The two men's fight soon woke the two ladies up, who immediately got out of bed and stood behind Axel, each armed with knives.
"Who the heck is he?" Livi whispered to Axel with a serious expression.
Axel, who had already heard the intruder call his name, kept it to himself and didn't give the intruder any hint that he had heard him.
"Who are you?" Axel asked with a serious expression, his gun still pointed at the intruder's head.
"You're staying in my house, is this how you treat your savior?" asked the intruder, also still pointing his gun at Axel's head. He knew Axel had heard him call his name, but his behavior as though he didn't hear anything was baffling.
"Maybe he didn't hear me call his name," the intruder thought to himself.
"Why do you live in the mountains when you can actually live in the city? Why would anyone choose to live in such a harsh environment? Or perhaps are you hiding something?" asked Livi with a serious expression.
"Aren't we all here for the third game? So of course it's only okay for you to hide in the snowy mountain," said the intruder with an outburst of laughter, which was replaced with a groaning pain by a heavy hit on his abdomen with Axel's gun.
"This cave looks furnished like you've been living here for ages? How do you explain that, huh?" asked Livi with her gaze fixed upon him.
"Easy, my lady! I also came across this cave just like you guys, so I met it already furnished," replied the intruder.
"Then drop the gun down," yelled Ave from behind, with a commanding and unwavering tone.
"Fine! Fine!" said the intruder, who dropped the gun on the floor and raised his two arms up. Livi moved closer to him in an instant and took the gun away from the floor, after which she then began to search his body in case he was hiding any other weapons.
"He's all cleared," Livi announced at the end of the search, making the others heave a heavy sigh. Although the intruder had been confirmed to be unarmed, Axel still held onto his gun, even though the other two ladies had dropped their knives.
"What's your name?" Axel asked, with a serious gaze at the intruder.
"I'm Hillery Lionel," replied the intruder. "And you are?" he added, with his hand stretched out to Axel, who had already walked away from him to join the ladies.
The two ladies began roasting meats given by the system, and soon they all started devouring it while sitting in a circular position in front of the fireplace.
"Why do you have your face covered? Are you dressed like this because of the cold?" asked Ave, with her eyebrows raised at Lionel as she continued devouring the meat in her hand.
"I've always had my face covered due to scars. So you'll always see me with my face covered with a mask," explained Lionel, who had a small opening in his mask for eating.
"Anyways, I'm Moore Olivia, Livi for short."
"And I'm Smith Avery, Ave for short."
"Oh, nice meeting you beauties. I'm Hillery Lionel," introduced the intruder as he shook hands with Livi and Ave.
Despite the ladies exchanging names with the new player, Axel's gaze remained fixed on Lionel. Something in him told him that he was more than the bare eyes could see.
He had never doubted someone to this extent, especially when he was transmigrated to the game world. He always saw everyone as a player, people who were also fighting to survive. He always treated them as his friends, but meeting Lionel was different. He had a feeling of mystery. A feeling he couldn't explain.
This new player's name, body features, and now that he heard his voice sounded exactly like the black cult leader's voice. He didn't know if this new player was a different person or the same person he had in mind, but one thing was sure: this new player was suspicious, and Axel had to be wary of him. He had to keep an eye on him, and the truth would be revealed within a little matter of time.
"Hey! You! Did you attend to my wound?" asked Ave with her gaze fixed on Axel, demanding an answer.
"Or who?" replied Axel and rolled his eyes away, then soon returned his gaze back to Lionel.
"Thanks, though. I really thought I was going to die in that dark room," replied Ave to Axel, who didn't even give her any audience again but only had his gaze fixed on the suspicious player in front of him.
Axel's gaze soon shifted from Lionel to the cave entrance, where he spotted three figures walking towards the cave.
"There are people coming towards here? We don't know them yet, so you all should get armed and ready to strike once they turn out to be monstrous creatures," Axel commanded and got up from the floor in an instant, with the two ladies, both armed with sharp knives, standing at alert behind him, while Lionel stood beside him, also armed with his gun ready to shoot.
The figures kept getting closer and were soon identified as Harris Florence, Murphy Logan, David Wilkerson, and Wilson Rosalie.
The armed players soon stood out, and Ave rushed towards the four players and helped them inside the cave.
"Rosa!" yelled Livi excitedly as she gave Rosa a tight hug before releasing her.
(Congratulations, dear players, for passing the second trial. Now the third trial starts now!)
"There is still one person missing, though. Where's Rian?" asked Rosa to the system. "He should have been in the cave if the third trial of the third game would be starting soon."
"He's not with us. I'm also waiting for him to arrive. Probably he's lost. Should we go out to look for him?" asked Livi with a tensed body.
