'I guess I should start packing my things up.'

I looked at the paper in my hands with satisfaction. I had been waiting for quite some time to get discharged. Although the place was quite nice and large, besides the cafeteria and gym, I was restricted from going to most places.

There was also no Wi-Fi access, limiting me to only old movies I wasn't very interested in watching.

"At least they gave me a laptop."

That was the only means of comfort that I had.

Turning back to face the desk, I stared at the laptop. It wasn't anything fancy. A middle-end model that could just about do anything that didn't require high-level computing. It did have a few games, but without internet, the games available were rather boring.

Not that I was keen on playing them.

The main reason why I even needed the laptop in the first place was so that I could better organize my own thoughts regarding my last game.

I only had two more weeks until the final deadline of the quest that I had recently received. Knowing full well that I wouldn't be able to develop my games without any internet and a team, I decided to properly study my game and determine its flaws.

In other words, I wanted to determine the reason why it failed to crack the 3-star rating.

In the end, after a lot of thought, I came up with a conclusion.

'I was simply too focused on making sure that the player killed themselves by the end of the game than making sure the game is actually 'fun'.'

The horror aspect of the game was present. However, everything else wasn't. The game wasn't really a game. Besides the initial aspect of selection, the player didn't have much of a choice after that.

The players…

They didn't have any means to properly struggle or fight back. All they did was observe and wait for their eventual death.

This was what I believed to be the main flaw of the game.

'At the end of the day, making them struggle and still leading up to them killing themselves will make the game even more terrifying. Right… It's not fun if they struggle just a little bit. I need to give them hope before removing it… Kek. It's only that way that their death might seem even more genuine.'

The more I thought about the game, the more I started to shudder. Thinking about all the changes and plans I had in my mind… I struggled to contain myself.

"…Kuk."

I hurriedly covered my mouth, holding my laugh back.

Me and my old habits…

"Still, it won't be easy."

I had already planned out several ideas. But there was an issue. Each one of my new ideas would require a lot of time to develop.

I planned on expanding the game beyond what it currently was. In order to give the player more means to stru—play, I needed to expand the game. One such way was by giving them the ability to inspect floors and scenes closely. I could also have the player interrogate the guests and give the player special abilities picked up from rooms, with locations randomly changing each new game.

A mask that could see through disguises. A microphone that could detect lies once. A knife that could be used for self-defense…

The possibilities were endless. The more I thought about it, the more concrete the idea became. I started to feel a surge of motivation and excitement. For a moment, I forgot about everything that had happened in the recent weeks.

That...

I was still taking my time to process everything.

'I'll go crazy if I continue to think about it.'

This was so that I could keep my mind away from those matters. Of course, alongside the excitement, I also started to feel nervous.

Two weeks…

Could I add all these changes in two weeks?

"It's worth a shot."

Making up my mind, I took a deep breath and closed down the laptop.

'Alright, let's pack everything up for tomorrow.'

*

I woke up before my alarm could even go off. Besides the nagging boredom and the feeling of confinement, the two weeks had been quite good for me.

At the very least, sleep wisely.

I had been able to get more than eight hours of sleep each day.

But all good things needed to come to an end. Grabbing my luggage and the papers from yesterday, I quickly headed out of the room without looking back.

Stepping out of the building and feeling the morning breeze, I tugged my jacket closer to me.

"Cold…"

Looking around, I followed the path leading away from the Shell until I reached the gate. Tall exterior walls enclosed the headquarters, their presence making the space feel closed off and controlled in spite of its large size. I was stopped immediately for a thorough security check, and every item was inspected before I was finally cleared. Once my belongings were returned, I stepped aside and transferred the files from my laptop to my phone.

Following which, I handed the laptop back.

…Or at least, tried to.

"You can keep it."

"Huh? Really?"

"Yes, consider it a gift for holding you for so long."

"That's pretty generous of you guys."

"I'm glad you like the gift."

Staring at the guard and then the laptop, I pretended to be thankful. In reality, I wasn't quite sure of what to make of the situation. Despite being a middle-end model, it was still better than my current laptop.

But there was a problem…

Safety.

I wasn't sure how safe this laptop was. What if their goal was to use it to monitor me?

'Then again, even if I purchase another one, they can spy on that one.'

Rubbing the back of my head, I shook my head and stored the laptop away before leaving.

'I'll think about it more later.'

"I'll be leaving. Thank you."

"Have a nice day."

Nodding once, I stepped out of the walls.

"Finally…"

The first thing I did when stepping out was stare at the blue sky above. There was no difference between the sky within the walls and outside, but something about the air outside the headquarters felt different.

Something about it felt… less stuffy.

Perhaps it was just me, but it felt as though a massive weight had been lifted off my chest.

"Okay, I guess I should start booking a flight."

The plan was to go back to Malovia. That was also where my office and team were. In order to work on the updated version of the game, I had to—

"You're just about on time. I was just coming out as well."

"….?"

Turning around, I was stunned to see a familiar figure. He stood not far from me, walking out through the gate as his large dark coat fluttered in the wind. One hand slipped out of his pocket to adjust the hat on his head, his movements unhurried and calm.

"Guild Master?"

'He's here?'

Not only that, but from the looks of things, he seemed to have been waiting for me?

"You came out at just the right time, Seth. I've already called for a cab."

"A cab?"

"Did you expect a private driver?"

"Not really."

I didn't even expect him in the first place.

"Well, I would've liked to have had a driver to pick us up, but there's a certain situation at the Branch Guild, and he won't be able to make it. We'll make do with a cab for now."

"...I see."

I actually had no clue as to what was going on.

I was kind of struggling to make sense of what was going on. In the end, the Guild Master cracked a smile as he turned his attention towards the road where a black SUV began to approach.

"Our Guild has a branch on the main island, just like any other Guild. Given that Malovia is currently still in a state of shutdown, going there is impossible. Not only that, but given the recent situation, there's no point in staying in Malovia for now. Especially with the few upcoming events."

Blinking harder, I started to frown. Was he talking about the World Congress? Were they still going to host that…?

Was it really appropriate?

"Well, those are the excuses that I'm using for now. The reality of the situation is quite different."

Reaching for his pocket, the Guild Master retrieved a mask and a pair of sunglasses and handed them over to me, adding to my growing confusion.

"Wear them."

"What for?"

"What for?"

Chuckling slightly, the Guild Master lowered his hat and stepped into the cab.

"Why else? For your own safety. You're currently one of the most famous people in the entire world."

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