Chapter 1: The Death Round

[System starting. Wait.]

[System started.]

[Welcome to Death Round!]

The volunteer, Ji-hoon, opened his eyes.

A translucent blue screen with white edges floated in front of him, filled with large letters.

[Surviving all challenges is your only goal.]

[If you want to live, remember the most important rules highlighted below:]

[1. Once the player accepts to participate in the games, it will not be possible to cancel or revert its participation in each of the games. Remember this.]

[2. Each of the players has their own room. You can customize it any way you like. With each completed game, you will be returned to your proper rooms. You will only be able to visit other players' rooms if you receive permission from the appropriate player. The player can only leave its room if it has the right to visit another player.]

[3. Alliances between players are allowed. The player limit on a team is eight players. Extra players who break this rule will be eliminated.]

[4. If you win a game, you will receive prizes. Prizes can be used ​​as an advantage in future games or can be traded with another player in accordance with the game's trading laws.]

[5. Reward exchanges are allowed. With the Death Round system, the player will be able to see the attributes of their own prizes. Think carefully before exchanging your prizes.]

[6. Cheating another player into a trade will result in immediate elimination.]

[7. Time usually passes in their rooms and at games. There are day, afternoon and night in the world of Death Round. So try to sleep well to be perfectly fine for the next game.]

[8. Each room has a roulette wheel. Roulette has eight different payouts, but you can spin it once every twenty-four hours. It is not allowed to spin the roulette of other players, even if they are on a team.]

[9. A few minutes before a game starts, the system will announce it. You have plenty of time to prepare. Our team will guide you on occasion. Attacks on our employees will result in immediate elimination.]

[10. Every time you win a game, you get points. Cooperative actions with other players will also result in earning points. With exactly 1000 points, you can bring an eliminated player back into the game. Points can be used ​​exclusively in the in-game store.]

[We hope you understand each of the rules presented. Don't worry about meals, our staff will feed you while the games are on.]

[Oh, and before I forget. The system will be at your disposal. Have a good game!]

[End of transmission.]

…

…

Ji-hoon was sitting on the bed. He was trying to follow what the blue answer board had shown him.

He only managed to frown for a few seconds.

There was just him in the room. A bed and a roulette wheel.

The floor, walls and ceiling were completely white.

There was no door or window in the place.

A very disturbing silence.

Ji-hoon didn't remember how and where he was. How did he end up in such a strange place? Had he been kidnapped?

Questions filled his head. But none of them had a concrete answer.

The last thing he remembered was a screen exactly like the one that appeared in front of him seconds before showing itself to him while he was playing video games.

He didn't remember very well what was written, but he had accepted. The young man pressed his fingers dirthy with delicious snacks and a strong light made him pass out.

After that, there was Ji-hoon.

Inside the white cubicle, a strong light filled the entire room.

There were no lamps. Apparently, the laws of nature were not respected in this place.

"Survive." Ji-hoon whispered to himself as he gradually got up from the unmade bed.

He must have slept well.

He noticed that his clothes had been changed.

A baby blue color similar to Korean gym clothes.

Ji-hoon was Korean. But it had been years since he moved to the United States with his family.

He barely remembered how to speak his native language.

All of his favorite games were American.

The inhospitable room would definitely not be the best place for someone with claustrophobia.

Fortunately, Ji-hoon wasn't afraid of closed spaces.

Let alone live alone.

His shod feet slid across the firm ground.

He stomped heavily a few times, as if trying to break it.

Absolutely nothing happened.

Against the wall, he positioned himself as if trying to push it away. And soon after, he tried to punch it, only to hurt his wrist and spend a few seconds moaning in pain.

He sat on the floor for a few more seconds.

"Door. There has to be a door."

His eyes and thoughts turned to the prize wheel scattered around the room.

Facing the roulette wheel, he analyzed the prizes offered.

[Weapon Box], [Obstacle Box], [Clothes Box], [Food Box] ...

Without thinking twice, Ji-hoon turned the wheel.

It was similar to the many games with gacha mechanics or loot boxes he always played.

The arrow trembled among the eight awards.

One moment it was in the weapons crate and the next in the food crate.

The speed started to drop. The arrow is practically stable again.

