Stage 3

The glass prison had ultimately shattered, leaving the friends to cover their heads and shield their eyes while the broken fragments showered around them.

A brief hissing sound followed, which changed the temperature of their surroundings in an instant.

Zera risked taking a look. She gasped upon analyzing that their surroundings had shifted and Astherielle had finally stopped glowing.

She had expected to see what lay beyond their glass prison, the place which the thick fog had covered from their view.

Instead of that, though, what she was seeing was an enormous metal gate. With it, a surrounding wall of the same grayish color stretched on both left and right. The sky displayed a reddish hue, but the temperature that whiffed around them was cold.

Zera let her gaze fall back towards the big metal gate. It wasn't just ordinary metal but hard and solid. If she tried punching, surely her bones would break.

A series of numbers and letters were painted in red on the top right corner of the said gate.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Beatrix lamented, staring towards the horizon, her skin prickling with bad omen.

"I second that." Jaspreth butted in. He, too, was exploring their surroundings with his eyes.

"I feel funny." Astherielle blurted out, which had three pairs of eyes gazing towards her. She looked at each one of her friends.

"Whatever that golden thing was, I feel hyper." She giggled.

"Oh, was it a drug?" Zera narrowed her gaze. Astehrielle immediately shook her head.

"My father will kill me if he finds out I did something that heinous. Even if I had no control over it." Astherielle paused, shrugging. "I don't know how to explain. But, yeah. That golden whatever is making me jumpy."

"Let's take it as good news for now." Zera smiled towards Astherielle. She grinned widely back, turning to face the enormous gate.

Behind them was nothing but a wasteland, dry and lifeless with no trees visible.

"Well, now what?" Beatrix put a hand on her hips. As soon as the words left her lips, a vast translucent screen appeared on the surface of the wide gate.

It was followed by the familiar mechanical voice they had often heard.

[Welcome back, Players! A few reminders: Please make sure to abide by the rules. A second violation would entail a more extended stay in the Asylum 7X0X]

"Eh? That was an asylum?" Beatrix scoffed, folding her arms over her chest, staring at the screen incredulously.

[Welcome to The Lair! Your goal for this round is to survive without getting infected and kill as many enemies as possible! The Priestess wishes you good fortune!]

The widescreen disappeared, and with it vanishing from their sight, each of their systems pinged.

[Player,

For this round, you will be provided with a selection of weapons. Only for this level will you be able to use any of your choosing. Please keep in mind that you would be facing more than one enemy. Consider taking long-range weapons. But also have at least one for short ranges. You can have a maximum of three weapons to aid you in this stage. Choose wisely!]

Ping!

[Player. Please consider upgrading your avatar]

Zera blinked, her mind trying to absorb the instructions she had just read.

"Uh, is it just me, or was this supposed to have been the case right from the start?" Zera turned to her friends.

"I think your little rebellion worked." Jaspreth brandished a smile towards his friend.

"Huh," Zera mused, turning away to summon the weaponry. "Weaponry."

A gentle wind swirled around Zera. She watched as the ground beneath her glowed bright blue. An array of weapons appeared right before her in a circle.

The bluish platform resembled that same platform Nayowmi had stepped into before entering the second stage.

Eyeing her options, Zera just realized that she and her friends had been weaponless while they were inside the glass prison. She scoffed, belatedly recognizing this minor detail.

"Long-range," Zera muttered, catching sight of a small handgun. It looked normal, but she knew it was no ordinary one with unlimited bullets. She reached for it, securing a firm hold around the grip.

[Weapon selected]

Along with the appearance and disappearance of the translucent screen, Zera felt a gentle pressure around her waist. A black belt attached itself to her waist. With it came a holster on the right side.

"Sweet." Zera whistled, tucking in the weapon. Wanting to finish the selection, Zera focused on the short-range weapons. She had the option to pick from the dagger or the sword.

Squinting her eyes, she grabbed a pair of daggers for convenience. Zera was surprised at how easily that felt in her hands.

[Weapon selected]

Zera did not want to waste the chance to have three at her disposal; hence, she turned to the explosives.

With a smirk, she caught sight of the grenade.

[Weapon selected]

Ping!

[Player, is your selection final?]

"Yes." Zera immediately replied, hiding the grenade inside the small bag which appeared on the other side of the belt by her waist.

The array of weapons slowly vanished from Zera's peripheral view.

Ping!

[Player, you can now access the Wardrobe. Please consider changing]

Zera pursed her lips.

"Took you long enough to offer. Wardrobe?"

Replacing the array of weapons, Zera found herself surrounded by a set of clothes she wouldn't even dare try if she was back in the real world.

"My father will surely have a heart attack," she muttered. Biting on her lower lip, Zera spotted a black leather suit covering her upper body. The sleeves would fit her arms up to the wrist. A golden zipper could be found in the front.

It was a one-piece ensemble. The bottom part happened to be cut into a short that covered at least one-half of her thighs in Zera's estimate.

Her eyes roamed towards the shoe section and caught sight of similar army boots she had on. Only this time, it was knee-length.

Whistling, Zera touched the apparel and watched it glow bluish, disappearing before her eyes. With a gasp, cold energy passed through Zera's body while the clothes she had on disappeared and were slowly being replaced by her newly selected ones.

"Whoa," Zera muttered, feeling the cold energy crawling up to her hair. From the corner of her eye, she watched as purplish strands fell perfectly over her shoulders.

"So, in the end, my little rebellion turned out to be needed. Huh."