Is This Really a Horror Game?

An isolated house nestled deep within a dark, dense forest. A wooden structure with peeling white paint. Shattered glass and boarded-up windows that blocked any view of the interior. Vines crawled haphazardly up the walls, giving the place the chilling, gloomy aura unique to long-abandoned ruins. Damp humidity and the smell of stagnant water hung heavy in the air as if it were about to rain, and beneath that musty odor lingered the scent of crushed grass mixed with a faint, metallic trace of blood. Creaking floorboards echoed from inside the house, suggesting someone—or something—was wandering around. Every now and then, a sound like a cat's wail pierced ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the silence, sending shivers down the spine.

Gulp. The sound of Nina swallowing hard rang out unnaturally loud. Miho, her face pale with terror, had completely lost her will to fight and collapsed to the ground. This was the Abandoned Mansion, Chapter 1 of Ghostphobia. Visually, we were already overwhelmed. The sheer dread of not knowing what lurked in the darkness sent shivers down our spines. For some reason, an eerie sensation of being watched made our hair stand on end and goosebumps break ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠out. Someone was definitely here. My instincts screamed it. This mansion was cursed. And the moment we stepped inside, we would be cursed too. It was a house steeped in deep-seated grudges, a space thick with an unsettling, ominous energy. And standing right before it were three young girls...

"Alright! Hello, everyone! This is the first stage of the game we're playing today, Ghostphobia—the 'Cursed Mansion'! Come on, Nina, Miho, say hello to everyone!" Sure, it was terrifying, but I couldn't just throw the stream away because of a little fear! Let's change the mood with a bright smile and an energetic greeting!

"H-H-Hello... Aaah! A bug!" "Kyaaaaah!" "Waaah! You scared me!"

Am I crying right now? I don't even know. But I'm doing my absolute best to keep smiling.

"Now then, N-Nina? Nina? Nina-ya!" "Huh? Ah, yeah. Right. Yes. Exactly." "No, what do you mean 'exactly'?"

Jihae eonni was completely out of it because of a grasshopper that had jumped out of the dark. To be fair, anyone would be startled by a sudden bug. As for Seowoo...

"Miho? Miho, you need to get up now." "Ah, w-wait a second. I'm sorry. I need to go to the bathroom." "Don't tell me..." "N-No! I didn't pee myself! Don't go spreading weird rumors!"

Seowoo took off her VR gear and stepped away for a moment. Did she really wet herself? Since she had a history of doing it once before, it was highly within the realm of possibility.

"W-Well then. I guess Nina and I will start first." "Uwaah." "Don't 'uwaah' me, Nina! We're live right now! Pull yourself together." "Ah. Yes. R-Right. I have to."

Jihae eonni barely managed to regain her senses. This was a disaster. Jihae eonni and Seowoo... their spirits are completely broken before the game even started. I had a feeling today's stream was going to go down in history for the sheer volume of screaming...

"Alright, everyone. Nina was originally supposed to host, but since she's not feeling her best, I'll take over the hosting duties for now!"

Nina—well, Jihae eonni—was the most eloquent of us, so we had pre-arranged for her to host our collabs. But that wasn't going to happen today. Honestly, normal horror games are scary enough, but throwing them into a virtual reality horror game was too much. Jihae eonni and Seowoo, possessing the fragile, delicate hearts of ordinary adult women, had completely lost their minds.

It couldn't be helped. I had to carry this. Our goal was to clear Chapter 1.

"Alright, both of you, pull out your flashlights." "O-Okay!" "Got it. Whew. Sorry, Riu. I've got my head on straight now. I'm sorry." "No, no, it's fine."

Ah! Holding the flashlight seemed to ground Nina! The flashlight had given her courage. The light was back in her eyes. Thank goodness. Even though Seowoo's eyes were still trembling, at least Jihae eonni was back to normal. Nina and I would be able to overcome this hurdle together.

"Now, before we begin, to briefly explain the game: Ghostphobia is a game where you explore the mansion to collect items. The more items you gather, the more aggressive the ghost becomes..."

Having regained her composure, Nina finished her brief explanation of the game, while a tearful Miho asked the viewers for their understanding, explaining that we might not be able to respond quickly to donations or chat during the gameplay. Everyone was perfectly fine with that. After all, they had tuned in today specifically to watch us scream.

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"Shall we head inside then?" "Y-Yes...!!" "Whew. Ready." Finally, twenty minutes after starting the stream, our exploration of the mansion began!

"Haaah. Haaah. Ugh. Eeek!" "Riu. Riu-yaaa. Riu-yaaa..." "Wait, wait! Let go of my arms, both of you!" "Kyaah! A spider!" "Oh, for crying out loud!"

This was driving me crazy. The moment we stepped into the mansion, Miho panicked all over again, clinging to me like a cicada that had just emerged after seven years underground, while Nina did nothing but chant my name like a broken record.

"Agh! Pull yourselves together, you two! The ghost hasn't even appeared yet!" "R-Really?" "Yes. It won't show up yet. It only starts appearing once we find the items, so stop being so scared." "S-Should we just... not find the items? Do we really have to perform the exorcism?" "Yeah! Let's not fight the ghost!" "No! If we don't fight it, the game won't end!" "Ugh." "Aww."

