It gave off an unsettling sense of disharmony and an almost unnoticeable split in the image.
Viola's golden hair, once radiant, now appeared a little off, though upon closer inspection, it was nothing more than an illusion.
Her white gown, like a delicate flower, was unexpectedly stained with blood-red patches at the hem, resembling blooming flowers.
It was beautiful in a way that felt both captivating and ominous.
Ignoring the odd dissonance, the artwork was still incredibly stunning.
As the image shimmered slightly, it looked like the girl would step out of the painting at any moment.
But if you stared too long, her once-sweet smile seemed to twist into something sinister, almost monstrous.
The shadows seemed to overlap, and the unsettling feeling vanished as the screen returned to normal.
Tanaka couldn't help but smile and shake his head, realizing that the previous weirdness was just his imagination.
With the sound system turned up, the game's background music floated through the room.
The gentle melody was soothing, like a soft breeze, and Tanaka instinctively closed his eyes, swaying slightly to the beautiful tune.
But then, some of the notes became harsh, like nails on a chalkboard, causing a sharp, painful frown. The music's earlier beauty was shattered in an instant.
Then, the words appeared, like mischievous little spirits popping up:
Witch's House
If this were any other game, the small glitches in the visual would have been flaws.
But for a horror game like this, everything felt perfectly in place, sparking curiosity and a desire to explore its story.
"Just as I thought! Even the intro animation is done so finely!"
Tanaka knew that what he saw earlier wasn't a hallucination, but part of the dynamic animation, which subtly changed the image in real-time.
Why this was happening, he'd only find out once he played the game.
With a mix of unease and curiosity about the horror theme, Tanaka clicked "Start Game."
[183] "What Is This!!" [300 PS]
At that very moment, Akifumi's latest post exploded online!
"Holy crap!! Holy crap!! Holy crap!!"
"Anime, manga, light novels, music, games... Are you seriously not going to skip any of it!?"
"Who was it that said they'd never be surprised if sensei made a game? Find them, and give them a beating!!"
"I just want to ask, what is there that sensei can't do!?"
"My dad asked me why I was kneeling in front of the computer. After I explained, he ended up kneeling on my shoulder!"
"Family, who understands this? My favorite sensei is just too talented, what am I supposed to do!?"
"This sensei is really not focusing on their main job! But, I like it!!"
"Yay! No need to worry about being bored tomorrow!!"
"I'll buy it just because it's sensei's first gameI'm buying it immediately!"
While these were the supportive comments, there were also plenty of criticisms.
"An indie game... Don't tell me it's just some simple little game?"
"The light novels, manga, and anime are great, but a game is a whole different thing. Can they really pull it off!?"
"Instead of spending time on this, shouldn't they be drawing more comics? Why are they doing something so unrelated to their main job, idiot!?"
"I have no interest in games."
"..."
Despite the mixed reactions, the sales of Witch's House, which had just gone live on Steam, were steadily increasing at an impressive rate.
Every few minutes, the sales numbers refreshed, showing an increase of several hundred copies.
.......
Three hours later, at 11 PM.
"51478," Akifumi muttered under his breath, impressed.
Though the impressive sales were mostly thanks to Akifumi's millions of followers, even without that support, given the quality of the game and a little promotion.
The sales would have surely increased.
Steam's platform takes 30% of the earnings, with 70% going to the creator.
That means, from 51,478 units sold, Akifumi stood to make 50 million yen!
Even if some of the sales were refunded during the 2-hour trial period, this was still a significant number for just 3 hours of sales!
As time went on, the numbers would only continue to rise.
Additionally, the game would be available in other regions, further increasing the potential profits.
If the game continued to do well, the short-term revenue could easily surpass all of his previous manga sales combined!
"Ugh, I might need to switch careers and make games," Akifumi joked.
Of course, it was all in jest.
This game's success was thanks to its high profit share and the massive user base on the platform.
While the short-term profits were promising, the long-term growth would still be in manga.
After all, Shueisha also had international channels, and Akifumi's works hadn't even been released globally yet.
Once his comics were available worldwide, the profits would be far higher than any game, especially since manga was his true calling.
