In the cold, dark night air, unfamiliar red letters began to appear slowly, written as if etched into the sky.
“Main Quest – Murder has begun.”
A main quest I hadn’t even known existed now appeared above Adrian’s status window, glowing in ominous red text: [Main Quest] Murder. Seeing that stark reminder made it all too real that I was trapped inside a horror ga.
The fact that I hadn’t even been aware of the main quest until now showed just how difficult this ga was. If I hadn’t made up my mind to kill, the main quest might have stayed hidden forever, leaving to grow old and die inside this world without ever knowing about it. There was no explanation of how many main quests there were or what conditions were needed to complete them, but it seed inevitable that they were tied to the ga’s ending.
Adrian’s condition was dire, the main quest had appeared, and I already had a sacrifice lined up. Everything had fallen into place perfectly. All I had to do now was steel my resolve. It was the dead of night, pitch black, and there wasn’t a soul around to witness anything—an ideal ti for murder. I rose from my crouched position, tightly rolling up the blanket I had carried and setting it down in an inconspicuous spot.
But now that I’d decided to go through with it, I was at a complete loss about how to proceed. Did I actually have to kill soone myself, or would the system recognize an assist kill like it did with Adrian’s rules? After so thought, I decided to assu the latter since Adrian’s survival was the priority.
I wouldn’t kill the target outright, just weaken them enough for Adrian to land the final blow. But how was I supposed to bring soone to the brink of death? My mind went blank. Damn it—wasn’t the system supposed to give sothing like a knife or another item capable of inflicting lethal wounds for a main quest like this?
“Calm down, calm down…”
I exhaled sharply, trying to steady my nerves, but my heart continued to pound like a defiant drum. As I had realized before, I was an ordinary civilian from a law-abiding society. Even if I knew a criminal had moved in next door, I wouldn’t take justice into my own hands and attack them. A normal person would either move away or report it to the police.
When I helped Joanne out of pity, that was the equivalent of calling ergency services—nothing more. Sure, I felt so moral obligation, but as soone who grew up under the protection of laws and trusted them, it had simply been the natural thing to do.
That’s why I knew how abnormal it was for to now be contemplating killing soone for Adrian’s sake. Ugh, how did I end up in this situation? This is all Lilith’s fault. None of this would have happened if she hadn’t cursed an innocent child and caused all this chaos…
My hands trembled uncontrollably as I made my way toward the stables, step by shaky step, cutting through the darkness. Every sound—like the snap of a twig—made jump out of my skin. With nerves like this, how was I supposed to kill soone?
But I had a mantra I’d clung to ever since arriving in this ga.
“This is just a ga, a ga. It’s a little too realistic, but still a ga…”
The fear of death still gripped , but the only thing keeping grounded was the thought that this world was just a ga. This belief had already begun to crumble long ago, but even a shattered illusion was better than nothing to cling to.
It’s a ga, just a ga. I repeated this to myself like a madwoman as I rounded the mansion and spotted the gravel path leading to the stables. The faint sounds of horses neighing told I was in the right place.
As I crept closer to the stables, I realized too late that I hadn’t brought anything that could be used as a weapon. Damn it. I had been so focused on the act of murder itself that I’d completely overlooked the practicalities.
Should I go back and fetch sothing? A knife from the kitchen, maybe…? But I shook my head and scanned the area around the stables instead. If I went back now, I might lose the nerve I had painstakingly built up.
Just to be sure, I opened my skills window again, but as expected, there was nothing that could help with murder. “Perception” and “The Eye of Insight” were useless in combat, and “Sleep Tight” was definitely out of the question. It seed I had no choice but to fight barehanded, without the system’s help. This might be my only chance to save Adrian. Even one sacrifice would help him significantly.
“This should do…”
Near the stables, a variety of tools lay scattered about. After dismissing the smaller ones, my hand settled on a shovel. It wasn’t too heavy, felt solid in my grip, and had a slightly pointed edge—perfect for improvised combat. I rembered hearing that Retisha had once accidentally struck soone near the eye with a shovel, leaving a nasty cut. Maybe this would serve as both a weapon and a form of karmic revenge.
