Surviving in an RPG Maker Horror Game

[6:37]

When I came to, I was at the entrance of the teachers’ lounge.

There was the wall I had rubbed to wipe off the ink.

I was back. Right before entering the teachers’ lounge.

‘I knew it…’

My legs gave out, and I collapsed to the floor.

Good thing I’d written in the diary. I was this close to having to start over from the beginning.

Relief washed over me knowing I wouldn’t have to face the guard again. But at the same time, I couldn’t understand why I had died.

All I did was look at the monitor, and suddenly I lost consciousness and died. So, was the computer not the key?

I went back into the teachers’ lounge. The annoying typing pounded in my ears.

Tap tap! Tap tap tap tap!

Tap tap! Tap tap tap tap!

Ignoring the noise, I checked the key locker.

Had I overlooked something? I examined it carefully.

[Emergency Key Locker]

There didn’t seem to be any useful clues. The same note from before was still stuck to it.

[The password is on the computer!]

‘Yeah, right.’

Tap tap tap tap! Tap tap!

Tap tap tap tap! Tap tap!

The computer kept making noise on its own. And if I looked at the monitor, I died.

It made no sense. Was it cursed or something?

I approached it carefully. I turned my gaze away to avoid accidentally seeing the screen.

Flash.

I quickly reached out and turned off the monitor. The brightly lit screen went dark.

But the keyboard and mouse kept moving on their own. At least now it wouldn’t kill me.

A little calmer, I started searching the area near the computer.

[The drawer is full of documents.]

[Textbooks organized by subject.]

[Timetable sorted by classes.]

I checked everything I could. But I didn’t find any items.

Only one thing remained: the computer.

‘Is it really here?’

I crawled under the desk to inspect the CPU tower.

The internal fan was still humming. Maybe restarting it would work?

I followed the cords connected to the computer.

I found the plug attached to a power strip, and just as I was about to unplug it to cut the power, my hand stopped.

The power strip wasn’t lit. The power button was set to OFF.

‘It’s off.’

Then how was the computer still running?

Brrrrrrrr.

The fan was still spinning. No doubt the computer was on.

I was stunned. I pulled the plug from the power strip. But the computer stayed on.

Then I disconnected the monitor cable, the keyboard, and the mouse. And still—

Tap tap tap tap! Tap tap!

Tap tap tap tap! Tap tap!

The keyboard and mouse kept moving. The monitor’s power button was still active.

‘This is weird.’

I lifted the keyboard to inspect it. The keys were pressing themselves, typing. Same with the mouse and the monitor.

None of them were connected, yet they were all functioning on their own. Still no clue about the password.

Wasn’t it supposed to be on the computer?

I was starting to think the note was wrong.

‘Am I missing something?’

Tap tap tap tap! Tap tap!

Tap tap tap tap! Tap tap!

‘But I already checked everything…’

Tap tap tap tap! Tap tap!

Tap tap tap tap! Tap tap!

‘Could the clue be hidden in the gym uniform…?’

Tap tap tap tap! Tap tap!

Tap tap tap tap! Tap tap!

Damn, this is unbearable.

My patience was at its limit. I was about to smash the keyboard against the floor.

Then the guard’s face flashed in my mind.

‘Calm down… calm down…’

I let go of the keyboard. The memory of the guard chilled me more than expected.

Tap tap tap tap! Tap tap!

Tap tap tap tap! Tap tap!

The typing continued. I wanted to silence that hellish noise.

I looked for a less destructive way to shut it up. What if I removed the keys?

I began brainstorming ways to get rid of the keyboard without the guard noticing.

Tap tap tap tap! Tap tap!

Tap tap tap tap! Tap tap!

The typing wouldn’t stop, like an endless loop.

‘Wait… repetition?’

Suddenly, I had a déjà vu. I sharpened my ears toward the keyboard sounds.

Tap tap tap tap! Tap tap! Tap tap tap tap! Tap tap! Tap tap tap tap! Tap tap!

Tap tap tap tap! Tap tap!

Tap tap tap tap! Tap tap!

It was an auditory torture worthy of a mechanical keyboard. I fought the urge to rip off the keys and focused on the sound.

Tap tap tap tap! Tap tap! Tap tap tap tap! Tap

tap! Tap tap tap tap! Tap tap! Tap tap tap tap!

Tap tap! Tap tap tap tap! Tap tap!

‘What is this?’

The sound formed a strange rhythm. Until now, I had ignored it, but it was repeating a specific pattern.

“…!”

I classified the order according to the sound’s intensity.

Tap tap!

Tap!

Tap tap tap tap!

Tap!

That was the pattern. It seemed to suggest something, like Morse code or a key.

‘Wait… a code?’

A crazy idea hit me. I rushed to the key locker and checked the lock.

[Enter password]

[0000]

…A 4-digit code. I recalled the keyboard sounds.

