Chapter 571: The Second Game

The giants didn't return to the garden. Instead, they stormed back inside the house.

For the past fifteen minutes, Thalion had been sitting hidden among the tall grass, recovering while watching the giants go full murderhobo inside the building, which now resembled a giant bouncy castle. With time steadily running out, the giants grew increasingly frustrated. Judging by the deafening crashes and the glimpses he caught from his position, they had already smashed through at least two walls.

Meanwhile, Thalion considered whether there was anything he could do to keep the giants occupied.

For a brief moment, he thought about setting the garden ablaze. The idea quickly died. The alien grass was probably far too resilient to burn, and if it somehow did catch fire, the giants might simply come outside to deal with it.

That was the last thing he wanted.

Instead, Thalion quietly repositioned himself to a section of the garden where there were no doors leading outside. If the giants returned to the garden, they would have to run around part of the house before reaching him, giving him enough time to slip inside.

The decision proved worthwhile.

Barely half an hour later, the giants exploded out of the house, charging after every trial taker who had managed to escape.

By now, they had accumulated so many buffs that they moved at nearly twice the speed they had at the beginning of the trial.

The moment the giants rushed outside, Thalion launched himself onto the roof and landed atop the chimney, giving himself a perfect vantage point from which to watch the final moments of the first game.

He doubted the giants could reach him during the remaining minutes.

Even if they somehow did, he still had several options.

He could dive down the chimney.

Or simply transform into his wyvern form and fly straight upward.

He was confident he could stay airborne long enough to survive, a strategy many of the remaining D-grades were already using in the garden to avoid the enraged giants.

With a quiet sigh, Thalion allowed himself a rare moment of satisfaction.

Considering how impossible the trial had seemed at first, he had handled the opening game remarkably well.

That, of course, raised another question.

What exactly was R-87 planning next?

One thing had become abundantly clear.

The administrator had no intention of sticking to harmless children's games.

At least the first challenge hadn't been based entirely on luck.

If it had been...

Thalion had no idea how he would have survived.

He was also curious how many participants had actually made it through the first game.

Judging by the endless stream of kill notifications, the number couldn't be very high.

Keeping one eye on the countdown, Thalion watched the final seconds tick away.

The instant the timer reached zero, the world blurred.

A heartbeat later, he found himself lying on the same bed where he had awakened twenty-four hours earlier.

Immediately, loud voices erupted throughout the chamber.

Most were furious complaints directed at the system event.

Several chosen had already marched up to the R-87 avatars, which stood in exactly the same positions as before.

"What the fuck was that first game?!" Bartivel shouted at the unfortunate avatar standing at the front.

Not that it seemed to matter.

"We don't even get any points after everything we went through!"

From there, the situation escalated rapidly.

More and more trial takers joined in, angrily shouting at the silent avatars.

Thalion stayed out of it.

Complaining now was utterly pointless, and he preferred not to draw any more attention to himself than necessary.

After making sure his mask still sat securely on his face, he lay back down on the bed.

If there was nothing he could do to influence the system event, he might as well use the opportunity to get a little sleep.

"Congratulations. You have all won the first game."

R-87's cheerful voice echoed throughout the chamber, instantly silencing the uproar.

"To answer your most pressing question."

"In this system event, no points are awarded directly to the players."

"Instead, after every game, 10,000 credits will be deposited into the piggy bank for every dead trial taker."

NovelPhoenix is where the author publishes this chapter; the version shown here was copied without permission.

"The piggy bank will be broken once all games have been completed."

"The accumulated rewards will then be divided equally among everyone who successfully cleared every single game."

The silence that followed was so complete that Thalion felt as though he could reach out and touch it.

"Between every game, you will receive ten hours of rest."

"The next game will begin in exactly nine hours, fifty-four minutes, and two seconds."

It took Bartivel several long moments before he finally found his voice.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Bartivel said with a grin. "So we only get points when trial takers die? What happens if I kill every other trial taker right now?"

His question was immediately met with a wave of curses and hostile glares. Judging by the countless auras flaring throughout the chamber, most people didn't believe he could actually follow through with his threat—and they were ready to stop him if he tried.

"The last remaining trial taker will automatically win the system event, even if they haven't completed every game," R-87 replied with a cheerful nod.

Thalion wasn't entirely sure that was how Squid Game had worked, but it had been years since he had watched it.

"Bartivel! Stop!"

Minerva stepped between him and a heavily armored humanoid wielding a massive mace, who had just provoked him.

"If the next game is anything like the last one, every additional trial taker is an asset," she argued. "The games will thin out the weak sooner or later. There's no need to dirty your hands now. Why don't we sit down and enjoy the break until the next game?"

To Thalion's surprise, most of the room seemed to agree with her.

"That is not entirely correct," R-87 suddenly interrupted.

Lying on his back with his eyes closed, Thalion frowned.

"First, I'd like to congratulate the two hundred and ten trial takers who cleared the first game."

"That means 2,900,000 credits will be added to the piggy bank."

R-87 sounded positively delighted.