Other projects, whether light novels, anime, or games, were just processes he had to go through to fund his manga career.
The plot of Witch's House was perfect, and there was nothing that needed to be changed.
The only thing left was to refine the scenes and graphics.
After all, the original game was released in 2012, and with the technology at the time, things weren't as polished.
The game had been remade in 2018, but Akifumi felt it was still a bit rough around the edges.
However, that was to be expected, as the game had been out for so many years.
He wouldn't make drastic changes but would refine the game to make it more appealing.
After checking the sales again and seeing that they had climbed to 53,000, Akifumi smiled brightly.
"Time to sleep, time to sleep."
He had new manga to work on tomorrow!
..........
After finishing Witch's House and uploading it, as expected, new ideas for works began popping into his mind.
This proved his initial thought correct: If he had long-form works, even if they weren't finished or released, he would still gain memories related to them.
The only thing left to wonder was: If he unlocked two long-form works at the same time, what would be the requirement for unlocking a new one?
For now, this was just a curiosity he couldn't yet answer.
Meanwhile, during his rest, countless players were diving deep into Witch's House, with Tanaka among them.
Despite downloading the game right after seeing the announcement, Tanaka's progress was incredibly slow.
Although the game had "horror" elements, it was more focused on puzzle-solving.
The game's story wasn't longonce familiar with it, you could finish in just over 40 minutes.
But that was only after getting the hang of it!
For first-time players, figuring out the right path was trial and error.
Take the early "little bear" storyline, for instance.
Tanaka spent almost 5 minutes figuring out how to put the bear into the box.
After that, he faced two "plot kills" before finally passing the first stage.
The second stage also took a considerable amount of time.
But it was the third stage that truly tested him.
The part with the spider web and the butterfly to unlock the door took him an entire hour of trial and error, alongside facing multiple plot kills.
Tanaka was practically numb from frustration by the time he finally reached the next room.
After saving his progress, he entered the next red room, only to be hit by flying knives again, resulting in another "game over."
"Idiot!!" Tanaka slapped the desk in frustration, reloading the game.
With a smooth movement, he dodged the flying knives and smiled smugly.
"You might be strong, but with unlimited saves, how could I lose?"
Halfway through the room, another flying sword came from behind, piercing him again.
"??"
Tanaka took several deep breaths, trying to calm his racing thoughts.
Reloading once more, this time, he managed to pass the room without incident.
He spotted a sack nearby and decided to interact with it.
There was a sack, with a small tear revealing its contents.
[Look inside] [Do nothing]
Tanaka chose the first option without hesitation.
"It's all dead cats."
Is that it?
Tanaka didn't think too much and continued exploring.
With the frog's help, he moved on to the next part of the story.
Then...
"Damn it!! What a trash game!!"
Daily Uploads!
Unlock bonus chapters by reaching specific milestones with [Power Stone] votes!
Please support me at p-atreon.com/InsomniaTL to access more than 50 advanced chapters. Q-Q
[184] Mental Corruption from the Game!
"Hehehe, this frog is just too adorable~"
Despite being a tough guy, Tanaka had absolutely no resistance to the sheer cuteness of this little frog.
Though it didn't speak, its lively expressions and animated movements brought out an undeniable charmobedient, lovable, and utterly irresistible!
Honestly, who could withstand such an adorable, well-behaved creature!?
No one!!
With the help of the little frog, Tanaka successfully progressed to the next stage.
According to the game's hint, both sides needed to be symmetrical. This seemed to be the key to unlocking the next room!
He tried opening the door.
Sure enough, it wouldn't budge.
Tanaka carefully examined the differences between the two sides.
After a few minutes of adjustments, he nodded in satisfaction.
"As expected of me!"
However...
"What's going on? Did the game bug out?"
"The two sides are perfectly symmetrical now, so why won't the door open!?"
Frowning, Tanaka pondered for a moment before noticing the white note stuck to the wallthe very note that provided the initial hint!
In that instant, his inner detective awakened.
A flash of inspiration struck!
Without hesitation, he controlled his character to interact with the note.
