Horror Game Developer: My games aren't that scary!

Chapter 498: Changing [2]

The next day was a hectic one.

It started with a lecture from a Team Leader I wasn’t familiar with.

"There will be a new ranking announced in the next couple of days. What sets us apart from the major guilds is the fact that we don’t have any ranked individuals within our Guild. Or to be precise, we don’t have any Paragons."

She wore round glasses large enough to cover nearly a quarter of her face as she spoke sternly to everyone from both the Guild and the Branch Guild. We had all gathered early in the morning to talk about the upcoming ranking announcement.

In all honesty, I didn’t pay much attention to it.

Why would I?

I was quite certain that I wasn’t going to be ranked. Taking away my achievements in Malovia Island, there wasn’t anything else that I had done to warrant a ranking. I was also very clearly not as strong as Clara or Kyle, or... anyone else.

’That’s unless I use the knife or do some crazy nonsense like last time, but I’m not really keen on doing that again. I also can’t allow myself to get exposed. That’ll be troublesome.’

In summary, while interesting, there were more pressing matters.

Like...

Getting the update done.

"In the following days, an invitation will be sent to those who will be allowed to participate in the ranking announcement. If you receive an invitation, it’ll mean that you will have a chance of making it within the ranking. The Guild will make sure to provide accommodation and means of transportation for when that happens. Just being invited is an honour, and the PR team will spare no effort to push your image up."

The Team Leader continued to ramble on for quite some time. Everyone listened attentively, their expressions serious, though a few faces showed hints of excitement. I could see that there were quite a few that held some sort of expectation.

It looked like this invitation meant quite a lot to them.

Even Kyle, Zoey, Rowan, and a few others I was familiar with showed similar expressions.

They really care about it that much?

"The invitations will be sent to your desk directly when they arrive. The moment you receive it, please report it to the Guild."

Nudging her glasses up, the Team Leader smiled.

"That’ll be enough from me. All of you are free to go. I wish the best of luck to all of you."

The moment she announced the end of the lecture, I was among the first to stand and hurry back toward the office. I could feel a sharp glare burning into the back of my head as I walked away, but I ignored it, turning my wrist to check the time.

’They should already be here.’

Turning the corner and finally spotting my office, my pace slowed as I noticed a group waiting outside. As if sensing me at the same time, they stopped as well and turned to look in my direction.

"Boss!"

"...You’re here, boss!"

"You’re finally here!"

Indeed, it was my three slav-coworkers. Noah, Ryan, and Joseph.

"We got your message recently, and we tried our best to rush here. We were actually in Sainsburg. It took a while for us to reach here. But you really wanted to have an update for the game? I can understand that you’re unsatisfied, but why does the deadline need to be so short? Can’t we take our time? We also don’t have our working space, so..."

"Don’t worry about that."

I unlocked my office door and walked in.

At the same time, I took out a certain key and walked toward the far end of the room, inserting it into the nearby wall.

’If not for the fact that the Section Chief told me this is possible, I probably would’ve never known. I thought it was a one-off thing, but I guess not. The office is no regular office after all.’

".....!!"

"What!?"

The startled shouts behind me drew a faint smile to my lips as a door materialized before the four of us. I nudged Noah to close the one behind us, then pushed open the door ahead, revealing an all too familiar room.

Turning back to face the three of them, I checked the time.

"We’ve got plenty of time starting now. Let’s get started with the update. We’ve got to make sure to fix all the problems by the deadline."

***

Click! Click! Click!

There existed a gap between people.

Click! Click!

"Over here! Please look over here!"

"An autograph! Please give me an autograph!"

"Look this way!"

There existed normal people, and there existed the Paragons.

"Hey! Hey! I was here first! Don’t shove!"

"What are you talking about!? I was here way before you!"

The Paragons weren’t just immensely powerful. They were celebrities of a sort. Each one had millions of followers and commanded the attention of the entire world. Be it actors or even sports stars... Nobody commanded as much attention as they did.

"One question! Just one question!"

"Have you received the invitation for the upcoming ranking? Do you think you will be able to rank higher than in the previous years? After the incident in Malovia, do you think that you have a shot at making it in the top hundred?"

"Could you even rank higher? What’s your goal?"

"There are rumors that you might even be demoted. What do you think about that possibility?"

"...And what do you think about Seth Thorne? There was a moment when you were with him. While there was no footage of the situation, we do know that you were working with him. What’s your opinion about him? Do you think he can—"

Finally, the noise died down.

The woman in question paused as she turned her attention to the reporters, her lips curving into a thin, graceful smile while the sunlight glinted off her luscious blonde hair.

"I’m in a bit of a hurry, so I can’t answer all of the questions. Do I believe that I will rank higher? I’m not quite sure myself. Considering my performance in Malovia, I’m more inclined to believe it’s the opposite. We’ll see in a couple of days."

Having undergone extensive PR training, Geneva answered as smoothly as she could before politely dismissing the reporters and heading towards the entrance of her Guild, where several people were waiting.

"Please wait!"

"Geneva! Geneva!"

"You’ve yet to answer my question! Geneva!"

The reporters hurried toward the Guild’s gates, only to be firmly stopped by the guards at the entrance. They protested loudly, but there was no way through, leaving them to watch as Geneva disappeared from view.

Once inside the Guild building, Geneva’s practiced smile crumbled. She quickly reached into her pocket, pulled out a pack of gum, and stuffed a piece of gum in her mouth, chewing slowly.

It tended to calm her.

"You’ve done well."

Not long after, her manager, a woman with long black hair neatly tied into a bun, dressed in a gray suit and skirt, greeted her. The two then stepped into the elevator under the watchful gazes of those around them.

Being the ace of the Guild, this was only natural.

Clank!

As the elevator doors slid shut, Geneva leaned back against the metal wall, her chewing slowing down. She glanced at her manager just as he reached into his coat and pulled out a black envelope patterned with gold.

"We’ve received the letter."

Geneva’s chewing stopped, her expression relaxing a little.

"...What do you think?"

She suddenly asked, looking away from her manager.

"Do you think I’ll be able to rank higher this year? Everyone is saying otherwise."

"I don’t think there’s much you need to worry about."

Her manager replied, a thin smile forming on her lips as she took out her tablet and began scrolling through several documents.

"Even without factoring in what happened in Malovia, your achievements this year are already quite impressive. That alone should be enough to secure you a spot in the top one hundred. And depending on how they assess your performance in Malovia, there’s a good chance you could be ranked even higher."

"Is that so...?"

"Yes, please don’t worry."

Her manager reassured her, putting the tablet away.

"The reporters are just speaking nonsense. You’ll no doubt rank higher."

"That’s a relief."

"But..."

Suddenly, the manager hesitated, prompting Geneva to raise an eyebrow as she turned to look at her.

Seeing the hesitation on her manager’s face, Geneva spoke.

"What is it? Is there something that I need to be wary of?"

"No. Nothing particularly."

"Then...?"

"It’s... well, it’s nothing important," she said quickly. "I was just curious about something, but I don’t think it’s appropriate."

"What is it? You can ask if you want."

Geneva frowned, finding her manager’s behavior odd. Just as irritation began to surface, her manager spoke.

"I know it sounds silly, but I was just wondering..." the manager said hesitantly. "About the guy the reporters kept asking about. That Seth Thorne. What do you think of him? Do you think his results were because—"

She stopped mid-sentence.

Her expression shifted as she noticed Geneva’s face tighten ever so slightly, her jaw starting to work as she reached into her pocket and shoved even more gum into her mouth, chewing rapidly.

Ding!

The elevator stopped soon after.

Geneva left without even looking at her manager.