Shadows of the Demolished Magic Tower
"Ugh... I barely got any sleep, you know?"
Yaruru grumbled, rubbing under her eyes. I wasn't much better off myself. My back ached, and the crick in my neck wouldn't go away. It wasn't like anything major had happened overnight, though...
"If anything, the total silence is what's getting to me."
A night filled only with stillness. Thanks to that, we'd taken turns dozing off and waking up over and over. I massaged the back of my neck with one hand and pulled out my memo pad.
Unnatural quiet. Some player out there is definitely gonna notice this.
Tiredness... nah.
"You haven't even gone in yet, and you're already writing a ton, huh?"
"Gotta flesh out the flavor, right?"
"Flavor? More like Chase is gonna drop dead."
I closed the memo pad at Yaruru's sharp words.
The demolished Magic Tower in the morning light felt different from yesterday. In the bright daylight, it looked even more imposing. As we approached the main entrance, the dirt ground was littered with recent footprints, like someone had been here not long ago.
"These look pretty fresh... Luchel, did you—"
"No way! What do you take me for?!"
"...Sorry."
Leaving the bristling Luchel behind, I crouched down to examine the footprints closely and spotted something odd.
"It's been demolished for 50 years, but people must come here pretty often."
"Not exactly something to celebrate."
"Yeah. Robbers are scarier than ghosts."
At Luchel's words, I checked our group's gear: one longsword, one dagger, one crossbow... and one flashlight.
"Just in case, let's steel ourselves before heading in."
...No dust on the door handle.
"Hold up."
Ayla stopped me as I reached for the door.
"If anything happens, come straight out. Same if you see anyone inside. Don't get separated... and if something weird shows up—"
"Yeah, yeah."
"Seriously. That's way too casual, Luchel."
With Ayla's sigh, the door creaked open.
Screeeeech—
"...Shall we?"
"Be careful, you know!"
[M——————]
[4F Ya—P, Li— Storage Room]
[3-9F Laboratories]
[2F Customer Consultation / Requests ...Office]
[1F Information Desk / ...Office]
The lobby was cleaner than expected. It looked less like a place haunted by creepy rumors and more like a building just listed by a real estate agent.
"Super suspicious, you know."
"Especially with all those footprints outside... but the lobby floor is spotless. Like someone cleaned it."
And what caught our eyes next was the directory sign.
"Why are only the top parts erased?"
"Doesn't look like it wore off from age."
Maybe hoping to find a clue, Luchel leaned in close to inspect it.
"Whoa, the atmosphere hits hard right from the start..."
"Like there aren't enough bad vibes already..."
In the end, we didn't find anything particularly interesting on the first floor. It felt like the early game, more about setting the mood than dropping info.
Even rummaging through the half-open drawer behind the information desk and pulling out documents...
[Transfer Complete]
[Record Disposal Approved]
[Security Level?? S???]
"Something definitely happened..."
Luchel muttered.
"But nothing about what it was."
We huddled together, scanning other documents, but they were all similar. Vague experiment counts and serious-looking notices. But all the key info was wiped clean. Not worn away by time—deliberately erased.
They planned to censor this but didn't take it with them... why?
In a game, it'd make sense. Nothing builds horror atmosphere like info gaps. But in reality? Do you really need to?
"This is weird."
Ayla called us over quietly while looking at a document. It was a blueprint of the tower's construction. Cylindrical structure. Central staircase. Corridors on both sides.
"Doesn't look weird to me, sis."
"Hold on, you know."
Yaruru took the paper from Ayla, gestured in the air a few times as if measuring, then her eyes widened.
"The 4th floor looks off!"
"4th floor... the storage room, right?"
Yaruru pointed to several spots on the blueprint.
"Here, here, and here too! The inside structure looks way smaller than the outside, super suspicious!"
"Oho—something's on the 4th floor?"
Looking where Yaruru pointed after her explanation, the 4th floor indeed had suspiciously empty spaces everywhere.
"Ah! There. Space marked, but no entrance at all!"
"Nice! 2nd and 3rd floors look normal, so how about heading straight to the 4th?"
The directory said 2nd floor was customer consultations, 3rd research labs—boring stuff. 4th floor sounded more fun.
"Yeah. If nothing's there, we can check the others on the way down."
"I'm all for getting out quick..."
Nods all around. With everyone agreeing to Luchel's suggestion, we stepped toward the stairs leading up.
"This area is off-limits to unauthorized personnel."
A low, calm voice drew our eyes upward. A man stood there—suspiciously silent in his approach. Black uniform. Imperial emblem badge. Rigid posture, sword in hand.
We hurriedly drew our weapons at the sudden intruder. But he just scanned us coolly, unperturbed.
"Trespassing and perusing internal documents without permission... this is problematic."
Luchel stepped forward first under the man's icy gaze.
"Ah, sorry. We just... heard the rumors and got curious."
"Everyone says that."
