Chapter 90

"Get up now."

The smooth voice sharply penetrated the drowsiness that had settled deep in my mind.

"Gasping!"

I lay on the bed, exhaling several rough breaths as if I had just emerged from water.

The piercing headache felt like a needle prick, and my body, heavy like a water-soaked sponge, felt unfamiliar.

How long had I been unconscious?

I looked down at the white sheet, unable to lift my head easily.

I was afraid it might not be the workshop.

I was afraid that the strange event where I had become the villain in the game I was developing, which should have been just a dream, was actually real.

"......"

But my fears were confirmed as soon as I lifted my head and saw the wallpaper pattern, which made my eyes tremble.

This was the wallpaper designed for the Squire's mansion.

I muttered in a hoarse voice, stunned.

"It's not a dream......"

"Not at all."

Startled!

A soft voice from a stranger beside me made me flinch.

I crouched back instinctively, like a prey animal sensing danger.

The man looked down at me with an amused expression.

Click.

I swallowed hard involuntarily.

He had loud bleached hair, multiple piercings in his ears, and a bizarre bright red suit.

His eyes were slanted, and his lips curved with ease.

Everything about him seemed disharmonious, as if he were not in his right mind.

This man was not a character from our team's creation.

"Who are you?"

He greeted me with an exaggerated Western-style bow.

"I am Ozwald, the channel manager. I can be seen as an assistant who helps facilitate the smooth progress for the pleasure of the Seiza."

I recalled the notification [The Seiza are entering] that I saw before fainting.

If the possession wasn't a dream, then the BJ and the broadcast must also be real.

'...Does that make sense?'

Is that really true? Why?

Ozwald waved his cane, which had a ruby-eyed skull decoration.

Rumble!

A one-person sofa was dragged to the bedside like a fish on a fishing line.

I stared at the surreal scene with a dazed look.

Ozwald sat down and met my eyes with an appraising gaze.

"Since you seem to have calmed down a bit, shall we start talking seriously?"

I sat up on the bed, still tense, gripping the blanket as if it were a sturdy armor.

Ozwald's gaze fell on the wrinkled blanket, and he smirked.

"There's no need to be nervous. My proposal will not harm you in any way."

"I'll be the judge of that."

To my stiff response, Ozwald nodded and said, "As you wish."

"A channel manager, if you compare it to the world you lived in, is like a TV station PD. The only difference is that the subjects are not humans but the Seiza."

Ozwald's expression turned irritated as he continued.

"I have mainly satisfied the Seiza through dark genres like disasters, wars, betrayals, and revenge... Sigh. But the recent broadcast trends have changed."

Snap!

When Ozwald snapped his fingers, a screen appeared in the air, listing the top popular Naver TV videos.

I was trying my best to accept this situation, but...

'What is this?'

Every time a surreal phenomenon occurred, I was shocked.

Ozwald continued talking as if my reaction didn't matter.

"Do you see that all the top 30 are romances?"

Tsk. Ozwald clicked his tongue.

I could tell how much he disliked love stories.

"Given the trend, I had no choice but to join in. The popularity of the channels I managed was also declining rapidly. That's when I discovered 'God's Play.'"

"Wait a minute."

I interrupted him.

"Does this broadcast involve possessing the creator of a human-made creation?"

"Sometimes, and sometimes not."

'That means it didn't have to be me who possessed the game.'

"...Why me, then?"

Ozwald answered with a peculiar smile.

"'God's Play' has very typical elements, making it a good start for a romance. And, well, you too."

A woman who wants to be loved by everyone.

A typical self-projection creator who is so starved for love that she even made a game reflecting her desires.

My face turned red as I realized the implications.

Ozwald feigned a sympathetic expression.

"There's no need to be embarrassed. That's why I chose you."

His words were no comfort.

I shivered slightly, feeling as if I were stuck in the mud.

It was humiliating and unpleasant.

I wanted to slap that man's face and make him shut up.

The surging emotions shook me, but I suppressed them and asked calmly.

"Even if I possess this body, I can't lead the romance as you wish, since I'm the villain?"

'I don't want to, anyway.'

Ozwald answered calmly.

"That's what makes it more interesting."

His nonchalant attitude was infuriating.

"What happens if I do nothing?"

Ozwald chuckled.

My sharp reaction didn't amuse him. It was as if he had seen many like me.

"Ah, it doesn't matter. If you don't mind missing out on the [Wish Token] that can be bought with the Seiza's donations, which can grant any wish."

Ozwald snapped his fingers again, and a new window appeared.

▼

[Shop]

▹Wish Token [1,000,000,000 coins]

: Grants any wish once.

▲

"From trivial wishes like killing an enemy or saving a loved one to grand ones like eliminating a dimension, anything is possible."

Does that mean I can also wish to return to Earth?

As if reading my thoughts, Ozwald chuckled and said,

"Of course, returning to your home is possible. But you need to end the broadcast first."

"End the broadcast...?"

"Yes. Just like a game has an end, when this content ends, the broadcast ends. If you survive the broadcast, you can live as a part of this world. If you don't want that, you can gather 1 billion coins before the broadcast ends and buy the Wish Token."

To return to Earth, I need to end the broadcast and gather 1 billion coins to make a wish.

"You've probably seen scenes where the production team gives missions to the cast in a broadcast. Like this."

Snap!

The sound of his finger snapping pierced my ears.

Ding!

[Quest: Watch the true ending of 'God's Play' in Hard Mode]

▸Reward: End of broadcast

▸Failure: Death

The quest window appeared.

Ozwald explained kindly.

"This broadcast is based entirely on the content provided by 'God's Play.'"

Games usually have three difficulty levels.

The easiest, where you instantly respawn if you die, is [Easy Mode].

The difficulty is higher than Easy Mode, but you still instantly respawn if you die, which is [Normal Mode].

The most challenging, with the most death routes and bad endings, where you game over if you die, is [Hard Mode].

I have to play 'God's Play' in Hard Mode, and as the villain, Terese.

'But I can't see the true ending as Terese.'

The true ending is only allowed for the female protagonist.

Like blood, innate hair color, and eye color, this is something that can't be changed by effort.

Ozwald continued his terrifying explanation as if that wasn't enough.

"BJs who don't play properly will fall into hell after death."

...Not only death, but hell too?

"Hell will make you experience what you fear most. It will trap you in endless, unsolvable misery."

Ozwald seemed to have an epiphany and let out a laugh.

"Your hell will likely be an infinite repetition of your life from age 8 to 20."

"......"

Even without looking in a mirror, I knew my face had turned pale.

Ozwald grabbed my chin tightly, his expression somewhere between ecstasy and horror.

The distance between us closed to the point where I could feel his breath.

"Finally, you're making the expression I like, instead of that annoyingly calm one."

His gaze licked my face like a tongue.

Smack!

I fiercely slapped his hand away, feeling a chilling disgust, and glared at Ozwald as if to kill him.

"This expression also excites me. I guess my judgment was right, after all."

Perverted scumbag. Die.

"I want to explain more, but if I keep the advertisement too long, the Seiza will leave in droves. Let's resume the broadcast now."

Ozwald tapped the floor with his cane, and a thin electric current swept through my body, giving me a feeling of passing backward.

Tick. Tick.

Then, the ticking of a clock, which I hadn't heard before, sounded.

It seemed he had paused time for a moment.

"I hope you become a top BJ in a large channel, Shin Jiwoo."

Ozwald vanished as if evaporating after saying that.