I Activated Cheat Mode in a Bizarre Game

Inside the house Minjun had left, a peaceful silence lingered.

Dusty, hidden in a narrow space between clutter.
Daeho, curled up on the sofa.
And Leo, dozing off atop Minjun’s bed.
The three animals were spending the morning each in their own territory.
But that peace didn’t last long.

Suddenly, the air in the center of the living room began to shimmer like a heat haze.
With a faint weeeing—like a ringing in the ears—the space twisted, and a black hole appeared.
Daeho and Leo slowly opened their eyes.

The two of them walked toward the black hole, keeping a cautious distance, and began to stare at it blankly.
Dusty, curious about what the other two were looking at, crept closer to the hole as well.
And from inside that hole, one by one, emerged giant wolves with the gaze of starving beasts.

Step, step.
A total of five wolves.
They licked their lips slowly as they fully stepped out from the distortion and began scanning the room, looking for the easiest prey.

And their eyes soon locked onto the small cat, Dusty, who had curled into a tight ball in terror.
The lead wolf lunged toward Dusty—
Flash!

A dazzling white light burst from the body of the small tiger, Daeho.
When the light vanished, the little tiger was gone.
In his place stood a tiger restored to his original, massive size—one big enough to rival the wolves.

Thud—!
Without a sound, Daeho’s huge front paw pressed down on the lunging wolf’s nape, pinning it to the floor.
With a sharp yelp—“Kyeng!”—the wolf was slammed into the ground.
While the other wolves recoiled in surprise at the sudden turn of events, Daeho let out a deep, threatening growl—“Grrrrrrrr…”

As Daeho kept one wolf pinned, another tried to sneak toward Dusty. But Daeho leapt toward it in an instant and bit down on its neck.
Chomp!
His fangs sank deep—and the wolf turned into a shimmering light, which was absorbed into Daeho’s body.

“Meow…”
Dusty looked up at Daeho with eyes full of awe, clearly moved by his protective actions.
If Dusty gets hurt, you’re both getting punished.

Inside the tiger’s massive head, a man’s voice played on loop, like a hypnotic suggestion.
If Dusty gets hurt, you’re both dead meat. I swear to God.
Sometimes it played back a little distorted.

The wolves turned their attention completely away from Dusty.
Now, all their hostility and wariness were directed toward the tiger who had effortlessly taken down their own.
The tension in the room tightened like a string ready to snap.

More wolves began pouring from the black hole—as if reinforcements had been called in.
It wasn’t a small house, but with the added wolves, it was starting to feel crowded.
“Grrrr…! Bark bark!”

Now with the advantage in numbers, the wolves’ morale surged again.
Even if the enemy was a tiger, they seemed confident they could overwhelm him with sheer numbers. They looked ready to charge.
Just then, on Minjun’s bed, the shadow of the black cat Leo began to expand—slowly, like it was oozing.

It grew far beyond what one could believe from a normal cat’s shadow, rising toward the ceiling, taking on a vast and oppressive form.
The wolves turned their gaze toward the small black cat casting that monstrous shadow—Leo.
“Grrrrrr…!”

The wolves began growling low in unison, this time at Leo.
But Leo showed no reaction to their threats. He simply gazed down at them with the same cold, quiet eyes.
The tension inside the house grew taut again—on the verge of snapping.

Crack—
And then, the shadow opened its jaws.
***

“…Huh?”
“What’s wrong?”
Park Sunja tilted her head after receiving a message from the support team.

“They just reported a monster phenomenon spike near our dorm…”
“What? Then—!”
“No, they said it disappeared quickly…”

My heart sank.
A monster phenomenon? That meant Leo, Daeho, and even Dusty were still at the dorm.
They said it vanished quickly, so maybe it was fine, but…

I need to finish this fast and get back.
Our Team 10 stepped into the narrow alley guarded by the police.
From the outside, it looked like an ordinary space between buildings—but the deeper we went, the more the air itself began to feel different.

And the further in we walked, the more convinced I became.
This place had to be connected to something religious. A church or cathedral, maybe.
I’d never been to one before, but it felt exactly like the kind of place I’d seen in countless dramas and movies.

