I Became A Ghost In A Horror Game-Chapter 85: Settling the Karma 3

A deserted alleyway.

A group of delinquent high school students threw a punch at an old man.

Thud!

The elder clutched his stomach where he had been struck.

At the same time, like a low-level enemy in a game dropping loot, his wallet slipped from his grasp and fell to the ground.

“Oh~ see, you should’ve just handed it over. Why do you make us look like bad guys~?”

Cough! Cough!

Even as they extorted him, the old man, paralyzed by fear, didn’t utter a single word.

All he could do was lower his head in silence.

His body, frail with age, was small and weak. There was no way he could stand up to the towering high schoolers.

He was powerless.

Even if he tried to run, they would catch him in an instant.

So he did nothing.

“Tch. This is boring.”

Losing interest in his lack of reaction, the students grabbed the fallen wallet and disappeared.

Even after they were long gone, the old man remained frozen in place.

Because he was disgusted with himself.

Hating himself for not even trying to resist.

He thought, I should have at least cursed at them. But the idea of chasing them down for revenge was laughable.

Was he really right to back down just because he was old?

The physical pain was nothing compared to the shame.

It wasn’t just about being robbed this one time.

He had always been timid since childhood, often a target of bullies.

He had grown up, started to forget those humiliations, but now the same fear that had haunted his youth had resurfaced, suffocating him once again.

The old man slowly got up.

His gaze fell upon a wooden plank, lying discarded nearby.

It was rotting.

If that plank had been solid—if it had been sturdy enough to fight back—would he have found the courage to resist?

If his body had been strong, could he have won?

He picked up the plank and swung it experimentally.

Whoosh... crack!

It broke instantly.

His arm ached from the reckless motion.

“...Are you looking for a proper weapon?”

A strange voice suddenly spoke.

“?!”

Even with his dulled reflexes, the old man jolted and spun around quickly.

Standing there was something inhuman.

Its joints clicked like metal, and parts of its body were made of wood.

A wooden puppet.

Its hollow eyes—cheap replicas of real ones—stared at him.

"Weak.

Your arms, your joints, your nerves—all dull.

Inefficient."

“W-Who... who are you...?”

The old man managed to squeeze out the question through sheer willpower.

The puppet kindly answered.

Its voice, neither distinctly male nor female, was flat and concise.

“My name is Pinocchio.

I am a demon.

But more importantly—do you need a weapon?

Or would you rather have a tool?”

“D-Demon?!”

The old man stumbled back in terror.

This was a fear on a completely different level from the delinquents.

His mind went blank.

His body screamed at him to run.

But his feet wouldn’t move.

What finally sent him fleeing in blind panic was Pinocchio’s next words.

“I can remove that weak, useless arm of yours...

And replace it with a powerful mechanical one.

What do you think?

Wouldn’t that be more to your liking?”

The puppet flexed an arm that looked strong—unnaturally strong.

It offered to cut off his own.

Promising he wouldn’t feel any pain.

But the old man wasn’t in a state to process that.

“A-Aaaah!”

“......”

Pinocchio did not pursue him.

The old man had rejected the opportunity.

It was his loss.

“Well, he ran away.

Why, I wonder?

Ah, but change is always frightening.

I can understand that.”

Muttering to itself, Pinocchio glanced at its watch.

“...This isn’t the time for this.

I must have been drawn here for some reason.

How inefficient.

I need to go.”

Yet, as it prepared to leave, its gaze lingered on the old man.

The man, still stumbling in panic, suddenly tripped and fell.

“...”

Pinocchio, without thinking, conjured a crutch in front of him.

The old man hastily grabbed it and continued his escape.

Only when he had disappeared safely from sight did Pinocchio look away.

“...Don’t go getting beat up, old man.”

...?

The words had slipped from its mouth.

It did not understand why it had said them.

Compassion?

No... no, that wasn’t it.

It was not human.

It had no heart.

I am a puppet. A tool. A demon.

I have no feelings.

This must have been... an error.

With that conclusion, Pinocchio resumed walking toward its destination.

-----

Later that day.

I was on my way to Kyung-min’s house to fulfill his request.

Mentally drained from Eun-jung’s torment, I still forced myself to keep my promise.

I need to stay on Kyung-min’s good side.

Kyung-min and Soo-ho had teased me relentlessly in the past.

I had no idea what kind of favor (or revenge) he would ask for.

...No.

I should trust him.

Eun-jung was just eccentric—that’s why I suffered so much!

“Igoo, my sweet baby~! You’re so adorable!”

As I was lost in thought, I spotted a mother pushing a stroller.

She was cooing at her child in an exaggerated, high-pitched voice.

The baby laughed, bright and innocent, and I found myself smiling too.

Just as I passed a street tree, glancing at the stroller—

A stray dog suddenly lunged at the baby, barking furiously.

It didn’t seem like it wanted to bite, but it was definitely threatening them.

The frightened baby started wailing.

The mother panicked, trying to back away.

But I stopped her.

“No.

If you run, all you’ll be left with is fear.

Even if you erase this memory, the fear will remain.

You have to overcome it.”

“W-Who are you?”

