Horror Game Developer: My games aren't that scary! Chapter 176: Trending [3]

—Lol, how much commission do you get from this?

—It can’t be that cheap, right? Kek.

—I bet it’s at least over fifty percent. There’s no way he’d advertise a ga like this unless he’s going to have a high percentage.

The mont the ga was released, the comnts flared.

—Hey, at least the ga isn’t very expensive. It’s only five dollars.

—That’s pretty cheap. I guess he doesn’t expect to sell that many.

—Looks like I was right lol.

"Tsk. Tsk."

Carn clicked his tongue as he typed out the ssage online. As the comnts reflected on the surface of his glasses, he brushed his greasy hair back while turning his attention towards the link posted by Idris.

Ever since releasing the link, Idris had been rather quiet.

"I guess he has a sense of sha."

This was an obvious money pull to Carn. The type that ran rampant among strears and V-tubers.

"At least he isn’t creating his own coin or so shit. That’s when you know they’re broke."

Chuckling to himself, Carn ended up clicking on the link, which brought him to the ga website. Staring at the title of the ga, he chuckled.

"A Twisted Ga? What sort of ga is that?"

He had seen the entire video. In his mind, the ga felt rather easy. It was quite ingenious how it tried to trick the player into looking at the monster, but Carn didn’t think he’d fall for such an easy trick.

Still, thinking back to the video he witnessed, and the expression that Idris ended up making by the end, he unknowingly found the cursor of his mouse hovering above the [purchase] button.

While he didn’t believe the ga would scare him, he still felt intrigued to try it.

"Right, this could be a great way to prove that it’s all a scam. I might even make so views off of it by calling out Idris and his nonsense."

Carn’s eyes glinted, and he didn’t hesitate to press [purchase].

Monts after the purchase ca through, the ga loaded on his computer. The icon was a simple top hat, and upon clicking on the ga, Carn was brought to a very plain interface.

"Alright."

He quickly set up his cara and stretched his fingers.

"Let’s get started."

He clicked [Start] and the ga began.

Everything from that point went smoothly. He proceeded with the ga as he rembered from Idris’s video. He collected the clues, and he sped through the first floor in record ti.

"Yeah, this is easy."

Everything was going great.

Until...

It just wasn’t.

"....."

Feeling the hot breath running down his ear. The small shadows that lurked all over, and the sound of items dropping, Carn found himself frozen in fear.

Tick. Tick...

He felt disoriented. Every sound struck him as a trap, designed to lure him into turning. Everything he saw seed like an illusion, carefully crafted to deceive him into making that one fatal mistake.

Everything... felt like it was out there to get him, and Carn felt a sudden sense of suffocation.

He didn’t know what to do.

’What do I do? What do I do? What do I do...?’

His thoughts swam in all directions as he tried to think of a way out of the situation. However, regardless of how much he thought, he couldn’t think of a thing.

And then...

It ca.

The Twisted Man.

"Haaaa—!"

What followed was a terrified scream as Carn fell back on his seat, his face drenched in sweat and his hand trembling.

Staring at the ga interface in front of him, he muttered.

"C-cursed."

The ga.

It was cursed.

Such a scene didn’t just happen in Carn’s place. They happened in several floating islands, with many displaying ever more drastic reactions than Carn’s.

They all realized it then.

Idris hadn’t lied. His reaction was genuine.

And as a result.

The ga started to trend.

***

At the sa ti, within a quiet office.

"So you’re suggesting that we should use this ga to train the new hires?"

Slowly lifting his head, the Section Chief scratched the stubble on his chin while staring at Kyle, who stood with his back straight, both hands behind his back.

Kyle wore a black vest over a crisp white shirt, paired with black pants.

He looked rather professional at the mont.

On the other hand, the section chief’s shirt was missing a few buttons, and it hung untucked over his brown pants as he crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair.

He glanced at his laptop.

"...I’ll be frank, I don’t see how this will be of any use."

The Section Chief closed the laptop.

"It’s a nice ga and all. I can see it has drawn inspiration from your most recent event, but I don’t see how this will help with the training."

The Section Chief’s words ca after trying the ga. He, just like Kyle, didn’t see anything special about the ga. It was unique, yes, but was it scary?

The answer was no.

He thought Kyle would leave things there, but he was surprised to see Kyle insist.

"Section Chief, I also thought the sa, but... that was until I learned that several people got scared by the ga."

"So people got scared? Who?"

To be scared of a ga like that...

Who would be so incom—

"It’s Rowan and the exchange mbers. More specifically, Serelith, Kaelen, and Sarah. The top stars of their respective departnts.

"..."

The Section Chief’s thoughts paused for a short mont as he tried to understand Kyle’s words. Eventually, however, his eyes couldn’t help but widen slightly.

"Rowan got scared?"

The exchange mbers he could get, but Rowan?

The Section Chief was well acquainted with Rowan. He was one of the people whom he personally thought had good potential. To be on par with Kyle and Zoey if given ti.

That Rowan get scared?

"Yes, I’ve seen it with my own eyes."

Upon hearing Kyle’s confirmation, the Section Chief drew a cold breath as he stared at the laptop in front of him again.

’If it’s true that the ga truly managed to scare them, then it might not be a bad idea to listen to Kyle and use the ga for training. I’ll need to do so tests myself and see if the claims are true. I’m not picking up anything unusual from the laptop either, so there doesn’t seem to be any foul play involved.’

Pinching his cheeks slightly, the Section Chief glanced at Kyle.

"...Alright, if what you said is true, then I’ll give it so thought."

"Really?"

Kyle’s brows jumped up in pleasant surprise as he tried his best to hide his smile. Unfortunately, he wasn’t subtle enough to escape the Section Chief’s gaze.

"Don’t be too happy just yet. All I’m saying is that I’ll give it so thought."

Shaking his head, the Section Chief smiled before suddenly recalling sothing, and his expression turned serious.

Noticing the sudden shift in the atmosphere, Kyle’s expression also turned serious.

"Right, I almost forgot about that."

Picking up a paper from his desk, the Section Chief casually flicked it in Kyle’s direction as he caught it.

"A new mission popped up. I’ll need you to check things around here. You can go with a team or solo. That’s up to you."

As he spoke, the Section Chief noticed the subtle change in Kyle’s expression as he slid a couple of files across the desk.

"I thought you’d be the best person for the mission."

He opened the files and tapped on the map.

"...If I’m not wrong, the orphanage you grew up in is there, is it not?"