End Of The World

"We're going to the temple today."

I said to the children who were eating triangular kimbaps for breakfast.

Judging from the clothes they were using hanging by the window and wearing gym uniforms, they seem to be paying attention to cleanliness.

Maybe because I'm a monster, I didn't get dirty. Perhaps that's why I am so indifferent to basic everyday necessities.

I'll have to stop by their respective homes later to bring various items.

"Are there any temples around here?"

Kyeong-min shook his head at Suho's question. This is a place close to a parallel world, one step away from the real world.

So I thought there would be one over there too, but it doesn't seems to be the case. Well, there's no way such a gloomy temple could exist in real life.

"There is. Just go to the place I direct you to. Oh, that's right. Take this."

I handed Eun-jeong the artifact I made the other day, the [Sacred Sound]. Eun-jeong, who received it, looks around and then stares at me. I was about to explain it anyway.1

"It's a bell that purifies the surroundings and lightens the body. You'll get a feel for it when you try it."

After hearing those words, Eun-jeong shakes the bell back and forth once.

-Jingle.

Divine energy spreads to the surroundings through sound waves. The children felt peaceful at the moment. Similar to the feeling of lying on the floor and drinking a cool drink on a sunny day.

However, I shuddered a little.

"Is something wrong, Ella?"

"Yes. A little. It tickles."

I was about to make a weird noise. I didn't expect this. It doesn't hurt or make me feel bad, but if I listen to it continuously, I might run away because it tickles.

"It has a purification effect, but it can't harm monsters. It's only used to nullify curses. Did you just shake the bell back and forth? This time, shake it left and right."

Eun-jeong shook the bell from side to side.

-Jingle.

It sounds different than the first one. It feels a little more high-pitched.

"My body feels light."

Suho said while swinging his arms around. And it seems that this effect also applies to me, a monster.

I know that the buff is applied to the person the user perceives as an ally. I am definitely being recognized as one by Eun-jeong.

Even though her physical abilities are poor, Eun-jeong, who takes good care of the members, shows the qualities of a supporter. Except for special cases, only Ha-rim, the playable character, receives buffs in the game.

However, since they act as a group this time, this artifact capable of area buffs will work efficiently.

"Hey, Ella."

Eun-jeong comes up to me as if she has questions. she couldn't even look at me in the eyes before, but she seems to be more friendly than before. It must be because I was in a good mood during the meal and game yesterday.

"What do you want to know?"

"Is the reason we go out of school to get these things?"

Yes. In order to deal with the bosses in the future, I need to get anything that could help. There is nothing more inefficient than having children who are not strong going around in groups.

However, unlike the game, they have the advantage of being able to use multiple artifacts at the same time, so I will make the most of it.

"That's right. You have to take a big risk to get back home. It is preparation for that time."

"I see..."

I'm glad you understood with these words. However, Eun-jeong, who I thought had finished her business, wiggled her hand and said to me.

"Ella. Thank you for giving me this."

"...You better use it well."

"Yes!"

Somehow, you might think of a tsundere who hides her shyness, but I am not that kind of person. It's just not natural to act friendly right now~ Let's say it just sounds the same.

Is it awkward? Anyway, I explained the strategy to the children the same way I explained the [Turbo Granny] plan the other day.

After the explanation, we went out of the school again. Basically, the outside is a demonic world where monsters live, but due to the nature of the game, stronger monsters appear over time, so there won't be any beings that are too strong.

Except for the gimmick-type monsters that only appear in certain places.

I guided the children through the mirror held by Suho.

"Don't look at the top of the wall like last time. And if you see a suspicious object in front of you, reflect it in the mirror where I am."

Shortly after saying this, I heard Eun-jeong make a startled sound.

"Kya!..."

Suho hurriedly pointed the mirror at Eun-jeong.

Then, behind the telephone pole, I saw a little boy smiling mischievously.

Oh, him. I whispered to the little boy.

"I found you~"

[Hehehe...]

The boy laughed and became smoke that was absorbed into my body. Similar to the previous frog monster, it is a mass-produced monster with multiples of them.

The frog monster was an annoying monster that changed your body, but this guy is all about hiding.

He is a monster who appears everywhere, so I was surprised every time I saw it.

Something fell in the place where the kid was. A mitten-shaped sticker. For reference, this is a probability drop item.

I think I was lucky, as it was the case with the frog monster last time. Did Ha-rim's artifact's skill, [Luck], activate? There was no such function in the game, but now that it has been patched in reality, maybe...

Firstly, I instructed Ha-rim to pick it up. The item is [Hidden Play].

Don't get me wrong, it's just the name.

If you use that sticker, you will temporarily become stealthier, making it easier to avoid monsters. It is disposable and has a short duration, so you should use it sparingly.

The items we're going to get now is important, but collecting these drops will be of great help too.

After getting all the necessary items, we'll focus farming these things. As I moved carefully, I saw a corner store.

"Let's stop by that corner store for a while."

After I said that, the children went into the building.

"Urgh! This is..."

The children are agitated. Because there was a gruesome body there. A body that looked like it had been hacked to pieces with a knife from face to toe. Just looking at it instills fear.

Considering the children's mental health, I warned them not to look at it as much as they could.

I knew in advance that there was a body here. But why did I come here? Because the body itself is a gimmick.

"Ha-rim. Take the handcuffs there."

She was taken aback for a moment, then listened to me and grabbed the handcuffs next to the corpse.

"Who's there!"

Entering the store, someone shouts at the children.

It was an adult man dressed as a policeman and holding a baton and a shield with the word "Police" written on it. The children got startled and started whispering.

"Police...?"

"There were people alive besides us!"

