Chapter 113

CHAPTER 113

The game Two Heads are Better, developed by Monster, was a two-player co-op adventure game.

Which meant that even if the theme and concept of the first chapter were horror, there was no way it would be a proper horror game.

If a horror game was something meant to instill fear in the player—

then simply setting the story in a creepy-looking old castle and not including a single scare would still technically count as a horror-themed concept.

When native English teachers dress up for Halloween and kids wander around after school English classes, does anyone actually feel fear?

Well, if the teacher puts on a horror movie, then it might be scary.

But that's because of the horror movie itself.

Not because the classroom was decorated to look scary.

It would have been just as frightening if they watched it in an ordinary house or room.

Of course, that was just speaking in general terms.

Considering the developers had previously asked whether he was good at horror games, there were undoubtedly elements designed to create fear.

Even so—

Pfft.

Seo-jun barely managed to suppress the laughter threatening to burst out.

First, the viewers didn't know this chapter's theme was horror.

If he laughed and explained why, it would become a spoiler.

Second...

"..."

"What? What is it?!"

Simply staring at Tae-woo like this was enough to make him react.

"Why do you keep grinning like that?!"

A guilty conscience speaks first.

Tae-woo snapped for no reason, and Seo-jun calmly shook his head.

The person who needed to explain himself right now wasn't Seo-jun, was it?

If he reacted like this, wouldn't the viewers become even more curious?

Seo-jun's gaze shifted left toward Tae-woo's chat.

• Then why?
• Tae-woo, why were you screaming? lol
• Is there some kind of foreshadowing involving the mouse?
• Did you forget to turn off the gas valve or something? lol
• Looks like he found something!

"After thinking about it, turns out that wasn't it."

Wrong answer.

Who would believe that?

Seo-jun once again stopped himself from laughing.

"Haha, no. I thought I'd forgotten something, but after thinking it over..."

• Suspicious.
• Pretty sure he got scared by the mouse lol.
• So you're a scaredy-cat?
• That mouse is pretty big though.
• Ngl it's gross.
• Yep. Just hurry up and keep playing.

"Yep! We'll keep going!"

Squeak!

Another mouse appeared.

It really was disgustingly large.

About the size of a nutria—slightly smaller than a small dog.

It was probably more accurate to say their bodies had been shrunk.

Tae-woo kicked the newly appeared mouse for no reason.

From behind him, Seo-jun spoke sternly.

"I think I might have to report you for animal abuse."

"That's literally just a chunk of data."

"Then you're promoting violence—"

"Aren't you the one who runs around hitting people with a sword all day?! Huh?! You're the most violent person in this world!"

Tae-woo reacted far more irritably than usual.

Meanwhile, Seo-jun grew increasingly relaxed as he thought back.

Was he always this easily scared?

Thinking about it, he realized he'd never actually had the chance to find out.

Well...

If we'd been elementary school classmates, I probably would have known.

In elementary school, there were always retreats and courage-training exercises.

But by middle school and high school, retreats became school trips and those kinds of programs mostly disappeared.

He'd met Tae-woo in high school.

And yet he felt like he'd only learned this today.

"Hey. Stop smiling like that."

"..."

"I said stop smiling!"

"Alright, let's go."

Tae-woo looked at Seo-jun with an expression that said what crazy thing is this lunatic planning now?

Meanwhile, Seo-jun surveyed the terrain around where they had arrived.

"Still part of the secret passage?"

Looking at the dark tunnel stretching ahead, Seo-jun spoke.

It was difficult to call this the interior of a building.

Displaying the virtue of generosity, Seo-jun said:

"You go first."

"Ah, for fuck's sake..."

Tae-woo frowned.

The path ahead was dark like before, but it wasn't narrow.

In fact, it was wide.

Not just enough for two people—five people could walk through side by side holding hands.

So why insist that he go first?

That bastard.

He'd definitely figured it out.

Tae-woo wasn't particularly resistant to horror.

More accurately, he'd never had the opportunity to test it.

The streamer who owned his MCN was widely known as an evil streamer who constantly tried to force horror games onto his affiliated creators.

