Second's plan D was 'The Firearm Assassination'. It was up to her if she saw pure blood in battle, and at least she would have a weapon somehow. She prayed that First's forte was handling and controlling firearms.
She turned toward the door of plan D when Aeith peered at her, but her expression was unrecognizable. It was as if another Aeith stood before her now. She knew Aeith as talkative, naughty, happy-eyed, and a good friend. What was she going to choose, she wondered?
"8 seconds."
"I'm sorry, Second, but I'll go first," Aeith asserted in a heavy tone, as if threatening her.
Aeith ran hurriedly to the door of 'The Firearm Assassination'. She followed and was about to run ahead when Aeith screamed, "Ah! A monster!"
She looked to their left, where Aeith pointed her finger. "W-Where?!" Why would there be a monster here when the game hadn't even started?
Her heart beats faster. She heard a door open, and then Aeith entered.
What?
"5 seconds."
She bit her lower lip so hard that it bled. How unlucky could she be? She was too slow. This was so frustrating. Not being able to pick her top 4 at least, and she got tricked by her close friend, Aeith, using the dirtiest and oldest trick in history.
"3 seconds."
She ran to the sixth door. It opened, and she entered; then it closed again.
The door completely closed, accompanied by the sound of a timer that said, 'time's up'.
LOCATION: Virtual world TIME: Midnight
Second was now inside the virtual door. Half a minute later, the door opened automatically. She was out.
When she stepped on the ground, the door closed and disappeared. She still hadn't left her spot because Author said that when they took a step, the game would start. She stood up, feeling feather-light.
It was a little dark from about 10:00 PM to midnight. Only streetlights illuminated the street. Despite her hesitation about what happened earlier because no one knew if they were going to die in the game, and if they lost. She was amazed at this place that looked and felt so real. She still thought it was just a 3D type of virtual reality game, but the air, clouds, ground, trees, lights, and total ambiance were cool.
There were very few people—virtual people. Maybe others were already asleep because of the time she was currently in. There were parked cars, closed establishments, the noise of crickets, and... it was snowing. Then she recalled the words of Author.
"A dark and terrifying night where your goal is to catch the notorious midnight culprit who assassinates its victims. In the snowy streets of Phantom Street, there lies the serial killer named Zarod."
So, that was why this was the setting, because Zarod was a midnight culprit. If he were a midnight culprit, did that mean he killed people every midnight? Oh, since it was nighttime, it could be midnight now! She turned her gaze around and saw Big Ben. She turned around to see more of the environment. Is she in London? And why is there a Big Ben? She looked at what time it was—it was exactly 11:00 PM! Almost midnight!
"Whooo," she puffed.
It was too cold here. She checked herself and was still in her school uniform, which caused her whole body to tremble. This might be fake snow, but the cold she felt was real. She could see white smoke whenever she exhaled through her nose and opened her mouth to release a warm breath.
"Are you there?"
Second heard someone's voice. She checked, but no one was near her.
Z-Zarod?!
"Hey, it's me, First. I'm communicating with you. Are you okay?"
She really felt like fainting when she found out that it was just First. She turned around and searched for him to see if he was there. "Sorry if I startled you." She was still holding onto her chest in shock. "I'm here with you."
She sighed deeply, but it clogged her nose because of the cool breeze.
"Where are you?" she asked him as she continued to look around and rubbed her palms together to keep herself warm.
"Here inside the control room. Each player has a different and separate room. I have three holographic monitors in front of me that have holographic buttons with options and settings, particularly for the game itself. You'll experience the real world inside the virtual reality game. And I can only communicate with you through my voice. Currently, I can see you here on my screens from a third person's point of view and can control your movements," First stated.
"I'm really happy because you're the controller, so we'll have a chance to win. Not to mention I traveled all the way here to London, haha!" She changed the mood in their conversation because it was getting a bit serious. Coming here was not exactly what she expected, but this was not bad at all. "By the way, I'm sorry because this is the game I entered. I would've chosen the one with the magic wand and powers. And this is the least and last choice I had." She was in dismay because the game she chose might not suit his taste.
"What are you saying? I want this game right after it was introduced. We, the players, were watching you guys from the holographic monitors before you selected virtual doors. I thought you'd run and choose this game as your first choice, yet it looks like I was wrong," he chuckled.
That left her in awe. So, right in the first place, this was what First wanted! She's glad to be of help to him. This was the thing she could do for now for both of them. What's more important is that as long as the game category she chose suits his taste best.
"I see," she lost her apprehension and grinned secretly. "What if we check this place first?" she suggested, because this place was so beautiful. It would be a waste not to see every inch of it.
"Sure," he agreed.
She took a step, then she remembered something. First, she had already started their game; she shouldn't just stand there, but this made her nervous.
'Player can control the movements of the character but not the character's mind.'
She thought again of what Author mentioned. She could move as long as there was no battle game. She had no idea what kind of battle she was going to encounter, but she placed her trust in First.
She rubbed her palms again and blew warm air into her nose and mouth. She was still slipping on her way because the road was snowy and freezing. She wondered what the outcome of them playing this game category would be. Would she be able to adapt to this sudden change of environment? She smirked at her thoughts.
Geez, I even adapted myself to be used in the nth planet, so this one would be a piece of cake, wouldn't it?