Then, one by one, everyone begins to pick up their cards, staring at them curiously.
"Why are these cards black, with small white dots scattered across them like stars in the night sky. " A girl with short brown hair murmured, her brow furrowed in question.
Nearby, "Hey…. I'm Josh," a man said with a crisp white shirt, raising his hand slightly as he walked towards her.
Her eye furrowed in confusion, checking her behind. "Me? Are you talking to me?" she asked, pointing at herself.
He nodded his head. "Yep."
"Oh! I am Kendell." She said as she extended her hand towards him.
"I was…." Josh started, but someone with a loud voice interrupted their conversation behind them.
"What is this?" one person mutters, flipping their card back and forth.
"I have watched in movies. Maybe... It's an entry card?" The red-haired girl with bobbed styled interjected with a cool smirk on her face.
"Entry card? " Kendell has hesitation in her voice, but her gaze is fixed on the black card in her hand. "I've never seen anything like this."
"I am Alice," she introduced herself with a calm, almost cool manner.
"This is Henry, Zade, Kim Hyun-Joong, Ryan, Danny, and Anna," Alice pointed out their friends, gesturing to each in turn.
"Nice to meet you all…" Kendell and Josh welcomed with a gentle smile.
"Give it to me... You fucking old ass!" a younger man, tall with Fade styled cutting, a Scorpio tattoo and tough loud harsh voice interrupted the Chaotic conversation.
The young man stood over an old man slumped against a tree, his voice cut through the stillness like a blade. "Hand it over! I know you had that!"
The old man's hands trembled in fear as he clutched a small lighter close to his chest. "No... It's all I have," he murmured, his voice weak and low, struggling to breathe, his eyes wide with fear.
"You think I care?" the younger man barked, grabbing the old man's collar and yanking him forward with his one hand of power. "I need it. Now!"
He wrenched the lighter from the old man's grip, shoving him back against the tree.
The old man let out a pained gasp, too weak to resist, and watched his blood on his strained hand.
The younger man flicked the lighter, watching the small flame dance. A smug grin appeared across his face. "If you had done this earlier, none of this would've happened." He loosened his grip. Watching the old man's blood stain on his hand, with a disgusted look, he shook his hand and roared. "Shit! I'm so sick of old people like you… useless shit!"
Nearby, Danny and the group watched every scene, their anger boiling to the surface. Henry clenched his fists hard, and his jaw tightened. "This jerk needs to be stopped," he muttered, taking his step forward. "He just beat up an old man for a lighter! He deserves a punch in the face."
"Don't," Kendell whispered, pulling Henry's hand. Her eyes were wide with caution. "He's already acting like a Psycho. We have no idea what's going on here. We need to figure out," she stopped him. "We can deal with him later."
Suddenly, an AI voice crackled back to life, startling everyone. "Welcome to the Earth Sign Game, gamers. Registration Closed."
All people froze, their eyes darting around the dark forest and shifting to all directions. The voice was calm, almost playful, yet carried an unsettling edge.
"Your task will begin in 12 hours. Gamers, you may now scratch your cards. Rules: do not exchange your cards." The voice announced.
"What the hell…" Ryan whispered, staring at his card and flipping back.
"I have no idea what's really happening here," Anna doubted, her eyes fixed on Henry's face in firelight.
Danny grabbed Ryan's card, holding it up to the light of the fire. "Scratch the card? What does that even mean?"
"Just scratch...." Alice murmured, her voice calm. Her red painted nail started scratching the card surface.
Henry's eyes narrowed in doubt. "Symbol of Water," he declared, his voice low and watching Alice, then looking at his card.
Watching his symbol curiosity piqued them. One by one, the group scratched at the surface of their cards, and they showed their card in the beam of fire. It reflected the air, water, land, sky, and fire symbols.
They exchanged confused glances. "What does it mean?" Anna queried
"Symbols?" Zade wondered as he flipped his card and noticed the other group's reactions.
Then, suddenly, a faint hiss filled the air, and a fog covered the place.
"What's that sound?" Kendall asked, her voice trembling as she glanced nervously at the people around her. Everyone is coughing hardly to breathing.
Zade's eyes narrowed as he realized first. "Gas!" he shouted, leaping to his feet. "Cover your—"
Before he could finish, a dizzying wave washed over him. His legs gave out beneath him, his vision tunneling, and a strange scent filled his lungs, and he started to cough.
Around the fire, the group began collapsing one by one, their movements sluggish and uncoordinated.
"It's….. anesthesia," Kim Hyun Joong mumbled closing his mouth with his hand, his voice slurred while coughing, as his vision blurred beyond recognition. The forest spun, the firelight fading into absolute darkness.
Danny's hazel eyes fluttered slowly, opening to sunlight directly hitting his face. His gaze widened in confusion as it landed on a bunch of people sleeping uncomfortably on the desert sand. "Where the hell are we now?" he wondered.
Around him, 49 other people were stirring, some groaning as they woke, others blinking their eyes in warm sunlight that hit directly towards them. They were in the middle of a vast, arid desert. Every side stretched endlessly in all directions, broken only by a faint shimmer of heat waves rising from the golden sands.
"Where's the tall trees gone?" the young innocent man whispered, rotating and looking at the distant horizon.
"I need to go home…." A woman screamed, walking on sand.
Before the confusion fully takes over them, with a sharp resonant sound, the 3D animated letters are displayed on a hologram display in front of them. "Welcome to Level 1, gamers." The AI voice announced.
A man raised his brows in confusion. "Level 1? "he muttered, his voice incredulous.
"Huh? Gamers," the short girl questioned, glancing at the remaining crowd.
"I thought it was a dream." A tattooed girl pondered
An old man with a bloodied lip and bruises on his face stood up, dusting sand off his torn clothes. He stood after hearing the noise.
Again, a familiar AI voice rang out, calm and mechanical, breaking the uneasy silence. "Welcome to the Land Game." The group froze, the voice cutting through the desert air like a knife.
Everyone listened and followed the AI voice with sort of confusion.
AI continued. "You are in the Land Arena Game. Your target is to reach the endpoint of this desert circle.
Rules:
- Gamers can start wherever they want.
- Each person is provided with one bottle of water.
- The desert is 1 kilometer wide. Gamers must reach the end within one hour.
Your game starts in two minutes.
If Gamers reach the end endpoint, the Game is clear. " The voice announced, then a digital timer displaying "60:00" appeared, floating in the clear blue sky.