Chapter 1
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Unreality
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Unreality
Late at night.
To be precise, it was a little past four.
While everyone else was asleep, I was wide awake, clicking my mouse.
The monitor, the only source of light in the dark room.
A file had just finished installing on the desktop. After careful consideration, I opened it.
[Unreality.exe]
Unreality.
A legendary horror Tsukuru game, said to have been created by an anonymous Japanese user in the 2000s.
These days, with the advancement of computer graphics, countless AAA horror games are flooding the market,
but the crude pixel graphics and the eerie, bizarre atmosphere unique to Tsukuru games were right up my alley.
Ever since I started seriously getting into Tsukuru games, I think I've played just about every horror game out there.
Masterpieces like *Ao Oni* and *The Witch's House*, of course, and I even used translation tools to play obscure indie games from overseas.
That's why 'Unreality' was the ideal game for me.
No matter how much I scoured horror communities, only whispers and rumors of it existed. It was a complete mystery, with not even a single screenshot, let alone gameplay footage.
But this mystery and mystique only fueled my curiosity, and I spent the last few years searching for it.
I scoured not only domestic communities but all sorts of foreign websites, looking for any trace of 'Unreality'.
And then, finally, I found a lead.
It was about a week ago. By chance, I discovered a blog post reviewing Unreality, written by a Japanese user.
Unfortunately, the post had long since been taken down, but the blog's address remained.
Using that address, I mustered all my translation tools and sent an email.
One day, two days, three days.
After an endless wait, I finally received a reply yesterday.
[No Subject]
[From: Anonymous]
[Attachment (1)]
The reply contained not a single word, just one file. It was Unreality.
It was suspicious that they only sent the game file, but I didn't care.
Just the thought of being able to play Unreality made my heart pound with excitement.
Filled with anticipation, I opened the executable file.
[Warning!]
[Do you want to run Unreality?]
[This file may contain a virus.]
I casually ignored the virus warning and clicked 'Yes'.
A black program window with an eerie vibe popped up.
Brimming with anticipation, I kept my eyes glued to the monitor.
The spooky program, which looked like something might jump out at any moment, seemed to be running, but after flickering a few times, it abruptly closed.
*Click.*
The now-dark monitor miserably reflected my face.
"...What the."
Trying to run it again yielded the same result. The program would shut down before it even fully opened.
After wrestling with the program for another thirty minutes, I finally faced reality.
The game wouldn't open.
It wasn't just an error; it was like this from the start.
Contrary to its grand name, 'Unreality.exe' was nothing more than an empty shell of a file.
"Ah."
I'd been had.
The mysterious file sent by 'Anonymous' was just bait to hook a big fish like me.
Thanks to that, my soaring anticipation plummeted into the abyss in an instant.
Some psycho in Japan had mercilessly trampled on the heart of someone desperate.
'All I wanted was to play a game, so why would someone do this...?'
My pitiful face was reflected in the monitor.
It was the very picture of a gloomy, defeated expression.
You wouldn't even see this expression if you stole candy from a baby.
That's how wronged and worn out I felt.
A wave of exhaustion washed over me. I rubbed my dry face, trying to hold onto my sanity.
'They didn't plant a virus in the game file, did they?'
The me from a few minutes ago who had so casually ignored the warning message now felt like a complete idiot.
Only after running the antivirus program several times did I finally come to my senses.
Thankfully, there was nothing wrong with my computer. The game file didn't even have a virus.
It was an empty shell of a file, created solely to mess with me.
"Hah, seriously."
An intense wave of disillusionment washed over me. Along with it, my curiosity about Unreality completely vanished.
Muttering under my breath, I collapsed onto my bed.
I didn't want to search for 'Unreality' anymore.
My past self, who had gone through so much trouble just to play one game, now seemed utterly foolish.
The 'Unreality' I had so eagerly awaited left me with nothing but a sense of emptiness.
**
It was time for school, and I was dangerously close to being late.
I barely made it to the classroom. With sluggish steps, I quietly took my seat.
I was beyond exhausted from fooling around until four in the morning. The fatigue from pulling an all-nighter hit me all at once.
My eyelids slowly began to droop.
I immediately slumped over my desk.
The world won't end if I sleep for a few hours, right?
And so, I fell asleep, just like any other day. Before long, my eyes opened again.
I hadn't been forced awake by someone; I had woken up on my own.
For some reason, no teacher came to wake me up today. I guess that's why I slept so long. After a good, long nap, my fatigue was completely gone.
Is it lunchtime already?
I raised my disheveled body and stretched. At the same time, I felt an incredible sense of déjà vu.
A strange current flowed through the classroom. The atmosphere was different from usual. Only then did I hastily look around.
"What the."
Strangely, the classroom was already growing dark.
The lights weren't just off; the curtains were wide open. It wasn't just the classroom that was dark—the hallway and the view outside the window were the same.
It was just pitch-black.
As if it were the middle of the night.
'The middle of the night?'
I hurriedly checked the clock on the classroom wall. To my dismay, the hour hand was pointing to 12.
Exactly 12 o'clock, on the dot.
It definitely wasn't noon.
12 AM. In other words, I had woken up in the middle of the night.
Did really no one wake me up?
I'd already grasped the situation. Clutching my throbbing head, I packed my bag.
