Chapter 2

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Translator: True Detective

Chapter: 2

Chapter Title: 1. White-Faced Bride

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The world spun around like I was drunk.

I barely pulled myself together and rubbed my eyes, and an unfamiliar place came into view.

I'd definitely been in the middle of playing the game when a sudden light burst from the monitor, and I blacked out.

So I should be collapsed in my room, right?

But this wasn't my room.

"Where the hell is this...?"

A cramped room where the lights were out—no matter how many times I flipped the switch, nothing happened.

The windows were plastered with newspapers, blocking out the outside world, and I could see rickety, broken old furniture and a bed mattress yellowed with grime.

And on the floor, a rusty kitchen knife lay scattered alongside what looked like bloodstains, hardened and turned black. It seemed like something bad had gone down here.

'No way...'

The more I looked, the more familiar it felt.

I think I knew where this was now.

If my guess was right, this had to be the abandoned motel—the early tutorial area.

That exact motel from the game.

The place you go through for the tutorial, and the spot you always spawn in when starting a new game.

'Shit.'

The moment I figured out where I was, a translucent window popped up ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in front of me.

Activate Easy Mode?

What kind of stupid question is that?

"Yes. Absolutely yes. Give me Easy Mode. Please."

I smashed the YES button right away.

No, I clicked it like a maniac.

That's more like it.

How the hell was I supposed to survive in this insane world without Easy Mode?

'If my guess is right, then this is...'

The world of the roguelike open-world horror game World of Doom.

The "roguelike" label alone meant this wasn't a game made to be beaten.

And now I had to control it with my own body instead of a keyboard and mouse?

No way in hell I'd clear it. Easy Mode was the only way to see the ending.

Easy Mode wasn't just for making the game easier anymore—it was for survival.

'Status Window.'

The moment Easy Mode kicked in, I opened the Status Window first.

Got to check my own condition before anything ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠else.

"Perfect. That's what I wanted."

Easy Mode had definitely taken effect.

All my stats had shot up by a factor of ten.

Fixers start with a base of 5 across the board, fitting for a jack-of-all-trades class.

Only Luck was 7, but now it was 70.

And the real kicker was Life and Sanity—basically HP and MP.

"Life 190, Sanity 210?"

The max you could raise Life and Sanity to in the game was around 50 each, but with everything multiplied by ten, I had absurd numbers now.

Fights with anomalies only shaved off 5 to 7 HP at most, so 190 and 210? I was basically immortal.

I could tank every hit without dodging and still come out on top.

Staring straight at an Outer God without any buffs would drain 90 Sanity and insta-kill you. But with my current Sanity, I could face one and live.

"This is insane."

I wasn't some walking tank or anything.

Who could beat a thug with 50 Strength?

One punch would shatter walls and most anomalies alike.

'Normal max stats were only 20. I've blown right past the limits.'

At this point, I wasn't just topping the world's strongest—I was the catastrophe.

If I went around smashing cities for fun, hunters would come after me before any anomalies.

These were numbers that could smash even a revived ancient god, and I spawned like this in the tutorial zone?

This wasn't a horror-filled abandoned motel anymore.

It was a honey pot for farming.

"Tutorial quest..."

First things first, let's check the quest I needed to clear.

I swiped the Status Window aside, and the quest window appeared naturally.

True to its open-world nature, you could take multiple quests at once, and sure enough, one had auto-accepted at the start.

The White-Faced Bride was the virgin ghost haunting this motel.

The first-stage anomaly you had to sneak past and avoid. If she caught you, she'd drag you off and rip your face clean off for a bad end.

She was a grudge-born entity from women who died unjustly before their weddings, or something like that.

Ways to beat her: beat her down physically or craft a doll for a spirit wedding to send her off peacefully.

Gulp.

For a split second, that jump-scare of her charging at me flashed in my mind, sending chills down my spine.

A grotesque woman with massive, hollow eye sockets and spindly, twisted limbs sprinting down the hall to tear off my face—it was pure nightmare fuel.

'But with Easy Mode on...'

I'd probably be fine?

They said most humanoid anomalies turned into cute girls, so I hoped she looked decent as I opened the room door.

Creeeak.

The hinges screamed as a pitch-black hallway came into view.

The tutorial room was on the fourth floor, so I just needed to head down the stairs to the first.

If I heard her sobbing while going down to the first floor, I could duck into any open room to hide and survive.

I knew the tutorial inside out.

It was where I died the most during playthroughs.

"Hic... sob..."

Oh, hell no.

A woman's sobbing echoed from below.

I crept carefully to the door leading to the stairs, doing my best not to be spotted.

Of course, I knew even if she saw me, I wouldn't die in my current state. But still, it was scary.

What if all those notifications were just my imagination?

Or what if the stats were high but I had no actual power?

One grab from the White-Faced Bride and I'd be dead meat.

"Sob... hic... Husband... where are you... Don't leave me... Let's go together..."

The sobs grew closer.

Did the White-Faced Bride even have lines like that?

'I don't think so.'

She only had sobs and screams—two reactions, that's it.

I'd never heard dialogue like that in the game.

Maybe Easy Mode added it?

"Sob... hic... Husband...? Husband, you're there... right there, aren't you...?"

Rattle.

"...!"

Oh shit!

The White-Faced Bride was twisting the doorknob to the room I was hiding in.

This was no game event. No, forget game logic—this was reality now.

Unexpected reactions like this were par for the course.

"Husband... Husband...! I'm right here... Please... let me in..."

She wrenched at the doorknob with insane strength, trying to force her way into the room... but...

"H-Husband? The door... please..."

The door didn't budge.

I gripped the knob harder than the anomaly could, and she actually started begging to be let in, sounding flustered.

Three facts confirmed.

First: Easy Mode was definitely active.

Second: The White-Faced Bride was probably a romanceable heroine.

Third: I was strong enough to subdue her right now.

So, what next?

Hold the knob until she leaves?

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Or open the door and invite her in?

The answer: Slam the door into her and knock her flat.

BAM—!!!

I threw my full body weight into the door, smashing the frame to splinters and sending the White-Faced Bride outside flying with it.

"Eek...!"

A woman with snow-white skin lay sprawled on the floor, looking up at me in terror.

Nothing like the game's horrific design—she was a pale beauty in mourning clothes, with porcelain skin and impressively large breasts.

Wait, what? She was gorgeous.

No hollowed-out eye sockets or freaky vibes.

At this point, she was worth more than any living person.

"H-Husband..."

The White-Faced Bride looked up at me with teary eyes.

As I stared at her face in shock, her info window popped up.

Probably thanks to Easy Mode...

Standard info window up to here.

The kind you pick up naturally while playing.

The problem was what came next.

Why'd her favorability jump from 0 to 90 like that?

What did I even do? Just shoved her over.

Probably because of that strategy tip.

Crazy. Easy Mode had me charming a virgin ghost right from the start.