'The Judge is one of them'
The atmosphere felt suffocating as the smile on Kyle's face disappeared and Eleri narrowed her eyes thoughtfully
[Oooh this is suspense]
[The Judge can pretend to be a player?!]
[This is scary, much more scary than what I played in the first floor]
[Is this seriously only the third floor? I might die if I play the third floor]
[Not to mention that the game changes in each floor but the difficulty level are all the same!]
Pondering for a moment Eleri decided to ask in her head 'Draven, are Judge allowed to disguise themselves as players?'
Draven: [It is allowed]
"Tsk" Eleri clicked her tongue as she heard this and frowned
Seeing the atmosphere Jerry said "I didn't said this to not trust anyone but I'm saying this as a reminder to be careful as the Judge are powerful beings made from the tower"
"So does anyone here can vouch for anyone?"
Kyle immediately raised his hand as he said "Yes, my partner here is sure a player" saying that he pointed at Eleri who was beside him
No one dared to refute his words as they thought 'He's too scary to hold his thigh''
Eleri snorted coldly as she ignored him and looked at her book of Shakespeare which says 'My nature is subdued to what works in, like the dyer's hand' which talks about human nature
Jerry nodded fearful and said "Alright then, anyone else?"
"..." No one answered. Everyone of them is a stranger that has a potential to be the Judge of the game
"I see, then-…"
As Jerry was talking Eleri saw a small black silhouette ran pass by them and she couldn't help widening her eyes as she thought 'So that wasn't just my illusion'
Kyle noticed her sight and asked "What are you looking at?"
Eleri was silent for a moment before she said "It's nothing"
*****
Nighttime came and the familiar mechanical voice prompted
-Ding!
- The monsters roam in the midnight as they searched for prey. Beware dear dreamers as to not get eaten by the nightmare
Hearing these everyone was stunned as they said "Monsters? There are monsters?!"
"Well it's no wonder the task is to survive seven days"
"Not only is there a Judge but even monsters! Good grace…"
Eleri was thinking about the black silhouette she saw when she suddenly heard Kyle ask her a question
"Do you have any fighting ability?"
Eleri looked at Kyle then her lips curled up as she said "No. Not yet atleast"
Kyle was confused but Eleri only shook her head and said "You'll know when the time comes"
'I'm not certain yet if you're an ally or a foe' She thought and turned around
Kyle asked "Where are you going?"
"Searching for clues"
Kyle raised an eyebrow as he thought 'When it's night that's when you're gonna go searching for clues?'
Eleri walked towards aisle 30A and put back the books of Shakespeare only leaving the book about Zeus
As she walked she suddenly felt something was following her but continued to walk nonchalantly
Just when she turned to the corner the 'thing' followed behind her when--
She grabbed the wrist of the 'thing' but found that it was a child about four to five years old
The child was frighetened and begun to struggle
Eleri quickly let go and apologized
The child did not respond but only cried
Eleri kneeled in one foot and said in a sincere tone "I'm sorry, I was just surprised, I didn't mean to hurt you"
The child only sobbed but did not speak
Eleri stretched out her hand and asked "Do you want me to ease the pain in your wrist?"
Eleri left a red fingerprint mark on the child's pale white wrist and she begun to feel a little guilty
The child was a little bit reluctant but after hearing Eleri's sincere voice that he had never heard before he stretched out his little arm towards her
Eleri grabbed the arm gently as she blew it for some time before she smiled and said "Is it still painful?"
The little boy shook his head but still sneezed lightly
Eleri smiled and rubbed the boy's furry head
Eleri then thought of something and asked in her head 'Draven, is he an NPC?'
Draven: [Yes.]
Eleri then asked the boy "Where's your parents?"
The boy did not speak but looked around panicked as if trying to find something
Eleri immediately knew what he wanted to do and said "I'll come along with you"
The boy didn't said anything but just ran, Eleri followed behind and they stopped infront of a picture
Eleri was stunned as she saw the picture frame, it was a family of three, the mother, father, and their son
But what surprised her was that the boy in the picture was the little boy right infront of her
Walking towards the picture she stretched out her hand and asked the boy "Do you mind?"
The boy was slow to answer but shook his head indicating that she is free to do what she want
Eleri took the picture frame and a piece of white paper fell out from it
-Ding
-Clue has been found!
[Piece of remembrance of the library owner]
Picking it up she read it
[March 13, 19XX]
[We are now officially the owners of the library and our son is very happy which made us relieved]
Reading this she was surprised and asked the little boy "Are your parents the owner of this library?"
The little boy eyes gleamed as he nodded his round head cutely
Looking at the piece of paper she thought 'This is the first clue I found so far for the first day here'
[Wow the anchor has great luck to find a clue so fast in the first day]
[Agreed]
Grrrrrr
Suddenly there was a low growl sound from behind and Eleri's body stiffened
The little boy was confused and was about to turn his head around when a hand pressed his shoulders and Eleri whispered "Don't turn around no matter what okay?"
She then pointed at the distance and said "Run and don't look back okay, can you do it for your big sister Eli?"
The boy nodded slowly before he was pushed and heard her scream "Now! Run!"
The boy was dizzy but still ran towards the distance. Not until his back was completely disappeared did only Eleri sighed a relief
Grrrrrrr
Hearing this she smirked as she said "Don't think I forgot about you" turning around she said "Little monster"
Behind her was a giant black figure twice the height of a human with big claws and sharp teeth
Those blood thirsty eyes stared at her menacingly as it bared it's fangs on her
[Nooo! I take back what I said her luck is bad!]
[Just why did she have to search for clues when it's night?!]
Eleri faced the monster calmly as she asked in her head 'What is the level of this monster?'
Draven: [It's a C level monster called 'Black Hound']
Eleri nodded and said "I see"
Standing up straight she raised her hand as purple lightning suddenly emitted from it
[Gift: < Purple Lightning >]
As the purple lightning became thicker Eleri said with a smile "Cowards die many times before their deaths, however the valiant never taste of death but once"