went in.”
The rules of the game stated that only three players could survive. From the very beginning, there had always been a
faster way to win than waiting for the bosses to kill everyone off.
I had suspected someone would do it, but seeing it happen still left a bitter taste in my mouth. The prize money was
high, but the cost was real: players who died in the game disappeared from the real world.
Perhaps this was what made Eliot and Jax A–rank players.
“Let’s get some rest,” Jax said. “Tomorrow, we can finally leave this hellhole. Eliot, I have two energy bars left, you want
one?”
“No, thanks,” Eliot replied.
The next day, however, when the three of us reached the grand entrance on the first floor, Jax pushed on the massive
doors, but they didn’t budge.
“What is this? The game said the last three survivors would clear the instance!” Jax roared.
Chapter 2
[SYSTEM: Players have not yet completed the game. The exit is unavailable.]
“What other damn condition is there?!”
[SYSTEM: “The Haunting of Crestfall Manor” Clear Condition 1: Survive until only 3 players remain.]
[SYSTEM: “The Haunting of Crestfall Manor” Clear Condition 2: Uncover the truth of the family annihilation.]
0621
The system had announced the rules on the first day, but everyone had been too busy arguing about my C–rank status
to pay attention to the second condition.
“Dammit, I’ve been trapped in here for five days, scared out of my mind! How was I supposed to pay attention to the
backstory of these damn ghosts!” Jax cursed.
“I remember something,” I said suddenly. “Let’s go to the little girl’s room.”
We opened the door to the familiar princess bed and cloud–patterned rug.
“Why did you bring us here?” Jax asked.
I pointed to the crayon drawings hanging on the wall behind the bed. They were clearly the work of a child.
The first drawing was normal enough: a happy family of five–father, mother, sister, brother, and the youngest daughter.
But from the second drawing on, the images turned disturbingly macabre.
The second showed the parents smiling in the kitchen, preparing dinner. On the mother’s cutting board was a human
head.
The third showed the older sister hanging from a tree, her long tongue lolling out.
The fourth showed only a pair of crimson eyes, with large, blue tears falling from them.
Jax stared. “… You slept in here the other night and didn’t notice these drawings were off?”
“My bad,” I said. “I fell asleep too fast to notice.”
Jax was at a loss for words, but he forced himself to continue analyzing. “Okay, so the parents were psychotic killers.
They dismembered their son, and the two daughters couldn’t handle it and killed themselves. That’s why the house is
haunted, right?”
“No,” I said. “There’s a deeper reason.”
“What reason?”
“The father,” I said, my voice low, “abused his own daughters.”
The riddle from the hanged ghost on the first night echoed in my mind.
“He is my deepest nightmare…”
“I am his closest secret…”
“We share the same blood… Who is he?”
Who was he?
He was “Father.”
That also explained why the little aid wore a blood–stained nightgown. And why the system called the hidden bosses
Chapter 2
06.220 F
That also explained why the little girl wore a blood–stained nightgown. And why the system called the hidden bosses
the “Beastly Father and Vicious Mother.”
[SYSTEM: DING!]
[SYSTEM: Congratulations, players, for uncovering the secret of Crestfall Manor.]
[SYSTEM: Please proceed downstairs to receive your reward: “The Last Supper.“]
[CHAT: Eva is a genius! She actually figured it all out!]
[CHAT: Wait, I thought she was sleeping the whole time. How did she remember the ghost’s riddle?]
[CHAT: Yeah, wasn’t she grinding her teeth when the ghost was talking?]
When we returned to the main hall, the long table was laden with a magnificent feast and all sorts of drinks.
Jax, whose throat was parched, immediately grabbed a bottle of an energy drink and started chugging it. While the
system had provided basic sustenance, the only source of water for days had been a single carton of milk per day.
As a gesture of goodwill, I passed my own drink to Eliot.
Half an hour later.
[SYSTEM: Has everyone had their fill?]