I handed the baby a small stick.

I looked into the baby’s eyes.

Somehow, the child understood.

With a determined face, the baby swung the stick and bonked the dog on the head.

“?!”

The dog was momentarily confused.

But it quickly shook it off and, now agitated, prepared to retaliate.

Glare.

I released a fraction of my energy.

The dog yelped and fled.

The baby, believing it had scared the dog away, giggled in triumph.

Ignoring the mother’s bewildered gaze, I slipped away.

“You’re here, Alice.”

“This is your third request, huh?”

Kyung-min opened the door.

Behind him stood a woman, wearing glasses and looking very strict.

His mother, no doubt.

“Hello. I’m Alice, Kyung-min’s friend.”

Judging from her stern expression, she likely valued manners.

So I bowed at a full 90-degree angle.

Her expression softened slightly.

If I were in her position, I’d also be worried about my child’s friends.

“I’ve heard about you. You’re in the same club, right?

Kyung-min should be studying, but just this once, I’ll allow it.”

“Ah, thank you.”

Studying?

On a holiday?

Kyung-min really had it rough.

Was he really just an elementary schooler?

I wanted to ask, but I’d seen plenty of kids overloaded with cram schools.

Especially in Korea.

“Well, do you want anything to eat? I can go buy something.”

I didn’t want to trouble her just for a snack.

I was about to refuse.

“No, it’s oka—”

“We have chocolate cake at home. Want some?”

“—y, I’ll eat it.”

...If it’s already in the house, it’s fine, right?

“...? Alright then.”

She gave me a weird look, probably because I changed my answer mid-sentence.

Suppressing my embarrassment, I quickly followed Kyung-min into his room.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Kyung-min's room was filled with books.

His desk was still cluttered with an unfinished cup of green tea and scattered stationery, evidence that he had been studying just moments ago.

Still, a boy’s room felt comfortable.

Eun-jung’s room, on the other hand, had a strange way of making me restless.

I dove onto Kyung-min’s bed.

It reeked of X-Breeze.

“So, Kyung-min, what’s your request?”

Now that I was lying down, I wanted to sleep.

A sign that my mental exhaustion hadn’t faded yet.

But this was the day I was supposed to grant Kyung-min’s request.

Sleeping wasn’t an option.

“Before that... you really went through hell with Eun-jung, huh?”

New n𝙤vel chapters are published on freeweɓnøvel.com.

“Huh?! How did you know?”

Why do I always get exposed like this?

Kyung-min smirked and answered.

“I can tell just by looking at your exhausted eyes.”

Oh.

So it was that easy.

I scratched my cheek and awkwardly apologized.

“Ah. Sorry. It’s your request day, but I’m looking so drained...”

At my apology, Kyung-min chuckled.

I tilted my head, wondering what was so funny.

Seeing my confusion, he explained.

“You’ve really mellowed out.

There was a time when, aside from being scary every now and then, you’d use every chance to mess with me.”

“...Did I?”

Thinking about it, maybe he was right.

But teasing other boys had always been fun.

Especially since Kyung-min had the best reactions.

Like someone casually deciding what to eat for lunch, Kyung-min mulled over his request for a moment.

Then, he said,

“Alright. My request is... let’s just relax together.”

“...That’s it? Right now, I could grant you something way more incredible, you know?

Like... making it rain frogs from the sky.”

Kyung-min nearly blurted out, Who the hell would ask for that? but held himself back.

“I like simple things.

Alice, whether you were Ella or Alice, I can tell you’ve been through a lot.

So let’s just take it easy.”

“...Mmm.”

I was touched.

Friends are the best.

Kyung-min handed me a soft pillow.

His bed was a double-sized one, so there was enough space for both of us to lie side by side.

I buried my face in the pillow as we reminisced about the past.

Even the terrifying experiences had become funny stories, swirling in the air between us, bringing us joy.

“Alice.

I really like this kind of moment.

Just chatting and relaxing like this.

Since I’m studying middle and high school courses in advance, I get burned out a lot.

Turns out, even taking breaks properly takes skill.”

“Yeah, I get that.”

“Of course, it wasn’t as bad as that world filled with monsters.

You know?

Even though I didn’t show it, I really struggled.

Especially at the start.”

“...Ahaha... Sorry about trying to hurt you in the beginning...”

Even though I hadn’t meant to, there was no real way to explain it.

This misunderstanding probably wouldn’t ever go away.

Kyung-min looked a little flustered.

“Huh? Oh. I wasn’t blaming you.

Honestly, having someone like you as an ally made me feel a lot safer.”

“Really?”

“Of course.

I thought we were doomed to a hopeless future.

And then—surprise, surprise—the girl we thought was our enemy turned out to be helping us?

And she was super strong and prett— uh... anyway!

You showed us what we needed to do to survive.

That’s why we made it through.”

Hearing that, I was genuinely grateful.

I felt moved.

...But.

“You were totally about to say I was pretty, huh?”

“...You really haven’t changed.”

The mischievous streak inside me couldn’t be stopped.

I used to be a guy.

Now, I was a girl.

I didn’t care about switching between genders anymore.

But.

