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

Chapter 500: You can’t fail [2]

Breaking — [Seth Thorne — Severed Stars Guild’s undisclosed Ace. Internal records confirm an unprecedented zero-failure clearance rate across classified operations. It’s no wonder he has been invited to the ranking announcement. Will he be able to gain a rank? Will he be the first rookie to rise amongst the ranks of Paragons?]

Breaking — [Unranked No More? Rookie Operative Seth Thorne is linked to multiple high-difficulty gate resolutions. He is said to have never failed before, boasting several incredible achievements during his tenure at the Severed Stars Guild. Was Malovia not the first time the rookie performed such a shocking feat?]

Breaking — [Severed Stars’ Silent Asset — Analysts question how one recruit has accumulated elite-tier achievements without promotion or public acknowledgment.]

Breaking — [Untouchable! Severed Stars Guid position over a super rookie who has yet to fail once. Value soars to 15 million!]

As if the invitation itself wasn’t shocking enough, the articles that followed were enough to give me a heart attack several times over.

"Undisclosed ace? Unprecedented zero-failure clearance? Untouchable? Value soars?"

The more articles I read, the more it felt like my stomach was being twisted and squeezed.

"What in the world are they thinking?"

It was baffling.

Was this the work of the PR team?

’No, I don’t think that’s the case.’

The PR team wouldn’t be bold enough to pull something like this. And even if they were, they wouldn’t be pushing this kind of nonsense so aggressively.

There was only one person who could drive a narrative like this and push it this hard.

"The Guild Master."

There was no doubt about it. This was the Guild Master’s idea.

But why?

Why was he doing this?

"Is he trying to spread my name or something? But why would he do that? He’s already got several people to do that. I don’t see why he would want to push me to this extent. Especially when they’re hailing me as someone who has never failed before."

But thinking about it...

He wasn’t exactly wrong.

I had yet to fail even once. So far, everything I’d done had gone smoothly. I hadn’t failed a single dungeon dive, and my clearance record was monstrous. Especially when I took into account that most of it had been achieved by the doppelganger.

"This is bad."

I pressed on to another article.

Breaking — [Seth Thorne’s records finally made public! Witness the unprecedented rise of the super rookie. Just where did someone like this come from?]

Sure enough, my records were exposed for the entire world to see.

↳Holy shit, is this true?

↳It has the BUA emblem right here! There’s no doubt about the fact that they’re real!

↳Wtf?! Why does he have so many S clerance grades? What sort of monster is this? Wait, there are videos too.

↳Holy shit! He’s like a machine. He’s exactly the same as in the stream.

↳Fucking, repost this to those bastards saying that he’s just lucky! I bet they’ll be eating their words soon.

↳But holy hell... He actually never failed before? How is that possible? Even Latcher has failed on multiple occasions, let alone being in the top ten in the rankings. What sort of monster is this?

↳ Tbh, I think you guys are overblowing the situation. Yes, it’s true that he has never failed before, but it’s also true that he’s been dealing with low-level Gates. Wait until he goes into higher-ranked ones.

The top quickly started to trend.

At first, not many people paid attention to what was being said, especially with everyone focused on those announced for the upcoming ranking renewal. But as more people began discussing it, the topic gained traction, trending more and more.

Some argued that I’d simply been lucky, repeating all the points I was already familiar with. Others pushed back, countering them with the evidence laid out in the articles.

The topic started to become even more heated, and soon, I received a new nickname.

[Zero]

As in the number of failures I had.

*

"Let me talk to the Guild Master."

"He’s busy at the moment. Even I can’t get in contact with him."

"It doesn’t matter. I can wait."

"As I said, you can’t do that. The Guild Master isn’t even at the Guild right now. No one knows where he is, since he’s handling the situation surrounding the ranking announcement. But setting that aside..."

The Section Chief’s eyes narrowed as he crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair.

"Since when were you someone who could speak to the Guild Master at will?" he asked. "Even I don’t have that privilege. Yet you talk as if he’d answer you whenever you pleased."

His gaze sharpened.

"Are you truly unaware of the difference in position between the two of you?"

"Well, that’s because—"

The words caught in my throat.

It dried all at once, my mouth suddenly empty as I stared at him, my mind scrambling for an answer that wouldn’t come. I’d been so focused on understanding why this was happening that I’d completely overlooked something far more obvious.

My own place in all of this.

Indeed, I was merely a regular ’employee’ of the Guild.

Even though I was currently being pushed by the Guild, there was a big difference in status between the Guild Master and me. Even Kyle and the others hardly ever saw the Guild Master, and the fact that I could see him as I wished was suspicious in itself.

How could someone of my stature even talk to the Guild Master?

After taking a moment to process the situation, I lifted my head to look at the Section Chief. Then I relaxed my shoulders and leaned back against the chair.

"I just wanted to talk to him about the current situation with the articles."

"And what makes you think that he’s responsible for them?"

I just know!

Damn it! I can’t even say that!

Rubbing his chin, the Section Chief took out his phone and scrolled through several items, presumably the articles about me.

"Well, I can see why you’re concerned. This is the most aggressive push I’ve seen in a quote some time. They didn’t even do this during Clara’s first ranking event."

He scrolled down again, his tone lowering.

"As far as I’m aware, this is likely a stunt by the PR team, created to capitalize on your recent fame from the Malovia incident."

Bullshit!

This was obviously the Guild Master’s work!

Taking a deep breath to calm myself down, I asked.

"But do they have to be this aggressive about it? They are talking quite a lot of nonsense."

"Are they?"

The Section Chief put the phone down, rubbing the black bags beneath his eyes.

"As far as I’m aware, there isn’t a single lie in those statements. You’ve never failed. And your clearance record is that impressive."

He paused, eyes steady.

"None of what’s being said is technically wrong."

"But that’s the problem."

I calmly stated, leaning forward a bit while meeting the Section Chief’s haggard gaze head-on.

"Even though none of what they’re saying is wrong, the real problem is that everything hinges on the idea that I’ve never failed before."

I paused, lips pressed together as I weighed the thought.

"...What happens if I do fail?"

The question lingered before I finished it, my voice unconsciously lowering.

"What am I supposed to do then?"

"That’s obvious."

The Section Chief responded without hesitation, as though the answer should have been self-evident. His eyes never left mine, his finger tapping slowly against the wooden table.

Eventually, his words fell.

And —

"Don’t fail."

My breath caught before I realized I was holding it.

"If you think the Guild Master is behind this," he continued calmly, "then that’s the message he’s sending."

Another tap.

"From this moment on, failure is no longer an option."

The room felt smaller.

A certain weight pressing down on me from all directions.

"...Just don’t fail."

***

Author Note: There’s been a little mix-up.

The Section Chief of the Hoarding Department for the Branch Guild is called Clement White, not Steve Horne.

I got confused.