Holding my breath, I stepped toward the small shed adjacent to the stables. The door creaked open in the wind, making a noise that echoed eerily. Inside, a loud snore confird that the occupant was deep asleep.
Thankfully, it seed Jed was the only one inside. For the system to recognize Adrian’s contribution, I needed to leave the final blow to him. That ant I could only incapacitate Jed—just enough to render him helpless. How many hits would it take to knock him out without killing him? I had no clue. I thought back to the head chef in the kitchen, who would strike a fish the size of his arm two or three tis to knock it out. Jed was sturdier than a fish, so maybe ten strikes would do the trick? I also braced myself for the possibility that I might have to finish him off myself.
I gripped the shovel tightly and stepped inside when the door swung open. The shed was even smaller than my room. Tools for handling horses lined one side, while a single table and bed filled the rest of the space. A candle flickered on the table, casting dim light on Jed’s sleeping form.
I bit my lip, gripping the shovel hard enough to make my knuckles ache. Slowly, I approached the side of his bed, counting silently. On three, I’d strike with all my strength. Just imagine it’s a fish—one clean hit to knock him out.
One…
“Who’s there?”
Crap! He woke up! Forget counting—just swing!
I squeezed my eyes shut and brought the shovel down, hitting Jed square on the head as he groggily began to sit up.
Clang! The sound of tal eting bone reverberated through the room, sharp and jarring. Did it work? My hands felt gross from the dull impact, but I couldn’t afford to give him ti to recover.
First strike wins! As Jed toppled backward with a groan, I swung the shovel again, and another loud clang rang out.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The first hit had been the hardest, but once I got going, I was able to keep swinging with my eyes squeezed shut. On the final strike, sothing warm splattered against my leg. It felt unbearably hot against my ice-cold skin. Was that blood…?
[Shovel durability has decreased, incurring a penalty.]
[Gold -5G.]
What the hell? My money! Even in this dire situation, the system was calmly and efficiently draining my funds. Couldn’t they cut so slack for a main quest? At least give a weapon that didn’t lose durability!
“You crazy bitch!”
Oh, right. I was still in the middle of knocking Jed out. I raised the shovel again, but Jed, now conscious and bleeding heavily from his head, caught it mid-swing. Apparently, five hits hadn’t been enough to knock him out completely. Maybe I really did need to go for ten. How was I supposed to know this kind of thing?
“You… you filthy little bitch… Do you have any idea who you’re ssing with…?”
Jed’s teeth gnashed together as blood poured down his face in twin streams, his eyes glaring at with pure malice. My shoulders tensed as fear coursed through .
In the brief mont I hesitated, Jed yanked at the shovel, trying to wrest it from my grip. He seed to think I’d be easy to overpower, but I held on with all my strength. If he took the shovel, I’d be as good as dead.
I pulled back with all my might, and surprisingly, I overpowered him, though the force nearly sent tumbling backward. Barely managing to keep my balance, I watched as Jed doubled over, clutching at sothing thin near the bed.
Crack! My cheek stung with a sharp, searing pain, and my head whipped to the side. The sound echoed in my ears, leaving my head spinning. What the hell? Why did this lunatic have a whip on his bed?
“Damn it… I almost died because of you. Who sent you? Was it Karolina? Adele? Aleigh? Trisha?”
I had to get that whip away from him. As I moved, the whip struck again. Smack! It coiled around my calf like a snake, leaving a burning pain in its wake. The impact nearly sent toppling over, and pain radiated from my leg up to my spine. A groan escaped my lips.
“Argh…”
Damn it, this hurts like hell. My cheek throbbed, and I realized my lip was bleeding. Forcing my blurred vision to focus, I locked eyes with Jed. His bloodshot gaze burned with a feral, predatory intensity.
“Was it Retisha? Did that bitch send you?”
“That’s none of your business.”
What’s the point in answering a dead man?
I spat out the blood pooling in my mouth, glaring at him. Attacking a long-range fighter like him with a shovel was impractical. The only way for a close-range fighter like to win against a long-range one was to charge in, absorb the blows, and beat him senseless. A few more hits from the whip were nothing compared to what I was about to do.
“So it was Retisha after all. I should’ve killed that bitch back then,” he muttered, wiping the blood dripping from his face with his sleeve.