Joking around with other guys—especially ones I used to share a gender with—was so much fun.

And teasing a teenage boy about my current body?

Even better.

For Kyung-min, this was probably annoying.

But I couldn’t help it.

Suddenly, a terrible memory resurfaced—a perfect joke to fluster him.

I should not say it.

But.

Screw it.

“Kyung-min, do you still wanna see my panties?”

“YAH!!!”

“Ahahahahahaha!!!

Finally, I said it!

Do you know how flustered I was back then?!

You guys were whispering about it in the bathroom!

I was internally panicking, thinking, What if they actually try to see them?!”

“...For the love of god.

How long do you plan to keep bringing this up?”

“Idiot!

Forever!

Look—if I just lift my skirt a little, you freak out, right?”

“~!!!”

“Ahahaha!!!”

“Enough.”

As I rolled around clutching my stomach, laughing uncontrollably, I noticed something.

Kyung-min’s eyes had gone cold.

...Huh?

That was new.

Had I gone too far?

I quickly stopped messing around and sat up straight.

“...Alice.

Eun-jung made a lot of requests, right?

And you granted all of them.”

“Uh? Y-Yeah... Why?”

“Then, to be fair, you need to grant multiple requests for me, too.”

“...Oh... um... That’s... true.”

“Alice.

‘Relaxing’ should be my first ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) and last request.

That way, everything stays simple.

Because if I were to say, right now, ‘Lift your skirt’—what would you do?”

Ah.

I had forgotten.

The reason I was granting the kids' requests in the first place.

I was doing this to atone.

I had agreed to do anything they asked for—to ease my guilt.

There was no mistaking it.

Between us, one was the superior, and the other was the subordinate.

And I was the latter.

“...I’m sorry, Kyung-min! I—I won’t tease you anymore!”

“Hmm. You don’t seem sorry enough. Maybe I should ask Eun-jung what she made you do and make you go through all of it again.”

“Not that! Anything but that! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I won’t ever joke like that again! It’s just—when guys are together, they mess around like this—!”

I clung to Kyung-min’s pants, begging for mercy.

Kyung-min recoiled in shock.

“Whoa! Okay, okay! What the hell did she do to you?!”

“Do you know the humiliation of being bottle-fed and having your belly rubbed?! And the worst part? That was the mildest thing she did!”

And just at that moment—

Click.

“What’s with all the noise? You two should just quietly eat your cake—”

Kyung-min’s mother entered the room, holding a plate of sliced chocolate cake.

“...Oh my. I didn’t know my son had enough charm to make a pretty girl grab onto his pants and beg.”

I stammered, unable to say a word, while Kyung-min quickly excused himself.

“It was an accident.”

And somehow, that worked.

“Really? Well then, eat up.”

“Ah, y-yes.”

She was so calm and logical about everything—it was clear that Kyung-min took after his mother.

To smooth things over, I fed Kyung-min a piece of cake.

“Ahhh~”

“...I said I’m not mad.”

And yet, he ate it without hesitation!

As I chewed, the sugar soothed my exhaustion.

This cake was expensive, wasn’t it?

It was delicious!

Since I was too focused on my juice and cake, and Kyung-min didn’t have much to say, he finally decided to satisfy a bit of his curiosity.

“Alice. That thing from before—was it Jabberwock? You summoned some kind of dragon, right? I know you said you’d explain later, but... can’t you give me a little hint?”

I nodded.

“Yeah. That was Jabberwock.”

“So that thing was...”

Oh? He noticed already?

Impressive.

Or maybe it was because they were kids—they had a way of sensing these things.

After all, the ones who had fought through all the supernatural horrors, found the key artifacts, and taken down that half-demon were them.

“Yep. The same half-demon that tormented us.”

“Then why did it help us?”

“Well... That thing was one of the agents of the Game of Madness. Or to put it simply, it’s connected to the Alice in Wonderland lore.”

Honestly, even I wasn’t sure about it at first.

If the Jabberwock had ignored my words and attacked the kids instead, we all would have been dead.

But in the end, it was an ally.

Though unless I met the right conditions again, I wouldn’t be able to summon it.

“...That’s complicated. So, does your name being Alice have something to do with the Alice series?”

“Well... yeah, something like that. It’s a long story.

When I became like this, a bunch of knowledge about Alice in Wonderland was forcibly stuffed into my head.

So there are connections... but I can’t say for sure how deep they go.”

“If I ask too many questions now, I’ll have to explain it all again for the others later.

I guess I’ll just wait until then.”

Seeing him disappointed, I chuckled.

“Fufufu... Only Ha-rim is left. Just hold on until then.”

“Alright. Just one last thing.

Is there a Mad Hatter inside your mirror too?

I want to know just how far you and the Alice series overlap.”

“There is one.

But he’s... special.

Unless the right conditions are met, he won’t even listen to me.

And he only ever speaks in riddles and nonsense, so I tend to avoid him.

Still, he might help someday.”

With that, our conversation ended.

Kyung-min and I drifted off to sleep.

Even though it was only for about an hour, having someone next to me made me feel... at ease.

For the first time since I became like this, I had the most peaceful sleep I could remember.