CHAPTER 2: Level 1: Land Game

The silence stretched, a tense glance was exchanged, and the time went by, but no one confidently stepped near the drawer.

Everyone was frozen in fear, a knot tightening in their stomach. Just exchanged glances in doubt and silently signaled each other to take the card.

After a brief silence, in a crowd, a young girl with red dyed hair, rolled her eyes watching a coward mindset stepped forward "Hello.... Losers," she murmured, her movement were sly and confidently glancing back at the crowd before, took a card, flipped her hair back, and casually took a first card from the drawer.

Everyone one eyes are on her hand and eagerly waiting for the next moment.

She turned back, arched her brows to dare. "Oops... Oh, I am dead." A proud smirk appeared on her lips, and she laughed mockingly. " Now, it's your turn," she challenged confidently, watching a blonde-haired woman kissing the card sarcastically and sauntering back to the crowd like a queen.

"Nothing happened," the crowd murmured in agreement; a relief ran over their happy words and steps forward, and they took the cards.

"You crazy bitch" the blonde-haired with pony styled woman whispered as her jaw tighten, noticing a sudden attention over red-dyed woman.

Then, one by one, all begin to pick up their cards and return to their place, staring at them curiously.

"Why are these cards black, with small white dots scattered across them like stars in the night sky. " A girl with short brown hair murmured, her brow furrowed in question, as she flipped back and front.

Nearby man volunteer interrupted, "Hey…. I'm Josh," a man said wearing a crisp white shirt, raising his hand slightly as he walked towards her.

Her gaze shifted towards Josh, eyes narrowed in doubt, checking behind her. "Me? Are you talking to me?" she asked him, pointing at herself.

He nodded his head up and down in agreement. "Yep."

"You need any help?" A girl asked, watching his confused face and his trembling hand. He seems scared.... she thought. "Oh! Okay... myself, Kendell." She introduced herself with a gentle smile to reduce the tense moment as she extended her hand casually towards him.

"I was completely blank…." Josh started to clarify his doubt, but someone with a loud, energetic voice interrupted their conversation behind them.

"What is this?" one person mutters, flipping their card back and forth.

"I have watched in movies. Maybe... It's an entry card?" The red-haired girl with bobbed styled interjected with a cool smirk on her face.

"You have a strong induction and guts..." a black shirt with a crew cut, teasing her back with loud laughter with clapping his hands.

"Entry card? " Kendell inquired with some hesitation in her voice, but her gaze was fixed on the black card in her hand. "I've never seen anything like this."

"Oh! another couple here," another man with towering height murmured as they stood near the Kendell.

"Stop the nonsense!!!!" a girl warned as a wide smile appeared on her lips. "I am Alice," she introduced herself with a calm voice and making herself comfortable, noticing Henry's cringeworthy jokes.

"Hi...." Kendall replied with a real, genuine smile.

"This is Henry, Zade, Kim Hyun-Joong, Ryan, Danny, and Anna," Alice pointed out their friends, gesturing to each in turn.

"Nice to meet you all…" Kendell and Josh welcomed them back with a gentle smile.

"Give it to me... You fucking old ass!" a younger man, tall with Fade styled cutting, a Scorpio tattoo and tough loud harsh voice interrupted the Chaotic conversation.

The young man stood over an old man slumped against a tree, his voice cut through the stillness like a blade. "Hand it over! I know you had that!"

The old man's wrinkled, dark, spotted hands trembled in fear of the young man's threat as he clutched a small lighter close to his chest. "No... It's all I have," he murmured, his voice weak and low, struggling to breathe, his eyes wide in lack of oxygen.

"You think I care?" the younger man barked as split his saliva on the ground. He is grabbing the old man's collar and yanking him forward with his one hand of power. "I need it. Now!"

He wrenched the lighter from the old man's grip, shoving him back against the tree.

The old man let out a pained gasp in pain, a tear welled up, and he watched his blood on his strained hand and marks the tears mingled within a wound, and he weakly resisted the pain of wounds.

The younger man flicked the lighter, watching the small flame dance in the dark forest. A smug grin appeared across his face. "If you had done this earlier, none of this would've happened." He loosened his grip. Watching the old man's blood stain on his hand, with a disgusted look, he shook his hand "Shit! I'm so sick of old people like you… useless shit!" he roared, his voice echoed throughout the entire place, and he left the old man abandoned without any apologies, no regret on his face.

