Chapter 1I’m Just Cannon Fodder NPC in a Horror Game

For seven years, I was nothing but a disposable NPC wife in a horror game, dragged along by the monstrous Boss who kept me caged. Then, out of nowhere, a player killed him.

The player, who bore a striking seventy-percent resemblance to my late husband, sheathed his sword and held out a hand to me.

"Your husband is dead," he said. "Come with me."

Right then, glowing lines of text flashed across my vision like a live stream chat.

[The BOSS knew she was unfaithful all along. He faked his death just to test her.]

[But the BOSS is still gravely wounded. Don't worry, our brave female lead is about to rescue and heal him!]

[This cowardly side-character NPC is running off with a player, thinking he actually cares about her. She has no idea he's just using her unique NPC biology. Every time players get hurt, they're going to carve pieces of flesh off her to heal. It's going to be brutal!]

[Oh, I remember this part! At the very end, she crawls to the BOSS, begging him to save her, but she ends up getting dirt on the female lead's dress. The BOSS disintegrates her soul without even blinking.]

[Wait... is that player supposed to look like that? Why does he look different from what I remember?]

* * *

I was a throwaway NPC wife in a horror game. My daily routine consisted of following the BOSS around to trigger the plot.

By day, we had to play the part of a deeply loving couple in front of the players.

"This is my thirteenth wife," the Count would say, wrapping an arm around me while viciously pinching my waist from behind. "I adore her."

Biting my lip, I would nod meekly.

By night, I had to "accidentally" cross paths with the players and weep to them about how terribly the Count treated me.

"Yes, he beats me constantly. These bruises on my arms are proof of his cruelty." I would sob, displaying carefully painted-on marks. "Every night, he locks me in the very last room on the second floor to torture me. Please, I beg of you, save me."

"But the BOSS told us to stay away from the last room on the second floor," the players would mutter, thrown off by the conflicting rules.

"He's lying to you! If I'm not out by midnight, please come in and rescue me. I will reward you handsomely!"

Naturally, driven by the promise of a rich reward, there were always players foolish enough to take the risk.

None of them ever made it out alive.

To be fair, I wasn't entirely lying.

While they were being torn apart and consumed by monsters in that room, the BOSS was tormenting me on the other side of the wall.

The walls were thin. He loved pinning me against them. The louder the screams from next door, the more violent his touch became.

"You stared at the second man from the left a second too long today," he whispered, biting my earlobe. "Do you like him?"

"No," I gasped.

The cold, slithering tentacles rising from his shadow wrapped around my thighs, freezing my skin.

"Traitors end up just like the first twelve."

I turned around, plastering on a compliant smile to appease him. "Never. I would never betray you."

As if. Where else am I going to find someone who looks so much like my long-lost first love?