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

Chapter 585: Hunting [5]

Trr! Trrr—!

The ring of the phone echoed sharply through the house, the sound bouncing off the walls and ceiling as it spread in every direction.

In the heavy silence, it seemed far louder than it should have been, each chime lingering in the air and reverberating through the living room as my eyes eventually fell on what looked to be a landline.

’How is it ringing? This shouldn’t be possible.’

At heart, I already knew that this was the work of something sinister.

Trr! Trrr—!

The real question was, where did everyone else go?

I had seen them all enter.

And yet—

’Wait.’

A thought suddenly struck me. Did they all really enter?

My mind suddenly drifted back to Paul. To the way his death had come out of nowhere, and to Seraphine’s cold reaction afterward. She had always struck me as a cold person, but even so, I hadn’t expected her to be that cold.

Perhaps...

"Ha."

I suddenly laughed, realizing what had happened.

Trr! Trrr—!

’Looks like I’ve fallen for the trap without even realizing it.’

I thought I had been cautious. Using Mirelle’s skill, I thought there was nothing wrong, but it was clear that whatever I was dealing with had already ’adapted’. It seemed to have found a way to navigate past the skill and even use it to its advantage to lure me in here.

I drew a deep breath, staring at the land phone sitting on top of a small table.

Despite the loud chime ringing throughout the house, I remained where I was. I made no move toward the sound. Instead, I carefully observed my surroundings, letting my eyes roam across every corner of the living room.

The place was far from luxurious. In fact, it looked ordinary, almost painfully so. The lighting was extremely dim, leaving most of the room swallowed by shadow.

Click!

Taking out my flashlight, I switched it on. The narrow beam cut through the darkness, slowly sweeping across the living room as dust motes drifted through the air.

A large television stood against the far wall, its black screen dull and coated in a thick layer of dust. The frame looked old, the kind that hadn’t been used in years.

Opposite it sat a wide sofa. The cushions were slightly sunken, their fabric faded and worn, as though countless people had once sat there before the place was abandoned.

Between them rested a small tea table. Its wooden surface was cluttered with old magazines whose pages had yellowed with age. A thin layer of grime covered everything, faintly sparkling whenever the flashlight passed over it.

And resting on top of the table was the old landline phone.

It continued to ring.

Trrr! Trrr—!

Turning around, I paid attention to the door behind me.

’If my guess is correct, it’ll be difficult for me to get out. However, if I use my skills, I can probably brute force my way out.’

The real question was...

Did I want to brute my way out of this place?

I looked around.

The more I looked, the more ordinary this place felt.

And yet—

’There’s something different about this place compared to the other areas that I’ve been in.’

I let my eyes continue to roam across the room, carefully taking in every detail as the flashlight beam moved slowly from one corner to another.

Then suddenly, the landline stopped ringing.

"....."

The abrupt silence that followed was almost jarring.

For a moment, nothing moved.

Nothing made a sound.

It was the kind of silence that felt louder than noise itself, pressing against my ears as though the house were holding its breath.

The silence carried on for the next several seconds until I suddenly felt something vibrate in my pocket.

Brrrr! Brrr—!

Surprised, I reached into my pocket and took out my phone.

The phone vibrated against my palm as I stared at the screen, which displayed [Unknown Caller] over it. Checking the signal bar and seeing that there was no signal, I suddenly smiled, realizing that this was the anomaly again.

’Quite persistent.’

Click!

I decided to answer the call, pressing the phone against my ear.

"Haaa... Haa... Haa..."

Heavy breathing filtered through the speaker. It sounded disturbingly close, as if the caller were standing right beside me, their warm breath brushing against my ear and sending a shiver down my spine.

The breath dragged on for several seconds until a hoarse voice whispered.

—Did you go upstairs?

Upstairs?

My eyes followed the end of the room, taking note of the stairs that led to the second floor.

—You... need to go upstairs.

The voice almost felt desperate.

At the same time, the breath against my ear grew even more tangible, sending a sharper shiver down my back.

—Why haven’t you gone upstairs?

Hearing the voice again, I finally opened my mouth.

"What’s upstairs?"

—.....

The line suddenly went silent, the breath beside my ear coming to an abrupt stop.

Eventually—

—Go upstairs.

The breath returned.

Unfortunately, it didn’t answer my question.

’Not unexpected.’

I glanced down at my phone before lifting my gaze back toward the stairs. Since I had already decided to stay, I figured I might as well play along with the voice. I wanted to see exactly where it was trying to lead me.

Tightening my grip on the torch and letting its beam slice through the darkness ahead, I slowly began to walk toward the stairs.

Creak!

The stairs creaked softly beneath my weight as I began to climb, each step groaning faintly in the heavy silence of the house. My pace remained steady and measured, the wooden railing brushing lightly against my arm as the beam of the torch swept across the narrow staircase.

I kept the phone pressed against my ear as I moved up the stairs.

From the other side of the line, the breathing continued.

This time it was quicker.

Each breath came faster than the last, as if the thing on the other end was growing more and more excited the closer I got.

Soon, I reached the second floor.

My gaze drifted down the hallway before settling at the far end, where a large window stood. Its upper frame was open, allowing a cold breeze to slip into the house. The wind brushed softly against the walls and floorboards, stirring the stale air and carrying a faint chill through the corridor.

Moving the torch slowly from side to side, my gaze swept over the numerous doors lining the hallway before I eventually settled it over the door nearest me.

"What now? Should I enter?"

—...Yes, enter.

Settling my attention on the door, I carefully inspected it. It looked ordinary enough, just slightly worn from age, the paint chipped in a few places, and the wood faintly scratched. There was nothing about it that stood out.

Slowly, I reached for the knob.

As my fingers drew closer, the breathing in my ear grew rougher. Each breath came faster, harsher, almost frantic.

It had reached the point where the sound alone felt uncomfortable.

But just as my hand was about to reach the handle, I stopped.

The breathing stopped.

—What are you doing?

The voice whispered in my ear again.

—Open the door. Enter.

I didn’t answer. Instead, I just smiled.

I smiled as the tone behind the phone changed, turning demonic.

—OPEN THE DOOR.

I still smiled, turning my attention away from the door and onto a different door.

’It’s funny. Of all things it chose to take over, it was my phone. A piece of electronics. I’ve got an anomaly that is quite good with electronics.’

Click!

Ending the call, I didn’t waste a single second. I rushed toward the door I had fixed my eyes on, certain that the anomaly was behind it. As I activated [Trait Transfer], my arm darkened under the coating of the black film, and I drove my fist straight into the upper part of the door.

BANG!

Looking into the room, I put my phone away.

"Found you."