Don't Feed the Professor! - Chapter 16

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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At Mallo’s words, I automatically lowered my gaze. Today I was wearing jeans that reached down to my ankles. I had long since forgotten about any wound that might have lingered on my knee.
“Well…… it’s fine now, anyway. Doesn’t even hurt.”
“Did you use the Band-aid?”
“Pardon?”
“The Band-aid—did you use it?”
Only then did I remember the four-million-won Band-aid that Gwon Tae-hyeon had sent me. It must have been Mallo who forwarded it to me after all.
I’d kept them all in a drawer, minus the one I’d given to Bibi. I’d been planning to convert them to cash whenever the opportunity arose.
‘Money-obsessed woman,’ someone had called me. Well, they weren’t wrong.
“The thing is, it’s good enough without using it. But I’ve kept it safe, really. I’ll…… make good use of it if something comes up that needs it.”
Somehow feeling as if I’d dismissed her goodwill, I found myself offering words no one had asked for.
Hmm, Mallo’s gaze grew thin and sharp. She stared at me as I nervously swallowed, then smiled faintly.
“I hope you never need to use it, though.”
“Ah…… yes, I suppose so.”
I quickened my pace with an awkward laugh.
We passed through a short footpath lined with flagstones and soon found ourselves before an arched doorway built of red brick. Beyond it, I could see a path leading deeper into the forest.
“But is there actually something around here? At least from what I can see…… ”
Whoosh.
I fell silent. For an instant, I thought I’d gone blind.
Then,
Ding-ding-ding.
The sudden notification sound jolted me awake. As if space itself had been cut away, I found myself standing alone in a completely different place.
“What in the…… ”
I looked around. Dark neon lighting, arcade machines pouring noise from every direction.
I was in a Game Center.
As my initial bewilderment faded, I could make sense of it. The Castle was made by patchworking together pieces that mimicked places from reality, they’d said. So this is what they meant.
But where had Mallo gone?
When I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around, I clenched my teeth and barely stifled a scream. Cold sweat beaded down my spine.
It was a bear costume, crudely stuffed and deeply unsettling to look at. Its eyes were cloudy with dust, its mouth hung agape, and its scraggly fur-covered body was dressed in a green-striped vest.
The grotesque appearance made me wonder for a moment if it was actually some sort of monster, but thankfully it seemed to be just an ordinary costume. Though I couldn’t say for certain what was inside it.
Mercifully, the bear didn’t seem particularly threatening. It simply thrust a flyer at me without warning.
I carefully accepted the flyer. The printing quality was poor, as if it had been photocopied many times over.
☆★Goldilocks Game Paradise Game Night★☆
♨Get your luck with new menu items and abundant prizes all in one hand~~!!!♨
※Game Tournament Prizes※
1st Place: Ultimate Infinite Meal Voucher and complimentary tasting of new menu items
2nd Place: Goldilocks Signature Zero-Zero Burger Set
3rd Place: Game Revival Coin (1 use)
※From 21:00 on ○○/○○/19○○ ~ Until supplies run out※
☎Inquiries: Baby Bear
♨Even if the world ends, the game goes on~ Game must go on~!!♨
‘Hmm…… ‘
It was a flyer with a distinctly end-of-century vibe to it.
Click-clack.
The bear extended its other paw toward me. Resting on its dark, glossy palm was a single golden Coin.
“…… ?”
Click-clack.
When I just stared blankly, the bear thrust its paw at me insistently. I finally reached out and picked up the Coin.
‘Plastic…… ?’
The bear pointed to a large arcade machine nearby.
Ah, so this is how you play a game? But why give it away for free?
Click-click, as if the bear had read my thoughts, it tapped its long claws against a line of text in the corner of the flyer.
1 Coin free with first visit~!!!.
“I see…… ”
I had no idea where Mallo had gone, and Goldilocks had a strange, buoyant atmosphere that lifted the spirit.