Yet he had never recommended horror games to Tae-woo because he thought Tae-woo simply wouldn't enjoy them.

Still, there was a difference between knowing something scary existed and not knowing.

That difference alone had reduced Tae-woo's chatter, made him hesitate slightly, and caused him to startle more than usual.

In other words—

he was actually pretty cowardly.

Seo-jun had figured it out instantly.

"Alright, let's go."

Suppressing his emotions, Tae-woo took the lead into the cave-like tunnel.

Seo-jun followed behind.

Why?

People who grin like idiots all the time are supposedly tougher on the inside.

Their boss had assumed horror games would bore him.

Tae-woo himself had thought the same.

So he'd lived his life without really playing horror games.

But now, walking through a dark tunnel inside a game, he realized something.

This wasn't the first dark path he'd ever walked through.

How many games had he played in his life?

[Hey, this secret passage wasn't originally supposed to be like this, was it?]

[Yeah. Why's it such a mess? It looks unfinished.]

Because of his tension, Tae-woo failed to jump properly and fell into the abyss.

"Pfft."

As the chasm appeared, the characters began speaking.

The secret passage, which had already been showing signs of damage from the start, had now deteriorated to the point where they had to jump across gaps.

The crack was easily over five meters long.

Of course, with the game's jump mechanics, it was manageable.

"Hup!"

[Let's try again together!]

[Let's help each other!]

[Let's help each other!]

[Retry 1/2]

They restarted from a nearby checkpoint and returned to the chasm.

This time, Tae-woo jumped properly and landed safely.

• He failed that easy jump? lol
• Is the streamer gonna die too?

"I'm good at this."

The next gap was too wide to clear with a normal jump.

Instead, there was a marked hook point above.

Jump, fire the grappling hook, swing across with the rope, and land on the other side.

Simple.

"You'll get it this time, right?"

"Of course."

Tae-woo steeled himself and tried to relax.

In the end, the reason Seo-jun was keeping all this a secret was obviously because he wanted something out of it later.

And that might end up costing even less.

Tae-woo jumped first.

Ziiiiing!

Thunk!

The hook connected perfectly.

Using the rope, Tae-woo attempted to swing to the opposite side.

But at that moment—

he glanced downward.

He had tried to loosen up.

The grappling hook wasn't particularly difficult since the game's assist system let you aim it roughly and still connect.

Then again, had he fallen off the earlier cliff because it was difficult?

I can't let it show anymore.

For now, Seo-jun hadn't revealed that Tae-woo had chickened out.

And because of that, Tae-woo had decided to hide the fact that he was weak against horror as much as possible.

Because the moment that fact became public, even he couldn't imagine how many horror-game collaboration requests would come flooding in.

Letting out a strange groan through clenched teeth, he relaxed his body completely.

[Let's help each other!]

[Retry 1/2]

• What's wrong with him? lololololol
• Is that a bug? lol
• What exactly are they helping each other with? lololol

He gently fell into the abyss.

[Let's help each other!]

"I think I saw something while I was falling."

"You fell on purpose just to look at it?"

My body's finally starting to relax!

Seo-jun followed after him.

"No... I just..."

Because it was scary.

Tae-woo attempted the jump again.

This time he succeeded.

No matter how tense he got, he wasn't going to fail twice at something this easy.

That was only natural.

And yet—

Even though it was such a simple thing.

An overwhelming sense of accomplishment washed over him.

[Then there's a good chance this isn't even the place you originally designed as the secret passage, right?]

[Probably.]

[Then shouldn't we go back?]

[Let's keep going for now.]

This time they crossed by using two consecutive grappling points.

Following the groove with his eyes, Tae-woo could finally see the other side.

"It's kind of like that zipline bar from earlier."

"We're supposed to hook onto that?"

"Yeah. You try first."

"Why me?"

"Scared?"

Scared?

Ha.

Seriously.

Fueled by adrenaline, Tae-woo succeeded on the first try.

His confidence steadily grew.

This was an action-adventure game.

Not a horror game.

Being scared was just pointless worrying!

"Oh, what's this?"

"Looks like the last section."

Something resembling a pirate ship's steering wheel greeted them.