(Rian failed the first trial of the third game, so therefore, he has been replaced by another player, Harris Lionel.)
"What does that mean?" asked Rosa, with her eyes already filled with tears, ready to drop.
"That system must be insane! Rian is a strong dude. He wouldn't die in the first trial. We all promised to stick to each other," said Livi, with tears already rolling down her cheeks.
"System! What do you mean? How could Rian fail the first trial? Even though he failed, where is he then?" asked Ave.
(As you all know, once a player fails to complete a game, the only result is death. Rian has been killed in the first game, allowing his opponent to live.)
"Damnit!" cursed Axel as he moved closer to the cave wall and gave it a heavy punch.
"I don't believe that! He promised me that he would make me his girlfriend officially at the end of the third game. He told me he loves me, Livi! See! He even gave me his lock pendant, so how can he leave when he just made all those promises," yelled Rosa, as she broke down on the floor, weeping profusely on Livi's chest, who also joined her in mourning.
"Ding!"
(The third trial of the third game starts now. Dear players, please keep walking into the depth of the cave as that is where you'll start the third trial.)
"It's okay, Rosa. We should leave now if we want to survive. Rian wouldn't want to see you like this. You should live for him and get revenge for him on the game master of this brutal game," said Axel as he knelt down between the two weeping ladies.
(Hurry! The time is ticking!)
Rosa remained seated on the floor, in Livi's embrace as she kept on weeping profusely, uninterested in listening to Axel's words.
"We should go now! I wouldn't want to fail the third trial after going through those hell in the previous trial. You can come back to weeping later, but for now, get up," yelled David, who was already running out of patience, seeing the two weeping ladies.
"Guess we would abandon you two here since you're interested in crying. I wouldn't want to lose my life here because of your foolishness," said David with anger evident in his voice.
(The third trial of the third game can't start without the complete eight players. You all have to go deeper into the cave's depth for the game to commence.)
"Arrrrgh... Did you hear that?" yelled David with an angry expression at the weeping ladies on the floor.
"We should go now, Livi and Rosa," said Axel, who had already gotten up from the floor.
Axel, after noticing that the two ladies weren't showing any sign of following them, grew impatient and directed his gaze to Lionel.
"You look muscular enough. You should carry one of them if we all want the third game to start," he said, and without wasting much time, Lionel walked up to Rosa and carried her on his shoulder, leading the way into the cave's depth.
Axel also did the same by carrying Livi on his shoulder, now walking into the cave's depth with the other players following behind.
_
A long bang was heard immediately they crossed a thick line drawn on the floor, and even the ladies hanging on Axel and Lionel's shoulders stopped their struggling and weeping, and kept quiet like babies and Lionel and Axel dropped them on their feets.
The cave's depth was lit with burning firewoods, bringing brightness and light. The walls were made of bricks, and it didn't even seem to the players that they were still in the snow cave.
(Third trial title: Sacrifice)
"Sacrifice? What the heck does that mean?" asked Ave with a confused expression.
(Rian failed the first trial of the third game, whereby giving his opponent a chance to live. The opponent, therefore, is what you all eight players would be fighting against.)
"Darn it! I'm having a feeling this third trial wouldn't be easy," said Florence with a heavy sigh.
(Keep walking deep into the cave, dear players.)
As the players walked deeper into the cave, the silence was broken by a low, guttural growl. It was a deep, rumbling sound that echoed off the cave walls, making it impossible to tell where it was coming from. The growl grew louder and more menacing, and the air felt thick and oppressive. The walls seemed to close in, and the shadows started to take on menacing shapes.
The growl was followed by the sound of claws scraping on stone. It was a horrible scraping noise that echoed through the cave, like a giant creature was digging its way toward the players. They felt the ground tremble beneath their feet, and the temperature started to drop. It felt like the monster was bringing the cold of the deep earth with it.
Now, as the scraping sound got louder, the players noticed a putrid, dank smell filling the air. It was a stench of decay and rot, like something that had been trapped underground for a long time.
As they all stood trembling in the cave, they felt a cold breeze blowing through the chamber. It was icy and sharp, and it felt like a warning of something terrible to come. They could feel goosebumps rising on their skin, and their hair stood on end. They were starting to feel a primal fear, like something was stalking them through the dark.
As they listened to the scratching and scraping, they noticed a faint red glow coming from deeper in the cave. The light flickered and pulsed, and they could feel its heat radiating toward them. It wasn't the warmth of a campfire or a hearth - it was the heat of something furious and dangerous. The light flickered again, and they saw that it was coming from the eyes of a massive, terrifying creature. The light flickered again, and they saw fangs glinting in the dark. The monster was getting closer, and they knew they had to run.