As he lowered his guard to clean his face, I rushed toward him. He sensed my approach too late, swinging the whip and striking my left arm with a sharp crack. The pain was searing, but I didn’t stop. I grabbed his arm, trying to wrest the whip away from him. However, his resistance was strong. Yet, fueled by desperation, I bit down on his arm with all my might.
“Argh!”
Even as I sank my teeth in as hard as I could, as if trying to tear his arm off, he stubbornly held on to the whip. His muscles, hardened from years of horse handling, made it nearly impossible to get a grip. My jaw ached, and the taste of blood in my mouth from the earlier whip strike didn’t help. It wasn’t until I nearly tore off a chunk of his flesh that he finally let go of the whip.
“You... crazy bitch! Let go! Let go, you lunatic!”
This ti, he drove his knee straight into my stomach. The impact knocked all the air out of , forcing to double over. The pain was so excruciating that I couldn’t even scream. My vision blurred, and all I could do was clutch my stomach and wait for the agony to subside.
“Guh... ugh...”
I stumbled backward, half-collapsed, holding my abdon. My head felt fuzzy, and my ears were ringing. Sowhere along the way, I must’ve taken more blows to the face, as my cheek throbbed painfully. I coughed violently, spitting out a mouthful of blood. It was sticky, warm, and dripping uncontrollably from my mouth. My vision swam as dizziness set in.
Was this how Adrian felt when he was in agony?
The thought flitted through my mind.
All that blood I’d seen on his blanket—was it this painful for him to cough it up? He must’ve endured this kind of suffering every day, collapsing and losing consciousness over and over. What must have been running through his mind during those monts? How much worse must it have been with all his other illnesses?
“Ahhh... my arm! Damn it... my arm!”
The sound of teeth grinding and his heavy footsteps snapped out of my thoughts. From my bent-over position, I noticed his shadow looming over . Despite the extre pain and exhaustion, I forced my heavy eyelids open and tilted my head back with all my strength.
“Argh!”
This ti, he let out a guttural scream as I headbutted him square in the chin. He stumbled backward, clutching his jaw, giving a mont to grab the shovel from the ground. Summoning what little strength I had left, I charged at him. His wide-eyed expression of panic as he tried to retreat only fueled further. I drove him against the wall, pressing the wooden handle of the shovel against his neck, pinning him there.
[Shovel durability has decreased, incurring a penalty.]
[Gold -5G.]
[Shovel durability has decreased, incurring a penalty.]
[Gold -5G.]
“Guh... ack...!”
Die. Just die already. You have to die...
Desperate words spilled from like a prayer. Never in my life had I wanted soone dead so badly.
But as his neck strained beneath the weight of the shovel and his gasping breaths filled the air, I felt a suffocating dread. Driving soone to the brink of death, teetering on the line between life and death—it was horrifying. Even though I was the one applying the pressure, it felt as if I were the one being crushed. My mind fragnted into chaos.
But right now, Adrian has no one but .
That thought brought back to my senses, and the tears that had threatened to fall subsided. I could feel myself regaining composure, if only slightly.
“Grrr...”
Even after all this ti, he just wouldn’t die. I’d never realized how tenacious the human body could be. What surprised even more was how little effort it seed to take to overpower him. No matter how hard he tried to push off, it felt like I was arm wrestling a child. I knew I was strong, but I hadn’t realized I was this strong.
“Ahhh!”
With a final desperate burst of energy, he swung his leg wildly. Not wanting to get kicked in the stomach again, I twisted my body to dodge, but in doing so, I lost my balance and had to release him.
Why won’t you just die already?! I swung the shovel at him as he coughed violently, but my aim was off, and the blow missed.
He staggered out of the shed, coughing and spitting, but I couldn’t follow him. The shovel had lodged itself firmly into the ground, and no matter how much I tugged at it, it wouldn’t budge. Damn it—why didn’t I control my strength?
[Shovel durability has decreased, incurring a penalty.]
[Gold -5G.]
Even in this critical mont, the white text popped up, breaking the tension. It was so distracting I could barely concentrate on the fight. My gold was draining rapidly, and while I might’ve cried over this in the past, I felt oddly indifferent now. My wages had doubled recently, so this small loss didn’t bother . Or so I tried to convince myself.