It lay horizontally on the ground, suspended from a rod connected to a groove in the ceiling.

Tae-woo snorted in disbelief.

"Fine! I'll go first! Since you're the scared one!"

Thinking what a simple-minded friend he had, Seo-jun watched.

Tae-woo took a running start and jumped.

His grappling hook latched onto one of the wheel's spokes.

Click-click-click-click.

The sound of gears turning echoed out.

Like a playground swing ride, Tae-woo rotated together with the wheel as it traveled forward along the groove.

So that's how it works.

However, it didn't get very far.

The wheel stopped.

It seemed to lack the force needed to continue.

Soon, the wheel began rotating in the opposite direction and returned to its original position, carrying Tae-woo back with it.

"It came back."

"Looks like this needs two people."

"Seems that way."

"Then I'll swing back, and you get ready to jump."

Like a kid on a playground swing, Tae-woo rocked his body back and forth.

If he jumped directly from the wheel's current position, he wouldn't reach where Seo-jun was standing.

He was trying to build momentum.

Seo-jun offered a much simpler solution.

"Just let go."

"Hah. Why would I?"

"Scared?"

"...No."

Tae-woo released his grip.

And they started over.

After all, checkpoints were practically everywhere.

[Let's help each other!]

• The magic word: "Scared?" lolololol
• Tae-woo, at this point just admit it
• Honestly it'd be less embarrassing lol

It's fine. I'm getting used to it. Even the falling.

Whether Tae-woo was reassuring himself or not, Seo-jun didn't care.

Could he really overcome it?

"Most likely, if we each hook onto opposite sides of the wheel at exactly 180 degrees apart, it won't stop and will keep moving. I'll go second."

The first person could hook on anywhere.

The second person needed precise timing.

It looked fairly difficult.

Those kinds of things were better left to him.

"What are you talking about? I'm not scared."

That's not it.

"Skill issue, idiot."

"Ahhh!"

At that moment, Tae-woo completely regained his composure.

What? Horror games are nothing special.

• What kind of pride is that? lol
• Scared?

Tae-woo took a running start.

His hook caught the wheel, and it began spinning forward at high speed.

After timing it perfectly, Seo-jun launched himself into the air.

Clank.

The second hook attached to the moving wheel.

Now powered from both sides, the wheel spun even more vigorously.

With the balance properly distributed, they eventually reached the end.

They climbed off the wheel, which immediately rotated backward and returned to its starting position.

Landing on the floor, Seo-jun headed toward a patch of green light.

There was a hole in the ground there.

Looking down, they saw a ventilation shaft with another opening in the middle.

"Let's go in."

As they entered the ventilation duct, a dreamy chiming sound echoed through the air, almost as if congratulating them for their efforts.

Was the real horror beginning now?

"The way back is blocked."

"Looks like it's one-way."

Seo-jun and Tae-woo continued forward.

Soon they found another green marker.

This one pointed toward a gap in the ventilation shaft where light was leaking through.

Peering down through the opening, they could see an interior room.

Inside, all kinds of toys were stacked and displayed in their packaging.

It didn't seem intended for customers.

There were no shelves.

The boxes were simply piled up so their contents could be seen.

[Huh? Isn't this where the protagonist is supposed to be?]

[You sure?]

[I designed and implemented it. Of course I'm sure. Look over there—that's Sector B-2.]

[Really? Then why isn't the protagonist there?]

[What?]

[Look. It's empty.]

Just then—

Something suddenly appeared.

It was the head of a grotesque-looking doll.

"Hmm. From its perspective, this would be the ceiling, yet it's sticking to it."

"What are you talking about?"

"Look carefully."

As the two focused on the room below—

BANG!

With a deafening crash, something suddenly slammed into the ventilation shaft right in front of them.

"Oh, damn!"

• HOLY SHIT
• That scared the hell out of me lolololol
• I actually screamed out loud lol
• The streamer's still calm somehow

Of course, even Seo-jun had been slightly startled by the doll suddenly popping into view.

But only slightly.

The strange thing was—

Tae-woo, who should have been the loudest person there, was completely silent.

This bastard... don't tell me...?