Nearby, Danny and the group watched the entire scene, their anger boiling to the surface. Henry clenched his fists hard, and his jaw tightened as he stepped forward to teach him a lesson. "This jerk needs to be stopped," he roared, taking another step to deal with him.

"He just beat up an old man for a lighter! He deserves a punch in the face." Zade murmured behind him and stepped forward from his place.

"Don't," Kendell whispered, pulling Henry's hand to stop. Her eyes were wide with caution. "He's already acting like a Psycho. We have no idea what's going on here. We need to figure out first," she explained the current situation. "We can deal with him later, once we get out of here."

Henry nodded in agreement, but his gaze was still fixed on his movements.

Suddenly, an AI voice crackled back to life, startling everyone. "Welcome to the Earth Sign Game, gamers. "AI paused for a second. "Now, registration has closed. Thank you for your cooperation," the voice shouted as it went blank.

All people froze in confusion from where the voice came from, and murmurs spread over them, their eyes darting around the dark forest and shifting to all directions. The voice was calm, almost playful, yet carried an unsettling edge.

"Your task will begin in 12 hours. Gamers, you may now scratch your cards. Rules: do not exchange your cards." The voice announced, the statement was clear and determined.

"I think we are in the future, we must be time travelers...." Kendell murmured about the scenario in a teasing way. 

"Stop the creep..." Alice said casually, holding her card and glancing at everyone's expression.

"Scratch... What the hell…" Ryan whispered, staring at his card and flipping back. "I am tired of this shit!!!!" he leaned against the tree comfortably closing his eyes.

"I have no idea what's really happening here," Anna doubted, her eyes fixed on Henry's face in campfire light.

Danny grabbed Ryan's card from his hand, holding it up to the light of the fire. "Scratch the card? What does that even mean?" he whispered, his voice low and thoughtful. 

"Just scratch.... We are not gonna die!" Alice inquired her voice a calm and cool. Her red painted nail started scratching the card surface gently.

Nearby, Henry's eyes narrowed in doubt. "Symbol of Water," he declared, his voice low and watching Alice, then looking at his card.

Watching his symbol on his card piqued their curiosity. One by one, the group eagerly scratched at the surface of their cards quickly, and they showed their card in the beam of fire. It reflected the air, water, land, sky, and fire symbols.

They exchanged confused glances. "What does it mean?" Anna queried

"Symbols?" Zade wondered as he flipped his card and noticed the other group's reactions nearby him.

Even though the tension didn't settle and the card discussion, suddenly, a faint hiss filled the air, and a white fog covered the entire place, slowly spreading to every single corner.

 "What's that sound?" Kendall asked, her voice trembling as she glanced nervously at the people around her. Everyone is coughing, hardly breathing, and falling over the mud in unconsciousness.

Zade's eyes narrowed as he realized first. This must be gas to sleep. "Gas!" he shouted, leaping to his feet. "Cover your mouth...." Before he could finish, a dizzying wave washed over him. His legs gave out beneath him, his vision tunneling, and a strange scent filled his lungs, and he started to cough.

 Around the fire, the group began collapsing one by one, their movements sluggish and uncoordinated. 

"It's… anesthesia," Kim Hyun Joong mumbled, his voice slurred while coughing, as his vision blurred beyond recognition of everything in front of him. The forest spun, the firelight fading into absolute darkness.

----

Danny's hazel eyes fluttered slowly, opening to sunlight directly hitting his face. His gaze widened in confusion as it landed on a bunch of people sleeping uncomfortably on the desert sand. "Where the hell are we now?" he wondered. "I thought it was a dream?"

Around him, 49 other people were stirring, some groaning as they woke, others blinking their eyes in warm sunlight that hit directly towards them, and the same confusion etched on their faces. They were in the middle of a vast, arid desert. Every side stretched endlessly in all directions, broken only by a faint shimmer of heat waves rising from the golden sands. 

"Where's the tall trees gone?" the young innocent man whispered, rotating and looking at the distant horizon. 

"Not again...." a huge-sized, muscular, towering man murmured, his voice deep and scary.

"I need to go home…." A woman screamed, walking on sand, when a heat wave hit her pale skin.

"I am thirsty...." an old man whispered, watching the others.

Before the confusion fully takes over them, with a sharp resonant sound, the 3D animated letters are displayed on a hologram display in front of them. "Welcome to Level 1, gamers. Easy level." The AI voice announced, a voice with no emotion.