[3RD POV INITIALLIZE]
[Sector 12, Oryx Sanctuary Continent, Planet Tellus]
Three figures could be seen standing atop a towering structure, its height reaching a staggering 400 meters. They gazed down at the chaotic city below, where the survival game raged on across the city encapsulated by a dome shield against the radioactive land and toxic air of the outside world.
Even on the streets, wild beasts such as lions and wolves chased down civilians who refused to participate in the man-made survival game.
The chilly breeze ruffled their hair as they observed the mayhem. Several skyscrapers were now engulfed in flames, evidence that many survivors across the city had rebelled against the terrorists. They broke through multiple games per day, destroying the game venues and displaying their resilience and determination.
Behind them lay the scattered corpses of masked men, their bodies stained with fresh blood. One of the survivors held the severed head of a masked man, adorned with a silver sun cross emblem. The head had been cleanly separated from its body, which lay nearby.
The man with purple hair took pleasure in torturing his enemies, especially stubborn ones like this masked man he had recently beheaded.
With a casual swing of his hand, he let go of the head, allowing it to descend towards the ground.
"Vishva, this timeline is different from the others," said the muscular, yet beautifully exotic girl with dark skin.
She looked at the purple-haired man, named Lasiv, who stood at the edge of the tower with his purple eyes fixed on the view. Lasiv, along with his two friends, had effortlessly cleared every major game in the tower within two days. As a result, for the past two days, they had become the threatening target of the terrorist group. Yet, since they had eliminated every masked man they encountered, the terrorists avoided provoking them further.
Vishva, with a neutral expression, responded, "The divine judgment hasn't begun yet, but it seems that the 10 high is making their last pathetic attempt. These masked men truly embody their philosophy—a puppet devoid of true self, merely an empty vessel for ego and pride."
Taking a deep breath, Vishva closed his eyes and recalled the false utopia he had once believed in. He added, "A lie of the adult world, that so-called reality."
Erebus, a man with long black hair and red eyes, chimed in, "They even offered us the position of executor, not knowing that we are their enemies."
Vishva smiled confidently and replied, "Well, Erebus, it seems they must be running out of people who can harness narrative energy. In any case, let us continue observing the situation until it is our time to strike."
Erebus nodded, as for him even at this timeline he still reincarnated as man.
Meanwhile, Amanda, the girl with beautiful black hair cascading softly down her back, raised her confident voice, "By the way, you look great in this timeline."
She teasingly ran her fingers across Vishva's shoulder, but his serious gaze startled her, causing her to quickly retract her hand. Nonetheless, a wide smile remained on her face.
"Amanda, we are on a mission right now. Soon, the narrative energy will awaken in this world, and we need to find the Saklas," Vishva said.
"Oh, come on! You're no fun at all. But that's what makes me interested in you," Amanda responded cheekily.
Normally, Amanda was a business-minded lady, but her behavior seemed to change around Vishva.
Witnessing Amanda's childish behavior, Lasiv and Erebus sighed in disappointment, shaking their heads. There was nothing they could do to make her act more maturely.
Suddenly, Erebus raised his voice, grabbing both Vishva and Amanda's attention.
"By the way, our men have sent news that the queen from the Temple Warrior Guild has already destroyed several game venues in the Singa Sanctuary continent," Erebus informed them.
A tough expression on Lasiv's face was replaced by a sudden smirk.
"Great! An ancestor of mine from this timeline is here as well. It'll be a grand party for everyone," Lasiv said with a composed yet slightly wicked voice.
*
[1ST POV INITIALLIZE]
[Sector 2 Dome, Singa Sanctuary Continent, Planet Tellus]
Her words left me dazed, and at that moment, I found myself captivated by her brown eyes. Despite her dress being stained with dirt and sweat, she still emitted a natural, aromatic scent.
"How long are you going to hug me like this? I appreciate a handsome boy like you but don't you have any manners?" the long-haired woman exclaimed furiously.
I calmly removed my hand from her neck and shoulders, as well as my legs that had touched her black skirt. I stood up, distancing myself from her. As an apology, I slightly leaned my body forward, gazing down.
Regaining my composure, I asked her politely, "So, are you going to give me more details?"
She brushed off the dirt on her dress and replied angrily, "Sure, I want him dead as well. He killed many people during these two days, including my best friend."
We shared the same motivation to end the game as soon as possible. During our discussion, she convinced her friends to position themselves before my companion and me. She stood between us, delicately explaining our intentions to her friends. At that moment, the two people who had been knocked down also regained consciousness.
