’What must I realistically have to do in order to scare Kyle with a ga? Do I have to get more software or do I just have to improve the ga even further?’
The second ga was certainly better than the first one. The storyline was clearer, and with each subsequent room that one entered, the tension rose.
Obviously, the ga was far from perfect. The storyline and the path were still linear. There was no real challenge in figuring out what to do next. Just enter the room, then find the clue.
I understood this perfectly, and although I wanted to create non-linear gas, it was impossible for the current . Just developing this ga took so much ti.
A non-linear ga would require a team or a lot of ti. I had neither.
’Maybe if the second ga is a hit, and I manage to get enough funds... but I’d still need to develop the ga using the ga developer system. In that case, how can I develop better gas?’
The thought stopped cold. I felt like I’d reached my limit. Even if I added more software, it would only improve the ga by small margins.
It wouldn’t provide that qualitative jump that I needed in order to scare Kyle.
Then what...?
What could I do?
"No. It’s too late for that. The bet is off the table..."
A sudden voice snapped out of my thoughts. When I looked up, I was surprised to see a group gathered around Kyle. Rowan, Zoey, Myles... Several familiar faces appeared before . They all seed focused on a particular group who were staring intently at Rowan.
’So sort of conflict?’
I could see that the mood wasn’t quite right.
’Now that I look closely, the group looks to be those from the exchange program?’
I couldn’t quite rember their faces since I’d barely spent any ti with them. Still, I wasn’t completely clueless. I was still there when they introduced themselves and, as such, was able to recognize one of them. With his black hair, pristine white uniform, and half-slanted eyes, he was hard to miss.
’Kaelen, I think...’
Thinking back to Kyle’s words, everything started to make sense to .
"Why is it suddenly off the table? It wasn’t too long ago when you were saying you’d bet five fragnts if I got scared by the ga."
"Like I said the bet is no longer in play."
"What?" Kaelen said, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Suddenly not so confident in the ga?"
"That’s not it..."
Rowan tried to respond, but Kaelen cut him off, turning his attention back to the ga.
"What do you an it’s not? That’s clearly the case." Kaelen chuckled, "You thought it would scare soone because it scared you, but now that Kyle here wasn’t scared, you’re having second thoughts. Am I right?"
"What about you?"
Zoey frowned, suddenly chiming in on the conversation.
"Aren’t you only interested in taking the ga because Kyle didn’t get scared? If it wasn’t for Kyle, you’d still be running away from the ga."
"Hahaha."
Kaelen suddenly laughed, looking at Zoey as though she was an idiot.
"The only reason I hadn’t played the ga was that I wasn’t interested. But after watching Kyle, I realized five fragnts are still five fragnts. Who wouldn’t accept such a generous gift?"
"That’s bullshit."
Zoey suddenly chid, her brows furrowing tightly as she didn’t bother hiding her annoyance.
"If you had thought this way you would’ve accepted the deal before. The sa goes for the others."
Zoey turned her head towards the other mbers, who were all staring at the scene with different expressions. So looked bored, while others looked amused.
"Oh? We could participate?"
Suddenly, a girl with long white hair spoke. Hugging her spear, she tilted her head slightly, exposing her crystal blue eyes as she looked at Rowan with a certain glint.
"I would’ve taken the deal if we were allowed."
"Can’t say I disagree."
Another woman chid in, her hand by her cheek as she looked at Rowan in disappointnt.
"I didn’t know we weren’t allowed. What a pity."
As others joined, the situation began to escalate. Watching the scene, my brow furrowed tightly.
It wasn’t so much because of the conflict. Rather, the more I stared at the exchange mbers, and then Rowan, the more a certain possibility dawned on , and my heart couldn’t help but suddenly race with a surge of excitent.
’Yes, that’s possible. It can be done...’
"If the opportunity presents itself again, I’d take it. Like he said, it’s free fragnts. Why would I give up free fragnts?"
"Sa here."
The mood plumted further, and the tensions seed to rise to an all-ti high.
Kyle, who had been silent the whole ti, suddenly lifted his head to address the others and try to calm things down, but before he could speak, I stepped forward.
"Wait."
"Hm?"
The mont I spoke, several heads turned toward . So faces frowned, others showed flickers of disgust. I couldn’t bla them; I didn’t exactly look my best right now.
"Who is this?" One of the exchange mbers asked, looking back while trying their best to keep their expressions even.
"...Ah, wait. Isn’t he the guy from before?"
"Oh, right. Why does he look holess?"
That...
Although it was true, it still kind of hurt.
"Keum."
Coughing, I tried my best to remain calm as I looked at the ga and then at Rowan.
"Actually, it’s not impossible for you to play the ga and still go on with the bet."
"Oh?"
"Hm?"
Finally, I seed to have gathered their interest as Kaelen and the other two girls both looked at .
"You’re saying that the bet can still be taken?"
"Wait, Seth, what are—"
I stopped Kyle and nodded.
"In fact, I can set it up so all of you can play at the sa ti. The bet stays the sa. Everyone puts in five fragnts. If anyone screams, or so much as reacts, they’re out. When only two remain, the remaining fragnts will be split between the winners. How does that sound?"
As I spoke, I looked at Kaelon. He looked to be the most interested in the bet.
I didn’t wait long for him to speak.
"So you’re saying that all of us have to contribute five fragnts? And what happens if none of us scream or make a single sound?"
"You’ll still get two fragnts.
As I spoke, I saw Kyle’s eyes and the others’ widen. Their expressions clearly said, "Wait, why are you betting with fragnts? You don’t have any. What do you even need them for?"
I ignored such stares and just looked at Rowan and Kyle.
Of course, either one of them was going to chip in for . I was poor. I didn’t have any fragnts at my disposal.
"That’s..."
"Hm."
The faces of the exchange mbers changed subtly as they looked at each other. I could see that they were tempted. They even started to whisper amongst each other.
Eventually, they turned to again.
The girl with silver hair spoke.
"You said we can play together. How many people at once?"
"Hmm. Three."
Thinking about it, this was probably the best I could do.
"Three?"
The exchange mbers looked at each other before eventually a smile ford on Kaelen’s face and he stepped forward, bringing his hand towards .
"We’ve got a deal."
"I’m in too."
"Sa."
Two others joined in, with both of them bringing their hands forward, only to pull them back after getting near . Even Kaelen’s face twitched once he got close enough to , but before he could pull away, I reached out and grabbed his hand.
"Perfect."
As I shook the hand, I tried to hide the smile that was threatening to form on my face. On the other hand, Kaelen was trying his best not to wince.
Win or lose, I didn’t care.
I had now found a use for the software I had just received.
Multiplayer!
And what better testing dummies than them?
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