They Ruined My Parcels, BOSSes Took Revenge

Chapter 2

I led the group weaving through a maze of narrow back paths, until we finally arrived at the entrance of the horror dungeon The Silent Manor.

All at once, the sky over the entire game world darkened to a murky, oppressive gray, and a faint, coppery tang of blood hung thick in the air.

The whole world had gone dead quiet, when one of the bootlickers piped up out of nowhere. "Vivienne, why is this place so quiet? It's creepy as hell! There's no way Nora led us the wrong way on purpose to get back at us, right?"

Vivienne shot me a glance, then kicked me hard straight through the entrance. "Get back at us? Perfect—she can go in first and test the waters!"

Caught completely off guard, I went flying inside, landing squarely on the back of the giant golden retriever that had been waiting right by the door for my delivery.

She reacted in a flash, catching me steadily on her broad back, and her voice popped up directly in my head. "Nora, next time just take your time coming in, no need to rush like that. If you crash into something and get hurt, who's gonna deliver all our packages from now on? I just ordered a new batch of raw meat mix too! I was waiting for you to bring it to me first thing tomorrow morning!"

I scrambled nimbly off her back, and was just about to tell her her dog food was gone, that some people had messed it all up, when Vivienne and her four goons stepped through the entrance right behind me.

The dungeon activated automatically the moment players entered.

The big golden retriever snapped straight into work mode, ballooning to an insanely huge size—standing next to her, I was barely as tall as one of her toes.

She threw her head back and let out a loud, sharp howl, and I used the distraction to duck behind a nearby pillar to hide out.

I had just pulled out my phone, when the dungeon bosses' delivery group chat blew up with a flood of reminder messages.

A: Handsome Tall Black Cat Sheriff is about to pass out from hunger. When's my cat can going to get here?!

B: Nora, when will my new embroidered shoes arrive? I'm in a hurry to head out for a date with my girls!

C: And my new chainsaw! The one I'm using now is falling apart from chopping up too many people!

D: Nora, when's my urn getting delivered? Where are you right now?!

E: Wait a second! Why is Nora so late today? She's always the most punctual!

F: Whatever, if it doesn't get here soon, I'm leaving a bad review!

I scrunched down further into the corner, fingers flying across the screen as I typed furiously to explain the situation to all the bosses.

Over on the other side, the Silent Manor dungeon had officially kicked off.

The golden retriever finished her roar and stepped in front of the players. The next second, a flat, mechanical tone rang out. "Greetings, everyone. I am the master of this estate. The Silent Manor dungeon is about to begin. Initial player count: five. Escape the manor alive to clear the dungeon. Clear reward: 1000 points. The game is starting. All players, please enter the manor in an orderly fashion!"

The five players instantly perked up at the announcement.

"Vivienne, the regular dungeons we grind only give 100 points for a full clear, but this one's giving 1000!"

"Hell, yeah! Split that 1000 evenly between the five of us, and we'll all be undisputed top players in this entire horror game world, no questions asked!" Hazel's eyes practically sparkled as she spoke, already daydreaming about the moment she hits that top rank, with every player in the entire world kissing up to her.

"Wait a second, where's Nora? She knows these dungeons like the back of her hand!"

"Grab her! Make her go first and clear the path for us!"

I'd just finished explaining the delivery delay to all the bosses in the group chat when one of those bootlickers hauled me out of my hiding spot and tossed me right in front of the other players.

I was forced into the manor, and came face to face with the golden retriever.

While the players were busy gawking at the wild, weird decor inside the manor, the golden retriever hurried over to my side and whispered so quietly only I could hear. "Nora, I'm on the clock right now. What are you doing in here? And where's that new raw food blend I ordered? I'm starving. Hurry up and give me a bite to try!"

I stared at her eager, hopeful eyes, swallowed hard, and spilled every last detail of what had happened.

As I finished talking, the golden retriever's fluffy face darkened more and more by the second. I could clearly see her brows furrow and irritation flash in her eyes. "So, you're telling me these players not only opened all my dog food, but poured it on the ground, stomped it into the dirt, and ground it to a pulp?!"

I caught a glimpse of something bulging and shifting fast under the fur of her throat.

Pop!

The golden retriever's jaw flew wide open, and I stared in shock as her vocal cords oozed right out of her mouth.

Scared she'd get mad and leave me a bad review, I quickly patted her head and whispered to calm her down. "Babe, calm down, okay? You're working right now! Don't let this get you in trouble with the rules and have your pay docked!"

"Calm my ass! That new crunchy dog food I was waiting for is totally ruined!" She let out a low, furious growl, lifted a paw, crumpled the mass of vocal cords into a ball, and stuffed it back down her throat.

Once she'd fixed herself up, she wagged her tail, an eerie, lopsided smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth, and stalked over to the players. "Attention, players. The reward points for this dungeon have been increased to 10,000! But per the rules, only four players are allowed to participate in the game. Now, you will choose who stays to play the game… and who faces death."

The players froze for a split second, then all broke into massive, giddy grins when they heard the reward had jumped all the way to 10,000 points.

"Holy s**t, 10,000 points? If we score that reward, everyone out there is gonna call us top dogs!"

But the second they heard only four people could join the game, they all froze in place again.

Donna snapped his weapon up in an instant, jamming the barrel straight at me. "We just kill her, right? That should work!"

The golden retriever immediately stepped in to shield me behind her back. "She's an NPC of this world. She doesn't count as a game player. Besides, I'm talking specifically about your group of five. Only four of you get to join the game. You have 30 seconds left to decide. If you can't pick someone by then, the reward will drop back down to 100 points, and I'll choose who dies at random!"

The second those words left her mouth, Vivienne whipped out her pistol with a sharp click, its dark, gaping muzzle aimed straight at the only bootlicker in the group who followed Donna. "You're the dead weight of this team! You gonna off yourself, or do I have to do it for you?"

The bootlicker glanced over at Vivienne's own bootlicker. "Our skills are pretty much the same. Why the hell do I have to die instead of her?"