Where am I? Don't tell me I was actually kidnapped? Kai grunted, his right hand holding his head as he tried to overcome the nauseating feeling he was experiencing. After a few seconds, he opened his eyes, feeling a bit better, only to be met with darkness.
I was really kidnapped? But it happened so fast. It's rather unbelievable. Could it be I was being watched in my own home all this time? He wondered, but found it hard to believe when his parents' house was heavily guarded.
I am either dealing with a professional killer or… the supernatural. He came to this conclusion while looking around the dark area.
When it came to the supernatural, he wasn't fully certain it existed: werewolves, vampires, zombies—he didn't believe in any of that. However, the fact that his older brother's spirit lived within his subconscious made it hard not to believe in the supernatural.
Speaking of which, he's being oddly quiet, Kai noted as a screen lit up in front of him.
"The hell…" Kai murmured, doubt creeping into his voice.
The reason for his doubt wasn't the screen in front of him, but the person standing there. With the light coming off the screen, he was able to make out a figure with spiky black hair and deep red eyes, similar to roses.
His figure mirrored Kai's: tall, with long limbs and an athletic build that leaned toward the muscular side. His face was average at best, but there was an extremely wild look on it, his eyes brimming with a dangerous, brave, and reckless glint.
"Who are you?" Kai asked, though he already had the answer in his heart.
"Heh, little bro!" The figure's voice sounded exactly like the obnoxious voice in his head.
"Woah, so I ain't dreaming. I actually have a body, a body of my own!"
"Hahahaha!" The laughter echoed in the darkness, exactly as Kai hears every day.
"How is this possible?" Kai whispered again, disbelief in his tone.
<25/52 Players have been found>
"That doesn't matter right now. Aren't you supposed to be a cool-headed guy?" Ryker exclaimed while flexing his muscles. "As impossible as this seems, what's important right now is the screen in front of us."
Kai looked at his older brother and nodded. "To think the voice of reasoning would one day be you," he stated flatly.
"Are you mocking me, little bro? Because with that tone, it won't work!" Ryker laughed, fingers flying across the screen.
Ryker Flemings | Blitz Infinity
Traits: Hotheaded, bloodthirsty, extroverted, scoundrel, crazy
Handler: None
Suit: None
Unique Ability: Martial Dominator, Chained Twins
"Heh, this thing thinks I am crazy," Ryker chuckled.
Kai, seeing how quickly Ryker adapted, typed a name as well.
Kai Flemings | ZenZero
Traits: Coolheaded, coldhearted, introverted, tactless, extremely insane
Handler: None
Suit: None
Unique Ability: Parallel Madness, Chained Twins
"Hahaha! So even this thing also thinks your madness knows no bounds!" Ryker bellowed, tears escaping his eyes from laughing so hard.
"Pipe down," Kai demanded, annoyance flickering across his face.
"Sorry—sorry. That was just too funny," Ryker said, returning to browse his profile.
<37/52 Players have been found>
"Let's see…" Ryker muttered, ignoring the message. "Martial Dominator improves my battle instincts to the peak. While fighting others with martial arts, I will easily dominate them?"
"Seems just about right. What about your Unique Ability, little bro?" Ryker asked, eyes shining with interest.
"You're adapting to our situation way too quickly," Kai replied, looking through his profile.
"I mean, we did already prepare for the worst-case scenario, where it's probably like Squid Games," Ryker yawned, raising his hands lazily behind his head.
"Weren't you the one who said we would win this game and win a hundred thousand times the reward?"
"So let's win this game, get that money, and retire! Let's shove that reward money back in Mom and Dad's face when we win!"
Seeing his older brother's excitement grow, Kai simply nodded. "You're right. Let's get this over with quickly and show them we don't need them."
He also added, "It looks like my unique ability allows me to process things twice as fast."
"Well, that's boring, but I guess it suits you," Ryker said. "With your ability and mine, won't we be just like Pinky and the Brain?"
"The brains and the idiot with nothing but his strength. I guess we'll truly be unstoppable," Kai replied.
"You really need to work on your jokes, little bro," Ryker sighed at his pitiful attempt.
<43/52 Players have been found>
"Man, this queuing is slower than LoL matchmaking," Ryker muttered. "I'm starting to get bored here. Is this how you feel every day?"
"The profile screen won't even let me view the Chained Twin ability," Kai noted.
"It's good that it's slow. We need to understand what's going on."
"Didn't we already agree that we were kidnapped?" Ryker asked.
"Yes, but how? We blacked out and then appeared here when we woke up."
"Your point?"
"It means we're dealing with the supernatural, and this 'game' we're about to enter might have others with supernatural abilities," Kai explained.
"Okay, so we'll just beat them up."
"Even if they go Super Saiyan on us?" Kai asked, face serious.
"Woah! Now that's a good joke!" Ryker laughed, still relaxed, clapping at Kai in approval.
Sighing, Kai muttered, "You're truly an idiot. As always, you leave all the trouble for me to solve."
"Heh, I am your older brother after all!"
"As the older brother, you fail in every aspect," Kai shook his head, sitting down to process everything.
"Another good joke!" Ryker teased.
"That wasn't a joke, you idiot," Kai muttered before closing his eyes.
This is supposed to be a bloody game, which means there's a high chance of death. Since Ryker has a body here, it's also possible this is just a highly advanced VR game. The game probably created a body for him when it detected his consciousness.
The other option is that this is truly a supernatural occurrence masquerading as a bloody game.
Also, the player count… 52… the question before I blacked out…
Kai processed all of that in seconds. He always had a brain that absorbed information easily and stored it for later use, but with this unique ability, his thought process was improved—accelerated further even.
The first sentence on the screen, The Pack Games, suggested this was a supernatural game that used cards as its basis. The fact that the question disagreed that Spades was superior meant some players hated anything to do with Spades, possibly the creators of the game.
It can't be a VR game, since I can clearly sense his improvement in my thinking.
"You know I can still hear what you're saying, right? Man, it's even worse than before."
"You're making me dizzy," Ryker remarked, rolling his head.
Is this the Chained Twin ability?
"Hey! Just talk, whatever you say, I can hear you."
This idiot is disturbing me.
"And you're making my head feel worse!"
"Welcome to how I felt for 17 years." Kai snapped his eyes open.
"Hah, very funny little bro," Ryker laughed, though his face didn't show amusement.
"That wasn't a joke," Kai replied.
<51/52 Players have been found>
<52/52 Players have been found>
"Finally, let's see what this stupid game is all about," Ryker muttered, stretching his limbs, face revealing pure excitement.
Kai couldn't hide his anticipation either.