kid was hellishly exhausting.
What even are those stars?
Honestly, maybe I’d be better off without Halloway at all.
I prayed this increasing difficulty curve was just my imagination.
After rubbing my face roughly, I strained my ears.
Cre-eak… screeeak…
I gripped my nunchaku tightly.
Forget the absent Halloway — escaping these monsters came first.
The only thing I could rely on was my own body.
Just like before — I had to survive.
Grrrk… grrrhh…
Alright, maybe it’s time for an experiment.
At least I still had my nunchaku with me. Thank god for that much.
I muttered quietly, afraid the monsters might hear.
“Ah… Abyo…”
[Lack of confidence detected. Skill failed to activate.]
Oh come on — they hunt by sound!
If I shout “Abyo” confidently, won’t they just excitedly chase me down?
Couldn’t the game at least give me a better weapon?!
Earlier, I’d had people around, and the thought of death didn’t feel as real — that gave me a burst of confidence.
But now, alone, with the stench of death thick in the air, it all vanished.
The monsters’ cries and the blood-red glow filling the hallway made my knees weak.
…Was it always this terrifying?
Their sounds drew closer, but I couldn’t see them clearly.
If they were coming from both directions, the only place to run was into one of the rooms.
As I gripped the doorknob, something sticky clung to my palm.
When I pulled my hand back, a string of thick liquid stretched, then snapped.
Dark red blood smeared across my palm.
“…”
Every hair on my body stood on end.
Panicking, I wiped the blood off on the wall.
It’s fine. Totally fine.
Sure, I said that, but my body disagreed — cold sweat drenched my forehead, and my bangs stuck to my skin.
I bit my lip to keep from screaming.
Being alone made this horror game feel terrifyingly real.
But I couldn’t just stand there.
Even so, I hesitated to grab the doorknob again.
Ugh, I really didn’t want to touch that with my bare hand…
I pulled my sleeve down over my hand and grabbed it again.
The squelching feeling came through the thin fabric of my negligee, and I grimaced, twisting the knob.
Click. Click. Click.
It wouldn’t open.
Click-click-click!
“Damn it.”
Every door was the same.
As the monsters’ noises drew nearer, I pressed myself tightly against a decorative pedestal in the corridor, pretending to be an ornament.
Then— squelch.
“…Oh, please no.”
Not this again.
The horrifying, slimy sensation beneath my foot told me exactly what I had stepped on.
And the worst part…
“I’m barefoot…”
Then— wriggle, wriggle.
Something alive squirmed beneath my sole.
Not just one — many.
My whole body froze solid, too shocked even to scream.
They were bugs — the kind I didn’t even want to name.
Every limb curled up in disgust, but I forced myself to lift my foot.
When I stepped down again — squelch, crackle — the wet, popping feeling beneath my foot made me go rigid all over again.
“I swear I’m going to kill whoever designed this system. I’m not joking.”
Even cursing wasn’t enough to vent my fury.
So I decided to pray to whatever god had given me this ordeal instead.
Please, if I must die — let it at least be in a respectable way.
A mysterious death, sudden death, lonely death — any of those are fine…
As I prayed, I suddenly heard a sharp sound below me.
Chik.
“Huh?”
Chik!
“No, no, don’t do that. Don’t ‘chik.’ Be quiet.”
I hate mice. Please don’t.
But apparently, that little rat didn’t like being told to shut up — it suddenly screamed in fury.
CHIIIIIIIIK!
“KYAAAAAH!”
Its shrill, ultrasonic shriek pierced my ears, and I screamed, clutching my head.
[You were hit by the ultrasonic attack of a Murder Rat while unguarded.]
[Your semicircular canals have been damaged, causing dizziness.]
My sense of balance went haywire, my body swaying uncontrollably.
[The attack has reached your brain — you can no longer remain conscious.]
[Your vision darkens.]
That was the last thing I saw before I fainted.
…Flash!
“…”
I jolted awake.
The hallway, lit by that butcher-shop red light, was exactly the same.
As I wiggled my toes, the dried blood cracked and flaked off.
Disgusting.
Honestly, I’d rather have fought the monsters head-on.
Or better yet, been left alone altogether.
The awful sensations on my soles still lingered vividly — but I had to survive.
I tuned out the feeling and listened carefully.
The monsters and rats that had surrounded me before had all vanished without a trace.
“The rat… where’s that murder rat?”
The one that wrecked my inner ear — where did it go?
Did it… eat me?
I frantically checked myself, but found no wounds.
I’d been lying there, sprawled in the middle of the hallway, yet I wasn’t hurt at all.
Shouldn’t I at least have some damage after that?
I had no idea what those things were thinking — but for me, it was a blessing.
Time to complete the quest.
Now then — where had Suriel stored her collection again?
In the horror game version, I’d died before finding it, so I had no idea.
No useful info whatsoever.
Goddamn broken, unbalanced game!
Even after all my cursing, the system, for once, kindly gave me directions.
[Follow the arrow to reach the room containing Suriel’s collection.]
A holographic arrow appeared before my eyes.
I was still uneasy, but the system had never lied before, so I followed it cautiously — until I had to stop midway.
Splash… splash…
The sound of water echoed around me.
The stench of rot filled my nose.
Looking down, I saw a thin layer of icy water covering the floor.
The same foul odor I’d noticed upon first reaching the fifth floor was now rising thickly from that water.
