Reality Imitates the Game
This time too, reality is imitating the game?! [Monsters start feeling familiar after a while?] [Yeah]
(Screenshot of the monster grabbing and squeezing)
(Close-up of the monster’s hand clutching the door)
. . .
“Puhuh…”
After pouring nearly half my vacation into that massive project, my life quickly returned to its simple rhythm. Eat, browse the community, play games, sleep. …Thinking about it, it wasn’t all that different from my previous life. A little sad, really.
Of course, some people might wonder why I’m still like this even after obtaining a status window…
“My original goal was just to chase dopamine.”
The community board, now eerily similar to the forums from my past life, was doing an excellent job of feeding that dopamine.
[Only someone from hell could make a game like this][+31]
🌟[Retrieval ERROR isn’t that scary, so I recommend giving it a try][+99]
. . .
It had only been a week since Retrieval ERROR appeared on the Nista Marketplace, yet every board was in an uproar. People warning others not to play because it was terrifying, scammers claiming it wasn’t scary at all, and oddballs deliberately posting fake guides… The chaos on the Grace Academy boards was finally tamed by a single insightful post.
Architecture is just a hobby of mine, so I like looking up floor plans and blueprints… While playing “that game,” something about the closed area felt strangely familiar. I dug through my memories and remembered the old blueprints of the now-closed research building, so I decided to compare them.
(Hand-drawn map of Retrieval ERROR’s layout)
(Photo of the academy’s closed research building blueprints)
Hiss… Found it.
(Close-up screenshot of a monster popping out with a “peek-a-boo”)
“Faster than I expected.”
I had known someone would eventually notice. The strange experiences inside the closed research building had heavily influenced the game’s creation.
“I never even got to properly explore the mage tower, either.”
Still, as the comments pointed out, I had only borrowed the architectural style. Nothing more.
“To think they’d catch on this quickly.”
It had only been a week. The vast majority of players were still in the stage of complaining about PTSD and pain. Given that this world had almost no knowledge of the horror genre, I thought that phase would last a little longer.
But already people were saying the layout felt familiar, that the room arrangements were similar?
“Hmm…”
After thinking for a moment, two names came to mind. Luchel and Aila. The odd duo I’d met at the end-of-semester ceremony, the ones whose hobby was experiencing horror firsthand.
“If it’s those two…”
They could probably clear Retrieval ERROR with ease and post something like this.
“Still, no need to contact them.”
Dragging an anonymous community into reality would be cheating, after all.
I adjusted my panel again and clicked through the related posts one after another.
🌟[What if the game isn’t fiction but something that actually happened…?][+81]
🌟[??? Has there ever been a serial murder case at the academy???][+12]
“…What’s with that last post.”
Still, the overall reaction on the boards wasn’t bad. It’s scary. It feels gross. Was this actually based on real events…? Yet the comments and the end of the post all reached the same conclusion:
“That’s exactly why it’s more fun.”
“I should try it sometime.”
Discomfort amplified the horror, horror fueled word-of-mouth, and word-of-mouth drew people in. A perfect cycle of engagement.
‘As expected, it can’t just be scary.’
While I was scrolling through the screen with a satisfied feeling despite not having eaten anything, a sudden crash rang out.
Bang bang!!
Kwaaang!
Thump thump!
The moment a monster photo popped up from one of the posts accompanied by a loud noise, I choked.
“Kek— khk…”
“Chase!! I'm telling you, it’s an emergency!!”
“Kuk, khp. Yaruru?”
A familiar voice followed. After a few more coughs, I stood up and opened the door.
Creaaak—
The moment the door opened, Yaruru rushed inside.
“What’s going on? Is something wrong?”
She was wearing pajamas with only a coat thrown over them, clutching a mana panel tightly. Her hair was a complete mess—
“Even if it’s the next room over, isn’t this a bit too defenseless?”
What if someone else saw her like this?
“That’s not the important part right now!”
Now that I looked closer, she seemed more frantic than usual. Her face was twisted, whether from embarrassment or fear.
“So you came because you got scared again?”
“That’s part of it, but… no! Ugh! Just look at this!”
Yaruru shoved the mana panel she was holding right in front of my face.
“You should at least explain what— huh?”
“Ah, so you saw this post too? The person who wrote it has pretty sharp analysis. Maybe it’s Luchel?”
“No no! Just look at the comments below!”
“What are you—”
======
(title says it all)
======
ㄴ But what if it’s not monsters but ghost-like spirits?
ㄴ (Author) That’s why I already recruited a priest and a mage.
ㄴ lolololol thorough
ㄴ Damn, as expected of a Wave veteran class... shivers
ㄴ Dodge the Fireball and Northern Defense weren’t enough, huh... Damn
ㄴ Careful, you’ll get a warning letter at this rate
ㄴ (Author) It's fine. If I get expelled I’ll just join the knight order
ㄴ Real man, Gosu-ham…
“No way—”
Now I understood why Yaruru’s expression had been so strange.
