"Yum,"
With a huge gulp, the Alpha Snake Beast completely swallowed the young man. After witnessing gruesome scenes one after another, the reaction of the eighteen remaining players was controlled.
They did not have violent reaction like before. The Alpha Snake Beast's purple slit eyes glowed with intense color. He stumped his feet on the ground and shouted.
"Everybody, welcome to my kin's monopoly game!"
The enthusiasm from the Alpha Snake Beast's hoarse voice made everyone vigilant. They all step back as if backing away could protect them from the giant Snake still coiling behind the Alpha Snake Beast's throne.
"Oh, humans. Don't try to run. Me and my kin are delighted to introduce our games to you! Aren't you honored? This game is usually limited to our region only. But because of the Dark Tower, you humans have gained the privilege of playing it. How is it? Feeling honored now?"
No one answered him. His purple slit eyes did not diminish, nor his newly enthusiastic spirit was affected by the gloomy atmosphere. He just continued to babble on.
No one asked him what the game was, but he went ahead to explain anyway.
"I am the leader of the Snakebeast kin. My kin calls me Master Alpha, so I give you all humans the privilege to call me by my title. How's that? Feeling honored now, are you? Just be grateful the Dark Tower is nice enough to invite such puny humans to its abode. Not all races have that privilege, you know?"
While the Master Alpha rambled about himself, Cayden's attention wasn't on him at all. Like everyone else, his head was looking up, but his eyes were roaming around his surrounding. He was vigilant against another 'favored' human.
There should be one among them.
If the hunters are plotting to kill this Snake in front of them without getting their hands dirty, they must have used a 'favored' human to do the deed. Although the giant Snake is the problem….
While Cayden was still thinking about these things, Peter suddenly poke him in the side.
"Cayden, can you hear that?" Peter was vigilant as he whispered. He did not make it obvious to the Master Alpha above that he was talking to him.
Cayden did not answer but nodded.
He heard it too. Since earlier. The slithering of thousands of snakes… right beneath their feet.
But the most thing he needs to be worried about right now… is the nature of this game.
What are those snakes gliding along the side of the grids? The game rules mentioned finding safe zones and telling the truth if asked…
Do these rules apply to the game?
"What is the game all about, you ask? I'm sure you have played monopoly game right? Whoever reaches the goal the fastest will win!"
When everyone heard this, doubts flashed on their faces. "You mean those classic games where we toss a dice to determine how many number of squares we move forward? And those squares might possibly contain rewards, punishments and can make you jump a few squares or go backwards?"
"Oh? You humans already have games like this? Then that makes things easier!" Master Alpha clapped both his hands in delight.
"In this game, instead of rolling a dice, you must answer simple questions for me. My crystal orb will rate your honesty by giving you a number from 1 to 6. This number will determine the number of squares you can move forward."
As if on cue, a purple crystal orb materialize beside the Alpha Snake. It is seated perfectly still at the top of a pillar in the center of the stage.
"What questions will you ask us?" A middle aged man who had been sweating profusely since earlier opened his mouth.
"It's not me who's going to ask. In fact, I can't because I don't know anyone of you. In my region, I asked my fellow tribe to create twenty questions each before they could participate. But here, the Dark Tower created that pool of questions for all of us! So don't worry!"
Cayden reacted.
Questions for us….?
This means the Dark Tower has already investigated each one of the participants in this game and collected enough data to prepare questions…. This could be a disadvantage for Cayden, who return back in time.
[Drifter's Clock Archive Skill activated]
Huh?
[Goal loading…]
[The Drifter Cayden Campbell still has to pay 100 points for using a skill.]
"So what are in the squares?" A woman asked the Master Alpha.
"The contents of the squares can be categorized into two. The reward squares and the punishment squares. Don't worry. Landing on the reward squares and punishment squares is purely based on luck. As long as you answer truthfully to the question and do not hold back any secrets or try to hide anything, then you all will have a smooth sailing game."
Peter scoffed at Master Alpha's statement. He and Cayden just went through a game of stealing someone else' cloths. Like a game of tags. However, everyone died, and Cayden's hands were dirtied with blood. Such game whose premise was just to steal… Then how smooth sailing can this monopoly game be with rewards and punishment? Heh.
Don't make me laugh! Peter screamed in his heart.
The Master Alpha seemed to be aware of everyone's tense expression, so he showed them a kind smile and stated. "You humans are so foolish. You must have been beaten up too many times previously that you don't believe me anymore."
The humans who just witnessed a certain beast eating the bones of other humans: "....."
"This monopoly game of my kin is extremely interesting. We use it not only to strengthen our bodies after encountering punishment, we also gain sweet rewards like riches, weapons, and much more abilities!" The Master Alpha's purple eyes flashed as he swept the faces of the crowd.
"How about it? Interested now?"
Indeed, at the mention of abilities, everyone's attention were instantly reeled.