For now, I had to chase after Jed.
Leaving the shovel behind, I picked up the whip and ran after him. I could feel it—this was almost over.
The area around the stables was eerily quiet, with no sign of him anywhere. The only place left was the stable itself. He must have gone in there.
Gripping the whip tightly, I stepped cautiously into the stable. The mont I entered, a hand shot out from the darkness and grabbed my hair. The sheer force yanked my head back painfully.
“Heh heh heh... I knew you’d follow . If you wanted revenge, you should’ve brought more than just your tiny self, you little bitch.”
His sinister laughter echoed in my ears as the excruciating grip on my hair made my vision go black. Before I could react, he slamd to the ground. He bent over, shoving his grinning face in front of mine as his grip on my hair tightened further.
Grabbing my hair? This cowardly bastard...
“Even though you got a few hits in, your face isn’t half bad. Should I have a taste before I kill you, huh?”
His low growl made his intentions clear, and I felt a wave of nausea. I couldn’t die like this, not to so lowlife rapist! Desperately, I jabbed the butt of the whip handle into his foot with all the force I could muster, aiming to crush the bones.
“Arghhh!”
Jed howled in pain, clutching his foot. The mont his grip on my hair loosened, I scrambled to my feet and shoved him with all my strength. His large body slamd into the stable fence with a loud crack.
But that wasn’t the end. As Jed collapsed, the startled horses reared up, their movents triggering a chain reaction of chaos. In the commotion, Jed was trampled beneath the panicking horses, his body going limp.
Unfortunately, one of the horses—a pristine white steed that looked ridiculously expensive—got scratched in the chaos.
Damn it. I could practically feel the system reaching for my wallet with its greedy claws. If there were ever a ti to pray, it was now. Please, God, wherever you are, destroy this ga system.
[Stable fence damaged, incurring a penalty.]
[Gold -300G.]
[Count Palzgraff’s prized horse injured.]
[Gold -500G.]
[Count Palzgraff’s prized horse requires ongoing treatnt for its injuries.]
[Daily wages reduced by 70G for 10 days.]
Of course. Not only did they drain all my gold except for 120G, but now my wages for the next ten days were docked. My attempt to console myself about my doubled wages had hit its limit. I could no longer shrug this off. How was I supposed to survive the next ten days without pay? No, it’s fine. I still have so money left...
“It’s... finally over, isn’t it?”
My entire body sagged as I slid down the wall. Jed was unconscious, and this was my chance to either fetch Adrian or drag Jed to him. But my legs refused to move. The pain coursing through my body was unbearable, and the shock of having taken such violent action myself was overwhelming. Even if he was a rapist who deserved to die, the weight of what I had done was crushing.
The white text flickered into view just as I was thinking I might die from the pain, as if mocking .
“You can heal your injuries:
Bruise and swelling on cheek – 40G
Internal bleeding in mouth – 30G
Light bruise on right calf – 10G
Light bruise on left arm – 10G
Internal bleeding in abdon – 100G”
My total remaining gold was exactly 120G. Unfortunately, I couldn’t afford to heal everything. While paying for healing made sense in principle, it stung that my savings—once a hefty 940G—had been gutted by the fence repair and horse treatnt costs first. If only I could have used it all to heal myself. But that’s how this system worked—cold and ruthless.
Half-resigned, I read the text again. The cost seed proportional to the severity of the injury. The choice was obvious. After spending 100G to heal my abdon—the most agonizing wound—I was left with just 20G. Watching my hard-earned savings dwindle to zero brought tears to my eyes. But as the pain in my abdon, calf, and arm faded away, I could finally breathe without feeling like I was being stabbed from the inside.
The mory of the beating I took lingered vividly, though, leaving with a lingering sense of unease.
I still had to deliver that sacrifice to Adrian, but in this state…
“…Hilda?”
My ears perked up at the sound of a familiar voice. Was I imagining it? Or was it just the wind playing tricks on ? I wanted to turn and check, but my body was too weak to respond. If it really was him…
“Hilda!”