Hyun Hee and I approached them to apologize. However, they seemed more scared of us than genuinely accepting our apologies. They still struggled with their balance, and whenever their eyes met Hyun Hee, they became nervous and took a step back.
But one man managed to calm down and spoke up, "It's okay, we work in this park. Tina is our leader, and her friends were killed yesterday to set an example. Whoever betrays the executor will face the same punishment. That's why she's not in a good mood."
I see, no wonder she instantly cooperated with us.
After several minutes passed, we discussed various plans to storm his base. Tina explained to us about a small castle he had found on the upper floor. He had selected only 100 people to work exclusively for him in order to reach the maximum of 100 survivors needed to clear the game. He killed every survivor he encountered.
Geralt asked with his husky voice, "What is the name of the executor?"
Tina, a girl in a white dress, replied, "His underlings call him Sycth."
When Geralt heard this name, his eyes widened with wrath. Though he didn't show it in his words, his voice carried the weight of his anger. "That's his name when he used to work under me... I've finally found this bastard..."
Meanwhile, Yuffie approached Geralt and grabbed his arms to calm him down. So, my teacher was the executor... Not to mention, he was also responsible for the death of Geralt's wife.
Just many days ago, I was taking an exam in the classroom, and he walked by my desk multiple times. Behind that smile of his was a facade that concealed the evil deep inside. This reminds me of the masked men—they seem to resemble fake people like him, following a set of rules just to fit in, but being wolves in sheep's clothing.
I took a glance at Shan and Setsuna, they also expressed a mixture of emotion of distrust and doubt on their face.
While they stood beside me, I asked "Do you want to back out now?"
"I always want to smash his smirk face... he constantly allows the bully to do whatever they want in the class. So, you have my answer." Setsuna seems to have made up her mind.
Shan opened his mouth hesitantly "I have nothing personal against him, but to end this game, we must kill him."
You have nothing personal against him, yet you wanted to kill him! I never knew my friends were psychopaths. Joke aside, I wasn't happy to hear that, since Hyun hee mentioned an executor could utilize magic.
"He could use magic... Think about it." Despite my concern, I said in a stable voice.
"I am worried about you, so let me come along," Shan said in such a sincere voice that I couldn't turn him down.
His words had a way of moving me. This guy really knew how to say the right things to soften my heart.
On the other hand, Setsuna was a completely different species from Shan.
"But you're going with Geralt, right? Of course. I'm coming along too. I want to see what magic is like!" Setsuna punched my back heavily as she spoke.
Her strength was comparable to that of a gorilla. Every time she punched me, I could feel my soul being jolted from her friendly attack. Of course, I was being a bit dramatic. However, I knew that this was her way of communicating with people she felt comfortable with, so I didn't take it personally.
"This isn't a heroic journey where you'll survive anything. This is reality," I raised my voice to scold her.
Aware that the strategies and human psychology I had learned from books might not directly apply to her encounter with Scythe, I understood that reality was far more unpredictable. However, I was determined to use every tool at my disposal to emerge victorious if the situation escalated to a point where fighting was inevitable.
"Well, I'd rather die than live a boring life," she said enthusiastically, true to herself.
True to herself.... somehow this words resonated with me as if she was speaking to a part of me that I never knew exist.
"Alright..." I sighed at her, knowing there was nothing I could do to stop her or Shan.
She giggled and winked at me with a smirk, continuing, "By the way, I see you're enjoying your time with that lady over there."
I couldn't discern what was going on in her mind; at times she appeared serious, while at other times she joked around. To be honest, I found it challenging to read her or Shan.
"Who?" I questioned.
She pointed at Tina, who was discussing something with her friends, and added, "Are you into older women? Hehe."
I shook my head, ignored her question, and shifted my attention to Shan.
"Geez, you are getting boring, Einsamer. At serious moment like this, it is important to learn how to lighten up." Setsuna finally gave up her teasing.
Perhaps she was anxious, but I chose to ignore her, making it clear that I wouldn't accept being teased or joked with, especially given the gravity of the situation. I wondered how the situation would have unfolded if Stella were here.
Several minutes later, Hyun Hee clapped her hands to signal everyone to gather. Besides my companion, there were four other people, including Tina. Now, we were a group of eleven people. This number would be enough to carry out our operation smoothly, provided nothing went wrong.
After exchanging ideas on the operation, we came to an agreement and immediately headed towards the center of the park.