Both sides must be symmetrical.
[Remove the Note]
[Do Nothing]
"Of course!"
A bright smile spread across Tanaka's face.
The exhilarating rush of solving a puzzle washed over himit was moments like these that made puzzle games so thrilling!
Without a second thought, he selected Remove the Note.
A new message immediately popped up.
...Both sides are now symmetrical.
You hear the sound of a lock clicking open.
Feeling triumphant, Tanaka was about to leave the room when he noticed the little frog still sitting obediently on the chair.
Quickly, he walked over and attempted to pick it up. As expected, he successfully added it to his inventory.
"Ahh! This little guy is just too cute!!"
With that heartfelt exclamation, Tanaka moved into the next room.
Following his usual routine, he first examined the note in the room.
After entering this door, proceed to the next door without looking around.
"Don't look around, huh."
Tanaka nodded thoughtfully before turning to inspect the bookshelf.
[The Witch's Diary]
[Read]
[Don't Read]
"Come to think of it, I've seen something like this before."
Though he wasn't too invested in the game's story, his curiosity got the better of him, and he instinctively chose Read.
Mom and Dad don't love me either.
So, I X them.
Since then, I've been living here alone.
"???"
Tanaka nearly burst out laughing.
What kind of devoted child was this!?
Absolutely brutal.
He muttered a few sarcastic remarks in his mind before moving into the next room.
The moment he stepped inside
A sword came flying straight at him, impaling him on the spot.
"??"
Staring at the GAME OVER screen, Tanaka sat there in stunned silence.
His face darkened as he reluctantly selected Load Game.
But as soon as he saw the last save point, his expression soured even further.
"Oh, come on!!!"
His save point had sent him all the way back to where he first got the little frog.
Which meant...
He had to redo everything!
Even if it wasn't that much trouble, it would still take several minutes to repeat the process.
"Damn it!!"
Grinding his teeth, Tanaka begrudgingly retraced his steps.
Once again, he aligned the two sides, opened the door, and prepared to move forward.
This time, however, he wisely decided to return to the previous room and save the game first.
"A Saint Seiya never falls in the same place twice..."
Better safe than sorry!
Praising his own foresight, Tanaka once again moved forward.
As he stepped into the next room, a flying sword came at him.
This time, he skillfully dodged to the left
Only for something to drop from the ceiling and crush him flat.
"!!"
"DAMN IT!!!"
The GAME OVER screen appeared once more.
Tanaka felt like his intelligence had just been repeatedly slammed into the ground.
"What kind of BS is this!?"
Going straight gets you skewered. Dodging to the side gets you crushed.
Was this a no-win scenario...?
"Wait a second."
After entering this door, proceed to the next door without looking around.
Recalling the note's warning, Tanaka's eyes gleamed with understanding.
"Is it possible... that the key is to not read the note at all!?"
Determined to test his theory, he re-entered the cursed hallway.
As expected, a sword came flying at him.
Tanaka swiftly dodged to the side
And this time, nothing fell from the ceiling.
"Whew."
Exhaling in relief, a victorious grin spread across Tanaka's face.
"Hah! This game is nothing before my brilliance! Tremble before me! Mwahaha!"
Upon spotting the black cata save pointTanaka immediately rushed over to trigger it.
[Yo! I'm here too. It's my job, after all.]
"Now that I think about it, why is this black cat the only character with voice acting?"
Though a bit puzzled, he didn't dwell on it and continued reading the cat's dialogue.
After recalling the diary entry from earlier, Tanaka felt as though the game was telling a complete storyone he had previously ignored by skipping through everything.
But now that his interest was piqued, he decided to pay closer attention and piece together the narrative.
Clicking ahead, the black cat continued speaking.
[...Why did you insist on coming here?]
[She doesn't have much time left.]
[Soon, she'll be saying goodbye to you.]
"Who is she? The witch?"
No one was there to answer his question.
[You know, cats are elegant creatures. I especially love black cats' bodies.]
[It'd be a shame if you were gone.]
[Such a beautiful thing... Dead cats aren't easy to come by.]
