Horror Game Developer: My games aren't that scary!

Chapter 368: Realmwalker [1]

I didn’t rush to agree to the Guild Master’s proposal, if it could even be called that.

There was no free lunch in this world.

The Guild Master’s intentions were clear. He wanted something out of this, and I felt hesitant knowing this. I had already revealed to him quite a lot. To what extent was I going to show him my abilities?

Was it safe to do so…?

’I don’t know about that.’

The rat’s words continued to replay in my mind. The more I thought about those words, the more my heart tightened.

’…I know this might be the rat’s way of getting in my way again, but I really can’t find myself dismissing his words.’

Staring at the Guild Master and staring at the simple smile on his face, I really didn’t have a good feeling.

However, I also knew that this deal was going to benefit me.

It was a no-brainer decision, but I still felt hesitant. Just how much could I show this man? What would happen if he were to learn more?

’I’ll need to be careful going down the line.’

“So…?”

“Oh, yes.”

I scratched the side of my face, my foot tapping lightly against the floor. A shadow began to take form soon after, a faint sizzling sound filling the air as the overhead lights flickered and the Dreamwalker twitched.

“Hmm.”

The Guild Master’s attention immediately pulled on the Dreamwalker, leaning his head closer to get a better look.

He was dressed in a black coat that looked slightly too large for him, the fabric draping loosely over his frame. Beneath it, a crisp white shirt and a sharp black tie completed his appearance.

Staring at the Dreamwalker for the next couple of seconds, he pulled his attention back to me.

“Can you evolve it…?”

“It’s… possible.”

I didn’t deny it, trying my best to keep my heart steady while I looked at the Dreamwalker.

It had been stuck in the same tier for quite some time, and despite my efforts to evolve it, the task proved incredibly difficult. Collecting fragments was quite difficult for me. Especially when taking into account that I ’didn’t’ have any powers.

In order to make my life easier, I had no choice but to start revealing glimpses of it.

At the same time, it was also what pushed me to make a deal with the Guild Master.

With his support…

“What are the requirements for it?”

“I would need around 20 conceptualization fragments.”

“Twenty ? Any purity?”

“The purity doesn’t matter.”

“Oh?”

The Guild Master’s brow raised in surprise.

I could understand his surprise. If the Dreamwalker only needed fragments without any purity concern, then it made things a lot easier.

I was certain the Guild had a lot of low-purity fragments in store.

If I could get my hands on them…

“You really only need twenty?”

“Yes, more or less.”

Less, actually, since the Dreamwalker already had a few collected.

I needed about fourteen, but I said twenty just to see if he’d allow me to keep the rest. I could’ve said more, but I wanted to play it safe for the time being.

“…If that’s the case, I can arrange it quickly.”

Taking out a small flip phone, the Guild Master moved out of the room and dialed a certain number. He came back shortly after with a small bag in his hand.

“This should be everything.”

He proceeded to toss the bag at me.

Catching it, I looked through it. There were exactly twenty fragments.

’He really managed to get… So quickly as well.’

As expected of a Guild Master. He really knew how to get things done quickly.

Perhaps it wasn’t a bad idea to work with him after all…

“You can start whenever you can.”

“Right.”

I shifted my gaze from the Guild Master to the bag in my hand, taking a quiet breath before selecting the first fragment.

A notification flashed the moment after.

[Would you like to remove the attribute?]

▶ [Yes] ▷ [No]

I froze the moment the notification appeared, my gaze instinctively drifting toward the Guild Master. Feeling his eyes on me, coupled with that faint smile, a wave of tension began to creep over me.

However, it was too late for me to regret.

’Let’s do this. I need to do this.’

With the upcoming cult quest, I knew that I had to be ready.

I pressed [Yes] and my arm stirred.

A gray cloud drifted in the air, pulling away from the fragment below. The Dreamwalker immediately moved towards it and grabbed it, pulling it to its mouth.

Conceptualization: 7/20.

The fragment turned transparent shortly after.

In the moments that followed, the silence within the room grew increasingly stifling. My heart drummed loudly within my chest as I reached for the next fragment and repeated the process.

Conceptualization: 7/20.

This time, however, I didn’t let the Dreamwalker absorb the cloud.

Instead, I told it to stay put inside my mind.

“…There’s a chance of failure.”

I didn’t look at the Guild Master while saying this, afraid he would notice what I was trying to do as I pulled out another fragment and repeated the process.

Conceptualization: 8/20.

Thankfully, the Guild Master remained silent the entire time.

He just kept silent as he observed everything that I was doing.

His gaze felt pressuring, but I knew that the only thing I could do was continue.

And that was what I did.

Conceptualization: 10/20.

Conceptualization: 15/20.

Conceptualization: 19/20.

With the last fragment in my hand, I paused. The Dreamwalker looked a little different from before, its presence seeming a lot stronger than before. I could tell that it was squirming with energy, and after holding onto the last fragment, I pressed [Yes].

Conceptualization: 20/20.

“…?!”

The change came quickly.

The Dreamwalker began to shake, its body visibly thickening as the lights above flickered. Its long arms contracted slightly, gaining bulk, while its legs stretched further, and its back arched into a subtle, menacing hunch.

A black veil began to form around its body, covering it from head to toe.

But that wasn’t the most noticeable change.

Instead, it was the change in the Dreamwalker’s color that drew the eye, deepening into a black so intense it seemed to draw all the light from the room, swallowing the surroundings in shadow.

The transformation didn’t last for long.

It took several minutes, and in those moments, I forgot all about the Guild Master as I continued to observe the Dreamwalker.

And then—

“…..”

Silence.

The changes finally came to a stop, the Dreamwalker flickering in and out of existence just before my very eyes, leaving me at a complete loss.

Curious, I checked its profile.

My breath paused the moment I did.

─────

<D> Ranked Anomalous Entity – Realmwalker

[Description]

: Once a Dreamwalker, the Realmwalker has evolved through the assimilation of Conceptualization fragments. Its shadowy form has grown stronger and more resilient, now able to resist the piercing effects of light, though it still instinctively favors darkness. Beyond mere survival, the Realmwalker has gained the extraordinary ability to traverse to different realms.

Loyalty : 55–> 74 [+9] (….)

Skills :

[Body Morphosis]

: Skill enables the Dreamwalker to alter its body in any way possible.

[Shadow Walking]

: Skill enables the Dreamwalker to walk in the shadows and the other realm unobstructed.

Fragments :

Conceptualization: 1/40

─────