1.6 Cards Dealt

[Rank F, player no. 1000, do you officially decline from scenario 1?]

A little distance away, a wolf in sheep's clothing studied the C-list actor with disinterest.

The bottom tier always overflowed with cowards. Nothing to see there. Instead, Thanh Van's patience was running low.

Usually, by now the system would have already sent them on their way to the first scenario. Just standing and cowering like a little boy toy behind this beefy mountain was starting to piss him off.

If he survived this championship, Thanh Van wouldn't let the system have free reign and 'surprise' him in the upcoming championships.

This will be fun, the NPC butler had said. This way, you won't know the scenarios beforehand, the NPC said.

Well, Thanh Van was damn bored at the moment, and even the twitching beady-eyed office rat wasn't very twitchy anymore.

With so many players, Thanh Van couldn't help but wonder how many scenarios it would take to cut them down to two-digit numbers if the system kept stalling like this.

He will lecture the system once they return to their dorms. This definitely wasn't how he imagined this championship to start.

Thanh Van let out a huff, low enough that it went unnoticed by the sergeant or his men. Peering from under his long, curved lashes, Thanh Van took his time to study the towering man partly covering him from the view ahead.

Blond army cut complemented his rugged features - but a little too scalp-hugging for running once fingers through, too short to grab and pull. A thin scar ran from the edge of his left eye trailed towards his ear and dipped right beneath the tight moss-green army apparel.

There was probably more hidden beneath the apparel that hugged sergeant Kruger's broad shoulder, and long, powerful legs...

Thanh Van bet he could get the man to strip and sweating by the end of scenario one. He was confident in his NPC skin.

The system didn't fail creating traps!

[Rank F, player no. 1000, do you officially decline from scenario 1?]

Thanh Van's gaze flickered back to the c-list actor. What was taking the guy so long? Wasn't he just now wrestling with the willowy beauty by the statues, fighting for the spot?

But Mo Yang's gaze betrayed no emotions, fixated on his senior, face cold and emotionless despite his mind working overtime, trying to weigh out his options.

[Rank F, player no. 1000, do you officially decline from scenario 1? Failure to answer will result in immediate elimination.]

"YangYang," Senior Wu's face had lost all of its colours, his usually red-tinted lips turning purple from fear. "Just say something, god damn it!"

Thanh Van tried his best to not roll his eyes. If the guy won't answer now, he will go and kill that C-lister himself.

[Rank F, player no. 1000 -]

"I, Mo Yang, do not want to decline from scenario 1."

Thanh Van's eyes widened only for a fraction before they crescendoed with delight. So there was a spine even in such low ranks. He applauded such enthusiasm to play.

"Fuck, YangYang, I almost got a heart attack!" Senior Wu hissed from between his teeth, cheeks blotted with red. His fingers curled into fists, ready to punch Mo Yang. "Couldn't you have just said that earlier?"

[Rank F, last rank, player 1000, exempted from scenario 1.]

Thanh Van's lips trembled, trying his best not to cackle from behind sergeant Kruger. The system really had it out for the lowest ranked. Tough luck, buddy.

The dome was deadly silent before the people exploded into wild complaints.

"How did he get exempted when he didn't even want to decline in the first place?!"

"This is a scam!"

The branches of the tree swayed then - as if blown by an invisible wind. Quickly, all lips tightened, too scared to be punished.

[Exempted players, assemble in the clearing for preparations.]

Sergeant Kruger didn't move a single muscle, his gaze washing over the players who had been exempted, trying to draw some conclusion on why they would have been chosen specifically among the ones who had screamed and begged for freedom.

But there was no connecting clue, not one that sergeant Kruger could see with the naked eye. He was oblivious to the pair of sharp green eyes that similarly studied the exempted players, equally baffled by the system's strategy.

Like the others, CEO Kim Jihun also took this moment to turn his curious eyes to the ten lucky players who were weaving their way to the centre of the dome, both men and women, standing before the treacherous silver tree.

His gaze stopped over Mo Yang who stood emotionless among the rest of the exempted, seemingly unsurprised by the system's decision on his fate. Compared to the rest of the players who had been exempted by the system, there was no sigh of relief, not even a glimmer of hope in Moyang's visage.

The crowd shifted around the ten like a ripple on the surface of a lake, all taking several steps away from the centre, in fear of something brutal to happen. It was then that Kim Jihun noticed sergeant Kruger on the opposite side of the dome, a looming mountain among the forest of trees. Kim Jihun had seen him in the dorms before.

Just then, a young man with messy lavender hair peeked from behind sergeant Kruger - well well, Kim Jihun definitely had not seen this one in the dorm.

Kim Jihun had a perfect memory, photogenic, and was an admirer of anything beautiful. Those startling green eyes, the calculative manner that the young man stood close to the sergeant, eyes strained on the exempted, plump lips in a thoughtful pout - Kim Jihun would have remembered such a person.

As if the young man had sensed his gaze, the emerald eyes clashed with his amber ones. A second of eye contact passed before the beauty let his eyes fall, long feathery lashes lowered shyly - but it was enough to rouse Kim Jihun's curiosity.

There was no shortage of cunning beauties in Kim Jihun's vicinity back at home. They would gladly fight and claw at each other to be in a powerful man's grace - even better if they could be married to one. But none of them had perfected each tear and expression to perfection as this little wolf in sheep's clothing. From the studious gaze, the bright green eyes had turned misty in just a blink of an eye, tugging at the heartstrings of men and women alike.

Kim Jihun let a smile bloom on his lips. He might just have met a worthy match.

[Exempted players, these are the cards dealt to you.]

"h-huh? What cards? Playing cards?"

A murmur of confusion broke out. The ten players standing in line in the middle exchanged looks of worry - all but one. Mo Yang stared at the golden card that had formed out of thin air, hovering before his eyes, waiting for him to accept it. Really, he was one unlucky bastard.

Ever since the system called him out, he knew there was a very slim chance the system would let him decline the opportunity once it was offered. With at least a thousand players in total, what were the chances the system would choose him?

1 out of 1000.

The system seemed to pick and choose specific players based on its own algorithms. Still, he had to test his hypothesis. Once the system refuted his decision, it was as clear as day that none of them had a choice or a say in any of this.

But then- Mo Yang's gaze trailed over to the sniffling secretary Wilson on his left and at the card that the man was dealt. If Mo Yang was right, secretary Wilson might be the only person selected at random to conceal the system's algorithm.

Now what the system wanted from them, Mo Yang didn't know - and as his gaze trailed back on the card dealt to him, he wasn't sure if he wanted to know.

What the system dealt them was not normal playing cards - but tarot cards. More precisely, the 10 out of 22 major arcana ones.

Cursing his luck in his heart, Mo Yang accepted the card, the top corner glowing with the number 13.

It was the Death card.