When the gate slid open, all of us stepped into the enormous elevator, mentally preparing myself for the battle that lay ahead. Physically, I felt sticky, moist, and hot due to the increased perspiration, resulting in a damp and uncomfortable sensation on my skin.
Meanwhile, Setsuna caught a whiff of herself and made a face, clearly feeling self-conscious about her appearance and hygiene.
"Ohh, I smell so terrible," she exclaimed.
"It can't be helped, we are fighting for our life." I replied in exhausted voice.
Everyone looked exhausted, drenched in sweat and dirt. Yet, the faces of my friends and Geralt showed resilience and strength, as if they had fully accepted the challenges and obstacles that awaited us.
Taking advantage of the temporary moment of silence, I reflected on the countless life and death struggles I had overcome. I never knew I possessed such resilience. Especially during the battle against the serpent, it wasn't just luck that led to our victory, but the combined strength of all of us.
In that moment, I couldn't help but wonder how far I could truly go. If there were people who could use magic, how could I possibly fight against them?
Not to mention, how long would this absurd game continue?
Perhaps sensing the tension in my expression, Shan, though clearly exhausted, offered some words of comfort without even looking at me. "Don't think too much about it. We just need to keep on surviving and do what feels right."
I subtly nodded, acknowledging his words.
The elevator began to levitate, passing through the castle roof and revealing a breathtaking view of the jungle and park from a bird's eye perspective. I could even see people across the jungle engaged in real-time battles, as well as numerous tents indicating the presence of other survivors banding together.
As the elevator entered a massive tunnel in the ceiling, a cement wall shaped like a tube came into view, with a faint white light illuminating a straight path upward in the direction of the elevator's levitation.
Moments later, the dimly lit atmosphere transformed into a night sky adorned with constellations and shimmering stars, though upon closer inspection, it was revealed to be an artificial sky created by holographic.
The elevator came to a halt as we arrived on a new floor, and we were greeted by a vast grassy field. A town filled with medieval houses surrounded a large circular lake in the center of the park, and a glassy elevator pillar connected to another upper floor on an island in the middle of the lake.
We ventured into the town, which was eerily quiet as if no one had ever set foot on this floor before.
This was strange. It meant that this floor had never had anyone participate in the survival game to begin with, or something had gone wrong. No one could escape this game unless we killed the executor or reached 100 survivors. Therefore, it was almost impossible for there to be no survivors here from yesterday.
Just then, an announcement echoed throughout the sky, "eighty four more survivors have joined the game on the 89th floor."
"Come on, more survivors!" Setsuna said in a disappointed tone.
So there were more survivors who had made it through the game on the lower floors and entered here. That meant the only way to end this game as quickly as possible was to kill the executor.
Geralt glanced around and said, "Something doesn't feel right."
While everyone was still amazed by the view, footsteps could be heard approaching from all directions. One by one, people emerged from the surrounding houses with a clear intent to kill us if we made one wrong move.
They had been hiding!
These people seemed to be working together as a group, not divided into any parties. Hyun hee gathered everyone to stand back to back, and even at the entrance of the town, several men appeared out of nowhere to barricade the road.
Instinctively, I counted the number of these men. Roughly fifty people were heading toward us from every direction. They didn't seem hostile, just observing us from afar and blocking every exit.
How did they know we were coming if they had been hiding in these medieval houses?
I glanced at Tina, and she had a guilty expression on her face, which seemed very suspicious.
Immediately, my companions became more cautious as a man walked out from one of the houses and approached us, accompanied by several others armed with knives and baseball bats.
His eyes were empty devoid of any real emotion, his dark hair disheveled revealing his forehead, and the only expression he wore was an unsettling, unchanging creepy smile.
Scythe shouted across the distance, "Geralt, my old friend. I have been looking for you. Let's work together to save everyone!"
What the hell was this guy talking about?
There was no way Geralt would do that.
Geralt didn't respond; instead, he took a battle stance.
My headroom teacher had a suspicious expression and exchanged a glance with Tina when he noticed Geralt didn't respond to him.
She immediately flinched and sprinted toward Scythe.
I lifted my hand to call her, "What are you doing?"
Shan held me back, saying, "It seems like I was right, she betrayed us."
I eventually realized that the reason why this town felt so quiet was because Scythe had already killed and conquered every survivor who opposed him on this floor. As Tina arrived beside Scythe, her friends were startled, as if they didn't know the meaning of her actions.
She leaned toward him and whispered something, and in that instant, Scythe had a sly smile.
Scythe shouted as he giggled, "It seems like you have found out the truth, but fate is still on my side, Geralt. After all, she is working for me."
