"When something extraordinary happens, expect it to happen."
"Whaaa!"
It was like she was inside 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. Second just held on to the glass walls while her other hand grasped her shaky knees, as the extreme ride continued. It is very dark because she is in an underground elevator. She screamed, and it echoed as she closed her eyes because of terror.
After about a minute, the elevator made of glass she was riding in stopped, its sliding door opened automatically. She came out shaking and numb with tension from the roller coaster ride. What an unexpected thing has come.
Each of them stepped on the circles found on the ground, and this suddenly happened. She took a deep breath first to catch her breath and calm the beat of her heart. She was wondering where they went to—if they also encountered that ride. After taking back her senses, she walked. While walking, it is dim with only torches attached to the wall illuminating her 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 she no longer knew which direction she was going, it was a good thing that this shallow corridor had one direction that she just had to follow. She has no idea where this path will bring her, but she has no choice.
Second walked a long way, maybe about half a kilometer. When she reached the dead end, a wooden door appeared. She grasped the handle to open it, and luckily, it wasn't locked or broken. The door creaked, which meant it was old. When she opened it, she squinted her eyes because of the sun. Wait, they're supposed to be underground, but the sun shines?
She lowered her hand that she used to block the sun, and she was amazed at what she saw. She turned to her right, then she saw First, who had just come out of the door. She turned to the left, and they were all there.
She looked up, and there was the sun. She beamed. There's a vast land. These are what she sees now. They are currently approximately 150 meters deep in the pit they are at the bottom of it. It is a massive and deep hole where they're standing now. They 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. They gathered, and she saw mixed expressions on their faces.
"Are you okay, Seventh?" She checked him. His hair is disheveled, and his knees were shaking as he walked towards them.
"Agh! That's so sick!" A sick ride that drove them to be sick people, literally, because of the shivers they 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 them. He and Sevenzen are running towards them.
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. She's still shaking when she thinks about it, but she's doing better.
"Are you okay?" It's First.
She could see in his eyes the concern, and he even held her arm.
She 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 her head and messed up her hair.
"D*mn that hole," Ninth murmured while having difficulty walking.
He was hurt when they 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.
They all stopped walking after gathering together.
Third adjusted his eyeglasses up. "What now?" He mumbled in a calm tone.
***
LOCATION: Open landscape TIME: Morning
They 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 they're all anxious, irritated, bored. Fourth, Aeith, and she sat on the dry, grassy ground. Even when the sun is up, they 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. She is happy for them.
"Hey, there's a glow," Thirtwen pointed to the ground a little farther from where they are sitting.
They 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!"
She gulped. Yes, she already knew when Author warned them that at any time the game would start again, but she did not expect immediately 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 right away. To their surprise, it was instantly replaced by amazement, and her eyes widened. In this vast and quiet land where they stand, there are walls that rise from the ground. She doesn't know how, but that's what she sees. It was as if a plant had grown in just twenty seconds. They 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 a 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 she also answered. The walls are approximately 5 meters high. There are moss and overgrown plants.