Tina, the girl in the white dress, led everyone along the brick-paved road, with giant trees aligning the path. She assured us that nobody would pass through this route, so we followed her decision.
As we strolled, I became very interested in the size of this park. The skyscraper alone had a land size of 5000 hectares, so it made sense for the park to be equally large.
I asked Tina, "How big is this park?"
We were nearing the center of the park. Beyond the several trees ahead of us, there was a field of grass stretching for hundreds of meters in the shape of a circle, surrounded by a forest. In the center of this field stood an approximately 30-meter-tall hill, on top of which a small medieval castle encircled by a wall could be seen from a distance, along with a huge glassy elevator pillar connecting to the ceiling.
She raised her hands and signaled everyone to disperse into their positions.
We no longer took the paved route and split into two groups, heading towards opposite sides of the forest. Tina stuck with her group, while I went with my companion.
We hid behind a tree, observing the situation from afar to avoid engaging in a meaningless battle with other survivors.
The person hiding behind the same tree as me was Shan, while Hyun Hee and Setsuna stood behind another tree. Yuffie and Geralt were at the front, kneeling down and taking cover behind a dense bush.
Out of nowhere, Shan raised his voice.
"Are you sure we can trust her?" he asked.
I thought he meant Tina. I still couldn't say I trusted her 100%, but she was the only lead we had to find Sycth as soon as possible.
"Let's see, I don't entirely trust her either," I responded.
As I was talking with Shan, suddenly a group of twenty people emerged from the opposite side of the forest and headed towards the castle. As I keenly observed them, I recognized a tall man leading the group.
It was none other than Sycth, my former teacher. His presence immediately put everyone on high alert, especially Geralt, who was about to jump and attack him. However, Yuffie managed to hold him back.
Geralt took a deep breath to regain his composure and sat back down to observe the situation. Sycth led his men towards the opened gate of the castle. So he had his men waiting there as well?
After they entered the castle and took the huge elevator to the upper floor, Tina immediately signaled us from the other side of the forest to sprint towards the progressively closing gate of the castle.
About ten survivors were tasked with safeguarding the gate. When they saw us rushing towards them at tremendous speed, they didn't budge until their apparent leader shouted at them to close the gate faster.
Hyun Hee, who was running at the same pace as everyone else, instantly accelerated as the blue light emitted from her body, increasing her speed to a point where my eyes couldn't keep up. Just a few seconds later, she arrived in front of the gate. Two of the men in the front rushed to attack her, but she easily evaded their attempts and retaliated with a powerful punch that sent them flying.
It seemed like she was holding back her strength and only inflicted heavy injuries, not going for the kill.
The other eight men within the gate charged at us in the front yard of the castle. However, Geralt and Yuffie arrived just seconds later and took down each of the eight men one by one, rendering them unconscious.
They seemed hesitant to fight us, so we didn't take their lives. We knew they were forced to guard the gate by Scythe.
After that, my friend, Tina, and her friends arrived at the gate. Tina claimed she knew how to activate the elevator, so we allowed her to take charge of that task. As we entered the castle, we were greeted by chambers made of high-quality wood with paintings of various animals, as well as a replica of the dinosaur skeleton.
I couldn't help but wonder if the dinosaur skeleton would come to life and attack us.
Geralt seemed to have the same thought and approached the skeleton. He punched the bone structure, causing it to collapse to the ground.
I overheard him murmur after destroying the structure, "Hmm, so it can't move like the one I saw in the movie."
I shouted at him, "Well, fortunate for us. We need to conserve our strength after all."
Geralt approached me from behind at a brisk pace and spoke in a low voice, barely audible, "Einsamer, remember what I taught you about human psychology?"
I nodded solemnly.
He continued, "Be careful. Everyone can become your potential enemy, even me. Watch your back and don't place excessive trust in people." With that advice given, he walked ahead of me, concluding his brief but impactful lecture.
To be honest, I didn't trust Tina and her friends either. However, she was the only lead we had moving forward. I couldn't fathom why she would betray me, especially considering how she had aided us in battle and helped us take control of the castle and this hill.
It was better to show her that I was genuine and trusted her so she wouldn't turn her back on me in the future. I wanted to ensure she didn't feel like I took her kindness and cooperation for granted.
Meanwhile, Tina could be seen typing a code on the entrance of the huge elevator, which could hold up to fifty people at most.
The elevator descended, and the gate slid open, awaiting us for the real battle that lay ahead.