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

Chapter 704: Total Chaos [1]

The first thought that ran through my mind was, ‘What sort of sick joke is this?’

I had to re-read the message several more times in order to make sure I wasn’t seeing things. And yet, the message was still there. So, as any sane person would do, I went to the web and looked online.

But⎯

Breaking ⎯ [Severed Stars Guild deceased! Cause unknown!]

Breaking ⎯ [Chaos at the Severed Stars Guild. From sudden rise, to sudden fall? What are their next steps?]

My heart sank at the sight that greeted me.

‘There’s no way…’

I scrolled through each article, reading through each of them to get a better understanding of the situation. By now, my entire phone was already blowing up with messages. They were constant, and it made it hard for me to read the articles.

I had no choice but to put the phone on silence, but even that didn’t work as I soon started getting calls from everyone.

Most of them were from Guilds trying to take advantage of the situation to recruit me.

I didn’t reply to any of them and just shut my phone off.

‘No, this situation really makes no sense. This must be some sort of trick by the Guild Master. I refuse to believe that it isn’t!’

Yes, it had to be.

How could the Guild Master of all people die?

This makes no sense at all.

The most plausible situation was that he did this on purpose.

But why?

Why would he do this?

What was he trying to achieve?

‘Ugh!’

Clank!

“Squad Leader!”

Turning back, I could see the startled and shocked expressions on my team members’ faces. Looking at them, they seemed to want some sort of explanation from me.

More information.

But I knew just as much as they did.

“I just got the news as well. I don’t know much myself, but I’ll ask around. For now, just stay put while I get a better understanding of the situation.”

I turned, but Mia’s voice stopped me in my tracks. I turned my head slightly.

“But…”

Biting her lips, Mia looked hesitant. She didn’t really seem to know what she wanted to say. But she really didn’t need to tell me since I could more or less guess.

“Is the… Is the news true…? Is the Guild Master really…?”

“Yes.”

I didn’t sugarcoat things.

Fake or not, the Guild Master was dead.

I didn’t know why he was dead or why he would want to fake his death, but to the world, he was dead.

The news confirmed it.

Taking a deep breath, I said the words that they least wanted to hear.

“The Guild Master is dead.”

*

The chaos extended throughout the entire Guild. Coming out into the main area, I could hear voices, whispers, and the constant ringing of phones.

It was total mayhem.

I moved past all the chaos, eventually finding myself standing in front of a certain office. Through the transparent windows, I caught a glimpse of the haggard figure standing behind the desk, one hand pushing back his greasy hair as his dark eyes seemed to have grown even darker.

To Tok⎯

I knew that he was busy, but I still decided to knock.

Perhaps he was so overwhelmed by the entire situation that he didn’t hear me the second time. Nor the third.

It was only when I knocked for the fourth time that he finally took notice of me.

His expression changed subtly, and after a moment of hesitation, he put the phone down and beckoned me into the room.

“…Ah, Seth. Have a seat. I’m sure you have a lot of questions.”

I did expect his voice to be somewhat hoarse, but not to this extent. He sounded like someone who had smoked at least a couple of packs of cigarettes.

‘It’s possible that he might’ve really done that.’

Sitting down on the chair opposite him, I carefully studied the Section Chief’s expression. The more I looked at him, the more tired he looked to me.

“Right, so the Guild Master has passed away.”

The Section Chief broke the silence in the worst way possible. Then again, I could see that he was trying to be efficient with the conversation. No nonsense. No small chatter.

He just wanted to get to the point.

‘Alright, fair enough.’

“What happened to him?”

“…Heart attack.”

“Heart attack?”

“Yes.”

“And the doctors have confirmed this? Do we have a body?”

“Yes, we have a body. We’ve run DNA tests, and have also checked everything. The Guild Master is truly dead.”

“…..”

I pressed my lips together. A seed sprouted inside of my mind. Is he really…?

No, it doesn’t make sense.

“What are the next steps?”

“The Guild will likely be in a state of turmoil. As of right now, we don’t have anyone to fill the role of Guild Master. We’ll have to go through an election process. All Section Chief’s will be eligible for the role.”

“…I see.”

In that case, the Section Chief before me was also eligible.

“Ah, wait.” Fiddling with his phone, the Section Chief quickly corrected himself. “I do say that, but actually, anyone with enough momentum can probably take the position. If you want to, you could probably try to take that position. Not that your chances are slim to none, but it’s possible.”

Guild Master, me?

I smirked slightly.

‘I’d rather die.’

That was the last thing that I wanted to be. I was already content with what I had. My greed and ambition within the Guild industry only reached this far. Besides the power that would come with the job, there was nothing that truly attracted me to it.

The constant meeting with strangers. The constant traveling. The numerous eyes directed at my every move. The other Section Chiefs, and the soon to be fight for ascension…

‘This is a world of snakes, and I don’t want any part of it.’

“Of course, I can see that you’re not interested in taking the position, Seth. I was just making a casual remark.”

“I know.”

Offering a smile, I switched the topic.

“What about the other Guilds? I’m sure that they’ll be eying the entire situation like hawks.”

“They already are.”

The Section Chief sighed, taking out several papers and tossing them on the desk. At the same time he did, he mumbled, ‘I don’t even know why I’m showing this to you, but whatever.’

There were several profiles.

“I haven’t fully confirmed this, but it seems like Helios Vanguard and Eclipse Sovereign have already made contact with two Section Chiefs. We don’t know who yet, but it’ll become clearer in the coming days. At least, until after the funeral.”

“When will the funeral be?”

“In about three days. The entire world will be paying attention to that matter.”

“Alright.”

I stood up, pushing the chair back.

“In that case, I take it that this is the calm before the storm.”

“Exactly.”

“I see.”

I turned around to face the door. And just as I did, the Section Chief called out to me.

“But Seth…”

“Hm?”

I caught a glimpse of the Section Chief, his eyes slightly narrowed.

“You seem awfully calm despite what has happened.”

Calm?

Right, I was.

I didn’t really feel that much. Fake or not, I really didn’t feel much. Maybe I did at first, but now I just thought it was troublesome.

“…I guess I am.”

Reaching for the door, I left the office.