“Well then…… just one game.”
It’s free anyway. And it does look kind of fun.
I selected the largest, most eye-catching arcade machine and inserted the Coin. With a click, the screen lit up, and the machine began outputting a cheerful 16-bit chiptune.
[THE BAD CITY]
The title in neon pink flashed across the screen, appearing and disappearing. Then, a rough instruction screen appeared, followed by the character selection menu.
[SELECT YOUR AGENT!]
There were six characters in total—all chibi dot-art figures with similar appearances.
As I moved the cursor, each character struck a boastful pose. They were unremarkable characters armed with Pistols or Katanas.
“…… Huh?”
But one of them stood out oddly. ‘HELL-MET’ in the far right corner.
It wore a black helmet that covered its entire face and was dressed in black clothing, but unlike the other characters, it was surrounded by some kind of strange Glitch effect.
Click, click.
Even when I moved the cursor over it, it only gave a flinching, trembling response.
Well, there’s no reason to choose a broken character anyway. I moved the cursor to select the Katana warrior next to it.
That was when—
―Aaaaaaaaahhhhh!!
“…… ? What was that?”
The black-clad figure had collapsed onto the notification window. After convulsing for a moment, it raised its head. Then, with a sharp metallic click, it drew a Pistol.
[BANG!]
With a flashing effect, the Katana warrior fell. Moments later, she lay sprawled across the status window, bleeding.
Hell-Met had killed the Katana.
With a sharp cocking sound,
[BANG! BANG!]
As the effect faded, I could see pixel smoke rising from Hell-Met’s gun barrel. It had fired directly at me—straight ahead.
Looking more carefully, Hell-Met was pointing its arm at the cursor.
‘Could it be…… telling me to choose it?’
I hesitated, then moved the joystick. It felt uncomfortable, but…… how could I not choose a character that’s literally shooting at me demanding to be picked?
Click, click, I selected Hell-Met and pressed the red button.
[INITIATING…… STANDBY……]
With a tinny, melancholy chiptune, a pixelated moon and cityscape unfolded. The game’s background was a sloppy-looking cyberpunk city.
After a lengthy block of English text scrolled across the screen—apparently some kind of background lore—Hell-Met appeared standing in a dark alley.
The gameplay was simple: collect weapons scattered throughout each stage and eliminate the enemies that attacked you.
Click, click, as I moved the joystick, Hell-Met headed toward the nearest weapon.
[ASSAULT RIFLE AQUIRED――!!]
With a sound like an electric guitar, I picked up an Assault Rifle. With a rapid-fire weapon equipped, Hell-Met went about dispatching the Mafia goons that rushed toward it. Rat-tat-tat, the sound of bullets echoing through the stage.
For a dot-based game with minimal graphics, the impact felt surprisingly satisfying.
The sound effects of tearing and screaming felt quite realistic too.
Whee!
[CHAINSAW READY――!!]
“Oh.”
This time it was a Chainsaw. Compared to the sluggish-looking Mafia, Hell-Met was clearly nimble. Shhwack, shhwack, Hell-Met tore through enemies, scattering pixel blood in its wake.
‘This is fun…… ‘
Even knowing I shouldn’t be doing this, I lost myself in the game.
What’s more, despite the dated, crude graphics that looked like they belonged in the nineties, the game had a strangely realistic quality to it.
―Aaaahhhhh!
An enemy suddenly ambushed, and Hell-Met fell with a cry, bleeding pixels. The scream that came from the speaker was so realistic it was hard to believe it was a recorded file.
One heart was lost, but Hell-Met got back up. I grabbed a weapon and swept through the enemies again.
One, two, six…… and as we emerged from that narrow alley section, the first stage was complete.
Whirrrrrr, my play stats appeared on the darkened screen. It seemed to be a score calculated from the time taken to clear and various Combos and such.
[TOTAL SCORE …… C]

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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