Tap tap! → sounded 2 times = 2

Tap! → once = 1

Tap tap tap tap! → 4 times = 4

Tap! → once = 1

So the password would be 2141.

‘Nah, they wouldn’t make it that simple…’

Doubtful, I turned the dial and entered the combination.

[2141]

Click.

…The padlock clicked open.

I couldn’t believe it. Turned out the keyboard sounds had been the answer.

‘Was it really just that…?’

More than joy, I felt empty. If I had known, I wouldn’t have racked my brain so much.

I saw a note under the locker.

[The password is on the computer!]

Couldn’t they have explained it better? Instead of beating around the bush and confusing everything, they could’ve just said it plainly.

My blood boiled. I hoped it hadn’t all been for nothing.

I braced myself and opened the locker.

Creak.

No basement key. Just another key.

[You’ve obtained the Art Room Key.]

The art room now?

Getting farther and farther… At this rate, I’m going to walk through the entire building.

‘Well, here we go.’

Before leaving, I picked up the gym uniform I’d found earlier. No bad intentions, obviously. Besides, it was a girl’s, didn’t even fit me. I kept it in case it was a clue… or to return it.

I left the office.

The next destination was the art room.

‘Hopefully this time there’s a real clue.’

I didn’t want to spend another second in this cursed school.

‘I want to see someone…’

I was physically and mentally exhausted. Even though I’d always been a loner, today I was dying to talk to another human being.

But here, there was only a guard who danced popping and a sentient computer.

If I stayed any longer, I’d go insane.

I forced myself to keep moving.

‘Where was the art room again…?’

I remembered it was on the fourth floor. As I headed to the stairs, passing through the main hall…

Tap tap tap tap tap.

Familiar footsteps.

A chill ran down my spine.

I turned around.

Just as I feared… it was the guard.

Running with his arms wide open like he wanted to hug me.

“Damn it, seriously…”

I bolted straight for the janitor’s closet.

***

After an intimate date with the guard.

‘Is it here?’

I finally reached the fourth floor of the main building.

Thankfully, the guard wasn’t in sight. If he’d followed me here, it would’ve been harassment.

I walked down the hallway connecting to the stairs and found the classroom sign.

[Art Room]

‘This is it.’

As expected, the door was locked. I took out the key I’d gotten from the office.

[You’ve used the Art Room Key.]

Click.

The door opened. I was worried something might jump out like in the hall earlier, so I entered cautiously.

A strong smell of paint stung my nose.

I held my breath and looked around the room.

‘Now that I see it, it’s huge.’

Before, packed with 20 or 30 students, it hadn’t seemed so spacious. But now it looked at least twice the size of a normal classroom.

I started carefully inspecting the room.

First, I checked the tables.

[Paint palettes and materials are scattered in complete disarray.]

[A water container used for cleaning brushes. Its color is blood red.]

[A plaster bust the size of a human head. It’s heavy and doesn’t move.]

Nothing useful, it seemed. Then I looked at the wall.

One side of the room had several paintings on display.

I approached, and descriptions started popping up.

[Michelangelo – The Creation of Adam]

[Leonardo da Vinci – Mona Lisa]

[Vincent van Gogh – Sunflowers]

There were well-known masterpieces, but also rough, clumsy works that looked like they were made by the art club students.

One in particular caught my eye — a portrait of a student.

She wore the school uniform properly, like she belonged to this very school.

Black hair with a slight blue sheen and pale skin. Her expression, tinged with disdain, had a mysterious air.

She had feline features and sharp eyes that unintentionally drew me in.

The more I looked, the more I felt like she was staring directly at me.

‘Wow, it looks like a photo, not a painting.’

The detail in each strand of hair was so precise it left me speechless. I wondered who could’ve created such a hyperrealistic portrait.

But unlike the other paintings, this one had no description.

I tried several times, but it wouldn’t respond.

This painting didn’t interact with the system.

‘What’s going on with this?’

I thought maybe the system had glitched, but the other paintings were fine. The issue seemed limited to this portrait.

A bug?

I looked at the other paintings briefly, then turned back to the portrait…

But it was gone.

‘Huh?’

I couldn’t believe it. The student’s portrait had completely vanished.

Thinking I might’ve looked in the wrong place, I searched the entire wall.

Among the rows of paintings, only one space was empty.

That was exactly where the portrait had been.

No doubt about it. The place where the painting had hung was now bare.

‘No way, there was definitely a painting here.’

The most disturbing part was that the gap now looked directly out into the hallway.

I moved closer, and a description appeared:

[It’s a regular window. You feel like someone passed by on the other side.]

‘…A window?’

No matter how I looked, it was just a normal window.

So there was only one explanation.

‘No way…’

I felt my heart sink.

A cold sweat ran down my back.

‘…I’m not alone in this school.’