Death itself might not be so terrifying. The true fear lies in the inability to bid farewell properly.
"It hurts…"
Shino opened his eyes to a blood-red sky, rows of characters flashing before him.
[Welcome to the Death Game]
[Please check the specific rules automatically]
Shino’s breath caught as he beheld nearly a hundred pieces of information laid before him.
1: Players cannot disclose the existence of the Death Game, or they will be disqualified.
2: Players cannot question any rules within the game. Anything that exists is logical.
3: Anything obtained in the game belongs to the individual, but the Administrator has the right to reclaim any prize.
4: Invited players get their first game for free. After that, players need 200 gold coins as entrance fees to participate.
5: There is no punishment in the Death Game, but the total entrance fee is non-refundable.
6: The pattern on the palm of your hand shows your identity. It's also an invitation letter. You can invite your acquaintances to the game through contact with the palm of your hand.
7: The Death Game opens once a month (this rule has been discontinued).
8: The game's schedule has been changed to once every seven days.
9: The world where each game takes place is not fixed (this rule has been discontinued).
10: The world where the game takes place will conform to a certain set of rules. It will be the same world for a month, but it will be divided into different difficulties.
…
107: The Administrator holds the final right of interpretation of all rules.
Shino sat up, dazed. The hole in his stomach and the wounds on his body were all healed in a peculiar way.
"Death Game?"
Before he could ponder further, another message appeared.
[First time meeting, you can set a name for yourself or use your ID as your name.]
Name?
Shino felt overwhelmed. It seemed he had been drawn into a realm akin to the game worlds depicted in fantasy novels.
He looked down at his palm. The triangular circle pattern had lingered there for days, a mystery he had yet to unravel.
"This is the…"
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
With that thought, Shino lay back down.
Too tired…
Let’s rest for a bit.
He closed his eyes, and soon, his consciousness drifted into slumber.
In his dream, Shino found himself in a medieval kingdom embroiled in civil war.
A rebellious prince raised his blade, seeking to overthrow the old king.
This prince wielded ancient black magic, transforming himself and his army into vampires.
In the dream, Shino followed closely behind the prince, swinging his blade and slaughtering foes.
Intriguingly, the old king possessed knowledge of black magic as well. He cast a curse to prolong his own life.
Upon discovering this, the rebellious prince, intent on preventing the king's resurgence, shackled the old king and imprisoned him deep within an underground palace.
Having seized the throne, the prince waged war against the entire world, igniting a conflict that raged for a thousand years.
He nearly unified the continent.
Yet, ultimately, he failed. The thousand-year empire crumbled into dust, a mere relic of the past.
The usurping prince became known as the Blood Tyrant, Brax Rex, his body and soul torn asunder and imprisoned within a mysterious labyrinth.
Until, at last, a young boy stumbled upon the labyrinth and shattered the seal of the tyrant's soul jar.
...
After an unknown amount of time, Shino opened his eyes.
"…So it was a dream."
The prompt asking him to set a name for himself continued to flash before him.
Shino sat up and stretched his limbs. "I'll name myself Rex."
Once he confirmed the name, the prompt vanished.
Shino examined his palm, where an information interface materialized. It contained his personal details, ability evaluation, and points.
Points were the currency here; he understood that from the rules, but what was this ability evaluation?
"2nd Step: Excellent?"
Curious, Shino clicked on the detailed ranking and found there were seven total steps:
1st Step (Normal), 2nd Step (Excellent), 3rd Step (Elite), 4th Step (Epic), 5th Step (Legendary), 6th Step (Sanctuary), 7th Step (Mythical).
"How is this ranking system calculated? Because I'm a Vampire Duke, my strength is automatically Excellent?"
He slid his hand over, revealing a combat power leaderboard.
The top-ranked individual was named Ye Gong, also rated Excellent.
"Even the top one is only Excellent?"
Shino pondered. It seemed the strongest individuals here were all at the Vampire Duke level, which didn't appear to be that formidable…
"I wonder what level the royals are at."
As he contemplated this, figures materialized in the space around him.
He looked around. This was a vast circular platform, shrouded in darkness, with a large projection screen at its center.
A group had gathered in front of the screen, engaged in animated discussion.
Shino stepped forward and observed three diagrams displayed on the screen.
The first depicted countless bloodhounds licking their paws, searching for blood.
The second showcased a multitude of blood-red-eyed vampires.
The third portrayed three white-haired figures: one male, one female, and a young man with one red eye and one black eye standing in the center.
Beneath each diagram were several lines of text.
Under the first, it read "Recommended 1st Step." Under the second, "Recommended 2nd Step." Under the third, "Recommended 3rd Step."
[Monster List Number 008]
[Please decide on your difficulty level within 12 hours. Once the game begins, you can't join anymore.]
[Countdown to End: 46 Minutes Remaining.]
"The world is a little hard to figure out this time."
"It looks a bit like a vampire."
"Isn't this the monster that appeared recently in North America?"
"You mean, these monsters exist in the real world?"
"Who knows? I haven't seen it with my own eyes."
"Well, it’s a new world; should we try a tier two?"
"Don't. I care about my money."
"Yeah, let’s play it safe and go for tier one."
"I’ll see what Mihawk does. If he goes for tier one, I’ll go for tier two."
"What do you think Big Bro will choose?"
"He’ll definitely go for tier two."
Big Brother?
Shino turned to the group. "Um, who’s Big Bro?"
One of them pointed toward a man with five adrenaline syringes hanging from his waist. "That one; his name is Ye Gong. He’s the number one on the combat power leaderboard."
"Is this a newbie?"
"No, this guy…"
One of them looked at Shino as if he had seen a ghost.
"He's ranked third on the combat power leaderboard?"
"2nd Step combat power, third on the overall list. You’re telling me he’s a newbie?"
"Are you playing some international joke?!"