Just as my eyelids were starting to droop, soone grabbed my shoulder. The sight of bright blue eyes jolted my fading consciousness back to life. Was I hallucinating?
“Huh? Young Master? How did you…?”
“What happened to you? Who did this?”
“Should you even be out here? You’re not well.”
“I’m fine now. I don’t hurt at all. Now tell —what happened to you? Who hurt you? If you don’t, I can’t promise what I’ll do.”
His voice was a low, dangerous murmur, as if he were ready to slaughter everyone in the mansion on my behalf.
Not hurting at all? That was a blatant lie. His pale, sickly complexion betrayed him. The seizures may have stopped, but his body was still ravaged by countless ailnts—sothing I could confirm by glancing at the status window floating to my left. Sohow, despite his condition, he had dragged himself here after realizing what had happened to .
A strange laugh bubbled up from my throat. Adrian looked at oddly, but once it started, I couldn’t stop. I wasn’t laughing because it was funny—I wasn’t even sure why I was laughing. Maybe it was because both the demon and I were utterly pathetic.
“Hilda, right now—”
“Young Master, over there. The sacrifice.”
With great effort, I lifted a trembling finger to point at the broken fence. The horses, still agitated, occasionally pawed at the ground. Adrian turned to follow my gaze, then looked back at with a mix of disbelief and sothing I couldn’t quite place.
“I knocked him out. You just need to finish the job. The system will count the final hit, right?”
“Hilda… you were terrified. Why would you…”
“He might wake up soon. Hurry up and kill him. It was so hard to knock him out,” I whined, weakly pressing my hand against Adrian’s chest to urge him forward. There was no way I could handle that rapist bastard a second ti. If he woke up, I might just bash my own head in out of despair.
“Don’t tell you can’t kill him because you think I’ll be scared. I ca here fully prepared to kill him myself. Watching you do it won’t scare .”
“…”
“Go on. Quickly.”
Despite my insistence and the feeble shoves of my fingers, Adrian remained frozen. He seed unable to process the scene before him. For the first ti, the demon looked completely dumbfounded. Did he want to slit the guy’s throat myself and serve it up on a platter? Only when I threatened him with that did he finally start moving.
He staggered toward the broken fence, his steps slow and unsteady. As he approached, the horses stopped pawing the ground. Could they sense sothing? The mont he stepped past the fence, they shuffled to the far corner, away from him. It was oddly fascinating to watch.
“Hilda, don’t look.”
He didn’t turn to face as he spoke, but I ignored him. Looking away now felt hypocritical. So, disregarding his words, I kept my eyes wide open, watching as he grabbed Jed by the collar and lifted him with ease.
I wondered how he would do it, but the thod was surprisingly simple. He grabbed Jed’s head and twisted it sharply. The crack of his neck snapping was loud and clear, making wince slightly. The execution was brutal and unrefined, starkly contrasting Adrian’s usually graceful deanor.
Oddly enough, that was my only thought. Even though I had just witnessed a person die in a grueso manner, it didn’t hit as hard as when I saw Joanne’s death. Was it because this was the second ti? Can you build a tolerance to sothing like this? Humans really are inherently cruel creatures, aren’t they?
“I told you not to look.”
Adrian sighed, turning back toward . His face was dark, but I could see a noticeable change. His status window to my left confird it—the long list of illnesses had started to disappear one by one. Only then did I feel like I could breathe again.
However, there was no notification that the main quest was complete. I had assud that, just as Adrian gained credit for landing the final blow, I would be recognized for assisting in the kill. But it seed I would only get credit if I did everything myself, from start to finish.
What kind of insane difficulty was this? Just the thought of doing this all over again made my skin crawl. I had learned that deciding to kill was far easier than actually carrying it out.
Couldn’t I just change the main quest? The idea consud until the white text appeared suddenly, as if to console .
[Main Quest failed for the first ti. You have gained 2000 EXP.]
[Hidden skill unlocked! You can now use the skill ‘Deputy Summon.’]
[Level increased to 20. (Title: Demon’s Prospective Right Hand)]
[Skill unlocked! You can now use the skill ‘Footprint Tracking.’]
[Deputy Summon]
Hidden Skill
Unlocked condition: Upon failing a Main Quest…
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