The Big Announcement

"Why is the place still locked? Do you think there's something wrong?" Joseph asked Carter after an hour had passed.

"Does it look like I know it?"

The invisible barrier locking them was still there. He was hesitant to leave the game as he knew that there were a lot of people waiting too. He thought that what if he logged out and the barriers opened up?

He would lose resources in an instant. And that would put him at a disadvantage. In this game, it was important to get ahead of everyone. After all, there will only be 1 winner at the end.

Once they die in this game, there's no respawn. They need to wait until next season just to play it again. Maybe that's why this game was far better than those he had played in the past.

It's a one-time opportunity. It will make the players more competitive than they usually were.

Joseph shook his head, " I heard from other players earlier that the game will make an announcement. Maybe they're trying to accommodate all the players first."

Nodding his head, no wonder that it was taking this long. The pre-registration of the game ranged up to more than 500 thousand. He saw the article that the developer needed to close the registration after a day of the announcement.

Online Bald Levelling consists of 6 maps— Abandoned Planet, Sunken Shore, Twin Land, Hell's territory, Advanced Valley, and Redemption Land.

The first 5 maps that were used initially at the start contain 100,000 players each. That means there were 500,000 players in the game. However, the remaining one, Redemption Land, will only be used once the players range down to 50,000.

The developers decided to do it this way, so everyone can have a fair chance of winning. It adds a thrilling effect too since, in the latter part of the game, the remaining players wouldn't know who was left from the different maps.

Carter was on a map called, "Abandoned Planet". That's why his surroundings just look like Earth.

"Come! My friend is already here."

Carter nodded and silently followed Joseph. They walked to the right side which was not crowded. In there, Carter saw a bald man, wearing a hunter's clothes.

Carter grinned and greeted the man. 'He must be rich,' he thought as he surveyed his eyes.

In-game clothes can only be bought either with bald coins or real money. If the player bought the game with real money, then he could use it for every season of the game. While the ones that were bought by bald coins reset together with the season.

"Hi, Carter! Call me Dandrik." The man uttered.

Dandrik has tanned skin and rough features that were the opposite of what Joseph has. The man was taller than Joseph but has the same height as him.

"How did you know my name?" Carter asked Dandrik weirdly. He didn't remember saying his name to the man.

"Oh, I and Joseph can chat in-game. Didn't you know that?" Dandrik asked with his wandering eyes.

Carter just shrugged his shoulders. He didn't know that players could chat here in-game.

"Open your menu bar and press the second button <Social>. You can add us there. We can use this as a tool of communication if we are away from each other.

For example, if you needed help and I'm in the other part of the map. We could use this too if I'm offline and you wanted to say something." Joseph explained thoroughly.

Carter immediately understood what the man said. He already knew this thing, he just didn't know that there's a function like that in the new season of the game.

He thought that since they're experiencing it first hand, then those would not be needed. It seems like he was wrong.

He added the two men to his friend's list. Joseph and Dandrik accepted him after a few seconds.

"I checked the game's page before logging in here. They said that there will be an announcement once all players are already in their respective map." Dandrik told them.

Carter nodded, "What do you plan to do now, then?"

"I suggest we go back to the tree you and Joseph were staying at, earlier. That's the best spot since it's not too far from the middle but not too near the exit."

The three of them agreed and proceeded to walk towards the same spot. It took another hour before the map turned full. A screen in the middle popped out that grabbed everyone's attention.

[ Welcome Dear Players. Now that the map is full, we would like to thank every one of you for waiting patiently. An in-game item will automatically be sent to your inboxes later as compensation for the delay. ]

[ Now that everyone is here, we would to play a short video from the game's main creator. ]

A screen appeared in front of Carter continuing some words. He looked around and saw that others have it too. He was debating whether to click the play button or not, but when he saw that everyone was already watching, he had no choice but to click it.

"Hello, Dear Player. I black cloak, the main developer of the game has an important announcement to make. First of all, I would like to congratulate you for successfully registering for the game.

With the start of the new season, a cash prize of a billion dollars was announced on the game's page. To give you assurance, this prize is legit and not a scam unlike what some articles are saying online.

To make the game more thrilling and fun, we would like to announce a few changes in the game. First, go to your menu bar and check the buttons."

Carter's brows furrowed at what he heard. He opened his menu bar and checked all the buttons in there. 'Huh? There are only 3 buttons now? Wasn't this 4 earlier?'

He looked around and saw that Joseph was trying to figure out what was happening too.

His gaze suddenly turned to the video when it started to play on its own.

"As you can see we removed one button just now. And yes, you guessed it correctly, it's the <Account> button containing the log-out function. Players now can't log out and exit the game."

With a frown on his face, Carter glanced over to the two men beside him. He closed his eyes when a sudden burst of loud laughter, coming from the video, echoed throughout the plaza.

"If you are wondering where did we get the money. The government paid us to help stop the increasing population in the world. If you die here in-game then you would die in reality too.

If your VR helmet runs out of battery, you and your whole family will immediately die.

Now, my Dear players, it's my privilege to serve you all. Either you die or you win, I'm looking forward to all of your performances. Just remember, that the only one who can go back, in reality, will be the last man standing."