Chapter 38: I bit my tongue

Right before moving on from part one to part two of the stream, I hesitated for a moment.

The reason I hate horror games isn’t anything complicated.

They’re scary because of how they look.

I’m not trying to insult their appearance, but let’s be real—those things aren’t something any normal person could like.

Objectively and subjectively, they’re just terrifying.

And of all things, today’s stream was a horror game.

The game’s name was Omnesia Trial.

To be honest, I just did not want to play it.

Apparently, Omnesia is an older game, but a recent sequel added multiplayer mode, which is Omnesia Trial.

I didn’t know much about the game itself, but I figured I’d learn as I played.

“Should I take some herbal calming pills before starting…?”

For a brief moment, I even considered the possibility of passing out from fright.

But I’ve never heard of someone actually fainting from a horror game before, so I figured I’d be fine.

Why did my first collab have to be a horror game…?

With a sigh, I launched Omnesia Trial.

While I was fiddling with the settings, Akira sent me an invite.

[Akira: Done setting up? We need to customize our characters now. You gonna do it?]

“Hmm. Do I really need to? I think just changing the gender should be enough.”

[Akira: Yeah, that works too.]

After accepting Akira’s invite, I saw her nod in agreement.

For the sake of showing the game screen, we had shrunk our avatars into a corner.

Once character setup was done, a thought crossed my mind.

Does Akira… actually like horror games?

If she does, I suddenly felt the urge to delay any future collabs with her.

Of course, that was just wishful thinking—I doubt I’d actually refuse.

Even now, just glancing at Akira’s avatar, she had a huge grin on her face.

How could I say no when she looked that happy?

In the end, I’d probably just go along with it.

A grim future seemed inevitable, but there wasn’t much I could do about it.

After that brief thought, I focused back on the game.

Like any game, the first part was the tutorial.

“Why is the atmosphere already like this?”

• LOL
• The intro is even darker than expected…
• The atmosphere makes it even scarier.
• At least this game doesn’t have ghosts, right?
• Yikes…
• Starting off strong, huh.
• The tutorial already feels off…

Even from the intro, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to handle this game.

Honestly, I’d just be happy if I didn’t die of shock midway.

[“That’s what makes horror games fun! Alright, come over here!”]

“Senpai, have you played this game before?”

[“Huh? Yeah, I’ve cleared it a few times.”]

“Oh. Have the other senpais played it too?”

[“No… I played alone. The other senpais hate horror games, so no one wanted to play with me.”]

“…I’m sorry.”

Hearing that made me feel bad, and I couldn’t even lift my head.

I immediately apologized, and Akira shook her head.

[“It’s fine! I’m just so happy that Yuwol is playing with me!”]

• Another victim lost to Akira’s gaming addiction…
• Look at that awkwardly forced smile. LOL.
• Yuwol is suffering right now, Akira.
• Our Warrior needs to learn how to say no…
• Guess we’ll be seeing more Akira x Yuwol collabs in the future…?
• Even heroes hate horror games, huh? Gotta take notes.

Well, as long as I don’t mind, I guess playing together is fine.

Even if it means dealing with my own screams.

After some light conversation, we found ourselves exploring the mansion, trying to escape.

Since we were talking so much, I had no idea what the actual story was.

The only thing I knew was that the objective was to escape—so I just wandered around.

[“At the start, they introduce the controls and setting—Wait, Yuwol! Hide here!“]

From what I understood, the goal of this game was to escape after being subjected to experiments.

That… honestly didn’t sound too difficult.

It didn’t seem like it had too many jump scares, either.

Feeling slightly relieved, I trailed behind Akira and continued progressing.

At one point, there was a scene where someone was murdered with a chainsaw, but I couldn’t bring myself to watch and turned my head.

This… wasn’t the kind of horror I was expecting.

It was brutality rather than supernatural horror.

After about 30 minutes of wandering around…

[“Tutorial complete! Today, we’ll stop after clearing the police station chapter!“]

• One chapter seems manageable.
• Wait, that was the tutorial???
• Why the hell did the tutorial take 30 minutes?!
• Still… this game is kinda interesting.
• Is it just me, or does Yuwol actually look like they’re enjoying it? LOL.

