Chapter 3

I woke up to a massive headache. Ah, shi… I already know. I should have controlled the number of drinks I had and just went to bed early. This is why people shouldn’t do things they don’t normally do. After stretching out, I rubbed my stiff eyes.

What time is it now? I have to go to work.

“Phone, my phone…”

I habitually reached while stuttering, but when I couldn’t find my phone anywhere, I turned over once and stretched my hands out again. But I’m sure I left my phone here on my bed, and my bed isn’t that big, so I should have normally found it by now.

But my phone wasn’t anywhere here. No, it wasn’t that my phone wasn’t here. It’s just that this wasn’t my room.

“Where… am I?”

What did I do last night? Where did I fall asleep? Did I stay out overnight? No, I definitely bought some liquor last night and went straight home. Then I played some games.

With my mind still groggy, I fumbled through my memories. But then, a white letters popped up in the air.

「 Level 1. No skills available. 」

「 When Level 5 is reached, the skill of ‘Perception’ can be used. 」

“What the, have I gone crazy. I’m seeing things, still…”

I might still be half asleep. When I shook my head and opened my eyes again, the letters had disappeared, but the room remained unfamiliar. I looked around with bleary eyes.

What? Where is this? Did I sleep while playing a VR game or something last night? I need to go to work.

But, at that moment— Bang, bang, bang. Someone was knocking violently at the door.

“Hey, Hilda! Hilda! Aren’t you getting up yet?!”

“……?”

“Hilda! You slept in again! Come out and bring Young Master Adrian’s medicine!”

I swear I’ve heard those words somewhere before.

But I don’t remember where exactly I heard it…

“Hilda, you’re just hopeless. Until when will I have to wake you up like this myself?”

The door slammed open and an angry face was revealed. I looked around several times already.

It’s not me she’s looking for, someone else… But there’s no one else here.

“Hilda? …Me?”

But she’s the maid I saw in the game I played last night. I pointed at myself perplexedly and muttered. Now that I thought about it, the woman who had opened the door and was looking at me pitifully seemed familiar. She wasn’t someone I’ve met before, but someone I’ve seen in a game.

“Who else would it be if it’s not you? Stop spewing nonsense and just get up already!”

“……”

“Gosh, take out one functioning person and everyone’s slow like this, hmph! I can’t trust anyone! No one at all!”

Leticia? She’s really Leticia. With a uniquely sharp voice, she nagged like that and left through the door once more, slamming it closed.

What’s going on? I need to go to work and submit a report today. If I don’t, my section chief’s going to hound me again.

Staring at the closed door, I thought blankly.

“Hilda, did you sleep in again? Miss Leticia’s fuming.”

The door opened once more, and someone else who had a familiar face like Leticia came in. Surprisingly, she also reminded me of the character I saw in the game I played last night. Blankly, my lips moved.

“Emi… Emily?”

“Why are you calling me so awkwardly? Are you sick?”

“What the hell is this…?”

“You’re probably not awake from your dreams yet, Hilda. Hurry up and get dressed. If Miss Leticia comes back, you might get in trouble if she sees that you still look like that.”

For a moment she looked at me with a hand on her waist, then she took something out of the closet and threw it on the bed. It was a gray skirt made of moderately thick cotton. There was also an old apron meant to be worn around the waist so that the skirt wouldn’t get dirty. In the game, all the maids wore the same thing.

I was gobsmacked. My mouth opened and closed several times as I set the clothes down.

“Wow, this dream feels so real. It’s very realistic. You said I’m Hilda?”

“Hilda, just hurry up and get changed… No, this won’t do. I’ll be the one who’ll bring Young Master Adrian’s medicine.”

“I…?”

Emily sighed.

“You better not stand out in Miss Leticia’s eyes today. She’s really strict ‘cause she thinks the servants’ discipline has become lax these days.”

She looked sincerely at me with a worried expression as she said this. Then, she added, “You shouldn’t anger Miss Leticia any more than this,” then closed the door behind her as she left.

“What? What’s this?”

Though I hadn’t gotten past halfway through the game, I can clearly remember that this was the first time in the game that the character ‘Hilda’ brought Adrian his medicine.

“Did I go inside the game?”

That, or I’d gone bonkers…

While staring blankly into the air for a moment, I slapped myself.

I hit the side of my face to the point that my ear rang, but I still didn’t wake up. And apart from the intense pain and the vivid touch… There was the sound of the wind whistling through the window accompanied by the chirping of birds perched on a tree.

If this was really a dream, that shouldn’t be possible.

“Real…? Did… Did I really go crazy?!”

I went into a game—no, not just a game, but a horror game rampant with murders!

Why wasn’t it an otome game that’s swarming with handsome guys!

Of all things, why did I have to go into a horror game…

“AH, log out! Log out!”

If this was really a game, wouldn’t I be able to get out if I log out? Please, just don’t log me out of life.

With a trembling hand, I pressed the small menu that I saw in the upper righthand corner of my field of view. Then, the ‘New Game’ and ‘Exit’ options emerged in the air.

There was no choice to log out.

Then, what if I press Exit?

Nervous, I pressed the Exit button. But what appeared in front of my eyes next…

「 You cannot exit the game. 」

Don’t forget to rate and leave a review for this series on novel updates!