MartialArtsGosuToBe—Kale had participated in the monster wave and, as a decorated hero, had even received the right to join the knight order. Which meant… he could do whatever he wanted without worrying about consequences.
‘A college student whose job prospects are secured is invincible, after all.’
“This guy really is consistently insane.”
Yaruru nodded vigorously.
“I was thinking the exact same thing!”
Northern Defense… I had intended that one, but it had been the same when I first released Dodge the Fireball. He’d gotten obsessed with a single game, gathered actual mages to try it in real life, and even reached a new level because of it.
And now that same guy wanted to go to the closed research building?
“Absolute top-tier man, seriously.”
‘This is a bit…’
“Chase! Now’s not the time to say things like that!”
At Yaruru’s next words, my expression hardened.
“If something actually happens, the academy might blame Chase for it!”
“…Ah.”
Indeed, there was an unidentified entity inside the closed research building. The path to the third floor was blocked by a magic circle, but…
‘If people close to master level gathered, they could break through easily.’
And if those who reached the third floor ended up harmed by the unidentified being?
“No! Way!”
“Right, we need to come up with countermeasures!”
Even in that short time, comments kept pouring into Kale’s post. People calling him crazy. People saying it looked fun and offering to join. People casually tagging along out of curiosity…
But no matter how hard I thought about what I could do right now, no good ideas came to mind.
Contact him directly and stop him?
‘Didn’t work with Dodge the Fireball, so it won’t work now either.’
Report it to the academy?
‘Hmm… If the academy starts nitpicking my game because of this, that’d be its own huge problem…’
No matter how much I thought about it, there was no answer. Fatigue washed over me.
“Haa…”
When I sat on the bed and let out a long sigh, Yaruru glanced at me.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen Chase sigh this much…”
“I’m human too, you know.”
“Mm. Now that I think about it, that’s true.”
“…”
Then what exactly had she been thinking of me as before?
“For now… we should stop looking at the community.”
Staring at it more wasn’t going to solve anything.
“Good idea.”
“Want to eat something tasty instead today?”
“Great idea!”
Eating something might help clear my head, right?
***
Even after having a hearty dinner with Yaruru, no proper solution came to mind.
“Chase.”
“What.”
“Don’t think about games today and just go to sleep early.”
“…Thanks for worrying.”
“This is only natural for an assistant!”
“You should go easy on the games too, Yaruru.”
“…”
Glance—
Yaruru pretended not to hear me, fiddled with her panel for a bit, then went up the stairs with a doubtful expression. Just before entering her room, she turned around, left one last remark, and closed the door.
“If anything happens, call me right away.”
“Got it.”
“I mean it.”
“I heard you.”
Once I entered my own room and the door shut, I stepped into my mental space.
“…Yaruru told me to sleep early, but I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep.”
Ding—
The now-familiar sound and the world turning blue. I stood inside the pure white mental space.
“Chase!”
“Aack! You startled me!”
Adel came running toward me with her usual sparkling face.
“Did something happen outside? You don’t look so good…?”
“What, how did you know?”
“Hehe. Chase, everything shows on your face!”
I tried to laugh it off, but then thought maybe I should tell her. So I explained everything about the board posts.
“Mm. Mmm… So that’s what happened!”
“…Yeah. It’s been giving me a real headache.”
At my serious explanation, Adel also wore an unusually serious expression as she fell into thought.
“…Ah! How about this?”
“Did you come up with a good idea?”
Adel’s eyes sparkled as she fiddled with the status window panel. What she brought up was…
“Mini-games?”
Running Man, now updated to version 9. Spot the Difference, packed with thousands of image references… and dozens more mini-games listed below them.
“If the problem is people imitating games in reality… then why not make ones that aren’t dangerous?”
“Huh?”
“No one’s going to die from playing Spot the Difference. Same with smashing blocks! So… if it’s something where even imitating it won’t cause any real trouble!”
Adel’s proposed solution was extremely simple. So simple that it felt almost embarrassing I hadn’t thought of it until now.
‘Now I feel pathetic…’
“How is it? My solution? Amazing, right? Incredible, right? Then how about updating Running Man soon? Ah! What if we try this method instead? I just thought of something even more brilliant…”
“Wait—”
I raised my hand to cut her off, then immediately lowered it.
No. This time, I should listen all the way through. She might come up with another brilliant idea.
‘She gave me a solution, so acting cold would just weigh on my conscience…’
Seeing me obediently listening, Adel’s eyes sparkled. With an excited expression, she spun around me and spoke.
“So! Think in reverse!”
“In reverse…”
“Yeah! Something that’s not dangerous even if people imitate it—something cute, something you’d want to keep seeing—something like me!”
“Um… yeah, I guess.”
The example was a little odd, but not entirely unconvincing.
Then… how could I flip the current situation?
‘What should I make?’