Chapter 2 –
The World Veleria
The Game Master further announced, "We know you all are confused.
Where are you? Whose body are you in?
Why are you holding this card?
All your questions will be answered. But before that, I will announce something:
The cards you are holding—don't reveal them to anyone.
Every night, you all will be teleported into these Games where you will play for eternity.
There are many ways to end these Games.
You all will now be teleported to your homes—where the bodies you are in used to live.
From now on, you will live there.
All their memories and everything about these Games—you will gain it all.
So now, without further ado...
Be gone."
After that, everyone was teleported to their house and had memories of the person they were living as. They knew everything about this world—and the Games.
---
Apparently, my name is Cid Kurosaki. My age is 21 years old. I have a younger sister that lives with me. My father is a factory worker, and my mother is long dead.
This world is in the industrial era, and this world is called Velaria.
Now, the Games.
The Games take place every 100 years.
The Game Master has been conducting these Games since the beginning.
The first Game started 1,500 years ago, and ever since, there has been no record of the Joker appearing in these Games.
Each card has different, unique abilities.
The Ace has one ability. It can be the strongest ability—or the weakest.
The number of abilities increases with the number of your card.
The three unique cards—the King, the Queen, and the Jack—all have multiple abilities depending upon their card status.
Also, every card has another unique ability—to create their own game within the Game. It's like a barrier, where they make their own rules. If the opponent wins that game, you lose in the Game, and they move forward.
I am the Joker 🃏.
How does this card work?
Well... let's just say you'll have to wait and find out.
There are also other cards—like Diamonds, Spades, and Hearts.
Each suit has 13 players representing its cards.
Here's the interesting part:
Each of these suits will have different types of games.
Spades: Games that require intellect and strategies.
Diamonds: Represent absolute strength.
Hearts: Games of feelings and betrayal.
Clovers (Clubs): Represent power and betrayal.
Their abilities will be different from ours.
Now comes the question—how to win the Games?
There are multiple ways:
1. One way is to kill everyone else. You alone will win.
2. You can challenge all the players in the games you create—and win.
3. You can find the identity of your opponent's card and destroy their card to win.
There are more ways as well. But one thing is for certain:
> The Games will not end until you do at least one of these things.
The Games will go on endlessly until you all—or just one—wins.
Why were the Games created?
No one knows.
Except the Game Master.
---
It's 5 PM. Evening.
My sister isn't home yet.
The Games will begin at 12 AM, so we have 7 hours until the first Game begins.
I'll just wait for my sister to come.
Then I'll go out and see this world—and try to find a way to get back to my life.
While waiting for my sister to return home from her university, I looked outside through our house window.
The houses were old. Some had holes in their ceilings.
Smoke rose from chimneys, making it clear we lived in a lower-class society.
The streets were muddy. Roads broken.
The sky was black from industrial smoke.
Thugs were troubling people, stealing from locals.
This world was even worse than ours.
The government is full of corrupt people, living off the hard-earned money of the poor.
Inflation is very high in this world.
Even though everyone has special abilities, the people of this society don't take a stand for themselves.
Most people living in this neighborhood have very weak abilities compared to others.
---
My sister, Emilia Kurosaki, age 19, came back at 6 PM and told me she forgot to buy groceries on her way back.
She asked me to go to the store and buy them.
I went to the store with some coins.
Apparently, the currency is called Vel, and since we are very poor, we need to take care of our finances efficiently with the little money we earn.
On my way to the store, I got pushed into an alley by a few thugs.
At that moment, I remembered—I was stabbed in my previous life by a bunch of low-class thugs like them.
But this time…
> I will not get stabbed.
I will not let them steal anything.
One thug pulled a gun.
I pushed it away, punched the second thug in the face.
The third tried to shoot—I dodged and kicked his gun away.
I grabbed the first thug's hand, twisted it behind his back, and used him as a human shield.
The second thug shot—accidentally hitting his ally.
I took the chance, picked up his gun, and shot him in the stomach.
The third thug picked up his gun and pointed it at me—
But I was already pointing my gun at him.
> "I'll give you a choice. Walk away."
He hesitated.
Then, after seeing his allies on the ground…
He ran away.
Locals around me started clapping and cheering.
Some said, "It's about time someone stood up to those thugs."
I took the groceries from the store and went home.
My sister cooked food. We ate.
After that, I rested for a while.
It was already 10 PM, with only 2 hours before the Games.
---
Exactly at 12 AM, I was teleported into the Games.
Upon arrival, I heard the Game Master say:
> "Now, as you all know everything about this world and the Games…
Let me tell you the reward.
The winner of these Games shall receive the Cosmic Cup—
An artifact that can grant any wish.
And to make things more interesting...
There is someone special among you.
Someone who came for the first time in these Games.
Yes, I am talking about you—
The Joker.
Let's see what you're capable of, Joker."