「2 Days Later...」
'It's as Zach said...' Nico commented as he looked into the distance as he stood on top of a building.
A bright red holographic screen, spanning at a height of 200 feet and a width of 200 feet blarred a huge message for all to see.
Right in the South of Pyrros, a new event had begun.
There were 4 events in one month to signify the different directions of the city.
This was the fourth and final event.
「-GAME EVENT-
- JOIN NOW FOR GREAT REWARDS!
16/18 Players」
No requirements, no instructions, not even a penalty. Not yet, anyway.
Once a player walked into this, they couldn't leave. And, Nico had been preparing for this moment for a while.
He travelled using the rooftops of the abandoned buildings, using parkour to reduce his travel time.
This would also serve as additional training for nimble footwork.
In a few minutes, he dropped right next to the system's holographic border; a thin red line barely visible to those who were standing 6 feet away.
Nico stepped through the border, causing the system to chime and the 16 players to look in his direction.
「17/18 Players」
As he walked in, he saw a familiar face staring right at him.
Red eyes, long black hair and a soft face that now had a single black eye.
"Hey, you're that player from before..." Lindsey gasped, walking towards Nico.
He had intended to ignore her. But, now that she approached him first, he might as well gather some information.
"What are you doing here? Uh..."
"Lindsey...!" Lindsey stammered. "And um... I'm here because my time limit's almost up..."
"I see. Where's your friend?" Nico inquired.
Lindsey shut her mouth. "Not here..."
That was all that Nico needed to hear. "I see. See ya," he said as he began walking away.
"Wait...!" Lindsey called out, her eyes tearing up as she grabbed his sleeve.
Nico sighed and turned to face her.
"Hey now, Lindsey," a man barked with his brows furrowed.
His hair was extremely short and black in colour, while his entire outfit was nothing but rain boots and a navy poncho.
Two others followed behind him, one with brown hair, the other with red hair, and crossed their arms.
"Don't go talking to strangers. Get your ass back here," he demanded in a low tone.
Lindsey ran behind Nico and hid herself, her hands trembling, her eyes watering, and her palms sweating.
Nico glanced at her, then took a look at the 3 men wearing ponchos.
"Are you with them?" he queried.
"No, I'm not..." Lindsey responded sharply, her voice close to breaking.
Nico lowered his eyebrows. "You heard her. Come any closer, and I won't hesitate to fight you, or worse."
The man with the short hair clicked his tongue in distaste. "White hair, crimson red eyes... You're the Blood Fiend, aren't you?"
Nico raised an eyebrow.
"You're a strong rookie killer, I'll give you that. But, don't get cocky. Once this event's over, we're taking Lindsey back to Genesis. Got that?"
Nico clenched his fists and glared at the men. "I said..." he warned, his body moving towards their apparent leader, "Leave. Her. Alone."
His words were as clear as day. The leader and Nico had a stare-down.
Nico was slightly shorter than the man, so as he slightly raised his line of sight to meet the man's gaze, he felt exasperated.
Who was he to look down on him?
「18/18 Players」
「-EVENT 4/4 WILL NOW BEGIN. PLEASE STEP INSIDE THE BUILDING」
The blaring noise of the system paused the standoff.
The leader scoffed and began filing into the building, his goons following behind him.
Soon after, the other players walked inside the 3 storey building.
"Thank you..." Lindsey said with a soft but weak smile.
Nico ignored her and walked inside. "I didn't do it for free. You'll pay me back in due time. If you live that is."
***
The players emerged from the other side of the building.
The reception was cleared with no staircase leading to the higher floors.
The walls were painted pitch black with a few lights dangling off the ceiling, some of them even flickering on and off.
The room had no particular smell, just a faint hint of old paint and water-soaked walls.
In the middle of the room, 18 black beads were placed on top of a round table.
The players approached the table with a tablet displaying a message:
「Please take 1 set of beads and wear them」
The players did as they were instructed, the beads glowing faintly before completely dimming.
Additionally, they couldn't be removed until the game ended. Some tried prying them off, but they wouldn't budge.
「—GAME EVENT: TAG—
◇ DIFFICULTY: D-Rank
◇ CATEGORY: Team Play
- The players will divide themselves into two teams of 9. Your task will be to tag the opposing team with your beads.
Mana has been traced inside the beads. If the beads touch, they will glow faintly and turn white.
The taggers' beads will be white and the runners' beads will remain black. Once tagged, your beads will turn white and you will join the other team.
Players are not allowed to kill each other, use weapons against each other, or remove their beads.
There will be 2 rounds, each one with a time limit of 5 minutes. The team with the most amount of taggers will win and reap the benefits.
The losers will receive heaven's judgment 」
「Game begins in 5 minutes」
'A simple game of tag? I highly doubt it,' Nico mused as he rubbed his chin.
'You can't pull out the beads. If you do, something bad is bound to happen. Also, this game needs two types of people...'
Firstly, a player who will be strong enough to defend themselves.
The system mentioned how killing was forbidden, but it didn't say that the players couldn't fight.
This meant that strong players would fight it out or knock out their opponents.
Then secondly, a player with enough endurance to outrun their tagger or catch their runner.
These players aren't the most reliable, but they could play the long game.
Higher endurance meant more running time and quicker fatigue recovery.
Nico turned to Lindsey. "Be honest. Would you say you're a fast or strong player?"
Lindsey furrowed her brows. "I want to say I'm strong. But... that'd be a massive lie."
"Very well. Come with me."
Nico and Lindsey walked towards the leader, whose name was Ace, and spoke to him.
"It's clear that you're going to be the leader of your team," Nico began.
"And?" Ace retorted.
"I plan on being the leader as well for my team. So, I want the strongest players here."
Ace chuckled. "You're insane. I like that. Why don't you and Lindsey join us instead? We could take down those weaklings easily," he said as he pointed at a group of frail looking players.
"Nah, I'ma do my own thing. Now, are you going to give me the strongest players, or should I take them from you?"
Ace cracked his knuckles. "If you won't join us, then fuck off. I've already got the elite on my side anyway."
The stronger looking players stood next to Ace and his goons, each one of them chuckling as they looked at Nico.
"You're going to regret this," Nico cautioned as he approached the remaining 7 players.
「3 minutes remaining...」
He stood in front of them and inspected everyone. He then pointed to a young woman with short blonde hair.
"You."
"Yes?!" she responded, her voice high-pitched as she was spooked.
'She must know me as this Blood Fiend as well...' Nico wondered.
"Would you say that you're stronger than you are faster?"
"I-I'm definitely faster..."
Nico asked the other 5 players.
In total, 5 could run for long periods while the remaining 4, including him, could fight for longer periods.
'Then, I guess we'll go with plan B.'
"Alright, listen up, this is the plan... We're going to utilize your speed by playing the long game..."
After explaining the whole plan and making sure that everyone understood, Nico and his team of the weakest players waited patiently for the game to begin.
But, their strategy relied heavily on them being the first players to act as taggers.
「TAG...」
「YOU'RE IT, TEAM AC3」
Ace and his team smirked as they cheered and shouted.
"You're going down," he slit his throat with his thumb and stuck his tongue out.
'Shit... This was the worst-case scenario...'
「Please make your way towards the designated GAME ZONE」