Chapter 1Widowed Innkeeper NPC

I am the widowed innkeeper NPC in a horror game.

Ever since my husband went missing, the loneliness has been unbearable. To cope, I try to trap players in my dungeon to keep me company.

The only problem? My IQ is terribly low. The trials I design are childishly simple, and I can only watch in dismay as players breeze through them.

They even started calling my dungeon the "Toddler Zone," claiming a three-year-old could beat it. Worse, they flooded the community forums with warning posts, telling everyone that my trial is a low-difficulty, low-reward waste of time, begging new players not to bother.

Eventually, the Game Master delivered the final blow: because my success rate is too high, my dungeon is being permanently shut down.

Heartbroken, I swept the guest rooms of my inn and locked the doors for the last time.

But on the night of the shutdown, a series of heavy knocks rattled the tightly shut doors of my inn.

One after another, the very players who had easily conquered my trials stood outside, calling my name in excited, breathless whispers:

"Holly, it's me. Your man. I'm back."

* * *

Dungeon Announcement:

"Attention all players! Due to an overwhelming number of negative reviews and a lack of active participants, the Rosewood Inn trial is releasing its final seven slots. After this round, the dungeon will be permanently shut down."

This notice quickly pinned itself to the top of the horror game’s community forum.

Beneath the announcement, the comment section exploded with remarks from players who had previously cleared the inn trial.

"Finally, it's closing."

"I absolutely despised that innkeeper boss."

"Thank goodness. Who even plays such an outdated, cliché trial anyway? I went once, my heart was pounding the whole time, but the rules were just way too simple."

"Exactly. That widow boss was so incredibly annoying. I cleared her dungeon months ago, and I still can't get her out of my head. It's infuriating."

"Good riddance. Don't let anyone else waste their time. They shouldn't even release those last seven slots, just close it now."

"Agreed. If nobody applies, I bet Holly will cry her eyes out. Annoying."

"Wait, is that the entire leaderboard in the comments? Screenshotting this!"

"I didn't even notice at first. The comment section is literally filled with the top-tier grinders who survive on points."

"Carry me, legends! What does it even feel like to have a nine-figure point balance?"

"Do the gods of the leaderboard get their hearts racing because of a minor boss too? Haha."

"I was planning to check it out, but if the veterans say it's trash, I'll pass."

"Same, sticking to my four-star trials."

"Yeah, let's focus on other dungeons. Ignore this minor boss."

At that moment, a player holding the number one spot on the global leaderboard, whose avatar was a simple black-and-white lucky cat, posted a comment.

"Oh my god, Tony! He only ever posts strategic guides. This is the first time he's ever left a comment in a public thread!"

"The pros are so nice, saving us from the trash tier."

"Actually, Tony was the one who wrote the very first warning post about this place."

"And the other pros all upvoted him!"

"I'm crying. They care about us so much."