I am never, ever playing a horror game with these two again.

"Anyway, we need to find the things listed here. Check your pockets, both of you. There should be a memo pad inside." "Oh? You're right!" "W-Wow."

Just like the flashlights earlier, all the basic items were already in our pockets. The game starts you off with a flashlight, a walkie-talkie, and a memo pad.

"Let's see... a ritual candle." "A box of chalk. And... chicken blood?" "It says we also need to find a book called the Necronomicon." "Ack! We need a young girl's ashes too." "Candle, chalk, chicken blood, book, ashes. We just need to find those five and we're done! Wow, so easy!"

"W-We should locate the items first." Nina was starting to use her brain. Just as Jihae eonni said, the easiest way to beat this game was to locate all the items beforehand, then move them to the ritual site as quickly as possible. Since the ghosts only started spawning once you picked up an item, there were actually speedrun videos of players scouting the locations first, then moving everything to the ritual site within four minutes to beat the game in under ten.

"Alright, let's find those five items." "O-Oh yeah! Let's do this!" "Okay! We can do it! Probably..."

The mansion was divided into the first floor, second floor, attic, and basement. The ritual candle was in the first-floor storage room. The chicken blood was in the kitchen fridge on the first floor. The Necronomicon was in the second-floor study. The chalk was in Box 2 in the attic. The young girl's ashes were in the basement.

"Alright, you both know where the items are, right?" "Yes!" "Okay. Whew. We can do this." "Then from now on, Miho, head up to the attic. Nina, go down to the basement."

In this game, you could only carry one item at a time. Therefore, it was best to move the furthest items to the ritual sanctuary behind the mansion first. While Seowoo grabbed the chalk and Jihae eonni brought the girl's ashes to the sanctuary, I would hold the line against the ghost in the first-floor main hall.

Once three or more items are gathered, the ghost will enter a frenzy, and creatures will start spawning in earnest. Around that time, three types of weapons would spawn in the mansion: an axe, a shotgun, and an iron pipe. The axe and iron pipe were for killing the creatures, while the shotgun was used to temporarily banish the ghost.

"Are you ready?!"

"Alright. Let's do ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this. Let's go—!"

Now that we'd finished coordinating over the radio, they would be picking up the items.

Just like that, the ghost's anger instantly stacked to level 2.

"Kyaaaaaaaah!" It was coming. The mansion's ghost.

"Whoa." Standing over two meters tall, the female ghost loomed before me. Bloodshot eyes glared through the tangled mess of hair shrouding her face. The mansion's ghost stared directly at me.

Exhaling a freezing breath, she took one step. Stretching out her skeletal arms, she took a second step. Chattering her teeth, she took a third step.

"Aaaaargh!" I swung my fist at the ghost. It was a purely instinctive punch. Blinded by sheer terror, I threw a wild, full-power strike. Whack!

"Huh?" "...?" The ghost stumbled backward from the impact of my fist. Wait, what? Why did the attack actually connect? Both the ghost and I wore identical expressions of utter shock. I was stunned that a bare-handed strike actually worked, and the ghost was flabbergasted that she had just been knocked back by a punch.

"Ah." It was because her anger was only at stack level 2. She had literally been blown back by the sheer wind pressure of my punch.

Come to think of it... I don't think I've ever seen a VTuber openly throw hands with a ghost before. Usually, when a ghost appears, they're too busy screaming and running away to even think about punching it. No matter how amazing a VTuber is, they're still just human. Honestly, anyone would run away after coming face-to-face with a terrifying, two-meter-tall female ghost.

Well, whatever the reason, now that I knew my fists could actually hurt the ghost... "My dear Bangsaengis, I'm about to show you something absolutely legendary today."

"Watch closely." Ever since I punched the ghost in the solar plexus, the chat had been absolutely exploding. The reaction was incredible. Alright, let's do this. Clenching both of my fists, I kindled the flame of courage in my heart.

"Bring it on!" I charged at the ghost. Throwing my entire body weight forward, I drove my shoulder straight into her midsection. It was a classic pro-wrestling move: the Spear.

"What doesn't scare me only makes me stronger!" No forgiveness. No mercy! Until Nina and Miho safely transport all the items, you're playing with me. Maintaining my momentum, I launched myself through the air and tackled the ghost.

Crash! The table behind the ghost shattered into splinters, turning the main hall into an absolute warzone. I secured a beautiful full mount. Complete domination. Ruthless ground-and-pound!

"Go back to your coffin!" Straddling the ghost, I rained down merciless punches. To think a ghost at anger level 2 could be suppressed with bare fists. I'd discovered a hidden Easter egg!

"Hahahahaha!!!" When fear transforms into anger, the object of your dread becomes an enemy you just want to destroy. It's like when a fan's love for their favorite idol turns into pure, toxic hatred. Channeling my fear into rage, I pummeled the ghost as if delivering a righteous scolding.

A horror game? The moment you can beat up the ghost, it ceases to be horror! It's a fighting game! Now, let the exorcism begin. Sorry, Ms. Ghost. My brand of exorcism is highly physical. This might sting a little.