• “Yuwol’s eyes just went all wide, it’s so cute. LOL.”
• “How do I clip this?”

Akira officially ended the tutorial.

That… was the tutorial length?!

I glanced at the clock, slightly stunned by how long it took.

Time was always against me, but at this rate, I felt like I’d be awake until dawn.

Or maybe, if I was lucky, we’d finish early.

I held on to that hope as I continued streaming.

I shouldn’t have.

[Eliminate the Informant.]

The first chapter of Omnesia Trial.

[Instruction: You are a historian, and you are an executioner. Only we speak the truth, and false witnesses must not be allowed to spread their lies.
Mission: Eliminate the informant. He is locked in a cell under the protection of corrupt police officers.
Escort him to the execution room and silence his falsehoods.]

After reading the mission manual, I realized something.

This was going to take forever.

If both of us were skilled at the game, it wouldn’t be an issue, but…

Unfortunately, I wasn’t that good at games.

And, well… neither was Akira.

At least she had cleared this game a few times, so maybe I could rely on her?

Thankfully, my instincts were right.

[“If I do this… Ah! It opened!”]

While I was running for my life from horrifying enemies, Akira was the one figuring out the mechanics and progressing.

If this game were real life, I might’ve confessed on the spot out of sheer gratitude.

Thanks to her, we managed to reach the informant’s location.

“…Hmm.”

[“Huh? What’s up, Yuwol?”]

“It’s nothing. I just realized this world has no pretty or handsome people.”

[“Uhh… I mean, horror games usually don’t, right?”]

“I thought there’d at least be one.”

• Tears, streaming down.
• What are you saying, Yuwol…?
• WHO looks for attractive people in a horror game?!
• But isn’t the informant kinda cute?
• The only decent-looking character is the informant… because he’s wearing a paper bag. LOL.
• Akira keeps getting stunned by Yuwol’s comments, it’s hilarious.

“That’s exactly my point. The only one worth looking at is the informant.”

[“……”]

As we progressed through the game, time flew by.

And since it was a horror game…

[“KYAAAAHHHH!!!!”]

“!!!!!”

We screamed. A lot.

[“OH GOD!! I’M GONNA DIE!!”]

“Hmmngh! W-Wait, I bit my t-tongue—”

[“AAAAAHHHH!”]

We died. A lot.

[“Haa… Okay, this spot is safe. They can’t come in here.“]

“…I don’t think so, Akira-senpai. Senpai, behind you—”

[“!!!”]

And we suffered.

There were moments where I was so shocked that I couldn’t even scream—just gasping for air.

• “Hmmngh, LOL.”
• LMAO.
• “Hhh—LOL.”
• He’s too cute, omg.
• “I bit my tongue from hiccuping, LMAO.”
• “GAH.”

“…Don’t tease me.”

[“Did you guys get the clip? Nice!”]

“Agh.”

At one point, I was so scared that I hiccuped and bit my tongue, making a weird noise.

Hearing it, both Akira and chat clipped the moment immediately.

[“Alright! Now we just have to electrocute the informant, and chapter one is complete!”]

“This actually ended sooner than expected. About three hours?”

[“Mm… not quite. Normally, it takes two and a half hours.”]

“…This was a great collab, thanks for having me.”

[“Aaaah! Nooo, I was joking! Thanks to Yuwol, we cleared it so easily!“]

Even though I knew we were playing on easy mode, I let it slide.

I got to experience a new game, and I had my first collab with a fellow Märchen member.

Next time, I’d probably be able to handle it more smoothly.

Of course, the real question was how long I’d survive.

“Well, that’s a problem for future Yuwol.”

Surviving my seniors wasn’t easy.

Just today, I played a horror game for the first time in my life.

Still, I guess it was a new experience.

“Senpai, when are you ending your stream?”

[“Me? Hmm. Maybe in 10 minutes? I’ll chat for a bit before logging off. Why?”]

“…If you have time, do you want to play Minecraft survival together?”

[“I HAVE PLENTY OF TIME! Should I make the server?!“]

…As long as Akira was happy, that was all that mattered.

The collab ended up lasting another three to four hours, and after a final goodbye, we wrapped things up.

Collabs aren’t something I’d do often, but they’re definitely manageable.