To the children who have only seen strange things like me, the man was like a sweet rain during a drought. It was natural for their expressions to brighten up.

I feel sick to my stomach. Still, I had to do it.

"Come to me now! [The perpetrator] is near! Come with me, I will protect you. I will take you to safety."

At the end, the children hurriedly followed the policeman and left the store. They're scared that the culprit who created such a terrible body is near.

"Now follow me!"

The children followed the instructions of the man and moved. He entered a deep alley. An alleyway that seems like it would be full of crime.

Thump... Thump... Thump... Thump...

There was a sound of footsteps. Someone is following them. In this situation, the only thing that could be following is the killer who murdered people in the corner store.

The children trembled and said to the police about their anxiety.

"Help, I think the culprit is after us!"

"It's a big deal! Come on, follow me!"

The steps of the policeman are getting faster and faster. At the same time, the children chasing after him also start walking quickly. The scary thing is that the speed at which the killer pursue them also increases.

Thump thump thump thump.

"At us! It's coming after us!"

"As long as I'm here it's fine! Come on, follow me!"

The man is running now. The children gasp as they enter deeper alleys.

"Hu... Ha! Please run a little slower!"

[Follow me! Hurry up and follow me!]

thumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthump!!

When we came to a dead end, the policeman was nowhere to be seen. However, the sound of the killer chasing was still accelerating.

The kids panic. The fear of the sudden disappearance of the person who protected them. A terrible monster created by an ominous story of a policeman running away and abandoning the target of protection.

That was the identity of this monster.

It can be solved by catching the culprit who is the cause of the fear.

A shadow in the shape of an adult man holding a knife appears from the corner. Then he runs at us brandishing his knife.

"Ah!"

Ignoring the fussing children, I cut him in the mirror with a knife.

A monster with its arms and legs slashed one after another and scattered. I instructed Ha-rim to put the handcuffs on the guy. She did not hesitate this time and handcuffed him right away.

Then it turned into smoke and was absorbed into my body. An item dropped at the same time.

Nice! I clapped my hands to wake up the children who were in a daze.

"Huh? What did we just do?"

Kyeong-min groaned. I decided to answer that question.

"How do you feel about meeting a mental attack type monster?"

In the game, only [I think I have to follow the words] is printed in the game window, but I was curious about how it would work in reality, and I needed to let the children experience it.

And of course, I need the drop too!

This game sucks, but I like that the locations of items that can be synthesized aren't too far apart.

"It's embarrassing..."

"Because if you don't keep your senses, you will get hurt. You better be careful."

Mental attacks are unfamiliar, so it would be a good thing to experience them at least once. This must have made them aware.

"Ha-rim. You seem to have noticed it on the way."

On the way, I saw that Ha-rim's necklace was shining and the haze in her eyes had faded. Perhaps the effect of [Survival] was activated.

The [Survival] skill has a function that adjusts values such as stamina, stealth, or curse resistance to be more favorable to survival depending on the situation.

Seeing that she even resisted mental attacks that were not possible in the game, it seems that it received a huge boost with the reality patch. It's almost unbelievable to say that it's an artifact that can be obtained in the early stages.

I guessed she also benefited from this effect at [Turbo Granny].

"I believed in Ella because she had a laid back expression..."

Was I making that kind of expression? I didn't know. I'll have to pay attention to facial expressions too. By the way, you believed in me. Hmm. Should I be glad?

"This time, I've been watching because I wanted to give you the experience. Next time, tell me as soon as you notice."

"Okay, Ella."

"This is what a mental attack feels like..."

I instructed Suho to pick up the things that the monster had left behind. It was the shield held by the police monster. It would be difficult to hold it with a mirror, so he instructed Kyeong-min to hold me.

Since Kyung-min is also a boy, he shouldn't suffer that much.

Suho, who is holding the police shield, exclaims that it is surprisingly light. It is not an ordinary shield because it can block the attacks of monsters to some extent.

Of course, it's still not at an artifact level, so it's better to just avoid it.

"Now let's get going again. Turn right around the corner."

The children again proceed according to my instructions. In the way, we met a frog monster and got some drops. Thank you frog. It's about time we see it... Oh, there it is.

"There it is."

"Wow... That's blatantly gloomy..."

Kyeong-min said that with a tired expression. Although it is a small temple, suspicious amulets are attached to it, the head of a Buddha statue is broken, and because it is an old temple, ominous noises can be heard through the holes whenever the wind blows.

But you guys who enter an old mansion just to write a club report are weird enough.2

"Are we going in there?"

"Yes. But wait a minute."

After saying that, I instructed Kyeong-min to pass the temple and go to the fire station that we could see in the distance.

"Uh?"

We went without saying anything, but he stopped on the way as if something was blocking him. Actually, it is blocked.

I knocked on the invisible wall and tried to hit it, but it didn't even budge.

If I'm right, this is the end of the world. In this indie game, which is not an open world, the map is bound to be limited.

"This is the end of this world. Although it is a parallel version, it is not as big as the original."

"Then, is our world beyond that?"

I shook my head at those words.

The outside that can be seen by the naked eye seems to exist, but in fact, it only serves as a background to the player.

The parallel world refers to a circular space whose radius is the distance to where we are currently located, with the church quite far from here as the center.

It's world where it's not too much trouble to travel even if you don't ride a car.

It's really small when you look at it this way.

When I realized that, I was relieved. If there were no restrictions on space in this world, the scale would have grown absurdly large.

As expected, the elements of the game are still present even when becoming real.

No matter how scary the monsters are, in the end, they are limited by the system.

If they see the ending.

They'll be able to go home.

After thinking about it, I stared at Ha-rim.

"What's wrong Ella?"

She asks.

"...It's nothing."

I averted my eyes.