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

Chapter 57 - Your account has been reinstated [4]

[Your account has been reinstated] 

I stared blankly at the notification that appeared on my computer.

”....That was fast.”

Not even a few hours after I had made my request to the Guild and my account got reinstated. I didnʼt even know how to feel.

To think that a Guildʼs influence was this big...

ʼWait, does that mean that the post I made on Robes is useless?ʼ 

It wasnʼt a big issue. Either way, the account was going to be useful for me later down the line. I just logged in and deleted the post that I had previously made.

Jamie had yet to make the announcement, so the follower count was still stuck at zero.

But that was irrelevant.

Ding! 

[You have been transferred 10,000$] 

I couldnʼt contain my smile when I saw the new notification that appeared on my phone. I didnʼt even hesitate to convert all of it into SP, netting myself 1000 SP.

”Itʼs a bit of a pity, but this is necessary.”

I now only had enough money for food and basic necessities. Rent was free, and so was the office space. My general expenses were low to begin with.

With that being said, I opened the Dock application and checked the statistics.

I was really curious to see how much money I had made and the number of sales.

”Itʼs here, right?”

I fumbled around the page for a few moments before finally locating the section, and just as I clicked on the statistics, the smile on my face slowly faded.

”Eh...?”

I had to blink several times to make sure I wasnʼt seeing things. However, blinking again and seeing no change in the data in front of me, I slumped back onto my chair.

”Thatʼs...”

My mind could hardly process the number in front of me.

I had originally thought the number of sales had almost reached 10,000, but I was wrong.

...I was very wrong.

I drew a deep breath, trying my best to calm my trembling hands as I stared at the number on the screen in front of me.

[Sales: 17,319] 

”This is insane.”

The number was far greater than I had originally anticipated. In fact, it had far surpassed it.

I then looked at the income generated section, and drew another cold breath.

[Income: 60,617$] 

This was the first time I had ever earned this much money before, and the previous excitement that I felt from receiving 10,000$ felt like almost nothing.

To make things even better?

The sales were still going up. This was far from the final income I was going to make from the game.

The thought drove me mad.

But there was only one issue with the situation.

”I canʼt withdraw the money until the end of the month.”

Dock paid every end of the month, and it was currently January 17. There were still fourteen days left until the end of the month.

”I guess... it was still a good idea for me to request the money immediately.”

Taking a deep breath, I started to look through the statistics of the game. I was curious to see what else I could find. But right as I got into it, a notification appeared on my computer.

[Market your game!] 

[Quest Completed] 

”Oh...”

So now you decide to show up?

I shook my head. Very clearly, I had fulfilled the criteria of the system several hours ago. And yet it was only now that I received the notification. This also happened back when I completed the museum quest.

Was there a specific criterion for the completion mark notification to appear, or was the system just trying its best to mess around with me?

I really wasnʼt sure, but the sudden flood of notifications made all those thoughts pass away.

[Calculating rewards...] 

The calculation didnʼt take very long.

It didnʼt take long before 3,000 SP was added to my account. Taking into account the extra 1,000 SP that I had just recently added to my account, I had a total of 10,450 SP.

”Holy shit.”

I looked at the system shop.

”With this amount of money, I can literally buy anything...”

The most expensive item was the butcherʼs knife. It was also the most intriguing item as it was a growth type, but I didnʼt choose to buy it immediately.

ʼIf my guess is right, since itʼs a growth-type weapon, itʼll start off rather weak. That wouldnʼt be ideal, considering that I only have a day and a half left before the conductor comes. I should hold off on buying it for now.ʼ 

It was a bit of a pity, but I knew that by the end of the month, with the amount of money Iʼd rake in, Iʼd be able to buy the knife.

I just needed to be careful with my points.

”Okay, then...”

Leaning back onto my chair, I scrolled through all the listed items.

”What should I buy?”

***

”Seriously?”

Zoey mumbled while she sat in her cubicle, her leg resting on her desk as she fiddled with the phone in her hand.

She had just received a message from Jamie.

Originally, she had expected him to ask for the shoutout, but that never happened.

Instead, he was messaging her about something else.

[Seth has just started a page of Robes. Heʼs asked me to promote it and authenticate it.]

[Oh, thatʼs cool...] 

”But what does it have to do with me?”

Zoeyʼs expression turned strange.

”Donʼt tell me he wants me to promote the page...”

Zoey didnʼt know how to feel about that. In part, she felt responsible for the incident, but at the same time, it wasnʼt really her fault.

He was the one who had chosen that place.

Furthermore, she had gotten him in contact with Jamie to help him...

ʼBut should I reject it? If Jamie asks then...ʼ 

[Donʼt worry. Iʼm not asking you to promote his account. That would be useless since it would be filled with a bunch of your fans that have nothing to do with what he does. Theyʼll just be a nuisance to him.] 

”Oh...”

Contrary to her expectations, Jamie didnʼt ask her to promote his page.

Then what exactly did he want?

[I want you to help him manage his page. I just looked at his page and...]

He didnʼt finish his sentence, but from the way he was texting, it was clear that it wasnʼt very good.

Zoey sighed. But at the same time, she was curious.

Surely it couldnʼt be too bad, right?

[Alright, send me his page.] 

Jamie didnʼt waste a single second and sent the Robes page over.

Zoey tapped the link, and her app launched instantly.

Moments later, a simple page appeared. Her eyes were drawn straight to the name at the top and the photo beneath it.

”Pftt.”

She burst out laughing shortly after.

”What the hell, hahaha.”

Despite her best efforts, Zoey couldnʼt hold back a laugh as she eyed his profile picture. A picture of Seth wearing a pair of sunglasses and looking far too pleased with himself.

”He looks nothing like a game developer, pftt—”

Not only that, but looking at his bio, she couldnʼt help but laugh again.

● I am not liable for any damages caused by my games. All responsibility falls on you for screaming and waking up your neighbor.

”What the hell, haha ”

The more she looked at the profile, the funnier she found it.

It was a strange feeling.... almost unfamiliar. How long had it been since sheʼd laughed like this? Ever since the incident with her parents, sheʼd buried herself in work, her goal clear.

She wanted to become stronger.

Strong enough to prevent incidents like her own from happening again, as well as conquering Sentriest Island.

She didnʼt have much time to laugh.

And yet... Somehow, in just the past few days, sheʼd laughed more than she had in her entire time here.

It felt weird.

”So damn weird.”

Zoey rubbed her eyes while looking at Sethʼs profile.

She shook her head and snooped around the page. The account looked pretty new. He didnʼt seem to have done much with it.

Fiddling around, she looked at his like history, not expecting much, but...

”Eh?”

Her face froze.

[Horror Game Developer - Seth Thorne has previously liked this post by Zoey Terline]

She then looked down to see a very familiar photo.

Her face froze.

”What the fuck...?”