One last game

"Should we wait one more day before going to that famous beach?" Jacob felt extremely uneasy the next day about what would happen with Arisu and their friends.

Although he didn't really care about what happened to them, Arisu could be the key to many things they could communicate and achieve. In the worlds they can travel to, each has a main story that must be followed, and the timeline follows from that point.

When this timeline is altered by Jacob's intervention, slight changes occur, or what is known as a deviation from the expected outcome. Considering that one of Arisu's friends is injured, it is likely that they will die in the next trial.

"That boy Arisu was a good kid; at least the deaths of others affected him, and he seemed to think the same way we do."

Usagi looked at Jacob, pondered for a moment, and said, "It seemed like he didn't understand what is sought in this place. All we do is survive, and the farthest we can go is where our abilities stop."

"I heard that his injured friend had only one day left, so they should play today." Jacob smiled, approached Usagi, and asked, "Should we try to help them?"

"What's with this sudden interest?" Usagi asked, bewildered.

"Just you and me, which is fine." Jacob didn't deny this, but then he mentioned something that worried him, "But we need other people who are grateful to us and need a team. A place like the beach may be beyond our prevention capabilities, so having extra allies is more than necessary for our safety."

"Then let's play." Usagi trusted Jacob; of course, if she didn't like something, she would speak up, and they would take a different path after meeting with them.

...

As night fell, it brought the time to play with it. Darkness engulfed the place, and only the sounds of animals could be heard.

Shinjuku Natural Botanical Garden!

"In that place, there's a lot of light, close to a park, so I don't think it's a physical trial..." This time, Thaddeus only brought his pistols since he had acquired ammunition, so there was no need to be so heavily equipped.

On her part, Usagi carried a knife, and both of them ventured into the playing area. On the other hand, Arisu and his group had arrived at the playing area earlier, and they were all terrified of the trial they were about to participate in. Not because of themselves, but because of Chota, who was injured.

"Shall we go?" Arisu said, and everyone looked at each other and nodded.

But at that moment, just as they were about to enter the official playing area, they heard footsteps behind them, and when they turned their heads back, they saw two familiar figures.

"Jacob, Usagi?" Arisu asked, very surprised to see the two people they played with yesterday.

"We meet again, Arisu," Jacob said while looking at the other people.

"Who are they?" Chota didn't know those people, so he asked.

"We met them in a game, and they also gave us medicine for your wound," Karube looked at Jacob with some vigilance and asked, "Shouldn't your visas last for weeks?"

"Do we have about fifteen days?" Jacob looked at Usagi for answers.

"Seems like it, but we can check it after we enter." Usagi, as always, a girl of few words. This time, her gaze was fixed on the woman in Arisu's group; she could feel her venomous gaze, so she raised her vigilance towards that woman.

"How long have you been here?" The woman was very impressed that someone had that many days on their visa.

"Not long, just a week... We've been playing every day since then, well, more or less," Jacob said as he entered the playing area followed by Usagi.

"Seeing that you're good people, I'll help you survive this trial." Jacob looked at Kurabe and smiled. "But remember, don't play dirty tricks on us."

"Don't worry, we play by the same rules for everyone." Arisu looked at his friends, and they all entered, following Jacob.

This place was mostly dark, with only the central area of the playing field illuminated, where there were some very curious objects.

On the first table, there were all kinds of cold weapons, including axes, saws, knives, and metal pipes. As for the other table, there were six types of masks that apparently were meant to be worn on the head.

"Are we going to dismantle something?"

"Possibly. In some games, they also leave these types of objects to kill each other, so don't ignore the details." Jacob looked at the array of knives on the table and took one before stepping back.

"That seems incredible!" Chota said, his face sweaty; he was definitely suffering at this moment.

Jacob ignored the others and took two phones, one for himself and one for Usagi. Arisu's friends also took their respective phones.

"[Facial recognition in progress!]"

"[Registration entered!]"

At that moment, a huge screen lit up, and the words read: "Welcome to Auspicia Shinjuku Natural Botanical Garden."

When the screen turned on, thunderous music also filled the vast space.

"[Please put on your glasses and head to the botanical garden!]"

Everyone was bewildered, but Jacob and Usagi simultaneously put on the glasses without waiting for any signal or anything. Both of them knew they had to follow the rules, or they would be eliminated.

"This kind of technology is very impressive..." Jacob was truly amazed by this level of technology, but everything was integrated into the games.

When they put on the glasses, their faces gradually appeared on the screen. Jacob's assistant couldn't decipher the technology, making it even more intriguing.

"[Registration closed!]"

"[The game is about to begin!]"

"[Difficulty level: Seven of hearts!]"

"Do we only get high-level challenges?" Jacob was starting to wonder if the trials were designed to eliminate him.

"Hearts?" Karube was shocked. After all, for them, it was a game of betrayal.

"The game of betrayal, you play with each other's hearts," Arisu said, recalling the words the man had told him.

"Seven, isn't that quite difficult?" Kurabe looked at Arisu for answers.

"This is terrible, what do we do?"

"Not necessarily, all hearts games have their rules, and if we find them, we might survive." Jacob was already considering the possibilities of this trial.

"[Game: Hide and Seek!]"

"[Rules: One person will be the wolf, and the other three will be the lambs. The one found by the wolf becomes the next wolf. You must hide so the wolf can't find you!]"

"[Winning condition: The one who is the wolf at the end of the game wins!]"

"[Time limit: 15 minutes!]"

"[Warning: After fifteen minutes, the collars worn by the lamb players will explode!]"

"What?"

"What's going on here?"

"What does that mean?" Chota looked at his friends.

Arisu was frozen, so he looked at his phone to check if there was a glitch in this game and murmured, "How is this possible?"

"What?"

"It means that only one of us will survive!" The woman in Arisu's group said.

"What?" Chota couldn't process it.

"We'll hide, and whoever is the wolf at the end of the game wins. The other five will die!"

"It's a simple game, isn't it?"

"[The first wolf is number 1000247, Chota Segawa!]"

"[Five minutes remaining!]"

The game had begun.