"You may want to use the remaining time to find suitable teammates."

"The next game will be played in teams of ten."

With those words, every single R-87 avatar vanished.

Minerva and Bartivel exchanged a glance that made it obvious they intended to remain on the same team.

Almost immediately, conversations erupted throughout the chamber.

Thalion's mind began racing.

Teams of ten...

Had there been a team game like that in Squid Game?

The only one he could remember was the marble game, but that had involved teams of two—and the partners had ultimately been forced to compete against each other.

Ten people didn't fit any game he remembered.

Then another problem occurred to him.

He probably wasn't going to find a team.

Everyone would naturally want the strongest participants.

He was still an E-grade.

Thalion sat up and searched the room for familiar faces from the previous system event.

Purpuff was still alive.

Unfortunately, the ogre had already joined a full team.

Other than that, Thalion recognized no one.

He let out a quiet sigh.

Walking around and asking to join groups would accomplish nothing.

No one was going to willingly recruit an E-grade when there were still countless D-grades available.

Most likely, he would end up in a team made up of leftovers—the people no one else wanted.

Hardly the ideal outcome.

Getting turned down by every other group would made him look weak which might have a negativ effect on future games.

Instead, Thalion lay back down and closed his eyes.

A little meditation certainly wouldn't hurt.

Working on his soul was always productive, and he could definitely use a few more spirit veins.

The hours slowly passed.

Thalion half-listened to the countless discussions about team compositions. Every now and then, arguments escalated into duels to determine who was worthy of joining a particular group.

He had already accepted his situation.

There was no point worrying about it.

Patiently, he continued cultivating his soul while waiting for the next game.

Apparently, his complete lack of concern irritated a few nearby trial takers.

It began with whispered comments about how someone in his position could possibly remain so calm.

Eventually, one particularly annoying man started repeatedly tapping the front of Thalion's mask with a finger.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

"What?" Thalion huffed, finally opening his eyes in annoyance and pushing the finger aside.

"You must've missed what the administrator said earlier," the man replied with a wide grin. "You need to find a team for the next game."

Nine other people stood behind him.

Every single one of them was smiling.

Around the chamber, several nearby groups stopped what they were doing and turned their attention toward the unfolding scene.

"Well, that still doesn't explain why you felt the need to touch my mask," Thalion replied coldly as he swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up, ready for a fight.

He had to make it clear that people couldn't toy with him.

If there was one lesson the orphanage had taught him, it was that backing down only invited more trouble.

"Oh, I just wanted to get your attention," the man replied with a smug smile. "And to let you know that all the good teams are already full. Only the weaklings are left."

He pointed toward the opposite side of the room.

"See that girl with the red eyes? She was crying after her team kicked her out to replace her with someone stronger."

His grin widened.

"And seeing as you're the only E-grade here, I doubt you've managed to find a team. Am I right?"

Several members of his group chuckled as though he had delivered the joke of the century.

"The great Thalion—"

He never got to finish.

"Buddy," Thalion interrupted, his voice hard as steel, "it's nice of you to worry about me, but—and this might surprise you—I couldn't care less about your opinion. Now leave me alone. I really need my beauty sleep."

The man's face grew redder with every sentence.

Thankfully, he wasn't the type to immediately throw a punch or stubbornly double down.

To Thalion's mild surprise, the confrontation ended there. It seemed that the man didn't want to risk an injury and just left Thalion alone.

Thalion simply lay back down and closed his eyes again.

The man continued loudly complaining about him for several minutes and even threw in a few insults about his mother.

Thalion ignored every single one.

He had meant exactly what he said.

He genuinely didn't care what the fool thought.

The other teams, who had been watching the exchange with great interest, also seemed surprised that nothing more had happened.

Within the next few hours, however, the incident was quickly forgotten.

Half an hour before the next game began, the R-87 avatars reappeared.

Each team was instructed to step forward and submit a list of its members.

Since Thalion wasn't part of any group, R-87 announced that the ten participants who had failed to form a team would automatically be assigned to one together.

As the start of the next game drew closer, the tension inside the chamber steadily increased.

More than half of the trial takers had died during the first game.

What would happen next?

How many games were there in total?

Would the administrator keep the games going until only a single participant remained?

There was little time to dwell on those questions.

The next game was about to begin.

Once again, everyone stepped through a portal.

This time, Thalion found himself standing inside a luxurious room that resembled a VIP lounge.

One after another, nine more trial takers materialized beside him.

Judging by the fact that no one else appeared, Thalion assumed they were his teammates.

Most of them looked like mages, accompanied by a handful of agile melee fighters.

Not exactly the ideal composition.

Especially not after Thalion read the system message.

Welcome to Game Two

The second game will be a friendly tug-of-war

To your left, you will see two towers with large platforms at their summits

Each team will be assigned one tower

Your objective is to pull the rope far enough toward your side that the red marker crosses the center line

The remaining teams will observe each match and may take notes

The matchups will be determined at random

Each tower will be protected by a barrier, preventing trial takers from attacking one another directly

You have five minutes to develop a strategy

Best of Luck