Her friends shouted and cursed at Tina even before Geralt said anything.
"You traitor!" The man who used to be knocked down by Hyun Hee shouted.
"I trusted you, but why are you doing this, bitch?" Her female friend cried out.
She didn't even respond, but instead gazed downward, displaying her guilty emotions. I made a mistake, I shouldn't have rushed everyone to confront Scythe earlier. Instead, I should have taken the time to study Tina by staying in the previous floor one more day. I was too focused on trying to gain her favor and impatient to seek the executioner in order to ended the survival game earlier, which put my mindset in a position of prey rather than predator. However, there was no time for self-blame.
I stepped forward, Setsuna and Shan raised their hands, about to grab my arms, but I looked at them with seriousness. Therefore, they allowed me to proceed.
When I arrived at a distance where my voice could reach her, I asked, "Is it all an act?"
She didn't look at me as she said, "Boy, the world is not always fair. Sometimes you need to do what is logical to survive."
So this was the adulthood that everyone boasted about? To betray, dominate, and conquer for the sake of survival?
Geralt took a few steps and arrived beside me, looking at me with fiery eyes, making me realize that there were also adults like him who looked out for teenagers like me.
"I know you might feel betrayed, but in the future, this will be common for you. Protect those who are loyal to you, mercilessly kill those who oppose you," Geralt said with a calm yet assertive voice.
He was right. Not everyone was the same. What mattered was who stood on my side. There were also four people who used to follow Tina, currently standing on our side as well.
Scythe laughed loudly, causing Tina to look at him with oddity. It was then that everyone noticed a mysterious blue particle floating around him, which formed into a dagger.
So this was magic!
Meanwhile, Hyun hee sprinted forward at incredible speed, murmuring, "How can that be?"
However, in the blink of an eye, the dagger slashed through Tina's head. There was a shocked expression on her fallen head as it collided with the ground, and her headless body also collapsed, blood spitting onto the grass.
I screamed at him, "Scythe!"
Scythe chuckled wickedly and yelled back at me, "Einsamer, the blondie. This is your final exam!"
He seemed to treat me as if I were some kind of enemy from his past life.
He then extended his hand and commanded his underlings, "Kill, rape, and slaughter every last one of them."
Approximately 30 men rushed toward us with their weapons, their eyes filled with killing intent. Since Hyun hee was in the frontline, she punched through these men and instantly...
Scythe had a shocked expression.
"How... There shouldn't be a powerful kid like you in this timeline..." Scythe murmured.
I overheard his words, and immediately my intuition told me that he could be a regressor as well.
Unexpectedly, many more men appeared out of nowhere and blasted laser guns from above the roofs toward Geralt, but he effortlessly dodged them.
He sprinted toward Scythe, and everyone who stood in his way was punched vigorously by his fists, their skulls breaking as if he were a beast, clearing a path for himself.
Meanwhile, the four people who were Tina's friends fought fearlessly alongside Shan and Setsuna.
However, one by one, they were stabbed and slashed to death. Only Shan and Setsuna were left fighting on their own.
I managed to evade an attack from another man with a knife thrusting at me. With quicker reflexes than him, I grabbed his hand and pulled the knife out, stabbing his legs to disable him from walking.
Then, I took his knife and rushed to find Yuffie. Someone tapped on my shoulder, and when I turned around, I saw no one, but I heard Yuffie's soothing voice. Right, she could become invisible...
She said, "Go help my father. I will help Shan and Setsuna."
I nodded and continued to run with everything I had. Many more men jumped to attack me, but I did a front flip to avoid them and landed behind their exposed backs. Using the knife, I cleanly stabbed their knees, causing them to fall down in pain.
There was no one in front of me now, except for the people on the roof who consistently fired lasers at me. Fortunately, their aim was so poor that they missed every attempt to kill me.
When Hyun Hee reached Scythe, she threw a punch, but it was blocked by a blue transparent armor that wrapped around him, sending a shockwave that even repulsed my balance.
The armor equipped on him was known as battle armor. I could not even imagine seeing this armor in reality, but now it was right in front of my eyes. So, magic did exist!
"How?" Hyun Hee muttered.
Scythe responded, "Your attack is useless--"
But as he was boasting, Geralt leaped forward and relentlessly smacked his battle armor with incredible speed and force, causing a visible crack to appear.
To deflect Geralt's attack, Scythe was about to summon another dagger, but Hyun hee instantly appeared behind him and slashed the dagger from his hand. Meanwhile, Geralt continued to punch the armor until his modified arms began to show signs of damage. However, his wrath had consumed his mind to the point where he didn't care about his arms.