"When something extraordinary happens, expect it to happen."
"Whaaa!"
It was like I was inside of a single-person elevator and went from the 50th floor down to the ground floor with ten times the speed of an ordinary elevator on earth. I just held on to the glass walls while my other hand held my shaky knees down while the extreme ride continued. It is very dark because I am in an underground elevator. I screamed, and it echoed as I closed my eyes because of terror.
After about a minute, the elevator made of glass I was riding in stopped, its sliding door opened automatically. I came out shaking and numb with tension from the roller coaster ride. What an unexpected thing has come.
Each of us stepped on the circles found on the ground and this suddenly happened. I took a deep breath first to catch my breath and calm the beat of my heart. I was wondering where they went to—if they also encountered that ride. After taking back my senses, I walked. While walking, it is dim with only torches attached to the wall illuminating my path. The walls and floor are made of concrete. The hallway only fits one person at a time, so this place can be claustrophobic to some. Since I no longer knew which direction I was going, it was a good thing that this shallow corridor had one direction that I just had to follow. I have no idea where this path will bring me, but I have no choice.
I walked a long way, maybe about half a kilometer. When I reached the dead end, a wooden door appeared. I grabbed the handle to open it, and luckily it wasn't locked or broken. The door creaked, which meant it was old. When I opened it, I squinted my eyes because of the sun. Wait, we're supposed to be underground, but the sun shines?
I lowered my hand that I used to block the sun, and I was amazed at what I saw. I turned to my right, then I saw First who had just come out of the door. I turned to the left, and they were all there.
I looked up, and there was the sun. I smiled. There's a vast land. These are what I see now. We are currently approximately 150 meters deep in the pit we are at the bottom of it. It is a massive and deep hole where we're standing now. We were all brought here below and the only way to get back to the surface about 150 meters above, is by using the doors earlier and the glass elevator. We gathered, and I saw mixed expressions on them.
"Are you okay, Seventh?" I asked him. His hair is disheveled, and his knees were shaking as he walked towards us.
"Agh! That's so sick!" A sick ride that drove us to be sick people, literally because of the shivers we felt.
"T-Too scary," Fourth cried and hugged her brother, Fifth.
"Whooo! That was insane. I feel like my brain has been swept away!" Aeith's energy is unparalleled.
"So much fun! I'll go for another one!" Ninezen boasts and teases Seventh, who's still catching his breath.
"Guys! Is everyone okay?" Fifzen checked out on us. He and Sevenzen are running towards us.
Thirtwen replied, "We're good. But man, that's outrageous. I might have had a heart attack." That was not a good pun, Thirtwen. Don't say something like that and don't manifest it.
Some of the girls burst into tears from the shock on the roller coaster ride, so their corresponding partners checked their pairs. I'm still shaking when I think about it, but I'm doing better.
"Are you okay?" It's First. I could see in his eyes the concern and he even held my arm.
I nodded. "You?"
He smiled and sighed. "I'm glad you're okay. Me? It was a great ride, actually." And he even managed to grin a little.
So, he must be an adventurer to the point that he was able to say, 'great ride' instead of a 'death ride'.
"Did you enjoy that?"
"Once in a lifetime experience," he smiled. He patted my head and messed up my hair.
"D*mn that hole," Ninth murmured while having difficulty walking.
He was hurt when we played volleyball. There was a white towel around his right arm, and his dark brown slacks were half-lifted with a white towel around his left leg.
We all stopped walking after gathering together.
Third adjusted his eyeglasses up. "What now?" He mumbled in a calm tone.
***
LOCATION: Open landscape TIME: Morning
We are still here, standing, sitting on the dirty ground. Some are quiet, reserving their energy for the next game. Some are chattering to come up with various predictions and strategies for the upcoming game. But we're all getting nervous, irritated, bored. Fourth, Aeith, and I sat on the dry, grassy ground. Even when the sun is up, we don't sweat because the breeze is cold. Fourth and Aeith talked about their memories. It's a bit disrupted, but some are getting clear. Gradually, their memories came back. I am happy for them.
"Hey, there's a glow," Thirtwen pointed to the ground a little farther from where we are sitting.
We saw something like a mirror shining because of the sunlight. Suddenly the shiny object disappeared and became a hologram—Author. Everyone stood and approached where Author is.
"A pleasant greeting to everyone."
Surprisingly, the image of the hologram and Author's voice is crystal clear even in a bright and open space like this.
"Surely, you're already aware of what's happening right now."
"We don't know what we're doing here," Seventh philosophized.
"To make everything direct... Wealth Level: Stage 3 will begin!"
I gulped. Yes, I already know when Author warned us that at any time the game would start again, but I did not immediately expect that today, stage 3 would happen in this new setting.
"Eh, why here?" Sectwen asked as she frowned and brushed her long, light brown hair to keep it away from the wind that blows her hair.
Author did not speak immediately. To our surprise, it was immediately replaced by amazement, and my eyes widened. In this vast and quiet land where we stand, there are walls that rise from the ground. I don't know how, but that's what I see. It was as if a plant had grown in just twenty seconds. We didn't even feel a quake from the ground, but the sound of concrete rising from the ground is apparently.
"The categories will be land, air, and water. First, you will be having category 1, the land category. As you can see, there is an extraordinary labyrinth."
So, these walls coming from the ground that grew out are labyrinth?
"18 players, 2 teams, 9 members each team. The game will be the same as the gold team vs. the silver team. "
Yes, a maze was formed by walls that rose from the ground. A question that I also answered. The walls are approximately 5 meters high. There are moss and overgrown plants.