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

Chapter 514  Enough to shake the world [3]

”H-hoo.” Slumping back into my chair, I felt exhausted. Not so much physically, but mentally. The step wasnʼt particularly hard or painful. At least, when compared to the previous times, it had been a lot easier. Perhaps, I had long been ready to reach the Fourth Order. Nevertheless, it was still rather exhausting. But—

”Herder, huh?” I closed my eyes and felt my new node. I didnʼt quite know what the new node did, but I had a hunch. ʼIf itʼs based on the fact that I did reach the Fourth Order before, even if I wasnʼt in the right state, it should be ”that” skill, right?ʼ I tried my best to hide my smile. If it really was the skill I was thinking of, then it would be a massive boost to my strength. Alongside the knife, I was almost certain my rank wasnʼt unjustified.

In fact, I had a feeling that I could probably rank even higher. But these were just my guesses. At the end of the day, I didnʼt truly know how strong I had become. ”...I guess Iʼll find out soon enough.” I turned my attention towards the Conductor. It seemed that the Conductor had calmed down a little bit, its expression a lot more relaxed as it sat on the seat opposite me, its hand over its interlocked legs. With its lips curling, it raised both hands and started clapping. ”Congratulations. It seems like your ascent was successful.” Clap! Clap—! I could tell that its praise was genuine, but the way the Conductor was clapping seemed almost sarcastic. ”Hm. Itʼs not too bad.” ”Itʼs certainly a start, but...” The Conductor paused, its hands stopping. ”Are you satisfied with just this?” I frowned. ”What do you mean?” ”I can see your strength has increased a lot, so much that you might even think youʼre as strong as those humans deemed ʼParagons,ʼ but…” The Conductorʼs eyelids opened, revealing its dark eyes once more. ”...Youʼre still not at their level. You might think that theyʼre weak considering what had happened back on the island, but it was simply due to the fact that you had become too strong.” My frown deepened. The Conductor wasnʼt wrong, but was my strength really not comparable to theirs? If I went all out... ”Why must you corrupt yourself for power?” The Conductorʼs words shattered my thoughts. ”If you wish to become powerful by turning, or by letting your mind be corrupted, then be my guest. I wonʼt stop you. In fact, Iʼd encourage you to do so.” A raw, ripping sound echoed as the stitches on the Conductorʼs lips snapped, its mouth pulling into a twisted, sinister smile. Coupled with its twisting eyes, my body subconsciously started to tense. ”Iʼd love it if you could just return to what you were back on the island. The more out of control you are, the more amusing it is to me.”

A sinister laugh escaped the Conductorʼs lips. It truly did seem to mean its words. I was once again reminded of just how twisted this Conductor was. ”...Unfortunately, Iʼm sure that you donʼt want things to progress in such a manner, correct?” ”Yes.” I didnʼt plan on losing myself anytime soon. ”In that case, youʼre still far from strong. Iʼd even guess that your friend, ʼKyle,ʼ is stronger than you.” ”...Maybe.” ”You donʼt sound convinced?” ”I didnʼt say anything.” ”Well, it doesnʼt matter whether you believe me or not. What matters is that you can become far stronger than you are now.”

”How? Donʼt tell me itʼs by reaching the Fifth Order. Iʼm still—” ”Of course not. Youʼve just reached the Fourth Order. Thereʼs no way you could become a Fifth Order so quickly. Iʼm talking about a different method.” I paused, letting the room fall into a state of silence. Then—

”What is the method youʼre talking about?” I asked, trying my best to keep my voice even as I stared into the Conductorʼs deep eyes. Eventually, its lips curled further upward as the Conductor pointed at itself.

”How else?” A chuckle left its lips. ”By acquiring another anomaly.” Not finished, it added. ”One as strong as myself.” *

Clank—! Even as I left my office, the Conductorʼs words continued to ring inside my mind. It wasnʼt as if I hadnʼt entertained the idea of acquiring even more anomalise. So far, I had acquired four anomalies. The Realm Walker, Mirelle, Mr. Jingles, and the Conductor. I had yet to reach the limit on the number of anomalies that I could acquire. Although I didnʼt know what the limit was, I knew that I could still absorb two more without any problems. The only issue was that I didnʼt know which anomaly to acquire. Since I knew I couldnʼt just take in every anomaly I wanted, I had to be careful with my selection.

ʼBut finding one that was just as strong as the Conductor?ʼ This was a bit too much. In fact, it was practically suicide. I had been ʼluckyʼ with the Conductor. Had it not been for the fact that it wasnʼt looking to kill me directly, I wouldʼve already been dead by now. There was no guarantee that the next anomaly at that level would simply make a bet with me. ʼIn fact, I should just quietly improve the skills of all my anomalies.ʼ ”Yeah, letʼs not rush this decision.” There was still time for me to think about things properly. Making up my mind, I headed back to my room. I needed to get some sleep. *** The days continued to pass. A week and a half had passed before anyone knew it. Despite this, the excitement and controversy behind the ranking announcement had yet to calm down. In fact, it had only gotten worse. So much so that it became impossible to leave the Guild without getting bombarded by questions. Nevertheless, everyone quickly adapted, and things moved on. The Guild officially became a King-Grade Guild. This piece of news once again dominated the headlines. The birth of a King-Grade Guild was nothing short of trivial, regardless of where the Guild belonged. Added to the fact that this was the same Guild that had dominated the headlines for the past week, it only added to the excitement of the situation. The online community was once again thrown into chaos. Even more reporters showed up at the front of the Guild, but despite all the chaos, within a certain room, aside from the rhythmic sound of keys being pressed, everything was relatively silent.

Click! Click! Click! It was as if the noise outside had no meaning to them. And soon—

”Done!” Click! ”Iʼm also done!” Click! Click! ”...Iʼm also done. Final check complete.” Click! Three heads raised in unison, turning toward the figure seated at the main desk, his dark eyes fixed on several large monitors. Quietly massaging the dark circles beneath his eyes, Seth eventually stopped. He reached for the mouse and checked a couple of things. The room bathed in silence as all attention remained fixed on him. And soon—

Click! A click echoed. Followed by a certain voice.

”Iʼve sent it.” Seth raised his head to look at the others, his expression even more lifeless than usual. ”The update is live.”