My Boyfriend Is The Final Boss Of A Horror Game Chapter 1

My boyfriend is the psycho final boss in a horror game.

At midnight, his dark, sleek tentacles wrap around me in a needy, possessive embrace.

"Stop it," I murmur, dodging his hungry, unsated kiss.

The grand boss lowers his gloomy eyes, pouting like an aggrieved child as he buries his face into the crook of my neck, sucking firmly to leave a bruised hickey.

"No kiss? Then no clearing the stage."

* * *

"Welcome, players, to the instance: The Shadow Courier."

"Main Objective: Successfully complete three delivery runs."

"Difficulty Rank: SS."

"The trial is about to begin. Prepare yourselves..."

The cold electronic chime faded into silence.

A dozen players, including me, materialized inside a dimly lit, weathered courtyard.

Unlike the sheer panic I felt during my very first horror game, I was surprisingly calm now.

Dusk bled into midnight.

A thick, eerie fog blanketed the ground, swirling around a gnarled, ancient oak rooted in the center of the yard. Its massive branches curled like jagged talons overhead, looming over us as if ready to impale anyone who moved.

My brow twitched.

I reached up and touched the cool pendant resting against my collarbone.

My boyfriend Gideon's handsome, composed face immediately flashed in my mind.

No matter how terrifying the monsters in this realm were, none of them held a candle to my lover. When Gideon unleashed his true form, those boundless, writhing tentacles were infinitely more suffocating than a creepy old tree.

If I wasn't afraid of the ultimate boss himself, why should I fear some overgrown plant?

I squared my shoulders, my gaze hardening.

"What the hell?!" a man suddenly screeched. "An SS rank instance?!"

"Holy shit, I’ve only cleared one A rank map! I haven’t even unlocked S rank yet, why am I thrown into SS rank?!"

"Even top tier leaderboard players can’t guarantee survival in an SS rank game! Why me?! I’m just a casual player who got carried by my team!"

"What are you guys talking about? What instance? I was on the beach two seconds ago! Send me back right now!"

A complete rookie?

I blinked in surprise.

To think someone was even unluckier than me, starting off their nightmare in an SS rank map.

The other players cast sympathetic glances at the panic-stricken newcomer.

If this were a low rank map, someone might have taken pity and given him a quick rundown of the rules. But in an SS rank instance, everyone was fighting for their own survival.

Seeing that nobody answered him, the rookie’s confusion quickly turned into blinding rage.

"Bringing me here is illegal kidnapping! You won't answer me? Fine! I’m calling the cops!"

He whipped out his phone, only to see 'No Service'. Panic flickered in his eyes, but he put the phone to his ear anyway, pretending to make a call as he bolted toward the courtyard gates.

"Don't run outside!" someone called out in warning.

The man flinched, but it only made him run faster.

My pulse quickened. Something felt off.

A faint rustling sound echoed in my ears, like wind sweeping dry leaves across pavement.

Except there wasn't a single breath of wind.

"It... it's moving!" someone gasped.

The jagged branches overhead groaned like an old man stretching his aching joints. Creak. Crack.

The branches sharpened into wooden spears, twisting and stretching toward the man nearing the exit.

Just as he was about to cross the threshold, a hand snagged his collar and yanked him back.

A massive wooden branch slammed violently into the doorway with a loud thump.

One more step, and he would have been skewered through the chest.

A suffocating silence fell over the yard.

The other players and I backed away, eyeing the ancient oak with deep caution.

The rookie, having narrowly escaped death, collapsed onto the pavement, shaking uncontrollably.

That's when a paper puppet ambled out from the shadows of the inner estate, wearing a painted, creepy grin.

Its eyes were nothing more than two sloppy ink dots, yet when it stared at us, it felt like hollow eyeballs were rolling in their sockets.

"Greetings, couriers. Midnight has arrived. Time to hit the road with your cargo."

The game had officially begun.

In this instance, we were couriers tasked with delivering mysterious packages.

The roads were fraught with danger, teeming with hungry ghouls waiting in the dark. Frankly, I suspected those monsters were far more interested in eating us than whatever was inside our boxes.

Some players quietly grabbed their designated packages; others huddled together, negotiating pairs and groups.

I, however, kept my eyes fixed on the paper puppet.

It had been facing away from me, but in the next second, its paper head snapped one hundred eighty degrees with a sickening tear.

Those two void-like eyes locked directly onto mine.

Its face was painted into a wide, unnatural smile, but its voice was bone-chillingly cold.

"Why aren't you moving?"

I tilted my head. "Who drew your eyes?"

The puppet visibly froze. Clearly, no player had ever asked it such an absurd question before.

It glared at me menacingly. "That is none of your business."

I stared back at its face, strangely finding it somewhat endearing.

Just as I opened my mouth to ask more, a hand reached out and pulled me back.

It was a young woman.

She pressed a finger to her lips, shaking her head frantically to tell me to shut up.

Once the paper puppet glided away into the dark, she let out a long breath of relief. "Are you crazy? Why are you provoking the NPCs? I heard this map is brutally dangerous, especially that paper guy. It holds grudges like you wouldn't believe!"

I wasn't trying to seek death.

It was just that the atrocious artwork on the puppet's face looked eerily similar to the bizarre emojis Gideon used to draw for me.

Ugly, weird, and bizarrely charming.

I used to try and teach him how to draw, but no matter how hard I tried, Gideon stuck to his horrifyingly unique artistic taste. Eventually, I was almost dragged down to his level.

Seeing that signature art style after so long actually gave me a weird sense of comfort.

Seeing me stay quiet, the girl assumed I was terrified. She patted my shoulder gently. "Don't be scared. I can tell you're new here. I'll cover your back. The name's Lexi."