As I hastily packed my bag, a notebook caught my eye. It was lying wide open on the desk, impossible to ignore.
Was I using this as a pillow?
My memory is hazy.
Anyway, on the notebook lying open, there were some incomprehensible numbers written.
[00:00]
I don't remember writing this.
Feeling puzzled, I quickly dismissed the stray thought.
There was no time for this. I grabbed my bag and rushed to the back door.
-*Clank*
The door wouldn't open.
It was firmly locked. After a few more tries, I gave up on opening the back door.
But don't you usually lock classroom doors from the inside?
The lock on the back door was engaged from the inside, not the outside.
The incomprehensible situation raised questions.
Still, getting out of the school was my top priority, so I didn't pay it much mind.
Even if the back door is locked, there's still the front door.
I naturally headed to the front of the classroom. But the front door was the same.
The lock was engaged from the outside of the classroom. At this rate, it would be impossible to leave through the front door unless someone opened it for me.
Both the front and back doors were locked.
It was only then that I realized my predicament. I was literally trapped, unable to move, inside the classroom.
Is this a dream?
I was dumbfounded by the absurd situation. I pinched my cheek and fumbled at the innocent wall. That's when a message appeared in mid-air.
-*Fwoosh*
[The tutorial will now begin.]
[Escape the classroom within the time limit.]
[Reward: Status Window]
[Failure Penalty: Death]
[Time Remaining: 10:00]
'Huh?'
Staring at the message, something you'd see in a video game, I blinked blankly.
Tutorial, reward, failure penalty.
It was like a quest window from a game. What's more, a timer was running at the bottom.
[Time Remaining: 9:48]
It seemed I had to escape this classroom within the time limit. I had no idea what any of it meant.
It was too real to be a dream, and too unreal to be reality.
I stood there, lost in thought, wondering what was happening. All the while, the timer ticked away.
[Time Remaining: 9:13]
It felt like something bad would happen the moment the time ran out. Reluctantly, I looked around the classroom.
The classroom looked quite different from usual. Although nothing had changed in any obvious way, an eerie atmosphere hung in the air.
First, I checked the most noticeable thing. The lockers.
Heading to the back of the classroom, I saw the lockers lined up neatly, packed close together.
One of them caught my eye.
A locker in the middle was, unlike the others, a brilliant red.
It was slathered in red, as if someone had dumped industrial paint all over it. On top of that, it was firmly secured with a padlock.
Come to think of it, a few weeks ago...
there was a theft in the classroom next door, and we were warned to keep a close eye on our belongings.
After that, a few kids started putting padlocks on their lockers.
This must be one of their lockers.
Still, if my locker looked like that, I don't think I could bring myself to use it.
Aside from the locker, I couldn't find anything else particularly strange about the classroom. Except maybe that most of the desks were empty.
Even that was just from a quick glance, so I wasn't sure.
I searched the teacher's desk drawer and behind the TV, places where a key to the back door might be, but came up empty-handed.
The timer was starting to run out.
As if to signal that time was short, the numbers turned a dark red.
But still, no means of escape presented itself,
[00:00]
and finally, the time limit was up.
I'd been anxiously waiting, worried something scary would happen when the timer ended, but nothing did.
'I got scared for nothing.'
I let out a sigh of relief. Just then, a dull thud echoed from somewhere.
The sound was coming from the hallway. My relieved expression instantly hardened. I cautiously turned my gaze in that direction.
'Is someone here?'
I peeked my head over the window sill. The hallway, like the classroom, was pitch-dark.
From a distance, I heard the sound of trudging footsteps. Then, far away, I saw the silhouette of a well-built man. He was walking this way.
It was too dark to see clearly, but the light from a fire extinguisher case and the green glow of an exit sign served as light sources, faintly illuminating him.
A shabby, plain blue uniform and cap. A flashlight in his right hand.
'The security guard?'
Judging by his attire, he was the resident security guard, the kind you see at every school.
Seeing him patrolling the school at this late hour, he must be on the night shift.
He was a familiar face I saw every morning on my way to school, so I was glad to see him. I was about to call out to him for help when I froze.
'Something's wrong.'
I don't know why, but the security guard felt different from usual. Unlike in the mornings, when he'd always greet me with a gentle smile, his expression was now stiff and rigid.
It was more than just a normal blank expression; it was strangely frozen. It even gave me an uncanny valley feeling.
The guard trudged toward the classroom.
It was bizarre and chilling, like watching a moving mannequin.
I instinctively ducked down. The thought of hiding took precedence over revealing my presence.
The footsteps grew closer. I covered my nose and mouth, afraid he might hear me breathe.
My ears perked up as I focused all my attention on the hallway.
'Is he gone?'
At some point, the footsteps stopped.
I was hidden in a blind spot below the window, so I couldn't see what was happening outside.
I could only rely on my senses to guess the situation.
I presumed the guard had passed by without noticing me.
'Let's check.'
I slowly peeked my head over the window. And I couldn't help but be horrified.
The guard was waiting right in front of the window, his eyes wide and glaring.
As if he already knew I was hiding in this classroom.
The moment I raised my head, my eyes met with the guard's, who was standing stock-still in front of the window. His bloodshot eyes were undeniably glaring at me.
"Fuck!!"
Startled, I fell backward. The impact sent a cluster of nearby desks toppling over.
Even then, the guard didn't take his eyes off me.