Sacred—but with an unshakable sense of pressure hanging in the air.
“…Just as I thought.”
When we reached the end of the alley, my guess was confirmed.

Before us lay the interior of a vast cathedral.
Endless rows of polished wooden pews stretched forward, and a ceiling so high it inspired awe.
The windows were stained glass, scattering colorful light across the interior.

And far ahead stood a massive altar—clearly the focal point of the entire space.
As soon as we stepped into the cathedral, a faint, dreamlike choir began to echo from somewhere unseen.
The rest of the team followed behind me, all equally mesmerized by the surreal scene, eyes wide as they took in the view.

“…I’ve never seen a place like this in my life.”
“…Wow.”
Even Bora, who’d grown up deep in the countryside, and Hanbit, who had lived his whole life in a shaman family, couldn’t hide their awe.

Shun and Park Sunja, on the other hand, quietly and thoroughly began examining the layout.
After a moment of silent observation, Shun spoke in a low voice.
“Let’s search quickly and get out.”

We all agreed.
There was no telling when this serene, sacred space would morph into something dangerous.
Following Shun’s lead, we began a swift search through the massive, empty cathedral.

We checked all the obvious places first—under the pews, behind the large table up front, and even behind the altar.
“…There’s nothing here.”
“Really nothing.”

But despite our hopes, we didn’t find a single person—or even a single monster.
Only the sound of our footsteps, and the ethereal chorus still echoing faintly through the cathedral.
“This is strange. There aren’t even bathrooms or confession booths like you’d normally find in a place like this.”

Park Sunja glanced around as she spoke.
And she was right. No side doors, no corridors—nothing.
Maybe the way forward only opened if certain conditions were met.

The suspect had to be hiding somewhere in here.
“The singing’s getting louder.”
At Bora’s comment, I focused on the sound again.

As time passed, the faint chorus we’d heard upon entering was indeed growing louder.
We couldn’t tell where it was coming from—but in this giant space with no visible speakers, the clarity and grandeur of the sound was eerie.
Then I spotted Hanbit, standing in front of a small wall-mounted drawer, fully absorbed.

He was opening each drawer one by one, searching inside them.
“What are you looking for?”
Hanbit answered like it was obvious.

“Huh? The suspect, of course. They might be hiding in here…”
I blinked. “How could a person fit in a drawer that small?”
Hanbit finally registered the size of the drawer he’d been checking, let out a confused “Huh?”, and looked embarrassed.

He shook his head, unsure why he’d even done that.
Just then, Park Sunja frowned deeply and pulled out the earpiece she’d been using.
“…Damn it.”

“What happened?”
She answered with a grave expression.
“The support team said something weird just now—and then the comms cut out.”

Even our communication had been affected.
“…If the support team’s affected, then it must be the singing.”
Bora’s suggestion made sense, and Park Sunja nodded.

The only environmental factor that could’ve influenced them… was the singing.
“…We need to revise the operation.”
At her suggestion, we gathered at the center of the cathedral for a quick discussion.

Continuing the search like this was too risky.
“From now on—if you notice anything strange, in yourself or anyone else—report it immediately. The moment something feels wrong, we retreat to the alley entrance. No pushing forward. We still don’t know what effect this place has.”
We all agreed.

Then Hanbit raised his hand with a regretful expression.
“…I think I’ve already been affected once. I’ll withdraw for now. I don’t want to be a burden.”
His decision to step out was wise.

We nodded, and Hanbit gave us an apologetic look before heading back alone toward the alley.
Now, what were the rest of us supposed to do?
We couldn’t keep listening to this song.

Suddenly, Bora pulled several yellow talismans from her belt, crumpled them up, and stuffed them into her ears.
Then she handed some to the rest of us.
“…Good idea.”

With no proper earplugs available, this was at least some kind of emergency countermeasure.
Even if it was just paper, it was better than nothing.
With talismans now shoved in both ears, we ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) resumed our search of this eerie cathedral.

Since the song had grown louder, new doors had begun to appear.
One read Convent, another Dining Hall.