Ch 5

Survivance season 9

zone - Hiju

Level 1 - Island survival

Throwing their back-pack onto his back, the seven entrants under Infringe guild shuffled out of the train compartment.

The entrants from other guilds were getting off the other compartments as well. Each qualified guild was allowed under the top guilds were told to be highly trained than the rest.

Kris looked around to guess the time. It was growing dark and the surrounding ambience was sombre. The entrants were prohibited from keeping a watch or a cell phone or anything other than basic daily day items in their back-packs.

The assistant manager who had accompanied Kris and others to the arena directed them to go ahead toward a bridge. He bid each one of them good luck before parting ways. Far ahead, Kris saw a vast span of water. The place leading to the bridge from the train platform was surrounded with wild growth of shrubs and the ground was mostly dry mud, sand and gravel.

A whoosh of icy breeze ruffled the sombre tranquillity.

"Ah, this is already giving me chills," Kris heard a younger looking entrant murmur as they crowded altogether in front of the planked staircase to the bridge.

[Entering the arena--Island of Qalupalik.]

"Qalupalik," he murmured the name. It must have been a made-up name used for the game, because in reality there was no island there. This was infact a coastland beach bordering the city of Hiju.

"It's an ME (Merged Environment). I've been here so many times and this isn't how this place is supposed to be."

"Man, looks so real!"

"They did a good job with ME technology, huh?"

Those were unfamiliar voices. Kris glanced to his sides at the strangers from the other guilds. He was lagging far behind to his guild-mates. He quickened his pace with much effort.

From the bridge that was built at several feet above than the ground level, he could see a huge mass of fog hovering over the water surface. At this point he couldn't make out what was real and what was merged into it. There was no glitch that gave away any clues. The arena was built to perfection.

But damn, he was so nervous!

"There are more entrants than in the previous seasons," Dahn stated, scanning the Bridgeway teeming with entrants between the age of seventeen to twenty-seven, some excited, many sulking or just acting cool and unbothered.

"The game is getting popular all around the world and so they have added new guilds to lengthen the run-time... four new guilds which is like thirty more entrants than the previous seasons."

A total of nine guilds and a rough estimate of almost seventy entrants. It was going to be one hell of a contest.

"It will reduce eventually," Bang Cha added haughtily. Everything other than himself was of least significance for him.

Kris pressed his lips tight as he struggled to keep up with their pace. The entrants behind him were jostling too. Few of them gave him smug looks, which forced him to keep pushing on. As the long Bridgeway curved into a turn Kris noticed that the fog hovering around them disappear to reveal an empty grey space. Slowly, the place was turning windy, and a massive structure loomed in the far-sight.

As they drew closer murmurs rose around him and grew into a din.

The massive structure standing at the end of the bridge was a ship.

[Kris Yang, now boarding the ship Dehlima]

"Dehlima," Kris muttered blankly.

It was majestic, built of a moss-colored material that had a texture of quartz. Green and blue lights were lit up along the length of the deck. The crowd spread out as soon as they walked into the deck and began exploring the surroundings.

"Whoa!!"

"Awesome!"

"It looks like a real cruise."

"It's beautiful, isn't it? Shame its just a virtual reality." said Manila, eyeing the place in awe. "Makes me wonder if its just a façade to fool us. What are we going to survive against in such a pleasant place?"

"It won't stay this pleasant for long," replied Andre. He began to walk towards one of the entrances of the ship.

The other members followed Andre's lead. Even as he looked like he was just about twenty years old, Andre was a quick thinker and a strong contestant, and it was in their best interest that they followed his lead. It was as if they all had the same though in their minds even without discussing it out loud.

Taking a quick glance at the ocean beneath, Kris shuffled after the rest of the members.