His polite tone hid a sharp edge.
"I'm an Imperial Investigator dispatched by the Imperial Records Office. Recent reports on this Magic Tower mention vandalism, document theft, and such..."
He introduced himself, then narrowed his eyes at the papers in Yaruru and Luchel's hands.
"..."
"..."
Vandalism and theft?
Shoving reality into a horror exploration? That's cheating!
"W-We didn't break anything... we can just put the papers back, right...?"
I took the documents from trembling Yaruru as she endured his glare. He glanced between her tearful face and mine, then sighed softly.
"It's not that simple."
"First, put down those documents."
"Y-Yes..."
Ayla and I quickly placed the papers on the information desk; Luchel carefully set his down too. Yaruru sidled up beside me, clutching the flashlight in both hands.
"Chase, that guy's dangerous-looking, you know..."
Nod.
The man descended the stairs slowly. A sturdy adult male on old steps—yet his footsteps were nearly silent.
Skill at least above mine... but he doesn't seem eager for a fight.
As long as no sudden mess-up—odds of getting out fine were good.
"You said curiosity brought you here."
He asked Luchel as he reached the first floor.
"Yes. With all the wild rumors... thought seeing it ourselves might reveal the truth."
"Rumors are just rumors."
"..."
We couldn't help but falter at his blunt reply.
"Disappearances, mass suicides, forbidden magic... Sigh, the Empire puts in a lot of effort to quash such nonsense..."
Luchel cautiously pressed at his rehearsed-sounding rapid-fire response.
"But why are so many records blank?"
"...Natural during security procedures."
"...Ah."
"Th-Then the directory?!"
Ayla jumped in this time.
"Closed for security reasons."
He stated it like obvious fact.
...All true, but why so unsettling?
"No need to leave unnecessary info for unauthorized civilians."
His words almost convinced me. But...
Plausible answers kept coming, our group fell silent—yet the nagging sense of something missing lingered.
I glanced up the stairs. He'd been on the 2nd floor moments ago. No one had sensed his approach.
Even master-level, movement should've tipped me off. Why didn't I...?
No footstep or stir detected? And why not engage us? Real Imperial?
"Well..."
Luchel, unbowed by the fact-barrage, hesitated before speaking.
"Why does the 4th floor's layout... not match the outside?"
The man paused for the first time at Luchel's question. A brief silence—we all felt the oddity—but he slipped away like an eel.
"Who knows. Not my duty to investigate such details."
"...Sticking to job scope is smart, you know..."
"Yaruru...!"
"S-Sorry!"
The man blinked at Yaruru's words.
"I'll take that as a compliment. Now... enough questions. Time to resume duties."
He checked his wristwatch with precise motion.
...Don't dig deeper; get out.
Luchel sensed it too, his smile twitching awkwardly.
"...Time flies."
Ayla chimed in smoothly.
"Pardon the intrusion. We've been a nuisance."
She bowed slightly; he accepted.
"It's fine. At least you didn't cause a ruckus or snoop where you shouldn't."
"...Pardon?"
"..."
Still courteous, he gestured to the main door.
Whatever his intent...
"Let's go."
I turned first; Yaruru stuck right by my side. Luchel and Ayla exchanged looks, then followed without more questions.
Until we exited the lobby and opened the door again, he watched us, hand still raised.
That was the creepiest part. Like...
as long as we left, that was enough.
Only after leaving the Magic Tower and reaching our campsite did Yaruru exhale deeply.
"Haaa..."
"You okay?"
"Not okay at all, you know."
Yaruru looked genuinely drained.
"I don't believe a word that guy said. Like, was he even human?!"
"Same."
Luchel agreed instantly.
"No disappearances, no suicides—then why blank out the records like that?"
"Shh."
Ayla pressed a finger to Luchel's lips.
"Talk when it's just us."
"It is just us."
"Still, lower your voice."
Luchel pouted but complied.
...Like Yaruru said, was he even human?
Conversation worked; his presence felt threatening when he wanted... but isn't that cliché for ghosts too?
Shaking off lingering doubt, I turned back to the tower.
"Feels even more off now."
"Totally unresolved, you know..."
"Yeah."
"But why'd you say to leave right away, Chase?"
I rummaged through past-life memories, then shook my head.
"That's something we shouldn't dig into."
Luchel and Ayla perked up at my ominous tone.
Erased records, mismatched structure. Mysterious man blocking our probe.
That fulfilled my original goal.
I'm no detective.
We came for game material, not truth.
Sorry, Luchel, Ayla... but one more step?
Defy that man?
One or two of us might be...
"And we don't need to know. We're just regular academy students, after all."
Yaruru mulled it over, then nodded. Luchel and Ayla didn't argue either.
No need for the memo pad. Today's sights would stick in my head plenty.
The horror tale ended; material gathered.
All that's left: channel this creepy vibe into the game.
Time to get back to GameMakerCute.