Ji-hoon sighed.

[Congratulations! You received an action box!]

"An action box…"

"But what the hell is an action box?" He struggled like a child who has not received a gift on his own birthday.

[To access your prize, click on the gift box icon on the game panel.]

[To open the game panel, concentrate!]

"Concentrate. I have to concentrate."

Squinting his eyes as if he were about to judge someone, Ji-hoon put his concentration to maximum.

Suddenly, the same blue screen as before appeared once more in front of him.

But this time it was a little different.

It unfolded out of nowhere, materializing in his black eyes.

His handsome face was lit by a blue hue.

He turned his gaze to the many different buttons on the screen.

He tried to pressure it like the time he was pulled into this strange place, but nothing happened.

Ji-hoon then focused his gaze once more and this time it worked.

He had opened the chat without meaning to.

"Can someone help me please? I'm trapped in a strange room!"

"Do you guys know where we are?"

"A strange screen brought me here!"

"I'm trading a box of clothes for a box of food!"

Every second a new message appears in the chat.

It was possible to start a private conversation with other players. Ideal for forming teams and putting into practice the exchange system.

Chat messages were generally limited to just three per player per day.

There didn't seem to be the same rule in private chat.

Ji-hoon thought to himself that it wouldn't be worth his while to spend his messages on the first day so quickly.

He would wait.

Ji-hoon closed the chat.

His eyes returned to the icon of a gift box. That's where his award should be.

Another blue page unfolded, similar to the chat.

More than thirty small squares formed one big square.

"An inventory." Ji-hoon smiled for a brief moment.

A message appeared.

[To redeem your reward, withdraw it.]

He reached for the action box and pulled it out of the inventory.

What was once attached to a translucent screen was now in Ji-hoon's hands.

A yellow box with a red bow around it.

It looked like a Christmas present.

What kind of technology could do something like this?

A new message appeared when Jin Woo was about to untie the bow.

[50 seconds to start the first game!]

[You have 48 seconds to prepare for the first game.]

"Damn it, damn it, damn it! I didn't think they would start so fast!"

Ji-hoon pulled the bow, but the knot didn't come loose.

Unfortunately for him, his nails were too short.

He shared the moment between unraveling and paying attention to the time before the start of the first game.

[21 seconds to start the first game!]

Ji-hoon started to bite the noose. It was his last option.

There were 12 seconds left before the start of the first game.

The box was covered in saliva and the odor of his breath.

[6 seconds to start the first game!]

Ji-hoon finally managed to remove the noose.

He pulled the lid off the box and...

"Gloves. All this for gloves..."

A pair of black gloves was the prize. They had something stuck to the palm of the glove.

[End of preparation time!]

A thunderous noise invaded Ji-hoon's ears.

It was as if his eardrums were about to explode.

The front wall of the bed began to move.

A door began to appear, gradually rising autonomously.

Three men in different masks appeared.

The middle man wore a skull mask, the left a horse mask and the right an alien mask.

They all wore the same outfit, though.

They were identical to the clothes Ji-hoon was wearing, but in red.

The man in the middle took a step and then another. He was moving towards Ji-hoon.

The young man broke out in a cold sweat.

"Player JH-23, Song Ji-Hoon. 23 years old. Born in South Korea on November 12, 1998." A thin voice said.

Completely different from how Ji-hoon imagined.

He frowned.

They had his information.

"Unemployed. Dropped out of computer science college and went back to live with his mom and dad in California. Usually spends the day playing video games."

Was this some way to denigrate him?

"Have you finished?" Ji-hoon asked depressed.

"Follow me."

The skull walked back to the middle of the other two men.

They were waiting for Ji-hoon.

He was shaking a little but started to move.

Before leaving, he tucked both gloves into one of his pockets and continued.

A dark hallway, lit only by light from inside his room.

Gradually, the automatic door descended and darkness took over.

At the end of the corridor, the lamps began to be turned on.

The men began to move towards the end of the narrow corridor.

Ji-hoon was scared.

Confused.

He soon followed them.

A wooden door awaited him at the end. The horse-headed man turned the doorknob and a bright light filled Ji-hoon's eyes.

When his vision returned, he could see other people.

Other players.

Everyone in position.

The game was about to start.